Jig Blog

Big Changes For The Jiggers

A quick bit of Jiggers news...

JIGBLOG MOVE.

1. The Jigblog will be moving to our own servers at www.thejiggers.co.uk very soon. (hence lack of recent activity here)

2. PRICE INCREASE.

If you're thinking of booking the band, now is a good time to do it as our long-delayed price increase will soon be coming into effect! Eek! We've held off for as long as we can, but in order to keep delivering a consistent high standard of service, we now have to have slightly higher costs. It will still be excellent value though. We're still charging hundreds of pounds less than our main competitors, too.

3. VAT HIKE.

UK VAT also goes up to 20% in January. If you confirm and receive an invoice before then, you only pay VAT at the 17.5% rate.Another reason to book sooner.

4. COVERS SET.

The band are currently rehearsing a range of covers songs, so that we will soon be able to offer a covers set as well as a ceilidh set and DJ set (currently with the 5 piece band only). Our new website will have more details.

5. OUR NEW WEBSITE.

The old website has the reddish-pink jumping fiddler image on the right hand side. The new one won't have that. That's how you tell the difference! (plus, the new one will look much cooler, have even more helpful information on it and will also sync with your ipad. That last bit isn't true. I don't even know what that means.)

The new site will also have this video of the band on the homepage.

 

Thanks for reading. See you soon over at www.thejiggers.co.uk!

Ceilidh in Glasgow University Union (GUU) this week

Want to come to a JIGGERS ceilidh this Saturday?

This Saturday night (22nd May 2010) the 5 piece band are booked to play at the GUU for an "old boys" school reunion party. Because of Champion's League and other stuff, the client has sold only about 50 tickets. It will be quite a relaxed, informal affair, so he's asked me if I can drum up any local support who'd enjoy a jig aboot. It's free if you want to join them, then let me know. The email is info @ thejiggers DOT co D O T uk

Note: please do contact me first if you'd like to come along, and I'll clear it with the client. The people who bought tickets are also getting a meal, but free guests just get to dance about, so carb up before you come!

PS GUU is a student union, so I.D. may be required for you young-looking types.

Venue Review: House For An Art Lover, Glasgow

A popular wedding venue where the Jiggers are regularly invited to play is Glasgow's House For An Art Lover in Bellahouston park. (It's just round the corner from where the Jiggers are based, which is nice!). This is the venue of choice for lovers of Charles Rennie Mackintosh art and architecture.

The venue has an upstairs section for the reception ceremony and meal, with the downstairs "Art Lover's Cafe" which is a kind of mini-gallery that transforms into the gathering place for the evening ceilidh.

We often provide clients with music for the full day there, and were performing there again at the weekend. A popular choice is our bigdaymusic Wedding Silver Music Package, which includes a piper for welcoming guests (handy, if you're lost in the park and can't find the venue) and our jazz pianist usually tickles the ivories on the venue's baby grand piano during the meal. We also supply our string quartet for e.g. the drinks reception or the ceremony which can be held in the venue too.

Clients often ask what size of band is suitable for the House for an Art Lover...We usually suggest 3 piece or 4 at a push. 5 would be tight, especially if it was a full function band with backline. You can see the relatively small stage setup of the 3 piece Jiggers band, including DJ & lights, in the picture below. Including lights with the entertainment is a must for the art lovers cafe, whose white walls really benefit from some nice party lighting, i think.

If you've had an event at the House for an Art Lover, please do post a comment to tell us about your experience there.

Me, Katie & Dougie, the 3 piece Jiggers ceilidh band outside the House For An Art Lover.

The baby grand piano in the dining room

The 3 piece band & DJ option has a smaller footprint and fits snugly into the corner of the room!

 

Boturich Castle

Scotland is a great place to get married. You rarely have to travel more than 10 minutes from any point in the country to find a really beautiful backdrop for your wedding celebration.One of the best things about being in a ceilidh band is the fact that we get to perform in some of the most beautiful places in Scotland.

Raising the game for wedding venues around Loch Lomond (of which there are many) is the recently developed Boturich Castle.

Well, OK. It's not like they've just built an ancient castle, but the point is that they've just added a large fixed marquee which caters for (at a guess) about 200 guests.

They held their first wedding there last week, and Bigdaymusic was hired by the happy couple to provide the wedding entertainment (which included the bagpiper, and also the ceilidh band and DJ for the evening).

