User:Dinkum Bohos/JemEdwards

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New article name new article content .. Jem Edwards who played at the legendary Stonehenge 1976-78, Glastonbury 1977 and Rivington Pike 1977 free festivals, roadying on Motorheads’ first tour with Hawkwind in 1976,at London’s Wessex Studios (1979-81) working alongside Master engineer the late Jeremy Greene, he remixed for the likes of The Damned and The Theatre of Hate and ripped up the Bussendorfe with Jeremy on guitar on the duos lost tapes sessions. He met Patron of the Arts Fred Koch in 1978 whilst Fred was visiting the Royal Shakespeare Company(RSC) who commissioned ensemble and orchestral pieces through The Arthur Foundation NY and The New York Arts Foundation, enabling him to manuscript(in the days before computers) solo, ensemble and orchestral pieces (presently being recorded by John Thompson of Penzance,Cornwall UK ‘Speculations for Piano’)and make the move to London. Between 1978-1984, gracing the bandstands in London where he delivered his uncompromising and avant-guard piano playing (Almeida Theatre Bar(Islington)/Ivories(Docklands),Bass Clef(Old Street) amongst others). The pair initiated the benefaction of the RSC's Swan Theatre(Stratford-upon-Avon UK), a gift to the people of Stratford where he later worked on numerous productions in the Company at Stratford-upon-Avon from 1983. In the early 80′s he played with Paper House, a Post Punk New Wave outfit based in North London, performing regular Friday and Saturday gigs at the now defunct Brixton Archway Studios (behind the now very sadly defunct Desmond’s Hip City record store at the end of the Railton Road), jazz percussionist Andy Leopard, Oxford Music Collectives performance of Terry Riley’s “In C”, The Abstracts (Mark Gibbons), Void Litter with Simon Gilbert (Suede), Jerry Bewley (Oxo, Entropy, Kangaroo Moon, The Egg) and Chris Pinder (Oxo,Pinder),Ed Alleyne-Johnson (New Model Army) recording one EP with David Brown of Limit Mobile Audio where he first recorded ‘Continuum for piano and digital delay’. When Fela Kuti was jailed for 5 years in 1981 after carrying $50,000 US out of Nigeria, the band was left in London without a keyboard player, he stepped up on keys and the band Blue was born. From 1996 to 1999 he played keys with London R & B unit The Fireflies. A key organiser in Birmingham’s first Fireworks Fantasia (1991) his band The Eagles Gift performed to an audience of over a million. He was also active at that time with reeds and woodwind player Martin Robinson, (Simon Fell and the Frakture Big Band, Mamadou and the Super Libidor Band) playing Irish sets, free improvisations and general lunacy on a variety of bandstands ranging from Birmingham Conservatoire to Westminster Cathedral. He formed a song writing partnership with Craig Hammond. Recorded several solo efforts including the sublime Westbourne Boogie, playing all instruments himself, a skill he eventually found an outlet for in DINKUM BOHOS which incorporates steel string/spanish/lap steel/12 string/electric guitars along with vibraphone/piano/ drum kit/ percussion and keyboards and vocals. In 1990 he met John Thomson working for 2 years on structured improvisations for two pianos/ four hands performing in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire and initiating the first public performances of some of his series of manuscripted piano works Speculations for Piano. Through a recent set of most extraordinary coincidences they met up in 2011 and began preliminary talks on the recording of all 14 pieces which have been re-edited and recording a new cycle of piano works. John is currently working with the guitarist Martin Bowie(www.martinbowie.com) Whilst with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 90′s, The Summer House installation (originally installed at The Serpentine, London) rigged outside the old Main House, hosted a variety of international acts during the 2001 season.(SuzannaYork,1st performance Gloomsday be Marianna NaultPortrait of the Artist and A Summer Garden, about the English composers Edward Elgar and Frederick Delius,Summerhouse Shorts(6 new short plays),The Sponteneity Shop,http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/jun/27/3,and many more. The Summer House Productions were created by Jem and legendary sound man Tim McCormick, former Deputy Head of sound at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester(Klark Teknik, RSC,Cowboy Junkies). He performed with Dave Carroll (Steve Gibbons Band) in the award winning 2004 Spanish Season as part of the RSC’s special events team working with Fiona Lindsay (Face to Face at the Arts) and spent time in Madrid jammin with the locals. The acoustic blues jam unit 6 O’clock Shadow was formed in 2003 with Richie Storry and Oli Bigland playing with guest artists such as Greg Hicks (RSC) and Damien Kearney( The Wind that Shakes the Barley). He recorded at Andy Bird’s Darkstone Studios in Warwickshire with Richie and made solo recordings at Windmill Studios, Harbury. The band organised several charity musical events with various members of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2000 – 2005 performing at the Swan Theatre and local venues, their big break came when they clinched a Glastonbury Festival gig (John Peel Stage) in 2007 but he decided to go to Oz for a surf.

He went on to become a freelance theatrical wire rigger for Ragdoll Children’s TV Productions co-designing the rig which flew the Pinkyponk for the award winning In The Night Garden Production working along side cult film director Dirk Campbell (I Bought A Vampire Motorcyle 1990), Tony Wood (Arclight Productions) and Pob.

Taking a break from it all, embarking on the surfing trip to Australia in 2007 which saw the temporary end to 6 O’clock Shdaow ending up in musician/surfing mecca Byron Bay.Byron Theatre manager, Greg Aitken( Byron Bay International Film Festival) invited him to design a set for a production of Karel Čapek’s play The Life of The Insects, which he happily did in exchange for unlimited time playing their Grade D Steinway Grand Piano. It was during the get-in that he first met VASUDHA HARTE, pianist, composer and Musical Director of the show. He was to later discover her songwriting genius and many midnight duets later these two consummate musicians paired up to form a formidable duo playing musique originale in their band DINKUM BOHOS.

Dinkum Bohos have journeyed to the UK (2011) playing various festivals and events (Rhythm Tree Festival IoW, Buddhafield, Watchet, St.Ives,The Beehive Swndon)they released their live CD Sterognostic- live at the Beach Hotel, Byron Bay. He continues to work on his solo projects, gigs/recording with the DB’s, live improvisations with Daevid Allen (Gong, Soft Machine, University of Errors) and Maxwell Volume ( ThirdSky, Homeostasis,Flamedog Records, Byron Bay) in Australia, Speculations for piano with John Thomson (UK),The Wild Zinnias, as well as continuing to forge links with musicians in Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak with Raman Mas (Brunei).