Gary Stewart Smith and Gareth Hill will be folking it up at the White Lion tonight.

Another Saturday night, another gig at the White Lion. I’m hoping for a good turnout tonight – unlike last time. A number of friends have promised to attend – last time I played the Lion, they were all washing their hair or otherwise engaged. This time, if they all turn up, it’ll be standing room only. But whatever happens, whatever the turnout, I’ll be sticking to my new strategy of playing the songs I want to hear and not trying to second guess what the audience might want (they can be fickle, you know). As my friend John Hope (probably) says: “if you can’t please all the people all the time, please yourself”. So tonight’s set is going to be a healthy mixture of 70s and 80s melodic pop/rock covers and my own equally melodic pop/rock originals.

A mandola: half man, half dola

My good friend Gareth “Funkmaster” Hill – bass player extraordinaire with Liquorice Allstars – is coming along for a jam tonight. This time he’s leaving the bass guitar at home and bringing along his mandola, which is as good a reason as any to play a set of mandola-friendly tunes by the likes of The Waterboys, R.E.M. and Crowded House. And if my “hit” song Folk On (Mumford and Sons fight it out with The Pogues – there’s only gonna be one winner in that scrap, and it ain’t the Mumfords) isn’t tailor made for mandola, then what is?

Now, Gareth Hill is one of the funkiest bass players in town – arguably the funkiest, and who am I to argue? Which begs the question: can a man get funky on a mandola? Well if any man can, Gazza can!

I’m also hoping that Andy “Mr Banjo Jangles” Kitchinson (lead guitarist with the aforementioned Liquorice Allstars) is gonna bring along his banjo, then we can really pogue things up, folk stylee. Watch out you Mumfords!

Ooh, do you know, I’m almost looking forward to tonight’s gig… see you there?