Wow! The 25th Ely Folk Festival - what a scorcher!! Superb line-up and tremendously hot camping!

The Bounty Hounds were thrilled to be invited to play a short set in Marquee 2 on Friday night as part of a showcase of local bands organised by the lovely Mr Mark Lemon. It was all jolly exciting to be on a proper stage with real sound engineers and everything! And, of course, we totally rocked!

Given that we had only a half hour set to get our frocking message across, we went straight for the jugular and played eight of our most folk rocking songs to a huge audience - don’t be fooled by the video - they were all standing outside the marquee due to the intense heat inside!!

Here’s a little taste on YouTube: Far Away by the Bounty Hounds, Ely Folk Festival 2010

The feedback afterwards was really positive, we sold several of our new CDs “Tales of the Land and Songs of the Sea” and we’re hoping that the festival organisers will see sense and invite us back for a full length set (or two) for next year!

Festival highlights for me …. the beautiful Floozies, the amazing Lau, a lovely trip into Ely on Saturday, the fabulous Oysterband, Chris & Denny of course, Tyde, Dogan Mehmet and best of all, having my fella camp with me for one night only!! Woop woop!

Photos soon ….

Wowee!! What a totally Bounty Hounding folk rocking weekend it was! I just don’t know where to start, except the beginning seems to be as good a place as any! So, dear reader, please read on -’cos you couldn’t make it up!!!

Having packed all our PA, instruments, camping gear & stuff into cars, caravans and a “mobility scooter” transit (very rock & roll), the Bounty Hounds set forth for the crowded streets of Rochester to play two gigs at the famous Sweeps Festival. We braved the clogged up M25 on a sweltering Friday afternoon, and finally arrived at the school playing field that was to be our campng platz for the weekend. So far, so good! The tents were erected, fish & chips were eaten and all was well with the world!

Bounty Hounds base camp at Rochester 2009

Saurday dawned bright and clear. The happy campers had a hearty breakfast before heading into town with the Green Dragon Morris side, for a day of dancing and merry making …

Breakfast before dancing!

A wicked time was had by all. The streets were packed, the music was great and everyone was getting excited about our first gig of the festival at Ye Arrow that afternoon. So off we went back to the campsite, with plenty of time to get changed, load up the PA and ready our intruments. Our spirits could not have been higher as we left the campsite in the trusty mobility van ready to “folk rock and roll” (that’s “frock” for short!!) And this is where it started to go wrong! It seems impossible to think of it now, but having left the campsite with a five minute journey to make back into town, the Bounty Hounds in the van managed to get lost! And in true Spinal Tap style, after driving around for 25 minutes, we finally drove back past the entrance to the campsite! Needless to say, the stress was setting in. It was hot, hot, hot. We were late, late late. And “let’s rock, rock, rock” had become “shit, shit shit!!”.

Hey Ho! We finally arrived at the venue, via the scenic route, tempers slightly fraying, only to find we couldn’t get anywhere near the pub with our gear due to hoards of morris dancers in the street. Bring on our first encounter with the Rochester stewards. Finally, and after much negotiation, we were escorted round the houses and in through a back route to a parking space no nearer the pub than we’d been in the first place!! Now remember, dear reader, it was hot, hot, hot! After humping all our gear into the pub, we got ready to play - under bright skylights in an already airless pub … we launched into our set!

Bounty Hounds at Ye Arrow, Rochester 2009

The set went well, but the heat meant that most of our audience was outside the pub, and we finished up as a rather soggy set of worn out musicians. But hey - that’s frock & roll! And we did get lots of great feedback from those stalwart fans who stayed inside till the end.

Now it was time to go back to the campsite and chill, and with no commitments for the Sunday, Saturday night became a beer, bbq and campfire joke fest with Bounty Hounds & Green Dragons joining in the merriment until the wee small hours. Highlights being the coining of the word ”frock”, the new way to describe folk rock, and the opening of the gates of hell deep within the burning embers of our bbq fire! I suppose you had to be there?!

