Archive 2009

Rod with Thea Gilmore & Nigel Stonier at the Nantwich Words & Music Festival 2009

Photo: Kirstie Hunt

Rod's Nantwich Words & Music Festival Gallery

10.10.09: Rod appeared on Friday, the 9th of October, at the Nantwich Words & Music Festival. Organised by Rod's old friends Nigel Stonier, Thea Gilmore and Claire 'Fluff' Smith, South Cheshire's new music, poetry and literature event returned for its second year. From October 8th - 11th the historic market town of Nantwich played host to a wide range of gigs, readings, workshops and sessions featuring Ian Broudie (Lightning Seeds), Simon Armitage, Thea Gilmore, Mark Radcliffe and others. The Friday night gig at the Crown Hotel saw Rod joining forces with acclaimed UK alt.country pioneer Michael Weston King. In keeping with the spirit of the festival, Rod and Michael shared the stage to trade songs and stories as well as performing separate solo sets.

05.10.09: Read all about Rod's participation in the 2009 Isle of Man Guitar Festival.

29.09.09: Keen-eyed readers of The Observer this Sunday (27.9.09) may have spotted a familiar name among the winners of the Everyman Crossword competition no. 3285 (13.9.09). Yes, R. Clements of Rothbury, Northumberland was listed as one of the recipients of £15 worth of book tokens for the first five correct entries opened. Fellow crossword aficionado and Everyman-solver Nigel Stonier was among the first to offer his congratulations.

20.07.09: See Nick Sinclair's complete Maverick festival portfolio (including further pics of Rod & Rachel).

L to R: Al Perkins, Brigitte De Meyer, Rod Clements & Rachel Harrington at the Sunday morning 'Gospel Brunch' session, 05.07.09

Photo: Nick Sinclair

Rod with Rachel Harrington at the Maverick Festival, 04.07.09

Photo: Nick Sinclair

09.07.09: Rod's week-long tour with Rachel Harrington ended in Suffolk last weekend with three appearances at the Maverick Festival and an informal acoustic gig in nearby Aldeburgh. On Saturday afternoon (July 4th) Rod gave a workshop on slide guitar history and technique, assisted by Rachel who sang a couple of songs at his request to illustrate different playing styles. That evening they performed before an appreciative audience on the Barn stage. On Sunday morning Rod & Rachel (who had been up till the wee hours rehearsing suitable material) delivered a memorable set at the Gospel Brunch, including such classics as Working On A Building and Operator, as well as Rod's own Freedom Square and Roll On That Day. The pair had no sooner left the stage (to rapturous applause) than they were invited to get straight back up again to join the legendary Al Perkins and his singing companion Brigitte DeMeyer for their set. The quartet busked their way enjoyably through a selection of gospel standards including an impromptu version of Jesus On The Mainline with Rod on lead vocals, placing him in the enviable position of being able to say that he's had Al Perkins playing backup guitar for him. The Sunday observances duly completed, Rod & Rachel headed to the White Hart in Aldeburgh where they played a tea-time acoustic set to an intimate gathering (which included several new friends from the Festival) before heading off for Heathrow and Rachel's flight home to Portland, Oregon next morning.

17.06.09: 'Tonight, for one night only...' Rod took the stage with Rachel Harrington and Zak Borden for their gig at The Musician, Leicester, on June 16th. This was their only date as a trio prior to Zak's return to the USA. Rod will now take over as Rachel's right-hand man for the remainder of her UK tour.

24.05.09: Rod personally introduced a special screening of the 1949 classic The Third Man as part of Tyneside Cinema's birthday celebrations on Saturday, the 23rd of May. The occasion marked the first anniversary of the reopening (following extensive reconstruction) of Newcastle's historic showpiece cinema.

24.05.09: The three albums recorded by Bert Jansch for the Charisma label in the 1970s - LA Turnaround, Santa Barbara Honeymoon and A Rare Conundrum - are all being released on CD for the first time by EMI. A Rare Conundrum (1976) is of particular interest here as Rod was the producer as well as playing bass, mandolin and guitar. The album was completed at the height of Rod & Bert's mid-70s collaboration, which began with the 1974 single In The Bleak Midwinter, which has been added to LA Turnaround as a bonus track and was recorded at the same session as Ralph McTell's no. 1 hit version of Streets of London.

