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Hi Folks
How do you know when you've come to the end
of another year???
-Just look at the date Doh!
-Another tell tale sign is when people start
sending out Chrissmissy wishes like the one you'll get at the end of this
newsletter.
-The real bonus tell-tale sign is that rush Hour
traffic talkes a break too........Not really a Musicians problem though but
worth mentioning.
-Instead of using the phrase 'Bees in a Hive' ...we
use 'People in a Mall'
-Father Christmas shows up at the Robots with a
piece of Cardboard which reads....'1.2 billion kids,no money,God
Bless'
-How do you know when you've come to the end of the
.."How do you know when you've come to the end of another year"
part.
-Well you look for this sign
here............^#*
Ok if you saw the sign then you'll know that we're
into a new section of the newsletter.
If you didn't see the sign then you could be
floating in Limbo somewhere so say 12 'Hail Mary's' and an 'Our Father' and
we'll catch up with you sometime.
Xmas Gifts:
Anyone looking for last minute or belated Christmas
gifts need to look no further than here.
Boulevard Blues Cd's ('About Time' and 'Live and
Direct') and the last 50 Pebbleman Cds(Richard Pryor's
Rock Project) 'The Red stone Album' are for sale.
R120 Gets them signed and sealed.and posted to your door ..Gooi EFT
Now alot of you have the Boulevard Blues
Cds........but if you're into rock you gotta checkout the Pebbleman
CD......
it rocks and is in limited supply so has huge
collector value...be one of only 250 people in the world to own one..... http://www.pebbleman.co.za/
and
Email boulevardb@gmail.com to place your
order
Whats coming up:
Up and Coming gigs.......Let us see...No there
aren't any......Damn!
Ok let me put my glasses on.........ah that's
better I can see a bit further now........
Yes I see a Boer......Yes it's Die
Boer on the 28th Dec......
An all acoustic night with the Boulevard
Blues Acoustic and a guest or two....
We've never done an all acoustic evening at Die
Boer so it's another BB first.
Guys come and enjoy the Holiday Blues Spirit with
the slightly Chilled and very well Drilled Acoustic outfit with Debbie Pryor on
the Cajon.
Checkout www.dieboer.com and ph to make your
booking......083 406 0111 or (021) 979-1911
Then we have Tim Rankin from
Bed on Bricks Joining us on the 30th at Berties
Mooring
and then again at Nameless Pub in
Somerset West on New Years eve 31st........
He has played with us at KKNK and I'm sure it will
be a fun and innovative experience again.
Anyway it's gonna be a Beach Party at
Nameless Pub so bring your sunscreen just in case you're still
there when the sun comes up.
Briers Coetzee on the sound with
his infamous JBL PA system to complete a really cool picture.......
C'mon Groupies you aint heard this Boulevard Blues
band before.....Pull Innnnnnnn!!!!!
The rest looks like
this:
28th Die Boer One night of All Acoustic
Blues.....8 30pm
30th Berties Mooring with Tim Rankin on the drums
5pm till 8pm
31st Nameless Pub New Year bash....Time to rock
it up 9pm to 1am
January
5th Fogeys in Muizenberg
Sat.... Electric Blues/Rock 8 30pm to 11pm
12th Cape Farmhouse Scarborough Saturday
Rocks......Telephone: 021 780 1246 for more
info.
20th Berties Mooring sunday electric Blues 5pm
till 8pm
26th Berties Mooring Saturday
Electric Boogie... 8 15pm to 11pm
New CD / DVD and
Thanks:
Well we all travelled to Terblanche studios in
Grotto Bay this past weekend to record studio versions of 'Love Chile' and
'Blues at Night'
Both these tracks will complement the 10 live
tracks on the CD which now goes by the name.......The Railhouse
Tracks.........and was recorded live at Fogeys.
It was a great weekend away and we coupled it with
a band 'Chris and Miss' braai with a few band friends....Chris couldn't make it
but we didn't give it a Miss.
