Two reviews

We have been lucky enough to have received two lovely reviews of our three-track single, Ella Brown. 

The first is from music reviewer and folk aficionado Helen Gregory. She says:

It’s a rare and welcome thing to find artists who draw their inspiration from a wide range of music, particularly folk, and yet still manage to add their own individual stamp and avoid sounding derivatively homogeneous.

Read the whole review on her blog.

The second is from Liverpool reviewer Ian D. Hall over at Liverpool Sound and Vision. He says:

Ella Brown is an acoustic high, a tremble of variety, the huge wedge of sincerity and unabashed sense of the natural, Ruth Moss’ voice towers above the set scene and lifts the story up high. 

The whole review is over at his website. 

Thank you Helen and Ian for writing about our single. 

In the mix: Amateur Astronomy

Yesterday, after a slightly fraught early morning (the gas meter had eaten through the last of the emergency credit thus necessitating a slightly disheveled trip to the Co-op before we could even have a wash), we went to Catalyst Studios for our last session of putting our mini-album together.

Andy, as always, was helpful and knowledgeable whilst mixing the songs from our previous session, with lots of useful suggestions and some little tricks of the trade to tidy away the odd error or two.

Then, we went back to the songs from previous studio sessions. There were a few minor issues we'd spotted since recording which Andy was able to correct with cutting edge software. It's quite something to see how, using Pro Tools, a misplaced nudge of the ukulele can have its own waveform which can be made to simply vanish. We also added something very special to Millbrook which you'll have to wait to hear!

Ruth's son came in towards the end of the session after having spent the morning at his dad's. Luckily we'd had the foresight to buy him a puzzle book and a set of pens so he wasn't too bored, though he did wonder why we had to check everything so many times. We explained that it was because we wanted everything to be the best it could possibly be (but also, more candidly, that we had no more of the recording money & vouchers we'd been given for our wedding, so this was our last chance to get everything perfect)!

We came away with a CD with all of the songs for the mini-album on it, in the right order, so we can listen and decide how much of a gap - or not - we want between them all when mastered. The CD itself is just under half an hour long so we think it's possibly that bit too long to be reasonably called an EP, but that bit too short to be described as a full-album (hence us calling it a mini-album). We can't quite believe how fantastically this concept album hangs together; each song seems to fit perfectly, and they all sound sumptuous! There are so many instruments too in addition to our harmonies; this album has everything from melodica to psaltery; from violin to mandolin, from piano to bodhran... and more.

We've already worked on the cover art for the CD, but there are so many other things left to do before we can release it. We've decided on a single (digital release only) for the album, which will be Ella Brown, and have commissioned some cover art, to display online, from an exciting young mixed-media artist; having seen some sketches already we're intrigued about what she'll come up with for the final design. We're also awaiting the final mix of our b-side (folk classic Reynardine) for the single; unlike the a-side and the rest of the album, this has been recorded by one of Ruth's friends who is studying for a music degree.

We have myriad other i's to dot and t's to cross; signing up to PRS, getting the CDs printed and burnt, deciding how to get our music onto other platforms outside of Bandcamp, writing to various publications to request reviews, arranging the launch gig and mini-tour (a mini-album necessitates a mini-tour, surely). Naturally, we also have other responsibilities; we both have jobs and of course there's Ruth's son to parent and a house to run. We've been so lucky, though, that we could even do this at all; the kind wedding presents of studio time were such lovely, thoughtful gifts from friends for which we're incredibly grateful. It's so exciting to record an album together and hopefully, this won't be the only one.

We're also indebted to people who've helped us pre-promote the album so far; you Macramists are the BEST; sharing posts across social media, bringing friends to gigs and generally spreading the word. We'd simply love it if you keep it up now; if we can create a bit of a buzz about Amateur Astronomy in advance that would be marvellous! Thank you all. xx

We have finished recording... now for the rest of the to-do list!

Yesterday we went to Catalyst Studios, St. Helens, for our final recording session for our mini album, Amateur Astronomy.

We started with our version of Schiarazula Marazula, a mediaeval dance which probably originates in the Friuli area of Italy. Ruth discovered this tune last year and immediately thought it was perfect for us to cover. Our version stays the same tempo throughout, and we've added lyrics to one of the repeated phrases. As Marc bought Ruth a psaltery for Christmas, it seemed a shame not to use it; we also added bodhran, ukulele (plucked), descant recorder and some backing ahhs and oohs.

Ruth arranged it to have an additive nature; due to this and the way it builds, organising the different parts on the mixing desk was a bit of a challenge, so once Andy (the producer) had the basic structure down we moved onto the next song.

Our next song, Frosty Nights (When I Was Your Age), is a-cappella, with just two parts, one for each of us. Ruth wrote it for her son, and we've been singing it around the house so much that before we set off for the studio, Ruth's son was singing snippets of it himself! We hadn't originally intended to put this on the mini-album as Ruth composed it in mid-January this year, after we'd already planned a rough track listing, however, it fitted so well with the theme that we couldn't leave it off. You might have to look that bit harder for it as a result. We'll be giving away the sheet music free with our album so you can have a bash at singing it yourselves.


Last up was Marc's composition, the title track of the album, Amateur Astronomy. Over a year in the writing, the song has three distinct sections coming together to tell a simple story. Its lengthy gestation means it's ended up nothing like the song he started out with, but it's all the better for that. Utilising the tenor ukulele Ruth bought Marc for Christmas, in addition to piano, some soaring strings and backing vocals from Ruth, Marc handles lead vocal duties on this one.

After recording all three songs, that was it for the day; we've arranged to go back to mix everything on Saturday 14th February (yes, Valentine's Day; is there anything more romantic than spending time together in the studio?)

As usual, Andy was fantastic; he doesn't shy away from telling us, diplomatically, if we could go back in the booth and record something again better; he also makes an excellent brew.

Whilst we were in the studio, we finalised the track-listing for the mini-album. It has a loose concept running through it, so we had to think carefully about where everything goes. We've already designed the front cover of the CD; once everything is mixed, we have to sort out CDs, a launch, reviews, radio play, and the back cover of the CD, too. A friend of Ruth's is also recording us performing folk staple Reynardine as b-side for our first single from the album, which will be our folk-inspired song Ella Brown (you can watch us playing it live here).

We're very excited about having finished recording, but in some ways, that's only the beginning. Watch this space!

Are YOU mentioned in our review of the year?

We’ve all known bands who we know have been going for about ten years but when you look in their biographies, it says “we met last Thursday in hilarious circumstances and have already put out our first single, EP, album and are planning a UK tour for next week”.

With that in mind, full disclosure. We first played in public together about two years ago now, doing some carols at an open mic with a cheap ukulele and an even cheaper (comparatively speaking) violin. However, in many ways, 2014 was our first year as something edging ever closer to a “proper band”. Actually, if we’re honest, it was in December of 2013 that we did our first proper full-length gig, so if you’re still counting, we think of Moss & Jones as having been going since then.

