WHO RUN BARTER TOWN?

This morning I asked for help from my good friend Lorne MacDougall. He happily obliged, of course he is a generous soul. We messaged back and forward for a bit, after a while he replied …..‘ here is how you will repay me……’ He sent me a picture of a guitar and asked if I would teach him to accompany ‘the Famous Batavian’ in DADGAD. Now, I’m assuming this is the Gordon Duncan tune that he’s talking about but it could well be an Indonesian slide?!?! Anyway, the combination of cutting a deal with Lorne, the sound of running water from the bathroom and the impending downfall of humanity made me think……….”WHO RUN BARTER TOWN?………..WHO…..RUN………BARTER ……..T…O….W……N?????”………..Well, we do! I think it’s a great way to support each other and our community. Trade skills, share abilities, help each other out with all things new and alien, swap skills!! We should be able to trade with each other. Just like in Mad Max or Waterworld, just without all of the cool shit and explosions. This morning Lorne helped me with my Sibelius crisis, so I’ll help him learn the accompaniment to his favourite Indonesian folk tune. While there is no certainty of when we’ll get back to work and be able to start earning money again, why don’t we try and create our very own BARTER TOWN ?………again without all the cool shit, violence and explosions!

Where we’re going………we don’t need no money!!!!!!!

Just a wee thought for the day! Peace out people of Earth and mind yon Zombies! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️😈

Love From the Bunker! LIVE STREAMING and other things to before you die! 😈

Hello People of this now stranger planet.

I tried making a video to let you know what was happening but I’m shite at it. I know we have a lot of time on our hands now but it was getting ridiculous how many takes I was up to. So…….here it is. Regarding Live Streaming concerts, there are a few things to mention. The first thing is that we are waiting for a piece of equipment to arrive that will allow us to do this well. I know folk are streaming things on phones and laptops etc, which is cool and I love that everyone has become more resourceful than ever, but I have an idea in mind and I really want to do this as best I can. I feel like if I’m going to charge people for something, it has to be worth it. So that’s the first thing……….

I had initially wanted this to be a project in which everyone was an equal. We would all be providing a platform to help each other. I want to create a good quality concert series and be able to split the money evenly so that everyone has a bit of income whilst we’re all out of a job. I had planned to do our first Live Stream this Friday but it’s had to be postponed for a wee while. Which brings me to my 2nd thought …………people’s safety. A few musicians that I had asked to be involved have either just flown back from another country or, are at a higher risk of becoming ill. Given that this is the case I’m having to rethink the idea of bringing people together in the same place. My partner is pregnant too so her safety and the babies safety is the most important thing right now. The situation is obviously becoming more severe by the day and it will only get worse before it gets better. The fact that we’re heading towards a potential lockdown situation could mean that streaming gigs may not be possible. Regardless of this, myself and Chris are continuing to make plans and better understand how we do it. So we’re aiming towards having it up and running in the next wee while, but not at the expense of people’s health and safety. If we have to remain in our houses for a while then I may only be able to do a few live gigs things with Fiona……never really done a gig with her before so that could be worth a pound or two! I’ll also try and create tutorial videos and other stuff to begin with. So, we aren’t at a standstill, we’re still going to be creating, we’re just proceeding with caution! I’ll keep you updated with where things are at. You’ll all know as soon as we’re going to go live!

I’m also currently putting together a book of my tunes. It will contain 40 tunes. It’ll contain a mixture of tunes that have been recorded by bands such as Treacherous Orchestra, Old Blind Dogs, Kinnaris Quintet, Symbiosis ……….and some that you’ve never heard. This will be ready for pre sale in the coming days. The book will be ready in a few weeks.

I’m also currently setting up a Patreon page. I’ll announce that as soon as it’s good to go.

So, last but not least………stay safe, don’t panic, make sensible decisions, manage you’re anxiety and stay put while this washes away. Find things to do in the house you’ve been meaning to do forever, take up that hobby you keep going on about, READ – cause reading is good for our brains, talk to folk on the phone like you used to do, create, write, paint, dance, spend quality time with those that you love the most……..look after each other.

