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East Anglia's Leading Rock & Roll Band Jurassic Rock - Previous Years News |
  
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Winter 2009/2010 REUNION 2009 was the 50th anniversary of the opening of Tony's school, Latton Bush, and he was asked by the organisers if he could contact the other members of the Zooids (the band Tony played in whilst at school) to play at the reunion. In the event, he was only able to find Trevor Sharpe (rhythm guitar) and Terry "Tom" Smith (drums). Although they had not played in public for some years, they were both game and, following only one rehearsal, they played a short set with JR's Paul supporting them on bass. The reunion was attended by more than 300 former pupils and was a great success, with JR playing a set for all to dance to at the end of the evening.
GOODBYE TO AN INAUGURAL MEMBER Shortly after the Latton Bush reunion and following heartfelt discussion, Paul Cooper sadly had to leave the band. His ability to connect with the crowd will be missed, but in recent years we have often rehearsed without Paul and we've had to gig without him on occasions, so the transition has been seamless.
BEER FESTIVAL, PLOUGH HUNDON As JR aficionados will know, we only play the occasional non-private gig and we can't remember the last time we played in a pub. However, we made the exception for Tony's local and supported the Plough's beer festival by playing on Easter Friday. It was great to play in such close proximity to the crowd again. The response was rapturous and the landlady described the performance as, "Awesome, f***ing fantastic" and immediately invited us to headline at the next two festivals.
Winter 2008/2009 NOT THE BEST OF YEARS! In November, Tony fell whilst chopping logs and broke a tendon on his left shoulder. The injury was nowhere near as bad as Paul Cooper's and, luckily, he can still play the guitar. However, it is not going to heal on its own and so he is due to have an operation towards the end of February. This rounded off, and just about summed up, what has not been our happiest year. AUREVOIR & BONJOUR Mike Watkin has moved away and the distances involved and the commitments in his new life are too great to continue as a permanent member of Jurassic Rock. Needless to say, we are sad that Mike can't be with us, but he is staying in touch and hopes to make the occasional "guest appearance". Lewis Clark is a talented sound engineer whose experience and ability belie his years. He had been working with Mike to produce the Jurassic Rock sound for about two years. His assumption of the Chief Sound Engineer mantle has been seamless and we have already received many compliments for the quality of our sound whilst Lewis has been in control. Given this, Jurassic Rock will continue to provide sound quality of the highest order. Another talented teenager to join our ranks is Jon Settle. Jon is our drummer, Bob's, son and he is now a regular guitarist and backing singer with the band. Jon's details can be found here. 2009 has started with a bang on the gigs front. In January, we had two memorable gigs - a 60th birthday party and a record breaking dance at Hundon Village Hall. Hundon holds regular dances throughout the year and the usual turnout is about 50 people. On 17th January, Jurassic Rock attracted a crowd of 180! In financial terms, this was the equivalent of about 4 or 5 normal dances, which delighted everyone concerned, except the bar staff (who were run off their feet) and the raffle ticket sellers, who were worried they wouldn't have enough tickets. Such a good time was had by all that the organisers insisted on paying us a bonus and booked Jurassic Rock for New Year's Eve. However, you won't have to wait until then to see Jurassic Rock again, as we are playing there on 16th May. DON'T MISS IT!!
