Music Festival

[Mary G]

John Martyn has indeed endured amputations - to save his health, if not his life. There was a good programme about him on BBC4 a wee while back. And as I recall, his real name is McGeachy. So the local connection should be obvious enough!

I am sure a forum member will be able to confirm that he played a very emotional night in Carradale, after the Antares disaster, based on these local relationships.

I would pay a lot to see him ... in the Picture House or anywhere in the town. One of the best suggestions yet. His have to be among the most moving, and timeless, songs that I play. We should not delay in pursuing this one - he knows himself that he is lucky to still be alive ...

[Mary G]

Here is the BBC page that accompanied that excellent programme.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/john-martyn.shtml

There is a link to a clip from the programme at the top right, and other links ... there must be lots of youtube stuff out there too.
Noticed too that he is just about to embark on a tour of Ireland - North and South.

It would be so special to get him to the Festival ... Go on!

[LO]

Iain McGeachy, alias John Martyn is from Dalintober fishing stock and if I remember correctly there is some background info on this in Angus Martin's book about Kilkerran Graveyard. Bob McGeachy in Carradale is his first cousin but he will have other relations in the area as well.

Back in the day, he used to come to Carradale for his holidays every year, sometimes with legendary double bassist Danny Thompson who featured on many of his classic albums and live shows. Strangely, they came on the service bus to go fishing, and one time famously, were getting a lift from Lochgilphead as some of the Crofters were up at a Dick Gaughan concert, so they ended up doing a floor-spot in Lochgilphead Folk Club. Apparently Dick was only too glad to lend JM his guitar and the Janny from the school was summoned to get a double bass for DT. When they were announced by the organiser, who still couldn't believe what was happening, Danny got up and said something like " The ******'s a way for a fish supper" and proceeded to terrorise the audience with a performance of the legendary Haitian War Dance he used to perform with the Pentangle!

As Mary G, says, John Martyn and Hamish Imlach both performed in The Glen at The Antares Memorial Concert, an evening that will take quite some beating. Apart from the music, there was a surreal moment where a dead sheep wrapped in binliners was raffled while JM cradled it in his arms, and Hamish crooned an impromptu blues about the sheep which had a call and response which John then joined in with!

Here's a link to Iain McGeachy's MySpace site (this is the proper one - any that say "John Martyn" are just fan sites or impersonators)

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... cfd5a41b91

PS I've said for years that he should be in the Picture House!

[Mary G]

Some great memories, there LO ... I fully expect to read them again in the Herald Diary in the next day or two, given the journalists' now legendary penchant for trawling this site for exactly such wonderful stories

[general jack o'niell]

good old LO, saved me making a hash of some of the background info regarding john martyn, i've met him on a couple of occassions, usually him just wandering about a quay, funniest being my younger brother out at thrfishing onesummer being sent on an errand to the salesmans office at the top of the pier, he came back and announced "theres a man up there that looks hoora laik john martyn" this was nearly thirty years ago before he put on the weight and lost half a leg, if i recall correctly on being told that he meant john martyn the guitarist, our father did a blah de blah, that'll be the mcgeachy boy, bob's cousin, did ye naw know anything thing. that was two anythings we didn't know, firstly that john martyn who we'd been recently entranced by due to albums like solid air was "local" and secondly, that our father knew anything musical more up to date than the "bluebell polka"

just one of lifes sweet little mysteries, i used to play a nine minute version of johnny too bad so i could go make a cup of coffee and go outside for a smoke, might have bored some listeners, but i just love it

[browneyedgirl]

TEXAS!!TICKET COST NOT A PROBLEM!

[Sheik Yir Erse]

To rekindle an old thread re suggestions for the music festival, surely these boys would bring the roof down in the Vic on a Saturday night

[Iano]

I would have to agree that Hayseed Dixie is a great choice for the main concert in the vic, they played T in the Park not too long ago and played a cracking set full of crowd favourites which would please all ages.

Also i would like to suggest a great band called Frightenend Rabbit, they are pretty new upcoming band from Scotland and have two great albums already. there link to their myspace is

http://www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit

check them out

[cammy_willis]

Perfect Crime

Check Them Out

http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=4915554895

[dr-sanchez]

hayseed dixie would be quality at the vic, id be really tempted to go if the tickets werent going to cost £20/£25 though.....

[Stone Cold aka Doags Bs]

hayseed dixie would be quality at the vic, id be really tempted to go if the tickets werent going to cost £20/£25 though.....

How much did you pay to go see Paul Rodgers and all that at the cooshed? Price is not a problem if the act is good enough.

[IainJ]

Hi Folks

Hayseed Dixie would be a great band for the Vic but they are not available, keep the ideas coming although.

RE the price of the tickets, we try and keep them as low as we can but we still have to pay for the bands, PA system, lights, venue, band accommodation, PRS, security, marketing etc and we have to try and cover the cost with only the tickets and bar which is difficult.

We suffered a bit this year by not being able to attract as big a name band for the Vic as in past years but if we can't afford them within the ticket price then we can't book them. We have got to be careful as quite a few Festivals have folded over the past couple of years.

Don't worry we will continue to try and attract the best bands we can to the event.

As I mentioned earlier, keep the ideas coming.

IainJ

[Sheik Yir Erse]

Iain - thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it's pretty easy for someone like me to sit and make suggestions about bands, but I'd be really interested to know about the main barriers you face when trying to get bands to the Music Festival. Is it cost, availability, clashes with other festivals, event not big enough for their ego's....... etc, etc.

As I say, it's pretty easy being a backseat driver

[dr-sanchez]

How much did you pay to go see Paul Rodgers and all that at the cooshed? Price is not a problem if the act is good enough.

to be fair, there's a quite a big difference in getting a once in a lifetime chance to see queen and going to the vic to 'see' a band that don't play any of their own songs (to my knowledge) and that a large portion of the crowd present arent really paying attention to, being more interested in yarning to each other!

[Tosh]

How much did you pay to go see Paul Rodgers and all that at the cooshed? Price is not a problem if the act is good enough.

to be fair, there's a quite a big difference in getting a once in a lifetime chance to see queen and going to the vic to 'see' a band that don't play any of their own songs (to my knowledge) and that a large portion of the crowd present arent really paying attention to, being more interested in yarning to each other!

Their last album was actually completley original stuff.

BTW some of Queen + Paul Rogers might be good but Queen they aint.