“It’s 40 miles to Callander, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of Marlboro Lights, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses … Hit it!” (With apologies to the Blues Brothers).

Graham, Houndog and I set off from Edinburgh around 5.45pm on the evening of October 4th 2008 and hit the road in our hired van to make our Fabulous Corvettes debut at the Callander Jazz and Blues Festival. Stix was making his way by car from Colinsburgh in Fife, and as usual arrived before everyone else and provided much needed directions to the handy car park at the back of the Dalgair House Hotel.  The hotel staff were very helpful in advising about the best place to set up – the room we played in is L-shaped so we went for a sort of angled approach so we could play to both parts of the ‘L’. We had a quick sound check and then Houndog and I went for a wander around town to take in some of the other bands playing that night – Houndog caught up with a few old friends from the Scottish blues scene and it was great to see Callander jumping to the great jazz and blues music on offer.

We arrived back at the Dalgair House Hotel to find a packed house, much to our delight, and then began our 3 hour marathon gig. We started with a great swing number called Wipe Your Tears before going into one of our original tunes, Low Down and Poor, which we used as the audio track on the Festival Previews site. The audience was superb in showing their appreciation for our music, and once a helpful barman had moved the pool table to one side the dancing began in earnest.  We played 3 sets, with Graham wowing the crowd with his amazing guitar playing and Stix and Houndog providing the brilliant rhythm section that makes the whole band tick. Recent tunes we have added to our repertoire that we played on the night were Snatch It Back and Hold It (Junior Wells and Buddy Guy), As Long As I Have You (Little Walter), I’m Ready (Muddy Waters) and Hound Dog (Big Mama Thornton). (I think I must have just beaten the record for how many times you can write Houndog in a review).

We played a couple of encores, including the very danceable Rock This House (The Nighthawks) and left the stage on the stroke of midnight, having played our best ever gig to date and making some great new friends, including guitar and harmonica players and many of the people who boogied the night away to the sound of The Fabulous Corvettes. A very big thank you is due to all those who made it along on the night, and special thanks are also due to Graham Oliphant (Festival Director) for finding a spot for us at short notice, other members of the festival committee and all the other volunteers who make the festival happen, and to Liz, Jonathan and Ian from Festival Previews who do a fantastic job supporting the arts. We hope to see you all again next year, or somewhere else on the music road in the meantime.

Forthcoming gigs – we’re performing at The Ark, 3-7 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh on Saturday 18th October at 8.00 pm and Sunday 9th November at 8pm.   Admission £4 on the door for four blues and soul bands.

All the best.

James B Carr and The Fabulous Corvettes.

corvettes@thefabulouscorvettes.com

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