Andy Roberts » Andy Roberts

Haverfolk January 25th

Andy Roberts — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:42:44 +0000

Last Wednesday, January 25th was the day of the Andy Roberts featured evening at Haverfolk, formerly known as Havering Folk Club. Why did they change the name? I don’t really get it, you’d have to ask Simon or Peter. Anyway, after a recent period of not playing guitar so much really, I managed to get in just about the right amount of rehearsal time in the days before and decided to go ahead with the plan of doing three new songs and basing the rest of the entire setlist on my own material, much as I had done so for the guest night at Romford Folk Club, nearly a year earlier.

Setting off for the venue was a bit traumatic, as an electrical fault had caused a series of cancellations on the main from Liverpool Street Station to Romford, so we went to see what the buses were looking like, just missed one, and saw that the traffic on the main road was choc a block. So we went back to the station and waited for the next train due, which should have been a half hour wait under the abnormal circumstances but then that one was cancelled too. There was nothing for it but to lug the two guitar cases and ourselves onto a busy number 86 bus and just sit it out as we chugged our way up along the occupied bus lanes and through the congested area around Ilford. We would arrive late for the start of the evening perhaps, but not late for my own appearance due around 9 O’clock which in the event we turned up well in time for. So that’s the transport news, then. A bit of a preoccupation with people who live in the London area I’m afraid.

The gig itself went well, I thought, I was reasonably happy with the performances and the guitars stayed mostly in tune. The turn out was good, and people said they enjoyed the music, so that’s a big result, and one of the best things is that Linda’s front row video recording managed to capture the full setlist with no problems, so we have a decent audio and visual of all 21 original tunes. There’s a possibility of bringing that out as a DVD which will become the latest release from me to replace the few copies of the “Sampler” EP I’ve been carrying around for almost three years now!

I think I ‘ll be turning the soundtrack into three episodes for the podcast series, and uploading a few songs to youTube as well, but the first one I’ve got processed is the finale song where I managed to get two violinists up on stage with me, namely John Foxen and Richie Barratt with Pep on Banjo and I think you can just hear Bernie on concertina and Mickie Brown on harmonica as well. Here’s Cajun Music Cajun Food live at Haverfolk

Romford Folk Club November 15th 2011

Andy Roberts — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:14:25 +0000

We went along to Romford Folk Club on Tuesday, and had a good old time of it as usual. I know the basement room is a bit of a dive but the conviviality or the regulars is always cheerful, and slightly edgy as the evening draws on due to the tradition of well humoured banter.

It wasn’t a guest night, just an ordinary sing a long, and often these are the best. I’d hate to start recording a performers list but from memory there were at least the following:

Kriss Pouch
Smolowic
Micky Brown & Richie Barratt
Clive and Linda – Ploughman’s Lunch
Rocking Bob Cash
Helen Islip
Andy Roberts
Margaret Brown
Len Reeder
MickaNora
Pam

I took along my Archtop Guitar and played one of my own songs from The Andy Roberts Tapes:

I Only Came For My Suitcase

followed by my version of Chuck berry’s classic anthem for estranged fathers:

Memphis Tennessee

Thanks to Linda for capturing these videos. On playing them back it’s unfortunate that balance between guitar and vocals isn’t right so either the archtop is just too loud for my voice or I simply wasn’t singing loudly enough myself, I wonder why?

Right at the end I was honoured with the opportunity to wind up with one final song so I performed Bob Marley’s Redemption song but it wasn’t practical to record that one as the general merriment peaked.

Podcast #48 – Opening Night at Haverfolk

Andy Roberts — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:50:26 +0000

Andy Roberts Podcast episode #48 features six songs performed live at the opening night of the new renamed “Haverfolk” club at the new venue, the White Horse on London Road, Chadwell Heath. Full address is

The White Horse, 118 High Road, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Greater London RM6 6NU

I quite like The Stables Function Suite as a room, the acoustics are bright and loud unlike the previous venue The Moby Dick, which deadened everything. It could be a bit on the friendly and intimate (small) side if everybody turned up at once, but that’s better than shrinking the audience through having an unsympathetic atmosphere, which the White Horse doen’t by any means.

