The Plucky Haggis [Original Acoustic + Covers, Solo Artist]

Blog (26)

Post Pandemic Plucky Busking the wave

5 Jul 2020Post Pandemic Plucky Busking the wave

As soon as BoJo started to release 'us' from 'lockdown', I was out busking in Bedford Town Centre, strutting my 200+ Rep.; barring a doz. crimbo toons & a few others. Great relief to be BACK!

The photo is a still from Tim's video of me playing a cover of Ralph McTell's Streets of London at Pigeon Square, Bedford; av. now via Plucky's Tasty Covers.

To date, I've already sang, performed, played, and busked my way through THIRTY+ days on the street; Bedford, Northampton, & Bletchley/MK these past 2 months; having written-off ALL of Mar, Apr, & half of May - kiboshed by Covid & 'lockdown'! All told, there's probably too much 'ground' to make-up for all the losses. Sadly, most town centres WILL not recover, even though they're presently limping into life on significantly lighter footfall - making it all the harder for any of us to make ends meet; won't stop me trying mind!

On the upside, I've been greatly encouraged by the generosity of some, which, when combined with a tangible increase of complimentary comments - proffers in me, a degree of optimism! Confidence for any performer is everything - assuming the rest of the basics are in place of course! And it's to this end, that performing LIVE is significantly more enjoyable this year, despite the lack of ears; underlining self-improvement made during winter months, and stretching my repertoire past the 200 marker. Rewarding hard work, resulting in enhanced audience appreciation. Yeah BABY!!

As pubs start to reopen (Eng. 4th Jul), there's a long way to go before music venues and live gigs become common place again; sadly again, many will not return. The Arts & Culture sector has never known such pressure.. and it'll require 'our' collective creative ability to counteract this impending & costly result. Which, 'til recently, was worth c. £11 Billion a year to the UK economy, generating a further £23 Billion, employing over 360,000 jobs, and benefiting many more (like me!). For folks at the start of their musical career (8 yrs for me); 2020 may inevitably be toughest 'ever', therefore your support has never before been more vital, valuable, and valued!

So, IF you meet 'us' performing on the street 'for you', please consider demonstrating some appreciation, even if it's not dropping coin.. each passing wink, nod, wave, applause, acknowledging contact, or subsequent social media follow, like, etc. goes a LONG-WAY to affirm our contribution. I personally love when someone spends 5 min. engaged with me & my performance, or stops a minute to chat. These experiences are often the highlight of a session - and one, that may add to your day too! ;)

Brighter NEWS: Despite a backdrop of cancelled gigs, festivals, closed venues, and the future of Live opportunities heavily restricted for the foreseeable; I'm still earmarked for my debut Glasto performance & MC duty, now 2021 WTS! Obviously a lot can scupper present anticipation & excitement, however, it truly motivated me this winter past, and expect it'll do so again! :)

'Til we meet somewhere, continue to stay safe, remain covid-aware, be kind, tolerant, and support one another through strange & socially awkward times. CHEERS! Plucky - tphx

Troubled Times ends Treble Dose of Quarters

14 Apr 2020Troubled Times ends Treble Dose of Quarters

Obviously ‘everything’s’ changed, since signing-off my last update here, after an exciting Towersey Festival, that filled me with hope & expectations for 2020; (like Performing & MC'ing @ Glasto 2020 & returning to Towersey - both CXLD). BUT the ‘New Ground’ we find ourselves in now, is unprecedented & unchartered water; up Covid’s Creek without a proverbial 'progressive pandemic-paddle'. ALL very sad for our industry indeed!

Here however, is Plucky’s quarterly highlights & low-points: Plucky's Great British Buskin' Birthday Tour 2019, was surprisingly successful! So I planned to do a Spring Tour. I covered over 1200 miles in 15 days, managed to busk in 8 Towns & Cities; Northampton, Carlisle, Stirling, Aviemore, Aberdeen (twice), Dundee, Newcastle, & Leicester. Missing a few due to bad weather & visiting loads of F+F.

Something Special from Superfan, Ellie (pictured above, others in Photos)! This amazing hand-crafted Plucky gift encompassed ALL Plucky’s Worthy Originals, c/w photo & title wrapped Werther’s Originals, personalised packaging, with a poetry related card encompassing lines from ‘Ready For The Future’, and detailed thoughts on over half my songs. Take That surely never received such an encouraging & flattering gift!

