Paul Walker: NEWS/PICS

See also www.myspace.com/paulwk

See some NEW & AMAZING pics on my BIOGRAPHY page, courtesy of my old friend Dave Hughes.

No surprises that once again the quality of the performances were second to none. Highlights came from Martin Bell whose set included a medley of Beatles arrangements for solo guitar. Some fantastic Flamenco from Pete Mcnamara (so mesmerised I always forget to take a pic), Sam from New Zealand & the wonderful songs & voice of Michele Martin. Great performances also from Julia, The Trent Vale Poet & Mary.



Michele Martin



Trent



Sam

A sensational night at The Tack last night, here are a few of the highlights:



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We had a few treats at Blakey's last night when we were joined by Chris Just & Jeff Cooke, both fine songwriters & performers. In addition we also had the brilliant Martin Bell:



Jeff & Chris Just www.myspace.com/chrisjustuk




Jeff Cooke www.myspace.com/jeffcookeacoustic





Martin Bell

Thanks to everyone who made the trip to Alrewas last night. It was a fantastic night & your support, as always, was very much appreciated. Here are a few pics courtesy of Tony Wall.

Thanks to all those that came out to support me at 'On The Square' on Sunday afternoon. I had a great time, hope you all enjoyed it. See you soon. (Thanks to Tony Wall for the photo)

On Saturday 12th July, I have been asked to organise a Busking Competition on behalf of Stone Music Festival. I'm looking for about 12 musicians/acts who would like to participate. You will be Busking on allocated pitches situated around the town centre for up to one hour. Don't worry if you haven't busked before (I haven't but they won't let me put my name down), it's just a bit of fun but there is some serious Prize Money, £200 for the winner plus runners up prizes. The winner also gets a slot on the Main Stage the following day (Sunday). Also, all participants get free entry to Maurice Dickson's 'Guitar Workshop' later Saturday afternoon. So if you fancy taking part please call me or send me an email. Remember, there are only a limited number of pitches so don't think about it too long. Should be great fun, I'm really looking forward to it.

My gig scheduled for next Saturday at Newhampton Folk Club has been rescheduled for Saturday May 31st. I will be supporting the accomplished blues artist, Adrian Byron Burns www.adrianburns.com . Really looking forward to it, see gigs for full details.

Walking out of the auditorium I overheard a man say that he had just witnessed one of those 'once in a lifetime experiences'. It's not everyday that we get to see, before our very eyes, someone who is rated 'the worlds greatest', but when we do it quickly becomes apparent why they were awarded that accolade. On Friday night at the Lowry, Sylvie Guillem, 'the worlds greatest ballerina', brought the packed audience to its feet & pinching themselves in disbelief at the greatness they had just seen. Coming from the era that I do, I have been privileged to witness (in the field of entertainment) several once in a lifetime experiences, e.g. The Beatles, The Stones, Led Zepp, Bowie's Ziggy. Sylvie Guillem will now be added to that list. Take a look.... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mxHLYI2LIro

What a fantastic night we had down at Cradley Heath on Saturday courtesy of Lozz & Brian at their Ommer n Chaiin Folk & Roots Club. Myself & The Trent Vale Poet were kindly invited to guest at this wonderful little club & we had a great time. Thanks to Moira, Martin, Petra & Rob for taking the trip to support us both. Lozz recorded the whole evening & an edit version of the show is featured on his podcast http://www.blackcountrypodcasting.com/ . Some other great artists are featured on the show so it's well worth a listen. Thanks also to Dave of the Holly Bush who is clearly a fantastic supporter of real music & poetry (& what about those wonderful chip butties that appeared at the end of the night). Thanks again to Lozz & Brian. I hope we get the opportunity to revisit the Ommer n Chain in the not too distant future.

At last my special friend Diane Ponzio has found her way onto YouTube. This is Diane performing in Frankfurt last month. SONG: Permanent Damage. GUITAR: the new Martin JDP 2 (Diane Ponzio signature model). Mahogany back & sides, Italian Spruce top & slotted headstock. Wonderful, but NO Diane, I won't be placing an order for one (well not yet anyway)http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Cm_Bgt9Mk

With a lot of assistance from my son Dominic, I'm quite excited that I've finally got myself a MySpace site that I'm proud of. Take a look if you get a moment www.myspace.com/paulwk

It was a great pleasure to have The Smiling Strangers do a Special Feature spot at Granvilles on Monday evening. Whilst we were only treated to three members of the regular five piece, they made a great sound. Jeff, Rue & Peter are part of a great band that have some superb songs. Check them out on www.myspace.com/thesmilingstrangers also listen to their own podcast on www.thesmilingstrangers.com . Thanks guy's for a great night on Monday & I hope we'll see you again soon.

The Walker household is delighted to announce the arrival of Martin D-18VS (pictured left), a much wanted brother to JDP (centre) & J-40 (right). Both guitar & player are doing well.

It was a real pleasure to have Tristan Seume, one of the UK's leading young guitarists come & play for us at The Fitz. Take a listen to how lucky we were via Tristan's website www.myspace.com/tristanseumemusic

As I've said before, the man I owe my new Acoustiland Podcast to is Laurence (Lozz) Hipkiss, who gave me the idea via his own podcast, www.blackcountrypodcasting.com . Well, Lozz's new programme tonight is centred on North Staffs & features myself & our good friend the Trent Vale Poet. Please have a listen if you get a moment & support Lozz, who, like me tries to keep local, live music & poetry alive. http://www.blackcountrypodcasting.com/bcpc140.mp3

For this one I owe a large debt to my new friend Lozz Hipkiss, who introduced me to his podcast that he produces to help promote folk music & spoken word in the Black Country. I was so taken by it I have had to have a go myself. My version is called ACOUSTILAND. For this weeks episode of ACOUSTILAND please click the following link http://acoustiland.mypodcast.com/2008/02/Acoustiland_Episode_1-81159.html Hope you enjoy it.


Also tune in to http://www.blackcountrypodcasting.com to see how a pro does it. Thanks Lozz.

What a wonderful night at The Swan (in Stone) on Wednesday courtesy of acoustic guitar virtuoso Jon Gomm www.jongomm.com . Many of our local musicians & music enthusiasts turned out to see what was a dazzling display of what not to do with an acoustic guitar. Many were seeing Jon for the first time whilst some remembered his first visit to Stone last May & ensured themselves of a front row 'seat'. Wednesday night was probably even better than the last one as Jon left the crowd in a state of disbelief at what they had just seen.
Go on... become a Jon Gomm Fan. Take a look at the videos on his web site & also on YouTube.

Jez Lowe www.jezlowe.com

I've been a fan of Jez Lowe for quite some time, but until last Friday, had never managed to catch him playing live. Jez is a folk singer songwriter from County Durham & widely regarded as the best folk writer in UK today. He has just been nominated for the 2008 BBC Folk Awards 'Folksinger of the Year'. He lived up to that title with ease last Friday with a beautiful collection of songs, superbly performed with solo accompaniment from guitar (an old Fylde Oberon, I think) & cittern. I wasn't surprised that I was bowled over as he has a fantastic depth to his repertoire. His new cd 'Jack Commons Anthem', purchased on the nght, is wonderful from beginning to end. Put Jez Lowe on your list of 'Must Do's'.