MARCH  2001 COMMUNICATION 13/3/01

Cough! (Clearing the throat)

Well the CD is out. Ian Lowthian and Iain Fraser are now home from the first promotional tour. It was very successful. Players like that just find it hard to put a finger wrong.

A satisfied public, I think, and hope......er!
There was one slight, teensy weensy problem. I caught a nasty cold and was totally unable to sing. I did manage to croak a few songs at the last gig in Tønder. Somebody who had never heard me before commented that I was obviously greatly influenced by Bob Dylan. I didn't quite know what to say. I do rather like Bob Dylan but consider our sounds to be rather
different....normally.
However, we did sell some CDs and, so far, we've had a very positive reaction to it.
I'm sitting at home in Germany and am almost ready to leave for my native Scotland tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it very much.
I think the voice is back and I have plenty of venues to try it and the new songs out.
Hope to see you sometime soon.

Ian
 

 

  

APRIL  2001 COMMUNICATION 18/4/01

Well. Hello again.
Hope you all enjoyed rolling your Easter eggs.
I was at the Glenfarg Folk Feast at the Easter weekend and.....had a ball.
It's a great wee fest. They had me judging the 2001 Folk Oddity song competition on Saturday and a concert on Sunday night.
The song competition entries were, as usual, of varying standard, but great fun. I did manage to select a winner which may well have won a much more serious competition.
The Sunday concert seemed to go well and, certainly, for me, it was a thrill to do the spot with my old pal, and brilliant guitar player, Sandy Stanage.
Possibly a rekindling of interest there. We worked together many moons ago. I
hope we'll get around to writing together again.
I've really enjoyed doing all the gigs on this British tour. It's now all
over save one fill in gig, at the brilliant Westhoughton Folk Club, on Friday 20th April.
I'm filling in for Dick Gaughan, who, asked to be excused from the gig to
attend the funeral of one of his closest chums, Davy Steele, a great friend of the folk scene, who sadly died of cancer last week. We will all miss him. He was one of the good guys.
I took a quick trip over to Germany and took Mum with me. She's now seen my little abode. I'm glad to report her endorsement of the place. She'll now be able to visualise the place when she phones.
In my last letter, I told you about my throat infection. Well, this month has, again, been plagued by voice loss. This time, not mine but that of the opera singers whose CD I should have been recording this week. Obviously,
we're all disappointed that it had to be postponed but, in a way, I derived some perverse satisfaction, from the knowledge that it can happen to those trained punters too. Rotten of me, I know!!!
The 'At The Riverside' CD has had received great reaction and I can now
confirm that Linn Records will be releasing it, therefore giving it worldwide distribution. I'm happy about that.
I suppose the next thing is to get ready for USA. I'll let you know about that next month.
I hope you're all having a great spring. I'm certainly a happy 'bunny' at the moment.
Thanks to you all for all the recent support. It's seems to be growing.
Cheers.
Ian
 

 

 

MAY 2001 COMMUNICATION

Early hours of May 30th.
I'm sitting on the edge of the guest bed in my friends' house in North East, Maryland.
I'm a satisfied bunny.
Tonight I played The Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. I'd been there before, but this was the first time I had performed amidst its extreme beauty. A very enjoyable experience. I think the audience liked it too.
I'm about halfway through this U.S. tour with only good feelings, so far. There would appear to be nothing looming up on the horizon to change that. I hope I'm right.
I've been singing in North Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey too. It's all been a gas.
Next week takes me up to Boston.
The new CD is being very well received. Its songs are catching a lot of attention. Of course, I'm very pleased about that.
I'm sure Linn Records will also be well contented by this as they have revamped its cover and given it a remix with a view to releasing it mid July.
It may be renamed as will our band. 'Ianianiain' may be too tricky. Watch this space!
It has been a good tour musically, but, this time, there has been time for leisure too. Terrific!
There was a cock up with Fredericksburg Highland Games. They cancelled, leaving me a big void at the end of the tour. A good excuse for a break. An acquaintance of 2 or 3 years has arranged 'buddy passes' for me. Thus
enabling me to visit him in San Francisco for a few days. I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be the first time I've been.
After that, back to Germany for a two or three week period. Not much doing there, at the moment. A couple of gigs, filling tax returns and preparing songs for the latest venture between myself and Dr. Fred Freeman. A bunch of songs by Alan Ramsay. We're doing some shows together in August and hope to have a CD of our efforts released soon. Not another one!!!???
I know, they seem to be popping up from everywhere. There's simply so much we want to do and so little time.
I'm enjoying life very much at the moment. I hope you are too.
Long may it continue.
Ian
 

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