Kate's posterous

2012 and I'm excited!

Happy New Year one and all, and wishing you the very best for 2012 - a year destined to be significant for many, if you are open to the possibility of change.

I saw in the New Year in style this year, on a gig in Dubai at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel (despite having a terrible cough and cold and generally feeling very under the weather).  On 30th December I flew with 8 other musicians from a chilly London to the warm shores of the UAE where the 10th band member joined us from Manilla.  Even though the tour budget couldn't stretch to putting us all up in the Jumeriah Beach Hotel (3000 UAE Dirhams / £530 per night) we were nonetheless well looked after by the hotel, who collected us from the airport (cold towels and bottled water at the ready) and dropped off at the Academy (appartments allocated to staff at the hotel).

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After a late arrival and an early start for the most amazing breakfast buffet I've seen in a long time (since my last trip to Dubai in fact), we took the opportunity to stroll along the beach and dip our feet in the sea, before a meeting with the agent and a lengthy set-up and soundcheck on-stage.  

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The venue for the gig was a temporary, but enormous, open marquee on the hotel's private beach, where the 1000 or so guests ate another lavish buffet meal before joining the dance floor outside to party the night away with us in the run up to midnight and beyond.

 

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The countdown to midnight saw the band scrabbling for last-minute dinner and costume changes before the most spectacular fireworks display over the water.  Since the stage's backdrop was the sea and the Burj al Arab hotel, we had the best (and completely) unobstructed view of the whole display.  We then played our fourth and final set to get 2010 off to a rocking start.

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Champagne on the beach followed - the band were in high spirits by then since this was the first drink we'd been allowed to have all night.  I was the first to go to bed, since by this point the drugs (Sudafed & Cold + Flu pills) had worn off and I was feeling worse for wear.  Some of the band continued the celebrations way into the early hours of New Year's Day and only made it up in time for the plane home.

Luckily myself and two of the girls in the band had extended our stay until 5th Jan, so for us we still had a few more days of sunshine and sand.

And as for the exciting year ahead, there's been a lot of noise about 2012 and all the possible changes it may bring; from the end of the Mayan Calendar and the prophesised end of the world to shifts and changes on a much smaller scale, it seems to me that this is the year to really make of it what you will.  I for one have started as I mean to go on: working with fantastic people and having as much fun as possible along the way.
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2 gigs, 3 dresses, many 'celebs'

Saturday 9th July was a busy day for me; I had two gigs in the diary which is always good news!  The first gig was a wedding in Windlesham, Surrey, playing Trumpet Voluntary for the Bridal Procession of a wedding at noon.  I allowed plenty of time to get there but still was tight on time due to the Saturday morning traffic getting through central London.  I needn't have worried though - the bride was 40 minutes late!  Apparently she arrived at the church late, realised she had forgotten her bouquet, went back to get it, and then was having photos taken outside the church while the congregation, organist, professional choir that she had hired and myself all waited around inside.  The choir had been hired mainly to sing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus for the Bride & Groom's recessional music, but as far as I'm aware they had to give it a miss as there wasn't time!

I didn't hang around to find out - I had to get to my second gig of the day (which I missed the soundcheck for because of the delay at the church in Windlesham).  Gig Number 2 was a performance with function group The Atlantic Band playing at the Duke of Essex Polo Trophy 2011.  I had an AAA pass for the whole event, and managed to get my sister (Nicola aka 'Rubes') a free ticket too - she has a keen interest in both fashion and minor celebs from The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) etc so she was the perfect companion.  Dolled up in our new dresses from my sister's fashion boutique Ruby we enjoyed a pricey glass of Pimms while Nicola, in her element, told me who was who and why they were 'famous'.  I'm sure I've never been surrounded by so many 'reailty' tv stars; most (if not all) of the TOWIE cast were there, but surprisingly no sign of the Made In Chelsea crowd.  Both Peter Andre and Alex Reid were there (who I'm reliably informed are both exes of Katie Price) along with many, many others, including a TOWIE cast member who is actually called Joey Essex - his favourite word appears to be 'reem', whatever that means?!  (See here for an UD explanation).  All in all it was a fun day in the sunshine, a short game of polo (I never realised how short a polo match is!) and then on to the gig.