Sunday! A day of rest and time to enjoy the festival. The sights and sounds in Rochester High Street were superb. We heard some great bands, including one at the pub we were going to be playing at on the Monday. We stayed just long enough to hear their version of “King of the Faeries” and realise it was the same arrangement as we would be playing the following day. Not to worry - the crowd would be a different one by then!  And these guys were great …. especially the couple with their impromptu dancing - it was beautifully hypnotic and graceful (thanks guys!)

Hurdy gurdy, fiddle & dancing

Sunday over and a quieter night back at the campsite …. the least said about the magical sky lantern the better, I think : ) And so to the final day of the festival. The Bounty Hounds were booked to play at lunchtime at the Eagle Tavern in the High Street, so we packed up all the tents and set off in plenty of time to allow for getting lost, breaking down or any other misadventure that might befall us! We negotiated easily with the stewards this time and got the “van of frock” (mobility transit) through the barriers and outside the pub ready to unload. Except this time, we were followed in by several fire engines that had been called to deal with a roof fire at the casino opposite the pub!!!

Casino on fire!

So just as we were ready to play, the entire area was evacuated and barriers put in place to keep the crowds back. The only problem being of course, was that we were in a pub inside the evacuated area, with a bbq running, band ready to play and not a soul in sight!

Evacuated area outside the Eagle Tavern

Ho hum! What to do now? With no idea how long the road would be closed, we could only wait it out. Luckily the landlord & landlady allowed us to bring Meera into their not dog friendly pub to wait with us. Meanwhile Gill was elsewhere in the High Street having gone to park the car and deal with Matty’s dodgy doggy tummy! This is a relevant detail as you will soon see, dear reader!

So, without any warning, the road was suddenly reopened and we launched into our set with gusto in order to attract passers-by into the empty pub. This ploy was working well until we were told we had to move the van of frock from outside the pub!!!! This meant Shaun (our drummer) had to leave us, not a good plan when you’re trying to drum up an audience (excuse the pun!) but negotiation on this was a non-starter. So off Shaun went to navigate the entire length of the packed High Street to park the van. It was pretty unlikely he’d be back before the end of the set!! We continued playing in true Bounty Hounds spirit and when Shaun reappeared five minutes later, we learned that he’d bumped into Gill (and Matty) and she’d gallantly taken over the removal of said vehicle! Phew! We ended up playing to a packed pub and the Bounty Hounds lived to tell the tale (albeit several months later!)

So with one final police escort ….

The van of frock with police escort

… we concluded our eventful stay in Rochester and returned to the more simple and calming life in sunny Suffolk. What a weekend! See you there again next year!

Firstly, I just have to say a massive thank you to my fellow Bounty Hounds for yet another blistering night of fab folk rocking at the Red House, Stanningfield. Solid as a rock! And a huge shout too to our fantastic hosts, Neil & Amanda, they certainly know how to throw a party!

Amanda & Neil outside their pub in Stanningfield

As a prequel to St Patrick’s Night, Guinness hats were donned, the theme was green, and many, many pints of stout were murdered alongside two guest beers, Hound Dog & Birthday Piddle!

The Bounty Hounds had prepared a cunning set of tunes and songs appropriate to the night, with a couple of old Irish favourites thrown in especially for the occasion. Whiskey in the Jar finally made it into the set (please see previous post - Shaun’s Baptism of Fire) and, along with Irish Rover, renaming Harvest Home to the Cork Hornpipe, and a couple of Waterboys songs, we just about got away with the “Irish Night” billing!

The Bounty Hounds raising the roof at the Red House
(check out the scaffolding next time you’re in Stanningfield!)
Photo by Bob Atkinson

We launched into our first set with fantastic audience feedback right from the start - the St Patrick’s Night party had begun! And what a night it was! Special mention must be made of the two lovely line dancing ladies in green - nice one girls! Gill and her friends were up on the floor too, along with various members of the local crowd. Anthony & David were charming, while Sasha & Sophie “pico chattted” the night away …

St Patrick’s party time at the Red House
Photos by Gill Bosley & Bob Atkinson

We rocked and we rolled, we jigged and we reeled, and I can honestly say it was a “right rum do”. Thanks again to Amanda & Neil for having us. Hopefully we’ll be back again soon!

