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Musical Director's Diary: Monday, 20 July, 2011
OMG! I can't believe how long it's been since I've put my fingers to the keyboard and blogged! Wow! A lot has happened during the first half of 2011 - we've lost a member or two and gained another member or two! We've been in the studio at Love Street, Studio's recording more material for our forthcoming album. We've done a few fundraising concerts and raised some very good money for victims of the Christchurch and Japanese earthquakes, as well as supporting a wonderful local charity - Story Dog's - where dogs are brought trained to sit with kids who struggle with reading.
So where are we at just now, I hear you ask? Well, we're polishing up a couple of new songs in preparation for our next big performance - on Saturday, August 27th at the Blackheath Choir Festival, in the Blue Mountains, West of Sydney! We have performed at this festival on two prior occasions and are thoroughly looking forward to this years festival as well! After that, we'll hope to have another few gigs closer to the end of the year. Please keep coming back to the website - and we'll let you where and when we'll be playing! Ciao the noo! Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Monday, 20 November, 2010
Well hello again Men Wot Sing appreciators, lovely to reconnect with you! So, where are we at with everything? Well, we haven't been back to the studio since our last session - on October 25th - as we've been focusing on organising ourselves for a couple of corporate gigs.
The first was a function for the Major Training company which was held on Saturday 06 November, at the Riverlife Convention centre on the Brisbane River. It was an unusual gig in that all our audience was to our sides and we had no one in front of us to see all the real action. Still, the punters seemed quite happy and we had a great time.
The next gig - another corporate function - was for the 1st Topographical Survey Squadron at the Gaythorn RSL, in Michelton, just north of Brisbane, Queensland. The gig ran very well and the audience appreciated the excellent entertainment just as much as the entertainment appreciated the excellent audience. We were speicifically requested to sing more of our naughty numbers - and so we did!!! Great fun!
Where to next? Well, we'll be performing at the Club Cappella choral get together at the Ocean Shores Community Hall, on Saturday, December 11th from about 7.00 pm onwards. There will be a broad variety of choirs and Men Wot Sing will do our thing. If you can possibly make it, please come.
We're also finishing off the last few tweaks of two new songs in rehearsal at the moment. We're including versions of the song "Come to Australia" by the Scared Little Wierd Guys. I've written a new verse or two for the song! And we'll also be performing incorporating the classic Peter Gabriel song "Don't Give Up" into our repertoire. This is one big arrangement - very tricky to learn, and even trickier to master. Look for it in the new year!
Alright - that'll do for now! Enjoy your day, and don't forget to come down to the Ocean Shores Community Hall gig on December 11. Ciao for now, Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!Musical Director's Diary: Monday, 25 October, 2010
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, here's some information for you - hot off the press! Men Wot Sing hit the studio tonight for the first of several recording sessions at Love St Studio in Currumbin. We are getting together our first Men Wot Sing CD and it's very exciting for us! We managed to record three songs tonight - Dr Whom, Throw Your Arns Around Me and The Colorectal Surgeon's Song. It was a very productive session! I'll keep you informed as to the progress of the CD.
On saturday 23 October, we performed as part of a charity set for the Shelter Box people - raising cash to provide aid to the victims of the Pakistani Flood - and it was such a lovely night. The program consisted of short spells from various local choirs: The Jazz Drops, Lennox Headliners, A Cappelican's and then Men Wot Sing was called to the stage. We elected to perform all our allocated songs as one longer set and it made our show more entertaining and gave the audience something to look forward to. Unfortunately there's not a single photo of the night's performance because our photographer didn't turn up! Isn't that right Tobias!!!!
