I've recently joined a new hard hitting guitar led trio called Aeroplanes at Brescia. The music is heavily influenced by Allan Holdsworth and also features some more laid back, folky inspired music. We recently travelled to Bagnoregio in Italy to perform our first gig together as finalists in the Tuscia Jazz Festival European Jazz Award competition. It was a fantastic week of checking out some great music, meeting new friends, eating great food and enjoying the sun! Check out this live recording of a groovy Holdsworth tune from the semifinal: It was such an honour to play our music for the judges - Kurt Rosenwinkel, Kevin Hays, Scott Colley, Eric Harland, Donnie McCaslin, Giorgio Rosciglione, Gegè Munari, Aldo Bassi, Elisabetta Antonini and Italo Leali - the director of the festival. What a lovely surprise to win! Above is Kurt and Italo presenting us with the beautifully painted plate with a portrait of Ray Charles. We will be coming back to Tuscia in Jazz 2015 to perform a gig that will be recorded and released. We are looking forward to that already! We made some lovely friends along the way - check out 2nd place winners Carla Restivo 5tet from Palermo, Italy and 3rd place winners Acquaphonica. It would be great to collaborate with these folks in the future (hint hint!) I'm also thrilled and proud to have won the 'Best New Talent' Award in the competition. Wow! Still blown away by that.. Here's a new tune that we debuted in the semi-final: What a great start to the summer! And with a view like this who could go wrong? Special thanks to Pop Teodor from JazzyBIT who took this lovely photograph. A very inspiring week indeed.
I'm very excited about this new drum kit!! Special thanks to the guys at Manchester Drum Centre who were extremely helpful and knowledgable. The Yamaha Live Custom kit is similar to the Oak Customs but the shells are 10% thicker which means I get a huge, powerful sound!
I took them out on their maiden voyage to The Netherlands for a month in April/May for Icon Theatrical's brand new show 'Somebody to Love' featuring the Bohemian Rhapsody Band. It was such a blast rockin' out every night to packed out theatres playing such well loved music. Long live Queen! Up All Night Band recently recorded some promotional videos and we are thrilled with the results. Visit our website to see the other tunes we did! Special thanks to Alex Hemingway for his great filming and editing, and Tim Thomas for his mixing skills.
In other news, I'll be heading off to Holland soon to being touring with Icon Theatrical's production The Sopranos versus The Tenors - The Battle of the Voices. It will be great to be on the road again. I won't be away too long though!
Sci-Fi Cantina QuartetLooking for something different for your upcoming event? Well head on over to check out the Sci-Fi Cantina Quartet (watch the video!)- playing a selection of your old favourite TV and movie themes including crazy sound effects and samples of the original programs. Quirky, groovy and fun, you won't be disappointed! Up All Night Function BandSpecialising in guitar driven pop & rock covers from the 60s to present day. Whether it be a splash of motown, 80's rock, 70's disco or a bit of 90's pop, Up All Night will have you up on the dance floor - all night long!
In other news, I'm finally getting used to driving (thanks to Steve Pullan - a fantastic teacher!) and all of my private students are improving and growing each time I see them. I still have a few slots available so do Contact me if you are interested. Likewise, if you need a drummer for anything, I'm your gal!
![]() That's right folks - I've finally got wheels! I can drive to gigs, and drive people to gigs. I've got a Full UK Automatic Licence along with an International Driving Permit and I've got my Canadian passport and valid 2 year UK Residence Leave to Remain Permit. All work is permitted, all systems GO! Recently, The Allsorts Band got some great videos back from a recent gig @ Splinter at The Bridge Hotel in Newcastle, check out this crazy video game console original tune by our sax man, Russ...
![]() Don't worry Mom & Dad, my glasses have no lenses! It's the latest in hip stage wear... Check out my slick new case for my Yamaha Hip Gig. Custom made in California by the folks at Beato Bags, it's made to measure for my odd shaped bass drum. It's waterproof, extremely heavy duty and makes carrying my 25kg of drums much easier (handy side handles). It had it's first wedding gig last night, and I'm a very happy gal. After searching high and low for a company that would make a case to suit my 18'' by 22'' bass drum, I've finally come across a great company with excellent customer service and flexibility (they even made me a secret compartment for sheet music at my request!) Even with the exchange rate, shipping and import tax, it's still an affordable case. They've got an extensive range of all sorts of cases, it's worth having a little gander on their site. Click on the photos below to expand them and see the finer details. I'm thrilled to announce that I've been issued my UK Residence Permit!! I am still permitted to work in the UK and now I am on route to settlement. Woo hoo!
This month my trio had a great string of workshops with Live Music Now in East Yorkshire, and we are developing a very exciting new activity we like to call 'The Style Bonanza' to debut in schools in March. Also in March, I'm starting regular work for Artforms - Education Leeds each Saturday morning at Boston Spa Music Centre. Really looking forward to leading a youngster's percussion ensemble and a family djembe class. The Allsorts are playing at Sela Bar on Monday 11 March, and are back in Bradford on 21 March at the Priestley Bar in the basement of The New Bradford Playhouse for an evening of music and cheesecake you don't want to miss. We had lots of fun this month in at the Darlington Jazz Club and can't wait to play there again. You can see us this Sunday 24th Feb at Splinter @ The Bridge Hotel in Newcastle. Keep an eye out for some revamped promo material in the near future - and as always, please get in touch if you feel so inclined! |
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