Just as I went backstage to get changed into my 3rd dress of the day (another 'Ruby'), the heavens opened and the whole place turned into a swamp - just what you need when the band is wearing all-white on stage!  I managed to keep my outfit filth-free though and had a fun gig - we were joined by Gareth Gates who got really stuck into a rendition of Mustang Sally, a guy from a new boy band I'd never heard of, and Dane Bowers (who was originally mistaken for 'one of the ones from Blue') singing an interesting version of Signed, Sealed, Delivered.  We were also due to have the pleasure of performing with Arg (James Argent from TOWIE) but he disappeared from the marquee before we could get him on stage and wasn't seen by me again for the rest of the evening.  Perhaps these Tweets of his give us a clue as to what happened:

"Last year i was singing on a lil podium at the side of the tent and tonight im on the main stage wiv a live band, Crazy! Essex Polo lets go!" (@RealJamesArgent)

"@LydiaRoseBright @kirk_official in The Helicopter haha! I'm singing later with big band so nervous!! http://yfrog.com/kfi8hij" (@RealJamesArgent)

Don't fret Arg, there's always next year!!

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Dropped for Freelancing? Comments welcome!

I was recently dropped from a ‘professional’ ensemble I have been playing with, essentially because I'm a freelancer, and I can't help but feel a little miffed at the decision.  It boiled down to the fact that I had depped quite a few of the gigs with this particular ensemble out to other trumpet players because the fees were very low, the gigs were often on the weekends, and I was eventually offered much better paid work on the same dates.  As a freelancer living in London, money can be tight, and I'm in no financial position to turn down well paid gigs; it literally makes the difference between being able to pay the rent and eat, or not - this is hardly a choice that is difficult to make when it comes down to simply being able to afford to live.  However, it's never a decision I like to make, as the gigs I had to dep out would, I'm sure, have been much more fun and enjoyable than the better paid ones I was offered instead; a point I had tried to explain to the band leader, but who seemed to take the whole thing rather badly. 

I had been very open and honest with said band leader about my position; that I rely solely on my work as a musician in order to pay the bills and while I enjoyed the gigs I played with their ensemble, if I was offered a gig that clashed and where the difference in fees was sizeable, that I would have no option but to take on the higher paid work and find a suitable dep for the original gig.  The next thing I heard from the band leader was that I had been replaced, probably indefinitely, as I wasn't seen to be showing commitment to the group.  I think that if the band leader was made uncomfortable by the knowledge that I may dep some gigs out closer to the time after originally taking them on, that I was owed the professional courtesy of them discussing these concerns with me first, not just booking somebody else and telling me the next day. 

I do understand that they want a core band of people who play at every rehearsal and gig, but if they are going to have freelancers in the band then I think it's unrealistic to expect that.  As far as I have experienced, it is standard in the industry to dep out gigs if you need to - as long as the band leader agrees and the dep is suitable.  Yes, I did have to pull out of some gigs that I originally said I could do, but I never left anybody in a position where a dep could not be found and the part left unplayed.  Unfortunately I couldn't commit more than that to the band - turning down higher fees would cripple me.  The band leader seemed to think I wanted 'one rule for me and a different one for everybody else in the band' - perhaps I was the only one there who wasn't sitting on a pile of money - or perhaps the other musicians have more secure sources of income.  Either way, I told the band leader that the only way to secure your core band members who rely solely on playing for their income is to secure higher fees for the band (in one instance I depped out a £70 gig on a Saturday night so that I could take one for £170 instead, and passed up a gig for £30 on a Monday night as I would have lost more than that from not doing my teaching while at the gig).   I think when you're working with an established band it is not unreasonable to expect a decent fee - or dep out the work appropriately as required.

