UK Tour Day 5 - BBC Cambridgeshire

Woke up in time for the 9:30 breakfast and was served up a great one by Alan and Karen. Had a good conversation about the history of the pub and the festival and the many great artists that have come through there. Alan and Karen definitely join the list of the few and far between musician oasis's. Great hosts and now great new friends - I look forward to coming back to the Brasenose.

Cole and I wandered around the village a bit, walked down through the Oxford Canal and checked out all the long-narrow boats. They ranged from a basic mini-barge to very cool houseboats that make their way down a canal that in some places is barely wider than the boats themselves. We headed back to Cambridge via some quaint village roads - looked right out of the movies to me. I kept looking for Sir Lancelot or maybe at least, Monty Python.

Dave had given us a key to his place in Cambridge so we could relax, get caught up on blogs and I could nurse my throat with some of his tea and whiskey! Man that works well.

Cole was first up at the BBC with a 7:20pm slot. This show goes out to basically all of Eastern England, so by far the biggest station I have done in the UK. We were told by other musicians that Sue loves to shake the interview up with left fielded questions, usually "if your music was a fruit which one would it be". Both of us were well prepared for that one, but she fooled us and went with "if your music were a set of clothes...." Cole handled it great, did a good interview and played several songs live. My segment wasn't until 9:15pm. Sue is one of the great interviewers, in that she understands artists and music and asks the kind of questions that make the hour go by like a minute! You can wait for the radio posting (which will come in the next couple of weeks) for my answer to the "clothes and music" question as well as the "magic time machine VW Bus" question. I played "Bye Bye Baby Jane" live and we did "Not Even New Orleans" from "American Road." We also got a good chance to talk up my new group Runaway Home and played "Tell You Goodbye" from the EP.

Cole and I hit a Greek joint for take-out on the way back to Dave's. By the time we got back (around 11pm) Dave had assembled a handful of musicians, professors and students from the area colleges (and saying area colleges in Cambridge is saying something)! They were scientists, geneticists and music lovers from New Zealand, Austria and South Africa. We drank wine and played music until about 3am - a great night.

UK Tour Day 4 - Brasenose arms

Woke up this morning about 11:30 and had a quick breakfast with Dave and Cole. I learned in the process of buttering my toast that there is indeed a difference in taste (though not in look) between Chocolate Nuttella spread and Yeasty Spread. Wow!!! Cole later told me that the marketing slogan for Yeasty Spread is “you’ll either love it or hate it”….enough said…..yeah!

After that we sauntered off into a beautiful Cambridge afternoon to Dave’s favorite coffee shop called Limoncellos. After some cappuccino and croissants we headed back to the house. Cole had the day off with nothing to do and offered to drive me to the Brasenose Arms gig and play percussion for me (which he does quite well). It was nice to sit in the passenger seat and be able to look outside the window without the panic of which lane I’m in and what part of the roundabout I’m about to spin out of.

This part of the country is very rural and quite upscale! The Brasenose Arms is situated in a nest of hamlets and is the home place and home pub of the Fairport Convention Band. Evidently, the Brasenose is featured on an early album cover of Fairport’s.
Alan and Karen are very gracious hosts and got us a good room at the Inn and we sound checked for the 6:30 show. This was to be two sets ending by 9pm – for the Pub Quiz night. I’m still nursing the Bronchitis and hoarse throat, so a pub room was a challenge – but I made it through and all went well.

We decided to stay after the show for Quiz Night and of course the meat raffle, which Cole was thankful to lose because he’s a vegetarian. We teamed up with two folks on a 6 month holiday, taking their narrow boat down the Oxford Canal toward the Thames. Our Quiz team was dubbed the “Twangs” by the Quiz Master (no doubt my influence). What we thought might be a short 1/2 hour bit of fun, turned into be a fairly rigorous and serious 40-question game. We clearly were not taking the quiz seriously enough for the team, “Jones’s” and quite literally did not keep up with the Jones’s (or anyone else for that matter) coming in dead last, but laughed our asses off in the process!! After watching packages of meat distributed to the raffle winners, we headed for the room. I watched a movie on the old Itouch and hit the sack!

UK Tour Day 3 - Acoustic Routes

Got up early this evening after a restful sleep in the studio barn, but awakened by the un-restful debates between the neighbors working in their gardens this morning. Had a quick breakfast and hung out with James and his wife and his two cool twin boys Tev and Joe. Later we hooked up with Stephanie Lambring and Becky for lunch at a neat restaurant out in the English countryside. Both Stephanie and I (as well as Cole Stacy from last night's gig) were due to play the Acoustic Routes club in Cambridge together. So, after determining that the new and bizarre warning light meant that I was driving with my emergency break on, I was able to just follow Stephanie (who was smart enough to bring a GPS) to Cambridge - good thing too - the rural route was a crazy one! We got to the gig early, did sound check and had a great Italian dinner at the CB2 restaurant. I went on last for this show. It was sold out and as always, the crowd helped me to transcend my bronchitis and hoarse voice (they all love tom waits so it was cool) and deliver a good show. They all sang "Stars in Their Eyes" at the end - very fun!

Stephanie headed back to Ipswich and Cole and I were put up by a local singer-songwriter and musician oasis - Dave Streatfield! Sleep comes easy after the stress of the left hand days and the excitement of a sold out night.