We started this year in the doldrums a bit. We were struggling to get gigs, and the places we’d played over Christmas weren’t really interested in booking us again so soon. Bands with more experience at this sort of thing told us that this was pretty usual; that the first part of a year was always pretty quiet, but it was still hard not to worry that we’d done something wrong. However, a few open mics (thanks, Liverpool’s the Brink and the Egg Café! Thanks, St. Helens’ Bar Java!) to keep our hand in and we didn’t feel quite so bad.



However, with spring came some amazing opportunities. The fantastic Bombed Out Church responded to our request to gig there (oh, we also asked if we could get married there, but more on that later) with not one but three gigs over the course of 2014! We also played a few local festivals (Rainhill, Victoria Park, Childwall Valley …) and got to be part of a wonderful Liverpool Acoustic event too at the View Two Gallery.

2014 was also the year where we first ventured into the studio together. A kind present from Ruth’s sister of half a day’s recording in a studio in Leigh led to this semi-live recording of our summery song, Shepherd’s Delight (It’s Not Time To Go To Bed). This led to our being played on the radio for the first time; Halton Community Radio and Radio Kaos Caribou. In fact, Laura who hosts the HCR show also played a beautiful set at one of our Bombed Out Church gigs with her band, Laura&Claire. Small world!

Probably our favourite gig of the summer, however, was opening for brilliant folk-indie-pop band The Beautiful Word, at Liverpool’s Sound Food and Drink. Ruth was more than a little star-struck as they are one of her favourite bands, and we were honoured to have been asked.

Of course, 2014 was also the year we got married (and played a set at our own wedding, naturellement) in the Bombed Out Church.



As we already have all our own furniture (admittedly, some of it broken and most of it second hand) we asked that instead of toasters and pudding bowls, if anyone wanted to buy us a present, they got us vouchers for local studio, Catalyst. We went in autumn for the first time and recorded a track for our EP (out next year) and an original Christmas carol, A Song for Mary. More on that later, too.

A friend of ours, himself a musician, suggested that on future recordings, we vary our arrangements a little more. We worked on that (in a live context too) and we feel it’s made a difference to our sound.

In autumn we also played another gig in Sound food and Drink, and were thrilled to be asked by Vikki at Friends of Victoria Park, St. Helens, to play not one but two sets at an event that they were holding. The second set would be as background music to a fire juggling act; that’s not something we would ever say “no” to!

In a lovely sequence of happy coincidences, Ruth was asked to compose and then perform a violin part for some music by St. Helens indie band The Loungs. The band hired a really rather beautiful violin for her, and it meant she was able to use that violin on some of our songs, too (including our carol).

With the approach of winter, we “dropped” our carol on Bandcamp. In terms of numbers of people listening, it’s done the best of all of our songs. And this little carol went quite some way! It was played on various radio stations - including BBC Radio Merseyside, as part of Dave Monks’ BBC Introducing show -  and podcasts, it made its way onto a wonderful Christmas compilation CD from Cherryade Records, it was included as part of an online carol service, had a write-up in the Liverpool Echo, and WON the Wirral carol competition! (Okay, yes, we live in St. Helens, but Marc’s from the Wirral, and most of Ruth’s Mum’s side of the family are that side of the water too, so it’s fine!)

Our second to last gig of the year was - certainly in terms of numbers - our very best so far. We played two sets (a folky set and a festive set) at the Domino Gallery in Liverpool and charged a small amount for tickets. We were very pleasantly surprised that so many people came that the venue owner, Felicity, had to get more chairs from the basement! The small space was packed and we played a wonderful gig to an appreciative audience.



Everyone said they felt festive after our Yuletide Yarns gig! Our last gig of the year was our first house gig on Christmas Eve. We received some money from the family which was very kind, so we gave a donation to Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity.

At the end of the year, we had some bad news about new EU VAT rules, and it looked for a while like we might have to take our music off Bandcamp, but just today we learned that Bandcamp will sort it all out for its users, so that’s great news on which to end the year!

What have we learned this year? 

We’ve learned that it’s fine to get off to a slow start. In 2015 we’re going to use the quiet time at the start of the year to write some new songs, learn our new instruments (a psaltery, and a baritone ukulele) and get back into the studio to record the final songs from our EP.

We’ve learned that it’s good to take advice, and to learn from other musicians. One of the most instructive moments for us this year was attending a Lightning Seeds gig in St. Helens. When Broudie’s guitar strap broke, the rest of the band carried on playing while it got sorted out. We put this idea to great effect at our Yuletide Yarns gig; while extra people arrived and the chairs were fetched from the basement we played a number of instrumental tunes that weren’t on our set list, just to fill the time while people chatted amongst themselves.

We’ve learned that although we can play in a number of contexts, we do seem to work best as an afternoon outfit with a family audience.

We’ve learned a lot about the English folk tradition and we’re realising that we’re probably best described as “folk-inspired”.

We’ve learned that it’s great to make friends with other musicians and listen to them play. Not just to support them in the hope they’ll support us, but to do it because we enjoy their music and we want to be part of an atmosphere where we do all support each other. We’ve also realised that open mics are great fun to play at but also just to attend without playing; in fact, there’s something wonderfully relaxing just about turning up to an open mic sometimes and watching everyone else! We’ve been so lucky to meet and listen to the music of some amazing musicians this year.

We have learned that it’s important to have everything practised to the max and arrangements written down in advance before stepping foot in the studio, in order to make the most of the time there.

What about 2015?

This next year, we plan to put our our first studio recorded EP/mini album. We plan not only to have it available to download on bandcamp, but also to have it on CD, and possibly on other digital platforms too.

We want to do more gigs with other bands and musicians.

We’d like to perform a bit further afield than Liverpool/Merseyside.

We’d like to do at least one “proper” (i.e. camping, longer than one day) festival in the summer.

We’d like to do a bit of busking.

We’re going to sign up for PRS in case we get more radio play. (We’d very much like to get more radio play!)

We’d like to get a few more reviews of our music.

We want to continue to perform most of our gigs in family-friendly venues at family-friendly times. This rather conveniently for us means we don’t have to think about childcare, but it’s also really important to us that the next generation gets a feel for live music. One of the best moments of the year for us came at the end, at our Yuletide Yarns gig. A couple had brought their just-over-a-year-old baby with them; we learned that this was baby’s first ever gig! To be a part of someone’s life in that way is probably the biggest honour of all. Long may that kind of thing continue.

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful 2015 and thank you all so much for your support, whether that’s downloading, sharing, retweeting, reviewing, playing on your radio station or podast, streaming, having us at your open mic, giving us a gig at your venue…  or however you’ve helped. It’s hugely appreciated! - Moss & Jones xx

Gig alert: Yuletide Yarns

For those of you who are into Christmas carols and songs, this is a gig you won’t want to miss.

Set in the cosy surroundings of Liverpool’s longest running independent art gallery, the Domino, 11 Upper Newington (off Renshaw Street near Grand Central), Yuletide Yarns will consist of two sets; the first, Moss & Jones’ usual quirky, folk-inspired music, and the second, carols and Christmassy songs performed on a variety of instruments from bodhran to glockenspiel; from mandolin to accordion… and more.