So, now I've been replaced, and while I don't have any hard feelings about it if that is the basis on which the ensemble is going to be run, I do think it's a very dangerous move in terms of them maintaining the highest possible performance standards.  If they are only going to work with musicians who can commit 100% to all gigs regardless of the fee, thus essentially ruling out working with freelancers, won't they essentially end up with a band of amateurs?  I don’t mean that to sound like a negative comment – there are many amateur musicians who perform to exceptionally high standards, of course – but if you want to run a band as a professional outfit, surely it would be best to use professional musicians?  I would appreciate any thoughts or comments you have on this – have I just got the wrong end of stick, or is my approach to working as a freelancer in line with everybody else’s?

Culture Vulture

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I have really been enjoying myself lately, and have seen a rather wide variety of live performances (aside from the ones I've been playing in).  In the last few of weeks I have been to see:

The Monteverdi Vespers concert was wonderful - I went with my mum, who had heard it performed once before in Westminster Cathedral.  I myself had never heard it performed live, and King's Place is such a wonderful venue for a work like that because it's so intimate.  Both the choir and the orchestra were superb. Being a trumpet player I was naturally impressed by the stunning cornet playing, but I'd never heard the OAE perform before and the sound created with the period instruments and voices in plainsong was truly divine.  The concert was recorded and I'm very much looking forward to hearing the recording when it is available.

The Lying Down Concert was an interesting concept.  It was the London Premier of Earthrise composed by Alec Roth as a commission for Ex Cathedra to celebrate their 40th year.  This coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing, and of the famous picture of the Earth rising above the surface of the Moon.  Roth writes "the music of Earthrise is a meditation on this icon and falls into three sections:
Part I - Man's constant drive for exploration and exploitation
Part II - A contemplation of the Earth seen from space
Part III - a plea for true wisdom and understanding
The text is set in the Latin of the Vulgate, and the whole is topped and tailed by two of the Great Advent Antiphons."
Well, I'm not too sure about the deeper meanings of some of that, but I can assure you that the concert was a unique experience for me.  Never have I been to a concert (in the Royal Opera House no less) and been invited to lie down on the floor, beneath a Floating Forest, and listen to a mixture of traditional and contemporary Japanese music (Takemitsu) alongside Messiaen, Tallis and the new Roth piece, all whilst watching the light show dance on the 'trees' and whilst an aerialist spins above me.  I came out of the concert feeling as though I had meditated for just over an hour - what a wonderful way to enjoy some very earthly music.

Next up was a new play, Bedlam, at The Globe.  I'd never been to The Globe before and that in itself is an experience - a rebuild of Shakespeare's Globe which transports us back to Elizabethan London, and that includes paying extra to sit down and even more for a cushion!  But back to Bedlam, an extravaganza that is set in a fictionalised version of Bethlem Hospital, London's infamous insane asylum, in the middle of the 18th century.  This is the first play ever written by a woman to be staged at The Globe so it was good to see history in the making, and although there were mixed reviews from the press, I thoroughly enjoyed the play and the whole Globe experience (including my friend Jim being dragged up on stage as part of the audience participation and the free bar afterwards, since we went on press night and Jessica Swale, the director, is a friend of mine).

The trip to Poland was exciting for me as I'd never visited the country before and didn't really know what to expect.  I found out that the people are very friendly, everything is pretty cheap, and since the weather was nice I spent 4 days wandering around Wroclaw thoroughly enjoying myself.  The language is hard though - I learnt how to thank people in Polish and that was about it unfortunately, but I did see the hotel that Hitler used to stay in - pointed out to me by a taxi driver to which I replied "oh, wow, that's...very interesting" as I wasn't really sure how else to respond.  I was actually in Poland to tag along with my boyfriend Sam, who was performing and recording the gargantuan Berlioz work 'Grand Messe des Morts' in the Mary Magdalene Church in Wroclaw.  This huge piece of music required a choir of 200-odd singers, a full orchestra, with an additional 4 'brass bands' and drums stationed in the corners of the stage and adjacent alcoves - 400 performers in total, including:

I sat in the church for some of the rehearsals and recording, but hearing the piece performed in full during the concert, with the sun setting through the huge window behind the stage, was incredible - the wall of sound that hit you when the full ensemble was performing was contrasted perfectly with the sections of quiet a cappella singing by the semi-chorus; a truly beautiful sound.  I was so pleased I was able to see this concert - I knew quite a few of the guys that had been booked in the brass section and it was great to hear such an epic piece with those big brass moments, but the rest of the orchestra and the choir were wonderful too, and this work is performed so rarely because of the sheer scale of it and the amount of personnel needed to do it justice.  I just hope I get booked to play it one day!