Well, after a great night we headed home - to the sound of loads of hearty slaps on the back and a plethora of "You guys are great!" etc. Anyhow, that'll do for now, Im falling asleep at the keyboard. See you anon! Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Sunday, 12 September, 2010
G'day again folks, well, I'm extremely happy to report that our gig at the Big Night Out was a raging success! It was truly an awesome night with a mega dose of feel-good factor! This is fortunate because I woke up that morning having spent the night trapped in a nightmare about Men Wot Sing having our worst ever gig - with the audience either booing us or wandering away after about five or six songs. Yuck! Luckily all went well. What is it they say? Dodgy rehearsal - good gig! Maybe it's the same for reality states ... dodgy dream - good reality? Who knows!
Anyhow, here's a Youtube video of Throw Your Arms Around Me taken on the night by our friendly sound and light guy, Tim Synott. Hope you like it!
Also, while I'm here, the other acts on the night were absolutely excellent! Sara Tindley, local singer / songwriter held the audience captivated by her beautiful, heartfelt music. The Secret Squirrels were nigh on perfect - a couple of great, energetic renditions of 70's songs "Me and Julio, Down by the School Yard." and "Brown Eyed Girl." You should have seen the lead-singer! Awesome!
Acid Bleed, a locally based Jazz fusion band finished off the night beautifully with a laid back set of cruisy jazz accompanied by the great talents of Geraldine Loong on vocals and Bob Terrill on blues harp.All in all, it was a fantastic night!
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Friday, 27 August, 2010.
G'day folks, it's about two weeks until our next big gig to be held at Alstonville High School, in Northern NSW. We're on the program for their major fundraiser The Big Night Out with several other local artists - Sara Tindley, Secret Squirrel and Acid Bleed. It's going to be an awesome night! Try and make it if you can.
Here's a quick look at the flyer:
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Tuesday, 17 August, 2010.
Well hello there! It's about 12.35 am and we've just finished a fantastic fundraiser concert for Fr Ken Spreadborough and St Peter's Anglican Church, Coolangatta which was recently vandalised! The church was pretty much packed - at just under 100 people in the audience - and we managed to raise a total of around $2750 for Fr Ken and the church. What a great outcome!
The night was awesome! We sang two sets - each of about 30 minutes - and the we sounded and looked great! There's no getting round it! Of course I'm biased, but then what can I say ... we were fantastic! The audience was very appreciative and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the night. Well done lads!
Here's a look at a song from the gig - It's Joyaa leading us in the Monty Python favourite "The Lumberjack Song".
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Monday, 09 August, 2010.
G'day again folks. It's 11.45 pm an I've just got back from a ripper of a rehearsal with the boys. We're preparing for our big fundraising concert in aid of St Peter's Anglican Church, our long time home an rehearsal venue, which was recently trashed by some uncaring citizen/s. We ran through pretty much our whole set and I must admit we sounded pretty bloody good! We're all very excited about the concert, and hope to see you there! Click here for details!
We had a fun gig on the weekend at the International Prostate Cancer Conference, held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach, Qld. It was a great day - loads of people stopping by and sampling the Men Wot Sing brand of entertainment, and an excellent opportunity to flaunt our famous rendition of Bowser and Blue's great song "The Colorectal Surgeon's Song." All in all - a great sing!
And finally, dear readers - I'm going to try rooly hard to get my Musical Director's Blog to you on a weekly basis!
Wish me luck! Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Sunday, 25 July, 2010.
Well, it's July 25th, one day after Bindi Irwin's birthday! Happy Birthday Bindi!
OK. Men Wot Sing are currently in the process of recording our first Men Wot Sing CD. Watch this space!
I was recently on a Musical Directors Bootcamp - a horendously awful place where I had to bust my gut in order to prove to the lads that I'm willing to do what takes to be an up-to-the-minute, focused and finely hones musical director.
Check it out!
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Sunday, 13 June, 2010.
Well, G'doy moites! Today was World Environment Day and those Men Wot Singers that weren't crook took to the stage at the Green Day Out festival at Kurrrawa Park, Old Burleigh Road, Broadbeach. It was a lovely day. Loads of great stalls, excellent music (including us!) and a generally all round friendly vibe. It was so refreshing to see so many people out there who hold the health and harmony of the planet as a vital part of our continued existence here on Earth. We loved the opportunity to be a part of it all - in our own Men Wot Singy sory of way!