They’ll also be performing their original carol, A Song for Mary, live at the event.

Between the pair, Ruth (Moss) and Marc (Jones) have over 10 years’ experience of performing carols, including in community orchestras and the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir! Christmas gigs last year saw people dancing around, glasses of mulled cider in hand, and clapping along, and the pair promise that this year’s gig will be even more fun!

Tickets are just £5 for adults and the event is free for under 16s. Ruth and Marc feel it is incredibly important to introduce the joy of live music to the next generation. As space is limited, if you are planning to attend, it would be helpful if you could email mossandjones[at]gmail[dot]com to reserve your spaces so the venue has an idea of numbers. Alternatively, tickets are available to buy in advance from the venue.

Festive refreshments will be available to purchase on the day.

There is a competition running on Facebook and twitter to win a pair of tickets, worth £5 each, to the event; the competition closes at 7pm on Wednesday 26th November.

Catalyst Studios, Saturday 25th October (by Ruth)

When Marc and I got married, quite a few of our friends bought or made us some amazing gifts. In amongst those gifts were some vouchers for a local recording studio, Catalyst Studios in St. Helens.

On the last Saturday in October we boarded a taxi with all our instruments and made our way down to the studio. I was slightly nervous; Marc and I had been in a studio together (not Catalyst) just once before and the sound engineer there had presumably been so cautious not to offend that he didn’t give us any idea how our song sounded, or offer any advice. Marc’s been in many bands and many studios before, but this was only my second time, and I was hoping that this time we’d be given just a little more direction (whilst not bossed around or told what to do and what not to do).

I need not have worried! Andrew, who runs things there, was marvellous (especially as he had to tread a fine line between explaining things very clearly to me whilst simultaneously not appearing patronising to Marc)! He was really helpful at giving us guidance on what sounded okay and what might need another attempt, but was also absolutely fine if we wanted to change something a little.

We took a break in the middle of the day for a picnic (I’d made butties and a cake).



My son joined us half way through the day after spending the morning with his dad. It’s fair to say he was a little bored but we’d brought along reading material, pens and pencils, paper, and even a DS which he played until his eyes got tired. He couldn’t understand why we kept going and singing very similar things over and over again so I had to explain the concept of harmonies! Still, he got to sit at the mixing desk.



We’d originally hoped to go in for a day and come out with a ludicrous number of songs. In the end, we came out with two with which we were really happy, with lots of harmonies and various parts. Compared to our last visit to a studio, where we came out with a song in a matter of two hours, but much as it’s lovely, it sounds more like a live take, we were very pleased with the results at the end of our session.

What would we do differently? Well, next time we go (and that’s a reminder to me… I need to sort this out!) we won’t sandwich it into a busy weekend of gigs. We did practise our parts of course, but they could have been even tighter. Also, I wrote harmonies for one of the songs literally the night before, and gave myself one or two notes that were too high for me to sing, due to me writing them at half eleven at night, knackered, and thinking “C#6? NO problem!” Of course, though I’m okay with A5 provided I’ve had a couple of cups of tea and it’s not first thing in the morning, and can even just about manage C6 at a push, with a clear wind in the right direction, that extra semitone? Nooo. Between that, and (me, not Marc, he’s blameless!) deciding to change a glockenspiel part at the last minute, I do think there was a bit of time that we wasted which with hindsight, could have been saved.

Andrew was also a great help with the violin part. I’m a very average violinist (grade 5; can’t get more average than that) but with a very good violin (hired from Mike Phoenix and kindly sorted out by boss band The Loungs with a little help from The Heart of Glass - long story, and more about that in later posts) and some studio magic, I think the string part actually sounds great!

One of the two songs we recorded was an original Christmas carol, and you can listen to it and download from Bandcamp. The other will be included as part of a future release.

We would absolutely recommend Catalyst Studios to any musicians who want a professional recording of their music. We’ll be going back there anyway!

Victoria Park, St. Helens, Sunday 26th October (Storytelling Festival)

What a wonderful gig - or more accurately, two gigs, or at least, two sets - this was!




Our first set in the afternoon saw us in the beautifully decorated Gate Lodge, playing a set of narrative folk songs with a little bit of a talk about the tales they told. It was a lovely set up with people wandering in and out of the area in which we were playing, and going in and out of another room to decorate glass lanterns for a later parade. Lots of children and young people were listening, which we thought was lovely.




Our second set (you can just make out Ruth’s son in this photo, dressed as Robin Hood, sat inside the bandstand where he told all  his mates he got the best view) was providing background music for the amazing Bring the Fire Project! They truly were amazing; they improvised several fire-juggling sequences as we played, finishing our set with our folky twist on 90s classic Ebeneezer Goode. One commenter said “I used to rave to this in my youth, but I preferred this version”, which we felt was a fab compliment!

Thanks to Vikki, Steve, Diane and everyone else for all the work that went into this amazing festival.

Childwall Valley Music Festival

After we got married (we might have mentioned that) and went on our honeymoon (a weekend in Paris, where we stayed in a B&B with a piano and even had a little impromptu performance) we came back to Blighty and went straight back to gigging with a little set at Childwall Valley Community Theatre, as part of a festival organised by the lovely Andrew Hesford.

You may know Andrew as the chap who organises the last open mic night of the month at The Brink in Liverpool, and plays in band The Salty Seadogs. He put on this lovely event to raise funds for the community theatre and quite a few bands turned up to entertain people. We heard the gorgeous, soulful voice of Shirley Ellis with a band called the Kookie Ukies, and although we had to leave a little early due to a prior arrangement, had an enjoyable time.

The theatre is a lovely place; a really fab set up and even includes onsite recording facilities!

Our gig at the Bombed Out Church, with the fabulous Laura&Claire, by Ruth

Remember a couple of days ago when I was banging on about how amazing open mic nights are? Well, at a recent open mic, I saw two young women, both playing acoustic guitars in counterpoint with each other, and singing the most lush harmonies; the pair were called Laura&Claire and as soon as their first song was about half way through I turned to Marc and said, “if we’re gigging again at the Bombed Out Church any time we should TOTALLY ask these if they want to play too.”

Now, partly, this was because I really enjoyed their music and guessed quite a few of our friends might enjoy their music too. However, part of it, possibly selfishly, was because I wanted to hear them play again and what better way than to have them play at our gig?

Anyway, after a long journey into town on a packed 10a ‘bus with the child, we arrived at the Bombed Out Church and got set up thanks to Jake, the Bombie’s sound man. Laura and Claire arrived shortly after and once they were set up, it was time for them to start playing.




Everyone to whom I’d said, “you must see these two” agreed with me that they were excellent. It was also lovely to see that as they continued playing, the place got fuller. The sound from outside the building is really good in fact and on hearing Laura and Claire playing I imagine quite a few people must have been drawn in!

The pair played a wonderful set; one of the things that’s great about watching musicians play live is when they clearly have a lot of fun doing it; watching these two you can see such chemistry and camaraderie between them that when you learn they’ve been playing together since they were children you can believe it.