Summer 2008 MICHAEL ANTHONY STEPHENSON
Mike had no formal training, but he was a naturally talented and brilliant drummer. He “felt” each song and knew instinctively how and what to play, which was inspiring for those of us that played with him. Furthermore, his sense of humour, ready smile and infectious laugh made him superb company and popular wherever he went. In addition to his
film star looks (we hated him!), Mike was highly intelligent, attended
grammar school and achieved a university degree. His business career
was meteoric and, as a high flyer, he was repeatedly headhunted by major
companies. However, although Mike took his work seriously, it was his
wife, Tracey, and their three daughters (Lauren 13, Deanna 11 and
Antonia 6) who were most important in his life. This manifested itself
in not only the time and attention he lavished on them, but the extent
to which he became involved with their schools (a
governor) and the local community (a parish councillor and treasurer of
Suffolk Crime Stoppers Board). Mike left Jurassic Rock in 2000 because he was studying and this, together with the demands of his job and the wish to spend time with his family, meant he could not devote to rehearsals the time required to achieve the standard he demanded of himself. However, in recent months he and Tony (together with bass player, Yeti) had formed the blues/rock trio Valhalla. They had been rehearsing for a few months and played their first couple of gigs in the weeks before Mike’s premature death. The loss of Mike is devastating to all those who knew him not only because of the hole he has left in our lives, but because it was so unexpected, cruelly timed and unfair. It was unexpected because, although he had put on some weight recently, Mike was a keen golfer and such an energetic, relentlessly hard-hitting drummer who never got breathless, no one could have guessed he would suffer a fatal heart attack. It was cruelly timed because Mike died two days before he was due to give away the daughter from his first marriage. It was unfair because at 49 he was too young, because he leaves behind a young family and because he was such a good person who had his priorities right and lived life as it should be lived. Mike would be the first to admit that he was not perfect. It was no contest when choosing between mowing the lawn or a round of golf and a planned barbecue would invariably end with Tracey cooking the meal in the oven as Mike was too busy socialising to light the barby, but in all the important issues his priorities were right.
Without Mike, life will be difficult, but Tracey is a strong character and with the help of her own close-knit family and Mike’s family (with whom she is also close), she will pick herself up, continue to make a success of her life and bring up their children in the way Mike would have wanted. Mike will be proud of her, but not surprised at her ability to cope and her success will be a fitting legacy. Furthermore, Lauren intends to continue the family tradition by becoming a drummer, just like her dad. She started some months ago and Mike spoke with pride of her ability, so we are sure she will achieve this ambition. Mike will never be replaced. His eldest daughter refused to allow anyone else to take his place at her wedding and she walked down the aisle on her own. Tony and Yeti will carry on playing, but, without Mike, the new band will have a different personality and cannot continue as Valhalla. A fitting tribute would be to call the new band MSB (Mike Stephenson Band). In this small way, his memory will live on in a sphere he loved and we can continue to honour a fine man who touched us all so deeply. Goodbye, Mike, and thank you for all you have given us.
Winter 2007/2008 BRAVE LITTLE SOLDIER! Paul Cooper, our tambourine player, skis in Italy each year and this year was no different, except in one important respect! Paul was hurtling down a slope in his usual style and, looking over his shoulder to see if the others were still with him, didn't notice a large bump ahead. He hit the bump at full pelt and took off. As is so often the case, he was perfectly all right until the ground got in the way. His shoulder took the full force of his (dare we say, not inconsiderable) weight and he felt some discomfort. During the après ski, the pain was not too bad and he consoled himself with the thought that his shoulder wasn't broken, but decided not to ski for the remaining few days. Shortly after his return home (as his alcohol stream made way for some blood and the anaesthetising effect wore off), Paul felt less comfortable and decided to go to casualty.
Meeting the usual level of apathy
in the accident and emergency department of the local hospital, it took
several hours for him to have an x-ray and for the specialist to
consider it, at which point, all hell broke loose! Paul suddenly
became a priority and he was admitted overnight for an operation first
thing in the morning.
The specialist told Paul he
expected to put his shoulder back into place in about half an hour.
It was, therefore, with some surprise that, as he recovered from the
anaesthetic, Paul realised the view from the window was of the sun
setting! Considering the options, he came to the conclusion that
the operation had taken longer than expected and the heavy bandaging on
his right shoulder did little to alleviate the suspicion. It was later confirmed that the operation had taken 9 times longer than anticipated because, on opening him up, they discovered he had shattered the top of his humerus. This had to be mended with a plate and a pin to provide enough stability for it to be levered back into its correct position in the shoulder. Needless to say, a tricky procedure. We all hope they made a better job inside than on the outside, where the sewing shows a lot to be desired - the puckering on the skin at the bottom of the wound would shame any self-respecting seamstress. Although Paul has very restricted movement until the bone has healed, the prognosis is excellent. We hope and expect the brave little soldier to return to full health within a matter of months. In the meantime, we have bought him a left handed tambourine so that he can continue to fulfil his main role in Jurassic Rock.