Thanks to Manic Mike for doing a great job braaing
in the rain while we recorded our sessions.
Thanks to Claudia for organising
the Spatch Cocks and Elke for weaving some Kitchen
magic.
The biggest thanks goes to Ari
Terblanche our main man on the sound.........he weaved some extra
magic and it looks like the tracks are gonna be stellar....
although he is suffering from eye strain and a flat
nose from getting too close to his Computer monitor.
When you're good ...you're good ....and he
Gooi's
Rob Stemmett was on Bass Guitar
and Amarula......and by then he thought hyperactivity was something you did in
your sleep.
And as for the rest of the guys by the end of the
evening they looked like Muppets on acid.
Pryor left his car lights on and
so what seemed like a simple sleep over in Grotto Bay became an extended quest
to return to his beloved Pollsmoor....
We're not sure but he may still be
there......
Anyone with any information on
Pryor please hand yourself in at the nearest Police
Station.
Pryor also recieved a deep tissue
massage from Miss Terblanceh (Ari's sister) on saturday afternoon.
He had most of the skin removed from his brain and
had his neck lifted which gave rise to bouts of suffocating and extreme
paranoia.
Sharp burning and jabbing pains continued and hand
numbness and pins and needles down both arms
kept the guitar recording parts delayed until late
into the night and early next morning,
Anyway we're looking forward to the release of
this CD in Jan sometime.
It has acoustic and electric band elements so is
very representative of what is the Boulevard Blues today.
We have the extremely talented Daniel
Stephenson doing the CD and DVD artwork.....
Special thanks To Mike Combrinck
for being there for the band in 2007 and for everything that you have done to
further our cause.
Thanks Bro
The Rob Stemmett
Interview:
This Brings us to our Final section ...and that is
The Rob Stemmett Interview.
It's not something we like doing to you guys before
Xmas but it's real and alot more honest and candid than some of the other
interviews.
Rob Stemmett, bass player for
the Boulevard Blues that joined the band in August 2007.
Inter:
Hi Rob, we have done some background digging and
find that you are of Dutch decent, so where were you
born?
Rob:
Dank u wel, ik beschouw het een voorrecht om door U
geinterviewd te worden. Ik ben een beetje camera schuw, maar...o wee..., is dit
een Engels interview?
Inter:
[.pause for interpreter.]. Yes Robs, this interview
is in English.
Rob:
Sorry about that.ahem. I was born somewhere near
Grand West Casino..
Inter:
Hmmm, Grand West.. Are you a compulsive gambler
then?
Rob
No, No, No.but the odds are about 99% that the
Boulevard Blues are going great places in 2008..
and there's an 80% chance of that happenning....but
ja maybe I'm Compulsive but I wouldn't gamble on it.
I remember that we had a cat called "Frikkie" when
I was born and...
Inter:
[.interrupting] You were with the Boulevard Blues
during 2002 to 2003, what have you been doing for all these
years?
Rob:
I linked up with the Barnyard Theatres and
performed in 13 odd different shows around the
country for 4 even
years, and also a number of gigs nationally with bands "In The Mix" and "Mixed
Flava"
Inter:
This seems like a busy schedule - how have you
grown musically?
Rob:
Well in the last 4 years, I have worked with
more then 70.5 amazing musicians countrywide and had to learn bass parts
for over 300 and a 1/2 songs.
The 0.5 was Dale Collins and the 1/2 was a song we
did but halfway through the song the drummer had to take a leak and he
never returned.
People that immediately come to mind are Andy, Barry, Calli,
Amanda, Cedric, DeWet, Lebo, Shannon, Mark, Rike , the list
continues.
Well actually it ended right there
Just in case
you care, I now have 6 cats at home.Frikkie, Tess and Snow have gone to kitty
heaven but the names of the living cats are
....
Inter:
[..interrupting] So what is it like playing the
blues again?
