7pm - 10pm
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Admission FREE
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The Set Up
7pm - 8.30pm - Acoustic Jam (like a "sing-around")
* All singers and instrument players welcome to take part and others welcome to watch and listen
* Electric bass, keyboard and guitar amps welcome (so long as they are kept at a reasonable volume)
* People who want to can take turns singing and playing a number and decide if they want others or all to join them
* This is a chance for complete beginners to join in without the pressure of giving an open mic "performance"
* Its also a chance for complete beginners to get some help from more experienced players
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8.30pm - 9pm - Support Spot
Performers present who would like to be considered for the support spot and who can perform a good 30min set can take a raffle ticket.
Performers arriving between 7pm and 7.30pm will get 2 raffle tickets, while those arriving after 7.30pm will only get 1 - giving earlier arrivers more chance of getting the support spot.
After the jam, the raffle is drawn and the winner gets to do the support spot on that night using the PA.
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John Prosser - December Feature - playing with Paul Vile |
9pm - 10pm - Feature Spot
A performer (who is trying to get gigs, make albums etc and is of a good standard with something musically special to offer) will have been booked in advance for this spot (contact Elaine - the organiser and host - if you would like to be considered for a feature spot. Next year she will be booking local artistes who help to support the Open Mic and Jam Nights at the Six Bells by coming to at least a couple of them).
The feature spot performer will be paid a guaranteed £20 plus a jug collection (which will be collected personally by Elaine - so she would hope to raise a reasonable amount, depending on the number of people present and how much they are enjoying the performance. So far she has managed to raise between £50 and £90 for the featured artistes).
By encouraging people to come for the jam and chance to do a support spot, it is hoped that the feature performer will have an audience to play to (even if they are not so well known or able to bring a big crowd, though the feature night will publicise the feature performers on this web site etc. to help them gain interest) and Elaine would encourage jammers to stay for the feature act and have a listen because, if the feature is one day yourself, you wouldn't want everyone to leave as you were about to play - would you?
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Upcoming Feature Spot Performers
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2015 |
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Feb 1st |
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Elliot is a professional on the comedy circuit who has agreed to come and do this feature spot for us! He makes you laugh until you ache! His song comedy genius is relentless; one excruciatingly funny song after another. |
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Mar 1st |
Jack Giles' Band |
CANCELLED! | |
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Jack Giles' Band are a three piece with Jack fronting on vocals, guitar and "stomp" and an excellent violin player and mandolin / whistle player. They play foot tapping jigs and reels, some originals and funky folked up covers! |
Previous Feature Spot Performers
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A great guitarist, song-writer, singer and performer! His songs are catchy and gigs are very rare. Don't miss this fantastic first night!
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See more photos from the night ...
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Review - April 6th We had about 11 musicians turn up (and their friends). The first night was a bit of an experiment with the arrangement of the jam and the structure of the night and we'll be making a few improvements to make the jammer area less spread out, which will help us to hear each other better. We'll also be giving out more raffle tickets for the 30min support for musicians arriving earlier - so there is a bit of an incentive for coming early - which will make the jam more fun (as it was a bit thin on the ground with musicians initially) and will reward those coming earlier. Peter London did a great job as usual with his wonderful singing, guitar and harmonica playing, powerful songs and performance. He involved plenty of (willing) musicians on stage who provided backing vocals and instruments. He was hampered slightly by some issues with the PA, which have been resolved (I believe) for next time!
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A wonderful singer / song-writer with a mellifluous voice and beautiful, catchy songs!
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Review - May 4th We had a good number of jammers on this evening and we moved the position of the jammers and the stage to try to improve the ability of the jammers to hear each other. It was still a bit tricky to hear ourselves - so we need to work on that. We are thinking of getting rid of the tables (or some of them) we were sitting around - so we could bunch in a bit closer. The lottery for the support spot was won by Alan Dublon (and it wasn't a fix)! This did mean, however, that, since Alan and Steve collaborate and have the same friends doing backing vocals, the rest of the evening saw the same faces "on stage"! I definitely managed to get a better sound from the previous month (and I know what the problem was now. We live and learn...). Steve did a stirling job and we enjoyed his catchy, melodic songs and beautiful voice!
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June 1st
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An outstanding and powerful singer and song-writer. Her funny songs will really make you laugh and the sad ones will have you crying like a baby!
