Looking forward to our session next Sunday, 12th March. I will need to send a reminder out to the troops. A group of us have begun practising in earnest for a gig on 19th. We are meeting in a tiny theatre called Nemesis – a name that doesn’t augur well! Tuesdays and Thursdays up to and including 14th March and then a sound check in the Dubliner on 16th. We have to pay a small fee for the use of Nemesis, but it is cheaper and more effective than rehearsing in a bar.
On the downside, Nemesis highlights the difficulties of practising in town. Parking is extremely difficult. Last week the weather worked against us. It’s a late starting time (8:30pm). More positively, I think we can form a proper band after 19th.
15th March. Practice makes perfect. Well, not quite, but we are getting there. We had our final rehearsal in Nemesis last night. Tomorrow, we assemble at the Dubliner with an assortment of cables and pickups to hook up to the pub’s sound system. Fortunately, we have a trained sound technician at our disposal.
Regrettably, I’m going to have to cancel our trip to Grevena. We don’t have the numbers to play in a session environment. Also, staying overnight and driving back to Thessaloniki the next morning for a gig that starts at 4pm is not a good idea.
As I write, in the fast-paced (!!!) world of Irish music, Grevena is back on. Stelios, the organiser, has guaranteed there will be another fiddler, a banjo player, a guitarist and a couple of other musicians. Incidentally, the Grevena session will be held in a village called Megalo Sirini, Μεγάλο Σειρήνι, just outside the town.
And Greece being Greece, tomorrow’s sound check is jeopardy due to a 24-hour bus strike.
I’ll be back next week with reports on Grevena and the St. Patrick events (including our gig) at the Dubliner.