Rob:
Dit is fantasties, om naar de wortel van alle
muziek te gaan en de Blues weer te ontdekken..sorry dit had in het Engels moeten
zyn...
Inter:
[.pause for interpreter.]. Yes Robs, this interview
is in English.
Rob:
Sorry about that.ahem.
Most music is based on the blues - from
Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, many Jazz Standards -it's great to get back to the
roots and be free in expression, while holding down the groove with
the drummer and..
Did I tell you that mommy cat is called
"Jazz" and her son is called "Warwick" and
...
Inter:
[..interrupting] Are you bipolar or do you
just have a short attention span.?
Rob:
Huh? Neither - Warwick (the cat) has a sister
called Mushtaq - named after the cricketer - the other cats names
are..
Inter:
[..interrupting] Let's move on.. Why don't you play
bass solos more often?
Rob:
I'm sure Chick Corea once said - "if you hear
nothing, play nothing" and I've been hearing nothing for many years
now.
Actually since I first played with
Boulevard Blues in 2002 ....it must be Graeme's snare that's responsible
for this hear nothing approach.
Anyway back to Chick Corea and another quote
of his that supports why I don't play bass solos anymore.
"music is created by spaces, so create
space." so if that means playing nothing at all then I'll just stand there
and enjoy the vibes.
And to create even more space I'll even get off the
stage so as to leave a huge big void
.......Anyway I'd
love to do a bass solo album based on my own original material, but I'm so
spaced out at the moment that it will have to wait.
I'm happy to lay down the low frequency groove with
the drummer for now.
Inter:
Your Gear
Rob?
Rob:
Warwick 4 string - straight through neck ,Thumb
Bass (apparently custom made for the bass player of Foghat in
1986),
Small stages Roland Db700 amp, otherwise SWR or
Ampeg rig for big stages.
Inter:
Your musical influences during
2007?
Rob:
Victor Wooten and then and an amazing band called
Freak Kitchen - featuring Mattias Eklundh on guitar - check these guys out !!!!
My kids love him!!!
Inter:
What South African bass players that have
influenced you the most during your musical career?
Rob:
Unfair question - there are so, so, so many - and I love them all !!!
......Off the top of my head, players that have influenced my outlook on bass
playing include
Marc Duby, Carlo Mombelli, YoYo Buys, Schalk Joubert, Justin
Maree - jeepers, the list is endless...Trevor, Manuel, Thabo, Mbeki, Zuma,
Jacob...
Inter:
[..interrupting]Let's move on again Robs.....Your most memorial
gigs?
Rob:
Essentially - every gig - no matter how big or small, where the band feeds
off the audience as much as they feed off us!
But gigs that stand out are
North Sea Jazz Festival, Up The Creek, Rustlers Valley - haai tog.., the list is
endless
Inter:
Well, Robs, this interview is not endless......time is up, and we
need to wrap this one up - any wishes for 2008 before we roll over out of
2007
Rob:
Yep, I really hope that my twin boys (now aged 7 - in grade 2) will be able
to see their Dad play for the first time -
Hopefully with the Boulevard Blues at the Cape Farmhouse (Scarborough) on
12th Jan 2008.
Love you lots Timothy &
Philip!!!!
Inter:
Thanks Robs, catch you later at the next
gig...
Rob:
Hang on. what about my other cats, we have Sasha, Tessa, Sly..
[.
editor. cut please.]
Final Bits:
Ok Guys it's that time where we the
Boulevard Blues wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a Rockin
out but safe New Year
From the Band:
John Mostert, Graeme Abbott, Robbie Stemmett,
Richard Pryor, Greg Smith and Debbie Pryor
Thanks for all your support in 2007.
We look forward to a super successful 2008 Blues
Train Journey and you're all coming along for the ride.
So pack your bags and get ready for the year where
Boulevard Blues pulls out all the stops and stations.
Love to you all
Boulevard Blues
http://www.boulevardblues.co.za/
www.myspace.com/boulevardblues
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