The bar from hell

I have found some footage of the cellar bar so you can see how small the venue is. Even though the footage is years old it hasnt changed that much from what I have seen online. In the daytime its run as a cafe business upstairs only whilst performances used to start at 7.30/8.00 till 10.00/11.00 pm. Some nights did get crowded so if you wanted to watch the live performance on the tv upstairs or online you could for free. Tickets for weekend performances usually costed £5 with a free meal which was usualy curry or chilli but didnt include any drinks. Musicians never got paid much even on a full audience night. The set was about 2 hours and the money was devided within the babd so each musician seperatly would be paid about £15. Because of the no smoking ban you were only allowed to smoke outside the venue this would either be on the street or the back beer garden terrace, unfortunately when all the musicians and audience had gone home the staff used to smoke downstairs at the bar, a policeman arrived (dont ask me why) and didnt tell them off. When I told them off they said never to mention it to anyone. I was appauled and I imagine it still goes on. Below is a video tour of the cellar bar.

It’s me for a change performing with a legend

I bet you were all waiting for this my live performance in the Cellar Bar with the legendary Nik Turner (rip). Nik and I used to meet up occasionally for a chat and a two hour jam seasion in my lounge. The first tine he came round we started playing and my mother came back from work, opened the door and looked stunned at what was going on in her house. All three of us looked at each other in silence till my mother dragged me back to the kitchen asking me who the old man was. I was shocked as she didnt recongnise him from her youth as she used to listen to Hawkwind. I explained who he was and she just said 'oh' and me replying with 'can I go and play now'? We chose Mercy Mercy Mercy as this was Niks favourite song also quite unusual for a celebrity to be playing in a venue like this but Nik always supported everyone. Below is a soundcloud audio clip of the live performance.

Deity Music · Mercy Mercy Mercy With Nik Turner Band live in cellar bar

RIPTiDE? Where’s the waves?

If you have seen the previous Big River video this was actually filmed the night before so you will reconise some of the musicians. For the whole two hours I felt sorry for the second guitarist on the left who kept falling off the stage as he had no room. I was told by Nick (the bass player) that his partner Andrea was an accomplished singer and was also classically trained, wheither she is or not she certainly wasnt that night. I have no idea who the backing singer was but she was all over the place, again the sound was awful and the lightning was like a cave hence the dark footage youre about to see. Yet again the band got paid for the 2 hour set (before the bar went broke) and as always a small crowd less than 15 spectators. I look forward to your comments and below is the clip (I hope Bono isnt watching)

Big River? More like Big Funeral

What to do a saturday night when youre home alone and have nothing else to do in a small town where theres a music venue, go and see whats on of course. Wouldnt say im a huge Johnny Cash fan but I do know his songs are impossible to sing. Paid my £5 ticket for the 2 hour gig and noticed there were only 4/5 of us in the audience watching (as you can tell from the recording the audience is very quiet). I have never heard anything so appauling in my life, the singer is an alcoholic let alone out of tune, the drunmer is off beat, the bass player thinks hes in happy world and the guitarist is chewing gum for 2 hours. As you can see the stage is tiny so all the musicians have no space for manouver and they cant hear themselves due to no feedback monitors. To be honest im surprised they lasted the full 2 hours as well as being paid. i cant find any information regarding the band now but all I know is that the singer is no longer with us. Below is a clip of the band I took that night im refering to and look forward to your comments. Thanks.