{"id":1227,"date":"2020-03-25T15:09:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T15:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=1227"},"modified":"2020-03-25T15:15:02","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T15:15:02","slug":"keeping-art-alive-against-virus-by-steve-bewick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2020\/03\/25\/keeping-art-alive-against-virus-by-steve-bewick\/","title":{"rendered":"KEEPING ART ALIVE AGAINST VIRUS By Steve Bewick"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KEEPING ART ALIVE AGAINST VIRUS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Steve Bewick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Vibe Music, Rochdale<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An old issue is coming more to the forefront of my mind. How can I best market my program? I need administrative support to research how to better target my audience. Currently I attempt to do so through musicians on their Facebook pages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vibe, a\nlocal music project aimed at dis-enfranchised and disaffected youth, had\noffered to find someone who would be interested in such work experience but that,\nof course, is ever more problematic as coronavirus and the enforced lockdowns\ntighten their grip. Doors at Vibe in Rochdale have closed, as in every similar\narts arena around the country, due to the virus. The task set before any such\nvolunteer worker now would be to find web sites, blogs or facebook pages of\nclubs, pubs and music venues who usually deliver live jazz events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know of plenty of excellent such pages, of course, like those of Jazz On Sunday, Rochdale\u00b4s leading music venue and through them I can reach out to our shared customer base of those who enjoy live and \/ or broadcasted music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 
For instance I have a date in my diary on which the words Oldham Community Radio (OCR) are written. I am due to guest in the next couple of days on a ‘My Music’ programme there, talking about my recent visit to Israel and the jazz scene in Tel Aviv. I haven\u00b4t yet seen any previews of the programme on their social media pages nor heard it advertised on air. With everything under so much threat, and the lockdown screw due to be tightened even harder over the weekend it might have seemed churlish to remind OCR of the agreement. I decide not to contact them, yet, but am aware that they might not have been able to meet the technical requirements needed to make the programme happen. I may, therefore, have to find an alternative way to deliver the show should they still require me to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now,\nI have enough problems at my home ground. A colleague at FC\u2014radio has not\ndownloaded this week\u2019s program audio file onto the server to play out. \nNor has my circular been \u00b4circulated\u00b4 round the office appealing for help from\ncolleagues in identifying locally based hip hop artists. I had been planning to\nrun a feature on this music soon in a future broadcast. Still in the hope that\nthe lockdown might not happen, I decide to contact my colleague again and\nremind him of my requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before<\/a> I know\nit, though, my last week`s program is being repeated, when it should have\nbeen this week\u00b4s show, with still no reply from my FC \u2013 radio colleague. I\nfired off a correspondence at once. I was pretty disappointed. Putting it\nmildly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nas I once more check Facebook it is obvious that the shut- down of the\narts is only a verse or a brush-stroke away. There are further cancellations\ndue to the effects of the virus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Alina Bzhezhinska<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Today’s\nbig one is the Ribble Valley Jazz Festival. One down in the North West, two\nstill standing but still no downloads of audio files from FC Radio nor OCR. That is such a shame, as I had been immensely\nlooking forward to hearing Alina Bzhezhinska, who is\ndescribed on the programme details as a hip-harp player. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A leading jazz magazine has said of her\nperformances that \u00b4she engages the audience and gives them a potted history of\nthe background to the material she uses; often of someone who she has seen as\nan important role model and an influence on her own work.\u00b4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is how we create legend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nfollowing day I receive a raft of e mail and fb correspondence from musicians telling\nme of loss of gigs, loss of teaching time and loss of sessional work. For all\nthe help seemingly being offered by the government in these times of emergency,\nthere is not talk yet of financial help for self-employed musicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I manage\nto make contact through facebook with two Israeli bands I met during my brief\nscouting of the jazz scene in Tel Aviv recently and both outfits seemed pleased\nto hear of UK airtime being given for their music. I also receive more\noffers from them to send me further information and music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My e-mail\nin-tray also contains the odd request from listeners asking for downloads or\narchive references to programmes they have recently missed and of course I\nrespond immediately. It always feels good to be appreciated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I now\nlearn that Oldham Community Radio is no longer broadcasting a regular schedule.