Another Scullery Table Demo - What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul?

One of the obvious things about old gospel music is how stark and direct it can be - the very opposite of a lot of the woolly stuff that's around these days - and so it can be quite shocking to the modern ear. This history of What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul? is that it was one of the first songs recorded by the Monroe Brothers in their first recording session in North Carolina on 17 February 1936. They had learned it as boys in the rural Baptist churches of Kentucky in the 1920s from a hymnbook called "Millennial Revival: for Revival, Church and General Use" by James D. Vaughan which had been published in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee around 1928. This was the biggest selling record of the Monroe Brothers' careers. They recorded a further 3 versions in 1937. We've tried to keep the simple, plaintive sound of the original, but we need to work on the harmonies and guitar parts. Here it is, recorded in one take at the scullery table:

What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul? - Scullery Table Demo version
Originally recorded by the Monroe Brothers, 17 Feb 1936, in North Carolina


.

What Would the Profit Be? another video from the People's Hall

Here's another clip from the rehearsal that Network Media filmed at the People's Hall in Portavogie a wee while ago. This is another version of the 1937 Monroe Brothers song "What Would the Profit Be?"

"Jesus My Saviour to Bethlehem Came" - footerin' at the scullery table with Charlie

Here's a wee clip of my younger son Charlie, joining me on the old hymn "Jesus My Saviour to Bethlehem Came". I was plunkin' away at the kitchen table when he came and joined in, so we decided to get the camera out. It's number 115 in Redemption Songs. You can get the lyrics here.



Nobody knows who wrote the words, but the tune was written by Emerson E Hasty and it was first published in 1878 in an American hymnal called Good Will by Towne and Stillman. In the gospel halls and mission halls Graeme and I grew up in there was no such thing as a Christmas Morning service, but with the first verse of "Jesus My Saviour" being about Christ's birth, it was a regular at the usual weekly meetings on the run-in to Christmas. Bringing up children is a huge responsibility. I hope we're managing to instill the right values and beliefs in our three, including through the songs we sing and play in the house.

Final two performances for 2009

Thanks to the folks at both Ballykeel Presbyterian on Sunday evening, and also to the folk who came to Castlereagh Council offices on Monday evening (including the group who had already seen us at Carryduff a few weeks ago and came back for more!). The final two dates for this year are this Saturday evening at Newtownards Baptist Church (with the brilliant Calvary Quartet) and then on Sunday night back to normality at Carrowdore Mission Hall (meeting starts at 7pm). Some very interesting enquiries coming in for local festivals and events during 2010 - including one from overseas - so we'll see how things shape up. Thanks to you all for your interest and support during 2009! We might even post a few surprises here for Christmas so keep checking back!

A happy customer!

Here's an email we got following a recent performance - it's great to know that what we do is both enjoyable and useful:

"...I just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU once again to Graeme and yourself for taking the time out and travelling all the way up here to help us out. Can I just say that more people than enough have been in contact with me and your ears are bound to be hot - they all thought you guys were brilliant! The concert raised over £2500 for the fund so it was a total success. Again my sincere thanks to you both and may you and your families have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Keep in touch..."

New video - from the People's Hall, Portavogie

Thanks to Network Media in Holywood for this clip, from a recent rehearsal session that we did at the People's Hall in Portavogie. Our family connection with the Hall goes right back to when it was founded in 1926 - it's a classic Ulster mission hall, one of the very few that are still left. With thanks to John and the folk there for letting us record in it, we might post more of the songs that were filmed that night on this blog over coming weeks. Plenty of wrong notes and the singing's not that great, but that's what you get with us two!



These three hymns are "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus", "Follow On" and "Saviour Thy Dying Love", all written by Robert Lowry whose parents were from Killyleagh in County Down. Here's the sign board from the Hall - you'd be very welcome at any of the meetings!

More video clips, dates and music on the way!

We were recently filmed, playing in the People's Hall in Portavogie, by the Holywood-based tv company Network Media. They're going to give us a few clips to post here, hopefully this incoming week. We've been busy over the Autumn, so lots more booking enquiries coming in as well - and of course lots of people asking about the forthcoming CD. A while ago we made a conscious decision to NOT bring it out before Christmas, so that we wouldn't be exploiting the Christmas present "market". So we'll continue footering at it (adding more and more songs!) and get it out in early 2010. There's at least 2 cds worth of stuff, so maybe it'll be a double, or maybe we'll bring out one and put the rest online as free downloads.

Thanks to everyone who spoke to us so enthusiastically at recent dates at Carryduff, Crossgar, and Upperlands! Off to Aughnacloy tonight, and then just 4 more performances this side of Christmas. Keep in touch!

PS - if you ARE looking for a CD to buy somebody for Christmas, you can't go far wrong with Brian Houston's new release "Gospel Road". Read Steve Stockman's review here, and get a flavour of it here.

Finally, here's a small version of an advert you might start seeing in various publications!

Castlereagh St Andrews Night - Mon 30th Nov!

Here's a cutting from the current Castlereagh Borough Council Arts Programme! Should be a good night - but to reassure you all there's no way Graeme and I will be wearing kilts! (click to enlarge).

Also appearing are Noel McMaster, Brenda Stewart and the Bright Lights Highland Dancers - and a few others still being lined up.

Tickets cost £3 (or £1.50 for groups of 5 or more people) and can be booked via telephone 028 9049 4566 or email ConorMaguire@castlereagh.gov.uk

This morning at Willowfield

Willowfield Parish Church in east Belfast does great work. This morning we were singing there (for the third time this year!) at the 10.00am service. We played four pieces, and tried to teach the folk there the old Scottish hymn "He'll Dry A Yer Tears". As ever, George Newell spoke really well, and gave me a fresh perspective on Jesus' parable of the sower and the seed. We enjoyed the sausage baps and tea afterwards, as well as good conversation and fellowship with George, and Nat and Ian McClean - they even have one of the old carved Lord's Prayer wall texts identical to the one at Killaughey Mission Hall. It's said that these might have been produced by a craftsman in the Belfast shipyard during the early 1900s. Pics from this morning are below.

The interior as we arrived:


George speaking:


Nat McClean, Graeme, George Newell and Ian McClean


The Lord's Prayer:

Free music!

We've now extracted the audio from the Bangor Abbey recording - it's available to anyone that wants it as a FREE series of 11 of the 16 songs we played that night, all as mp3 files. The sound quality isn't perfect - you can hear it on the video clips on this page and on our YouTube channel - but it's not too bad. To request the 11 tracks, just email us and we'll send you a link for you to download them to your computer, with cover artwork as well (including an explanation of the origin and significance of the songs/hymns). You can then burn a CD and print out the cover. Simple!

.