Tweeting is easier!

I realise I have been rather slack on the blogging front.  I have to say, Tweeting is so much easier; I think micro-blogging is much more my style!  However, I will now attempt to condense the last 6 months into a sensibly sized blog post.

So, after a quiet January, February wasn’t much of an improvement.  Aside from my regular teaching work I had two function band gigs and a handful of rehearsals for The Bombshellettes and T.Mandrake.  On a positive note, I did have a couple of lessons with an old teacher of mine, Andy Mitchell.  Andy is principal trumpet with the English National Ballet and professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Junior Department (where he used to teach me).  I was put back in contact with him by one of my former RAM tutors, Mark David, who’d been working with Andy and suggested I get back in touch.  I’d not seen him in ten years, so obviously there had been quite a change in my playing since he’d last taught me!  We had a couple of lessons working on a recital programme I had coming up and it was so useful to get a new perspective from an old tutor.

Things started picking up a bit in March.  I had my recital – one of the highly coveted lunchtime concerts at Chichester Cathedral which went very well indeed.  The venue was full, there were literally hundreds of people there to see the concert, including my mother – my number one fan!  I also had a photo shoot with Cavendish Brass which was a really fun day and we got some great shots for our new website (http://www.cavendishbrass.com).  I played with Zone One Brass (ZOB) at the Regional contest and we failed to qualify for the National Finals – very disappointing indeed considering how well we felt we’d played and especially after listening to the recording of our performance.  Oh well, the politics of the brass band world are far too ridiculous to get into now.

April was a rather average month, although I did play a fun charity gig at The Parish Church of the Annunciation, Marble Arch.  The concert was a fundraiser for the church, with many actors and singers involved, and I was booked to open the show with a performance of Let The Bright Seraphim along with soprano Eli Rolfe Johnson and organist Olly Lallement. 

The month of May was ZOB madness.  The band played in two contests that were two weeks apart; the first in Blackpool and the second at the All England Masters in Kettering .  The rehearsing paid off and the band did rather well – 2nd in Blackpool and 5th at the Masters.

In June I launched my new Live Music Night at a bar in Soho called El Camion (formerly El Camino).  The night runs every Tuesday and I book four acts to play a 30 minute slot each.  So far it’s all been going really well, and I’m trying to build up the reputation of the venue and the night as a respectable one to play on the London circuit for those looking for an intimate performance space. 

July was a very busy month – spent a couple of days up north with Oompah Brass doing some outreach work with them which was great fun.  The Bombshellettes opened the main stage at the Lovebox festival which was a big step forwards for the band.  I then spent 3 weeks in France for the Opera de Bauge festival, which was a great experience.  3 operas in 3 weeks (Mozart – Magic Flute, Verdi – Rigoletto, Handel – Julius Caesar), I met some great people, enjoyed the operas and in general had a wonderful time. 

So, that took me into August, and then it’s been all about the function band scene since then.  I had some Bombshellettes gigs too; a wedding that was basically a 3-day festival, as you do, and a fun gig at Floridita.  I've been Oomping again, with Oompah Brass at Katzenjammers in London Bridge for a couple of Friday nights, which is always great fun.  I saw their new show up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last month - "The A-Z of Oompah" - which was excellent.  I had a fun few days at the Fringe actually, saw a few shows, played a jazz quartet gig, and it was sunny for a change!

So, now it's September, the schools are back which means I'm back to many hours of teaching and driving, but it's good for paying the rent.  I'm off to Poland on Friday to see my boyfriend singing in a concert or two out there, and then back to London in time to run another night at El Camion.  I will, of course, attempt to blog more regularly, but life's busy and I'm promising nothing!