And if you’re appetite is whetted … you can have more Bounty Hounding tonight for St Patrick’s Night proper, at the Pot Black Snooker Club in Bury St Edmunds. Way hay and up she rises - see you there!! That is if Shaun makes it back in time from his VIP visit to the O2 to see his brother’s band Fanfarlo supporting Snow Patrol!!! There Shaun, I’ve said it!

Oh what a night! Yesterday evening the Bounty Hounds ventured forth once more to distant realms, the “other side of Mildenhall”, although home turf for Kev. This was the next installment of our Suffolk pub gigs tour, and our first time at the Rose & Crown. The first thing that struck me, apart from being billed as the Bounty Hunters (oops), was the perfect raised area for the band to use. A smart little stage opening onto a good sized room, with plenty space for us and for our audience.

Lovely stage area full of Bounty Hound kit

By the time we opened the first set with High Germany the bar had filled with friendly looking locals and a posse of regular Bounty fans. So I’m thrilled to announce that we didn’t disappoint! The sound was good, thanks to Guy’s JBLs, the monitors were working well for all of us, the rhythms were tight, and very soon heads were nodding and feet were tapping.

The good vibes continued throughout the evening, people were dancing, and I reckon I can speak for all the Hounds when I say it was a thoroughly top night. We didn’t have to fish for an encore either - the crowd really did call out for “MORE”! We gave them a test run of Whisky in the Jar in preparation for St Patrick’s Night and we just about got away with it … hee hee!

CDs were sold, we got a booking for a private party and the positive feedback was immense. So a big thank you to the Rose & Crown, to our stalwart supporters and to everyone there who allowed our folk to rock!

P.S. These are my new gigging shoes!

Once again, a storming night of music and mayhem at the Greyhound Pub was enjoyed by one and all, not least by us, the Bounty Hounds. The scene was set … twinkly lights, Santa on his sleigh, baubles galore, and a tinsel-tastic backdrop to Shaun’s sparkly drumkit. Your favourite Suffolk folk rock band was packed full of festive cheer, (even Kevin was feeling a bit better), and armed with a bunch of seasonal tunes and old faithfuls ready to be shared.

Flempton Greyhound - December 2008

The evening started out quite sedately with a modest, yet appreciative, crowd. The ladies’ darts team were enjoying a Christmas meal in the restaurant while we serenaded from the bar and doing a damn fine job, if I say so myself. Personally, I was really happy with the fiddle sound, and we got off to a Flying Dutchman’s start with a tight and solid first set.

Our second set saw a slight adjustment to the set list, bringing forward the Bounty Hounds’ Christmas medley, those famously raucous jigs, I Saw Three Ships and In Dulce Jubilo (Good Christian Men Rejoice). We pulled it off loud and clear, and the only shame is that we won’t be able to do it again until next Christmas!

Then the fun really started! Someone suggested we should all make like chickens for the Hen’s March and the silliness just accelerated from then on, never mind the slipped whistle! The a’capella Valpariso Round the Horn brought tears to my eyes - you just couldn’t make it up - except that was exactly what the Hounds seemed to be doing! All I can say is thank goodness for our special guest star, the lovely Gill Bosley, whose guitar on Dark Island and vocal harmonies on Island in the Rain brought a certain sense of decorum back to the proceedings.

The bar was filling up by now, Andy was wearing his special hat and Shaun was on the cusp of getting lucky with the ladies’ darts team, well that is until it all got a bit loud and they retreated back to the restaurant - sorry ’bout that mate - and we were able to bring our set to a stunning climax with Matty Groves, complete with a sly geeetar Christmas carol thrown in to maintain the festive theme, and Against the Run of Play to finish.

Finish? What so soon? I hear you say … of course not silly! We had plenty more up our bountiful sleeves. We chucked in the wicked Fifteen Years from the Levellers, and iced the Bounty Hound’s Christmas trifle with  what else but the best Christmas song (ever!), Fairytale of New York, featuring none other than Gill Bosley once more - not so lovely now huh?? ; )

Fairytale of Flempton - a Christmas love song

So all that now remains is to wish everyone a very happy Christmas from the Bounty Hounds and look forward to seeing you all again in the New Year!