Love to you all. Peace out!! ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

SYMBIOSIS TOUR – FEB/MARCH 2020

Hello lovely people. It’s been a while since I posted anything up in here. There is news to come but at the minute I’m here to provide you with links to tickets for our upcoming tour. It would be amazing to see you all along the way. Here’s where you can grab your tickets………..❤️

29th February : Belper – SOLD OOT

6th March : Milngavie Folk Club – http://tickets.jmsconcerts.co.uk/241-ross-ainslie-and-ali-hutton-baljaffray-parish-church-bearsden-6th-march-2020-730pm.html

9th March : Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh – http://www.soundhouse.org.uk/events/ross-alis-symbiosis/

14th March : Glassel Hall – SOLD OOT

15th March : One Touch Theatre, Eden Court – https://eden-court.co.uk/event/ross-ainslie-ali-huttons-symbiosis

21st March : Ceilidh Place, Ullapool – https://www.theceilidhplace.com/whats-on/gigs.html

28th March : Tolbooth, Stirling – https://stirlingevents.org/tolbooth-event/ross-ainslie-ali-hutton/

Doing it all over again!!

Morning Creatures of the Multiverse! I passed comment in the old Twittersphere saying that I would try and make some blogs and keep a track of my tour life. I say MY tour life cause I want it to be a reflection of the stuff that we don’t see on Instagram. The stuff that makes folk think that touring is a fucking breeze and it’s ALL the Guid stuff, ALL the time. I want to try share the ups and downs and the reality of growing up through this journey and the changes that occur as you get older. So, I will be making an effort to post the bad as well as the good because now a days there is a fair share of both. As, you get older there are many more things that make you want to gravitate towards home, this making touring overseas for long periods of time, a lot harder. It’s a lot different to what it was when I was in my 20’s, when the whole world was a playground and you just wanted as much of it as you could possibly consume. YES to everything and then some……..fuck it, top me up again!!!!! This is a mind set, (if it ever was a mind set, I think probably more mindLESS), that I can’t keep up with anymore. It’s not a way of life that I can live by anymore. In all honesty, I have been struggling with my head for a while now and being on tour is not the easiest environment in which to preserve it’s fragility. As of late, I’ve been struggling with finding my own head space, personal relationships, anxiety, self doubt etc. Now I know, I’m not alone. I AM NOT the only one who struggles and my STUFF is not bigger, badder or more important than others. I personally feel that this realisation is an important step towards helping yourself and others find a way through the tough bits of life. Be CONSIDERATE of others and their feelings. Anyway…….ain’t gonna go on any rants. RANTS don’t help! PRACTICE helps…….DOING helps!!!!!!

So……….I’m gonna share my thoughts and practices along the way. Perhaps they will be of use to someone, perhaps they will be idle musings. The practice of writing this stuff down and keeping track of how you are and how you are with others will help carve out a more positive way forward.

Day 1 – I am about to embark on some physical assertion. I’ll push myself to do some form of exercise every day of this tour. Physical exercise is something that contributes to good mental health. It’s a way of allowing yourself to be removed from the ‘groundhog day’ aspect of touring. Get out, explore, clear your head. You WILL be inspired by your surroundings. Go out and see things that you don’t get to see everyday. Soak in the beauty of your surroundings. Why not drag your band mates with you?!?? Having elements within your relationships that doesn’t just revolve around drinking and ‘the gig’ will help forge stronger bonds and therefore make living together 24/7, for a month, a lot easier!!!

As I write this I am, in my head, talking myself in and out of going for a run. Moving forward is defeating the thoughts that stop you from changing your ways.

JUST DAE IT ✔️

Mair tae come…………..

Peace oot! X

OBD US TOUR – Doggin’ in the USA

Yo peeps. Myself and the Mighty Mutts are out on tour in the US. We’re out on the west coast for 2 weeks. Here’s a link to dates so you can see if we’re in yer hood. Come along, bring pals, dance, sing, howl……aw’thing goes!!! https://www.oldblinddogs.co.uk/tour-dates

We’ve got a new piece of merch for this tour. Nice, new YELLOW T Shirts showcasing our brand new band logo. Worth coming out just get one of these sexy numbers!