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Review - June 1st We had a good enough number of jammers to have lots of fun and this time jammed in the raised corner area of the pub with a two channel monitor type PA set up to allow the person leading a number to cut across the background noise in the pub. This proved to be very effective - so we'll definitely do that again! Martin Dyson won the raffle to do the 30min support spot and called some of us up to do backing vocals and Alan played some lead guitar. Nessles wowed everyone - as usual - with her vocal prowess and superb songs - and some great new ones I hadn't heard before. She played one cover version of "Dock of The Bay", which she got quite a few of us up to do backing for, which was fun! It was a really great night!
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July 6th
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She writes beautiful songs, plays the keyboards masterfully and sings like an angel!
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Review - July 6th We had a brilliant jam again, with the small monitor PA just allowing the person doing the main number a little oomph to rise above the ambient pub noise. Martin Dyson won the raffle to do the support spot and did a grand job. Amanda was brilliant, treating us to songs with her keyboard, sometimes joined by Alan Dublon and Steve Hutchinson. She also played her flute on some numbers, where she wasn't playing keyboards. We had a number where Adam Jones played keyboards, while Amanda sang too. It was a very enjoyable and really super night!
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Aug 3rd
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Judith Arkell
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Judith - "The Suburban Housewife" writes really powerful, gritty songs - in blues and country styles; often about relationships, which we can all relate to! She has a perfect voice for her song style, with a raunchy American sound and she plays some mean fingerpicking guitar too!
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Review - August 3rd What a brilliant night! Lots of musicians came along to see what the jam was like and we are going to have to figure out how to expand the jam area! Mark Sharp won the raffle to do the 30min support spot and did a really excellent job; his songs are really good! Judith did a really professional job with some numbers solo and some with her "band", which included Mandolin Jack, Alan Dublon (electric guitar mainly) and Surya Cooper (harmonica and backing vocals). The backing vocals also included myself, Nessles and Talia Smith (who has appeared on "The Voice")! It really was an enjoyable night of classy live music!
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Sept 7th
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David is an expert guitar player and loop pedalist, with a great voice and some beautiful original songs. He is a jaw droppingly good performer - not to be missed!
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Review - September 7th This was the first Jam and Feature Night in our new venue - the Six Bells - and it could have been busier! I think quite a few people were tired after going to the Brentford Festival in the afternoon and David is not local (having travelled all the way from Salisbury to play for us)! The jamming area at the Six Bells is much better than it was at the Ailsa Tavern - less noise from the bar - so we should be able to jam completely acoustically next time! Judith won the raffle and got the support spot. David was absolutely brilliant as usual playing a good number of his super original songs along with the rich layered soundscapes created with his rhythm guitaring, percussive tapping on the guitar body and loop pedal equipment, over which he played expert lead guitar!
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Oct 5th
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Three Feature Lottery
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Win yourself a 30min, paid feature spot tonight. Raffle tickets for the spots will be handed out every 30mins from 7pm during the jam to those interested - so early arrivers will have an advantage!
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Tonight the winners of the feature spots were Martin Dyson, Duncan and Alan Dublon! We had lots of fun jamming!
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Nov 2nd
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Paula is an expert multi-instrumentalist specialising in the harp. Her songs are achingly haunting and beautifully crafted and her voice is sweet and soft.
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Review - November 2nd
Paula played guitar and harp for us tonight, to accompany her soft, beautiful voice and many of her own wonderful songs. A spell binding night and such a treat to hear the harp!
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Dec 7th |
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John is a very powerful writer, both of songs and novels. He is also a good guitar player and singer. Amongst his great song repertoire is the haunting "England's Glory" about the young women who worked in the appalling conditions of the Bryant and May match factory in Victorian England. Tonight he will be joined by multi-instrumentalist and singer, Paul Vile. |
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Review - December 7th
What a magic night! John's beautiful songs and rich, Welsh tinged voice alnog with Paul's harmonies and expert guitar work. The manager liked them so much he wanted to book them for a gig onanother night too!
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Jan 4th |
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King Ralph is a punk-folk band from Ealing, who play original tunes and songs with punk themes, using folk instruments! They are lots of foot tapping fun!
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Review - January 4th Not surprisingly, it was a very quiet night, which was a shame because the King Ralph Trio sounded very good!
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