tHe MalKieS NeWs
NewSLEtter #3 oCtoBer 2008
“Whit will ye dae when the wee malkies come,
Missus, whit will ye dae?”
Hey there, folks!
With us Malkies currently balanced right on the very
cusp of a weary return from a thoroughly enjoyable Otley Folk Festival
and time to venture Yorkshire Dales-ward once more, for a gig at The Red
Shed in Wakefield, thence to Tyneside and then onwards over to Germany,
the time seems ripe for a short and sharp, third edition of the fledgling Malkies
News.
The imminent gig in Wakefield is on Thursday October 4th
and you’ll find the flyer, with all the details tucked neatly away but still
quite easily available, on the Red Shed website at www.theredshed.org.uk Click on the
‘what’s on’ button on the homepage then scroll down till you reach ‘
Other Special Events’. Activate that link and presto, the poster/flyer is
right there, with times and ticket details all duly set out. We’ll be doing the
whole night as the full five-piece ensemble (including Rach on harmony
duets) just like on the record, and the show is proudly sponsored by Wakefield
Trade Union Council and Cultures Of Resistance.
The following night, that’s Friday October 5th,
we all shoot up to Byker in Newcastle, well Ouseburn to be exact, for a
gig at The Cumberland Arms. This fine old venue has been presenting
folk-related music, along with all sorts of other good things, for several eons
and interested people can get better acquainted via the website at www.thecumberlandarms.co.uk Just
click on ‘Events’ at the top of the homepage to locate the listing for The
Malkies.
Once again, it’s the full band, complete with ‘special
guest harmonies’ from Rachel Goodwin and I do believe we are doing
the whole show that night, but don’t quote me on that. One rather interesting
feature of the concert is that there will be a £1 discount on the
tickets for everyone who arrives with a current edition of Socialist Worker,
The Morning Star or any other similar, leftwing or progressive newspaper.
Both the aforementioned will be on sale outside, so in effect you get into the
gig and receive a free copy of either publication for the price of a normal
ticket. Nice idea, I reckon!
A few days after these two gigs, fellow Malkie Phil
Snell and myself head out over to Germany for a bunch of shows as The
Wee Malkie. Malkie Phil plays virtually anything with strings on it, but
for this wee jaunt will be limiting his duties to mandolin, fiddle and lap
steel. I’ll be doing my usual guitar and voice thing, but together we
manage quite a decent take on the band’s current recorded repertoire.
Everything from the ‘Suited And Booted’ CD plus a few earlier songs and
even some that are currently on the shortlist for possible inclusion on
recordings yet to come.
The tour kicks off on October 9th at
Weltruf Stereo Kultur Bar in Kiel, followed by a night at the Jolly
Roger Bar in Hamburg on the 10th. This venue is the official
boozer of fans of anarcho/fitba’ heroes St Pauli FC, they of the
fearless skull and cross bones black flag and German sister team to Glasgow
Celtic.
On the 11th we do a gig in Berlin
at Bouchestrasse Primary School with my good pals, Nuemmes (German for
Nobody!), who describe their music as ‘Street Rock’. Staunch veterans of many a
political demo, Nuemmes are more often seen playing on leftwing marches
than in concert venues, so this will be a right fine fun night for us all, I’m
sure. It’s actually an adults’ concert by the way, the school is just a handy
venue for us to hold it in. All kicks off at six pm, with Phil and I on at the
back of eight.
Next day, Sunday the 12th, we head for Luechow-Dannenberg
and Harry’s Farm. Now, there’s a wee bit of a story here as well. Farmer Harry
Gunter is one of the leading lights of the annual November Blockade
against the train that arrives from France with a fresh batch of nuclear waste
to dump nearby to his farm. Every year, hundreds gather from all over Europe to
protest against this and Harry’s Hay Hotel is THE place to put up
while you’re there. Phil and I will be doing a wee solidarity concert for the
good folk on the farm, to help get things rolling before the main action kicks
off in a few weeks. That’s starting at 1pm, mind you. There’s cows to milk in
the morning!
So, that’s us all done for Northern Germany then, and we
head due south for the Rhine Main Region, where we have a batch of gigs
organized by Hubert Barteska of the Rail Workers Union. These
gigs are mostly in trade union-run youth clubs and various progressive venues
around Frankfurt, and all are listed with their website links, along
with the previous stuff we’re doing up north, on the giglist at www.themalkies.com and also at www.alistairhulett.com
I’ve done similar gigs with Hubert in the past and due
attention to essentials like good sound and atmosphere is always right
at the top of his list of priorities. Should all be every bit as excellent this
time as well! Maybe not the ‘unusual events’ the North has thrown up for us on
this tour, but the quality of our working conditions can be guaranteed 100%.
Many thanks, Comrade Barteska! We’re looking forward to some great nights.
That just about wraps it up for this Malkies News.
There’s some nice new photies to check out on the website at www.themalkies.com while over at www.alistairhulett.com you’ll
find a bunch of recent interviews and reviews added by Fearless Web
Wizard, Linda Dragonfire. After Germany I’ll be off to New Zealand
and Australia with David Rovics, so things will be quiet at the Malkies
News desk for a wee while. Take care and see you all down the road sooner
or later, I hope.
Ally
To
Receive The Malkies News whenever it sneaks out into the wild world at
large, please go to the Malkies website contact page and type the
message ‘Gonnae geez a Malkie?’ (along with your land of
residence) then hit the send button. If it at any time you wish it would all
just stop, email the message ‘Gonnae no’ send us that?’ and that will be
you off like a bucket of prawns in the sun! To Book The Malkies, order
CDs or just find out more about the band, please visit the website at www.themalkies.co.uk