Sunday 4 July 2010

Reflections and Moving On

And so I am left to reflect upon what has been a rather turbulent time for The Mashers, as ever, understated some might argue.
....
The final laying to rest of Myke marks the end of what has proved to be one of the most exciting and challenging periods of my life.  It’s hard to believe that the Chapter lasted only three years.  Myke and I seemed to have packed so much into such a short time.
....
But for those three years, hardly without a break Myke and I were out a minimum of two evenings a week, more often than not it was three, and then proper Gigging at the weekends.  Sometimes we never seemed to stop making our The Mashers brand of music..
...
On the way we made many new friends, as we travelled to the far corners of North East and North West of England, and South to places like Peterborough and Norfolk.  To those friends I say I hope you’ll stay in touch and thanks for the messages of support over the past few weeks.  They have been appreciated, and they have helped. 
....
I think it was the sudden and unexpected nature of Myke’s departure to the “Big Session”  that has caused me so much soul searching.   Leaving him the Thursday before, following one of our last minute decisions to pop out and visit an Open Mic to which we had been invited many times but had put off, at The Butchers Arms in Braithwell, he was so excited about his plans for the weekend to celebrate Phoebe’s birthday and our upcoming Gig at The Cross Keys in Handsworth.  It was all planned we were ready to go, especially after such a super evening at The Butchers Arms where we dug out many of our older songs. 
....
Even his parting words, “thanks for a great time Richard”, now have an extra poignancy to them.  ....
And looking back there was not a sign of what was to happen. 
....
Images keep popping into my head of his delight on that Thursday when I told him that Chorley FM were going to use one of our tracks on their Fund Raising CD and of a set that I had blagged for The Mashers at Topley in late August.  Plans too for our excursion to the Worcester Music Festival, also in August and run up to Bishop Aukland for Bishop FM Fund Raiser for our friend Terry Ferdinand and Loftus for what had become an Annual outing to one of their Monthly Hiring Fairs...
..
Myke was also so happy with our last proper outing which had been on the Folk Against Fascism stage in Barnsley Town Centre as part of the Love Music Hate Racism Carnival.  It had been one of best and tightest performances, (well as tight as a Mashers set can ever be), we had given.  Even a slight hiccup when a breeze attempted to sabotage our efforts as my script blew all over the market square in the middle of Ordinary Man could not take away from just how good we felt about the set. ...
.
In fact, recovering in the pub a little later we said little to each other, both glowing with a quite smug smile on our faces.  We knew we had proved a point to ourselves.
...
We did share a hug and mumbled to each other about how good it had been, when no one could see of course - well we had to protect Myke's contention that we were not joined at the hip! 
....
And that was The Mashers.  Our performances over the past six months had grown in confidence.  Looking back I can’t quite put a finger on when or why, but we had suddenly jumped several notches and gone from semi nervous performers to a duo full of confidence and truly enjoying our time on stage wherever it might be. 
....
Our repertoire had developed to.  We had grown the songs from simply irreverent often, some would say, funny songs, to a set list that might include several politically motivated songs, including the now legendary “Dance On The Grave of Mrs Thatcher”.  For two old buggers just having a great time we were still keen make sure that we could carry a message.
....
OK we were not everyone’s cup of tea.  Many of the purists frowned upon The Mashers.  I think one person described us as “bland”.  I think I can see what he was getting at – while others were critical of my use of a script to work my way through a set, and some thought we were simply not of the tradition. ....
Well we were not about any of that.  We wanted to challenge the existing order of things, to challenge these so called guardians of the “folk” tradition.  And that we did. 
....
But we were never blind to these people actually tapping their feet or joining in on a chorus of “Be Reasonable”.  
 ....
We wanted our music to be accessible, to be enjoyed by everyone, and for people to discover that music making could be great fun even if it was not buried in deep sheep shearing history. 
....
I think we succeeded.  Young people we met use to quote lines from “The Gates of Hell” or demand that we sing “Hairy Mary” – others joined in during performances. 
 ....
When out on our own Myke and I would often muse over how Clubs and Festivals would book or enquire about us from miles away while locally, except for a few notable exceptions, no one would touch us with a barge pole.  This almost drove us to dig out some true pig herding songs, but we resisted. 
....
We were also proud to take our brand of Folk Music out to venues that would never ever touch Folk Music.  Our appearances at a couple of Rock based Festivals standout, while providing support to The Bon Jovi Experience and doing a full nights work at Legends in Hillsborough stand out as experiences that were as much fun as challenging. 
....
And guess what – without blowing The Masher trumpet too loudly, we normally won these audiences over.  
 ....
In fact our true downers and I think that there was only a couple of them, came after playing fairly well known local Folk Clubs who simply did not “get” us – or perhaps we were just crap on the night. ....
And so where do I take this legacy left in part by Myke. 
  ....
Well the fact is that Wednesday marked the end of the era – and now I have to work at building a new Masher era.  The concept that we worked so hard on and carved must continue but perhaps with the inclusion of some new ideas, as any living and responsive act must be. 
....
It will not be exactly same – it can’t be – but whoever eventually has the courage to come on board will be stamping their own personality upon The Rawmarsh Mashers.
....
It’s a new challenge with new things to learn but I’m sure I’m up for it, strengthened by skills the skills and confidence that Myke spent so much of his time helping me with. 
....
Here’s a thing.  Following Myke’s departure, I did three Gigs that the Mashers had marked down in the diary.  All of them went, almost without a hitch.  The one session I took myself off to as something to do was a complete and utter muck up from beginning to end.   
....
That bad experience taught me a lesson or two, which I shall not go into here.
....
So watch this space, The Mashers will be around for a few years to come.  Always late, as we will continue to run on Masher time, and always just a little controversial I hope.  ....
.. ..
Which brings me to the events of the past week.  ....