Autumn 2007 ATTACKED BY THUGS! This year had been uneventful until we played at a birthday party in Clare Town Hall on 19th October. Over the past year or so, Lewis Clark has helped us with sound engineering. Although only 15 and still at school, Lewis is already studying to become a sound engineer and is already very good. He was in charge of sound at the gig in question. The desk, etc was situated on a balcony at the opposite end of the hall to the stage. It was near the entrance and access to the balcony was via a short staircase by the front door. Lewis has suffered threats and other forms of bullying at school in recent months because some of his contemporaries are jealous of his success and ability. Two of them live in Clare and had heard that Lewis was there. They waited for him on the stairs and, as he was going to the desk for the second set, one of them hit him with a baseball bat. Luckily, Lewis put his arm up to protect his head and so only his arm was hit, but this was very badly bruised. Lewis backed off down the stairs and the boys ran away. Lewis bravely carried on and didn't make a special effort to tell anyone, only doing so when the first opportunity arrived. We then placed a burly friend on the balcony with Lewis in the hope the thugs would return. They would have been more than a little surprised to find Lewis so well protected, but, like all bullies, they are cowards and stayed away. I am pleased to report that Lewis will recover from his injuries and that the police have caught the culprits. One of them has admitted his involvement (in fact, he "shopped" his "friend" who actually hit Lewis) and we expect them to feel the full force of the law - our only hope that their punishment is consistent with their crime and that our faith is, at least to some extent, renewed in the justice system. UPDATE: Lewis's mum reported the incident to the headmaster of the school that both Lewis and his two attackers attend. Although previous bullying incidents had been reported to him and he had said the boy would be expelled if this was repeated, he refused to take any action saying that it was outside his jurisdiction as the incident occurred off school premises. He didn't even have the courtesy to speak to Lewis although Lewis did discuss it with his year teacher, who agreed with the headmaster adding that they were all out of school uniform at the time. (What difference does that make? If you are hit with a baseball bat, it hurts just as much whatever the attacker is wearing!) To add insult to injury, the police decided not to prosecute, but to give a formal warning instead. This is in spite of the fact that the perpetrator was known to them for violent and antisocial behaviour. Although Lewis does not see his attackers often, they continue to act in a threatening manner whenever their paths cross. So what lessons can any youngster take from this incident: 1. You cannot rely on the authorities as they will not take any effective action to prevent serious acts of aggression. 2. There are no serious sanctions against anyone that inflicts serious bodily harm on another person. 3. Given 1 and 2 above, the only way of preventing someone from hurting you is to ensure you hurt them first. Is it any wonder that acts of violence are increasing?
Summer 2007 GIGS TO DATE This year has seen the usual mix of parties, weddings and other functions. There have been some "really interesting" gigs with some unusual reactions. Most unusual was at a recent wedding when we were actually asked to play louder! We had adopted our usual restraint in recognition of the range of tastes and ages at this sort of function, but the "happy couple" wanted the interval music to be played at disco volumes, which made us sound quiet when we came back, so we accommodated by turning up!
The most enjoyable gig was at
the Taste of China in Sturmer. This is an excellent venue
and was ideal for the dinner/dance to raise funds for a local primary
school. The crowd were great and Lin, who organised everything to
perfection, made us feel welcome and looked after us very well. PUBLIC GIG Our next public gig will be at the Green Man in Chelmsford. This is a sort of leaving party for the present manager and so it will be a really good do. Anyone interested in coming should contact us for details.
Spring 2007 ON TOP OF THE WORLD! We put some of our songs on "No 1", a site dedicated to promoting all types of music. Of over 40,000 songs, Bring It On Home reached number 150 and Walking In Memphis number 298 - a very creditable performance given that they were not promoted at all and just depended upon browsers finding us and then playing the songs. We also received some very nice comments, such as: "Bring it on home is in my opinion one of the greatest tunes ever written"
"hope
you're coming with a "I hope to catch you out on tour sometime."
