WELCOME!

Hi from me once again and welcome to another edition of my newsletter. This one's coming from South Africa where the temperatures are steadily rising, while I hear news that they're rapidly falling back in the UK. Hopefully for all our sakes, it doesn't get too cold there or too hot here!

A few people have asked where my home from home is in South Africa. Well, most of my time is spent in a little mining town called Stilfontein (Still Fountain) in the North West Province which is close to the city of Klerksdorp and is quite near to the university city of Pochestroom. All in all we're about a 2 hours drive from Johannesburg.

Sunsets can be quite spectacular around here, and I walked down to the end of our road the other day, where you have a clear view towards Klerksdorp, and took a few snaps. Here's my favourite:

Stilfontein Tree at Sunset

NEWS

I've recently put together some slide show movies which can be seen on YouTube and other websites. Watching the dramatic Chilean Miner's rescue, I suddenly realised that I was sitting on the perfect tribute song for the miners and their rescuers: 'Gumboots: The Miner's Song.' It tells the story of a South African miner trapped in one of the deepest mines on Earth praying to hear the sound of his rescuers gumboots. For those of you wondering what gumboots are - they're the same as Wellington boots.

So although my Miner's Song has a South African twist, it still tells an international story - that of miners trapped underground and their eventual rescue, which seemed to be very relevant to what was going on in Chile. I rushed to the computer and began digging up pictures of the rescue, synched them up to the song, and uploaded the video onto YouTube as quickly as possible. The timing was right, the events were unfolding on TV screens all over the world, and for once, there was a happy ending. Within the first 48 hours the video had a few hundred views and then settled down to clock up a fair number every day. Obviously it's lost some momentum as the story has faded from the headlines, but is still doing well and has recently gone well over 1050 views.

That helped me to begin figuring out how to use the Windows Movie Maker program, and within a few days I decided to have a go at linking pictures to a few of my other songs. Next, I took some of my favourite Cape Town and Cape Peninsula pictures from a recent holiday and blended them in with a piano piece called 'Downstream' from my Pianoscapes album. This ones got a laid back and peaceful feel to it, and I think the piano melody and Cape scenery go well together.

In the week leading up to Armistice day and Remembrance Sunday I started working on another video idea which I've had in my mind for some time. The Tipperary Song tells the story of a WW1 soldier blinded in the fields of Flanders. An Irish Nurse helps him through this terrible time and always keeps his spirits up by singing the famous 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary' song. They lose contact after she is sent back to help on the front line, but at the end of the war, the soldier, believing that she is actually from Tipperary, makes his way to the little Irish Town to see if he can find her.

The Tipperary Song: A Tribute for Armistice Day and Remembrance Day

This story, obviously suitable for Armistice day and Remembrance Sunday, really lends itself to pictures and so I got to work finding hundreds of different photos from that era to fit the plot of the song. It took a couple of days hard work, and was more difficult to put together than the previous videos in that I was actually trying to tell the story in pictures. But I think the whole thing has worked out well, and hopefully you'll like it too!

It's had over 380 views on YouTube already, and I've also linked it to a few Armistice day / Remembrance day Facebook pages where it's getting a lot of plays.

Links to all 3 videos below and if you're signed up to YouTube you can also add your own comments - hopefully nice ones!

Chilean Miners: A Tribute Song. Gumboots (The Miner's Song)

The Cape of Good Hope: Featuring DOWNSTREAM from Pianoscapes

Armistice Day / Remembrance Day Tribute: The Tipperary Song

(All links open in a new window)

As I'm away, there are no live gigs for me or the Duelling Pianos in November, but December's gig sheet for Leeds and the surrounding area is included at the end of this newsletter.

HORRORS ON ARRIVAL

I don't like to paint too bleak a picture of the club and pub circuit in the North of England. After all, many times you arrive to find a cracking club, helpful people running it and appreciative audiences. A lot of it, of course is also down to the act's own attitude, professionalism and talent... and the people in charge usually recognise a job well done and treat you accordingly. But, every now and again a few things do go wrong, and quite often, it's when you first arrive, or during the first hour or so, that you have to deal with the problems.

So with my tongue wedged firmly in cheek, and a little nudge and wink of the eye... these are:

The 10 things to look out for when arriving at Clubs and Pubs in the UK.

 1: The Impossible to Find!

You'd be surprised how skilfully some clubs are hidden away. Recent inventions like Sat Navs have improved things, but even then, I sometimes still get hopelessly lost. (As many of you will probably know... Sat Navs are far from being a perfect science!)

One memory that springs to mind is when a duo I was in got lost in Hull. We searched for over an hour for a pub, all the time getting more and more confused. Eventually giving up any hope of making it on time, we stopped at the nearest pub to ask directions for the main motorway back home... only to find that it was the pub we were supposed to be playing in! (We started playing over an hour late, but the landlord was happy enough by the end of the night to still pay us our full wage!)

2: The loader!

Some architects really should be shot! You can't image where some venues put their stages and expect the acts to get to them. Stairs can be a nightmare especially those steep slippery outside fire escape ones you sometimes have to negotiate. I've heard a few nasty tales though the grapevine of people falling down them - closely followed by their own heavy equipment.

We played a club in Hartlepool once where you pulled the van up next to a brick wall, loaded over the wall, went down a grubby passage into a tiny service lift (not big enough to fit human beings - well maybe dwarfs), met your gear upstairs, walked with it across a massive back stage area to finally set it up. A full marathon - took us hours!

I did another solo job once when I arrived to find what looked like a rickety version of those golf cars ready to transport my gear over a rough dirt track down to a riverside cafe type venue. The thing looked positively dangerous and I simply got back in my car and went home!

3. The Double-Booking!

You turn up to find another act already there. Or worse... and something that happened to me once... you arrive, set all your gear up, sound check... and then another act turns up and you're informed that it's their gig. So you have to take it all down, reload it back in the van, and go home with nothing in your pocket!

4: The Noise Limiter!

Usually some neighbour with a grudge has put in noise complaints against the venue, and the environmental health department has come in and installed one of these devices, or insisted that the club installs one.

 A noise limiter - this one for example, goes from green to red the louder you get, and once all the lights are lit for a few seconds it switches off all the on-stage plugs.

The first problem with noise limiters is that you end up watching the lights all night, rather than worrying about your act or the audience. Secondly, if you do trip the power it's a nightmare having to race across the stage to turn down the volumes on your speakers to avoid a potentially disastrous power surge through them when the power suddenly comes back on. Then once the electric's restored, you have to line up all your tracks again, reset the keyboard's sounds, turn the speakers volumes back up and keeping a smile on your dial, try to make light of something that really should have you tearing your hair out.

I've seen some acts completely destroyed by these machines, many of which don't seem to work on loudness at all, but seem to react more to certain unpredictable frequencies.

5: The Absent Concert Secretary!

The 'Con Sec' is the man or woman who tells you what times to go on, how long each set should be and how many sets you should do. He/she also introduces you on-stage, brings you off the stage and sometimes also works the club's lights - if he/she is not propping up the bar at the time! In a sense, the Con Sec is your boss for the evening. But often this person simply fails to appear and you're left wondering what to do, and who to approach instead. Even more annoying is when they turn up late, then tell you that you were supposed to be on-stage quarter of an hour before... usually implying that it's your fault!

6: The Grumpy Early-Arriver!

  A miserable faced (usually) elderly 'git/gitess' who makes sure he/she arrives an hour before anyone else, sits right next to a speaker and then complains that it's too loud when you make the first tentative 'one, two's' into the microphone. 

Out of interest, you sometimes get the opposite - the 'deaf moaner' who sits right at the back of the club, and complains that he/she can't hear anything .

If you get both of these in one night... you want to yell at them:

 'Why don't you two swop places!'

7. The Dicey Change Room!

Change rooms come in all shapes and sizes, and, of course, some are lovingly and caringly maintained. But there are also the adapted broom cupboards, stinky toilets, dingy and cold cellars, and those curtains shabbily hung at the back or sides of the stages. If the change room has a sink in it, you're never really sure what you might find lurking in it - I had a recent one that would have kept David Attenborough happy for months!

Also, change rooms often seem to double as the clubs storage rooms... so it's you, scores of stacked chairs, broken tables, horrible smelling cleaning equipment, old bingo machines, filing cabinets and a spider called Albert!

Yesterday the Gents - Tomorrow's gateway to stardom!

Graffiti on the change room mirrors and walls can sometimes lighten the mood, and a few recent ones I've come across include:

'This way to the lions!'

'Why, Oh Lord... why me?!'

8. The Chair Booker!

 This has happened to me a few times. You arrive, set up, and there's not a single person in the club. So you find the nearest seat and get comfortable. In walks a man/woman who stands right next to you glaring pointedly. You guessed it... they want that seat... no other will do! Some don't even bother to glare, they walk straight up and ask you to move. Sad stuff.

9. The Drunks

 Self explanatory really. You arrive to find rude and self-important drunks who've obviously been drinking in the club all day. They're usually very loud, and are quickly identified by the questions they slur out:

'Are you any good'?

'What sort of music do you play?'

'Is it Karaoke?'

 'Do you do any Elvis?'

Then there's... 'Do you play any ......(insert any band/singer here you've never heard of!)

If you're cornered and forced to reply with a 'no'... they then follow up with...

'Why not?'

(Well think about it... They're asking you to play something you've never even heard before, and asking you why you haven't heard it. We're in madness territory here!)

The funny thing about 'the drunks' is that after bugging you for over an hour while you set up, you often find that as soon as you begin the show... they've disappeared!(???)

10. The Expert!

These are the know-alls who tell you where to put your speakers, what and what not to play, how great an act they could have been (if only they had time for it) and how good or bad last weeks act was. They often have a favourite song which they present to you as the 'club's favourite'. For example, I nearly had a riot in a club a year or so back when an 'expert' advised me:

'For #$!#s sake, don't do Penny Arcade in here, they hate it... lad'

So I (very stupidly) made a joke about not doing it, only to find half the club wanting me to play it immediately, with the other half booing loudly at any mention of Roy Orbison's classic(!) I soon realised that this was deeply divided club at war with itself.... with 'Penny Arcade' seeming to be the front line of contention!

Even telling them I knew the guy that wrote it, didn't help!

Sammy King's autobiography - a local guy who wrote that famous song

You can often get combinations of some of the above although I'm yet to encounter a club that I... (deep breath...)...

...Struggled to find, with a stage on the 10th floor, a noise limiter on the wall and an overflowing toilet for a change room. Drunks hassling me on the way in, and a pensioner next to a speaker moaning that it was too loud, another telling me what and whatnot to play whilst a further one asking me to shift seats. Nobody turning up to tell me when to play until after an hour when I'm informed that. .. (wait-for-it) I'm double booked!

CLUB COLLAPSES

I did a club a few months ago and one lady was telling me how a few years ago the entire roof of the concert room caved in. No lintel reinforcement on the windows. One woman had been sat in the club but hearing strange noises got out... a few others were just coming in and ran out. Here's the best part... the act turned up and as casual as you like were told 'don't worry about that... we'll put you on in the lounge'. :)

THE FUNNY FARM BITS

A few funnies that have been tickling my ribs in recent weeks.

First off, some Paraprosdokian sentences e-mailed from Tim the Taxi. What are they? Apparently they're a figure of speech that uses an unexpected and amusing ending to a series or phrase:

Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.

We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

Evening news is where they begin with 'Good evening', and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.

Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.

A bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don't need it.

Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!

Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

Next, a few quick funnies doing the rounds:

Man to his Psychiatrist

'Well my main weakness would be my issues with reality, telling what's real from what's not.'

 '...And your strengths?'

'I'm Batman.'

Marriage is like a deck of cards. In the beginning all you need is 2 hearts and a diamond. By the end you'll wish you had a club and a spade!

And lastly, for those who have kids!

Children. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said!

Advice for the day: Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day!

And finally: If you have a lot of tension. If you get a headache. Do what it says on the Aspirin bottle:

'Take two Aspirin, and keep away from children!!!'

That's all for now folks,

All the best :)

Rob.

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Tipperary Song of Peace: MySpace Page

December 2010 Gigsheet: (Just clubs/Pubs in or near Leeds)

 Rob Russell Solo: Thursday 9: Eastdene Social, Doncaster Rd, Rotherham, S65 2DA

Rob Russell Solo: Friday 10: Meanwood Conservative Club, 568 Meanwood Rd, Leeds, LS6 4AZ

Duelling Pianos: Saturday 11: Idle WMC, 23 High Street, Idle Bradford, BD10 8NB

Rob Russell Solo: Sunday 12: Pellon Social Pellon Social Club , Moor End Rd, Halifax, HX2 0HF

Rob Russell Solo: Wednesday 15: Morley WMC, Fountain Street, Morley, LS27 9EH

Duelling Pianos: Saturday 18: Stamford Club, Cleethorpes Rd. Grimsby

Rob Russell Solo: Sunday 19: Jubilee Social, Melville Place, Leeds LS6 2LZ

Rob Russell Solo: Friday 24: Wetherby District WMC, Sandbeck Way, Wetherby, LS22 7DN

Rob Russell Solo: Sunday 26: Hunslet Carr Sports and Social, Moor Road, Hunslet, Leeds, LS10 2JJ

Rob Russell Solo: Wednesday 29: Clarence WMC, 87 - 93 Clarence Street, YO31 7EL

Rob Russell Solo: Thursday 30: Southey Social Club, 170 Southey Green Road, Sheffield, S5 7QQ

Rob Russell Solo: Friday 31: Little Horton Cycling Club, 142a New Cross Street, Bradford, BD5 8BS

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WELCOME AND NEWS

Hi once again and welcome to another edition of my newsletter. Travel has been on the cards in August and you can read about some of our exploits below. September is quieter, and I’m taking the opportunity to catch up on some new tracks for ‘Rob Russell’ solo and ‘The Duelling Pianos’ shows. Craig (my Duelling Pianos partner) came up with the idea to do a ‘Pet Shop Boys Medley’ which I’ve just finished arranging, programming and mixing. Great fun and let’s hope it gets the crowds on the dance floor.

I’m also finding time to get on with some newsletter writing, and to do some admin work for my production tracks... music produced primarily for TV, radio and corporate functions. The South African based company I was writing for have recently done a publishing deal with a major international company with a head office in London, and everything's currently in the process of being transferred to the UK. Great news, as this will soon lead to a world wide exposure for my tracks. More news on this soon.