I have to start with Myke’s final Gig.  What a biggie it was.  And for a change he was on time, only just, but nonetheless we got a prompt start.  This obviously had something to do with not relying upon me for his transport.  ....

And wasn’t it good of Blatter to make the day a rest day at the World Cup so Myke was not competing with Football – our heroic (not) men having very kindly getting themselves turned over by the Germans to spoil an otherwise perfectly good Sunday afternoon earlier in the week.   And Myke would not have understood one word of that.....

The Memorial Service was just right, a fitting and relevant reflection of Myke’s life and contribution to music. ....

Many of his friends and music partners were able to take part in the ceremony, while Rotherham Crematorium was packed to the rafters, literally, with friends and music makers.   
....
A special mention though has to go to Sue Sutherland.  Sue and her Husband Barry have been staunch supporters of the Rawmarsh Mashers, following us in all weathers around the Country.  
 ....
They are just lovely people and their support, especially last September when they followed us from set to set, up and down, around the Streets of Wirksworth acting as unpaid Roadies.  And not to mention when they drove us down to the Peterborough Festival.  Happy times.  And Sue has captured those times so well in her song “Myke Barritt”.   
....
You can find the lyrics on the Memorial Page HERE and you can hear and see her sing the song at The Ceremony HERE....

And that’s not to in anyway understate the brilliant performance of Theresa Dailey accompanied by Doug for a song that she used to perform at the Thursday Club with Myke, “Golden Fields of Barley”.  Also to be found on the Ceremony page HERE....

But the most poignant moment came, as might have been predicted, at the end of the Ceremony, when as one the gathered folks stood and applauded and cheered for over two minutes (I think I even heard a cat whistle or two) in tribute to Myke.   It’s a sound I can still hear in my head. 
....
The Wake that followed would have been one that Myke would have enjoyed so much.  ....
His old music friends from all over the Country had travelled miles to be with us.  And that was the emphasis of the Wake, it was a gathering of friends, and the music that was produced was just fantastic, and with no PA!!....

I think that is what pleased Phoebe and I so much, the knockers stayed away, and everyone who loved Myke crammed into The Bridge Inn in Rotherham.
....
Besides the usual standout performances from Phillip Hartley, David Kidman, Tina McKevitt and Matt Hegarty, John Statter, Sue Sutherland et.al., we were honoured by a special performance from three quarters of Earthtales, which included a very brave Phoebe, Karl and Andy.  Well done guys.
....
Also coming together after many years were Macca, Mary and Chris former house mates of Myke and music partners as well.  Myke used to tell me of his time with Macca in particular who apparently was as much as an anarchist as I once on stage, leaving Myke to try and work out what was going to happen next. 
  ....
And a real special treat.  Lancashire Folk Legends Dorothy Fryman and John Bartly, together known as Song and Story, gave us a performance of a couple of monologues and songs. 
....
Ken “The Hat” Weeks personal tribute to Myke was particularly moving and with Welsh Geoff telling us how he loved Myke so much because he was the only person he knew who believed his modern Welsh Legends. 
....
OK by six thirty I was both emotionally and physically drained.  But handing over to Ken proved to be a popular move as it seemed that as one wave of musicians left to find rest, a new shift would come on.   Roy Blackman, Mark Hearne, Florin (the two Bobs hoho), Andy Hault, Louise, Gill, Jeff, Woolfy, Pav, Jed and Jane all made their contributions to a wonderful day of music. 
....
If I’ve left anyone off – I am sorry.....