Then it was our turn; by this time quite a few of our friends and family had arrived - huge thanks to all of you, so wonderful you could make it! - so we were very excited and a bit nervous. We played a really folky set this time around, including, for the first time together, live, our mandolin/accordion/harmonies version of Reynardine. We also started the set with our “nineties-tastic family-friendly Moss & Jones wedding medley,” a portmanteau of four songs played on ukulele and glockenspiel, and with a sense of humour.




(Thanks to our friend Beth for the picture.)

After the gig, we actually went to the ‘bus station in Liverpool One (better chance of getting a seat at the back which means Marc, the child, and I, can sit together) but on the way there, we saw that the pianos were out! Well, we couldn’t resist; we busked three songs; Sally and Millbrook, with Marc on the piano and me singing and on glockenspiel, and of course, a little bit of Bach’s second English Suite in A Minor (me, for once, on piano). And… we earned a few bob! We’ll buy a cake with it for all three of us, as the little one, of course, had his own little play around on the piano.

Then it was back home… and here we are. We’re back in the Bombed Out Church in two weeks, but it’s a relatively private gig (as we’re getting married)! However, if you’d like to see us play again, we’re going to be doing a song or two at the open mic at Sound Food and Drink on Duke Street in Liverpool, tomorrow (Monday) night.

What have we learned from this gig?

Well, I’ve had a dodgy wrist for a few weeks now; I’m wearing a support until I can get to the doctor. It’s nothing serious, however, a wrist support, and the intricate plucking needed to play the instrumental version of Pastime With Good Company on the ukulele, do not together go, unfortunately. It was, as they say, a “brave performance”. However when my wrist is a bit better, we’ll be getting mediaeval - well, tudor - on your asses again.

Secondly, a few bob from a quick busk is lovely, and it has really raised our spirits for a busking “tour” we have planned for the new year. Want to know more? Watch this space!

In defence of open mic nights, by Ruth

I’ve read a few blog posts recently knocking open mic nights, primarily from the usual “don’t play for free” standpoint that gets hashed and rehashed and then mashed and bathed in oil and fried and re-hashed again over on many music forums (including the wonderful Liverpool Bands).

Now, the “don’t play for free” thing is quite an old debate and tends to go like this: “I’ll get a plumber to come over and offer to pay THEM with ‘exposure’ shall I?” “Yes but a plumber has had to take exams and learn how to be a plumber.” “So have I, I did my grade 5 piano when I was 19.” And on, and on. I don’t want particularly to rehash that argument because it never ends. I will say, we’ve played the vast majority of our gigs for free, and we’ve also done a handful where we’ve been paid (though not huge amounts by any stretch).

I am also perfectly aware that it’s different for us, an acoustic duo who practise at home and don’t have massive overheads (although we really should get that piano tuned), than, say, a four or five piece band who have to pay out for rehearsal room hire and sound equipment and so on. But this is about open mic nights, and let’s face it, they’re aimed at small bands and solo acts.

Anyway, the anti- open mic stuff I’ve read seems to be based on the premise that this, too, is playing for free, and given that musicians should apparently Never Ever Do That, it’s also wrong to perform at an open mic.



That’s a picture of us, performing at an open mic, by the way, in case you were wondering on which side of this argument we fell.

I really do think that doing a slot at an open mic is different than doing a gig for free. I have some sympathy with the idea that bands shouldn’t do the latter (though, see earlier, we have) but … an open mic? Really?

Let’s take this in two parts.

Firstly, the idea which I’ve read a bit that landlords are putting on open mic nights to avoid paying to put on a band. Okay, let’s start with the thing about “landlords”. Most open mics I’ve been to have been in cafés or bars. I’ve been to literally one open mic in a proper old school “pub with a landlord” pub, and that was a weird little place in Deptford in 2001, back when I lived in London. Also it was a poetry open mic, which may - or may not - be different.

In fact, I ran an open mic a few years ago in a café in St. Helens. The owner of the café actually opened it up specifically on a Monday evening once a month just for the open mic. I approached him with the idea, not vice versa. He made no money off it on the night, at least at first, as everyone brought their own booze. The only people who came were performers and their friends; there was no passing trade because the café wouldn’t have been open then anyway. If it wasn’t for the open mic, the place would have been closed on a Monday night and it might even have saved him some money on heating and lecky bills. He was a big advocate for the arts, and in the long term, I think having the open night there made people kindly disposed towards the place and more likely to come back. Hardly a cynical landlord putting on an open mic because he was too tight to pay a band.

Also, let’s be brutally honest here. Lots of acts performing at open mics are amazing, but some are … on their way to amazing, and not quite there yet. That’s okay, of course, everyone starts somewhere, but the idea a pub landlord would believe that punters would be just as happy with an open mic as with a booked band is a tad silly, n’est ce pas?

I’ve also met quite a few people running open mics, but never once have I met one whose motives have been about “saving money on bands”. Mostly, they’ve wanted to give new talent a platform, hear new music and have a bit of a ‘jam’. Occasionally they’ve wanted to make a bit of a name for themselves as a compère. Once or twice it’s so they’ve a regular opportunity to perform their own songs/poems. But even the more cynical of those reasons is nothing compared to the suggestion that they want to save money for the venue.

Most of the time, running an open mic is an unpaid task, too. If anyone should get narky about not getting paid, it’s the compère/organiser and not the performers; they’re doing a hugely hard job behind the scenes and on the night and usually on a volunteer basis too, and usually they go largely unthanked (people seem to think the compère is part of the furniture. So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank from the bottom of my heart anyone who has ever ran an open mic event we’ve attended. You’re amazing, you really are). But no one seems to mention them in the anti-open mic stuff.




There we are at another open mic night, depriving booked performers of a decent crust. Oh, wait, there were some booked performers that night too, earning a decent crust.

Secondly, the idea that playing an open mic is the same as playing a normal gig, unpaid. It just isn’t! In order to get a gig, you have to - well, I’ll be honest, we haven’t completely figured it out yet. Be lucky, in the right place at the right time, know the right people and work hard. And be really cheeky too, but the right amount of cheeky. But what you CAN’T do, is just turn up and start playing.

Unlike an open mic night.

Time to be totally honest here. We’ve not always been that good. I know, I know, you’re shocked and horrified. But it’s true. When we started out in the winter of 2012 with nothing but a violin and a really cheap ukulele we played the rounds of open mics because we were literally okay. It took us over half a year of playing open mic nights before we could even dream of being good enough to play a full gig. We are SO grateful to those places that put them on and gave us the chance to practice in front of an audience, seeing what worked, and what didn’t, and who put up with our “let’s use a violin to open Hark the Herald, instead of a trumpet, that’ll totally work!”

Let’s face it, too; not all, but some open mic events have some quite sophisticated sound equipment and someone knowledgeable around to work it. If you really can’t shake the idea that you’re somehow being “done” because you’re playing for free, think of it as a barter. You’re getting to hire a PA and a sound engineer for fifteen minutes; they’re getting to hear your unique finger-plucking cover of Shakermaker.