Hopefully see yis along the way!! ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿😈

Altar and Salter

Our new project ‘From The Ground’ is now out in the world!! We’ve had some very talented friends help us bring this into the light. One of these multi talented pals is Drummer and multi media guru, Paul Jennings. Paul plays drums on the track, ‘The Beautiful Cold’ and also took our photos. We headed out to one of my favourite weird places, St Peters Seminary. We were originally only interested in shooting in the grounds surrounding the seminary, however as soon Paul saw inside there was no holding back. He took some amazing pics. Here’s a few……

You can check out Paul’s photos here ➡️ https://pauljennings.co

Insta – pauljenningsfilm

Twitter – @jenningsfilm

You can buy our new sounds over on Bandcamp – https://fromtheground.bandcamp.com/releases

FROM THE GROUND 3P R3L3AS3

We’re proud to announce that today our new project was born into the world! Myself and Laura Beth have been chipping away at this for a good few years now. This EP represents where our music began and where it’s heading. This is a stage in the development towards creating our own sound. You can check us out on our NEW website…..https://fromtheground438900872.wordpress.com

Or over on Facebook……..https://m.facebook.com/FromTheGround2/?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fv2.3%2Fplugins%2Fpage.php

Or Instagram – fromthegroundband

Or Twitter – @From_The_Ground

EP AVAILABLE AT https://fromtheground.bandcamp.com/releases

GETTING OOT THE HOOSE………🌳😈

The days in to days out ratio is about to be flipped on its arse…….Gigs are beginning to happen which is usually the sign of a seasonal change…….unlike our weather system these days. In a world that seems to be tilting in the wrong direction, I encourage you all to get out more, support things you believe in, whether it be political, social, musical etc. We are all guilty of supporting things through the medium of our thumbs, hiding behind a phone screen. Put your thumbs in a drawer along with your barriers, reluctancies and your poorly folded underwear and get out. Help tip the balance back in favour of all the good in the world. So………I was letting you know about gigs……….Here’s a few!

23rd May – Gary Innes Band in Taynuilt🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

8th June – Old Blind Dogs at Eden Festival🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

15th June – Old Blind Dogs for Independence Day, Isle of Eigg 👽🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

21st June – 7th July – Old Blind Dogs in a State – US TOUR 🇺🇸

Here’s a link to the OBD gig page ……https://www.oldblinddogs.co.uk/tour-dates

If we come down to your woods today, be sure and bring us a nice surprise eh!! 🤟🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

FROM THE GROUND

New project coming your way soon…….

This is a project that I share with the immensely talented Laura Beth Salter. It’s been in the making for too many years now and is finally making its way into the light!! We will be releasing some music very soon so keep your eyes and ears wide open…….

FOLLOW us over on INSTAGRAM @fromthegroundband

TWITTER @From_The_Ground

PEACE, LOVE and A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING x

Photo by Paul Jennings

Traditional Music Forum Blog

I wrote a blog recently for the Traditional Music Forum. I found it quite difficult to come up with something to write about. I didn’t really want to shout about what I’ve been up to, or what I’ve not been up to. However, I stumbled upon something that propelled me to write about being inspired. Give it a wee read if your interested, if not then carry on with your day, no worries! Big thanks to Tina Jordan Reed for asking me to do this!!

I’m gonna follow this up with a new series of blogs/posts. More of a compass…….a bit like top trumps….but also not like top trumps. I’ll not give it away at the minute as I need to construct the idea properly. Keep yer eyes peeled!! Slainte!!

#Repost @tradmusicforum with @get_repost

・・・

❗️ANOTHER NEW BLOG ❗️

✨ BE INSPIRED – by @alihuttonpipes ✨

https://bit.ly/2BEsyca (Link in bio)

“We are so lucky to live in Scotland and to be submerged in a scene of such rich tradition, culture and talent. We are, on a daily basis, surrounded by inspiring people. We really don’t have to look far!!”

Read about what and who inspires piper/whistler/guitarist, Ali Hutton (Treacherous Orchestra, Ross & Ali, Old Blind Dogs) in his blog.

#TMFBlog #BeInspired #AliHutton