| On the Road |
10/20/04 |
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April 2004 A Wednesday in the middle of April saw Ceilidh Minogue on a gig for Visit Scotland up in Aberdeen. The usual 4 piece line-up was inflated to an 8 piece and that was only because Aldo convinced the promoter that 12 musicians on stage to do a ceilidh was too many. What she wanted was the band to split into two four piece bands and do a spot each on two different stages then later in the evening to come together and play a set. Now what we didn’t realise was that she meant come together musically but not physically. Not only were the stages about 40 feet apart but one of them was about twenty feet above the other. However, thanks to the brilliant sound engineers BBG, we managed to pull it off. We each had a mike on stage that went through monitors only and in that way were able to count ourselves in and play as an eight piece band on two separate stages. Piano, Drums, 2 Accordions, 3 fiddles and guitar. What a hoot.
April 2004 In early April, a Blackeyed Biddy gig took place, myself Lionel McClelland and Derek Spence on fiddle, recording a live spot on the Robbie Shepherd show, Take The Floor. The recording was made in Kirkcudbright and the Biddy performed two songs in the middle of the show. It was the first time I had met Robbie and found him to be a most pleasant and happy chappy. I was charged by Stevie Gillies with a task that evening. We were about halfway through the Gem’s a Bogey album and we needed a voice over for the Nick Nairn’s breakfast slot, a voice to sound as if the radio was playing in the background of Nick’s kitchen. Robbie, the instantly recognisable voice of radio had to be the man to do it. With Stevie’s mini disk recorder at the ready, I waited for the perfect opportunity to put the idea to Robbie. He was just too busy though and it wasn’t until the end of the evening, he came over to shake hands and say goodbye, that I put it quickly to him. Lets do it says Robbie, two minutes later it was done and a week after that it appeared like magic in Nick Nairns kitchen. Thanks Robbie.
Gregor Lowrey,
Dalavich, Argyll This site was last updated 10/20/04 |