And at those open mic events that are unamplified, which are basically busking without the hat? What does the performer get there? Well, we’ve made friends at these and got talking to other musicians who are at similar stages to us; we’ve shared tips and swapped contacts, and again… you’re getting to practice in front of an audience. Yes, you could do that with busking too (and we plan to) but people are less likely to sit and listen when it’s chucking it down and freezing cold. It’s also fantastic for young musicians (I mean really young, too; I’ve been at an open mic where a ten or eleven year old boy performed a violin solo that would have made Nigel Kennedy’s eyes open wide with amazement) who wouldn’t normally get that kind of platform outside of school assemblies. You’re getting a warm audience, in more than one sense of the word “warm”.

—-

One thing I will say, however, is that the idea that venues and promoters, or even music executives, are scouring the open mics looking for new talent, has certainly not been our experience. I think we’ve got just two gigs from people seeing us at an open mic, and that’s in going on three years of doing them (as I said earlier, we have got our gigs through a mixture of other methods, but rarely this). I think if you’re going around open mics expecting to be noticed and given gigs, or signed, or whatever, you’re possibly approaching it with the wrong idea and it’s going to make you a bit miserable. If, however, you see open mics as a great place to practise playing in front of an audience, and also a wonderful opportunity to be the first of your friends to hear some amazing new music, and of course, to make friends, to have fun, and to do what you love, then you’re probably going to enjoy yourselves.

So, yes, we’ll continue to do open mic events in amongst our gigs. Because we love them. The whole “don’t play gigs for free” thing is another discussion for another time, and with that, I can genuinely see both sides of the debate. But I don’t think open mic events fit into the category of “playing a gig for free”.

And if you want to earn a living from music? Join a covers band and practise every day and do the ultra-competitive world of weddings and pubs. Become a music teacher (hey, all you need to do is increase that grade 5 piano to a grade 8, and then maybe get your ABRSM diploma in music teaching, and sort out your DBS form, and get a customer base and a reputation). Work hard and learn a craft as a sound engineer (because it’s true, no one does ask them to work for “exposure”).

Or become a rock star. I’m not sure how you do that though.











(Other ways of making money within the music industry do exist and all involve lots of hard work and tend not to be impeded by playing, or not, open mic nights.)

The Beautiful Word, Baby Brave, Lisa Marie Glover... and us... lastnight at Sound Food and Drink. By Ruth.

Want to know a boring fact about me? Of course you don’t! But you’ll get one anyway: alcohol is sometimes a migraine trigger for me, so I mostly avoid it all together. The negative side is that I feel a bit of a party pooper ordering a lemonade when a venue is kind enough to offer free booze to performers. The positives, however, include “being able to remember stuff”, and I’m especially glad I’ll be remembering last night’s gig because it was AMAZING.



I was on twitter on Saturday and learned that one of my favourite bands ever, The Beautiful Word, were doing a last-minute gig in Liverpool, at Sound Food and Drink on Duke Street (by the way, we bought some pizzas there and they were DELICIOUS). I was just in the process of shouting to Marc, “oh my god Marc, The Beautiful Word are doing a gig in town, we have to go!” as I received a tweet asking if we’d open the night with a set ourselves!

Needless to say, I said YES PLEASE!

In fact, the night opened with a lovely surprise in the form of Lisa Marie Glover, the compère for the evening and a talented singer/songwriter, who played a couple of her witty, melodic songs in between sets. Needless to say, we bought a CD. Perhaps you should too?

Then it was our turn. We played a mix of originals (including Millbrook, the one about the ice cream van in Kirkby, and Shepherd’s Delight, which you can download for just 50p if you like), traditional music (including our uke/glockenspiel instrumental of Henry VIII’s Pastime With Good Company, and our acappella arrangement of Let No Man Steal Your Thyme) and covers, including our folky cover of Ebeneezer Goode, which a lot of people seemed to like.

Next up came Baby Brave. This lot call themselves “noise pop” and they’re right; foot-tapping, singalonging in-your-face wonderfully raucous songs with ludicrously catchy hooks. Of course, we bought their EP (on tape as well! TAPE!) which you too can own as a digital download! I especially liked Alone in Tokyo, and Colours (how can I not love a song with a verse in French?) - I’d definitely go and see these again; hopefully they’ll be up in town again at some point soon as Wrexham’s not a million miles away. You should go and see them too. They’re ace!

Finally it was time for The Beautiful Word. Now, I’ll admit, I’m biased. The first time I saw these live, a couple of years ago now, I texted Marc, “I’ve just found my new favourite band”. I own their album Particles, and it is gorgeous, but there’s nothing quite like seeing a band live, and The Beautiful Word are no exception. They started out with an adorable song called Starfish which they said was new, but I had the weirdest feeling I’d heard it before; maybe it was just so catchy that it made me want to sing along immediately? In fact, they played a couple of new songs during the evening, all of which I thought were fantastic and look forward to hearing when they’re able to record again. They also played a couple of songs from Particles, including one of my favourites (heck, they’re all my favourites, but you know what I mean), Emily.

It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what it is that makes The Beautiful Word such a perfect band. The harmonies of Emily and Megan that are so utterly note perfect that they blend into one voice with two channels? The instrumentation and arrangements which segue from indiepop into folk and back again via prog? That when you watch them live they perform with cheer and infectious enthusiasm? That they’ve pulled off the amazing conjuring trick of setting even occasionally bleak subject matter (e.g. Pop It) to a sweet, catchy tune… without detracting from the lyrics? Whatever it is, if you get a chance to see this band you MUST GO. You can also download their music too, and I’d recommend you do. Oh, and I now have a Particles t-shirt. :D

Time for our usual, and admittedly slightly self-indulgent section of WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM THIS GIG?

• Without going into too many embarrassing details, we need to be FASTIDIOUS about tuning. 


• We need to sort out our merch. 


• The ladies’ loo in Sound doesn’t have a sign on it … thus it’s easily mistaken for a unisex one. Oops, as Marc said on realising this!

Anyway, that’s all folks. Thank you to everyone who came, and to those who couldn’t come but helped get the message out. Our next full-length gig is at the Bombed Out Church in Liverpool on Sunday 31st August at 2pm, quid on the door (which goes to the church) and our special guests are the fabulous Laura&Claire.

Gig alert! Bombed Out Church, with Laura&Claire...

We said we wouldn’t do any gigs in August, what with preparing for our September wedding. But Liverpool’s Bombed Out Church is pretty special.

We’ll be there on Sunday 31st August at 2pm playing our usual mixture of melodious originals (including that one about the Kirkby ice cream vans selling - whatever it was, Ruth never did find out - in winter), traditional folk (we might get a bit mediaeval on you actually. Or at least, Tudor) and imaginative covers (yes, that includes Ebeneezer Goode).

We’re also really excited about our special guests. Laura&Claire are the kind of duo we absolutely love. Two young women with beautiful voices playing guitars and singing the kind of vocal harmonies that simply sweep right through you. We heard them at an open mic at the Brink, Liverpool, and were absolutely blown away; we reckon you will be, too.