With great sadness I have to announce the passing away of Paul Coates. Paul was the much-loved President and Concert Secretary of Ackroyd Street Working Men’s Club, where he did a fantastic job booking the acts, bringing them on and off stage and organising many Charity Concerts and Presentation nights. He was also step-dad to Johanne who’s Craig’s (my Duelling Pianos partner) girlfriend. Paul will be greatly missed by all his family, club and his many friends.

There are quite a few solo gigs in the Leeds and West Yorks area coming up soon and a couple of Duelling Pianos gigs as well. Please check them out at the end of this newsletter.

TALES OF 2 CITIES: EDINBURGH.

August turned out to be a month of travel, with excursions for the good lady and myself to 2 famous and lively cities. I’ve always wanted to experience the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, and this year we bit the financial bullet and booked a couple of nights in Scotland’s Capital.

As someone who firmly believes in the advantages of preplanning and organisation, I thought I’d be a clever sod and download and print the entire Fringe Programme, to mull over before we went... maybe even pick out and pre-book a few shows.

The best-laid plans of mice and men etc., as I soon realised what a time-consuming and expensive idea that would be. The programme turned out to be 346 pages long... more like a book! And that in itself is the problem, or should I say challenge of the Edinburgh Fringe... there’s simply so much to do that you don’t know where to start!

Can you believe that this years festival saw nearly 2 million visitors to the city; 2,453 different theatre companies registered to perform; there were 259 official venues and an estimated 21,148 different performers. And these are just the official figures... I’m not even sure if some of the street and impromptu performers even registered!(?)

So we ended up just pre-booking one comedy show and simply wandered around following our instincts and checking out the lie-of-the-land. Probably not such a bad idea for a first visit. You soon realise that there’s a lot of free talent on show, and you can spend all day just walking up and down the famous Royal Mile seeing music, magic, comedy, speciality acts and some shows that are very hard to categorise. I was impressed with some of the ‘living statues’ who are brilliantly made-up and presented. We particularly loved a comedy music trio called ‘The Martians’ who do a very unusual ‘Yellow Submarine’. Someone’s put it on YouTube so please check it out:

The Martians: Yellow Submarine on YouTube

(opens in a new window)

The one on the right’s got the strangest Chipmunk-like voice... We’re still not sure if he always sounds like that, or just puts it on for the show???

This lady’s got a whole new way of doing Puppet shows. Stare at her long enough and you start to forget that there’s a real person behind the Puppets. Very clever!

Edinburgh has so many old, grand and strange buildings. We found one comedy venue after a pamphlet was slapped in our hands by a well know actor from the TV program ‘Casualty’.

‘Please come and see my show... it’s free’ he added, and how could we resist.

The venue - ‘The Laughing Horse @ Espionage’ turned out to be on 5 different levels with the top floor at ground level, and the other floors underground. All floors had a bar and medium to small ‘cabaret rooms’ with intriguing names like ‘Kasbar’, ‘Pravda’, ‘Mata Hari’ and the ‘Lizard Lounge’ . All the venues were running continuous comedy shows, each about an hour long, and most featuring at least 3 comedians. So you could just wander up and down the stairs, pop from room to room, and watch different shows all day long if you liked! Everything free... Except the drinks, of course!

The Banshee Labyrinth

Well named and another venue with lots of underground levels. We even found an unused pole-dancing club in the basement. I managed to pull Rose off before the club signed her up!

Wandering down this underground tunnel in the Banshee Labyrinth we suddenly heard voices and laughter from behind this ominous looking gate. Sure enough, a show was going on inside. It was probably a torture chamber in the old days... Now it’s a makeshift theatre!

Our pre-booked show for the first night was ‘Jeremy Lion Goes Green’. I first spotted Jeremy on You-tube, and he certainly tickled a few of my funny bones. Presenting himself as a ‘children’s entertainer’ he finds any excuse to drink and misbehave whilst attempting all sorts of fairy tales and kids stories. His ‘...Goes Green’ show turned out to be his booze-sodden take on the world’s environmental meltdown. The sheer amount of liquid he put away in his finale... ‘10 Green Bottles’ was staggering, and we weren’t at all sure which drinks were real and which were props! I’m sure he had a good head-start on all the other comedians at the bar later!

It’s all a joke of course and you wouldn’t let this guy anywhere near your kids! Great fun, I loved it, although I’m not sure what the wife, daughter and her husband made of it! Type in ‘Jeremy Lion’ into YouTube if you like, and make up your own mind.

Jeremy Lion on top of the world... with co-star, keyboard player and general dog's body, Hilary Cox under it!

Whilst in Edinburgh we also found time to visit the castle - although an hour or so of rain put a bit of a damper on that, as well as the massive queues to get in. We had some nice meals in pubs and restaurants, all reasonably priced, although the drinks were a bit on the expensive side. The locals were friendly and helpful and even the multitude of people handing out leaflets do it in a nice and cheerful way. Only one barmaid managed to get up the wife’s nose, and I only remember that because she was the unpleasant exception to the rule!

Great use of lighting... many of the grand old buildings look spectacular at night.

TALES OF 2 CITIES: AMSTERDAM AND ‘THE PRINCESS’

At the end of August, Rose and I were invited aboard the good ship ‘Princess of Norway’ - a cruise ferry sailing from Newcastle to Amsterdam and back. The invitation came from cruise director and entertainment's manager John Morgan, who used to work with me as a Duelling Piano player back in Jumpin Jaks days. John and I would often share car lifts on the long journeys to and from Jaks venues around the UK. Many a long night was spent debating our favourite movies TV shows, while travelling home from places like Coventry, Nottingham, Dumfries and Glasgow.

John’s been on various ships in the past, most of them being long-haul cruises around the world. So this overnight ferry-style ship is a bit different for him, and presents a few new and different challenges. He explained to us that his main job is to put together and host different shows every evening in the ships main entertainment venue - the Columbus Club. As much as is possible, each show is tailored to the general ages and tastes of those expected onboard.

On our 2 nights aboard we enjoyed 4 different themed cabaret shows with a 6 member singing and dancing group performing songs from West End Musicals, The Blues Brothers, Abba and Moulin Rouge. An excellent 5 piece band did 4 sets playing jazz to pop and rock standards. John himself acted as compere, singer, quiz master and even (drum roll...) bingo caller!

John Morgan belting out a few tunes on his Wednesday night singing spot.

We were very impressed with the job he’s doing. In a sense I was seeing his talent for the first time as I always found it difficult to gauge the abilities of my fellow piano players during Jumpin Jaks days. Fun as it was, you had people up on the pianos, all around you, lots of shouting, punters constantly barging into you and, of course, the sound systems often left a bit to be desired... or the people operating them did! Then, the keyboards themselves were often knackered with missing and/or broken notes, and occasionally some highly ‘suspect’ leads were plugged into them. To add to the confusion, the odd ‘strap’ with karaoke pretensions would now and again try to join in with you!

So although I’ve worked with John quite a few times, I can honestly say that I’ve never really seen or heard what he’s really capable of. And... when I think about it, that statement probably applies to most of the other Jaks piano players I worked with as well.

With apologies for the boat cliché, you could say that John acts as an anchor to the Columbus Club’s evening entertainment. He is the friendly face that introduces each act and links the show effortlessly from one performance to the next. I thought his voice was sounding better than ever in his solo singing spot, enjoyed the way he did the pop quiz without even having the answers on paper to refer to, and he got over 25 minutes out of one single bingo game while still keeping it fun and entertaining. A big personality, very professional and top class entertainment!

Rob and John, saying our goodbyes in the carpark. Just after a demonstation of the power a high visibility jacket can bring when negotiating crowds, queues and car parks!

During our day in the Netherlands, a free bus took us from the short distance from Ijmuiden harbour to the centre of Amsterdam and picked us up again a few hours later. We had time for a quick cruise down the canals, a bite to eat and a Cappuccino in one of the many ‘koffiehuizen’ and Rose even ran amuck in a sweet shop for a while. (Koffiehuizen, by the way, are the ones you go in to drink coffee - not the ones you go into to float back out of!) The free bus even supplied a tour guide on the way in who did an excellent job keeping us informed, and I loved it when he pointed out this cycle garage in the centre of the city. I took the camera for a closer look later.

Bike Quandary... Now where did I park it??? Apparently there are about a million bicycles in Amsterdam and something like 30,000 of them end up in the canals every year!

Once again, thanks for the trip John and wishing you all the best on the ‘Princess’.

LAST BITS

I think we’ve had some of these wonderful Church Bulletins before, but here’s a few more! Well done to all those Church ladies with typewriters. These bloopers all appeared in Church bulletins or were announced in Church services:

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the Church hall... Music will follow.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?'
Come early and listen to our choir practice.

The Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church.. Please use the large double doors at the side entrance.

The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's ‘Hamlet’ in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

The Associate Minister unveiled the Church's new campaign slogan last Sunday: 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours.'

And on that note, I’m off! I hope you’ve enjoyed this instalment of My World, thanks for reading and catch you again soon.

Rob.

Rob's Website

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Rob on Facebook

The Tipperary Song of Peace MySpace Page

 Rob Russell Solo and The Duelling Pianos: Datesheet

(West Yorks and Surrounding area gigs only)

Saturday 18 Sept: Rob Russell Solo: Tong Liberal Club, Wakefield Road, Tong, Bradford
BD4 9RJ

Sunday 19 Sept: Rob Russell Solo: St. Josephs Catholic Club, Hunslet District Centre, Whitfield Avenue, Hunslet Rd, Leeds LS10 2QE

Saturday 25 Sept: Rob Russell Solo: Kings Cross WMC, Warley Rd, Kings Cross, Halifax HX1 3SU

Sunday 26 Sept: Rob Russell Solo: Ackroyd Street WMC, School Street, Morley, Leeds LS27 8BW

Saturday 2 Oct: Duelling Pianos: Hawthorne Social, Goodison Boulevard,Cantley, Doncaster DN4 6BT

Sunday 3 Oct: Rob Russell Solo: Wakefield City Club,Brunswick Street, Wakefield, WF1 4P 

Friday 8 Oct: Rob Russell Solo: West Bradford Bowling Club, Prospect Place, Duckworth Lane, Bradford, BD9 5EY

Saturday 9 Oct: Rob Russell Solo: Churwell WMC, Diamond House, Old Road, Churwell, Morley, Leeds LS27 7RR

Sunday 10 Oct: Rob Russell Solo: Bramley Band WMC, Snowden Lawn, off Town Street, Bramley, Leeds LS13 2BJ

Sunday 17 Oct: Rob Russell Solo: Harehills WMC, 34 Cowper Road, Harehills, Leeds, LS9 7AP

November 1: Rob Russell Solo: The Commercial Pub, Commercial Street, Morley, Leeds, LS27 8AG

Novermber 6: Duelling Pianos: Millbridge WMC, Bennett St, off Huddersfield Road, Liversedge WF15 7ER

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Rob Russell Davies: My World #3 2010

http://robrusmusic.com

WELCOME AND NEWS

Hi everyone and welcome to another instalment of My World. As UK friends know, the weather's played ball for the last few weeks with some good hot summer weather. Then, as always, the MET office got excited, predicting heat waves etc and, of course, we've immediately returned to showers, grey skies and that sort of not-quite-sure-what-to-wear weather we're quite used to over here. But overall it's been the best summer so far in a few years, and work-wise has not been too bad either.

July and August are quite busy for my solo shows with a few Duelling Pianos gigs filling in the gaps. Below are some upcoming gigs local or near to Leeds. Please pop in and say hi if you can.

Duelling Pianos: Fri. 23 July - Barrow WMC, George Street,Worsbro Bridge, Barnsley, S70 5EX

Rob Solo: Sat. 31 July - Belgrade Social, Claremount Road, Claremount, Halifax HW3 6AW

Duelling Pianos: Fri 6 Aug - Royston Midland WMC, 35 Alfred Street, Royston, Barnsley, S71 4DP

Rob Solo: Sat. 7 Aug. - Queenswood Social, 77 Queenswood Drive, Leeds, LS6 3HT

Rob Solo: Sun. 8 Aug. (Afternoon) - Belle Isle WMC, Belle Isle Road, Leeds, LS10 3PE

Rob Solo: Sun. Evening 8 Aug. (Evening) - Bramley Social Club, Moorside House, Broad Lane, Leeds, LS132HF

Rob Solo: Sat. 14 Aug. (Afternoon from 2pm) - Pellon Social Club, Moor End Road, Halifax, HX2 0HF

Rob Solo: Fri 20 Aug - Hove Edge Bowling and WMC, Halifax Road, Brighouse, HD6 2QJ

News from Tipperary is that the 2010 Peace Festival took place in June this year rather than the usual last week in April. The late Senator Edward Kennedy and his sister Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith were the recipients of the peace prize with the award being received by Jean and Victoria Kennedy (Ted's wife). Due to previous commitments, they couldn't get to Ireland in April, and hence it was agreed to move the festival to mid-June. 

The late Senator Ted Kennedy with his sister Jean Kennedy Smith.

The winner of the song of peace award this year was Dave Murphy from Cork / Ireland with his song 'Love Is All We Need'. To see Dave perform the song live at the competition, please check out this YouTube link:

Dave Murphy - Love Is All We Need on YouTube

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(Typing in 'Tipperary Song of Peace' in the 'find' section will also find at least one other video from this year's song contest)

There's more info and pictures of this year's contest on the MySpace page:

Tipperary Song of Peace on MySpace

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A WORLD CUP DEBRIEFING

Well, so far it's been quite a festival of sport for us armchair enthusiasts here in the UK. We've stopped talking about the football ... just too disappointing to mention. Andy Murray was doing well until he met a rather fired-up Nadal in the semi's and things are still going well in F1 for the British lads. The big one as I write is the Open Golf with it's unbelievable result... just as you think the South Africans have done their bit organising a successful Football World Cup - along comes a new Golf champion in Louis Oosthuizen who goes and blows the world's best away!

I thought that the World Cup was a big success for the South African organisers. There were a few transport hiccups, including a bit of a mess getting fans back to their hotels at the opening game, and a slightly bigger mess at the new Durban airport for the semi-final. (Not enough parking space? - maybe they should install meters!) But on the plus side the stadia looked great with capacity to near-capacity crowds and there seemed to be no trouble between the fans with an almost party-like atmosphere at most of the matches. Many people commented on the friendly and helpful welcome they received from the SA people, the weather was generally kind, and most importantly... the beer never ran out!

