OUT OF THE BLUE JAZZ ORCHESTRA
for people to come down and experience different types of jazz . Each month has a different theme : in March they celebrated the music of the 1940s big band leader Glenn Miller . Then in complete contrast in June they welcomed guest saxophone player Alex Clarke ( BBC Jazz Musician of the Year Finalist ) for a journey exploring soul and funk jazz , a completely different experience to early swing music .
Becky loves all music , classical , rock , indie , pop , country , folk , jazz and blues . Put her in a room with live music and she is at home : ‘ You name it , it just has to be live . Nothing matches the feel and sensation of live music ’.
With such wide musical tastes , you might be surprised to hear what sort of music Becky listens to at home . “ Funnily enough , she says , I don ’ t listen to much music at home . Both my children are learning to play instruments , so silence is precious . I once heard a fascinating talk by Germaine Greer , asking why music is constantly present in our lives , whether we like it or not , in shops , in lifts and so on . We need space and silence too ”.
Out of the Blue play Heswall Hall on the last Tuesday of every month . You can check out their website and listen to their recordings here : https :// www . outofthebluejazzorchestra . co . uk
Quote from a fan : " If you have never been to an ‘ Out of the Blue ’ gig then you ’ re missing something BIG in your lives .
" Just a fabulous big band sound , oozing foot tapping , swinging jazz of every persuasion . Lose yourself in blues , be wooed by their sumptuous vocal and instrumental soloists in a laid-back cabaret setting led by their warm , witty and engaging leader Becky Thomas .
" Go on indulge yourself . What could be better - soothing sounds from a truly professional band , worthy of the big time , yet here , on your doorstep for your utter delectation ."
It ' s not a bad accolade to have both Brian May and Gene Simmons sing your praises . That is the case for Hayseed Dixie . Their journey began one innocent Summer day in 2000 when John Wheeler and Mike Daly drank roughly enough whiskey to float a battleship from the Florida Coast over to Portugal and back and decided to play around in John ’ s studio .
Having spent the previous few years touring around with assorted country hatacts , John had assembled a proper pile of recording equipment . Thus , when he and Mike discovered in their drunken epiphany that the Lost Highway of Reverend Hank Williams and the Highway to Hell of Bishop Bon Scott were indeed the same identical stretch of tarmac , they were well and truly prepared to document this revelation in situ .
East Nashville , Tennessee in the Summer of 2000 was a proper Bohemian party place , and a few friends stopped by , drank some of John ’ s whiskey , and played and sang on this recording here and there , as was the custom of the times . And ten AC / DC songs were suddenly reimagined and recorded forever anew , entirely reinvented as Appalachian Mountain hillbilly rave-ups . Everyone danced ( oh how they danced !) around the studio room and out onto the porch and drank more whiskey . ( You should have been there . Really . You should have .)
Now , functioning well as “ Exhibit A ” in the demonstration of how one ’ s beginnings rarely know one ’ s ends , Hayseed Dixie have evolved into a proper force , one that most people either love , hate , or have never heard of . There isn ’ t really any middle ground , nor should there be . But fourteen albums - consisting of both original material and reinterpretations of previously rendered songs - and global physical sales in excess of half a million copies , with over 1,200 live shows in 31 different countries testify : Hayseed Dixie are the undisputed creators of the musical genre , Rockgrass . There are many copycats , converts , and disciples out there . Accept no imitations .
And now , holding up their own idiosyncratic mirror to an unsettled and unsettling 2017 , Hayseed Dixie offer up their 15th studio album , a collection of both original songs and reinterpretations of R & B and Soul classics . Dance with them as they probe the queries : “ Why do we still believe there is such a thing as ‘ race ’?” “ Are concepts like ‘ nations ’ and ‘ nationality ’ really useful to people who lay bricks or perform kidney stone surgeries ?” and “ Why does every song always sound better with a banjo in the mix ?” The boys are seeking after the root core categorical commonality that runs like an eternal golden braid throughout all of humanity . Then they will buy it a drink !
You can catch the boys at The Chester Live Rooms on 8th July . www . hayseed-dixie . com wirrallife . com 63