Entry is just £1 on the door and all money goes to the day-to-day maintenance of the Bombed Out Church. Now, we know we go on about this but it’s really important. If you’d like to help secure a long-term future for the Bombed Out Church, rather than see paradise paved and a Starbucks put up, they really do need your help. There have been a lot of rumours lately about how apparently someone is going to give them a tonne of money, which has made people believe they don’t need to donate after all. Unfortunately, this is little more than political posturing; the Bombed Out Church really does need your help. Please give what you can; even for just £2 you’ll get a big thank you, plus the knowledge you’re doing something amazing.

Families are very welcome; we love to play whilst watching the kids - including our own - run about. Please bring friends, nans, grans, granddads, mums, dads, sisters, brothers, cousins, avuncular relatives, bezzies, mates, a posse, people you met on the ‘bus… and anyone else you can think of. We’re looking forward to it!

And that's a wrap: Ruth writes about the Big Busk in St. Helens' Victoria Park

We’ve done lots of gigs in Liverpool in our time, in some gorgeous venues, but not much in the town in which we reside, St. Helens (for no reason except that they just haven’t come up in the same way). This summer we’ve managed to do two, in quick succession; the first in Rainhill and this, the second, and the last of our summer gigs (we’re taking August off gigging to organise our September wedding) even closer to home, in the newly refurbished bandstand in St. Helens’ Victoria Park.

We arrived just as the afternoon was starting. There were two stages; the other was more of a rock/indie orientated stage, and as the action on both stages took place simultaneously, we took the decision to stick around the bandstand for the more folky/acoustic side of things.

The lady compèring the bandstand’s events was called Diane and she introduced each act with a mix of humour, professionalism and good cheer.

We caught a little bit of dance troupe Paparazzi; my son’s more knowledgeable about that sort of thing than I and he seemed to enjoy it, but then we went off to the Lodge to drop off our instruments. When we got back a chap in an Iron Maiden T-shirt (I did ask him his name but to my shame I have forgotten, and he isn’t one of the people on the bill, so if anyone knows who he is please do let me know, as he was great and I’d like to hear more) was playing some folky, melodic stuff which we enjoyed. We also caught some of Cesar Bodey, who carried on like a trouper despite some technical issues (which sound man Steve did his best to remedy) and a sore arm!

Then we heard Shaun Brussels’ set. This young man is already practically a guitar virtuoso… and he’s just fourteen! If there’s any fairness in the music industry you’ll be hearing this young man’s name quite a bit in future.

Then it was us! This was the first gig this summer for which we’d decided to go piano-less. We do open mics sans piano, of course, as lugging around a keyboard on the ‘bus is a pretty hefty task if you’re only going to be playing two or three songs, but this was a full set. As such, we took the decision not to play our piano ballad Sally, to change Millbrook to ukulele and glockenspiel, and not to add in any of our “oldie” type piano covers.

We started with Bad Sitcom, then played our cover of 80s kids’ TV cartoon Mysterious Cities of Gold (and segued it into Gaudete). We followed with three folk songs in our own arrangements back to back; Scarborough Fair, The Stonecutter’s Boy and Let No Man Steal Your Thyme. After that, we played the first of two 90s dance songs in a folky style; Set You Free. There followed two originals; Millbrook and Shepherd’s Delight (It’s Not Time To Go To Bed).

Finally, for the first time live, we played the second folky-cover-of-a-90s-dance-tune of the day, our take on Ebeneezer Goode, on mandolin and ukulele with me singing the rap rubato, and Marc joining me on vocal harmonies for the chorus. We can honestly say without boasting that it seemed to go down an absolute treat. And then that was that, it was a wrap from us. Diane had some nice words for us about our forthcoming wedding and we left the stage.

It was interesting that about half way through our set, the crowd suddenly doubled in size. Much as I’d like to tell you it was all our fans coming to see us, it seemed what had happened was that over on the rock stage there was a big break while a band with a huge set up got ready, and so people drifted over towards the bandstand. However, the majority of them seemed to stay, so we must have been tuneful enough to keep at least part of a more rock-oriented crowd, which is quite pleasing.

After us was our friend Will Barnes who played a fantastic set. I’ve seen many of Will’s gigs over the past couple of years; Will’s always been a talented musician but more recently his intra-set banter has become an integral part of his set too. Also he opened one of his songs with the first lines of one of our songs, and another of his songs with a bit of REM. Basically, Will was great, and he’s always gigging around St. Helens and Liverpool, and you should make an effort to go and see him.

Then came Billy & John, acoustic folk duo, with a set consisting mainly of originals … and the second mandolin of the day! Fantastic stuff. Following them was Paul Atherton, who’d brought an exuberant crowd with him. Who knew Amy McDonald’s Mr Rock and Roll could still work in such an anthemic style?

The day wound down with a very syncronised dance troupe, Connect (my son, who likes that sort of thing, was mesmerised), and then a set from Diane’s partner (who’s name I’ve forgotten - sorry ) who included a cover of Leadbelly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night in his set. There was a little boy dancing on the bandstand throughout his set - I don’t think it was staged - pure spontaneity like that can’t be!

As we were packing up, performance poets The MadLads (formerly The Amigos) got up for an impromptu set which seemed to go down well with what was left of the crowd. They used to attend a poetry night I and a friend of mine put on in St. Helens a couple of years ago. I’d like to see them take a leaf out of the book of some other comedy poets now, and really perform their rhymes. Stuart Kenyon in particular has some wistful, intelligent verse and it’s great to see his delivery catching up with that.

All in all it was a fantastic day. Once again we got to meet up with some people who we’d only known previously on twitter, including Mike Ashworth and Lynn Gerrard. We also saw Andy Bowden, one time mayor of St. Helens, watching our set; later he said on twitter that it was (Ebeneezer) Good(e). A chap from the paper came to take our picture, so you never know, we could be in there this Thursday, although I imagine he took pretty much everyone’s picture so who knows.

Whatever happens though, it was a great gig; we loved all the music and performances going on at the bandstand. In some ways it’s a shame we couldn’t get to the other stage to have a listen but you can’t be in two places at once, and where we were had such a lot to offer.

Huge thanks to all the organisers, especially Vikki who had put a herculean amount of effort into ensuring this was such a fantastic event despite adverse weather (there was a storm the night before the Big Busk, and the morning saw heavy, pelting rain) and being poorly herself. I really hope she manages to get some rest now; there’s no one deserves it more right now!

Anyway, officially at any rate, that was our last gig of the summer; we hope you enjoyed it! We’ll probably do an open mic or two between now and September but aside from that we’re concentrating on organising our biggest gig ever; our wedding! Watch out for us in autumn though…



[Our “what have we learned from this gig?” feature will have a post all of its own! Keep an eye out on the blog…]

Liverpool Acoustic afternoon in the View Two Gallery, Saturday 12th July

We’ve just got back from a fantastic afternoon playing a set and listening to some talented musicians at Liverpool’s gorgeous View Two Gallery on Mathew Street.

Despite thinking we were going to arrive late (due to a prior commitment, and also due to the trains being off) we actually got there quite a bit earlier than planned, which was fab, as we got to have a little tinkle on the ivories (yes, View Two has a grand piano) while Graham and Stuart set up, and also have a look at some of the art work.