Hopefully most fans didn't come across signs like these!

... or roads like this one!

If anything, this World Cup might be remembered for some rather dull games, a poor standard of play from some of the teams, the early exits from some of the favourites like Italy and England, some grumpy Frenchmen as well as the usual diving and play acting from some of the world's most famous players. You can almost blow some of these guys off their feet, roll them over 6 or 7 times and have them writhing on the ground in agony! But you can't blame the organisers for that!

The vuvuzelas drove a few armchair fans to near distraction and at one stage the BBC was even offering an alternate audio to the games with their attempt to filter out this 'swarm of bees'. One overseas newscaster was sent home after he reported that some of the fans had been spotted blowing a zulufella. (Only kidding, and thanks for that one Georg!). I even saw a schoolgirl here in Leeds, blowing one on her way home the other day! (A vuvuzela of course... and yes, I have already put in a letter of complaint to her head teacher).

Japanese fans having a go at the Vuvuzela!

Fifa boss Sepp Blatter gave South Africa 9 out of 10 for their running of the tournament. Thanks for that, and in return I'd like to offer him 1 out of 10 for his refusal to use technology in football. Surely it's time to start having video playbacks on goal line decisions, debatable penalties, diving and some red card decisions. I'd also love to see the Rugby idea of 'citing' players. Referees could then re-look at incidents after the game. It might stop some of the blatant cheating which I personally feel is starting to ruin this great game.

Video replays could help with goal line decisions, or failing that, we could just redraw the lines.

It's a shame that home team South Africa didn't get past the first round, but other than a bit of a poor game against Uruguay, I didn't think they did too bad. At least they helped a spoilt brat French side onto an early plane home. Most fans this side of the pond were dismayed at the England's showing, but in true British fashion, it's led to some cracking jokes:

The England team went to visit an orphanage in South Africa this morning:

"It is so good to put a smile on the faces of people with no hope, constant struggling and facing the impossible" ...said Sipho Umboto aged 6.

Oxo are introducing a new white Oxo cube with a red cross in support of the England team. It's called the Laughing Stock.

What do you call an Englishman in the knockout stages of the World Cup? A referee.

Fabio Capello was wheeling his shopping trolley across the supermarket car park when he noticed an old lady struggling with her shopping bags. He stopped and asked,

"Can you manage dear?"

To which the old lady replied,

"Sod off. You got yourself into this mess, now don't ask me to sort it out!"

Osama Bin laden has just appeared in a new T.V. message proving he is still alive. He said,

'The English football team were s*** again'.

British Intelligence have dismissed it, saying it could have been recorded at any time in the last 44 years.

So what actually went wrong for England at this world cup? Well, in a nutshell, I think it was all down to the language barrier. After all, Fabio is very Italian and his English isn't great! This, of course, is born out but most of Fabio's press interviews, where he usually manages to state the bleeding obvious in a rather convoluted way. So, with my tongue stuck firmly in my cheek, and with the help of some old and new jokes, here's a press interview I dreamed up which might have happened just after the Germany match:

Interviewer:

Fabio, did you believe you could win today?

Fabio:

If I didn't believe we could win, there would be no point in getting out of bed at the end of the day!

Interviewer:

Was it a hard match for the team?

Fabio:

Yes, Germany are a very difficult team to play... and at times, it felt like they had 11 international Players out there."

Interviewer:

Overall, were you happy with the match?

Fabio:

I'm as happy as I can be... although I have been happier.

Interviewer:

Did you think the team played to the best of their ability today?

Fabio:

I thought the team were top-class although the outfield players were well below par. The goalkeeper also struggled a few times to keep the ball out of the net.

Interviewer:

Did you feel that the disallowed goal affected the teams performance?

Fabio:

The score should have been 2 - 2 at half time, but the fact that Germany went on to score 2 more goals certainly affected the outcome.

Interviewer:

Will you now leave the job Fabio.

Fabio:

No I'm here for the rest of my life, and hopefully some time after that as well!

Interviewer:

Do you see a future for this current crop of English players?

Fabio:

Yes, I can definitely see the carrot at the end of the tunnel.

With the World Cup final between Spain and Holland in mind, how about this one a friend of mine posted on Facebook the other day:

'I went to a plush restaurant with a lovely girl and at the end of the meal she asked if I wanted to go Dutch. Bemused by the vagaries of women I raked my studs down her chest, kicked her legs out from behind her, harangued the maitre d' before bursting into tears and leaving.'

Football, Karate, Kick Boxing... it all adds to the excitment!

CLUB TOMORROW

I got a call from Brisbane, Australia yesterday from friend and WIZARD guitarist Paul Clifford. We caught up with the news, chatted about the old times and no less than an hour and a half later finally said our goodbyes, leaving me with a head full of 70s and 80s memories. Today I woke up with an idea... why not write a few lines about some of the old clubs we used to work in. The one that sprung to mind this morning was one I worked at twice, with 2 different bands in the mid 70s.

In terms of size, the biggest venue that FLAGSHIP and WIZARD ever worked in must have been Club Tomorrow in Salisbury, Rhodesia. It was easily capable of holding over 1000 people, and if my memory serves me correctly, at times even reached 1200. Of course, the city of Salisbury is now Harare, and Rhodesia is Zimbabwe. Situated right in the middle of town, you went down a few stairs and were soon lost in a massive area well equipped with a decent sized stage, large dance floor, plush red carpets, hundreds of tables and chairs, a private bar, waiter service and a well organised kitchen area.

The club was well-know for it's food, and during weekdays many local businessmen popped in to sample the big and varied menu. The owner at the time, Arthur Lubbe generously allowed the resident bands to have anything free off that menu and we used to particularly love the steak rolls... you really did get a huge steak in an even bigger roll!

When you look at how a certain Mr. Mugabe has destroyed the Zimbabwean Dollar, it's amazing to think that I used to spend about 10 Rhodesian dollars a night on beer and even had change for one of those famous 3 wheel taxis home to the (in)famous band house. Yes, a five bedroom house was provided for the band, and let's put it this way... perhaps it's a good thing that those walls couldn't speak!

The New Zim Dollar!

 "OK just about enough for a loaf of bread here... better start saving for the milk!"

Back then, the bands were paid in Rhodesian dollars, but half our salary could be converted into Rands and sent home to South Africa. At the time, the Ian Smith government allowed night-clubs a yearly allowance of Rands - which, of course, helped ensure that SA bands still crossed the border. In my case, I had bought most of my keyboards on HP and was sending the money home to my folks to pay them off. Of course, if you spent all your money in Rhodesian Dollars you wouldn't have any Rands left to send back to good 'ol SA. Club owner, Mr. Lubbe, knew that and if he could induce us to overspend in Salisbury it was a bonus for him, as he then got to keep that Rand allowance for himself!

I used to love going into his office and asking for a sub. With a great big smile on his face, we would then play this game where he literally threw Rhodesian dollars at me, sometimes even offering more than my month's wage! I can, however, report that I never weakened, and always got my half salary back to South Africa in Rands... I really had no choice, not wanting to saddle my parents with my keyboard bills! Our drummer in WIZARD, Norman, wasn't always as resilient and often left the office with his hands stuffed with dollars and a resigned grin, shortly followed by Mr. Lubbe sporting a triumphant look on his face!

Unlike some of the club owners we worked for in those years, Mr. Lubbe was a good employer, always treating us with fairness, respect and good humour. And we certainly tested his patience a few times. I remember propping our well inebriated and only semiconscious bass player up against his amp one evening after he'd been out on the 'sauce' the whole day, and simply hoping that Mr. Lubbe wouldn't notice. He did, and severe words were spoken the next day!

The mid 70s were a strange time to be in a city like Salisbury. Playing to a club heaving with over 1000 people most nights, lot's of beautiful girls, cheap beer and an almost cult following made you almost forget that there was a war going on out there. Now and again we would get a sharp reminder, when a note would be handed to the stage directing soldiers to report immediately to their regiments / barracks. When these 'orders' were handed over, we could end the song we were playing but then had to read it out before starting the next number. Next, we'd watch as scores of young guys headed for the exits, always wondering when, or if, we'd see them again. Many a time I'd bump into some guy and say something like...

'Haven't seen you for a while. What'cha been up to'.

The simple answer was usually along the lines of,

'I've been away'... and you quickly learnt to accept this explanation without further comment.

During one of our very popular Saturday afternoon sessions, we were suddenly stopped mid-song and told to immediately evacuate the building. At first, the word was that there was a bomb in the club - a threat that everyone took seriously as there had been a recent and deadly explosion in a large chain store just down the road. It eventually turned out, however, that a suspect package had been found in a post-box just across the road.

So, for over an hour 1000 plus revellers stood on the Salisbury pavements waiting for the experts to take care of the situation, and hoping to get back in the club to continue with their drinking and dancing. Looking down the road, I eventually located the offending post-box, and to my horror realised that my little mini was parked right next to it. I approached an oldish guy in a kind of 'semi-uniform' carrying an even older looking rifle and asked him if there was any chance of moving my car... or... (better idea maybe), having someone move it for me. But I think he'd seen far too many 'Dad's Army' sitcoms and basically swore at me while pointing the relic gun in a threatening manner.

It all worked out OK in the end. The post-box was blown up in a controlled explosion, without us ever finding out if there was in fact a bomb in it. The punters returned to their dancing and drinking and my little car escaped any further injury. If I'd have know the problems that bloody car would give me in future years, I think I would have parked a little closer to that post-box... if not in it! (I could write a book about that *#*!#%* car!) 

 Another Postal Stike?

Looking back, it's quite ironic that in a white dominated pre-independence nightclub, the most popular song we ever performed was Wild Cherry's 'Play That Funky Music' with it's famous lyric:

'Play that funky music white boy, play that funky music right'.

This was during my first stint at Club Tomorrow with FLAGSHIP, a band that went on to break all club records at the time with a repetoire mainly Black American in style. Think Tavares, Earth, Wind and Fire, Lou Rawls, the O'Jays and Stevie Wonder for starters.

When we played 'Funky Music' we used to have a little game we liked to play. We'd start the number at the beginning of the set when the dance floor was clear, close our eyes, count to 30 and then open them. Then you had to guess the number of people already dancing. This was a virtually impossible task as the area in front of the stage would soon be tightly packed with gyrating bodies, and was further complicated by the fact that some were forced to dance on the carpets, around the tables and chairs with a few even hidden behind the pillars.

On Stage at 'Clubbies'

FLAGSHIP managed to record a version of 'Play That Funky Music' in a local studio, and the idea was to release a single with 'Funky Music' on the B side and our cover of 'Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel' on the A side. Then to our bemusement we found out that Rhodesian radio stations had banned 'Heaven'. Why? Well, we were told that the words were blasphemous...

'Heaven must be missin' an angel,

Missin' one angel child,

'Cause you're here with me right now'

 I mean, come on... how silly can you get!

So we flipped the order around making 'Funky Music' the A-side and were back in South Africa before the single was mixed and mastered. Eventually we got sent a copy of the final product which was... well... simply awful. Very disappointing. Someone at the studio must have felt that the band was 'too tight' and destroyed the heart and soul of the recording with liberal lashings of reverb that any karaoke singer would be proud of. I couldn't tell you if the record went on to make any sort of dent on the local charts - we lost interest after that.

Flagship at Club Tomorrow.

Front: (L to R) Gary Ellis, Richard Pickett, Maurice Fry and Rob (Russell) Davies.

Back: Jason the doorman, Arthur Lubbe and the resident barman. 

WIZARD was more of a chart orientated band with touches of cabaret and comedy during our Club Tomorrow days. I still hear songs like The Real Thing's 'You To Me Are Everything' and Fleetwood Mac's 'Don't Stop' and think back to that time. I remember spending a long rehearsal learning and polishing 'Don't Stop' one morning, only for me to launch into the piano introduction that night in the wrong key! That caused one of Wizard's best 'new number cockups' ever, especially when half the band followed me in my chosen key, and the other half opted for the original key! (Our best cockup of all time, however, must be the first attempt at the theme from 'Star Wars,' as presented to an unsuspecting audience at Marjories in Bulawayo - maybe one for a future newsletter).

Not a great pic I know! The Wizard line-up at Clubbies. Actually taken a few months after at Ports O' Call in Durban.

Back: Paul Clifford, Norman Donald and Glen Ashford

Front: Rob Milne and Rob Davies

It's very difficult to sum up the 6 months of my life spent working at Club Tomorrow. Keep in mind that I was just a 17/18 year old lunatic playing in my first professional bands away from the safety of my folks home in Durban / South Africa. A few other memories spring to mind, all of them slightly dulled by Rhodesian beer, an unreliable memory and the passing years:

Walking into the club for the first time as showband WOLF were doing their final night, and realising that there were only women sitting at the 6 or so tables to the left of the stage.

Having my 18th birthday party in the band house in Salisbury. FLAGSHIP drummer Richard Pickett and guitarist Maurice Fry advised me to invite only women... the theory being that if you invite say 30 women, you'd probably get at least 20 guys tagging along. So we got... at least 30 women (probably more) and one other guy... an American friend and musician who just happened to be staying with us in the house. Interesting.

Having to take huge supplies of drum sticks, guitar strings and all the little bits and pieces that were very hard to find in Rhodesia. Of course, these days everything's hard to find!

Seeming to be the only guys in the whole of Salisbury with long hair. There was a South African rock band playing down the road displaying some 70s hair... but just about all of the remaining male population were in the forces! Made us easy to spot walking down the road!

That *&#**!* mini breaking down in the military convey on our way back to South Africa, just a few miles from the Rhodesian border with Mozambique. 'Don't worry' said the military escort as 2 soldiers crawled warily into the bush and one manned the huge machine gun on the back of the jeep while radioing through to base for backup. Me ducking down low in the passenger seat and staring nervously into the bush while my mechanically minded dad calmly sorted things out under the car's bonnet!

If anyone comes across these Club Tomorrow anecdotes, or remembers 'Clubbies' from the 70s, and has a story to tell, please drop me a line with your memories - the website email address is below.

LAST BITS

I received an e-mail from a friend the other day claiming to be about a recent art contest for paper statue entries run by the Hirshorn Modern Art Gallery in Washington DC. The rule, apparently, was that every artist could use only one sheet of paper to make a sculpture. But having a look at the gallery's website, I couldn't find anything about this competition and started smelling a rat.