\nI re-checked audio files I had sent for Monday`s forthcoming Israeli jazz\nprogram but three are found with errors and would not play. I re-built them and\nsent them again. I rang OCR but\nstill there was no reply, or message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By now, messages\nbeing posted on facebook from musicians have slowed down to a trickle. Only\ncomments on the current state of affairs are being posted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another festival has been cancelled. Only Manchester Festival is trying to hold out to call the tune; Wigan Jazz festival 2020, closed! Ribble Valley Jazz festival 2020, closed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Unfurl<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I spoke with Olivia Moore, violinist, composer and leader of Unfurl, who has recently appeared on my radio progamme and who has featured in interview on these pages at https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2020\/03\/17\/olivia-moore-indian-raga-and-jazz-violin\/ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To my\ngreat delight, Olivia likes a poem I have written about my recent visit to\nIsrael that already seems such a long time ago. She wonders whether I might be\ninterested in having a piece of music composed to underscore it? Could I read\nthe introduction, or a shorter version for recording purposes? We discussed a\npossible style of music for it and agreed to talk again soon and to try out a\nfew readings and re-writings in the meantime. Olivia finally told me that South\nEast London is like a ghost town, and news of the death of one of her\ncolleagues due to the virus, put news in an even starker perspective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s now the\nday of the week for posting on Facebook about next week\u2019s show. This includes\nan apology for this week\u2019s error in repeating the previous weeks show again. No\nloss to Counterpoint, the guest musicians, who gained an extra weeks broadcast\ntime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Fabled<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Next week\u2019s broadcast will, I am still hoping, feature saxophonist\/clarinettist, Sam Rapley of Fabled, the group that is his brainchild. Following on from the success of their earlier EP, the band have now recently released a CD called Short Stories. I had inadvertently mis-spelled some details, in a draft article and Sam had not been slow to tell me. To be honest I have to admit it is not unusual\u00a0 for me to miss spell names etc., but my excuse is that I write with so much enthusiasm for the music and make so much effort to ensure that shows are widely advertised, that I don\u00b4t have time to pay attention to administrative details. Ooops, \u00a0that\u00b4s another apology needed. (and before the Sidetracks and Detours editor has a similar dig at me, I would point readers in the direction of his writing !!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nI can slightly repair any damage my mis-spellings may have cause by telling you\nthat Sam Rapley and Fabled are drawing inspiration\nfrom sources as diverse as Debussy, Tom Jobim, Sarah Vaughan and Bon Iver. The\nmusic of Fabled explores the wealth of textures, harmonies and grooves\navailable in the traditional jazz quintet setting. Heavily influenced by music\nfor film, and the relationship between music and storytelling, Fabled are\nalways searching for their own new ways to tell the classic, age-old stories. You can learn more about them at\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.visitmanchester.com\/whats-on\/sam-rapleys-fabled-p363131<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I now see\nthat the audio files have been downloaded at the Oldham Community Radio studio.\nI am hoping that this is a sign that the guest programme is to go ahead.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I notice an\ne-mail stating \u00b4it’s on\u00b4 flashing at me in my received items but then a subsequent\nphone conversation with David, the station manager, concludes in a postponement\nfor a month. The station\u00b4s program schedule has been savaged by the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My folder\nof archive files, that might be suitable for broadcast to replace scheduled\nevents that are now cancelled until further notice, is, itself, looking pretty\nempty. We\u00b4re now at Monday morning which is time I always keep free at home for\nbuilding a programme. That is to say, I put together music, links, and my vocal\ninterventions that comment on what I have played and what has just been and\ngone and is about to come up on the local scene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
the Hilary Step<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Today I shall be building my program from found material in the  dusty archives of unused fragments from live gigs recorded, and shared with me by Bob Jones, musician and music promoter. Bob has for a long time now procured bands for the Hilary Step, Upper Chorlton Road, Manchester. Bob is a much respected man, and Hilary Step is a popular venue in the South Manchester music scene. His regular gigs, virus aside, are the ‘Giant Steps’ on a Sunday and Wednesday evenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jazz\nnights attract good crowds and very often they also draw excellent reviews from\nvisitors such as Dominic H who recently posted on their web site that \u00b4I came here on their Jazz night (every Sunday) to see the\nfantastic saxophonist Sam Healey (I know I’m not reviewing Sam Healey but if\nyou’re into jazz definitely go see him!!). The Hillary Step provided a small\nand intimate venue for the gig, and created a fantastic atmosphere. The bar,\nand the Hillary Step in general, is small and lively. Their bar also impressed,\nwith a great ales and craft beers for reasonable prices.\u00b4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoever said Time Is Tight was right. Even in days when we cannot really do anything, I seem to be left with unfinished tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless,\nbands and gigs are identified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background\nnotes are found amongst a much disorganised paper filling system. I need\nto put that right one day, perhaps when I’m housebound due to the\nanti-virus measures which seem soon to be brought in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to\ngo! