Acoustic Sunday at Borders Bookstore

Sunday 13th July

Today was the penultimate Acoustic Sunday at Borders and we were looking forward to an amazing set! Four brilliant performers were set to take the stage in Borders, unfortunately due to car trouble Clear Blue Skies were unable to make it. This was very disappointing as CBS are one of the finest acoustic acts in the region. Never fear though we will be having them on at a later date!

John Taylor

The man behind the scenes at all of our events, to fill the breach at the start of todays event John took to the stage and played a couple of Harvey Andrews songs to Borders.
Its not often a sound engineer sheds his PA and takes to the stage, even more unusual is when he takes to the stage and does it well!
John has been involved in local bands for many years including Thats a Renault in the mid eighties, In Vogue and No Batteries required in the late eighties and early nineties and Insanity Heroes in more recent years. More at home with a bass, he ventured into unfamiliar territory today and played an acoustic guitar. John has a MySpace Page which takes its name from an album by XTC where you can find out more about him. This impromptu performance started off the day in style and paved the way nicely for our next artist.

Head of Light Entertainment

Also known as Carl Green, we first saw Carl at one of the open mic nights at The Sportsman in Eaglescliffe. If we were to say he blew us away that would be an understatement! Carl is a definate one off original entertainer and we were very excited to have him on today. He describes himself as a fine purveyor of peculiar pop and that just about sums up his act. His self penned songs are entertaining and also have a message in each which gives his set a profound twist.

You can find out more about Carl by visiting his MySpace Page and also listen to his tunes. Granted in the bookstore setting Carl had to tone down his usual energetic performance, however this by no means took anything away from his act. He is charming and quirky and Borders absolutely loved him! If you would like to catch this outstanding entertainer he will be appearing at The Princess Alice in Middlesbrough on 15th August where he will be starting off the proceedings for one of the Alice Unsigned nights. Definately one not to be missed.

Brother Crow

Brother Crow are an acoustic duo from Weardale. Made up of Andrew Davison and Graeme Carroll this pair are first class musicians and songwriters. Andrew plays guitar and ten string bazouki - one of only 5 artists in the country to play this instrument - and Graeme plays the mandolin and tenor banjo. They are absolutely superb at what they do, their songs are hauntingly beautiful and lean heavily on the narrative turning each into a captivating story full of meaning. This pair are not afraid to tackle the darker side of life in their work and include many historical references giving each song that bit more depth.
The intensity of the material is cleverly offset by Brother Crows tremendous stage presence. They are clearly accomplished performers and add a subtle sense of humour into their performance elevating it into a truly enjoyable experience. They currently have a debut CD available - One For Sorrow - which can be purchased via their MySpace Page or their website and if you would like to catch these guys live their gigs are listed on there too. Definately an act to make a point of going to see if you get the chance, Andrew and Graeme together are exceptional artists and we feel privileged to have had them appear at one of our events.

The Steve Marron Project

Our final act for this week was The Steve Marron Project. This act was born from the remnants of a previous band who parted company due to difficulties with percussionists! Steve, Andy and Kev formed the Steve Marron Project to continue their songwriting without the restrictions of unreliable band members. Today we had two of the trio entertain us at Borders - Steve and Andy - and they performed a set made up of original acoustic songs. The Steve Marron Project is very much indie based but also leans towards the contemporary folk sound. The pair played with confidence and skill which engaged a lot of the Borders customers prompting them to come across and watch the guys play. One person in the audience remarked that these guys reminded him a lot of Mazzy Star - not a bad comparison and certainly a compliment. The Steve Marron Project has progressed a little since its inception and now they are also a part of a full band God's Own Prototype. Check out their MySpace Page for further details on this exceptional band and they will be appearing live at Doctor Browns on Wednesday 23rd July in a Showcase Night.

Another fantastic Acoustic Sunday at Borders continued the success of this event over recent weeks. Next week we have the final date for this event and we will see Karen Lester and Bob Garrington - an acoustic duo from Teesside, Indecision - a five piece female acapella group, Josh Mannion - solo artist from Middlesbrough, Rory Duffy - solo artist from Stokesley and Andy Broderick another solo entertainer from Saltburn. Don't miss the last one of these events, brilliant music and a fantastic selection of books to browse through!

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