Now the Jiggers have played lots of really nice venues around Loch Lomond: The Lodge on the Loch, Luss, Cameron House, Loch Lomond Youth Hostel, Duck Bay, loch Lomond Shores- Drumkinnon Tower, Ross Priory. But the most breathtaking view has to be the one you get from from Boturich.

The castle (and marquee) is situated on a hill north-east of Balloch, and as you can see from the photos, has an unhindered perspective on the loch. The real selling point of Boturich, I think, is the fact that two whole walls of the large venue are completely glass, meaning all the guests benefit from that incredible view for the whole day.

I don't know how much they charge for events held there. I can't imagine that it's cheap... I believe that you can hire in your own caterers,though which might make it a bit more flexible if you can get a good deal on the food.

And of course, catch us on a good day and we might also be happy to shave a few quid off the price just for the chance to play up there again :)

Here's some pics of Dougie, Katie and Donald chillaxin' outside the venue...

 
  

Billy Collins - Litany

As a ceilidh caller and a performer, I always like to look for examples of how better to connect with an audience, hold their attention, make them laugh. Billy Collins communicates in a comfortable, droll way that is unhindered by false confidence.

Choir of the Year 2010

A spine-tingling choral performance down the Duck and Switchblade. Maybe Bigdaymusic should see if these guys are available for singing at weddings.

How do you turn a duck into a soul singer?

For animal rights reasons, we will not be recommending putting it in the oven until its bill withers.

Watching this sublime performance from the man himself, however, would be a good start.

David Ford, Go To Hell

A stunning video from David Ford, a hugely engaging singer-songwriter. I loved this when I first heard it. It's being looped and recorded (and quite possibly mixed as well) live, in real time.

Sign Up for the Jiggers Ceilidh Band Newsletter here...

I've finally figured out a simpler way to allow people to sign up to our newsletter without us having to process their email, add it into an xl file and upload the file to a server. This form does it automatically. Add your name and email address to sign up if you've never received a Jiggers newsletter. It's the surefire way to hear about any special offers or Big Jig ceilidhs we're running.

Name:

Email:

Update: Jiggers Ceilidh Band on Scotland's BBC Live hogmanay show?

I have a theory that if everybody spoke like Robbie Shepherd, there wouldn't be any wars.

Sadly, this year the Jiggers ceilidh band will NOT be performing on Radio Scotland's live Hogmanay show. A bit gutted. That would have been fun. It was an honour to be asked, though! We've got some of our musicians playing at Hampden, others at the Hilton, AND (to further disappoint those of you who like fortuitous alliteration) at the Mormon Church. (maybe they could call it a Hootenanny?) It's going to be a pretty tight stretch as it is...

Good news, however, is that I discovered the DV tapes from the original BIG JIG were NOT corrupted after all, it was just the video camera I was playing them in! D'oh! Well, that means that I'll have TWO events to get a new Jiggers video from (the other being the Wee Jig on Saturday night there). So all in all, things are going OK.

 www.bbc.co.uk

Jack of all trades, master of..all of them actually...

You have to wonder what drives this guy.

The internet...raising the bar just a little higher for the rest of us.

15 tips for the worried bride (part 3)

The final five wedding tips for worried brides.

(tips 1-5) (tips 6-10)

11. Prep your team.

Bridesmaids, best men, ushers : these people have been given a special honour, and they should be expected to work for it. They're there to enjoy but also to support you. The best man should be circulating with the guests, introducing people to each other, working the crowd, keeping people abreast of what is happening. He should be making sure people's needs are met, and that no-one is bored or cold or embarrassed. He should be prepared to make an impromptu announcement, and if he's not a public speaker, get him to write his announcements down, or arrange someone else to make them for him. Make sure he's got his mobile phone in his sporran, too. Bridesmaids will help you with your outfit and moral support, but do make sure that they're not under the illusion that they can go and sit in a corner with their friends and ignore people. The wedding party (that's the top table, usually) are the hosts of the event, and it will work best when the hosts engage with the guests. Appoint people with responsibilities that they are capable of handling, and make sure they are accorded a special honour for this during the toasts. A token gift will also help cement those important relationships, so don't scrimp on thankyous.

12. See the value of difficult guests.

Sometimes you have to invite people you don't really want to be there. The lecherous uncle,for example, or a heavy-drinking boyfriend of a friend. Some guests will be there to pass comment and air their own insecurities. Everyone is human, and some more human than others. Don't resent them. Use them as a reminder that marriage itself will have its awkward experiences. But equally, make provision with your support team of best man and bridesmaids. You don't get to enjoy an entourage every day, so make the most of them!