But a word about one of our friends and a former Masher, if only for a short time, our Stan Burgess. 
Stan was unable to be with us on Wednesday having been knocked down by a car, we are told. What bad luck.  It's not been a good time for Stan recently and Phoebe and I wish him a speedy recovery.  Apparently damage has been done to knee replacements and he will be out of the loop for many weeks to come.

Phoebe and I cannot thank you all enough for making Myke’s final Gig and session so very special.  I’m sure as he looked on, and we all like to think that he was, certainly his spirit was there, that Myke would have been proud of everyone and I can see him in my mind setting off through Town to return to his Clifton home with a great big smile on his face. 
....
Look out for this weeks South Yorkshire Times which will carry a feature on the event.   It’s published on Thursday.
....
We should give a special mention to The South Yorkshire Times who have been very supportive of The Rawmarsh Mashers and Acoustic Rotherham events over the past couple of years.   I know Myke appreciated the write ups we got in the paper. 
  ....
On the other hand, and we don’t want to be too critical, but The Rotherham Advertiser not only ignored The Rawmarsh Mashers, that’s forgivable, but they also ignored the work we did through Acoustic Rotherham to promote Folk and Acoustic music from across the Region – Myke and I thought that was/is their loss and proves that where the arts are concerned they like to play safe and anything out of the box receives zero encouragement.   We are not the only act / promoters of local non-mainstream music to be treated this way by the paper, so we didn’t take it too personally. 
  ....
There are more thanks to come though.
....
Apparently I seriously got it wrong (unusual for me that, isn’t it) in my last News Letter on Thursday.  In fact I got quite a kicking from Phoebe who thinks you might think that she was slacking by finishing work on Myke’s flat as early as 9:00pm on 29th June.   I am more than happy to correct this error.  Work on Myke’s flat was not completed until 1:00am on 30th June.  It’s good to see Myke’s subscription to “Slave Weekly” was eventually put to some good use. 
....
Phoebe thanks everyone who has been involved in Myke’s flat clearance, be it cleaning, cataloguing, heaving or storing.  It was/is all very much appreciated. .
...
News of Auctions / Sales of Myke’s collections will be made in due course. 
....
But as I suggested above, with all this said it’s now time to move forward.  It’s time to look to the future, which is exactly why The Myke Barritt Music Trust has been formed. 
....
Donations that you made at Myke’s Final Gig totalled £333 (a typically Myke number) and is a fine starter sum.  We hope that Myke’s Birthday Bash on 27th July will produce a similar amount. ....
Myke’s Birthday Bash will kick off at around 2:00pm with Phoebe and David Kidman in the Chair for an on going session and at 6:00pm we’re be moving to a more structured event with special guests Toein’ In The Dark, The Troubadors, and special appearances of Myke’s Bands, Earthtales, The Rawmarsh Mashers, and Tyburn + many other top names from the local and not so local acoustic music scene.  ....
Entry will be FREE but you will not escape the huge buckets that will be on site for your cash.....
.. ..
Right, back to last week’s activities.  And Nellie Folk on Monday where a select collection of folk enthusiasts got together for some great Folk Music.  Pictures of the evening are available in the White Blob bit of the Acoustic Rotherham News Page HERE and there is video of Roy Blackman performing his song “The Last Resort”  on his feature page HERE....
.. ..
The Acoustic Rotherham Web Site is of course a bit like the Humber Bridge when it comes to maintenance.  No sooner do I think it’s done then it’s back to work again.  ....
Of course just lately it’s been harder to catch up and of course it might be a little time yet before The Masher pages have been revamped.   ....
.. ..
But there is another new page of Resources I would draw your attention to.  It’s a series of Ebooks that some might find useful – and they are FREE.  So download them to your heart’s content.   HERE....
.. ..
Also this week the Diary pages have been updated with August now making an appearance and many new entries on the July listings.  There’s plenty to do this month so check them out.  July is HERE....
.. ..
Those of you listed for Acoustic Rotherham 8 HERE it’s time to send in your publicity material.  I need, 1.    200 -300 word Biog   2.  Your preferred picture   3.  And your track for the Acoustic Rotherham players. ....

Please send them to me asap.  ....

.. ..And that’s it.  ....

No comments:

Post a Comment