Then came the musicians; first up was Caitlin Gilligan in a fabulous hat with some fabulous finger plucked melodies, two originals and a cover of Bob Dylan’s Girl from the North Country. She was followed by the Southbound Attic Band whose beautifully sung tale of childhood sweethearts made Ruth cry (and she probably wasn’t the only one). Lucy Mayhew followed on with some delightful playing including a Fleetwood Mac cover (we’re always partial to a bit of Fleetwood Mac), then came Derek King with a couple of songs including an intelligent lyrical take on an argument.

Then it was our turn!

We started our set with our piano ballad celebrating female friendship, Sally, then our ukulele duet about marital discord and poorly written female comedy characters, Bad Sitcom, next came our song about what ice cream vans really sell in winter in Kirkby, Millbrook, which we followed with our a-cappella arrangement of folk classic Let No Man Steal Your Thyme, and then our current single, Shepherd’s Delight (It’s Not Time To Go To Bed). Finally, we had a bit of time left so we decided to perform a cover; our take on the theme from 1980s kids’ cartoon, Mysterious Cities of Gold (the eagle-eared amongst the audience will have noticed we finished the song by seguing into the opening bars of Gaudete. Come and see us at a Christmas gig and we’ll play you the whole thing).

We enjoyed playing our set, but it was a relief to sit back down too (and finally grab a coffee; we’d been on the water up until that point).

There then followed a set by Rob Jones and Rob White, who had a real Simon and Garfunkel vibe going on, with perhaps a touch of Half Man Half Biscuit about some of the lyrics. They were also kind enough to give us a CD which we’ll be putting on at some point tomorrow for a spot of Sunday listening.

Finally, sound man Stuart, also known as Three Minute Hero, played a short set including a song with a sad, lilting tune but a message of hope, The Tomorrow People.

We really enjoyed the entire afternoon. The standard was very high, and we felt honoured to be in such talented company. We’d love to go back again; the gallery is gorgeous, the sound is great and the staff are really friendly. Special thanks to Graham for organising and compering the event (and for inviting us), and to Stuart for helping create such fab sound.

EDITED TO ADD:

Yesterday, when we wrote this, Ruth was in the early stages of a migraine and we were both knackered and so it was we forgot to do our usual spiel about What We Have Learned From This Gig.

We’ve chatted loads about this today and a few things have come out of our discussion. The standard at this event was really high and yet we didn’t feel as though we were out of our depth, which isn’t meant to sound arrogant, but rather as testament to how far we’ve come since we started out (as carollers, in December 2012). That said, we also talked about how we must not become complacent. The music scene in Merseyside at the moment is really buzzing and there is so much talent around that if we don’t keep ourselves fresh, practiced and focused, we’ll stagnate and get left behind.

We also talked - again - about covers. Yesterday we threw one cover into our set, as mentioned above. However, fun though Mysterious Cities of Gold is, it’s perhaps a bit obscure; in a larger crowd, you can guarantee there will be a group of people who will recognise even a cult cover, but if performing a cover at an intimate gig it might be wise to stick with something a bit more well-known. That said, it’s a gorgeous tune in its own right so… we’re still undecided.

A review of our single Shepherd's Delight (It's Not Time To Go To Bed)

Link: Moss & Jones - Shepherd's Delight (It's Not Time To Go To Bed) - The Liverpool Gigs Pig

If you listen to something so much and very often it can become one big massive something made of nothing. In this instance I refer to music. It leaves you digging deeper to find something different rather than listening to… Continue Reading →

We had an absolutely lovely review of our single, Shepherd’s Delight (It’s Not Time To Go To Bed). Why not read it, and if you like the sound of it, download the track and help support independent music?

Ruth writes about Constellations, by the Moulettes

Well, gosh. It’s a while since I wrote about music on here (with, I suppose, the exception of our own music). To be fair, rarely a day passes on twitter when I don’t squee over some musician or band or other, but on here it’s been a bit quiet. I’m not a music reviewer, you see, just a music fan who occasionally likes to go into more depth than “oh em gee this is the best album EVER”.

And it’s with that in mind that I feel I ought to say something about Constellations, the latest album by the Moulettes (is it “The Moulettes” or is it just “Moulettes”? I don’t know).

I found out about the Moulettes about two years ago, through a friend, and bought myself their eponymous album, which I lapped up, over and over again. I adored and still love that album. My son loves it too, and dances around the house with me to the strains of Going a Gathering. In fact, at Hallowe’en last year we played the album to a bunch of kids as background music to many of our activities and they loved it; it was spooky, and fun, and dancy. (Unfortunately, we then ramped up the scare factor with Penderecki’s Threnody for the victims of Hiroshima. It was a bit much for one girl who burst into tears and asked to go home. Needless to say, we turned it off pretty quickly.)

I was also lucky enough to see them live, last year, at the Just So Festival, and they were every bit as amazing as you’d expect… and then some.

But, as happens, life moves on, you discover other bands, and so it was that I never did get around to buying The Bear’s Revenge, or managing to catch them live again …

But I did follow them on twitter to keep up with what was going on (and they followed us back too which I thought was lovely. We’re a little unsigned acoustic duo who gig locally and have only just released our first studio single. They’re a massive band with accolades coming out of their ears … so yes, we were more than a bit chuffed by that) and it then happened that they released their album Constellations, and there seemed to be quite a bit of hype surrounding it. I added it to my mental wishlist, and as soon as we had a bit of dosh, I bought it from iTunes.

[One tiny, teeny thing here. I wish more bands would consider using Bandcamp to sell their music/merch. It’s not just for small outfits; the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Amanda Palmer use it; and it is fantastic because it enables fans to pay as much as they like to support the musicians they love, to buy a CD/record with access to the digital download immediately, and the ability to listen on their mobile device via the app, which bypasses iTunes. Not completely unlike Amazon, but some of us prefer to avoid Amazon where possible. Anyway, that’s just a musing, and not a criticism!]

And it is amazing. The first thing that struck me was the sheer craftsmanship (or perhaps “craftswomanship”) that had clearly gone into it. It is note perfect. Every sweep of the bow across the ‘cello, every toot on the bassoon, every delicious close harmony, every vocal trill, every bit of fingerwork across the harp (wonder if Emma fancies playing a wedding? We’re looking for a harpist…) and so on, and so on, was just perfect. Nothing out of place. The amount of work that has clearly gone into the arrangements (for example, on Between Two Mirrors, there’s a motif for various lyrics; the birds of paradise, the echoes, tokens left to find, chaos of the aftermath… think Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and you wouldn’t be that far away) is astounding. The lyrics are intelligent and moving and fit perfectly with the music. And everything hangs together so exquisitely.