With a little further research I soon discovered that the paper sculptures in fact belonged to Danish artist Peter Callesen. I can't for the life of me work out why some people want to start e-mails crediting the wrong people and institutions for a talented individuals work. (You may remember when I featured the 'Incredible Music Machine' in an earlier newsletter). Here are some of Peter Callesen's sculptures and I urge you to have a look at his website to check out his rather special art. 

Peter Callesen Website

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These paper sculptures are all done with a piece of A4 paper.

Well that's it for this newsletter. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and look forward to chatting again soon.

Bye for now,

Rob.

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WELCOME AND NEWS

Hi everyone and welcome to another edition of My World. Rose and I are now back in the UK, luckily suffering no volcanic disruption on the return journey. We left a rapidly cooling South Africa and were hoping for a warmer UK... but so far, Leeds isn't playing ball and the barbecue's not been able to make an appearance yet!

There are a few Leeds and surrounding area gigs for me solo and a 'Duelling Pianos' one coming up in May and June:

Monday May 17: Rob Russell solo: Coronation Club, Castleford Road, Normanton WF6 1QY

Sunday May 23: Rob Russell Solo: Burley Sports Bar, Burley Road, Leeds LS4 2ET

Wednesday May 26: Rob Russell Solo: Morley Working Men's Club, Fountain Street, Morley, Leeds, LS27 9EH

Saturday May 29: Rob Russell Solo: Kippax Central Club, Gibson Lane, Leeds, LS25 7BA

Monday May 31 Afternoon (from 12.30): Rob Russell Solo: Seacroft WMC, Ironwood View, Leeds, LS14 6EW

Monday June 7: Rob Russell Solo: The Commercial, Commercial Street, Morley (Monday Night Club, starts just after 6PM) LS27 8AG

Saturday June 12: Rob Russell Solo: Seacroft Green Social, 242 Brooklands Ave, Leeds, LS14 6NW

Sunday June 13: Rob Russell Solo: Cross Church Street WMC, Victoria Ave, Morley, Leeds, LS27 9DX

Saturday June 19: The Duelling Pianos: Beeston Hill Social, 130 Beeston Road, Leeds, LS11 8BB

Saturday June 26: Rob Russell Solo: Wetherby District Social, Sandbeck Way, Wetherby, LS22 7DN

(If you need to know where 'Rob Russell' or the 'Duelling Pianos' are playing in the rest of the country - please just send me an email at rob@robrusmusic.com)

Lots of people are still reading this newsletter on Myspace with the total views now exceeding 3040. I've also added the blog to the well known Wordpress site, and it looks particularly nice on the black background. Don't forget that you can also read it on my Website. Here are all the links:

http://robrusselldavies.wordpress.com/

http://www.myspace.com/robrusselldavies

http://www.robrusmusic.com/news.html

(all links will open in a new window)

 ï»¿THE WORLD CUP BUILD-UP

As everyone knows, the football world cup is just over a month away and it's been very interesting to watch the gradual build-up whilst in South Africa. A few statistics, figures and comments I've heard seem to paint a bit of a negative picture. About half a million oversees fans were originally planned for, and now it seems that figure has been downgraded to about 200 thousand. Ticket sales within SA seem to be quite strong, especially for the cheaper seats. I have a feeling that many matches could be played in front of mainly South African crowds with just a scattering of oversees fans. The main thing, I suppose, is that the grounds are full and I did hear on the news a few days back that all tickets for Cape Town and Durban are already sold, with a full house expected for the opening match (SA vs. Mexico) and the final.

By the way, the Mexicans have just released the names of their squad for the opening match.

In goal: San Francisco

Full Backs: Costa Brava and Hopelez

Left and Right Backs: Juan Andonly and Manuel Gearbox

Midfield: Don Criformi-Argentina, Skrewdigalz, Luis Canon, Speedy Gonzalez and Caramba Strikers: Sombrero and Chihuahua Jose.

No shortage of Vuvuzelas at Johannesburg's Oliver Tambo Airport. Apparently these things can individually reach volumes of well over 110 dBA and there were a few rumours about that FIFA might even ban them on safety grounds. Keeping in mind that these things only play one note... very loudly... and endlessly... and I'd be tempted to ban them on mental health grounds. But let's not be cynical... they're very much part of the atmosphere at South African games, and I'm sure (um... well... hopeful) that oversees fans will grow to love 'em! By the way... don't forget your mining helmets either - very much part of the SA ethnic look!

Driving around Johannesburg a few weeks ago, I'm not too convinced that the road works will be finished... there's hardly a stretch that isn't dug up in one way or another. The new Jo'burg Gautrain system still seems to be a bit of a mystery to many locals, and just how much of it will be working in time for the tournament remains to be seen. From what I've heard and read, it appears that one route may be operating - carrying passengers from Jhb. airport to the suburb of Sandton. Municipal workers could also have picked a better time to go on strike, and they don't do themselves any favours or win any public support by then chucking rubbish all over cities main streets in protest. (A way of claiming overtime when they eventually get back to work?)

On the positive side, I believe the stadia are just about ready and my friends in Durban tell me that the Moses Mabhida stadium looks great. I've seen a few pictures of the Johannesburg and Cape Town stadia and they too look pretty spectacular! SA have, of course, already proven in the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the 2003 Cricket World Cup that they can run big tournaments very successfully.

A funicular carries visitors from the north side of the stadium to a viewing platform at the top of the arch, offering a view over city and ocean. The south side features a 550-step adventure walk. On 24th February 2010 the worlds largest swing opened at the stadium. The swing allows clients to jump off the 4th ladder rung and fall toward the pitch before being swung out in a 220 meter arc over the pitch. (Any player who misses a penalty has to jump without the rope!) 

Some South Africans have the opinion that the country is going a little over-the-top with the tournament. An example I found close to our Stilfontein home is that the small airport at Potchestroom is having it's runway lengthened, it's control tower put back into operation and it's disaster and fire equipment upgraded. Why?... because Spain have put in a request to use it for all charter movements during the world cup. Let's hope the benefits of all this work stretch beyond the tournament.

A quick tip for any fans coming over. Don't forget that SA can get very cold in the winter, especially inland in the highveldt areas which include Johannesburg, Pretoria, Potchestroom and England's first port-o-call Rustenberg. There can also be big swings between very cold nights with minus temperatures and warm days - sometimes getting up to the high 20s centigrade. So along with your miner's hats, vuvuzelas, face paint and football kits... don't forget a few coats and jumpers!

Many people are concerned about South Africa's high crime-rate and my advice here would be to stay with your group and please don't wander, or drive around alone, especially at night in the big cities. The government have, of course, assured us that security will be on high alert...

 CLARENS, GOLDEN GATE AND A BIG PUSSY CAT

We took in some different places and did some interesting and varied things in South Africa through April. A few weeks ago we spent 5 days in the little village of Clarens in the Free State Province. This was a first visit for us and I must say that the place lived up to, and even exceeded expectations. The town only has a few streets, but is packed with restaurants, bars, art galleries, curio shops and b & b's, amongst many other intriguing things. You certainly won't go hungry or thirsty here! We were told by some of the locals that franchise and large corporation establishments are discouraged from the town centre, and this was reflected in the very individual and charming character of the local businesses.

A clothes shop in Clarens with quite a famous pram parked outside. The owner came out to tell us that this was the pram used in a past SASOL advert. Here's the ad on YouTube:

Sasol Ad.

(It's in Afrikaans, but I'm sure you'll get the jist!)

This shop selling all sorts of African musical instruments must have had a bit of a problem with unruly kids!

 So you've given up gardening and wondering what to do with your old spades. No problem... turn them into a chair!

These were on display at a curio shop in Clarens.

We met a friendly lady bar manager one night, who told us that she came to Clarens for a holiday 16 years ago, and has never left!

Clarens also has a reputation for being safe, and it's great to wander about at night visiting the restaurants and pubs without having to worry about crime! On the Saturday night we saw a great three piece band in one of the pubs. Well... they started out as a 3 piece, but half way through the gig seemed to lose a member and turn into a 2 piece. I'm not really sure what happened to the other guy, but it's the first time I've had a few and seen less rather than double! In spite of this trio to duo transformation, they still managed to get the crowd going, and by the end of the night many of them were singing and dancing up on the tables.

I've never seen so many shooters drunk in one session. For one round alone, we watched the barman line up 20 shooter glasses and top them up from a variety of different bottles. All in all, the round came to over R530 (about £50) and the buyer paid with his credit card. A few minutes later another guy, credit card at hand, appeared and ordered the same round again! And so it went on...!

A short drive from Clarens is the beautiful Golden Gate area of the Free State. Some of the eroded sandstone cliffs, caves and outcrops here have to be seen to be believed. Wildlife in the area include mongooses, eland, zebra and many species of birds. Numerous palaeontology finds have been made in the area including dinosaur eggs and skeletons.

We took 2 different drives through the Golden Gate park. The first was on a typically African sunny day where you can see for miles and all the cliffs, hills and mountains in the distance were clearly visible. But perhaps the second drive was more interesting. It was one of those days that alternates between thunderstorms and sunny skies. On a few occasions we even had what we at school used to call a 'monkey's wedding' which is when it rains while the sun's still shining. At one stage we had a clear sunny sky on one side of the road, with thunderclouds over at the other, and the cliffs looked quite spectacular in such unusual and contrasting lighting. 

The Sentinel Rock.

Dark stormy skies ahead, and the eerie feeling of 'the road to nowhere?'

Another treat awaited us when we got back home to Stilfontein. Good friends Gideon and Angie who own a farm in the area, invited us around for a very special visit. Their land is situated right next door to a farm which breeds and sells lions, as well as a other wild animals, and you might have seen the rather gruesome pictures of the lions eating a horse in my October 2009 newsletter. One of the lionesses had recently given birth, and with a bit of sweet-talking Gideon had persuaded his neighbour to bring a 6 week old cub over for a visit. Wow, what an experience... Unforgettable!

He seemed quite relaxed although a bit nervous of our company, and was a bit disorientated after the short car ride from next door.

I was amazed at how soft his fur felt, almost like a fluffy child's toy. One thing's for sure though... I won't be cuddling him in a few months time!

LAST BITS

An old Durban friend of mine; Shaun Potts, put this on Facebook the other day, and I'm still giggling over it:

 Mahatma Gandhi seldom wore shoes so had huge calluses on his feet. He also ate very little which made him rather frail. All this plus his odd diet which gave him rather bad breath. Therefore he must have been.......

(cue a drum roll...)

a super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Some good ones from Tim:

I'm in trouble at McDonalds after a very large girl served me food yesterday lunch time. She said, 'sorry about the wait '

I said ' don't worry, you'll lose it eventually  

Paddy is walking down the road eating a bag of doughnuts, Murphy meets him & says...

' if I can guess how many doughnuts you have in the bag, can I have one'?

Paddy says, ' if you can guess how many doughnuts are in there, you can have both of them'!!

So Murphy says 'Four!'

And finally this apparently true one from the USA courts of law! If you evertestify in court, you might wish you could have been as sharp as this policeman. He was being cross-examined by a defence attorney during a felony trial. The lawyer was trying to undermine the police officer's credibility...

Q: 'Officer -- did you see my client fleeing the scene?'

A: 'No sir. But I subsequently observed a person matching the description of the offender, running several blocks away.'

Q: 'Officer -- who provided this description?'

A: 'The officer who responded to the scene..'

Q: 'A fellow officer provided the description of this so-called offender. Do you trust your fellow officers?'

A: 'Yes, sir. With my life.'

Q: 'With your life? Let me ask you this then officer.. Do you have a room where you change your clothes in preparation for your daily duties?'

A: 'Yes sir, we do!'

Q: 'And do you have a locker in the room?'

A: 'Yes sir, I do.'

Q: 'And do you have a lock on your locker?'

A: 'Yes sir.'

Q: 'Now why is it, officer, if you trust your fellow officers with your life, you find it necessary to lock your locker in a room you share with these same officers?'

A: 'You see, sir -- we share the building with the court complex, and sometimes lawyers have been known to walk through that room.'

 Thanks for reading, and catch up with you soon.

Rob.

[If you'd like to receive an e-mail version of this newsletter please add your name here...]

*The Newsletter of Songwriter and Musician, Rob Russell Davies*

www.robrusmusic.com

Hi and welcome to my first newsletter of 2010. You'll notice a few changes of format to the newsletters from now on starting with a change of name. 'Keeping Up With Rob' kind of reflected the original idea behind the newsletters... to pass on all the latest news about my music. But call it an active mind (friends), a wandering mind (acquaintances) or maybe even a scatty mind (enemies!), but I'm sure that regular readers will see that the newsletters have gradually taken on a more general, chatty and magazine-like flavour.

I've also decided not to restrict or commit myself to one a month. You know how it is... some months I've just got so much on, and I find writing this a bit of a task. Then other months, with more time on my hands, I feel like there's too much to say for one newsletter. So with that in mind, I'm going to try and be a little more flexible with publishing times, although I will try to bring out no less than 12 newsletters a year.

I hope you like the new logo at the top of the page, which is the same picture and piano idea used on the cover of my 'Pianoscapes' album. The main picture is by UK photographer Graeme Purdy and he describes it as an African sunrise on the Masai Mara, Kenya. I must confess to having a soft spot for pictures of sunrises and sunsets. Here's one of my own taken at Blouberg Beach, Cape Town. 

Blouberg Beach, Cape Town Feb/March 2008

THE DUELLING PIANOS AT KEEPING IT LIVE 2010

At the end of January, Craig and I took a few days out to travel to Blackpool for the 'Keeping It Live' auditions. Keeping it Live is a showcase of British talent which featured more than 140 acts over a 4 day period performing at the Horseshoe Bar / Pleasure Beach to agents, bookers and managers from all over the UK and overseas. So quite a nerve-racking experience, although once we got on-stage, I quite enjoyed it.

 A few people, including Duelling Pianos partner Craig, often accuse me of being a worrier! But it's not the usual stuff like performing, stage-nerves, or forgetting parts that worries me... I panic about technicalities! For example, at Keeping It Live, I soon realised that we were the only act needing to set up and plug in 2 keyboards, mics and stands at the front of the stage... And we would have to do that in the short time it took the compere to introduce us. I started to fear that if the stage manager over-rushed setting us up, and if the compere didn't say enough, we could find ourselves up there with something not working... and this is the kind of thing that puts the fear of God into me! As it happened, stage manager Pete did a great job and compere Steve Walls quickly sussed out the situation and broke into a number when he realised that we were a bit rushed. The only real technical hitch we had was after we'd done our bit. Returning to our allotted change room, we found we were locked out because some idiot (probably me) had pulled the door closed with the lock on! 