13. Take your watch off.

Most weddings don't run exactly to schedule. Try not to fit too much in, and also plan for things running over. Canapes for the guests while photos are taken is a good idea, or even a magician or a good string quartet. And if the speeches make the meal last an extra hour, this is where having an experienced wedding band comes in handy. Check the venue can move the evening buffet back a bit, and ensure that evening guests have somewhere comfortable to wait if they've arrived early. Some of our clients hire live background music for the evening guests (e.g. a jazz trio) to play in the retiring room (where the dinner guests join them while the function room is turned around).

14. Relish the Challenge

Children throw tantrums when things don't go their way. If you're mature, you embrace the challenge. Sometimes you have to wrestle with external sources of aggravation, and other times it's internal conflicts. If you identify your wedding day as a worthwhile challenge, rather than an elaborate party to dazzle people into thinking how great you are, then I think you are approaching it in the right spirit.

15. Lower your expectations.

 What?! Settle for second best? NEVER! Well, that’s not really what I’m saying. What I mean is: remember that your wedding is not somehow going to magically make the rest of your life perfect. Don’t give it that kind of place in your thoughts. Obsession is when you try and ascribe more value to something than it is really worth. Widen your horizons: don’t let your wedding obsession become something which actually alienates you from people.

Those are some of my ideas. Feel free to add any suggestions that you think are useful by clicking on the "comments" link below.

An interview with Pete Waterman

Paul Morley, on his "Showing Off..." series talks to Pete Waterman about Simon Cowell and the x-idol-pop-factor phenomenon.

Pete Waterman is experienced in the mechanisms of music and business, so I'm always interested to hear what he says. The work Stock, Aitken and Waterman produced in the 80s and 90s is a brilliant example of people who knew how to work the music industry.

One thing that frustrates me, though, in conversational interviews is that a question gets asked, but rarely answered properly. Waterman, seems to struggle with decisively articulating the nature of the x-factor show, or the role of Simon Cowell. He talks, certainly, but after 15 minutes, I'm still not sure of much of what he was trying to say... He doesn't sound like Bob Dylan or anything, but I'm not sure I'm enlightened by this discussion.

This is strange to me, as I would assume that a key to success in one's own industry is the ability to define it with precision. But perhaps that's not the case with media-related enterprises. Maybe that mystery and ambiguity is at the root of success, and why they even named the show "X-Factor". People talk about Simon Cowell being the only star of his show, and I believe they're right. Every interview he does simply reminds us of his mystery: the part he doesn't reveal about himself.

When I read or watch interviews with masters of industry,I often find they are rarely capable of holistically encapsulating the nature of their job. They give examples of "lessons", describe "behind the scenes" events, but rarely is there an overall guiding principle, a law by which they are governed.

They seem like specially engineered products of their environment, with their subconscious senses guiding them, but often without the intellectual capacity to fully rationalise their environment, or explain their actions. Perhaps this is true: maybe they are like the unthinking popstars that are so valuable to the likes of Waterman and Cowell, and that's why they themselves are so successful.

But perhaps these people, when being interviewed, are not concerned with revealing their own secrets? I wonder whether exposing the true motivations of their heart is too uncomfortable? Each interview becomes an opportunity to propagate their own mystique, so why should they make themselves smaller by articulating themselves into a box? They may have made their millions, but they still have their mystique to lose. The magic trick is forgotten about once you understand how it is done.

The Wee Jig, Saturday 21st November, Glasgow

Anyone want to come to a FREE SECRET CEILIDH on Saturday night in Glasgow West End? Email us or call 0141 419 9558 for details.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/event.php?eid=173860259333&ref=mf

Big Jig video : Strip the Willow instructions

I've finally gotten around to getting the video from the first Big Jig off of 8 digital video tapes. Unfortunately, the tapes seem corrupted somehow,which is quite disappointing... I think I have a "be Kind Rewind" video jinx thing going on...

***edit*** 11/12/09 as it turns out, the videos WERE working after all...I'm currently editing videos for both the Big Jig last year and the Wee Jig last month. Expect new "moving picture!" videos in the new year... ***edit***

Luckily, I recorded the audio separately so here's a promo video I put together with some stills (courtesy of good pal Simon Varwell) using the good ol' Windoze Movie Maker. It's hard to capture the energy of your typical Jiggers Scottish ceilidh using static images, but it'll have to do until we get another video made! (maybe the Big Jig 3 beckons?)