So Wednesday August 24st signified the first night for the old Havering Folk Club – Now Haverfolk at the White Horse, at which I can arrive promptly by taking the train to Chadwell Heath station and then walking around the corner for about ten minutes. No need to take an additional bus, which makes it less hassle to get from as well of course. Being August, several of the regulars were away including a contingent visiting the Whitby Folk Week, so there was enough time to do two sets, and I was invited to perform an extended 2nd set to end the evening, which is how I come to have enough material to make into a podcast episode, a collection of six songs in total, four of which are self compositions and two are traditional.

Here is the download podcast link, file details show notes and set list for podcast number 48:

Download MP3 to save – 33.8 Mb in size, playtime 23 minutes 29 seconds :- 48 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 48.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #48 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 48

Cormorants - Andy Roberts original
Sitting On The Bank - Andy Roberts original
The Wreckers’ Prayer - Andy Roberts original
Captain Coulston – Traditional folk song
Truro Agricultural Show - Traditional folk song
Yellow Boat - Andy Roberts original

Andy Roberts Video Podcast Live from Haverfolk

Cormorants

Sitting On The Bank

The Wreckers’ Prayer

Captain Coulston

Truro Agricultural Show

Yellow Boat

Google+ Hangout for Podcast #47

Andy Roberts — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:13:23 +0000

For this week’s podcast I wanted to experiment with using Google+ , a new(ish) social networking site which has a feature they call “hangout” for bringing groups of people together by video link. It’s kind of like a group video call with a text chat, so superficially not that disimilar really to the ustream and livestream systems that I’ve been using for the weekly Tuesday night broadcasts up until about April this year.

Do you need a Google+ invitation? Click here

The Google+ service as a whole is getting a lot of attention even though it only launched to the public this month, and even though the circles metaphor can be a bit cumbersome, there’s a tendency towards fuller conversations and better discovery that makes it interesting for musicians, I think. But all that could change as the new platform develops, we’ll have to see. What intrigues me though, is the way that Google is integrating many of their popular services together, and Google of course is behind youTube. I’ve been waiting for youTube “Live” to open up but for the time being that seems to be open only to a few international TV stations. There is some confusing talk about youTube live being available on Google+ hangouts but thsi always turns out to be about taking the existing youTube live streams and relaying them into a Hangout, rather than using the Hangout to generate a new livestream that can be relayed out into youTube live, and saved as youTube videos in a channel, which the direction I’m probably looking for.

Google+ Hangout

So we planned to try out the ‘Hangout’ feature within Google+, this Sunday afternoon just gone at 3.00pm, and the result has been incorporated into this Andy Roberts podcast episode #47.

Google+ Hanging out

If you wanted to take part in future Google+ events with me, or just listen in as it happens, then you would need to activate a Google+ Profile if you don’t already have one, and add me to a circle. Again, if you need a Google+ invitation you can get one here

Sunday Afternoons, 3.00pm

Oh yes, and the other thing that’s changed is that we’ve moved to Sunday afternoons for the regular weekly spot, at 3.00pm UK time, which is currently GMT+1 with daylight saving. That’s 10pm in Beijing. The Sunday afternoon 3.00pm time slot will continue throughout the month of August.

Podcast 47

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 39.69 Mb in size, playtime 28 minutes 49 seconds :- 47 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 47.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #47 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 47

Mondura Dam
Work is Done
Shifting Sands
Hesitation Blues (trad?)
Home – Roy Harper (Part Song)
Mozambique – Bob Dylan
The Same Old Rock – Roy Harper (Part Song)
Narrow Boats

From the Theatre Bar – Theatre Royal Stratford, Podcast #46

Andy Roberts — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:39:55 +0000

It was around the first week of May on a Sunday evening when Gemma Salter and Stephen Lloyd held another of their excellent “Royal Knees Up” cabaret evenings at the Theatre Royal bar in Stratford. I had been immobilised for weeks beforehand but reckoned I could make it along by getting a minicab there and then just taking it as it comes. I’d signed up through the Facebook group and arranged with Gemma to do a couple of my acoustic Captain Beefheart covers, but when we arrived I was asked to do a longer set than that, as the theme for the evening was going to be acoustic / folky anyway. By Cabaret, it means there are some standup comedy acts on the bill as well, and sometimes weird and wacky stuff. I’ve seen musicians playing to the theatre bar crowd when I’ve been out to see a show at the Theatre Royal – “Reasons to be Cheerful”, “Takeaway”, “Come Dancing” and others, and I must admit to being intrigued by the prospect of playing on that little stage in the corner of the not insubstantial theatre bar area now, with the exterior terrace and carribean food.