"Be
sure to come around west
"...one
of the best songs ive ever heard"; "Great
tunes...looking fward 2 new stuff!". QUIET START 2007started quietly with fewer bookings and enquiries than previous years. Bookings will come for later in the year, but, in the meantime, we are using the time to consolidate the new equipment and to lay down some recordings. This is a slow process as we can't all be in the studio, but we hope to issue some really good tracks later in the year.
December 2006 GREAT GIG The outstanding feature this month was the gig at Thurlow. We had been asked to play at the estate party for the staff of the Vestey Estate following Tony's daughter's wedding when someone had heard us and suggested to the organiser that Jurassic Rock would be a good band to have. We were delighted to accept as Thurlow Barn is a superb venue, but the organisers had trouble with the caterers and it looked as though it was going to be called off until Tony put them in touch with The Moveable Feast, the caterers he had used for the wedding. The Moveable Feast came up trumps - it was a Friday evening, which is not too popular, so they were able to step into the breach at short notice. When we got there, we were surprised that the stage had been erected across one side of the barn instead of at the end as it had been at the wedding (which left us with much less room to set up, meant that we were very close to the crowd and there was a whole section at one end of the barn that was unused). However, we were able to fit into the space provided and complete the sound checks before the guests arrived. The evening was an unqualified success. We were treated royally with the same four-course meal as the guests and all the drink we wanted, including wine at the table. The speeches went on for some time and so we didn't start playing until 9.45, but the crowd was in "very good humour" by then and the dance floor filled as we played the first few chords of the opening song and stayed that way until we stopped at 12.15! Two and a half hours playing non-stop was pretty exhausting, but we had a really good time and everyone enjoyed themselves; so much so that we received a very nice thank you note - better than being paid (well, nearly).
November 2006 UPGRADE Not an awful lot to report this month except that we have completed the upgrade of our public address (P.A.) system. As before, we can cater for venues of all sizes from the most small and intimate to the largest hall or aircraft hanger. The equipment we have ensures that the sound is of the highest quality whatever the venue. Full details can be found here. If you would like to know more, please get in touch.
October 2006 SOUND ENGINEERS Isn't it strange the way things go? All this year and last the vast majority of our enquiries, and gigs that have come from them, have been for weddings, birthday parties and other private functions. This month the majority of our enquiries have been for us to provide sound, light equipment and engineers. We have covered everything from outdoor theatre, through art exhibitions to a full band P.A. and lighting. Obviously, our priority is play ourselves, but we will always help whenever there is no conflict with a Jurassic Rock gig. PUBLIC GIG As indicated above, most gigs this year have been for private functions, but we are delighted to say that this month we are playing a public gig at The British Sugar Social Club in Bury St Edmunds. Tickets are only £5 - please get in touch with Tony to let him know how many you want or for any further information, including directions. We are looking forward to seeing some old friends! ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER Following Tony's daughter's wedding (see last month's news for details), we were asked to play at the same venue for The Thurlow Estate's Annual Dance. Unfortunately, the original date had to be cancelled because they were let down by the caterers and they were finding it difficult to arrange another time for the same reason. When they told us, we were able to put them in touch with The Moveable Feast (the caterers that put on such a splendid feast at the wedding) and it now looks as though they are going to save the day. It's a small world, isn't it?
September 2006 GIG OF THE MONTH!
The arrangement of the song had proved difficult as all the recorded versions rely heavily on orchestral and choir backing, which is impossible for a four-piece band to emulate. It was, therefore, decided that it would be foolish to copy anything that had gone before and so we came up with a completely new, Jurassic Rock arrangement, which is much simplified and with a totally new introduction and instrumental solo. This proved to be a complete success and the song is now part of the Jurassic Rock play list.
UPGRADE It has been decided to upgrade the Band's main PA system. The old Peavey system has stood us in good stead for the last few years, but we feel that the more modern systems with their much more efficient (not to mention much lighter!) speakers will improve the Jurassic Rock sound even further. The old system is now for sale (contact us if you are interested) and will be replaced with new, super efficient RCF front of house and stage monitors together with a top of the range Mackie mixing consul. Details of these will be posted in the relevant gear pages once we have them. PUBLIC GIG Tickets for the public gig scheduled for 25th November at the British Sugar Social Club will be on sale shortly at £5 each. Anyone interested should contact us.
