Youngest ever performer at The Navy Words by Dave Whiteman

I went to check out live music in Gnosall last week. We seem to have more than our fair share of Open Mics in the area, and normally I would go up to The Lion at Edgmond on a Thursday night. They are on a summer recess however, so it was my first opportunity to visit The Navigation, and what a great night it was. People often ask, 'which one is best?' and the simple answer is that there isn't a best....they are all different and excellent in their own way. Both Carol Cartwright and Ian Simpkins are regulars at 'The Navvie' and still enjoy The Navy, so cross pollination can be a very good thing!

Sound check complete and with the ever reliable Adam Brown on the sound desk, we fired up the evening with first act, the aforementioned Carol Cartwright. Opening with PP Arnold's 'First cut is the Deepest' she then showed her versatility by fingerpicking a lovely bit of Simon & Garfunkel and then finishing off with Rod Stewart..variety indeed!

We have been raving about Olly Flavell for some time now, and it appears that he may soon get justifiable recognition. His second place at an Open Mic competition in Bridgenorth won him the right to play at their Annual Music Festival, held on the Bank Holiday in August. Something a bit different from him tonight ..an unusual arrangement of 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' by Whitney Houston was the highlight of his short set.

His guitar is almost bigger than he is, but  10years old Moorfield School pupil Jay Harris certainly packs a pint sized punch! A great rendition of Jessie J's 'Pricetag' preceded a Jimi Hendrix classic, 'All along the Watchtower'..a song recorded before his Dad was born! I certainly hope he sticks around; by the time he hits his teens he will be truly amazing.

Bry & Steve came to the Navy for the first time last week and enjoyed it so much they came back for more. Playing a mixture of covers and originals, once again the blues riffs perfectly complemented the full melodic sound of the 12 string guitar, particularly during the early Fleetwood Mac number, 'Need your Love so Bad'..come back anytime guys.

Darcy Crawford was in a country mood this evening and after a couple of cowboy songs he surprised everyone with his final song. He always brings something new to the table and this week it was Ed Sheeran's 'Wayfarin Stranger' Accompanied by an electronic loop and vocalizer, and minus guitar, he stunned the large crowd into silence with just his voice..quite brilliant stuff.

The audience was in a very nice mood and ready for a singalong, so Dave Whiteman had them joining in with The Kinks classic, 'Lola' before once again trying out a medley of popular Queen songs.

The Nameless are a five piece band from Stafford and Wolverhampton. They have appeared at the club before in an earlier line up called Badly Overdrawn Boy, (which I thought was a great name) Songs from the Eagles, Green Day and Muse completed a fine set.

It was almost an evening without a Scratchouse band, but Neil Wilday saved the day. My favourite part of the Open Mic is when you get a bunch of musicians onstage who have never met before. The uncertainty in the eyes soon vanishes as someone starts to play a rock standard, such as 'Johnny B Goode' and then drums and bass kick in. With a rhythm section of Ed Young on bass and Andy Chapman on drums it only needed Steve Ross to complete the lineup and entertain the sixty or so crowd with songs from T Rex and Pink Floyd.

Not to be out done, 70 years young Jimmy Bremner from Telford retained the services of Steve and Ed, and along with drummer Paul Vince took the evening to a close with a selection of songs from Johnny Cash.

So yet another brilliant evening of live music at the Navy. If you play, sing or just want to watch and listen Tuesday evenings from 8pm..come and see what all the fuss is about!

It's now a week tomorrow to the highlight of the Newport Live music calendar, Newfest, at the Rugby Club from 11am till 11pm. There is a fantastic line up of around 12 bands, with the brilliant Status Quo tribute band Quo Motion, top of the bill. Entrance is £10 and camping is available for just £5 per person. Last year was a fabulous event and this year promises to be even better. See http://www.newfest.net for more information, tickets available from Hey Jude's music stall in the market hall, the Glasshouse Opticians opposite Boots and the Craft Cafe on the Wellington Road corner.

Keep it live!

Navy Open Mic. Tues 11th June Words by Dave Whiteman Photos Laurence Gale

Can anybody tell me where the year has gone? They say that time seems to go faster as you get older and I am beginning to believe it does. Seems just a few weeks ago, snow was on the ground and we were in the depths of winter, but now, perhaps because Spring was so cold, it’s almost as if we have missed a season and jumped straight in to Summer. Within a couple of weeks, the solstice will be here and we will be having the longest day of the year….after that, the nights start to draw in once again. Like I said where did it go?

Fortunately though, for music fans, there has been plenty happening over the last few weeks, with both One o’clock Hogs and Running Wild playing live in the town last weekend and of course the excellent Lost the Plot at the Newport carnival. If your need of a musical ‘fix’ is more pressing, then why not get down to the Newport Open Mic held every Tues at the Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard?

Breaking the ice this week, a welcome return for Alan Turner, whose soft melodic vocals coupled with his trusty Taylor guitar made for a great opener. Songs from  Paul Weller and Bonnie Raitt set the scene, but it was a nice version of ‘Holding back the Years’ by Simply Red that won the crowd over. Olly Flavell then brought his own compositions to the stage, and once again showed what a great young talent he is with ‘Sunday Morning’ and ‘I’m Sexy and I Know it’.