Theatre Royal Bar Stage

My allocated time slot was to be either side of the break, so that meant two or three songs, then the break, then come back on and do a few more if I like. A cool way to organise proceeding, I thought fetching a bottle of Becks and choosing a seat with a table and a good view of the stage, so Linda could preserve my set on video with a view to putting it on the podcast later. And here it is:

Download MP3 to save – 40Mb in size, playtime 30 minutes :- 46 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 46.mp3

Podcast #46 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 45

After a year and a half of playing regularly at the Golden Lion Romford, totally unplugged, I’m not so well used to singing miked up these days, but the sound check seemed to work fine. Of course things always sound different when there are lots of bodies in a room, to when it is empty and you can never be sure how much noise they are going to make themselves, but Gemma was at the back of the room operating a mixing desk so I could be confident that what was going out through the PA into the room would be at the right levels.

So the source for this podcast’s songs comes from Linda’s stills/video camera which does record in pretty good quality stereo sound in theory, but seated as we were amongst a large group at the tables, it does pick up a lot of background noise which is a little unfortunate and gives a slightly false impression of how the audience behaved on the night. If we’d sat right next to the speakers though, we might not have obtained a good line of sight for the video on youTube, so you can’t have everything. Well, you can but need an external directional microphone of access to the PA soundboard, or a team of engineers….

I played mostly my own songs again, having recently done a whole evening of self-penned material and iIn the event, I only did one Captain Beefheart song, Grow Fins. That went down well so I added in “The Last Subway Home” which can have a similar feel form a performers point of view.

Gemma and Steve are busy starring in 188 , the Jack The Ripper musical in the West End at present so there may not be a Knees Up this month, or last due to rehearsals, but when they do resume it’s a fun evening in Stratford and with free entrance too.

As for my own podcasts, well I’ve taken a bit of a break due to several factors but I’m hoping to resume the regular webcasts soon, either on Bambuser or Google+ Hangouts, which would be very experimental. If you need a Google+ invitation just let me know your email address by one means or another and I’ll send one over and if you’re already on Plus then please circle me at

+Andy Roberts

Don’t break any strings unless you have spares,

Andy Roberts

Podcast 45 – Romford Folk Club Finale

Andy Roberts — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:34:58 +0000

Andy Roberts podcast episode 45 presents the final set of original songs from the guest night at Romford Folk Club back in April 2011. The audio is taken with thanks from Johnnie Durrant’s digital audio recorder, placed strategically on a mic stand in front of the performance space.

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 38.25 Mb in size, playtime 27 minutes 50 seconds :- 45 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 45.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #45 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 45

The Rowan Tree
The Last Nail
The Wreckers Prayer
Cajun Cooking Song with Ritchie on violin
The Last Subway Home

It’s Podcast 44 – Romford Folk Club part 2

Andy Roberts — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:27:59 +0000

Andy Roberts Podcast 44

Episode 44 of the Andy Roberts Podcast continues the soundtrack from the Romford Folk Club guest night of April 12th with six more self written songs performed live.

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 38 Mb in size, playtime 26 minutes 20 seconds :- 44 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 44.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #44 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 44

Podcast 43 – Romford Folk Club 12/04/11

Andy Roberts — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:03:16 +0000

Podcast 43 is made from the first part of the soundtrack of the April 12th gig at Romford Folk Club

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 37.6. Mb in size, playtime 26 minutes 4 seconds :- 43 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 43.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #43 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 43

Podcast 42

Andy Roberts — Sat, 07 May 2011 21:18:38 +0000

i’ve made this podcast episode 42 out of the remaining recordings from the Sunday afternoon session with more rehearsals of old songs as a trial for April 12th.