August 2006 SOUND ENGINEERS To keep them out of trouble when not gigging, Mike and Tony provide light and sound systems for local bands, theatre groups, etc. Each summer they provide the sound and light for an open air production of a Shakespeare play by an offshoot of the Haverhill Theatre Company, Outspoken Theatre. They were invited to do so again for this year's production, The Merchant of Venice, and things went as they have in all the previous years: it rained! However, there was one change in that there was a new member of the team. A local boy, Lewis Clark, intends to become a sound engineer and he asked if he could come along. Much to everyone's surprise, he proved to be a real asset and from the very first performance worked the sound desk with a maturity and confidence that belied his 14 years. He has since been to a couple of Jurassic Rock rehearsals and has shown that he not only has an understanding and aptitude for the work, but has a real feel for it too. We don't doubt that Lewis will engineer a few gigs - look out Mike, there's someone after your job!
July 2006 SELFISH NEIGHBOURS & STUPID COUNCILS We played a gig this month at Wickham Bishops, which is near Braintree, Essex. It was in the village hall, an absolutely superb building, which is better appointed and has more facilities than many town halls and it was built quite recently with funds raised by the villagers. Some of the funding came from selling part of the playing fields for development - so far, so good. New houses were built and they were bought by people who were perfectly well aware at the time of purchase that their new houses were situated near to the building where all the village's social events would take place and I don't doubt that this was reflected in the price paid. Not content with this, the householders decided to complain about the noise and, instead of dismissing them as sour-faced kill-joys that should have known what to expect when they bought the houses, the local council upheld their complaint. A noise limiter has now been installed and this is set at a level that makes it very difficult to play any sort of live music other than totally acoustic folk. Even this would not be so bad, but these noise limiters (which shut off the power to the stage if the pre-set limit is exceeded for about three seconds) are not perfect as they (like hearing aids) are more sensitive to certain frequencies than others and also respond to resonances within the building. As a consequence, they may well exceed the limit during what everyone would consider to be a quiet song, but not when things actually get louder. The upshot of this is that we spend all our time looking at the visual indicator (a series of bulbs that light progressively as the sound increases, turning from green to red as the limit is approached) and not on playing and singing. This spoils the evening for us and the people who are there to enjoy themselves. Not content with having had a limiter installed, one of the neighbours kept coming across and complaining, which just adds insult to injury. How can they possibly complain further when we are already working within the limits they have set? Furthermore, the hall is in the middle of the building and is flanked on all sides by other rooms, so it is totally insulated from the outside. We sent someone outside whilst we were playing and they said that the sound was barely audible. I can understand that loud music night after night would be intolerable, but, as we discovered, the hall is well sound-proofed. It is also multi-purpose and only used occasionally for functions involving loud music. Setting a reasonable time for the music to stop would be perfectly acceptable, but people who move into the village and then go out of their way to prevent the original members of the community from using properly a facility they have spent many hours planning, raising funds for and building, are sour-faced kill-joys.
A GIG FOR ALL COMERS As many of you will know, most of our gigs are private functions, so there is no point in providing details here on the site. However, on 25th November we are playing at the British Sugar Social Club in Bury St Edmunds and I understand that all are welcome. Further details will be posted nearer the time. In the meantime, please make a note in your diaries. June 2006 STEWART SAMPLE
Stewart was one of the fathers that played at the famous gig at Stoke College (see here). Although he was never a member of Jurassic Rock, Stewart made an important contribution in the formative years as he played in a number of the band's early incarnations. A naturally talented guitarist, Stewart had a superb sense of rhythm and, although his rather bizarre musical experiments were a source of exasperation at some rehearsals, he was always rock solid and dependable during performances. Intelligent, articulate and occasionally controversial, Stewart had lived in East Anglia for many years, but remained proud of his roots and retained much of his North East accent. An accomplished and highly qualified builder, part of his legacy will be the alterations, extensions and new houses that were built by his company, Sample Construction Ltd. Faced with a number of business setbacks, Stewart earned the respect of his friends and colleagues alike for his resilience in the face of adversity and his capacity for hard work as he strived successfully to maintain his family's standard of living by working long hours when many would have found the going too tough and just given up. It is, therefore, especially sad that illness prevented him from maintaining quite the same high standards in recent years. One of life's characters that will be greatly missed, Stewart leaves behind a wife and two children, both young adults. A close family, there is no doubt that they will support one another during this distressing and difficult time and our thoughts and good wishes are with them.