Unfortunately, UK experienced one of the wettest & windiest (stormy) winter’s – severely curtailing busking opportunity. So, I concentrated on perfecting performance of Song 26; ‘Apocalyptic Pause’, which I uploaded on YouTube in Feb. But never expected Plucky’s 1st RAP to be quite so ‘prophetic’, or being so painfully & forcefully imposed upon us: “So we start again, embrace the pain, diminished cash, modern man on pause..”! Full lyric available via video info.: Apocalyptic Pause

As winter progressed, and storms stymied busking opportunities, I turned my attention to achieving a Full Repertoire of 200+ songs & prep for SPRING! Who knew! YET, it delights me to tell you, in the Eight short years I’ve achieved it. Although, spinning-up & mastering this many from memory is a continuous challenge! lol Full list of songs & a-z Rep. can be found here, Facebook Page, and via my Website.

Sadly, ‘old mother Haggis’ slipped into the afterlife late March.. following a bad bout of pneumonia Christmas/NY, followed by an extensive recovery process. She’d’ve been 80 late Apr, and fully engaged with, and loved, this new-found passion of mine for writing & performing live. Early Feb. I was able to spend several quality days with her, after a secondary low point; perhaps singing my new song AP (among others) was just the pick-me-up she needed.. she certainly made extraordinarily good progress for a while, from a very frail position.

We/family, had much to be grateful for; time to say farewell, share love, thank, and wish her well. And managed to have family members at her bedside, which sadly many were deprived (of late). UKGov restrictions, distancing, personal responsibility for others, prevented me attending her short funeral in Aberdeen; with services prohibited, graveside attendance strictly curtailed, largely devoid of comfort, companionship, & human touch.

However, from 500 miles away, I sang my song; Hurts To Say Goodbye, as she’d often requested (the only thing she'd specifically requested, at her funeral). So I posted an updated YT link with full lyric, on my personal FB timeline, while I played/sang it privately, ‘til the salty water dried. Sharing & honouring her life in this way, with friends commenting via social media (in addition to family), was surprisingly fulfilling & comforting. Mum was far from perfect, yet a very remarkable & strong woman who had suffered much at the hand of others, and perhaps subsequently & additionally by her own; aware of her weaknesses, she held a strong Christian faith, and loved her family to the end. ‘Twas just her time! R.I.P.

Finally, looking ahead gig wise & busking, it's obviously still extremely difficult – (esp. while we're in lockdown). I haven’t followed ‘the herd’ on-line, nor signed-on for benefit, and don't have accounts to justify HMRC Self-employment Income Support Scheme. BUT I do hope when the walls of restriction start to fall (as they must), I find solid performance opportunities, increased engagement, tolerance & respect, warmer appreciation, with continued community care & benevolence. Perhaps folks will prefer to use PayPal rather than dropping cash a while, which they can easily do via my mobile. We’ve all gotta believe that while the road to recovery & restoration may be long and hard fought, we'll make the most of those years ahead of us, if we're spared.

Stay strong, safe, and share kindness becoming of humanity, from a shared & common position of humility; respect, and love one another. Cheers! Plucky - tphx

Towersey Folk Festival 23-26 Aug 2019

30 Aug 2019Towersey Folk Festival 23-26 Aug 2019

Bearing in mind, my 1st BIG ‘Full Weekend Camping Festival’ was here 2018, I was delighted to be invited to join ‘The Bar Stage’ team, to manage & MC/Host a verity of quality Bands & Performers throughout this HOT BH weekend. BUT despite being thrown in at the deep-end, I found my stroke! Possibly made a bit more work of it than necessary, but that's how I rock folk! :)

Our team split into pairs mostly; manager & MC. I was mainly MC'ing, but we all stepped-up to share collective responsibility, supported by an amazing Sound Engineer & new friend; Jason Walsh.. who I don't believe stopped, EVER! Anyway, this a reminder for myself 'in 10 years' time, and for a few to enjoy...

Thu: arriving later than planned, amazingly I found myself next to Geoff Court (who'd become one of my friends last year) in the Artist's Ticket queue!!