Well, folk rockers! It might have been cold and wet outside but the festive atmosphere on Friday at the Cock & Bell Inn, Long Melford couldn’t have been warmer! Literally! The Bounty Hounds arrived early to set up for a return gig at this great pub and the first thing we had to do was turn off all the radiators surrounding us - phew! Once we’d set up all our equipment, including Shaun’s lovely drum kit and our fab new mixing desk, we were ready to folk & roll!

Bounty Hounds at the Cock & Bell Inn, Long Melford, 28th Nov 2008

This, of course, was the single date on our “Arrival of the Local Hero Tour” - meaning Shaun’s first Bounty Hounds gig ever, on his own turf, with plenty of support from his family and friends. In fact, there was a good crowd in altogether, including faithful Darren, roadie & potential chauffeur to the poor afflicted Kevin who looked more like he should be tucked up in bed rather than out gigging - thanks Kev, you did a sterling job and we couldn’t do it without you!

Shaun’s Fan Club

As for Shaun’s debut, we reckon a huge pat on the back and a round of applause is in order! Despite struggling to hear the vocals and fiddle through the monitors, Shaun’s top quality, high energy drumming performance was solid, reliable and a testament to all his hard work. I particularly enjoyed King of the Faeries - but then I always do - and Andy’s unexpected whistle between The Hen’s March and The Four Poster Bed brought a smile to everyone’s face!

Thanks also to Gill, not only for bringing the camera again, but for transporting those lovely audience members as well, and the Morris Men of Little Egypt were well represented too - we do appreciate all this support!

And so to conclude, after a whole load of foot tapping, hand clapping, and even some dancing, we finished the set with a massive encore of Fast Lane Driver, followed quickly by John performing an acoustic Whiskey in the Jar for the rowdy hecklers whose request for this song comes as no surprise.
Shall we include it in our future sets? Maybe we will, maybe we won’t - you’ll just have to wait and see!!

On a cold, dark, wet (very wet!) evening in November the Bounty Hounds braved the elements, taking to the high seas once more (well very deep puddles) in order to bring songs and live music to the good people of Barrow. The welcoming atmosphere at the Weeping Willow more than made up for the treacherous journey getting there and, as always, we served up a generous helping of ditties, tunes and all out good honest folk rock music!

But before I tell the tale of our most recent gig, I must first send heartfelt condolences to Kevin on the loss of Fluffy Cat - may he rest in peace x…

And so to the tale of tonight’s Bounty Hounds adventure. For starters, we had the privilege of having Mr Rob Longfoot along for the ride. Our original slow roasted drummer, having stepped into the breach after only one rehearsal of new material, came up with all the beats (and more?!?!), with such fun & finesse it was a real breath of fresh air! Thanks so much Rob! It certainly looked like you enjoyed it as much as we did, despite it not being your type of music type of thing ; )

Personally, I struggled with my fiddle tuning for most of the first set, but at least I was wearing my new Autumn/Winter ‘08 gigging frock which, combined with Andy’s funky hair band, was enough to keep the audience distracted I think. Apparently the frock was distracting Andy too - so results all round I reckon!

Our set went down a storm at this comfortable country pub and, despite the most hideous weather, a great crowd turned out, including some regular followers (you’re brill!) and some new friendly critics (scary!!)

Spooky Hallowe’en moment for me was the fact that I met not one, but two people from my home town Huddersfield and, having just driven back from there earlier today, it made me think I must check the boot of my car next time!

But the best was yet to come, me hearties! Having cut me off in the prime of my Crazy Man Michael solo, John succumbed to my curse when he lost a crown half way through our final, specially requested song, Fifteen Years. The offending tooth dropped into his mouth rendering him temporarily useless as a singer but we somehow managed to “bridge the gap” (sorry!!) until he’d had chance to spit it out and carry on. The crowd went wild and called out for more … so we played Fast Lane Driver as an encore : )

And so ends the tale of Mr Longfoot and the Tooth Fairy. Keep checking back for the next installment when we’ll be playing at the Cock & Bell in Long Melford on 28th November, for the first time with our wonderful new drummer, Shaun.
I just can’t wait!!!

