Upcoming shows this December

Hi music lover,

We are playing at the Golden Eagle again on Friday 29th December.  This will be the launch party for our new album And The Train Rattled Along.  The CDs are all ready and waiting to go.  This is a proper release using professional glass mastering etc.  The sleeve and booklet are professionally printed too.  The 12-page booklet contains artwork plus all the lyrics to the songs.

On the night we will be proud to present The Ronco Pop-o-matics as support, starting at 8-30pm.  They are a Chester band featuring, yes, Thor Brown on bass, plus Tim Wilday on vocals and laughter,  Earl on guitar, and Milt Kinder on percussion.  They write all their own material and bring happiness and sunshine with their fun shows.

The Shem Sharples set will feature some electric guitar for a change, and include many of the songs from the album, plus a few other audience faves (like The House of Evergrin………wooooooh!)

Do come down and enjoy a great atmosphere, inspiring music, and a nice alternative festive season treat!  Bring all your buddies!

PLUS

We will also be making an appearance at the fantastic Chichester Arms open mic this coming Monday night (18th Dec) as a warm up.  The event starts at 8-30pm - and there’s no knowing what time we will be on,  it is an open mic after all!

Upcoming show

We're playing at the Carlton Tavern, 1 Hartington Street, Handbridge, Chester CH4 7BN
on Friday 27th October.  It's part of the Rebel Yell Festival

Rebel Yell Festival details here

New Website

I have started a new website over at shemsharples.co.uk
It's pretty basic at the moment, but I'm steadily working on it.  There are a few things to look at already though.

We have our new album finally released and you can have a listen to it over on our website

Or if you prefer, check it out on bandcamp here   -   And The Train Rattled Along

Golden Eagles

      We are playing a full set at the Golden Eagle on Saturday 3rd June.  We will be exploring a fair-sized chunk of our vast collection of songs (there were 37 in all at last count!).  We're hoping to play for around 90 minutes at the Eagle, which gives us a chance to range into different moods and textures, to take you on a journey.

      We have recently completed recording and mixing the first Shem Sharples album, called ...And The Train Rattled Along....  It will be released this summer, but unfortunately will not be ready in time for the Eagle gig.  

      Our set will include most of the songs from the album, plus plenty of newer ones (many unfamiliar to you), as well as a few older faves.

      Thor will be shaking his head and stomping his feet as he drives the bass along with feeling and conviction.  My guitar ranges from the softer finger-picked vibe, to the energetic chopping rhythm, to the over-driven distorted passages.  The harmonica parts add some extra texture and, in places, frazzled burnouts.  All this in service to my crafted songs and, hopefully, thought-provoking lyrics.  I have also recently found my singing voice,  improving on my previous standards.  I hope you agree.

      Supporting us on the 3rd will be the Dead Grateful (a fine name), who will delicately warm your hearts with some jazz-tinted covers.  The interplay of Paul's warm vocal and guitar, alongside Jon Egerton's tenor sax, evoke the smoky jazz ballads of a bygone era.   Luxurious!    

      Be sure to come along and say hello.

      

Upcoming gigs

We are playing the following gigs  coming up.....

Saturday June 3rd  8-30pm Golden Eagle,  Castle Street,  Chester  CH1 2DS
        This is a full  set of well over an hour, exploring a wide range of songs from our extensive collection.  
 
Friday  June 23rd   Carlton Tavern,  1 Hartington Street, Chester CH4 7BN.
        This is part of the New Hope Festival they're running there on that weekend.  Not sure of our   time slot yet.  It will be about a half-hour set.
        
Sunday  June 25th  2-15pm Bandstand,  Brook Street,  Chester Live
        We are playing a half hour open air set on the Sunday afternoon as part of  Chester Live.

Please come and join us for any  or all of these.
Summer is round the corner.....

Neon Fish Session

We filmed and recorded a set of songs in January, at our studio space, Neon Fish.  We played and recorded them absolutely live, no overdubs, and got a couple of friends, Karen and Milt, to film us as we played.  Here is the first one to be edited, it is "The Burning Tree."  We'll get the others done in due course.

   


And here are some of Karen's photos from the session......