Steve Davis was back once again with his acoustic 12 string and his voice was perfectly suited to ‘Wasn’t born to Follow’ and  JJ Cale’s  ‘Clyde’ and  ‘Magnolia’, before taking us back to the sixties with ‘San Francisco’ by Scott McKenzie.

Jobe Spencer and his Mum, Zoe, got a super reception last week and this time they had worked out a brand new number, ‘Let Her Go’ by Passenger, which was quite outstanding. Only one song this time, but it was a belter!

An interesting set this week from young Nathan Davies, who is very quickly carving out a musical niche for himself. First of all he played a lovely duet with 15yrs old Angel Day, a song written by Frank Turner called ‘The Road’, before a brilliant version of ‘The Maid of the River’ by The Levellers. He then debuted a fine song written by Open Mic regular Brendan Bambro, called ‘She Knows’…a lovely song and well performed.

I remember Richard Thomas singing and playing a self penned rugby song, about ten years ago when England won the World Cup in Australia. As the Lions are touring there now he thought it appropriate to give it a dusting down, and it was as good as ever. As usual, he then gave us something completely different…..delving into his dark past to sing ‘Driving with My High Hells On’, before rocking the crowd with Tom Robinson’s ‘2 4 6 8 Motorway’.

It seemed that the audience was in the mood for a sing song, so next up, yours truly, tested the water with a little bit of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’……and as this seemed to be going so well carried on with a medley of other Queen favourites including ‘Killer Queen’ and ‘Don’t stop me now’…great audience participation!

Always nice to see new faces at the club, it shows the message is getting out there. Bryan James and Steve Ross only travelled from Donnington, but it was a pleasure to hear solid tuneful vocals supported by two accomplished guitarists….. a really nice mix. ‘The Future’s a Mystery’ written by Bryan was perfectly suited to his 12 string guitar and the second song ‘Need your Love so Bad’ showed off Steve’s bluesy solos……. I am sure we will see these guys back down the club in the near future.

As always, another superb night of local live music, but before the lights could come on the enormously talented Ben Garrott assembled a Scratchouse band with Olly Flavell on guitar, Andy Clarke on bass and Richard Morris on drums; a great rhythm section that perfectly complemented Ben’s soulful saxophone. A brilliant ending to a brilliant night!

Just a reminder that there are only a few more weeks to go before the premier music event of the year, the Newfest, held at Newport Rugby Club on the 29^th June. A few of our Open Mic members have been making sure that this year will be even bigger and better than last, with a huge line up offering around 12hours of live music. Keep an eye out for posters and tickets ….more information here in the next couple of weeks.

Heatwave, and temperatures rising in The Navy!

Words by Dave Whiteman, photography Matthew Thomas

What a difference a week makes. May thankfully disappeared after the worst Spring weather on record and June bounces into Summer with wall to wall sunshine. It even affected the sound check as last week’s choice of songs included ‘Raining in my Heart’, ‘Here comes the Rain Again’ and ‘Why does it always Rain on Me?’ whereas this week’s offering was much brighter………..’Here comes the Sun’ ‘Mr Blue Sky’ and ‘I’ll Follow the Sun!’ Whatever the weather though, it is heartening to see so many die hard live music lovers in our small town. Rain, hail or snow there is always a brilliant atmosphere at the Newport Open Mic, held every Tues at the Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard.

With the ever enthusiastic Adam Brown on the sound desk, first up this week a blues jam with Olly Flavell on guitar and vocals, rocking through Sweet Home Chicago, ably accompanied by Remynie Faith on drums and Andy Clark on bass….a great start to the evening, and had everyone’s feet tapping.

Jobe Spencer has been coming to the club for some time now, and he occasionally joins someone on stage for a little bit of shoe gazing instrumental. What a change this week! First of all he played an excellent self penned guitar composition, which he looped through his Roland amplifier so that at times it sounded like three people playing, before then inviting his mother on stage. Zoe, his Mum, is an established singer in her own right, and although suffering from a sore throat, she did an excellent job of Biffy Clyro’s ‘Many of Honour’ which went down very well with the large crowd.

Steve Davis, no not that one, next in the cue (sorry) and he took us back to the sixties with songs from The Small Faces and The Byrds……nice to see a 12 string played so well. A couple of songs from JJ Cale, ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Clyde’ completed a fine debut.

Another Davies followed on stage, this time Nathan, son of old club favourite, Martyn, sadly no longer with us. His voice has got more mature of late and he made excellent work of a couple of his father’s compositions ‘Why didn’t you say’ and ‘Another Protest Song’, this young man’s confidence grows with every performance.

Malcolm Purvis from Leeds is something of a regular now, playing at the club whenever he is working in the area. He brought a special guest tonight; Carolina Steedman from Brazil, who provided superb backing vocals to Malcolm’s thought provoking compositions. He writes and sings all his own ‘musical urban poems’ highlight of which was ‘This is my Prayer’

We don’t see Zoe Pinchin often enough these days, but it is always a pleasure to hear her pitch perfect vocals. With yours truly accompanying on guitar, she had the audience in the palm of her hand with True Colours from Cyndi Lauper, before putting her own stamp on ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ and then finishing with a super ‘To make You Feel my Love’….made famous by Adele.