If you can't hire the Jiggers Ceilidh Band, maybe call...

If you're planning a wedding, and you've tried to book a good ceilidh band, but they're just not available...If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... These guys...

The Top Secret Drum Corps performing at Edinburgh Military Tattoo, 2006. Astounding, eh? I don't know if you can actually do a Military Two-Step to any of this, but who really cares? (Hat tip to Ian Barclay from Kilter Ceilidh Band for putting this link up)

Crooked Still & Emily Smith: an evening of unreserved cabaret

Just back from the Fruitmarket in Glasgow hearing the excellent Emily Smith support the awesome Crooked Still.

Emily releases her latest album of Burns (Robert, not Montgomery) songs "Adoon Winding Nith". This should get a fair few spins on my compact disc audio device in the next few days.

(Interestingly, the album includes a glossary of the Scots terms used in the songs, which is handy for all you sassenachs out there...and me as well, to be fair. A good reason to buy the CD rather than download it, I think.)

Crooked Still, if you've not heard them, are a virtuosic 5 piece band of fiddle, banjo, cello, upright bass and guitar/singer. Utterly phenomenal. I used to think I could play the cello until tonight. Now I will never again.

Here they are in their former 4-piece line-up.

Interestingly, the tickets, in describing the seating arrangement (tables, with 6 chairs around) say "unreserved cabaret". Strangely apt.

A brief guide to electronic music

I've been spending a few hours enjoying this site: Ishkur's guide to Electronic Music. It's rude, ironic, opinionated and really quite funny. But it provides a fascinating insight into the development of electronic music, and traces stylistic strands and influences across such genres as house, hip hop, disco, jungle, dub and numerous ludicrous subcategories (booty bass and terrorcore to name but two).

Many of the inferences and deliniations will no doubt be highly contested by dance afficionados, but to do that is to miss the point. It documents the chemical reaction of culture, youth, media, politics and creativity over the dawn of the electronic age, and highlights key figures, moments and places in the history of electronic music. It also provides numerous audio samples to let you hear for yourself.

The funny thing is that I seemed to come to electronic music from completely the other end. I've grown up with the pop-ified version of electronic music: only the most accessible, catchy material that made it out of the clubs and onto radio (mine was a relatively innocent childhood!) But I didn't necessarily hear anything I definitely wanted to emulate. My musical training was classical and rock & pop. Guitars and keyboards and verse-chorus-bridge stuff.

I first developed an interest in making electronic music when I discover the sequencing software Logic Audio while studying music at uni. It just seemed to make sense, much more than written scores (I've always been poor at sightreading).

The interesting thing is that most of the electronic music I've made has not been consciously imitating certain artists or style. I had no idea that the drum loop I was using under that synth line meant I was making a breakbeat record. Or that adding reverb to that patch made this section sound like epic eurotrance. So it added a kind of naivety, but also a kind of freedom. You just make the music that sounds good to you, and don't worry about whether it's cool, or whether it's been done before. I wonder whether that stands in your favour if you want to get your music noticed? Does it help to "know" the genre you are working in? Or does it just make you seize up, discarding every idea that sounds a little like something else, because you're on a mission to make something original?

I have to say though, I think my favourite genre in this whole list is what he calls "VGM". Video Game Music. Created using the audio chips from Commodore 64s and ZX spectrums, this music was probably the music I listened to more than any other in my youth, and still creates a soft nostalgic feeling when I hear it. You can hear that influence quite strongly in much of my own electronic music. Go listen: it's on the bottom left of the Techno category.

And another great example of this kind of music I discovered today (on Spotify), listen to this.

Rave on, ravers, as my dad used to say.

The coolest event in the history of music

Stevie Wonder playing "Superstition" on Sesame Street. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anything cooler has happened since the day this was recorded. This was the apex of cool. The music rapture. We find ourselves now on the post-eschaton downward curve of global less-cooling.

And I love how the drummer forgets to stop with everyone else. I do that quite a lot myself.

Tell Marshall Guitar Amps What You Think Of Them

 

Hat tip to Zak McFlimby,borderline genius/fruitcake pillar of the thoroughly irreverent b3ta community ... (note, this link may be Not Suitable For Work. I did say "irreverent")