Strike a woman, strike a rock(ing woman)

It's Women's Day on Tuesday 9 August and to celebrate we are putting on a special show at our favourite retro hangout, The Waiting Room. (Although we will probably have to resist the delish Oreo milkshakes downstairs in order to spare our listeners the resulting vocal phlegm. It's a pleasure.)

Most of the covers we have worked on for the last couple of years have been by much-admired female artists such as Florence and the Machine and the inimitable PJ Harvey. So for this Women’s Day show we will be dusting off some of the older ones and shining a light on a new couple of ditties that we prepared recently for a vocal showcase at the Barnyard. (The resident technician – I use the term loosely, of course – lent a whole new level of ridiculousness to our in-joke about the ‘sound knob’.)

We have dubbed this gig as 'semi-acoustic', as we can't quite justify calling it unplugged with all our pedals and pogs, and especially my keyboard (which would be only softly percussive if unconnected to synth-giving electricity)!

In the meantime, we will be practising at Vera’s lovely house, amid her gorgeous kitties, inbetween sips of hot tea. Don’t forget your wellies on Tuesday as we’re pretty sure it’s going to rain. Doesn’t it always? See you there!

Yours in multiple layers and furry-topped boots
Linky x

Noises from the crypt...

A few months ago I signed up for vocal lessons with the much accomplished Amanda Luyt. Vera had been attending lessons with her for a while and I thought it was time that I did something to turn up the volume in my voice.

I went with an open mind and much excitement, since I love learning something new...and I must say that I have been blown away! After only six lessons which involved laryngeal gymnastics and noises from the crypt, I can say that I'm very impressed with the results.

It's true that most professional musicians go for lessons, and professional athletes have coaches. That is why I believe that vocalists need a vocal coach. I can't express how much more I enjoy singing now...I guess as much as any one of the girls would buying a shiny new piece of equipment.

Vera and I will be performing at a Student recital on Sunday the 19th June. The venue is the cozy Barnyard theatre where you are able to bring your own eats and booze. There is also pizza on sale at the venue as well as a cash bar. No cover charge!

The numbers we have chosen to perform are classics from the recent and not so recent past....

I can't wait!

X

C

Short film starring Cathy

My first attempt at narrative film making - 4 months into film school. Cathy was fantastic in her contortionist, wardrobe creating, Russian make-upping debut!
Ross

Student Production
1st Term SAE Cape Town 2011
By Ross Campbell
Shot on JVC100 and GoPro
Edited in Final Cut
Starring Nic Haarhoff & Cathy Davy
Music: Last Things Last - Rachel's. Calm Down - Psapp. Sampa - Caetano Veloso. La Queñalita - Condomi-Snajer-Guevara. Daguerre - Rachel's

Counting the sleeps!!

I’ve been really busy of late. I haven’t had a proper lie-on-your- couch in front of the t.v. weekend since January…but that’s ok. So something is happening this weekend…Coal is going to Langebaan!!

I have my bags ready and my dog all packed up. It’s going to be an adventure, (we will take video and photos) and I’m planning what to cook for dinner(s). YES…you heard right. This band likes to eat well, which in my opinion makes for happy musicians. I can’t think when I’m hungry and the prospect of singing on an empty stomach is enough to make me cry. It’s like playing Irish fiddle sober…never going to happen! We also can never make it through and entire weekend of biscuits and tea alone…although I’m sure we will have those too.

Enough about food! We are going to spend time rehearsing, writing and cuddling the Oscar.

Today…it’s back to work. I’m making a tail coat as part of a rather fetching Tuxedo . It’s for a lovely Burlesque dancer and I’m rather proud of the result thus far. I’ll post pictures of the finished result once it’s complete.

X
C

Cherry red

I adore the nerdy librarian chic going on in this pic. And the red dress/hair/shoes/brille, of course! So sexy serious.

Her name is Fan Bingbing (yeah) and she's a Chinese singer.

Arts and Crafts

It’s been a long while since I blogged…so here goes!

As you know I am a Corsetiere, which is a lovely old craft involving the excavation of gorgeous patterns from the depths of history and re-creating them for the pleasure of both client and myself. I just love creating things with my hands and if I find a pattern which is particularly old, the thrill of bringing it back to life is better than toasted Hot-cross Buns and tea!

My fashion excavations are not limited to ladies archaic unmentionables, however. I have recently discovered a men’s tail- coat pattern dating back to the 1800’s and I love the process of re-drafting the pattern and finding just the right fabric to recreate this beauty.

In fact I love anything made by hand. It is something that I think that modern folk have taken for granted. If you are used to buying your clothes or gifts from a store that has them spat out of a factory at a rate of knots, I expect you to balk at the price of hand-made goods. But here’s a challenge: find an easy project for you, anything creative will do. Now take time gathering all the bits and pieces that you will need to complete that project. Then reserve time to sit and truly enjoy the project. It doesn’t matter how easy or how difficult it is, you are on a journey of discovery. Once you are finished, sit back and appreciate how much love and care went into your creation. That is priceless…even if it wouldn’t sell on Regretsy.com.

So I will include a recipe for my favourite smash together dinner, for those of you who are too busy to cook. It’s cheap and will make your partner want to marry you!

Refried Beans with Nachos:

Serves 3-4

3 x tins of Red Kidney Beans drained and washed.
1 tin of Mexican tomatoes
1x chilli chopped finely
1x clove of garlic mashed…more if you really enjoy it
Half an onion finely chopped.
1tsp Coriander powder
1tsp Cumin powder
1 garlic and herb stock cube.