Another performer we would like to see more of, Jon Pullen was next up and did a great job of the ELO classic, ‘Sweet Talking Woman’…..no easy task with just an acoustic guitar.  ‘Troubled Town’ by Jake Bugg and the Ocean Colour Scene favourite, ‘The Circle’ completed a fine set.

Nice to see Ian Simpkins returning to the club after his first visit last week. Melodic guitar and resonant voice are the tools of his trade and songs from John Lennon and Scottish duo, Gallagher & Lyle soon caught the audience interest. Once he had them, he kept them with an old spiritual song ‘Oh Mary don’t you weep’ which has been recorded by Springsteen and Aretha Franklin, amongst others….excellent stuff.  Ian runs his own Open Mic at the Star Inn, Copmere End near Eccleshall on the second Sunday of every month.

The night was just about coming to a close, when the ever reliable Rich Evans borrowed a guitar and treated us to great singalongs from The Lumineers and then Fun’s ‘We are Young’.

So once again, another superb night of entertainment at the Newport Open Mic. Around a dozen musicians, a large appreciative audience and a dry walk home….is summer here at last?!!

A bit of French ‘Ooh, la, la at the Navy! Words & Pictures by Dave Whiteman

It’s really nice to be back in Newport, despite the horrible May weather. I have been away for the last couple of months, touring around Europe, and when I do I always seek out the local music scene wherever I am. This time I managed a couple of Open Mics in Spain and also Germany, and although I enjoyed them, it was like watching a Blue Square footie match after being used to the Premier League. Very basic set ups, no lights or club instruments, and usually no sound man, the ones I visited rely very heavily on the enthusiasm of the crowd and the musicians. Well we have that in abundance at the Navy, but it is coupled with enough instruments for a six piece band, lights, PA and a resident soundman…….like I said, it’s good to be back!

Our usual opener, Carol Cartwright got the audience in the mood with her usual blend of melodic voice and soft guitar before our first newcomer of the evening. Ian Simpkins runs an Open Mic at Copmere End near Eccleshall and it was clear from his short set what a talented musician he is. Songs from Steve Earle and Guy Clark captured the audience straight away. Catch him at the Star Inn every 2^nd Sunday of the month.

Olly Flavell hadn’t intended to play this week, but after a little cajoling for yours truly, he borrowed one of the clubs guitars and reminded us all of his prodigious talent with an original set which included ‘Sunday Morning’ and ‘So in love with you’. It takes me all my time to write a column like this, never mind such lovely soulful ballads…tell me how you do it, will you?

Talking of young talent, Melissa Severn is just 15 years but she sings and plays with such maturity. Her self penned ‘songs about boys’ amused and delighted the crowd, in particular her final song about the object of her affections in her maths class, appropriately titled ‘Love struck’

Darcy Crawford was in an experimental mood tonight. After a couple of new tunes from Taoi Cruz and Garth Brooks, he surprised us all by singing his closer, ‘Je me lache’ by Christophe May, entirely in French. Always something new from this talented young man. 

Another newcomer next on stage, Mike Smitten delighted the crowd with a soft acoustic set of Beatles covers and the Willie Nelson classic, ‘You were always on my mind’…great stuff.

Vanessa Williams sang ‘You went and saved the best till last’ in 2009, and I hope I am not being dismissive of all the singers and musicians who played before when I say that that is exactly what we did. Graeme Beardmore and Sheena McDonagh are an acoustic duo called ‘Rain’ (very appropriate given the weather this month), They  heard about  Newport Open Mic from previous performers, Sons of Clogger, and travelled all the way from Stoke to bring us their excellent mix of covers and self penned songs. As soon as the first chords rang out, Joan Armatrading’s ‘Love & Affection, I sensed that we were in for something special and so it proved.

Given the location, ‘The Bosun’s Chair’, an original song about the Battle of Trafalgar, was very appropriate, showing off Sheena’s excellent vocals backed by terrific guitar from Graeme. They also showed their versatility, by responding to Darcy’s earlier French song with a brilliant version of ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’ which we know as ‘No regrets’ once again entirely in French. 

Keep eye open next week for an acapella group from Toulouse who will be entertaining us at the Navy with English covers of ‘What shall we do with the drunken sailor?’ and ‘Roll out the barrel’ (The last statement may not be entirely true.)

A busy weekend of live music next weekend. On Fri 7^th June here at the Navy, the excellent ‘One O’clock Hogs’ will be playing a charity gig in aid of Cancer Research, to celebrate what would have been the 30^th birthday of Daniel O’ Rourke. Tickets are just £3. 

The following night at Cosy Hall in Water lane Newport, prolific fund raisers ‘Running Wild’ are playing their 50^th fundraising gig having raised many thousands of pounds for great causes. This time Severn Hospice is the beneficiary. Bring your own food & drink and enjoy this great band for just a fiver. Keep it live, keep it local.