IAN BRUCE NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2004

Well now.
It's Christmas again.

I'm looking forward to it. We'll be in Edinburgh. Our friend Janet Weatherston is putting up with us for the day before we go to annoy our relatives in the following couple of days.

All the schools projects are drawing to a close. All I have to do now is collate the audio files and present the CD of the songs we wrote together. Some real beauties in my opinion.

Gigs are still sparse and efforts will be made to counter that.

That's next year. There's still a very exciting part of this year to go and I hope you all enjoy it very much.

To those who bought the new CD in advance...I promise you I do still have the list of names and I'll send it to you as soon as it's around. I've been up to me t..s in work and had little time to work on it.

Anyway..be bad in a good way over the next wee while and I look forward to seeing you next year.

All the best.

Ian Bruce

email address ianbruce3@aol.com

www.ianbruce.org

 **************************************************

Editor's Note

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all

I have just skimmed through the Newsletters for the last twelve months to give you a flavour of what has been going on as well as the folk club gigs and folk festivals.

The beginning of the year saw Ian and Vic Besch's tour of Germany and Denmark. Their tour diary was published on the BBC's Music Scotland - Celtic roots website. I will send a text version of the diary Ian up to Ian's website soon. He was also writing songs with Charlie Milne and doing Dumfries and Galloway workshops

In March and April, Ian was on the BBC Radio Scotland programme called Songlines. The Schools projects and Burns Presentations continued and he was recording Naked Truth 2. The throat operation took place and it was found to be only a "wee cyst".

May saw Ian on the Gadget Programme on Channel 5 - taking part in a comparison of expensive hi-fi, good hi-fi and a live performance. He sang "Westlin' Winds" and the commentator chose Ian's "live" performance. In May and June, the studio was very busy and the Schools workshops continued including some Allan Ramsay ones with Dr Fred Freeman.

July and August saw the start of the recording of the next CD "Demons Danced" with Stewart Hardy, Angus Lyon, Marc Duff, Shaun Blandford and Gordon Gallacher. Ian became one of the tutors on the DGAA "Burns and rivers project".

September and October saw Ian working with Susie Kelly on the DGAA "Vocal Chords Project " to form a Community Choir and with Ian Walker on a New Makars Trust project to write songs from the reminiscences of old people. The Vocal Chords workshop attendees formed a 120 strong community choir for a concert in Easterbrook Hall and the two Ian's played a concert in Rutherglen, Glasgow.

November saw the German tour with Stewart Hardy and Angus Lyon. There was lots of good feedback including this comment from Andrea and Herbert on the guestbook of the website " Thank you very much for the fantastic gig in Sonthofen. You are a really funny guy and your voice is breathtaking. Angus & Stewart also are incredible good musicians. We enjoyed this gig as much as your first one five years ago."

The workshops with the DGAA continues and the mixing of the new CD is almost finished.

A busy man !

Don't forget Ian and Vic Besch's last gig of 2004 (or first gig of 2005!) at the Kenbridge Hotel.

Anyway, I must away and get busy as well...........last visit to the shops and then more wrapping.....and then delivering them.

Hope you all have a great time. Best wishes for 2005!

Elaine Hawkins

editor@ianbruce.co.uk