ROCKING ON On a much happier note, we are pleased to report that Jurassic Rock is an international phenomenon! Far from being extinct, or even an endangered species, recent discoveries in Germany and Texas, U.S.A. suggest that this particular dinosaur is making a comeback. There is an indication that there may be a sub-species in France, but our lack of success in establishing communication suggests that this branch may have died out. Adaptation to local conditions has brought about the inevitable regional variation (it seems that some even have keyboard players!), but similarities in repertoires, line-ups and, in particular, age prove beyond doubt that Jurassic Rockers contacted so far are the same species as the English variant. The search for more examples continues in the far reaches of the planet and we will let you know if this meets with any success. In the meantime, links to the presently known varieties can be found here. May 2006 The big news this month must be the appearance (finally) of the web site. We've been discussing it for a number of years and have owned the domain names for so long that they have had to be renewed several times. A basic design was agreed a few months ago and the final product is very close to the plan. So, here it is and although there are some band members who still haven't produced their profiles, we have managed to complete phase 1 (the basic site without frills) and phase 2 (additional material and enhanced presentation) in pretty quick time; which is the stage it's at as this is being written. The site will continue to develop with further enhancements to the presentation, increasing the links and adding more features. The most interesting gig this month was on 10th May at the Man on the Moon in Cambridge. A stripped-down version of Jurassic Rock (affectionately known as Jurassic Pebble), comprising Bob, Paul E. and Tony, had an unusual, if not unique, experience in a number of ways. Firstly, the venue had its own P.A. and so for the first time, as far any of us can remember, we were able to turn up with just our guitars, amps and drums. This not only meant that the setting up time was reduced from 2 hours to about 20 minutes, but the gear fitted into the backs of our cars, so we didn't need the trailer. Secondly, we were just part of the evening's entertainment as there were two other bands, Lock Up Cycling Club and Delphi, both of which play their own, original numbers. Finally, we were given a 45 minute slot and deciding what to leave out proved to be quite difficult, given that the normal gig is 3 or 4 hours! Although the crowd was smaller than anticipated by the organizer, they were very lively and appreciative. A great time was had by all and the evening raised valuable funds for Crohn's disease sufferers. Gigs for the coming months are largely parties and weddings, but we are booked to play at the British Sugar Club in Bury St Edmunds on the 25th November and there again on 10th March next year in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Both these events are open to the general public and we'll let you have details in plenty of time. |
It
is with unspeakable sadness that we report the sudden and unexpected
death of Mike Stephenson, one of Jurassic Rock’s founder
members. Mike was Tony’s brother-in-law and when the Band decided to
organise properly with a regular line-up, Mike was invited to join as
the drummer. 
Whenever
anyone dies, we hear how good they were. So much so that we might
wonder what happens to all the unpleasant people we meet or take the
view that each obituary writer is issued with a pair of rose-coloured
spectacles. On this occasion, with perfect vision and without the
need for tinted glasses, we can honestly say that amongst all the imposters,
Mike Stephenson was the genuine article. 
Without a doubt, the gig of the month was Tony's
daughter's wedding. After much planning and praying for good
weather, the day
arrived and 30th September came up trumps. The
weather couldn't have been kinder and everything fell into place
perfectly. We even learned a new song especially for the occasion
as "Georgia On My Mind" was particularly pertinent as it is the
happy couple's daughter's name. As she was only 18 months old, it
is unlikely that it meant anything to her at the time and she probably
won't remember it, but it meant something special to Katie & Rob and all
three performed the first dance of the evening together, much to the
delight of the 120 or so guests.
It is with great sadness that we
report the death of our friend, Stewart Sample. Although he had
suffered illness for the past few years, Stewart's death was,
nevertheless, sudden and tragic and a great shock to all of us that knew
him.