Chilli Road Band and FIRE!

Chilli Road Band played in support of a MacMillan Cancer Relief event in Baltic Square, Gateshead between 7pm and 8:30pm on Thurs 19th November. 

We had the easy job: providing entertainment while others (literally) walked over hot (very hot) coals.

See a review here: http://lance-bebopspokenhere.blogspot.com/2009/11/chilli-road-band-baltic-square.html

Recordings

Hear various of my groups playing in events earlier this year:

Durham Gamelan www.musicalmetal.com/gamelan/group/may14/

Chilli Road band www.musicalmetal.com/crb/fohm-summer2009/

Chilli 6 Panners www.musicalmetal.com/pans/yr6summer09/

Chilli 5 Panners www.musicalmetal.com/pans/yr5summer09/

Latest news on instruments in the region

Lots happening which will massively increase the amount of gamelan in the North.

As well as the existing slendro sets at Durham and Egremont, and the more recent small slendro at Morpeth, there is now a large bronze slendro set based in Chopwell.  Sue Finn has started a community group there on a Wednesday evening.  For information about using it for business training see www.gamelanatwork.com 

The matching pelog set is being used for community projects.

On its way is another slendro set commissioned by Northumberland Music Service - should be here soon after Christmas.

Durham University (as part of the North East Universities' CETL - Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Music) has commissioning a pelog set of instruments to match the existing Durham slendro.  This is a very exciting project: the last tuner to visit the UK was very impressed with the quality of the Durham instruments which were built on a small scale but by a top maker for a top musician. 

And on top of all that a partnership of the Sage Gateshead, Soundwave Cumbria, Newcastle Music Service and CETL are commissioning a full double bronze gamelan.

• A Gamelan is a whole set of musical instruments found all over South East Asia but especially on the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali.
• Almost all of the instruments of the Gamelan are percussion instruments, most of them made from bronze or iron: gongs, metallophones and chimes of various shapes and sizes. There are also bamboo flutes, a xylophone, drums and more.
• The Durham Gamelan is from Central Java. It is made from bronze. The instruments can be played by between five and fifteen people at one time. It was one of the first playable gamelans to come to the UK.
• There are many different types of Gamelan, even just within Java - Indonesia's most populous island.
• The traditional music of the Gamelan is still very widely played and enjoyed. It is used at ceremonial occasions, at weddings, to accompany dance and puppet theatre (including shadow puppets) and at informal concerts.
• The music of the Gamelan is called Karawitan, which literally means 'refinement'. It is one of the most developed forms of 'non-western' music. It varies from the loud battle scene music to some of the most relaxing and meditative sounds you will ever come across.
• The Gamelan provides an incredible opportunity for musical participation and education. There is no physical barrier to playing and a group of adults who thought they were unmusical, or a group of young children, or anyone else, can be playing real music within the space of a short workshop.
• It is easy to learn the basics but there is also plenty to challenge - Javanese music combines simple melodies with complex improvised ornamentation.