The Bounty Hounds really excelled themselves on Saturday at the Greyhound Pub in Flempton! Not only did we folk rock this friendly local venue off its feet (again), we also achieved record CD sales during the course of the evening. To be honest, it was the first time we’d tried selling CDs and we actually sold a grand total of five - but we make no apologies for these humble beginnings and, at 4 quid for a 5 track disc, we reckon it’s a really good way to get our music out there …

As for the gig itself, it was great to see so many faces packing the bar and the outside area. I was particularly chuffed to see a few regular faces who follow the band (you know who you are) and also people who came along on Saturday because we were playing there & had heard us before…

No photos this time, but if you’d like to see us in action, our next gig is at the Weeping Willow Pub in Barrow, Nr Bury St Edmunds on Saturday 1st November 2008.

Picture the scene - a little private party in a newly landscaped Victorian semi garden in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge. Twinkly candles, raised beds, tree ferns a-plenty, and yummy food to die for … step across the pond on floating stepping stones, past the pergola, cabbages and beans, and … lo and behold!
It’s the Bounty Hounds!
Complete with mixing desk, cushty PA and a bed of wood chips for a stage (sorry Steve!!)

And sorry too that this post’s a bit late in the writing - also lacking in pictures and/or videos - hopefully soon to be redeemed!  (Ted??)

What a lovely evening it was though - grannies, aunties, colleagues, friends and family - finally getting together to celebrate Wendy & Davey’s lovely new(ish) house and fabulous new garden. Loving the bedroom wallpaper btw!

Personally, I had a great time - staying sober due to playing, meeting lots of lovely people old and new, eating a big fat faceful of wonderful food and brokering a deal to get a funky output from my lovely little Roland practice amp so I can get lots of wicked effects to run through our PA …

Smashing little Roland Microcube
- except mine’s in cream, a much better colour obviously!

Anyways, not much more to write, it was a private party after all, except suffice it to say, the Bounty Hounds rocked (but of course!) and the friendly folks all loved it - what more can one ask?

P.S. There is definitely a video coming soon - with evidence of John’s regular broken string during Fast Lane Driver!
Or watch it here on YouTube.

Wahayyyy there me hearties … what a whirlwind of Bounty Hounding that was!
The exciting “double whammy” tour of fabulous Suffolk hostelries has come to the end (for now, although not for long!), and the Bounty Hounds are enjoying a well deserved rest on this lovely August Sunday in Bury St Edmunds.

No photos as yet, but it’s definitely worth writing that we’ve had the pleasure of playing live music in two fabulous Suffolk pubs to appreciative audiences who know a good thing when they hear it!

Friday night kicked off at the Crown & Castle pub in Risby where we were designated the “pool table area”. This worked well except for the fact that most of the band couldn’t see the “appreciative audience”, who, I can personally guarantee, were rocking their pants off in the bar! All went stormingly well really, except for a hopelessly lost song that we’d asked family to video specially - talk about pressure!!! Hope to bring you live footage of the ensuing confusion (but may be best left in the faded memory banks!)

Highlights included the spontaneous communal dancing to “14th of July” in the bar and Daniel “Fleet Foot” getting on down with Gill!

Never occurred to me previously that the reason I was feeling so confident related to the fact that the appreciative audience were only listening and not looking!

Saturday night at the Greyhound pub in Flempton was a whole different kettle of whales altogether! (Just an old Yorkshire saying if you’re wondering …)
This is my home turf (although Risby’s only a couple of miles up t’ road), and this time everyone in the bar was watching as well as listening. It took a whole lot of Bounty Grit to stop the old rattling knees and wobbly widdershins … I can tell you!

Apparently Steve dropped a stick quite soon into the set!…
“Oh no”, I hear you say, but not a single other Bounty Hound actually noticed until he told us. But there’s the rub … when people are watching as well as listening it all feels different. It certainly took much more time before I was able to relax, and that was definitely aided at the point when the audience began to dance, chat amongst themselves, whatever … beer (for the masses) always helps!

Goodness knows where that bit of “A Man is in Love” disappeared to, but “King of the Faeries” floated my Bounty Boat, the hairs on my arms shivered at “Innocent Victim” and the potentially misty opportunity to perform an encore of “Fast Lane Driver” virtually took the roof off! (thank goodness for Mel!)
Next time we just need to have an extra encore ready! 14th of July?? Hee hee!

To sum it all up - not a bad weekend’s work at all! Now put t’ kettle on luv