Next week, on Saturday June 19th, we'll be performing as part of a Men's Health and Wellbeing festival day at Strathpine, Brisbane. You can check out the festival site here:
Anyhow, hope to see you soon!
Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Tuesday, 11 May, 2010
It's very exciting in Men Wot Sing land just now. Our new singers have been "blooded" at the SingFest choral festival on the Gold Coast on 1 May. We had a great sing and didn't even think about the fact that it was technically a "competition" until long after the event! Needless to say, we didn't fare too well according to the judges BUT ... if you'd asked the audience members you'd have heard a very different reply. The number of people who came up to me or one of the boys to thank us and tell us how great they thought we were was amazing!
I was just so happy with out first big sing with our seven new singers - they all did fantastically! You can check out some shots of the night here.
The next thing we're all excited about (apart from all the talented young Zumbites who've joined the new Zumba class in the hall next to our rehearsal venue!) is that we've just purchased our very own PA System. It has paved the way for us to take our act into different venues and conseqeuntly we can now effectively reach a much larger audience. And we sound great through the new gear too!
So ... keep an eye on our "Wot's One" page and catch us soon in one of our upcoming gigs. Look forward to singing at you!
Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Wednesday, 14 April, 2010
We're getting the new blokes sounding quite impressive just now. Monday night's rehearsal was great and they're starting to get their collective head around the material. We've updated the "Wot's On" page so you'll get a better idea of where and when we'll be performing. We've got a few shows coming up, so you can Check it out here:
OK, that's it for now!
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Easter Saturday, 4 April, 2010
Well hello again! Long time no see. What a great start to the year!!
Well, as you're probably aware, Woodford was a fantastic experience for Men Wot Sing. We did two ripper workshops and had four concerts. You can check out a whole heap of photos and stuff here: Men Wot Sing Woodford Photos.
Well, after Woodford we had a month off and regrouped, ready to rock and roll, in early February. Amazingly, for our first rehearsal we had seven new singers turn up and most of them have been welcomed into the group.
Our current membership list includes: 6 basses, 7 baritones, 7 tenors and 5 altos. Oh ... and 1 musical director! That's 25 singers ... quite an increase on our numbers at Woodford where we had 18 singers. So ... with this increased presence we'll be looking a little different on stage and as you can imagine, with so many new singers there's a whole lot of learning going on.
Rehearsals can be a little tricky too! Getting 25 blokes to shut up and sing when I want them to can be more than challenging! But ... we're getting there and should be all tuned up and ready to go before too long.
We'll be making our next big appearance at the Gold Coast SingFest choral festival on May 1 & 2. We should be performing during the evening show on the Saturday night. Can't wait! And we'll no doubt see you all there!
All the best for 2010!
Simon
Musical Director's Diary: Friday, 25 December, 2009
Happy Xmas to you - or if you'd prefer - Happy Solstice!
Well, after a massive programme of preparation - including solid rehearsal, numerous performances and a couple of workshops - Men Wot Sing are ready to take the Woodford Folk Festival by force! Our tents are up, our notes are learnt, our shirts are colourful and our stubbies are cold!
Yes folks, for the first time in seven years, Men Wot Sing will strutt their stuff at Woodford on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,Thursday and Friday this week - 27.12.09 - 01.01.10.
For a gander at our full timetable, click here: Men Wot Sing @ Woodford
If you're at Woodford, come up and say G'day and don't forget -
You can buy official Men Wot sing merchandise at the Woodford Festival Shop!
Check it out ...
Men Wot Sing supercool stubble holders!
Men Wot Sing ultra excellent black singlets!
Only while stocks last!
Catch you at the festival!
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Monday, 08 October, 2009
Just thought I'd upload another of our great Men Wot Sing video hits. Rather than just conducting in this one, I do a bit of featured singing as well! No stripping though!
