"Not the best of names eh!", the band members tell me - but does it matter?
They set up in the patio/garden area of this well established pub-cum-live music venue. The smell of strong cider constantly wafting around and the taste of (several) real ales made this a special day out. Splatt! were booked to play a two hour set throughout the afternoon and they exceeded all my expectations having seen them on numerous previous occasions. A three piece acoustic band comprising Paul Beadle - guitar, mandolin, flute, percussion and vocals, Andy Lyndsay - guitar, mandolin, harmonica, percussion and vocals and Paul Smith - upright bass. Splatt! play a mix of folk, country, shanty, and many other acoustic styles. Mainly covers it has to be said, but not your run of the mill stuff - don't be put off.
They re-work some very unusual stuff; old work songs, trad. folk, sea shanties alongside the work of Van Morisson, Jagger & Richards and the best version I've heard of 'Ride On'. There's hardly a pause between songs as Paul and Andy swap between guitar and mandolin, sharing the workload; first one takes lead vocal then the other. Andy has the softer voice and always looks the more serious of the two as he picks his way through some complicated routines with ease. Paul, with his powerful but somehow gentle voice takes on some of the more obscure songs with such feeling that you'd believe he'd researched the entire history of the lyrics in order to be able to feel the words and their often hidden meanings. Coming in every so often with clever flute work and microphone technique he is quite visual. While all this is going on Paul Smith is providing his exceptional bass playing, moving his head from on side of its neck to the other, sometimes smiling but generally studious looking, serious but full of feeling. Three very talented (and knowledgeable) musicians coming together to form a tight and exciting act.
One thing to look out for during a Splatt! gig is the drummer. What drummer? If you're not watching you'd swear they were using a drum machine or backing track to provide some punctuating drum beats on many numbers. Hey, just watch and listen - Paul Beadle has a novel and superb way of providing the required drum patterns using a tambourine held closely to a waist hire microphone. He tensions the skin with his fingers of one hand (look for the transparent patch where the skin is worn) whilst tapping or beating the skin in several positions with the free hand. The end result, you'd swear, is drumming.
I said they were booked to do two hours. They played for about three hours. They just didn't want to stop and the audience (by now nicely under the influence) didn't mind how long they played for. Splatt! really enjoy themselves; they obviously love what they're doing and their enjoyment filters through and spills out into the audience to create a great atmosphere.
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