All credit must go to the team behind Keeping It Live for pulling off such a great idea. Think about it... 18 acts on in one 3 hour session, including solos, duos, bands, comedians and all sorts of speciality acts. 2 sessions in each day, over 140 acts in the week, and most of it all running to time. A full front and backstage team, lighting engineers, a video crew using 3 or 4 cameras, an official photographer and a registration team sorting out who does what, where and when! On top of this, an absolutely brilliant 4 piece backing band... I was thrilled at the way they backed us, and it made a lot of hard work arranging and writing out our parts well worthwhile! Also, in spite of being under some pressure I noticed that everyone did their best to be polite, professional and keep a smile on their faces. Well done guys!

I thought the overall standard of entertainment was very good, with some acts being quite brilliant. From our point of view, let's hope that it leads to some work for the Duelling Pianos. The venue was pretty full during our Tuesday afternoon session, and completely packed-out for the evening session and there seemed to be lots of agents etc. in, although whether they were there to sell or buy remains to be seen. Some great side-shows were going on too, including a stall selling some very snazzy looking stage clothes, and a cartoonist going round randomly drawing peoples pictures. One look at Craig and he homed in immediately! (I'll get him to scan the pic for a future newsletter).

Here's some links to our show in Blackpool including the 3 numbers we did and the interview.

Duelling Pianos: Keeping It Live, Blackpool 2010,  Part 1.

Sweet Soul Music / The Greatest Love Of All

 Duelling Pianos: Keeping It Live, Blackpool 2010, Part 2.

The Duelling Banjos (Pianos) and the interview.

 If you're signed up to YouTube... don't forget to leave a nice and friendly comment!

 (all links will open in a new window)

 OTHER NEWS

In the last few months I've been arranging and programming new ideas for the Duelling Pianos and for my solo acts. So if you're in our area, please let us assault your eyes and ears with our new Ratpack, Blues Brothers and Elton John medleys as well as lots of new stuff from the charts old and new. Duelling Pianos fans... look out for a guest appearance of a truly gorgeous-looking buxom lass from Bradford... Miss Kiki Flea joining up with a rather shabby looking Elton!

I've recently received news from South Africa that a short arrangement I did of 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas' has been used by Game Stores over the Christmas period. So at least I didn't add all those jingly bell sounds to the hard drive for nothing!

Thank you to everyone on MySpace reading this newsletter on my blog space. It still seems to be growing and as I write has had over 2400 views, with plus/minus 60 readers every week. Don't forget that the newsletter is also published on my website where you can sign up to have it emailed directly to you. I'm going to publish the newsletter on other blogs on the web, and any suggestions for sites would be great!

  My Myspace Page

 My Website

 THE PLACE OF RESTORATION TRUST

Towards the end of March, Rose and I are off to the Clyde Valley in Scotland to help good friends George and Monica MacDonald with the entertainment at their annual Spring Charity event. This year it's a Cheese and Wine party at the 'Flowers of Scotland' Garden Centre in the valley. The event will raise much needed funds for 'The Place of Restoration Trust' which is a shelter in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa for babies and children abandoned, abused or affected by the terrible HIV/AIDS epidemic in that part of the world.

Organisers George and Monica have been friends with Rose and myself for many years, and in fact George was our minister when we got married in Durban, South Africa nearly 10 years ago. I won't, however, hold that against him. Since moving to Scotland to serve simultaneously in 2 churches in the Hamilton area, and now at Bonnybridge in the Falkirk area, George and Monica have run a garden party every year for the children's home. The Manse at Quarter near Hamilton was ideal... having a huge outdoor area with plenty of space for 3 marquees, a stage, food, entertainment and fun for the local folk and dignitaries. Now that they've moved to a smaller Manse in Bonnybridge, the Garden party initially seemed a bit of a problem but 'The Flowers of Scotland Garden Centre' soon stepped in to kindly help keep the idea going, and this year's party will be held in and around their coffee shop.

Since 2004 the garden party has raised over £17,300 with £5000 being raised at last year's event alone. This is in addition to other fund-raising events that are run throughout the year. Monica sent me a newsletter brought out by the 'Place of Restoration' home, and one set of facts featured on the front page jumped out at me... it reads...

 The Reality of Aids in South Africa...

 Just Statistics?

 In 2004 - 300 000 orphans

In 2006 - 600,000 orphans

In 2008 - 2.7 million orphans

By 2013 - 5 million orphans

 In sub-Saharan Africa the estimated number of orphans is 50 million. More that 1000 people die of AIDS related illnesses in South Africa every day.

 So far money raised for the home has gone towards buying educational equipment, building on to the existing buildings, adding air conditioning, buying medical equipment, an electricity generator, washing machines, a soft play area, and therapy and counselling for the children amongst other things. If you'd like to contribute or read a little more on the 'Place of Restoration' Children's home, which is based in Gayridge near Margate, then please have a look at their website:

 http://www.gcf.org.za

Children at the Place of Restoration home.

 LAST BITS

Here's a few questions posted by prospective visitors on an Australian Tourism Website. The website officials have a great sense of humour, but I'm not sure they'd get away with some of their replies in some of the more 'politically correct' parts of the world!

 Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? (UK).

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? ( USA )

A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? ( Sweden)

A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns , Townsville and Hervey Bay? ( UK)

A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Which direction is North in Australia ? (USA )

A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? (USA )

A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent South of Europe. Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not... oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked!

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA )

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is... oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked!

Finally, here's a new take on what to draw on dirty cars. I'm sure we've all seen the usual jokes like 'wash me' and 'also comes in white', but here's a guy who's turned mucky cars into an art form. Texan Scott Wade removes portions of the dirt on car windows to come up with the most amazing drawings.

The famous dogs playing cards painting on the back of your old mini?

Old Albert would logically advise you to clean the window so you can see whose tailgating you!

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are gonna love this free bit of advertising for their new 'Alice in Wonderland' movie. Maybe not in 3D... but nearly in C-thru!

To see more dirty car art and find out more, please visit Scott's website:

http://www.dirtycarart.com

 Thanks for reading, and catch you again soon.

Rob.

http://www.robrusmusic.com

 (Be a friend on mySpace)

http://www.myspace.com/robrusselldavies

 Be a friend on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/robrusselldavies

 Please check out the Tipperary Song of Peace MySpace page:

http://www.myspace.com/tipperarysongofpeace

[If you'd like to receive an e-mail version of this newsletter please add your name here...]

*Keepin' Up With Rob*

*The Newsletter of Songwriter and Musician, Rob Russell Davies*

http://www.robrusmusic.com

NEWS

First of all Christmas wishes to all readers and I hope you all have a great New Year with lots of success and good fortune. I'm not going too far afield for the season, which is probably a good thing, the way the weather's been behaving the last week or so. Global warming?! Did you know that it hit minus 16c in Scotland two days ago and even minus 14c in England's south east. Unbelievable. Looking outside the car's covered in snow, the washing's never going to dry (if it ever thaws out!) and there's a definite picture postcard look about it... which is great until you try driving or walking in it!

During the festive period, I'll be out and about doing some club gigs, at home programming some new songs, and in-between it all, I'm hoping to sink a few beers with family and friends. A couple of January solo and Duelling Pianos gigs coming up in the Leeds and surrounding areas to mention:

Rob Russell: (Friday Jan 1) Green Bowling Club / The Green / Ferry Fryston / Castleford, West Yorkshire / WF10 3SB

Duelling Pianos: (Sat Jan 9) George 5th WMC / 124 Front Street / Glasshoughton / Castleford /WF10 4RN

Rob Russell: (Mon 11 from 6 pm) Commercial Inn /Commercial Street / Morley / Leeds / LS27 8AG

Duelling Pianos: (Sat Jan 17) Pontefract Sports & Social Club/ Chequers Close / Pontefract /WF8 2TF

Duelling Pianos: (Sat 23) Belle Isle WMC / Belle Isle Road / Leeds / LS10 3PE

Duelling Pianos: (Mon 25 - Thurs 28) Keeping It Live Auditions / The Horseshoe, Blackpool Pleasure Beach. (The place to be if you want to see hundreds of different acts over a 4 day period!)

As a New Years resolution, I'm thinking of a few changes to the newsletter. As many of you know, it began simply as a way of letting people know what I was up to musically. But over the years it seems to have grown in something more generalised, open ended and bigger in scope covering lots of other things as well as my music. In a sense it feels a bit more like an online blog or magazine rather than just a newsletter. With this in mind, look out for a few changes next year, including a name change.

I've been thrilled to see that the newsletter's getting more readers on MySpace all the time with a recent average of over 50 readers a week. The other day I updated my 'Rob Russell Live' biography which you can have a look at in Facebook. As always, please feel welcome, to add me as a friend on Facebook or MySpace:

Rob on Myspace

Rob on Facebook

Rob's latest biography on Facebook

(All links open in a new window)

You'll notice that there's a Christmas and New Year flavour to this newsletter with a little piece about the famous Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a bit about New Year's resolutions and a few warnings about overstepping the mark at family get-togethers during the festive period!

GETTING A RESOLUTION?

So what's your new year's resolution then? A quick check around the web showed that 10 of the most popular resolutions are to:

Spend more time with family and friends

Get fitter

Go on diet

Quit smoking

Enjoy life more

Quit drinking

Get out of debt

Learn something new

Help others

Get more organised

Are any of these yours? Perhaps all of the above? They're not always easy... remember the famous smoker who said:

'Quitting is easy, I've done it many times'

Or the witty guy who said:

'I'll tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time'

And there's loads to be said about all those diet resolutions soon to come:

'I keep trying to lose weight... but it keeps finding me!'

'Dieting is wishful shrinking.'

'Food has replaced sex in my life; now, I can't even get into my own pants.'

And as we go into the new year you'll find that some of the biggest selling books will be cookbooks and right there on the next shelf... diet books! So you can learn how not to eat what you've just learned how to cook!

Here's what a few famous people have had to say about new year:

Mark Twain

New Year is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, friendly calls and humbug resolutions.

Jay Leno

(U.S. Comedian and TV host)

Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average… which means, you have met your New Year's resolution.

Oprah Winfrey

Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right.

Bill Vaughan

(Author and Columnist)

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves."

And finally the famous Mr/Mrs...

Anonymous

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other.

Even The Simpsons came up with a few New Year's resolutions last year according to the Fox Television channel:

Homer Simpson:

In 2009, I will finally get around to voting for President.

Marge Simpson:

I'll try to be more assertive, if it's okay with everyone else.

Bart Simpson:

I plan to raise a family of skunks in Principal Skinner's car.

Lisa Simpson:

I will make the world a colder, greener, jazzier place.

Grampa Simpson:

Let's just make this the best 1933 we can.

 Perhaps the most ridiculous (future years?) resolution has to have come from the recent Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. I heard a figure being bandied about that the summit cost in excess of $2 billion. The main resolution to come out of it... to try and stop the average temperature going up more than 2 degrees Celsius. To quote the wikipedia online dictionary:

'The Copenhagen Accord recognises the scientific case for keeping temperature rises below 2°C, but does not contain commitments for reduced emissions that would be necessary to achieve that aim.'

Look, I'm all for cutting down emissions, growing more trees and not cutting too many down. If it's at all possible let's get countries to make the air cleaner, cut down on pollution, help the ozone layer and run cleaner cars and planes. But please don't confuse this with altering the weather to suit our needs. (Which would, of course, be great for all us Cricket fans). I agree that the weather is changing... but the point is... hasn't it's always been changing? CO₂ emissions are only a tiny (minuscule) part of what's causing that change. You really just need to look over the Earth's history to see that 2 very sensible words spring to mind... natural phenomenon. Or maybe just one word... nature.

The world's temperature has been radically up and down throughout it's history... we've had ice ages where the whole Earth nearly froze over and just as many very hot periods where the polar caps nearly melted completely, and it's going to keep going up and down until finally our sun gives up the goat and moves on. Then, I predict with great certainty... it's going to get very, very cold! But I don't think we need to worry about that just yet!

Who remembers that craze back in the 70s when a few scientists and authors seemed to think we were nearing a new ice age? That's only about 40 years ago, when we already had all sorts of nasty gasses and particles in the air... including the very poisonous lead which thankfully is now being done away with. I remember reading a great (well... unusual) novel about this where it was argued that the polar ice would grow to such an extent that the world would... wait for it... well... tip over! Sort of fall over on it's side, which obviously wouldn't be a good thing! But seriously... let's go back just 333 years, which is nothing when you consider how long the Earth's been around. This was London in 1677:

 That's right, not that long ago the Thames froze over, people skated on it and we even had 'Frost Fairs'!

How leaders like Obama, Brown, Sarkozy, Merkel and pals can stand there with a straight faces and tell us that they're now going to control the weather is beyond me. Mr Brown, of course, will find a few new taxes in there to help save our little part of the planet to go along with petrol taxes (over 2 thirds of what you pay at the pump is taxes) and, of course, some new flying taxes are a given... any excuse will do. So maybe the seas will rise, maybe there'll be horrible droughts and/or floods and maybe the plot of 2012: The Movie will come true. But are we going to stop it... I doubt it! And I can think of a lot of better ways of spending $2 billion.

2012: The Movie Poster.

The tag line should be:

'don't buy a house near the sea'

or ... 'Just don't buy a house'...

Or maybe 'house for sale... wonderful sea view!'

THE STORY OF RUDOLPH

Tim sent me a wonderful e-mail about this famous Santa Reindeer. I've read up a bit on it and added a few extra notes in brackets.

A guy named Bob May, (Robert Lewis May b.1905 - d.1976) depressed and broken hearted, stared out his draughty apartment window into the chilling December night. His 4-year-old daughter, Barbara, sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bob's wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad's eyes and asked,

"Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?"

Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob. Being small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember.

From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived.

Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938. Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined a make one - a storybook!

Bob had created an animal character in his own mind and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose.

Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn't end there. The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores.

By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book. In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards (eventually) returned all rights back to Bob May. (Because May had created Rudolph as an employee, he did not own the license. However, in 1947, he was able to convince the company's corporate president, Sewell Avery to turn over the copyright to him). The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter.

