Lyla Foy at Nice and Sleazy's Glasgow March 2014

Lyla took to the Nice N Sleazy stage, after a fine set by Scottish duo Turtles, who have a strong front singer and play powerful electronic melodic post rock. Worth checking out. 

Lyla sang with a subtle haunting country voice her memorable songs along with her backing band.  She sang with a dreamy ethereal, other worldly and even slightly hippy-ish look and feel to her music and look.

Her voice is pure and direct over a steady beat. There were some shades of  Christine McVie's melodic tones with the subtleness of Lana Del Rey and The XX in there too, as she mixes some folk with a more contemporary feel. 

Her songs have quiet reflective themes.  Notable songs were Easy, Feather Tongue and Left To Wonder.  

 

I hoped she didn’t feel let down that some mates of the support band had already left before her set -  fans of one artist should also support the other artists. It matters not the size of an audience but about impressing those who are there and the seasoned performers know this only too well! 

In 2013 the London singer songwriter put out her music under the pseudonym the WALL and her song No Secrets was well received by both BBC radio and the music website Pitchfork. Her single Magazine has good drama.

She also put out 2 pretty nifty covers - Something on my Mind by Karen Dalton and Where Did Our Love Go, sung by The Supremes.   

I might wish to hear more meat or edge come through at times in her sound though - to offer more dynamic range and moods to her intimate music.

She is a rising new artist now signed to Sub Pop records …. some artists slip quietly under our radar and Foy is one of them. . 

She is currently doing a UK and US small venue tour and has released her debut album titled Mirrors The Sky in which she recorded her vocals outside in fields and on beaches. . .http://www.lylafoy.com/
 

Dick Gaughan Milngavie folk club March 2014

The folk club was busy for Gaughan’s return gig here with both young and older fans. He prefers to stand tall with his guitar as he plays and sings.  

Dick Gaughan is a Scottish traditional folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He sings of Scottish heroes and of stories of our lost past and long forgotten voices.  Gaughan has been playing the circuits both at home and abroad for many years now and he is a legend among folk circles. He is also one of the most down-to-earth and likeable artists without pretensions of any kind.  

He sang songs by Brian McNeill, Robert Burns, Ewan McColl and Gaughan - What You Do With What you've Got, Yew Tree, Outlaws and Dreamers, No God and Few Heroes, Whatever Happened to We Shall Overcome, and the outstanding Burns song Westlin Winds.

 
He prefers to learn from the generations before that have all the knowledge. ‘If you're lucky you can add a wee bit'   He said, 'I don't go for autobiographical songs, there's more interesting topics than me.’ He took traditional folk stories and songs from the library archives and put new melodies to them and he draws from both the Irish and Scottish folk traditions. He also spoke of legend songwriter Yip Harburg who wrote Over the Rainbow and Finnegan's Rainbow (who found a pot of gold and it destroyed him)     

His songs can seem hard hitting but are also full of thoughtful optimistic themes. Like American folk singer Dylan his songs and voice don't come easily to the shore and they tell of straight talking stories. He is also a stand out guitarist and plays with a unique style with open chords and dramatic timing that he learnt from guitarist Davy Graham. 

I first heard Gaughan play in the 70s in Edinburgh when I was dating a folk guitarist who raved about how incredible and very distinctive his playing was. Many years later I heard Dick again at Milngavie Folk club in 2007 and this was an intimate gig where his chat between songs was worth going for alone. 

One of the great troubadours of life's journeys. You come away from his gigs questioning but ultimately renewed in the faith of our shared humanity. He sang, 'Keep your eyes on the road ahead, Keep looking at the light.... '

At this gig I thought - music is not about how good an artist might feel about their music but rather how much joy they can give their audience.  

Gaughan was well supported by guitarists Robin Miller, and Mike Simons. 

Robin Miller

Its' not just what you're born with, but what you do with what you've got.
What's the use of two strong legs, if you only run away.
And what use is the finest voice if you've nothing good to say?
What's the use of two good ears, if you don't hear those you love.
Words &  Music by Si Kahn

He sang not of resolutions but of holding on to your vision. Gaughan was warmly received and seemed to enjoy the gig. I felt that his substance, refreshing honesty and questioning words must have impacted on the younger members of the audience and on the older ones too!  Dick Gaughan Photo gallery - http://pkimage.co.uk/dickgaughan

Your Disco Needs You – NEW SCOTTISH Musical Needs Your Help!

Your Disco Needs You – The Musical will be showcased in October to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the Mitchell Theatre Glasgow to raise funds and awareness of breast cancer issues.
It uses the songs of Kylie Minogue to tell a great story of five women coming together in a dance class to help save it from closure.

Grace, who runs DanzGraceful, decides to enter a dance competition, which has a prize that could save her business and help the community. She puts out the ad: “Your Disco Needs You” in a local paper in an attempt to attract new members, help revitalise class numbers and bring new ideas. Along comes: Sophie who lacks confidence because of her alcoholic husband and inability to find new work; Immy who is going through treatment for breast cancer but has a loving husband who supports her in everything she does even if he doesn’t always agree with it. Immy is also instrumental in bringing her fellow patients from their clinic’s exercise class to DanzGraceful to spice it up with the hula hooping and pole-dancing; Rosie is introduced after an argument with her partner that ends their relationship. A strong woman, she sees the class as an opportunity to find a new girlfriend; Jan is bored with the boyfriend she has been with since school and also finds new love at the dance studios.

The musical brings these characters together as they help change and support each other.
You don’t have to be a fan of Kylie to enjoy this musical. The songs seamlessly tell the story and will have you tapping along to the beat. Your Disco Needs You is a heart-warming story with laughter, song, dance, tears and a great feel good ending.

The musical was written by Neet Neilson a breast cancer survivor. Neet exercised through her treatments and continues to and felt that exercise through treatment helped her feel normal and recover well. It also helped keep the fatigue at bay.  There is plenty evidence from research validating the importance of exercise but this message isn’t reaching the patients.  Neet wrote the musical to help highlight this issue.  

Auditions in May!  As the musical has a breast cancer theme to it the production will also be inviting patients and survivors to audition for cast and chorus. The musical also has on board the amazing Tim Noble, Kylie’s choreographer, to ensure the dances have that Kylie-esque feel to them and is aiming to get five celebrities [one for each performance] to play a small guest part in the final scene. Keep checking the Your Disco Needs You website for details: www.ydny-musical.com

The musical will be staged at the Mitchell Theatre on the 24-26th October 2014.
 CrowdFunding!  PLEASE SUPPORT!
The production is currently crowd funding to raise the costs for the production so all the profit from ticket sales goes to the three cancer charities chosen: Macmillan Cancer, Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the MBrace exercise project run in NHSGG&C. Macmillan Information Services will be on hand at every performance should anyone require advice and a Breast Cancer Specialist Nurse from the MBrace Exercise Project will also be present.  A breast self check will also be performed [on plastic boobs] at the interval.  

The project really needs your help to fund this very special event.  Even a small contribution and sharing the link to others will help. YOUR PROJECT NEEDS YOU!
http://igg.me/at/ydny-musical/x/6644365

Hot Guys!

theo hutchcraft

rory sutherland

jamie sutherland

Paolo Giordano Italian writer and physicist

Over the years shooting I have taken photos of some hot guys!  My gallery of hot guys! on my photo website has had by miles the highest number of hits! I wonder why!  http://pkimage.co.uk/hotguys

Most photographers are male and they enjoy shooting females, so its the other way round for me and I enjoy shooting good looking men,  as one of the few female photographers and being used to the male scrum at some shoots!