UK Tour Day 2 - Institute at Kelvedon

Slept in today, hard to shake that flight. My host John was busy working the phones for me searching for a last minute gig for my one open date next weekend. Man he is a troubadour's oasis! I headed out on the M25 around the "clockwise loop" around London. Wow the traffic !!!! Took me about 3 hours to get to Kelvedon. By now I was realizing my cough was getting worse and I was indeed plagued with my UK usual. I stepped into a health clinic where they diagnosed me with bronchitis and got me started on some antibiotics , so at least I think I'm on it early this time. I joined up with my fellow troubadours Stephanie Lambring and Cole Stacey for sound check and a bunch of good laughs that only new friends of an old struggle seem to share. We are also sharing the bill in Cambridge too so that will be a welcome interrupt to the path. I walked outside before the doors opened and saw a big line waiting to get in and I inquired if anyone good was playing for which I got the reply, "god I hope so". I told them one out of the three of us sucked but couldn't remember which one. Luckily the English and I share similar humor. My voice held out OK through my 45 min show but began to die during the last song but by then the audience had the chorus on "Stars....." and they carried it for me. I headed back to the promoters house where I had some great beer and antibiotics and listened to a bunch if new music back in his music hut in the backyard. A great way to end the night. I think we're all grabbing lunch in town before heading to Cambridge. Here's hoping for more great people to sing to and a voice to do it with. Thanks for coming along. Peace Mark

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UK Tour Day 0-1 - One Boot Shy of a Load

I showed up at Nashville airport 2 pounds overweight on my bag (NO JOKES PLEASE). So after a bit of haggling an configuring,found that removing 1 cowboy boot did the trick (so I carried that one on the plane with me).

After a short flight to Detroit and a long flight to England I found myself in line with literally about 500 others at the customs line in Heathrow. Per the usual, my check was delayed due to me being, well...a singer and having done the paperwork correctly righteousness doesn't always pay.

I picked up my Hertz rental and I have to say choosing a manual (though I've driven them for years) with the left hand gear + driving on the left - the whole bit was slightly overwhelming on a jet lagged brain. The rental guy tried to chastise me into renting a GPS saying I would never make it on my own with just a map. Well that pissed me off just enough to forgo the GPS and head out toward my first round about! I traded the smell of jet fuel for that of my clutch(good thing its a rental) and found my host about 45 min later.

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John Garth and his family have been great hosts, allowing me to crash for several hours before dinner and then out to the Antelope Bar to catch Ian Hunt on guitar. I will share a night with Ian on my last stop on the tour - The Greyhorse.

Today I am off about 3 hours to the Institute at Kelvedon, playing about 8:30. Hoping that my mandatory UK respiratory ills abate before then - it's better today after rest, tea and a beer! Cheers Mark.

Mark's UK Tour Blog Coming April 7-18

Hi All,

This time last year the great Icelandic Volcano cut my UK tour by more than half, but I had a great time anyway! I am excited to be returning to some of my favorite venues and adding a few new ones to the tour. Old friends and the promise of new ones - that's what makes this music circus all worth it. Check back on this blog starting later next week and follow along with the journey. I'll be blogging as internet connection allows. Thanks for the support! - Peace, Mark

Fri. April 8 - The Institute at Kelvendon - Essex - 8:30pm.
Sat. April 9 - Acoustic Routes - Cambridge - 8:30pm.
Sun April 10 - The Brasenose Arms - Oxfordshire - 6:30pm.
Mon April 11 - BBC Radio with Sue Marchant-Cambridge- 9:30pm.
Tue April 12 - The Troubadour - London - 8:30pm.
Wed April 13 - The Beehive - Swindon - 8pm.
Thur April 14 - The Pelham Arms - Lewes - 8pm.
Fri April 15 - BBC Radio Suffolk w/ Stephen Foster- Ipswich- 2pm
Fri April 15 - PJ McGinty's Pub - Ipswich - 8pm.
Sat April 16 - check back on Mark's website for last minute update
Sun April 17 - The Grey Horse - Kingston on the Thames - 5:30pm.

CULLEY & ELLIOTT/ WORLD MUSIC NASHVILLE In partnership to help our young musician flood victims

CULLEY & ELLIOTT/ WORLD MUSIC NASHVILLE
In partnership to help our young musician flood victims

Kerrville Folk Festival Winners Culley & Elliott used last weekend’s concerts at the Filling Station in Kingston Springs to kick off a very special flood relief benefit. Culley & Elliott raised more than $750 and collected donated instruments during the concerts.

In partnership with World Music Nashville, Culley & Elliott are raising funds to replace the many instruments lost in the flood by our community’s children, as well as creating a longer term fund to provide music lessons that may no longer be affordable for flood victim’s families.

You can donate money and instruments in person at World Music Nashville for this on going effort. There will also be a prize raffle held over the next several weeks to include a very special donation by the Country Music Hall of Fame; 2 free day passes and 2 free family passes for a year. In addition, we have secured donations by Nash Guitars (a highly sought after Relic Strat), Taylor & Martin Guitars, as well as Mesa Boogie and D’Addarrio and much more. These will be great prizes and all raffle funds will go to keep the instruments and the lessons in the hands of our community’s young musicians.

If you have any questions or would like to make a monetary or instrument donation please come by World Music Nashville store in Bellevue or contact Lisa Singletary at 615-425-0256