Happy Halloween from Men Wot Sing!
Musical Director's Diary: Monday, 05 October, 2009
Hi there! Well, tonight we had a great gig in our usual rehearsal space. We performed for a small, yet utterly funkalicious, audience and raised a tidy sum for Men's Health and Wellbeing, Qld. Well done everyone!
While I'm here, I'll just highlight a little more of the incredible talent that lurks within the heart of Men Wot Sing. Here are a few of us as we take to the stage in another of our creative exploits! I'll bet you didn't know that several of us were famous strippers!
Check it out!
OK, More later ....
Musical Director's Diary: Saturday, 17 August, 2009
Hello again fellow Men Wot Singians, once again it's a treat to chat on our good old Blog page. So ... we've had couple of great gigs over the last week or so.
Firstly, we had a wonderful evening helping to raise money for the African L.E.A.F. charity at Mullumbimby Civic Hall. The venue was beautiful, with a very warm and friendly atmosphere, and we shared the stage with another two excellent local groups the Lennox Headliners - our resident Sweet Adeline superstars beautifully lead by their new director, Cathy Gordon - and our old friends, sounding better than ever, the wonderful Jazz Drops.
The show was a huge success. The audience was fantastic and everybody had a great time. In this humble musical director's opinion, all groups were sounding better than ever!
The evening was very successful with the L.E.A.F. charity coming away with about $4500 set aside for certain orphanages in Africa. A great night! Well done everyone!
More later ....
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Saturday, 18 July, 2009
G'day folks, Simon here again. Just thought you'd like to see what some of our fine performers get up to in their spare time! Here's a little video of me and a couple of the boys, Tim and Andy on a recent fishing trip to the states. Enjoy!
As you can see ... we're an intrepid lot!
And here you can see an example of the wonderful talent pool that we draw our singers from. We have a rigourous audition process ... and two of our excellent singers, Rob and Paddy, have agreed to the filming of their auditions.
You've got to be quite fit to be in Men Wot Sing! Well done Rob and Paddy!
Next up we have three of our Men Wot Sing homies getting down and breaking it! These boys sure know how to move! In Men Wot Sing we expect nothing less than pure, drop dead choreographical brilliance from all members.
And finally we'll finish with a snapshot of a different side to our Breakdancers. Old baritone Terry takes hearty gander at Jonathon's tenor behind! When he's not breakdancing, Jonathon never needs much persuasion to get into a frock! He's a bit of a shocker like that! And whatever you do, don't ask him about goats!
OK folks ... we'll see you later.
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Sunday, 05 July, 2009
Well hello again! We've been very busy these last few months - spreading the glorious word that another supergroup has arrived in Oz. Yes - it's Men Wot Sing and didn't we rock!
In June we did a number of shows including a lovely Lavender and Lace Garden Party for the Leukaemia Foundation at the Gold Coast Historical Society, Bundall. It was on june 7th and was a great day with a fantastic audience. Here's a quote from one of the audience members - the mother of a singer with the celebrated Gold Coast choral group, The Blenders:
"You guys were better than good! ... You were better than better!"
After the gig in Bundall we all jumped in our cars and hotfooted it down to Curumbin to participate in the Green Day Out. We were all pretty knackered but we jumped up on the back of the truck and gave it our all! The audience was incredibly tough, having just been warmed up by the talents of a number of pre-teen kiddies singing and telling jokes. But we got through most of our set and had a great time! Here's a couple of shots from that one:
Bogons Rule OK!
Running the Toyi Toyi
A couple of weekends after that we were back in action. On Saturday June 20th we performed at the Burleigh Solstice Festival, Burleigh Heads. We sang a few songs to the passers-by, and then jumped up on the back of another truck and sang our little hearts out. The sound was a bit wobbly at first, but then it got sorted and we launched into another great show. Our newest bass, Tyrone, saw us there and joined up on the spot! Well done, Tyrone! That was a decision that'll take you to the top!