New Year, New Start

Since I last wrote a blog entry I have quite literally taken my life apart and put it back together again.  Still, it's a new year, "time for a new start" and all of those other impossibly optimistic New Year cliches.

Anyway, the start of this year was not looking so good for me on the diary front.  The run up to Christmas and New Year was pretty busy, as it always is, but what with the credit crunch in full effect, this January has seen a decline in the function band work I have relied on in the past to get me through the lean months - no more corporate award ceremonies for "salesperson of the year" or Christmas parties in January (even though the venues are cheaper).

January was going to be a really tight month until I got a call offering me a gig - The Lifeline Gig - with a week's notice.  It's great when that happens.  One minute you're looking at your budget for the rest of the month and wondering how you're going to live on £1.52 for food and petrol (because it has snowed too much, so your teaching keeps getting canceled and therefore you don't get paid), to breathing that huge sigh of relief when you get off the phone knowing that you are actually going to make it through to see February without having to beg (although I did have to buy cheap baked beans, and they were horrible). 

In a way, the quieter months at the start of the year can be quite relaxing after the manic pre-Christmas workload, and it gives you time to sort out your accounts and file your tax return and generally get your life in order.  It's also a great time to do some decent practice, rather than only having time to play during gigs.  And I've taken on the role of 'Chief Ironer' for my mum and sister as I have the time to do it and they have the cash to pay me for it. 

And so tomorrow will see my playing for Guildford Philharmonic in a Magical Kingdom children's concert.  The dress code is "smart casual and loads of bling and a mad hat if you've got one" but I'm not complaining, just happy to be out working!

Recital On Sunday 8th November

I'm performing a solo recital at St John's Church in Fulham on Sunday evening and it would be lovely to see you there.  The concert will begin at 7.30pm following Evensong, doors will be open from 7pm.  Tickets are available in advance at a cost of £6.50 (for telephone bookings please call 08444 771 000 or to buy online please visit http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=xxx&query=schedule&promoter=heartoffulham).  Tickets can also be bought on the door at a price of £7.

For health reasons (!) I have had to change my programme so it is not as advertised on the website, but I have a great evening's entertainment lined up for you so please do come if you can.

St John's Church is easy to find from Fulham Broadway Tube Station and is on the corner of the Fulham Broadway and North End Road. 

Buses
28, 391, 211, 295, 14, 414

Tube
Fulham Broadway (Wimbledon Distict Line)


Postal

St John's Church, North End Road, Fulham, SW6 1PB

Telephone
020 7385 7634

Fax

020 7385 7634

Email

admin@stjohnsfulham.org

An Oompah Brass Update

If you read my blog post back in September (On Tour With Oompah Brass) you will know that I spent a week in August at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, performing with Oompah Brass in a show called Blow Up! The Credit Crunch Musical (www.blowupthemusical.co.uk).

Although my part in Oompah Brass' 3-week stint was only a small one, I'm glad to say it all went rather well: of their 23 scheduled shows and four extras, they sold out all but one and got 5* and 4* reviews in The Times, The Scotsman, The Mail (hmm...), etc.  They shared the bill with the likes of Frank Skinner, Rich Hall, Simon Amstell, Adam Hills and Jason Byrne, and in fact Frank Skinner has since asked them to appear in his London show on 9th November too.

Blow Up is hosted by failed German banker Max Klein who explains the rise and very recent fall of the world's economy, through the medium of pop tunes in a Bavarian style played by Oompah Brass, who will be drinking beer and wearing improbably tight lederhosen. Honestly.

Anyway, they've now brought Blow Up to London, which is really the point of this post. I highly recommend you go to see the show either at the Leicester Square Theatre on Sundays or the King's Head, Islington. Full details below. NB It's cheaper to go as a group... ;o).  And if you're planning on going then let me know as I love this show and would happily watch it over and over!

Sunday performances at The Leicester Square Theatre (6 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX)

Nearest tubes: Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus

Sunday 25th October, 19.30

Sunday 1st November, 19.30

Sunday 8th November, 19.30

Sunday 15th November, 14.45

Sunday 22nd November, 16.00

Sunday 29th November 19.30

Running time: 70 minutes.