Fri: Plucky's 1st Stage intro.. Memphis Rattlesnakes - which I erroneously later renamed ‘Snakeheads’ – oops! But, managed to get everyone on their feet for a fab encore (sound save!). Then intro'd Stew Simpson our Stage team leader, who also had his own set; very accomplished & talented singer-songwriter/poet/artist from Newcastle, with a new Album Milkman Son. After which he went on to host 'our' 1st OM on The Bar Stage; giving me a break to eat etc. before dashing back to intro 46th and Main.. "Black Country Blues Band", with a big wall of harmony (managed to stopped myself adding or saying ‘Street’) - Phew!

Sat: 'Twas time for 'Halsway Young Folk' who looked & sounded like they'd been together years.. not ONE WEEK!! BUT what's that.. someone's knee popped on stage, yikes! Surely that's not a normal part of their set! Resolved. And followed by the fabulous Ciara Rafferty - Americana. Whispering Bob Harris may have even enjoyed my intro, shame I wasn't introducing her on the C2C O2 Stage - Bob got that gig!! lol However, I certainly rolled ‘em Celtic rrrrs; she was fabulous!

Sun: BlueJay Wendy Bryant Bartlett & Roger Jackson, with special guest Anya B - W's daughter). Wendy turned out to be a friend of my friend Nat (Of Natalie & Jeremy fame). Then, prior to the daily Open Mic slot, I intro'd 'new daddy' Pepe Belmonte with his Smooth Americana Blues groove. Another quick break/bite to eat, I was back to intro Togmor, who are HUGE in Milton Keynes - right Pam! They also run TogFEST 20+ yr.. They certainly made a big impact, unbelievably 'twas their 1st time at Towersey, which considering they're 31 this year, it's a tad surprising! Finally, we brought on Doghboy Zydecajun, though I'd swapped with Stew to Manage behind the scenes, & finish early, so didn't see/hear them as I all the others mentioned.

Mon: BH final day, and surviving on 4 hrs sleep - Party Pooch Plucky! Celtic Heartbeat sang three songs on my own rep - perfect way to close imo. Finally followed by Plucky's last intro of a fabulous weekend; PHAT. One for the youth.. 7 guys with so much going on.. horns, drums, strings, keys, & tight vocals, 1st timers.. but probably one's to watch for in future years. And that was that, with 4 hrs kip and hectic weekend, lighter duties were greatly appreciated!

With 4/5 acts & a 2 hr. Open mic every night.. there was plenty for our team to do. BUT BESIDES THAT, ‘The Plucky Haggis’ managed to sing c. 15 songs Friday 12:00 – 1 pm (under 'the guise' of a prolonged sound-check).., once complete, a couple later approached me & asked about the abrupt finish (I explained). Then, and I love this, proceed to genuinely ask where & when I was performing next – 'cause they wanted to hear more! [Let's hope they pop that on their on-line Towersey Comments Form :D OH YES! It's going to be a great festival (I thought), and it really was!

Delightfully, I was asked twice more to chip-in on stage between acts (performing in total a mix of 17/19 Originals & Covers): HAPPY LUCKY PLUCKY! Had time not been against us Sun/Mon, I might've done more.. but then, how was I going to beat that next year! Besides, I was tiring too.. so many fabulous conversations and fun, before & after each shift, meeting NEW & OLD friends. Several, who may in fact generate significant opportunities for Plucky to Perform &/or MC in 2020 - WTS!

A 4 day festival (camping Thu - Tue), a ton o’ highlights (many noted), but the BIG stand-outs for me (bearing in mind I didn’t see too much beyond key duties); Sun: Steve Knightly from Show Of Hands, I loved his solo gig in Big Club. Mon: RURA made an impact; emotional, melancholic, & homesick (I was tired), enjoying their fabulous instrumental blend of strings & pipes. AND their closing tune had me Highland flinging myself silly! Sat: I lost my dancing cherry at Towersey’s 1st Silent Ceilidh; they even played pop on an optional channel, super fun! I'd nipped down there after seeing MK’s finest; forest of fools opening numbers on The Bar Stage! As usual they'd folk jumping, and generated loads of chatter around the site!