The next day was Sunday, 21st of June. We headed up to Brizzie for our first ever incursion into the sunny city. We had a spot booked in the Queensland Art Gallery, as part of the internationally celebrated Fete de la Musique. We had a great crowd - maybe 150 people - and playing in that beautiful building was just awe-inspiring. It was a gig we won't be forgetting for a long time. Great sound, great audience, great everything else. Here's a few shots of this gig. (Thanks for the photos Jutta!)
Dr Whom?
I've got my furry dice - have you got yours?
Ooh, they're a lovely audience, aren't they!
Our last show in June was in the Queen Street Mall, Brisbane, as part of the Big City Draw. Yes folks ... twice in the big smoke in 8 days. We knew we were cranking now! We did three half hour sets - 11am, 12pm and 1pm - and we must have sung to over 600 people all up. It was great! The audience loved us, and we loved them too! The sound was fantastic - a very big thank you to Dave and the sound crew, as well as to Carolyn McDowell and Caz Osborne, who did so much to create the opportunity for us. It was a treat! Plenty of photos from that show - too many to add here, so we'll stick them in their own page! OK ... that's it for me! Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Friday, 08 May, 2009
Well, what can I say? Monday night's Community Benefit Concert was a complete success. We had a full house including a number of high profile guests such as Jann Stuckey, State LNP Member for Currumbin, the entire orange-clad, local SES brigade and David's mum and dad.
The boys and I got right into the zone and we gave it our all, culminating in a ripper of a performance. The audience was warm and very appreciative and we raised over $1600 for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.
Well done everyone, a great night's work!
Here's a few quotes from the night!
"I came all the way from Sydney to see you guys!" David's mum.
"You guys aggravated my whiplash!" Jann Stuckey, LNP member for Currumbin
(Sorry Jann, our impressive blokey leaping about can get a bit intense
- especially for the front row!!)
"You guys are very professional and should be in high demand."
Marion and Roger, Tugan Fruit Mart
"I gave him my baby to kiss, and he bit it in the head."
Strange man in the back row.
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Friday, 01 May, 2009
Well, here I am again. We're back in Oz and the school year has already reclaimed a sigificant chunk of my headspace.
Men Wot Sing have managed brilliantly without me (gulp!) led by the outstanding talents of David Fennell - one of our excellent basses and a professional musician - and Tim Smythe - alto extraordinare ... They've both done a great job and, with the help of one or two other Men Wot Sing, have brought the overall performance level to "Ready to Rock and Roll!" I only had to tweak the sound a wee bit here and there to prepare us for our upcoming Community Benefit Concert:
and the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Concert
To be held next Monday, May 4th at our usual rehearsal venue.
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Thursday, 02 April, 2009
My family and I have been visiting Glastonbury in Somerset over the last two days. I lived in this beautiful town for almost six years in the 1990's and so it has been a real treat for me ... a trip down memory lane.
One of the highlights of my Glastonbury trip, apart from climbing Glastonbury Tor and catching up with some old friends, was a brief visit to my old choir, the Avalonian Freestate Choir. I sang tenor / baritone with this excellent group for over a year and I caught up with their musical director, Sally Pullinger and the rest of the choir as they were preparing to record in the Glastonbury Abbey Guesthouse.
There were a few familiar faces, as it had been twelve years since I had left the choir, and plenty of new ones. I told them all about Men Wot Sing, and continued to peddle my dream of taking the boys to the UK in 2010 on our first UK tour.
Here's a quick look at my favourite U.K. choir, The Avalonian Freestate Choir.
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Sunday, 29 March, 2009
In Scotland again! Shirley and I have had to bring the kids - Jessica (6) and Ewan (3) back over to Edinburgh so we can be with the family for Shirley' mother's funeral. So, the group is battling on in Oz without me for another few weeks.