Tickets £17.50 standard stalls, £15 concessions, £12.50 group rate (8 or more)

Book online here or call 0844 847 2475

 

Weds, Thurs, Sat performances at The Kings Head Theatre, Islington (115 Upper Street, N1 1QN), all 22.00-23.10

Nearest tubes: Angel, Highbury & Islington

Wednesday 14th, Thursday 15th October

Wednesday 21st, Thursday 22nd October

Wednesday 28th, Thursday 29th October

Wednesday 4th, Saturday 7th November

Thursday 12th, Saturday 14th November

Wednesday 18th, Saturday 21st November

Weds 25th, Thurs 26th, Sat 28th November

Tickets £17.50 standard stalls, £15 concessions, £12.50 group rate (8 or more)

To book, call 0844 209 0326 or visit the theatre’s website here

 

Links

www.blowupthemusical.co.uk 

www.oompahbrass.com 

www.charlietalbot.co.uk/C&B 

 

Here’s the official blurb from their management company:

 

‘Blow Up The Credit Crunch Musical’ will have its West End Premiere on Sunday 25th October at the Leicester Square Theatre. It will continue to perform there for the next 5 Sundays. Times vary from 14.45 to 16.00 to 19.30. Please note that group bookings of 8 or more receive a £5 reduction on the ticket price of £17.50. The show runs for 70 minutes without an interval. Please see the attachment ‘London PR’ for further details.

Blow Up will also be playing at the King's Head Theatre at 22.00 on certain dates from 14th October onwards. Again please see the ‘London PR’ attachment.

Blow Up and Oompah Brass are also available for corporate bookings. We can offer an evening of theatre, music, comedy and dancing, adapted specifically for your event. Perfect for corporate Christmas celebrations.  Please see the attachment ‘Corporate PR’.

As you may know, ‘Blow Up The Credit Crunch Musical’ was a huge sell-out hit at this year's Edinburgh Festival. Please see the ‘Press Summary’ attachment. Additional information can be found on www.blowupthemusical.co.uk.

If you have any further questions please call our manager Philip Talbot on 07775 517411.

STOP PRESS - Oompah Brass have just been booked to appear with Frank Skinner in his new West End run.

 

As I said, it’s a great show – if you go to see it please post your comments here, I’d love to hear your reactions!

A Painful Couple of Months

August and September were pretty painful from a trumpet player’s perspective, and October is proving to be no different.  Since the start of August I’ve been suffering with a cough that just won’t go away.  After the first month of non-stop coughing, and having pulled my intercostals muscles (an old coughing injury which is now re-occurring) I decided I’d better see a doctor.  The main problem for me here is not the irritating cough, it’s the fact that it simply hurts to breathe in and out under any normal circumstance.  So, imagine if you will, how painful it is to take in enough air to play a brass instrument and then be able to muster enough diaphragm support to blow that air back out again.  So, I went to see the doctor; otherwise I was soon going to have to start turning down work on the basis that it was just too painful to play.

The doctor’s first assumption was a chest infection, and so put me on a course of antibiotics, which did nothing to help.  The second assumption was asthma, which they’ve struggled to test me for effectively as my ribs have been so sore that I can’t blow hard enough on the testing equipment for them to register proper results – an odd situation for a trumpet player to be in, I’m sure you’ll agree!  Still baffled by the on-going chest trouble, I was referred for a chest x-ray which came back normal.

Along side the asthma testing I was referred for physiotherapy on the NHS, which has been amazingly helpful.  The stretches and exercises given to me by my physiotherapist, Lorna, have been really very helpful, although without my doctor curing the cough she can only do so much to help me.  And the latest exercise of putting my fingers underneath my ribcage and pulling it outwards is pretty grim.  The intercostal inflammation (which was pulling my ribcage outwards) has gone down but now my diaphragm is under tension (which is pulling my ribcage inwards – hence the new exercise).