However, overriding all this activity, alongside all the good work we did at the Bar Stage, were the countless opportunities to share with others; enjoy & contribute to the Craic, find company among old & new friends alike - often sharing food & drink. That’s the REAL GOLD there for me, amongst those good hearts we share LIFE with.

Thanks y'all, for taking this Plucky Scot into your circles & hearts, making me welcome, and part of this wonderful festival family. AND for the many appreciative comments I/we received for our team contribution to The Bar Stage - icing on a very sweet cake! Thank you Towersey! Few more pics here: Plucky's">Facebook Page

Here’s to the 'NEW GROUND' we’ll all break, in 2020! CHEERS! Plucky - tphx

Late quarterly update - The Highs & Lows

1 Jul 2019Late quarterly update - The Highs & Lows

1st, let's dwell on the HIGHS & Highlights of the last 4 months Feb/Jun:

> SEVEN years since I started to learn/play guitar; 1st Mar 2012.. followed quickly by SEVEN years of Plucky Public Performance - Open Mics 29th & 31st May 2012.

> Song Repertoire NOW 160+ songs: recent additions; Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart; Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved; The Zombies - She's Not There (punctuated with the Kill Bill ver. 'About Her'); Adele - Hello; Lighthouse Family - High, and Roger Miller - King Of The Road (among others).

> ALL 25 of Plucky's Worthy Originals are now on my YouTube">Channel & Website.

> April BH Saturday gig with full PA at IntuMK Shopping Centre (pic) - 4 hrs of non-stop performing Haggis; went down a treat with loads of folks enjoying my varied set in the sunshine!

> June brought out Plucky's BEST at a Private Gig; celebrating a Wedding Anniversary of 40 years in the hottest day of the year 29th. Fabulous garden event laid-on for 75+ Family, Friends, & Neighbours. Which doubled up as a means to support a personally treasured & appreciated children's cancer charity. Felt very privileged to provide their entertainment & to receive so much warm and genuine appreciation (blush!).

> Earlier in June, I was fortunate to support Susan Lovejoy (off 'The Voice') in London - OK she mostly wanted my PA, but I'd a performance to open-up & close. (pic added to photos)

UP COMING EVENTS:

> JULY - Plucky's BUSKING OUT ALL OVER. [update 14th: 3 days Bedford, 1 day MK, 1 hr. St Albans (not gr8) - look out Hitchin, Alyesbury, Northampton & more]

> Sunday August 18th I'm delighted to have been asked back to Fenny Poppers for a 3rd consecutive year; 11am - 6pm family day.

> Towersey Festival BH Weekend 23rd - 26th. 2019 I'm returning as part of TEAM Towersey! More specifically, supporting Stew Simpson (of Hadrian's Union), to run a couple of stages; if there's a chance of playing a debut festival set @ The Bar Stage I'm THERE!! ;) Stew has his own set here on Fri 9.20/10 pm https://www.stewsimpson.co.uk/

But, at the very least, I should be performing here between 17:30 - 19:30 (maybe ea. night) COZ this year, they're running the Open Mic on the BAR STAGE - yeah! There's also Session / Jam space av. Fri/Sat in The Den after 10 pm too - which may be interesting & evolve.

So, to my LOWS - well, over the past six months I've been trying to initiate Plucky's 1st residency, with a commitment to build a regular evening of Performance & Entertainment locally, i.e. Bucks/Beds, BUT sadly, there appears to be little to zero appetite, despite initial F2F interest; more frustratingly, 4 venues have shown a total lack of correspondence/reply, beyond the initial contact. WHY CAN'T PEOPLE EVEN REPLY/RESPOND to email, say what's what... no just leave 'em hanging.. ARRGH!! No respect - shameful imo!

IF you manage a venue & wish to discuss a potential residency opportunities - please don't hesitate to get in contact. N N/W London - Leicester - Oxon - Cambs considered. Bucks/Beds ideally.

There we are; MUCH to be proud & excited about, and with 7 years of foundational stage experience & achievement under my belt, increasingly positive feedback at & from bigger events; Plucky's future is still looking bright! Here's to a fabulous Summer of Music & Festival, folks. Let's all make the very most of our short time here; help & support one another, and counter those negatives that surround us on a daily basis.

LOVE's the KEY dear friends! Cheers! Plucky - tphx

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