21.05.09: Durham's Gala Theatre was the venue which saw the first outing for Rod's joint venture with Rachel Harrington, last Sunday (17th May). Rod called into the theatre in the afternoon to say hello to Rachel and her partner, mandolinist Zak Borden, and ran through a few tunes with them in an impromptu dressing-room rehearsal. He ended up joining them on stage for the evening's performance. Further surprise appearances remain in the planning stage at the moment - Rod is scheduled to take over officially from Zak as of the June 29th gig at the Maltings in Berwick.

13.04.09: Recently Rod made a flying visit to Liverpool to play on the forthcoming album by roots-rock radio favourites Katy Lied, fronted by guitarist/songwriter Duncan Hamilton and singer Katie Harnett. Rod added dobro and baritone guitar to a track entitled Watch This Space. The album, produced by Nigel Stonier and also featuring Ian Thomson on bass and Paul Burgess on drums, is scheduled for release in late Summer 2009 and the band will be out on the road in the UK later in the year.

www.katylied.com

www.myspace.com/katyliedband

06.04.09: Rod is to join forces with US country/Americana singer/songwriter Rachel Harrington for a run of UK dates this summer. Rachel is touring Europe for three months from early April to early July accompanied by her regular performing partner Zak Borden. However a late extension of the tour sees Zak unable to fulfil the extra dates due to prior commitments back home, so Rod is stepping in to take his place. Raised in Oregon, Rachel has released two albums, The Bootlegger's Daughter and City Of Refuge, which have garnered four-star reviews and praise from the likes of Mojo, Q and Uncut magazines. Rachel & Zak's visit kicks off on April 7th, recording a BBC Radio 2 slot (to be broadcast April 16th) for Bob Harris, who described The Bootlegger's Daughter as A brilliant debut ... already a contender for album of the year! Rachel & Rod have concert and festival appearances lined up from 29th June to 5th July. On concert gigs Rod will perform a solo opening set prior to joining Rachel for the main part of the evening. Four dates (including Berwick, Aldershot and the Maverick Festival) have been announced so far with more to be added (and announced) shortly. www.rachelharrington.net www.myspace.com/rachelharrington

Rod with Acoustic Magic artists at Bubbles, Ashington 29.03.09

L to R: Shaggy, Hairy, Rod, Derek, Hague

Photo: Terry

'Walking back into the Lampglass after an interval of forty years or so was quite something,' says Rod. 'The internal layout and the atmosphere hadn't changed a bit, though of course the décor and the fittings had. What's important, though, is that the atmosphere was still as great as it ever was, and the new management are very keen to encourage that and to maintain the Cellar's heritage of presenting good live music.'

The Lampglass Cellar opened in the early 1960s, presenting jazz, blues & folk, and hosted gigs by many legendary names of the time.

Acoustic Magic, masterminded by Derek of Clear Blue Skies, put on regular nights at Bubbles with a varying roster of artists. The 29th March gig saw short sets from Gareth Miller, Derek & Hairy (Clear Blue Skies), Hague and Shagpile before Rod took the stage shortly after 10 pm. Rod's set was very warmly received by an audience which included some former Lampglass regulars with long memories as well as a younger element less familiar with Rod's work, who nevertheless took to him as one of their own.

The success of the evening raises the likelihood of further collaborations between Rod & the Acoustic Magic network.

22.02.09: On Sunday, January 25th, Rod and a notable selection of local artists, including internationally-renowned concertina supremo Alistair Anderson and accordion virtuoso Lynn Tocker with her band Lyra Celtica, joined forces to perform at a sell-out fundraising concert at Alnwick Playhouse. The event was organised to benefit the victims of last September's flooding in Rothbury and the Coquetdale area. Rod played five songs as the penultimate set of the evening, followed by the Rothbury Pipe Band. A total of over £3000 was raised.

Alnwick Playhouse photos: Duncan Elson

11.02.09: Rod has recently been recording at Bryn Derwen studios near Bangor, North Wales, with Dave Rotheray (ex-Beautiful South and Homespun) and singer/songwriter Eleanor McEvoy (who was a fellow-contributor, with Rod, to the Bert Jansch tribute album People On The Highway and has appeared several times at Rothbury Roots). Five tracks were laid down for a forthcoming Dave Rotheray album featuring various guest singers and instrumentalists. Rod contributed vocals, dobro, mandolin and, for the first time ever, ukulele (borrowed). One of the five tracks, Flowers On The Stream, is a new song written in the studio by Rod, Dave and Eleanor. The recording is an ongoing project with further sessions planned over the coming months.