To pick standout tracks from something like this is difficult, but everyone has favourites and my top three tracks are:

So It Goes (the video for this is fabulous too). This is possibly the most “dance around the kitchen” song from the album. The sudden changes from minor to major and back again, the soaring strings, the way the song seems to echo the lyrics, with the “so it goes” part of the chorus feeling like a sauntering journey … oh it is perfect. And yes, I said I’d pick three songs, but I can’t talk about So It Goes without mentioning what I thought of as its companion song, Glorious Year, which has the lyric “all is far from being forsaken”, making it sound like someone trying to cheer and console a friend. If you’ve been feeling like things haven’t been going so well, listen to this. I felt like I’d had a little cry on the Moulettes’ combined shoulders, and come away feeling a lot better.

The Night is Young. A simple, beautiful, wistful waltz with piano and strings combining to make you feel like you’re at some outdoor afterparty in Vienna. And just when you think it’s finished, it hasn’t; it has to come to its sad, humming conclusion. (Actually I think one of the reasons I love this track so much is that I could imagine it appearing on an album by The Magic Theatre, and they’re my favourite band ever, so there’s that.)

And then. And then. There is Lady Vengeance. Imagine, if you will, “chamber music does dubstep”. Imagine “hell hath no fury”. Imagine an intricate arrangement but with huge sound, and more of those amazing musical motifs paired with the lyrics. Imagine a guest appearance by no other than Arthur Brown (yes, that Arthur Brown). Imagine a song that goes from sinister to terrifying by degrees. “I have met you before, but, I think this time you will remember.” Tell you what, I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of the Moulettes. There’s a suitably creepy video too. I know what the kids will be watching this hallowe’en. And if you buy the deluxe edition of the album like I did, you’ll also have access to the various remixes of this track, some of which are mind-blowing!

Every single track on this album is brilliant. If you like folk, if you like rock, if you like prog, if you like chamber music, if you like dubstep, if you like good music… you’ll love it.

As I said on twitter, the Moulettes are the kind of band, and Constellations the kind of album, that makes you think, “all other bands: stop now. We have a winner”. You can buy the album here.

Quel Beau Jour (video)... and a gig alert

The wonderful Tom George made this video of us playing Quel Beau Jour (“what a lovely day!”) in Liverpool’s Bombed Out Church …in the tipping down rain.

Anyway, something must have gone right because we were invited back! Yes, we’re playing again, this time on Sunday 29th June. We also have a special guest, the “drifter" himself, Tom George, with his brand of melodic folk pop, who will be playing a set to start the afternoon!



We’d love it if you could come along and bring friends and family … but even if not, please do reblog/retweet/share so that those who might be interested can put it in their diaries! Entry is just £1 on the door and it all goes to the upkeep of St. Luke’s.

Finally, if you’d like to buy our current single, Shepherd’s Delight (It’s Not Time To Go To Bed), it’s just 50p to download from bandcamp and includes a bonus ‘b side’, lyrics, and individual track artwork!

Our gig at Liverpool's Bombed Out Church (St. Luke's), Sunday 25th May

Well, this was the moment we’d been waiting for. Pretty much since we started making music as Moss & Jones about 18 months ago, we’d thought to ourselves, “imagine what it would be like doing a gig in the Bombed Out Church?”

… then, after asking, and emailing with, the good folk at St. Luke’s, we got the gig.

We practised like folk possessed, obsessed over our running order (“let’s not have those next to each other. Three ukulele duets one after the other? It’s a bit much for people.” “Two traditional folk songs in a minor key? Nah, let’s break that up a bit”) and pontificated over posters, invited everyone we knew, people we’d never met, and people in-between, encouraged people to share our posters and thanked so many lovely people for promoting our gig.

Finally the week came, and the weather forecast looked bad. As the week went on, it looked worse. On the night before our gig, we updated every bit of social media we’re on to say BRING WELLIES AND BROLLIES. Still, we visited poundland to buy some spare ponchos in case anyone had need (they did).

Then it was the big day! We, and the kid, set off for Liverpool on the train with eight, yes eight different instruments in various bags and cases. The weather was glorious, but we weren’t fooled, and as the morning turned into afternoon there was a distinct change in the air and we could almost smell the rain.

With help from Ambrose, Adam and Ash at St. Luke’s we set up. Marc had a very steep learning curve in “how to be a soundman” as we figured out which lead was plugged in where and what was for which volume and so on, but the ukulele pickups really helped the sound and our set up, two vocal mics and an ambient mic, was perfect.

People started to arrive, and we played our first song, a mashup of “Sumer Is Icumen In” and “Miri It Is”, two mediaeval songs about how summer is wonderful… while it lasts.



… and in fact, the “Sumer” lasted right until the end of the first half, through the interval, and until the start of the second half, at which point the heavens opened. Hard, full-on rain. But people who come to see Moss & Jones seem to be made of some pretty stern stuff! Very few got up and left and in fact, some of the little kids seemed to take great delight in running around, dancing in the rain.

For all our running order plans, because of the rain we skipped two songs from our second half (one cover, Moonlight Serenade, and one original, Solemn Macramé Owl) so as to finish that little bit sooner.

The awful thing was that about ten minutes after we’d finished, the rain stopped, and didn’t start again until about six o’clock that evening! Ah well!

We thoroughly enjoyed that gig. We had a chat with Ambrose after, the curator of the Bombed Out Church, and he said he’d love to have us back as our peaceful, folky vibe fitted in well with the surroundings and we did seem to draw people in. We’d love to come back too, possibly with support from a few other musicians, perhaps those with that same kind of quirky, family-friendly, festival-ish folk music vibe that you don’t tend to hear all that often on the local (indoor, evening) acoustic music scene. But as yet, there isn’t anything planned, and we’ll be sure to let people know if and when there is.

What we’ve learned from this gig, because we think you always learn something from your gigs, is that we need to ask a friend to hand out flyers and the like during the performance, and ask another (or the same) friend to take some photographs. We’re also wondering if it’s worth actually asking people something along the lines of “if you’re enjoying the gig, why not tweet about it?” because lots of people said how much they’d loved our music, but with nothing online it’s hard for us to give that feedback to others. We also learned that the new setup with the ukulele pickups works wonders, and that with a bit of practice, we can certainly add the mandolin to our repertoire more often as it went down a storm. We’ve also realised that although we are a bit offbeat and quirky with it (and use ukuleles rather than guitars), we’re definitely more ‘folk’ than ‘indie’ or ‘pop’ or ‘oldie’ or ‘swing’. So many people there thought of us as a ‘folk duo’ that we might as well embrace it.

We’d like to say, once again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. To all at the Bombed Out Church, and to everyone who came to support us. Also, to all the people who helped us promote our gig on twitter and on Facebook, even though some of you weren’t coming and even live miles away! It means so much to us to have all this help and support.

Let Us Demonstrate!

It’s here! Our new four-track demo. Four tracks including two completely new songs, one utterly new tune and arrangement of a folk classic, and one fun cover of a classic.

Please do let us know what you think; we’d love your thoughts! We’re planning to record most of these, and a few other tracks too, in studio over the coming months.

Lyrics and pictures will appear if you click through to soundcloud.

Old footage of Ruth singing

Before Moss & Jones, Ruth (Moss) used to sing unaccompanied folk at various open mic events. Here she is in Liverpool, in the gardens of Sudley House (country home and art gallery), Summer 2012, singing her version of Scarborough Fair.