Helen - Chopin, Led Zep, Queen, Jim Steinman, Scott Joplin, Bach, Jools Holland, Kate Rusby, Tchaikovsky, Edwina Hayes, The Pogues, The Specials, Kriesler, hundreds I can’t remember right now ... and still adding...!
:-)
LATEST on LATEST ON RECORDING.....................After a long break for one reason or other...am hoping to get working on the recording we started, again. Am a bit of a perfectionist so the whole challenge seemed massive for a while but ready to start again. I am proud of our songs so want to have a permanent record of them to annoy people with :-) Would appreciate hearing how others set about recording their own songs, in case I can steal some of the their methods! I am now debating tackling one song at a time and concentrating ..ing that before doing others. Before, I was trying to do the cd more as a whole, laying down all the piano parts with rough vocals first etc then the next instrument and so on. BUT that feels like so much work and I need a new line of approach. If we were just recording piano and vocals plus harmonies, it would be much easier but there are so many other things we want to add...here goes...! Helen xx
Check out our song, Take My Hand, which we are still selling for charity (the Breast Cancer Campaign.)
The single is ONLY £1 and nearly all of that £1 goes to the Breast Cancer Campaign
The song also features on a Lincolnshire Compilation cd for charity...check this link for more details. Is good news that the song is being used to help raise more money for charity...http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=99310&messages=30
David Kidman reviewed the Yellowbellies 2 cd. Here is an extract of the full review " Two years ago, the redoubtable Les Worrall (of Faldingworth Live) put together Yellowbellies, a superb charity compilation CD of “songs and tunes from Lincolnshire’s finest”. Such was its success, both financial and artistic, that he’s now masterminded a further collection, this time with all proceeds going to the charity CLIC Sargent which cares for children and young people with cancer and their families. Once again, Les received so many donated tracks from Lincolnshire-based folk artistes that he found himself in the unenviable position of having to turn some down! ...........
....And a very special mention should go to Helian Keys’ moving Take My Hand, which acts as the disc’s theme song if you like, since it typifies what CLIC is all about; it was written by Helen and Ian themselves and forms a logical emotional and structural centrepiece to the CD.
........with no fewer than 21 tracks, with a total playing time of over 77 minutes, and all for £10 plus P&P, this is still a must-have CD.
David Kidman May 2007
CHECK OUT Allen Jarvis in our Friends section. He worked very hard on a cd featuring performers from the Tap and Spile in Grimsby. We had a great time recording a new version of Price I Pay, for it.
Check out the Tappites site on our Friends for details of the CD
IAN:.....Sad news of a great performer Woja Coult passing away.He encouraged us so much in what we thought was the right road to go down re our music.He will be missed by so many and so glad we have some of his great songs to listen to forever.Gone but never forgotten mate..............
Had some really good moments of late re gigs.Thanks to Neil for his great work putting on Edwina Hayes and Abi Moore in a double header.Then a real treat with Martyn Joseph coming to Caistor.Stewboss and Deadrockwest at Barton,(Denny would have loved it all, as would Trev and Angie.)Enough about me and ore about what i have been listening to such as Levon Helm with his Dirt Farmer album,fantastic.Heidi Talbot and her great cd Love and Light.Another that passed by first time round by John Mellencamp called "Trouble No More",a real gem.Stewboss album Girl Wanted is ace.Plus The Very Best of Jake Thackray.All of which i have been playing over and over.
Sounds Like
Helen
Not sure! Maybe ... a bloke and a woman singing with a piano but NOT Chas and Dave style!
We don't sound like Whitesnake....
...or Greenday
...or...
Ian
A cross between the best thing you ever heard and the next best thing you will hear.
How do people say nice things about themselves? It really is a bit embarrassing and easier to just get people to listen and make their own minds up....
"Ian and Helen make music like no-one else. Helen tinkles away on the ivories rather well (that's a compliment for which I expect no retribution, Helen) and Ian delivers a rock/folk vocal of immense power. Watching them perform live (particularly Chimes At Midnight which, for some unaccountable reason, they haven't recorded for mass listening) is a pure delight. " Thanks, to Woja for that! 9.3.08 remembering you, and today will be easy, Woja, :-( it is my birthday... we'll be playing Allan Taylor's lovely song for you, Helen xx
Please contact us for more info via this myspace or via email Rockhenpf@aol.com
We have played a good variety of gigs in small and larger venues, including supporting such artists as Edwina Hayes and Christine Collister. We have done, and can offer, full gigs or, at the other end of the scale, even a personal and intimate cosy gig in your own home for a special occasion. Just ask for more info, or feel free to contact us for an informal chat about what you would like.
We hope to achieve a natural and acoustic-type sound. We write, perform and record our own songs as well as performing some covers.
We aim for a relaxed, mellow feel to our performance. Music to chill-out to with a few more uptempo songs thrown in for good measure.
With just piano, lead and backing vocals, we hope to perform our own songs, and the covers we do, with musical sensitivity, expressively and in a way that engages any audience into feeling part of an intimate and personalised experience.
Or...
I plonk the piano a bit and Ian sings...
(Oh, and sometimes I also make strange vocal mutterings as supposed backing to add to the whole...)
I enjoyed your set yesterday, it was a welcome change to hear a piano! Though that heat must have been annoying. It's horrible trying to play with sweating hands isnt it!
hey thanks for the add. which pub are you playing on sunday cos im playing two that day which one are you playing before me? ill come see ya if i can. hehe fudgey xxx
Hi guys - we find out about the sales at the end of each month apparently so we should hopefully know any day how its done. Looking forward to Thursday - I've put some new dates up there if you're interested in booking anything let me know (I'm doing it once a fortnight now) See you soon Rob x
was a good night last night you two, lovely to hear that keyboard and ians vocals. wasnt it nice to be able to get a good few songs in. really enjoyed your sets... beautifull lyrics and melodys, beautifull xx
Hey Helen! Thankyou you guys for another fab night, I love playing there and you and Ian were really wonderful! See you all soon, on the 27th in fact yey! x x x
hey there, sorry i only cought the end of yours i didnt' know you were going on so soon! i will have to get you back at babylon again, this time without the person who made it a bit of a nightmare....if you know what i mean lol...look forward to seeing you again soon!
Thanks very much for coming down on Thursday. I really enjoyed your set as did everyone else - I've had some nice things said to me about you from our regulars. You're welcome back anytime. All the best Rob
Enjoyed guesting with you.Would love to play on THAT song, once the structure's sorted. I bottled because I didn't want to mess things up for you. See you soon xxx