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 42.6. Mb in size, playtime 29 minutes 31 seconds :- 42 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 42.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #42 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 42

Gernika – Andy Roberts
Streets of Paris – Andy Roberts
Clean Living Blues – Andy Robert /Linda Hartley
Never Was to Be – Andy Roberts / Daryl P Hall
Winter in Andalucia – Andy Roberts

Andy Roberts Podcast 41

Andy Roberts — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:23:18 +0000

Podcast 41 is from part 1 of a Sunday afternoon session with more rehearsals of old songs as a trial for April 12th.

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 32.6. Mb in size, playtime 22 minutes 35 seconds :- 41 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 41.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #41 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 41

Podcast 40

Andy Roberts — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 13:24:01 +0000

Podcast 40 is from part 2 of last Sunday’s afternoon session with more rehearsals of old songs as a trial for April 12th and a cover of Bob Dylan’s Hurricane – just because there’s time enough.

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 32.1 Mb in size, playtime 22 minutes 15 seconds :- 40 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 40.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #40 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 40

Orbit Tower

#39 – Rehearsals Part 1

Andy Roberts — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:05:57 +0000

Five songs from the Sunday afternoon session rehearsal for the Romford Folk Club date on April 12th 2011.

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 32.85 Mb in size, playtime 23.54 Minutes :- 39 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 39.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #39 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 39

The Dream is Over – Andy Roberts music and lyrics
Time for The Music – Andy Roberts music and lyrics
Hold On Below – Andy Roberts music and lyrics
Work is Done – Andy Roberts music and lyrics
Waiting – Andy Roberts music and lyrics

Podcast 38 Clean Living Blues

Andy Roberts — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 08:59:21 +0000

Andy Roberts Podcast Episode #38 comes out a day late, sorry about that. Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 40.00 Mb in size, playtime 30 minutes 0 seconds :- 38 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 38.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #38 Shownotes

Show Notes for Podcast 38

The Streets of Paris – Andy Roberts
Clean Living Blues – by Linda Hartley and Andy Roberts
Winter in Andalusia – Andy Roberts (abridged version)
Now that I’m Living Here – Andy Roberts
Cajun Cooking Song – Andy Roberts
Just Like A Woman – Bob Dylan Song

Podcast #37 – Soundcloud

Andy Roberts — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:55:35 +0000

Andy Roberts Podcast Episode #37 was put together from tracks which are hosted on my Andy Roberts Soundcloud account, and one extra song ( Work is Done) recorded live for you on Wednesday morning. The live show had to be canceled this week due to an unfortunate throat incident on the Tuesday evening.

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 39.26 Mb in size, playtime 28 minutes 32 seconds :-

37 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 37.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #37 Shownotes

25:42 37.1Mb

Show Notes for Podcast 37

Clean Living Blues – by Linda Hartley and Andy Roberts
Hold On Below - Andy Roberts as featured on The Lost Folk Tapes
Work is Done – Andy Roberts
Never was to be – Daryl P Hall Andy Roberts
Highway Blues – Roy Harper

Podcast #36 Instrumentals and Songs

Andy Roberts — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:12:23 +0000

Andy Roberts Podcast Episode #36 contains fragments of tunes, instrumentals and a few complete songs as well. I was going to do the new 12 bar blues completed for the Songwriters Circle weekly task but it’s so new I forgot the rhythm!

Here’s the download and play link etc:

Download MP3 to save – 39.26 Mb in size, playtime 28 minutes 32 seconds :-

36 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 36.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #36 Shownotes

28:32 39.26Mb

Show Notes for Podcast 36

Podcast #35 – Lizzy B’s Session and The Streets of Paris

Andy Roberts — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:12:36 +0000

The Live Session from Lizzy B’s acoustic night at the Essex Arms Brentwood takes up most of podcast #35 with one new song written for the Songwriters Circle challenge appended. There wasn’t a live podcast on livestream this week, so it was handy that I had these tracks almost ready to go.

Here’s the player, link and download :

Download MP3 to save – 28.8 Mb in size, playtime 29 minutes 54 seconds :-

35 Andy Roberts Podcast Episode 35.mp3

Andy Roberts Podcast #35 Shownotes

The first 4 songs were recorded at Lizzy B’s Acoustic Sessions in Brentwood, Essex

I also mentioned the Andy Roberts interview for The Lost Folk Tapes

The last song, was a contribution to the Songwriters Circle WK 2 Challenge

The Streets of Paris

The Streets of Paris by andyroberts