Yesterday I took a train to Glasgow and headed up to Wellington Church to have a sing along with another 300 or so singers for a choral workshop run by the celebrated British composer, John Rutter. It was great fun! Pure sight singing all the way! Certainly a bit of a challenge, but I managed to hold my own in a church full of Scottish sight-singers! There were about 150 sopranos, 100 altos, 40 basses and only 10 tenors! Rare as hen's teeth!
Anyhow, I had a great chat with John Rutter and he was very interested and promised he'd waste no time in checking out our website! So ... hi John! Great to talk with you the other day, and thanks again for the big sing!
You can read a bit about him on this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rutter
Well, that's about it for now ... I'm still over here doing my best to promote Men Wot Sing in whatever way I can. Currently, I'm contemplating organising a tour to the UK for some time next year ... so watch this space, and we'll keep you posted!
Och aye the noo again, Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Monday, 09 February, 2009
This year I travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland with my family and I decided to spend a little time searching through the city to see just how well known the name Men Wot Sing is known thoughout the land. Are the hardy Scots familiar with our fearsome reputation? Can we do anything more to increase our interantional profile? It was unlikely, but you never know!
Meanwhile, the boys started the year with a social evening at Rob's house where they ate, drank and be'd merry. During the meeting I called from Edinburgh, and we all had a good chat about what we want to do and where we want to go in 2009. The plan is to get out there and perform as often as we can, taking our wild show to the people ... and getting them to come back again and again! Oh ... and we plan to finish our upcoming CD!
Rehearsals kick off again on Monday 23rd, February!
So ... how did my search go? Check the photos below for a full pictorial rundown. Och aye the noo, Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Monday 15 December, 2008
Last night we performed our last concert for the year as part of a combined choirs performance called "Club Cappella" at the Bangalow Catholic Hall, Bangalow in N.S.W. All the acts were excellent, and it was just so great to be on stage and showing off to our best ability.
The boys sang brilliantly, and three new songs went down very well. All in all it was a great night and every one of the boys felt the power of the stage and the magic in the Men Wot Sing.
We'll be taking a break during the Christmas period and will return sometime around the end of January. Check out our calendar of events to keep up to date with our movement.
Have a great Christmas, 2008 and the very bestest of Happy New Years, from Men Wot Sing!
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Tuesday, 04 November, 2008
Melbourne Cup today! Being such a lucky bunch of blokes, someone must have won some money! I know I did! ... ish.
Australia's Got Talent! Yep ... that's the truth, and the producers of the show are coming to Byron Bay on December, 7th. So ... this is our opportunity to take our act and put in in front of a bunch of cameras ... and see if we can raise a smile or two.
We had a great rehearsal on Mondy night, most of the boys turned up and we worked our way through a new song, Dr Whom - a funky four-part arrangment of the famous Dr Who theme, lightly dusted with a handful of Men Wot Singyness. Should be good! We plan to perform it at Club Cappella, a charity concert in the Bangalow Catholic hall on December 14th, featuring a number of excellent local choirs. See us there!
Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
Musical Director's Diary: Monday, 20 October, 2008
Welcome to the frirst entry in the Men Wot Sing blog. This is the place to go when you want to read about the intricate goings on within the heart of this magnificent bunch of blokes.
The tour to New Zealand in May of this year was a fantastic experience for us. It was our first international tour and was considered by all to be a resounding success. We made fome great friends and had tremendous opportunities, such as performing for the Tuhoi in the deep heartland of their lands, and watching as 250 high school boys from Rathkeale College performed a haka for us. The power of this amazing thing nearly blew us clean off the stage!
Since then, we've settled back into life in Oz, and have had a couple of great gigs over the last month or so.
In September we performed for the 2008 Bangalow Fatherhood Festival at Byron Bay High School. This was a fun gig and was topped off with the opportunity for us to listen to the celebrated Australian author, Steve Biddulph, giving his inspirational talk on raising boys. This was highly informative and great fun ... he's a great talker ... and some of us learned a good few things about raising our boys!
Simon
Men Wot Sing - Incredibly Well Sung!
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