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About the Corn Stores music night

I ran the live music night, at the Corn Stores, from early autumn 2005...

It is an evening of intimate, acoustic music. It is always very friendly and relaxed and, thanks to some great friends that I have from the music scene in Reading, the quality of music is brilliant.

The night happens on a monthly basis, usually on the first Wednesday of the month (but it is worth checking the dates...there are sometimes extra gigs in the middle of a month). I start things off at about 8 o'clock with a half hour of acoustic rocky/bluesy tunes from somewhere in my collection. Almost always, I am lucky enough to have Gavin (on saxophone) and/or Carlos (on guitar), or one of a number of other, great friends to play guitar, bass, or percussion with me.

The Guest Slots

The guest slots are what makes the night really special. Here is an opportunity for the audience to be wowed by some excellently talented musicians. We have had solo guitarist/singers, duets and acoustic bands; playing a variety of styles from the electronic wizardry of Dexter's Friend's bass guitar & mandolin, to the outstanding classical/world music of the clarkhammondDuo.

There are usually two guest slots. With each artist(s) playing for about 30 to 45 minutes. Sometimes longer, and sometimes there is more than one group. Whichever happens, we meander to a close sometime between eleven and midnight. Usually, I will take to the stage again and sing you a couple of final songs to wrap things up. And then off to bed...

The Corn Stores/Il Gusto

The Corn Stores is a bar/restaurant in Reading. Il Gusto is the restaurant upstairs, when you can get some rather lovely Italian/Mediterranean food. Check out the Corn Stores on the web for more info, including location maps and menus.

Artists who have played

The following musicians have played the guest slot since January 2006. I have written a few lines about each of them, which I'll update from time-to-time, but cannot capture the real magic of their music in words...you will have to come down and find out for yourself...

Sonia Wilson and Thomas are a beautiful close-harmony duet. There is something about the sixties in their music, which is reminiscent of more innocent times. You can find Sonia at http://www.myspace.com/soniawilsonmusic

Matt Tanner is a lively, pop-rock singer and guitarist: very hip and with a magnificent voice. Matt was the front man for the (very unfortunately) disbanded "Bonfire Episode", who were contemporaries of my band and great fun to share the stage with. Go to http://www.myspace.com/matthewtanner for more about Matt.

The lovely Sophie Henderson lit up the room when he play at one of our little Reading Fringe Festival nights. She's a great singer, find her at: http://www.myspace.com/sophiehenderson

Jewels is the princess of acoustic reggae: brilliant, powerful and lovely. Find her at: http://www.myspace.com/sugarjewels

Mark Mathews joined us from Camden, for the Reading Fringe. He is a great player, very cool, with top, acoustic pop songs. Check him out at: http://www.myspace.com/markmathews

Greg Mayston is a marvellous blues singer and guitarist. He finger-picks some great old blues songs on a beautiful National guitar.

Lindsey Dolbear has an excellent band - and we did manage to squeeze all four of them on to the "stage" - really bright, snappy, pop-rock. Very cool. Check out Lindsey's myspace http://www.myspace.com/lindseydolbear

Ceara Fox is stunning on stage. Her voice is beautiful and her songs are captivating. Follow this link http://www.myspace.com/cearafox for Ceara's myspace site.

Ian Mitchell is a deep and passionate performer; a great songwriter, with more than a hint of melancholy in some of his music. :o)

Mark Alder is magic on the stage: his voice is angelic; his songs are engaging (...you will join in with that sea shanty! ;o) ...) and you can't help but love him. Check out Mark at http://www.markalder.com

Steve Morano is a great song writer and passionate performer. His love for the music is infective. Go to http://www.stevemoranoband.com to find out more about Steve and his great band.

Amanda Loh is beautiful and she sings with that slightly husky voice that makes me go all wobbly. A few country influences in there and, amongst others, she covers some great Ammie Mann tracks. Mmmmm... :o)

Andy Raven is light-hearted and great fun to listen to. He is a singer-guitarist/violinist, with an English-folk feel, playing a combination of original songs and occasional obscure covers. Find Andy at www.andyraven.co.uk

Dan Zaire plays great, catchy, and original, rock tunes. Easy going and very cool - which is what we like!

Dexter's Friends consist of Phil, Phil's mandolin and Dexter (Phil's bass guitar)...as well as some cunning wizardry from a medley of footswitches. The result, as Phil overlays bass riffs and melodic lines of mandolin, is funky, groovy sound of "Sunshine Dub". You can find Dexter's Friends at: http://www.myspace.com/dextersfriends

Lionel Took plays excellent blues and folk songs, with some sweet finger-picking guitar and a great voice. He has also worked out the most cool version of Jumping Jack Flash I have ever heard!

The clarkhammondDuo are: Stu Clark on guitar and Thom Hammond on cello. They play beautiful, intricate and engauging original songs, which are inspired from world music, classical and rock roots. Find out more at www.stuart-clark.co.uk

Jason Manners is, quite simply, the man when it comes to the blues. His guitar playing is mind-buggeringly-good. He makes people, who hate blues guitar: love blues guitar. And he makes most guitarists just want to cry. Oh, and he can sing really well too... :o)

We have had a few support performances as well to add to the mix. They include: Pete Butterworth; Pippa Hockey & Emily Johnson.