But the story doesn't end there either. Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to Rudolph. The song was initially turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, before it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas."

The cover of Gene Autry's single recording

The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing!

Johnny Marks who's other Christmas songs include I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and A Holly Jolly Christmas.

LAST WORDS

Christmas and New Year is usually a time spent at home with the loved one(s) and kids. It's a bit like going away on holiday in that you suddenly find you're spending a lot more time together. Usually, of course, that's a good thing... although you have to be careful not to start getting on each other's nerves. Quite often other relatives, friends and the presence of alcohol can help wind things up a wee bit too. So, to end off, here's a few cautionary tales of how fights start:

When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her some place expensive for Christmas... so, I took her to a petrol station.

And that's how the fight started...

My wife and I were sitting at a table for Chrismas lunch, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.

My wife asked, 'Do you know her?'

'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.'

'My God!' says my wife, 'who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?'

And that's how the fight started

After a few big Christmas meals my wife ended up staring at herself in the bedroom mirror. She was not happy with what she saw and said to me... "I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.'

'Your eyesight's damn near perfect.' I replied

And that's how the fight started...

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for a Christmas present. She said,

'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.'

So I bought her a bathroom scale.

And that's how the fight started.

Apologies to Sharon for adapting your original e-mail jokes, and of course to my long-suffering wife.

 Once again, have a great Christmas and chat again in the New Year!

Rob.

 http://www.robrusmusic.com

 (Be a friend on mySpace)

http://www.myspace.com/robrusselldavies

 Be a friend on Facebook

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*Keepin' Up With Rob*

*The Newsletter of Songwriter and Musician, Rob Russell Davies*

www.robrusmusic.com

Hi and welcome to my late November Newsletter update. For those who haven’t received one yet, the idea behind 'Keepin' Up With Rob' is to keep you informed of what's happening with my music, to let you know about current and future CD's, downloads, and to chat about some of the loves of my life... music, songs, songwriting, the people who make the music, memories and anything that's hopefully interesting.

NEWS

Not a long newsletter this month as I’m right in the middle of a tricky bit of music programming which has to be done by this weekend. I’m working on a backtrack of some Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis songs which are being arranged into a ‘Ratpack’ Medley’ to be used for the Duelling Pianos and my solo acts. It’s great fun trying to decipher the jazz chords, string and big band arrangements, and the characteristic phrasing of those wonderful crooners. No easy job... and sometimes I feel that I am a bit of a sucker for punishment taking these things on! By the way, lots of other new ideas in the pipeline for both acts, with some important auditions and gigs coming up in the new year.

I’m pleased to report that amount of people reading this newsletter seems to be growing and we’ve just past the 1500 views mark on MySpace. Other people are also reading it on my website and of course, quite a few are e-mailed it directly.

My MySpace Page

The Tipperary Song of Peace MySpace page is also doing well and we’ve had over 3900 page views in the last few months with over 1600 plays of the theme song and winning songs. The 2010 competition is now open and songwriters are being encouraged to enter. Songwriters... all you need is a song of peace, love and harmony, which could be about people, places or things, in fact anything that constitutes a 'sense of peace'.

Tipperary Song of Peace MySpace page

While on the subject of songwriting competitions... congratulations must go to songwriter, musician and good friend, Geoff Irwin who’s recently won the Jazz /Blues Category in 2009 UK Songwriting competition with his song "I Think Of You". Geoff’s from Bolton in Lancashire, although we first met him and his lovely wife Yvonne in Tipperary earlier this year when he was showcasing his entry for the Song of Peace finals. Since then we’ve met up again for a few pints when the two of them popped into one of my solo gigs in Lancashire. Well done on your win Geoff, and I know it’s a bit of an old cliché, but I really mean it when I say... it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, and I hope you and the song go on to great things.

Geoff Irwin
 

TRACTOR MUSIC?

Last month I showed you a tractor being washed by a crane at the Kruger National Park. So with creative farm machinery in mind... here’s an incredible story of a new musical instrument which is apparently made out of farm equipment. Yes, you did read that right... made out of farm equipment! Appropriately it was songwriter Geoff in fact, who sent me an e-mail about this amazing contraption. The info on the e-mail claims that the instrument was built by the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa. It goes on to say that 97 % of the components used came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation equipment of Bancroft, Iowa. Further more, it took a team of workers a combined 13,029 hours of set it up, align it, calibrate and tune it before filming this video. It claims that the instrument is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at Iowa University and will soon be donated to the Smithsonian Museum. Here’s a link to the video... please have a look for yourself.

YouTube Video of the Amazing Music Machine

(opens in a new window)

Amazing hey! If this was an actual existing instrument, it would have to be the greatest piece of instrument making and engineering ever! The problem is that all the claims turn out to be false. There is no Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory, Sharon Wick School of Engineering, or Matthew Gerhard Alumni hall at the Iowa University. Apparently lots of e-mail's with these false claims have been doing the rounds. Well they’re different I suppose, and makes a change from the usual vulgar, moronic and plain silly spam clogging up my inbox.

It fact, the video is a computer-animated electronic music work called ‘Pipe Dream’ produced by a company called Animusic based in Ithaca, New York state. The company consists of computer artists Wayne Lytle and David Crognale who’ve been producing their style of graphic music videos since the late 80s.

So it may not be the world’s greatest musical invention then, but it’s still a fantastic and very clever piece of animation. (I’m sure like Geoff and myself, many people probably think that it’s ‘real’ and of course, I only found out the truth after doing a bit of checking up on it). I’ve had a look at animusic’s website, and it does feature some amazing videos as well as some background on the guys behind the company, and ways to buy their DVDs and downloads. Please have a look at:

Animusic's Website

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LAST BITS

A couple of newsletters ago I mentioned seeing ‘The Muttonchops’ band at the Fathers Moustache years ago, and was wondering what happened to them all. Well yesterday, Duelling Pianos partner Craig and I popped into the local fancy dress costume and props store to get some new bits and pieces, and it turns out that the owner used to be the drummer for the ‘Chops’. Small world hey? We had a good chat about the old times in Durban, ‘Fathers’ in particular, and the way the beach front used to be. (Please look back to my August 09 newsletter for my earlier bit about ‘The Muttonchops’ and the Durban beach front)

While there, we managed to get quite a few new props for the act, although getting Craig to look anything like this is proving to be difficult...

 Michelle Pfeiffer singing on top of Jeff Bridges piano from one of my favourite movies: The Fabulous Baker Boys.

 Instead I think we’re going to have to settle for...

Craig as the banjo playing inbred moron from the movie Deliverance... um, without the banjo!

　That’s it for this month. Look forward to chatting next month just before Christmas.

Rob.

http://www.robrusmusic.com

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*Keepin' Up With Rob*

*The Newsletter of Songwriter and Musician, Rob Russell Davies* http://www.robrusmusic.com

NEWS

For the last few weeks I’ve been in South Africa visiting family and friends, so have not had much of a chance to work on musical projects. As always, I like to use my time in SA to do all the re’s!... recover, relax, restock, rethink, rejuvenate and last but not least... refill! A lot of the month has been spent at my SA home in Stilfontein near Klerksdorp, North Western Province, although there has been time for a trip to the Kruger National Park and a few days in my ‘growing up’ city of Durban.

I was invited to give one performance, which was at the local Stilfontein Methodist Church earlier in the month. And what a good day it turned out to be, with lots of different acts doing their thing, including other piano players, singers and even a dance troupe. So talent is alive and well in Stillies... and thanks to everyone who turned up to watch.

In the Durban area I got to see ‘Cheers’ do their Wednesday night show at Coco’s / Umhlanga Sands, and frankly... they were better than ever! Lamy has got to be one of the funniest guy’s working in SA, and Colin’s a great musician as well as the perfect comedy foil to Lamy. The good news is that they are now expanding the act to a three piece for Friday and Saturday nights, and are reviving the old ‘Glam’ show from the Father’s Moustache days. (Please see my August Newsletter for more info on the old ‘Cheers’, ‘Glam’, Father’s Days and the old Durban beach front)

The New Glam: From L to R: Fernando Lamy, Colin Sumner and Paul Cassells

ELEPHANTS, LIONS, HYENAS AND A PIANO

We had a great visit to the Kruger, stopping there and back at the wonderful Lydenburg mountain district. Just short of Lydenburg we found a restaurant at the little town of Dullstroom called ‘The Old Transvaal Inn’, and inside, around some nooks and crannies... was a piano. I had a quick bash, to no avail... we still had to pay for the meal! Nice little town, by the way, in spite of the name. Lots of ‘arty’ type places like book shops, art galleries, curio shops and unusual restaurants.

Playing for my Supper (Well Lunch... I suppose)

The Kruger was as dramatic and inspiring as ever, although the first thing to strike you when you drive in is how very dry it is. Hopefully the rainy season still to come, will bring much needed relief. The other thing you notice immediately is how wrecked many of the trees and bushes are. The reason... elephants. In a nutshell... the Kruger now has far too many of them. Even though it’s the biggest game reserve in the world, (bigger than the country of Wales) it can still only sustain about 8000 elephants and latest counts have then nearing 11,700.

The authorities obviously hate culling such wonderful creatures and have tried many ideas like translocating them and even contraception. But even that had to be stopped due to problems with delivering the contraceptives and upsetting the herds. Well you try getting Jumbo to swallow a pill! Hopefully the Kruger’s acquisition of new land in Mozambique and Zimbabwe will help alleviate the problem.

The obvious upside of it all, was that we got to see lots of elephants. We had some very close encounters although no really scary experiences this time. On a previous visit we’ve had a female with a baby in tow, charge us on a night drive (charge as in gallop rather than entrance fee). And once we had a huge male walking purposefully on the road towards us while we were towing a caravan, with a small narrow bridge behind us, and another car parked on the bridge for good measure! So no escape! Luckily Jumbo was in a good mood, and eventually wandered off into the bushes.

Up Close and Personal!

Other interesting sights this time were a pride of lions gathered around a giraffe kill, buffalo close up, lots of buck, hippos, crocs and cheetahs from a distance and the usual wonderful mixture of bird life, plant life, huge termite hills and loads of massive spider webs on the bushes. We didn’t see any rhinos and the general consensus was that they’re mostly much further south at the moment. We were based at Mopani camp which is quite northerly. The other big 5 animal that you’re very lucky to see is the leopard as they tend to appear mainly at night and usually wander and hunt alone. I can however report that we met someone who saw one... and that’s the best I can do!

Sunset at the Mopani Camp: Kruger National Park 

Now here’s something you don’t expect to see at the Kruger. This tractor and crane are being used to build a dam. This picture answers the age old question... how do you keep a tractor clean out in the wilds. (I’m sure that this is something that’s kept you up many a night). The answer... the crane simply scoops up some water from the dam and tips it on the tractor. There... problem solved! We half expected to see some monkeys and baboons appear with cloths to dry the little tractor off, but were disappointed on that score. The million dollar question, of course, is how does the crane get washed? Maybe, like the rest of the Kruger... it just has to be patient and wait for the rains!

Carwash: Kruger Style!

On our last day in the park, we came across some hyenas on the road. If you take a look at the picture below you’ll see quite a big one chewing on a well used bone. What happened next was that another hyena, who was probably some sort of close relation, wandered up with the obvious intention of peacefully and harmoniously sharing in the scrumptious treat. It seemed however, the bigger hyena had never read the parable of the prodigal son, or perhaps had just gotten out of the wrong side of the bush that morning. With a really piecing scream, he flew at the offending animal, burying his razor sharp teeth into it’s flesh before the poor creature limped off with a few dejected whimpers. Quite something to see, and all right in front of us on the road.

See if you can get this bone off me... go on... try it!

As it turned out, the most awesome thing we saw wasn’t at the Kruger, but rather much closer to home at the local lion farm, which is based on the outskirts of Klerksdorp. This is a farm that breeds lions as well as leopards, caracals (part of the cat family), cheetahs and even wild dogs. The lions are then exported to zoos all over Southern Africa and the world. We’re good friends with the folks on the neighbouring farm and farmer Gideon took us over to watch the lions at feeding time.

As luck, or bad luck would have it, a horse on a nearby farm had broken it’s leg and unfortunately had to be shot. (So definitely bad luck for the horse). That farmer had then phoned through to the lion farm and a truck was dispatched to pick up the dead horse. So we were amazed to see a whole horse driven into the lion enclosure and simply plonked down for the lions to eat, literally a few feet in front of us. My vegetarian Welsh aunt who shared this trip with me, couldn’t bear to watch, and even some of the pics I’ve taken are a bit gory to publish. The speed and power that these lions used to tear into the carcass was amazing, especially keeping in mind that these lions are given a good feed every day.

Lions 1: Horse 0.

A young female Lion feasts on a horse's leg

(Farmer Gideon was telling us of a close-shave incident at a previous feeding time which would make a good story for a future newsletter!)

JOHANNESBURG TRAFFIC AND GLEN GOES ALL ‘ARTY’

My trip to Durban started with a one-night stop in Johannesburg where I also had to drop off my aforementioned aunt at the airport. Then what should have been a 40 odd mile run from Eastern Johannesburg around the ring road to Northern Jhb, turned into over 3 hours of nightmarish traffic jams. I lived in the Johannesburg area for over 10 years... but have never seen anything like this. Just about all of the main roads have turned into roadworks in preparation for the World Cup. The area where the new stadium is being built was the worst bit, and we all just basically stopped and crawled for 2 hours. (Lord help SA if the road workers go on strike in the next few months).

I was amazed as the guy in front of me suddenly flew out of his car door and started running bowlegged from the car. I thought he was having a Michael Douglas moment, and had had enough... a complete mental breakdown like in the movie ‘Falling Down’. But when he disappeared behind a tree, I soon realised what the problem was. He came gasping back to the car after a few minutes, but needn't have rushed... we hadn’t moved an inch. In fact he probably would have had time for a no. 2 as well as a shave and haircut! On the plus side, we were treated to a display of swarming flying ants, as well as a typical late afternoon highveldt storm to handily clean the cars.

Thanks to Glen (Ashford) for putting me up for the night, and inviting all the Jhb guys around for a meal. Glen and I go back to Wizard days when he was the bass player in the band. Ash from Ballyhoo was in top form (well in toppling form maybe), and it was great to have a few beers with Graham, Georg, Lynne, Tony and off course Glen’s lovely lady Vern who made us a brilliant curry and starter.

Would you let this lot play at your wedding?