After a rehearsal with the Big Beer Band last week I have had two ‘remedies’ suggested to me.  The first was a homeopathic treatment called Bryonia, which is apparently excellent for clearing up coughs (cleared up somebody’s 10-month cough in 2 days apparently).  The second was to try changing my toothpaste…Apparently, toothpaste can contain irritants which can affect the chest and cause relentless coughing; a change in toothpaste brand may solve all my problems.  To be frank, I’m at the stage where I’m willing to try anything.  The toothpaste suggestion was a very interesting one.  I have been staying with a friend recently and using their toothpaste and my cough was much better until I went back home again.  However, a week on with different toothpaste and I’m still coughing, so I guess that’s not it.  I haven’t managed to find any Bryonia but am now trying an alternative homeopathic remedy for coughs and chest trouble.  In the meantime I shall just have to keep loading up on the “2x Ibuprofen + 2x paracetamol to be taken 1 hour before playing” method, which does work, but I’d prefer not to have to take so many drugs and just get the cough sorted once and for all.

On tour with Oompah Brass!

I was invited on tour with Oompah Brass in August for the first week of their 3-week stint at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  I’d played two gigs with the group before; the first where I depped on first trumpet at the Octoberfest Pub in Fulham, where they have a residency, and was confronted with a first trumpet ‘bolting’ solo (i.e. you must down a pint [for girls] or stein [for boys] during a few bars rest – which I accomplished with the help of my Exeter University training!) and a German festival in a location which at the moment escapes me (again, I was depping on first trumpet so it’s not a big surprise that I can’t remember which town we were in).  So, when I got the call to see if I was free to go up to Edinburgh for a week I knew I was in for a good time. 

The Oompah Philosophy is this: they started out with the firm intention of being a traditional German Oompah Band, playing all the famous waltzes, polkas and marches that nobody will have heard of.  Very quickly they realised that it was much more fun for the audience, and especially the band, to play tunes everyone knows and can sing along to. Thus they began to arrange classic pop songs with a slight Bavarian lilt, and Oompop was born!

The Oompah Edinburgh Fringe Festival experience was an interesting one.  Accommodation was a tent on a campsite a short taxi ride away from the city centre.  Initially dubious of this set-up, I eventually succumbed to the way of camping life and rather enjoyed myself in the end!  This was of course due to the Oompah approach to life on tour – eat haggis, drink scotch and be merry.  But in all seriousness, I was very well looked after by the Oompah boys, who provided a blow-up bed, an extra sleeping bag, plenty of tea and general fun and games. 

In terms of the work, the average day consisted of a show at the GRV Theatre playing in “Blow Up! The Credit Crunch Musical”, and busking on the Royal Mile and various other locations around the city.  It has to be said that the GRV is one of the hottest venues I have ever played in.  Despite a capacity of about 60 people and the efforts of a small air conditioning/de-humidifying unit, the theatre managed to clock up temperatures to give your average sauna a run for its money.  At least we were provided with beer for the duration of the show, which lasted but an hour, and at least for me, the outfit wasn’t overly stifling…  As an ex-City worker, I found the show particularly enjoyable, as I knew only too well the trials and tribulations of the world of finance, which was expertly explained by comedian and writer “Max Klein”.  The busking slots were also pretty interesting…Oompah Brass are without doubt the loudest brass quintet I have ever played with, and whilst the majority of Fringe visitors were very supportive of our efforts, some of the locals were slightly overwhelmed by the noise and we were moved on more than once in order to keep the peace (quite literally) between festival organisers and Edinburgh residents.

The show was a massive success for the entire three week run – they sold out pretty much every day, and additional shows were added to the bill at the GRV to cater for increasing demand, as well as requests from top-class comedians who just had to have an injection of Oompah in their show (Rich Hall, Frank Skinner, Ali McGregor to name but a few!).  You can see some of the rave reviews here.  I had a great time up in Edinburgh, and am pleased to report that Blow Up! is coming to London – I will post details as soon as I know them.  This really is a show worth seeing – even if I do say so myself!

Some Oomp-related links for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.oompahbrass.com

http://www.oompahbrass.com/Fest_Pub.html

http://www.blowupthemusical.co.uk/

http://www.myspace.com/oompahbrass

http://twitter.com/OompahBrass

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/wear/low/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8197000/8197180.stm


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