Fry your onions, garlic and chilli with your spices in a little oil.

Add the beans and the tin of Mexican tomatoes

Dissolve your stock cube in a quarter cup of boiling water and stir into the beans.
Now mash the beans roughly with the back of the spoon. You don’t have to pulverise them, just smoosh them a little.
Add pepper to taste.
Simmer for about 10-15 min and then serve on a generous portion of Nachos. I prefer the plain salted, but the Spicy Tomato ones aren’t bad.
If you are feeling really decadent, top this off with cheese. Pop your plate under the grill to melt the cheese. (Only of it’s oven proof!)

Dollops of Guacamole are a must!

Enjoy!
C

Blueberry tart

Gorgeous!

See more at http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

Lessons in luminosity

There has been quite a variety of international artists gracing Cape Town’s shores of late. Due to the disparity of the genres, one wouldn’t have thought all too many people managed their monthly band budget around Rammstein and Imogen Heap, but as Helen and Vera attended (and loved) both, I figure there are probably many more music-lovers out there who get their kicks from any spectacular live performance. (Though I don’t foresee either of them attending U2 or Roxette. Ahem.)

Watching Imogen Heap live was a once-in-a-lifetime experience: a kick in the gut, a tickle of the ear, a whisper of breath on the neck. She is the most inspiring musician. Well... at least I endeavour to be inspired by her when not cowering in the face of her talent and ability.

While prancing about on a stage amidst the trees on Paul Cluver wine estate, Imogen collected samples of her superb cello and percussionist on her wrist microphones, as well as her own vocals, keyboard, all sorts of wind-up toys and bells, and the plucking of her thumb piano from Zimbabwe. These layers she used, bit by bit, to create whole worlds of sound that crashed down around us as the songs ended, leaving us simultaneously devastated and elated.

One moment she was silly and endearing with her personal anecdotes, and the next she was leaving us shell-shocked with her sheer power – and mad keytar skillz! Her vocals veered from wild and intense to breathy and sweet, all with such consummate skill that we were blown away.

And her graciousness meant that she was very kind (perhaps more than she should have been!) in agreeing to have all sorts of people up on stage with her, as well as involving the audience in the harmonies for one of my favourite of her songs, “Just for now.”

Because of her, we all went home with a little moonlight on our shoulders and a song in our hearts.

Let’s hold thumbs that musicians of this calibre continue to wow us and keep the local scene on its toes.

Yours in starlight and cello strings
Linky x

New adventures and sad goodbyes

It is with heavy hearts that we must announce the departure of our beloved drummer, Art. In a decision to take a break from the music scene as a whole, Art is going to have a well-deserved rest and devote his time to pursuing other adventures. He will be sorely missed for his refreshing input in jamming sessions, quiet strength, and infectious sense of humour – not to mention his superb drumming skills which showcased our music so beautifully.

Coal will be playing a few last shows with Art behind the kit:

• Friday 19 November at Obz Cafe (acoustic) with Tape Hiss and Sparkle.

• Wednesday 1 December at Mercury – a huge farewell show featuring some of Art’s bands, including Andy Lund and the Mission Men, V.O.L. and Three More White Guys.

• Saturday 11 December at Zula with The Sleepers and The Great Apes.

Be sure to catch one (or all) of these shows to enjoy Coal for the last time in its current format. As for us ladies, we plan to experiment a bit more with percussive elements in our songs and are open to various options going forward. We look forward to our future, and wish Artur all the best for his.

Waxing lyrical

Coming up with song lyrics is tricky. For an audience as varied as ours, they can’t be too soppy or poppy, must be meaningful without being emo, and should be recognisably hooky and easy to sing along to.

At our Monday night prac a couple of weeks ago, while we were jamming, sweet Cathy came up with the most lewd line. She crooned: ‘You float by me, still inside me’.

Well, that’s what the rest of us heard, anyway. This whopper (ahem) resulted in hours of sniggers, but it turned out her words were actually ‘You float by me, still and silent’. Much more poetic, wouldn’t you agree?

Misheard lyrics have always given us all a good laugh. Everyone remembers the famously shocking Jimi line, ‘Excuse me while I kiss this guy’. In the early noughties my friend K thought the words of ‘Leave me breathless’ by The Corrs were actually ‘Go-oh on, go-oh on! Tease me, Bradley!’ (Ja, I don’t know about that either.) And the father of one of Coal’s members used to sing along to R.E.M. in the family car, ‘That’s me in the corner, losing my erection.’

You float by me, still inside me? Perhaps not so bad after all, Cath!

The threads of the new song will hopefully come together tonight to form a beautiful tapestry – or least a comfy crocheted knee rug – and I will share with the rest of the band my terrible dream from last night. Coal was on stage in front of an awful audience of youngsters, most of them resembling those monsters I used to teach. It wasn’t going well: we had to stop mid-gig because our new mystery member (a tall, gangly chick I don’t know in real life) was useless and kept forgetting her guitar parts. I was so embarrassed I just picked up a newspaper that was lying off stage and stood there reading it, feigning nonchalance. *cringe*

I hope the ‘spring’ weather improves soon, and we will see you all at ROAR for Halloween on Saturday 30 Oct. With no useless new members in sight, promise. (Only the old ones. Nyah hah.)

Yours in lyrical productivity and nocturnal brain-activity,
Linky