Back: Georg, Lynne, Self, Glen and Vern

Front: Graham and Ashley

Glen seems to be gradually metamorphosising from a ‘strap’ to quite an ‘arty’ sort of fellow. He’s been studying jazz on acoustic guitar and played us a mean chord-infested version of ‘Over The Rainbow’. Recently he’s been going to photography lessons, and seems to be a quick learner. Here’s a few of his latest efforts which I think are excellent.

Glen Ashford: Lightning Strike over Johannesburg. Taken from Glen's garden.

Down by the river.

A nice Andy Warhol-like feel to this one!

(He’s been doing very well in a few Facebook competitions - getting lots of votes)

Glen’s also gigging around Joburg with a trio called GAP which features top local musos Graham Mckay and Gavin Hooker on guitars and vocals and Glen on bass and vocals. Due to work commitments, Glen doesn’t work with the guys every night, and for those gigs Graham and Gavin go out as a duo called G2. A few future gigs coming up for GAP (the trio) are O'Hagans Rock Cottage / Douglasdale next month on Fridays, and on Saturday 31st Oct - a Beer Fest at O'Hagans after the rugby. (For non-SA folks that’s the big Currie Cup final between the Pretoria based Blue Bulls and the Bloemfontein based Cheetahs. Please don’t ask what happened to the Durban based Sharks... it’s still much too upsetting for all concerned)

CHOIRS FOR AFRICA AND LAST BITS.

Travelling down to Durban I stopped at a services for petrol and as I opened the car door, could hardly believe my eyes and ears. There seemed to be hundreds if not thousands of uniformed church choir ladies, bustling along from loads of parked up busses, and singing out at the tops of their voices as they danced their way to the shops and toilets. I opened the boot (trunk for my American friends) as quickly as I could and found the camera to grab a few quick pics. What I didn’t get was a pic of was the queue for the ladies loo which must have stretched a good 50 feet out of the loo itself. I felt almost guilty popping into the almost unoccupied gents.

Choirs for Africa! A few of the ladies dancing by in full song.

They made a terrific sound in full flow... um... perhaps I should rephrase that. Well, they simply sounded great, danced along with their chants... and it was the kind of spectacle that really gives me hope for the new South Africa. If only we could lose the Aids, the crime, the corruption and mistrust and replace it with people just like these ladies!

Now, because this newsletter’s had a positive South African bias... maybe it’s only right to end with a joke that takes the mick a little. Thanks to Sharon, the wife from hell, for this one... and we’ll need to have words about it Shazbat when I get back to the UK!

An Australian, a Kiwi and South African are in a bar one night having a beer. All of a sudden the South African drinks his beer, throws his glass in the air, pulls out a gun and shoots the glass to pieces.

‘In Seth Efrika our glasses are so cheap that we don't need to drink from the same one twice,' he says.

The Kiwi, obviously impressed by this, drinks his beer, throws his glass into the air, pulls out his gun and shoots the glass to pieces.

'Wull mate, in Noo Zulland we have so much sand to make the glasses that we don't need to drink out of the same glass either,' he says.

The Australian, cool as a Koala, picks up his beer and drinks it, throws his glass in the air, pulls out his gun and shoots the South African and the Kiwi. He turns to the astonished barman and says...
'In Strailya mate, we have so many bloody South Africans and Kiwis that we don't need to drink with the same ones twice!’

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading. I’m back to the UK in a few days time, and we’ll chat again in November.

Keep well,

Rob.

http://www.robrusmusic.com

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*The Newsletter of Songwriter and Musician, Rob Russell Davies*
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NEWS

Travel has been the name of the game since last week, with a wedding and visits to family and friends taking us to Gretna Green, Glasgow and Central Scotland. Then, next week I’m off to South Africa for a month where I’ll be spending a lot of time with my mum who’s based in the North Western Province, and will also be visiting Durban, Johannesburg and the Kruger National Park.

It’s great to see that over 1100 people have now read previous newsletters on my MySpace blog. Along with the folks who read it on my website, I also e-mail the newsletter directly to many friends. If you’re reading this online and would like to receive the e-mail version, then please just sign-up on either my website or the MySpace page. (Look for the sign-up boxes)

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In recent weeks I’ve been working on three different music projects. As usual I’ve been gigging at the weekends, both as my solo act and a few nights with Craig as ‘The Duelling Pianos’. Work continues on the TV / Radio and Corporate Production music and it looks as though a short piece I’ve arranged will be used on a South African TV program later this year... fingers crossed!

I’m also arranging some new song ideas for the solo and ‘Duelling Pianos’ shows. At the moment I’m wading through the most wonderful jazz chords putting together a swing-like ‘Tribute To The Ratpack’. Hard work but fun! Other ideas to follow are, a big version of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’, a ‘Madness Medley’ and a brand new ‘Movie Medley.’

So with a new ‘Movie Medley’ on the horizon, I thought it might be an idea to chat a little about the old one...

THE MOVIE MEDLEY: THROUGH THE YEARS

Anyone who’s seen my live act is probably familiar with the movie medley. Those who know me often ask just how long I’ve been doing it. Some even ask why, after so many years, am I still doing that bl***y medley! The short answer to that, is that people still keep asking for it. Now and again I’ve been to venues where I’m well-known and have tried to leave it out, thinking that it might be overplayed... but chances are someone will come up and request it!

For the uninitiated, my arrangement features 3 different themes... ‘Close Encounters Of The Third Kind’, ‘Chariots Of Fire’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. Now and again I extend it with a quick version of the theme from ‘Exodus’... especially if good friend Steve is in the audience. Those who know me as a huge movie buff probably guess that these are 3 of my favourite movies. However, for the record... I’m not big on ‘Close Encounters’, quite like ‘Chariots’ and love ‘2001’.

Through the years I’ve tried to get more chatty with audiences, introducing a bit of ‘patter’ into the act. I don’t try a be a comedian, but rather try to build some ‘character’ and ‘fun’ into the show and do my best to get some interaction with the people. I mention this because, when I do get an attentive audience, it can be quite a laugh introducing the ‘Movie Medley’.

First, I play those famous 5 notes from ‘Close Encounters’ and ask the audience... what’s the movie? Just in case you can’t hear those notes in your head... they’re... ‘dee dee da dee da’ - got it now? (Report of my office later, if you haven’t!) It’s surprising how many people confuse this theme with E.T! No, I remind them... this is the movie that ends up on top of a mountain. There’s an ‘orrel speler’ (South African Afrikaans for organ player) with what looks like a well-lit Lowrey organ (remember the ad SA folks? - ‘if you can point a finger... you can play a Lowrey’).

Now a great big saucer-shaped Spaceship is landing and hopping out are a few strange-looking aliens. When I say aliens... I mean proper aliens from out of space. We’re not talking about illegal aliens here... these aren’t wee Zimbabweans crossing the border. For some reason a French genious has told the ‘orrel speler’ to play the famous ‘dee dee da dee da’ notes. What these notes are supposed to mean to an alien race is never made clear. My best guess?

‘Who the hell are you?!’

Other than seeing ‘Close Encounters’ a couple of times, I’ve never actually heard the proper theme to this movie. I’ve simply taken the famous 5 notes and built my own ideas around it. Not a single person has ever come up to me to point out that my version is nothing like the film’s! Once people hear those famous 5 notes they simply seem to associate all that follows as being from the movie. Amazing the power of a short recognisable phrase! 

In fact the ‘orrel Speler’ is playing this rather complicated looking synthesiser on top of the mountain. It’s an ARP 2500 which hopefully sounds a bit better than the ARP Odyssey that I used to own ... which would surely send our weird friends whizzing back to their home planet with their tentacles rammed right into their pointy little ears! (See the July Newsletter for more on that).

The thing about the second theme... ‘Chariots Of Fire’, is that a lot of people only have 2 memories of it. One is that it’s a good British-made film about the Olympics. The other is a long line of semi-naked men running in slow-motion down a beach. Go on, close your eyes, play that Vangelis piano theme through your head, and tell me you don’t see these early century geezers puffing and panting down your local blue-flag shore.

The Famous scene from Chariots - no gender-benders in this race I’m afraid!

I find 2001: A Space Odyssey a very divisive film, and most of my friends seem to fall into one of two schools. Those who love it, and those who hate it. For example, I urged Craig (my ‘Duelling Pianos’ partner) to watch it recently and he phoned me up after a few minutes with:

‘What is this c**p Rob? I’m watching a load of monkeys fighting here!’

And this coming from a guy who liked ‘Lost In Translation’!

The first time I watched 2001 was when I was about 11 years old, and my Dad took me to see it at the old Durban Playhouse. There was an interval in the middle and I remember standing in the foyer and Dad saying something like:

‘Well this is a load of rubbish. Do you want to stay for the second half or should we head for home?’

After some debate, we decided to stay, but eventually went home unimpressed, even though we both agreed that the special effects were clever and well done. But here’s the funny thing. I never forgot that movie! Certain scenes just wouldn’t leave my mind. A few years later when I was about 16, it came back on the circuit and I went to see it again. This time I quite liked it although didn’t really understand it very much. But now I was even more intrigued... what did it all mean? So a year or so later I read the Arthur C. Clarke book. That gave me a much better idea of what was going on and I’ve since seen it about another 4 times, enjoying it each time.

 Love the part where astronaut Dave Bowman, who’s outside the mothership in a ‘pod’, says to the ship’s computer Hal 9000...

‘Open the rear doors Hal’

After a pause... that chilling reply...

‘I’m sorry Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that’

...and you realise that the computer has taken the decision not to let him back in, obviously very bad news for Dave!

Unfortunately for Hal, Dave does manage to re-enter the main craft and the computer finds himself being disconnected. As he reaches his last few chips of brain power Hal give us what must be the first instance of a computer singing on the big screen. He sings ‘Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do’ gradually winding down like a dying record player.

It’s amazing to think that some of the famous Classical pieces of music used in 2001 including Richard Strauss’s ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ (the famous 2001 theme) and Johann Strauss II’s ‘On The Beautiful Blue Danube’ nearly didn’t make it into the film. This from online dictionary Wikipedia:

‘In the early stages of production, director Stanley Kubrick had commissioned a score from noted Hollywood composer Alex North, who had written the score for ‘Spartacus’ and also worked on ‘Dr. Strangeglove’. However, on 2001 Kubrick did much of the filming and editing using, as his guides, the classical recordings which eventually became the music track. In March 1966, MGM became concerned about 2001's progress and Kubrick put together a show reel of footage to the ad hoc soundtrack of classical recordings. The studio bosses were delighted with the results and Kubrick decided to use these 'guide pieces' as the final musical soundtrack, abandoning North's score. Kubrick failed to inform North that his music had not been used and, to his dismay, North did not discover this until he saw the movie just prior to its release.’

Naughty, naughty Mr. Kubrick!

My movie medley actually began in the 1980s while I was still with Wizard. Initially there was no backtrack, and I just played whatever came to mind while sticking to the basic movie themes. I’d usually do my solo bit and then the band would join in at the end launching into one of our songs. After a while the band took to leaving the stage, presumably leaving me up there to have a good time. Or maybe it was their way of saying:

‘Oh... go on, show-off... but we’re not standing up here listening to it!’

I began to suspect that this feeling was creeping in, particularly when one night at The Godfather in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, the band left the stage and disappeared into the staff bar at the back of the club. So I did a few minutes, but after a while was running out of ideas and still the ‘buggers’ hadn’t reappeared. They left me up there for what felt like ‘hours’ and eventually I just sort of finished off and sheepishly left the stage. Very embarrassing... I’m not sure what the audience made of it! Needless to say, there was an almighty row in the back bar later! (I have eventually seen the funny side guys, and forgiven you).

On another occasion, a drunken member of the audience decide that I needed some help. He jumped up behind the keyboards and tried to play along. I ended up trying to kick him off the stage... and I mean kick, shouting over the mike for a bouncer while still trying to keep both hands on the keyboards. Tricky!

By the late 80s and early 90s I had joined up with UK based band Wozani. Our home-base pub in Leeds was the Harvesters in Bramley, where landlord Phil let us practice during the days, and in return we put on some fantastic Saturday night gigs, which are still well remembered in this part of the world! (I’m hoping to do an article about the Harvesters in a future newsletter).

Sunday nights, however, were quiz and jam session nights. At one stage we had a kind of resident Sunday night band consisting of Wozani’s George Van Dyk on Bass, Tim Delaney on drums... who would later be my partner in ‘Sample This’, and myself on keyboards. At the start of each night we didn’t really have a clue what we were going to play and just kind of made it up as we went along. Great fun. Sometimes it could be a bit of a shambles but other times it could click together quite brilliantly!

One night when the 3 of us were really rocking, George got a bit excited and jumped up onto his bass amplifier and then launched himself into a flying leap across the stage. Unfortunately, this particular stage was a bit of a temporary set-up and not built to withstand such an assault. With a loud crack, George went clean through it, and ended up with the lower part of his legs through the wooden planks and the rest of him poking out through the top. I remember that we had to abandon the song we were playing due to the tears of laughter from Tim, myself and the audience.

The movie medley became a favourite at our Sunday night sessions and really sounded great with the addition of a rock and roll beat from Tim and a simple but driving bass line from George. A few months later when Tim and I were putting together our repertoire for ‘Sample This’ I programmed a backing track onto a very early Roland Sequencer. (A sequencer is basically a computer used for recording musical information). Because of the Roland’s limitations, that version had to be kept very basic. Later on I got my first real computer... an Atari ST (which by today standards was also a very basic machine), and managed to re-programme the medley adding some more sounds. And that’s the backing track I still use to this day.

So it’s evolved quite a bit over time, but still lives on! But maybe it is time to add another medley and I’m still busy deciding which themes to use. Here’s a few early ideas... 

THE FALKIRK WHEEL

Here’s a picture that looks as though it could have been taken straight out of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey!

 In fact this contraption is The Falkirk Wheel which we’ve just visited in Central Scotland. So what does it do then? Well, it’s basically a rotating boat lift connecting the lower Forth and Clyde Canal to the higher Union Canal which helps boats to move up and down from one canal to the other. Years ago the 2 Canals were connected by a series of 11 locks, but by the 1930’s these had fallen into disuse and were filled in. However, the Falkirk Wheel now means that Glasgow and Edinburgh are once again connected by a canal route, and a good tourist trade on the waterways is starting to flourish. The wheel was completed in 2002 with much money coming from lottery funds, and was officially opened by the Queen.

