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The Stings

The Stings

The Stings

HOT’s Sean O’ Shea talks with The Stings, a talented and popular local folk group, which started as a ceilidh band and currently delights audiences with their own unique blend of folk, jazz, blues and world music.

The band comprises Stephen Taylor (ST), Fiddle, Melodeon, Mandolin, Vocals; Alan Marshall (AM), Guitar, Dobro, Percussion & vocals and Gerry Smith (GS), Clarinet, Whistles & Saxophone.

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You’ve been playing around the local folk music circuit and further afield for some years now and have a loyal and appreciative following. Could you tell us about your personal backgrounds and how you came to Hastings?

ST: I started my involvement with folk music through the Ravensbourne Morris Men and jointly founded the Weald of Kent Morris twenty seven years ago and am still performing with them as a musician. I have played in a number of bands in Kent and Sussex over the past thirty years or so.

AM: I played ‘folk rock’ in the sixth form at school, was a great fan of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span then danced and played concertina for the just formed Headcorn Morris in the seventies. I have played in all sorts of bands, duos and accompanied singers in folk rock, M.O.R. and show numbers. One of the reasons for me moving to Hastings in 1999 was the folk music scene.

GS: I’m originally from South East London but have had family connections with Sussex from a very young age. I’ve lived on the Kent/Sussex borders since I moved away from London fifteen years ago but have been a frequent visitor all my life, having always been drawn to the South Downs and the Sussex Coast. The musical connection with Hastings started when I began going to the excellent Tuesday night open folk sessions about 10 years ago, something I have always enjoyed immensely.

Could you say a bit about your musical journey/s and influences?

ST: Mainstream pop music has never greatly interested me and I have always been attracted to alternatives – Jazz, blues and of course folk. Participation has always seemed a lot more fun than listening, though of course I love hearing good live music whenever an opportunity arises.

AM: I love almost ALL music classical through to rock and folk. I served petrol to Jeff Beck when I was 16 and thought that he was just a true dude.

GS: I’ve played wind instruments all my life in a wide variety of genres and with many working bands. Everything from orchestral to rock n roll. I have a particular love of melody which I think is a critical element of  all good music. Although I have only come to the folk scene in the last 10 years or so the biggest draw for me has been the vast repertoire of melody – great tunes of all kinds for all moods. The Stings often take these tunes and weave counter melodies and harmonies around them, thus making them our own whilst they are still only borrowed. Composers such as Dvorak, Kodaly, Vaughan Williams and Copland have drawn heavily on folk music in their orchestral works, and I have always enjoyed playing them in larger orchestral ensembles.

What was the origin of The Stings and how did you arrive at the name?

ST: The Stings started as a ceilidh band and, since the members had all met at the Stag Inn, in Hastings. The name was chosen as a contraction of the name of the town.

AM: Our emblem is the stinger, a waspy, bee- like creature.

How would you characterize the kind of music you perform, and could you give readers an idea of the repertoire they might expect at one of your gigs.

ST: We like to present an eclectic mix – with pieces from many diverse sources; jazz, blues, early dance music and world music, but with a definite folksy slant. The presence of a strong woodwind element gives us a distinctive and, we like to think, unusual sound. The reeds of the melodeon and soprano sax blend in a unique way from which we craft a folk-jazz fusion whilst the extensive range of the clarinet offers many moods from dark and melancholic to a bright and vibrant comedy. The presence of the sax has drawn the attention of the ‘Folk Police’ from time to time but, well, we don’t care! We approach folk as a living tradition and that involves drawing on traditional sources but presented in our own contemporary way.

AM: We have played and touched on many genres – Kinks, Beatles, Trenet, Jazz Standards and Playford…we really like ancient Playford tunes. Steve and I also like to practice our Frenchy traditional numbers too.

The Stings at the Stag Inn

The Stings at the Stag Inn

You play in the intimate surroundings of pubs like the Stag Inn and also perform at ceilidh dances. Have you a preferred milieu?

ST: We work best in smaller, more intimate spaces like pubs and private parties, particularly if we are performing songs and acoustic music but are happy to play amplified where required – usually essential for dancing.

AM: We also like to dress up in Henley Boating Gear and play outdoors at Fetes.

Your recent CD, Going Begging, was a well chosen and varied selection of tunes and included delightful renditions of some of my personal favorites, ‘Blanche Comme La Neige’ and ‘A begging I will go.’ Is there another CD on the horizon?

ST: We have a few new numbers which we are planning to record later this year.

AM: We will probably concentrate more on singing on the next album, we know so many songs and we need to sing them soon before we get too old!

How do you view the current health of the folk music tradition and its prospects?

ST: There will always be a die-hard core of dedicated folkies and I think the tradition is in safe hands. It needs to be allowed to grow and change and new interpretations will help it to breathe. Of course what we might regard as the rather tired repertoire of the sixties and seventies revival might well appear as a fresh and thrilling discovery to the current generation of newcomers.

AM: We see youngsters coming along to sessions which is great, as in Ireland today. I think that we should be positively encouraging new young blades to learn an instrument and sing our wonderful traditional songs…instead of playing computer games.

What would be your message for potential visitors to Hastings in terms of its musical and other attractions?

ST: Take a stroll around the Old Town on a weekend and check out some of the musical pubs. If you don’t find something to your liking it will be a rare thing.

AM: Check out the Gig Guides look at the Posters: there is more live music in Hastings than almost anywhere else in the UK

What about your hopes for the future musically? 

ST: We would like to keep playing – perhaps do a little more writing and recording. We have talked about putting together a Christmas/Seasonal offering, but perhaps not in time for 2015.

AM: Time is always an enemy we are all VERY busy chaps….I fancy still playing Concertina Banjo and guitar when I am completely deaf and ga ga.

GS: Over the years we have found that our output and style has continued to evolve. That is something we aim to build on not just at gigs but in the studio too. We are in the early stages of planning a new CD and it may well be that the new recording will take greater advantage of what can be done in the studio in terms of instrumentation and production. We would also like to bring what we do to a wider audience in Europe as much of our repertoire is drawn from all over the continent and beyond. While we are happy to publish our own recordings we would always be pleased to consider recording for a label.

What do you do to relax when you’re not playing music?

ST: We like classic and vintage cars, restoring and sailing old boats and sleeping occasionally.

AM: Playing around with classic cars (preferably fast ones), travelling, writing, painting and gallivanting in that big smokey city.

GS: To relax from playing music we have day jobs in IT and the motor industry! A good pint of ale in a great pub with good friends after a good long walk at the coast or on the Downs never goes amiss either. I’m a keen photographer and used to have my own darkroom but I’ve gone digital now and enjoy tweaking my shots on the PC.

 SOS

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Posted 10:08 Friday, Jun 26, 2015 In: SOS

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