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Steve Bewick<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Audacity\nis the preferred software for creating the show. It’s free, developed by\nenthusiastic programmers and has a simple functions facility. Three hours\nlater, including several retakes and an essential coffee break, I have an\nMp3 audio file in the can and a feeling of great satisfaction fills the room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The room\nI refer to is the spare room in my house, as FC-radio is a virtual<\/em> radio station. Files are sent in from all around Greater\nManchester and the North West generally to our man at the centre, Ben\nHughes, station manager. Ben loads the server and drives the station, never a\nglitch, crash or error, ha ha. I wonder if we could do it live? No room for\nretakes, change of direction midway through a show, leaving it part complete\nfor later as we don’t feel up for it. Just sweating on it and getting down\nto the groove. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insert\nphoto of steve bewick The\nnature of my show, Hot Biscuits, is the sound of jazz on FC–Radio. It promotes\nmainly local sounds, bands and events in the Manchester area. That can include\nvisiting bands and musicians. I hope I have carried out the task with some\nverve and enthusiasm for the genre of jazz; the most innovative musical\ndevelopment in the 20th century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


\nHot Biscuits is broadcast as one program three times a week on Wednesday and\nThursday at 21.00<\/a> and Saturdays at 23.00<\/a>. It can be found at www.fc-radio.co.uk<\/a> Archives can be found at www.mixcloud.com\/stevebewick<\/a> I’m also on\nFacebook\/stevebewick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve\nBewick<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jazz\nBroadcaster<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March\n2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed\u00b4s notes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bewick & Warwick
in the studio<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

That\narticle is a perfect pen-picture of the man I worked with as co- presenter of the\nall across the arts radio programme for quite a few years. Love and enthusiasm\nfor music and a desire to share it with others was what drove us to sit in a\ncold, empty late-night studio as we introduced what few listeners there may\nhave been to new music. We mis-spelled, mis-labelled, missed out advertising\nclips and forgot to announce decreed public notices, as we spoke of Townes Van\nZandt and Vincent Van Gogh often in the same sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u00b4m\nconfident you will agree, though, that Steve\u00b4s article offers a rapidly changing\ninsight into how the current pandemic is affecting everybody who works in the\narts in whatever capacity, whether professionally or as a volunteer. This is\ntrue in all sectors of life, of course, but what we are trying to do here at\nSidetracks and Detours is to emulate communicators like Steve Bewick, Graham\nMarshall, and Steve Cooke, our colleagues at all across the arts UK, and to\nkeep breathing life into an arts scene so that artists and audience are fit and\nhealthy and ready to meet each other again when life returns to a semblance of\nnormality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\nof the news we are receiving here in the office is shaped somewhat by how far\nin the future an event is scheduled for. Graham Marshall has posted an\nannouncement all over social media that outstanding events on the Rochdale\nMusic Society 40th Anniversary programme have been cancelled until further\nnotice and yet Steve Cooke has reminded us all that Manchester Festival,\nslotted for later in the year, seems to be still recruiting volunteer stewards\netc. Check the festival site for details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note\nalso, that some of Rochdale\u00b4s creative writing groups have somehow managed to\nrun a \u00b4virtual.\u00b4 We are grateful to the ever-cheerful Katie Haigh of\nTouchstones Creative Writing group and Langley Writers and Weaving Words (all\nRochdale based) for sending that information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\nface the same challenges here on Lanzarote as Steve Bewick describes in the UK\nand what has for decades been a vibrant nightly-everywhere scene has fallen\nsilent for now. Like Steve, I am raiding archives, re-writing and editing\npieces to make them relevant for today and to try to provide some continuity to\nthose who are finding life already difficult enough without any arts input. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\ninput is still there, though. We have books, we have radio for a while still,\nand tv and we have recordings and aren\u00b4t you glad now you made all those\nbootlegs? Whilst we\u00b4re clutching for our fix of arts and culture there are\nartists locked away in their bed sits reflecting on the crisis and creating new\nmasterpieces of music, literature and visual arts. So let\u00b4s look forward to the\ngreat stuff we are going to see and hear when the lights are switched on again\n!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KEEPING ART ALIVE AGAINST VIRUS By Steve Bewick An old issue is coming more to the forefront of my mind. How can I best market my program? I need administrative support to research how to better target my audience. Currently I attempt to do so through musicians on their Facebook pages. Vibe, a local music project […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,45,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aata","category-music","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}