If you look closely you’ll see that one boat is halfway up and one is halfway down. It takes just 4 minutes to get from bottom to top, or visa versa. The lift height is 24 metres, roughly the equivalent of an 8 storey building. We had a ride on it, and it’s very smooth... you hardly realise that you’re in a kind of lift filled with water... a bit like a moving bath tub!

If you’d like to read more information about the wheel, then please check out:

Wikipedia Article: The Falkirk Wheel 

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LAST BITS

To end off, here’s a ‘funny’ sent to me from a South African friend Ernst.

A couple were 85 years old and had been married for sixty years. Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies.

Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade.

However, their good and healthy ways didn't help when they went on a rare vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven.

They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath. A maid could be seen hanging their favourite clothes in the closet. They gasped in astonishment when he said,

'Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now.'

The old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost.

'Why, nothing,' Peter replied, 'remember, this is your reward in Heaven.'

The old man looked out the window and saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever built on Earth..
'What are the greens fees?,' grumbled the old man.
'This is heaven,' St. Peter replied. 'You can play for free, every day.'

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them, from seafood to steaks to exotic deserts and free flowing beverages. 'Don't even ask,' said St. Peter to the man. This is Heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy.'

The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife.
'Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods and the decaffeinated tea?,' he asked.
That's the best part,' St. Peter replied. 'You can eat and drink as much as you like of whatever you like and you will never get fat or sick. This is Heaven!'

The old man pushed, 'No gym to work out at?'
'Not unless you want to,' was the answer.
'No testing my sugar or blood pressure or...'
'Never again. All you do here is enjoy yourself.'

The old man glared at his wife and said, 'You and your bloody Bran Flakes... we could have been here ten years ago!'

That’s all for this month and chat again next month from South Africa.

Rob.

http://www.robrusmusic.com

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*The Newsletter of Songwriter and Musician, Rob Russell Davies*

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NEWS

I’m afraid this letter’s running a bit late in the month. I can offer 2 excuses for this:

1: A couple of rush-jobs in the studio came in last week.

2: The Ashes. Since I’ve lived in the UK, I’ve always loved this cricket series between England and Australia. It wasn’t quite so good in the 90s when the Aussies routinely gave the ‘poms’ a right good thrashing. But lately it’s been more of a balanced contest, especially when played in England. (The 2007 mauling in Aus. is maybe best forgotten!) A great line from Andrew Strauss when being interviewed about England's winning series:

‘When we play bad, we play really bad. But when we’re good, we’re just good enough!’

Pretty much sums up the series perfectly, and could be a good epitaph for many a band out there!

Lots of thanks to all those who came to the ‘Duelling Pianos’ showcase at the Harehills club / Leeds. It was certainly a busy night for Craig and myself. The club’s not the easiest ‘loader’ with those infamous nasty fire-escape stairs, and of course things always get more complicated when there’s a few different acts on. But we got through the technical problems and safely negotiated the club’s decibel meter (although only-just according to good friend Johnny Martell A.K.A. Tony Pepperoni). So far the night has lead to a fair bit of interest from local agents, has generated a few gigs later this year, with quite a few more to go in next year.

For the diary, a future ‘pianos’ gig in the Leeds / Wakefield area to look out for is:

Old Bank WMC / Sunny Bank Avenue / Mirfield BF14 0NE on Saturday, September 5th.

Rob 'n Craig's Duelling Pianos

A couple of other events to mention. The Rodley Beer and Music Festival takes place this weekend running from Friday 28th to Monday 31st August. Last year was a huge success, and this year is going to be even bigger with over 45 acts appearing on 2 different stages at The ‘Barge’ and ‘Owl’ pubs. Lots of different guest ales on too, and some family entertainment.

On Monday 31st of August ‘The Monday Club’ at the Commercial Pub in Morley is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary. Organiser and well know singer / musician John Verity (JV) is appropriately the main act on, but all acts are invited to bring backing tracks and get up and do a bit. John’s expecting it to be more packed than usual and the music is going to start earlier... 4 PM going on until (John’s own words...) whenever...!

Most of my daytime writing and programming work has been focused on building up a portfolio of production music. Lately I’ve concentrated on big-sounding instrumentals usually with a bit of an African feel to them as well as some pieces that would be more suitable for kid’s programs. Now and again someone wants something for a specific advert or show that’s being made, and these are always a challenge especially as there’s usually a time limit involved.

The Facebook page continues to grow and I’ve even managed to upload a few pieces of music onto it, as well as a nice collection of pictures. I’m finding lots of new friends on there, and am still catching up with quite a few lost-ones from the past. I’m not much of a twit, but am still tweeting the odd tweet on twitter. (Try saying that after a few pints!). Here’s all the relevant links. Please feel free to be a friend on any or all of these social networking sites... my psychiatrist keeps telling me that I can use all the help I can get!:

Rob on Facebook

Rob on Twitter

Rob on MySpace

The Tipperary Song of Peace MySpace Page

(All open in a new window)

A QUIETER DURBAN BEACHFRONT.

We’re in the middle of summer here, so I thought that it might be an idea to make the majority of this newsletter about one of South Africa’s beach capitals... Durban.

Part of Durban's Golden Mile

I still remember driving the old mini down to the Durban beachfront, parking it up with no sign of a car guard, little or no fear of it being ‘nicked’, and then tackling the evenings major problem. Which club should I go to? Oh yes, the problems of youth! Facing me would be the Malibu hotel with a rock / pop cover band at ‘Ports O’ Call’, a comedy showband at ‘Father’s Moustache’ and a solo artist up on the first floor ‘Diamond Circle’ lounge. Slightly to the right was the Claridges Hotel with a great pop band upstairs at ‘Cat’s Whiskers’. Then there was the (in)famous Beach Hotel with a solo artist at the ‘Cockney Pride’ pub, another solo artist on the veranda, and a world-class British or South African act on at the cabaret venue downstairs. What was the name of that cabaret venue, I just can’t remember?

The Beach Hotel, Durban. As it is today.

That’s just 3 hotels out of a Golden Mile (which is actually a lot longer than a mile) which is packed full of them! Not far away was the ‘El Castilian’ at the Lonsdale hotel with a rock band in it, comedian and singer Joe Parker upstairs on the pool deck and around the corner... ‘Club Tomorrow’ which soon turned into the ‘London Town Pub’ kitted out with an original red London bus! Nearby was a live-entertainment club at the Killarney hotel which would later turn into the huge ‘Club Med’. And these are just my favourites at the time, that happened to be in walking distance from where I’d parked the car! A short drive north or south along the mile would find you quite a few other live music venues. This, of course, was back in the days when you could actually drive on the beachfront.

The point being that Durban was spoiled for choice. On some nights the decision of where to go wasn’t too difficult. Thursday nights, for example, was ladies night, at ‘Cat’s Whiskers’ and most of Durban’s male population under 25 could be found there on the prowl! The band I remember well at Cat’s was ‘Wolf’. In fact I spent that many Thursday evenings there leaning up against the bar that I can still remember the barman’s name... Keith. Mind you, as I was a big Keith Emerson fan at the time, remembering that particular name isn’t that impressive.

So what’s happened to all the ‘live music’ on the beachfront. Well first of all, South Africa has changed so much politically and socially in the last 20 or so years. The pros and cons of all these changes are not something that I want to debate in this newsletter... other than to note that things are now very different. The one thing I would say to the authorities is, please tackle the crime and grime... otherwise you are in danger of turning Durban’s Golden mile into Durban’s no-go area... and that’s going to lose you a lot of money!

It’s still great, but it needs care! One of Durban's famous Rickshaw rides. The Golden Mile in the background.

The world-wide phenomenon of ‘Saturday Night Fever’ leading to the growth of disco had to be another factor, as is the steady progress of music technology allowing fewer and fewer musicians to sound like a full band. (The technology argument is always a bit of a double-edged sword, because without it many musicians wouldn’t be working at all... and, of course, you certainly wouldn’t be reading this newsletter!) Another factor which seems to be happening in all of South Africa’s major cities is that entertainment seems to be spreading around more. These days you’re more likely to find venues out in the suburbs than in the city centres. All well and good, but I must say that the one thing I loved about Durban in the 70s and 80s was that so much of the entertainment was centered in one place... the beachfront. A school friend of mine once told me that to ‘crack it’ in Durbs you had to be a surfer or in a band. With my grace, balance, posture and general flexibility, I soon realised that I needed to opt for the latter.

As far as I know, one entertainer is still pulling them in on the veranda of the Beach Hotel. He’s Dick B. Morton, and he’s been on that very same veranda on-and-off ever since 1974, and nearly full-time there since 1982. He’s got a repetoire of over 1000 songs in a huge variety of styles ranging from Rock n’ Roll to Reggae and Afrikaans to Sing-a-Long. To read more, please visit Dick’s website at:

Dick's Website

Dick B. Morton still entertaining at The Beach Hotel

MY SIDE... CHEERS!

Recently I was reminded of my misspent youth in Durbs by some ‘groups’ I’ve signed up to on facebook. Anyone interested might like to look up:

Worked or Partied at Your Father’s Moustache

Who Remembers the old Durban Beachfront

80s Clublife Durban 

I’ve also reconnected with old friends Lamy and Colin of Comedy Showband ‘Cheers’ fame. Great news is that Cheers are still going as a duo and can be seen on Wednesday nights at Coco’s at Umhlanga Sands, Umhlanga Rocks. I’m hoping to get along and see them when I’m over later in the year.

Cheers: Lamy (left) and Colin.

‘Cheers’ were part of a long tradition of brilliant comedy showbands at ‘Fathers Moustache’. Build like a big pub with a long bar, decent size stage, good light show, wooden floor, solid wooden tables, there was just something about the venue that made you think it had been there forever and would last forever. When Wizard was working next door at ‘Ports O’ Call’ I often used to pop into ‘Father’s’ for my evening meal - bangers, mash, beans and an Amstel. A great thing about the pub was that wherever you sat you could see the stage. When I went to watch a band there, I usually tried to plonk myself down at the long bar which was nicely raised to see above the tables in front. Whenever I went into the venue, it was always packed, and I always considered myself lucky if I found a spare barstool. Once you got one, you hung onto it for dear life, and made sure you befriended the guy next to you to keep tabs on it when you needed a loo break.

The first band I ever saw there was UK comedy showband ‘The Mutton Chops’. Other than the fact that they were very good and played banjos, I can’t remember that much about them. I suppose I’ve got a bit of an Amstel memory, even though it was obscuring a much younger brain back then. The one thing I do remember is that now and again the band would suddenly stop mid-song... there would be a bit of a pause... and then one of the ‘chops’ would wander over to a dedicated ‘burp’ mike and issue forth a loud ‘braaaap’ much to the audience’s merriment! Then the song would continue. No song was safe from such an interruption! Pop band ‘Wolf’ across the road at Cat’s Whiskers would later adopt a similar idea, although their microphone was set a little nearer to the ground. I won’t go into any more detail there!

Incidentally, I bumped into 2 of the Muttonchop boys in a Leeds pub in the early 90s. (They were easy enough to identify!) I suspect they hail from not that far away, and I think that one or more of them are still out gigging. I found this picture of Richard ‘Muttonchops’ Johnson who I think is one of the original members and have found a few references to the band in Leeds, Norwich and Blackpool.

Richard 'Muttonchops' Johnson

Following after ‘The Mutton Chops’, I remember seeing other great bands ‘Glam’, ‘Clown’, ‘Altitude’ and sing-a-long masters ‘The Blarney Brothers’ although I probably have more memories of ‘Cheers’ as they were one of the last bands to appear at The Father’s. At different times, ‘Cheers’ featured the musical and comedy talents of Lamy De Almeida (simply Lamy to everyone), Colin Sumner, Marcus Kleyweg, Danny Fisher and Nick Williams. Their music, vocals, harmonies were always great, but the thing that really stands out was the comedy. Here’s a picture of the famous ‘le potties’ that any unsuspecting birthday boy would have to down. I hasten to add that in most cases, the potties were filled with beer or some alchoholic beverage. However, it would be advisable to keep on the right side of the band in this respect.

Colin, Lamy and Nick with... (drumroll) le potties!

I still fondly remember Lamy yelling out the band’s catch phrase: ‘My side cheers’... usually followed by ‘kak!’ when not enough of the audience joined in with the toast. Then Colin or one of the other band members would try and compete with his side of the audience. They also did a great skit featuring the dubious talents of one ‘Rod Stupid’. My funniest moments were often when Lamy would say something in English and then kind of twist it into Afrikaans to mean something quite rude or just plain silly.

Good things come to an end, and I found this really sad picture on the ‘Fathers’ Facebook page. This is the ghost of ‘Fathers’ left to rot in darkness and silence. In Colin’s words...

‘In 2002 there was talk about reopening Fathers so Lamy & myself went in to have a look. It was weird.... when it closed in 1996 all they had done is stack the stools & close the doors.’

The Ghost of Father's Moustache.

Isn’t that such a sad picture. I couldn’t help wondering if Durban would ever find a place in it’s heart for another ‘Father’s’. Surely there’s enough people in such a big city who want to go out for a laugh, a meal and great music to warrant such a venue? I know that ‘Supper Theatres’ are a bit similar, but they don’t quite tap that ‘pub feel’ you got at ‘Fathers’.

Stop press! Something to cheer us up. This advert has just appeared on the Cheers facebook page... So all Durban readers, please get youselves along to Cocos!

 Visit ‘Cheers’ on Facebook - features lots of videos and pictures of ‘Father’s’ days

LAST BITS

This story started off as an e-mail from Sharon. I checked around the Internet, and found a few other reports so I think it’s probably a true account of an incident recorded in the Police Log of Sarasota, Florida.

An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her lungs,

"I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!"
The four men didn't wait for a second threat. They got out and ran like mad.

The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver's seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried, and then she realised why. It was the same reason why there was a football, a frisbee and two 12-packs of beer in the front seat.

A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces further down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake. The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn't stop laughing. He pointed to the end of the counter, where four pale man were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed.

Moral of the story? If you're going to have a senior moment... make it memorable.

Don't mess with my Granny!

 Thanks for reading and chat again soon. I’ll try not to be late next month!

Rob.

www.robrusmusic.com

(Be a friend on mySpace, Facebook or Twitter)

Rob on Facebook

Rob on Twitter

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The Tipperary Song of Peace MySpace Page

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