THE MUSIC PLAYERS
MYKE BARRITT MUSIC TRUST 2010 XMAS BASH THE FOLKS HAVING MUSICAL FUN
ABOUT MYKE AND WHY SET UP A TRUST IN HIS NAME?
Myke Barritt was without a doubt a Legend of the music scene around Rotherham and Sheffield.
From his early days in Sheffield at The Grapes, to the Harlequin, The Clifton, The Play On Club, or The Rotherham Rugby Club and The Bridge,
If Myke wasn’t in residence there was a sense that something had to be wrong.
The Bands and artists Myke was associated with are almost too numerous to list, but
the key line-
Perhaps it’s no accident that Myke ended up as a Masher, for if an example of his lack of musical snobbery and genuine nice guy personality was needed his association with Dickie stands out.
Together they took the name of The Rawmarsh Mashers out and about from the early days at The Rotherham Rugby Club, to Clubs and venues throughout the Northern Region and a few places down South as well. In so doing The Mashers went from pure comedy through a slash punk/folk phase to a light political slash folk rep. providing an overall mix that was challenging and entertaining and were really quite good in the last twelve months.
I use The Rawmarsh Mashers as an example because it demonstrates the dedication of Myke to “music”, any music, and to helping others get the most from their limited talents, which Dickie Masher will be only too happy to testify to.
If music was involved you could rely on Myke, sometimes the man would juggle two or three rehearsals with a full on Gig in one day, using public transport and his two legs to get himself across Sheffield and Rotherham.
Few people realised that towards the end of his life Myke’s eyesight had seriously deteriorated and that in reality he could hardly see in front of his face – it meant that while he would religiously write chord notations down for songs the reality was that he was working completely to ear. Sometimes he would secretly and quietly practice away to himself in his kitchen. The results of his hard work always adding something extra to the music he played or shared.
I’ve seen Myke explaining chord progressions to anyone who cares to listen along with his reasons as to why DADGAD tuning rated zero on his scale. I’ve seen Myke provide personal tuition to musicians who were struggling and provide quite positive encouragement and suggest ways in which they could improve their skills.
And his patience? I’ve seen him trying very hard to help someone who was a natural left hander but had taught themselves on a right hand Instrument upside down, if you can imagine that?, a real nightmare to us mortals, but Myke found a way to first understand what the musician was doing and provide the help being sought.
And then Myke was an entertainer. Music was, he believed, to be enjoyed, and if it was to be valid needed to be heard by the widest possible audience. The key to getting it to people is entertainment. As a Masher, Myke used all his entertainment skills to the full – he knew just the right moves to make the music come to life for an audience.
So here was a musician truly of the people, someone who dedicated their life to creating and playing music.
But if you were not part of the local Rotherham / Sheffield music scene you probably never heard of Myke Barritt, despite his legendary status around the Clubs.
Throughout his life Myke never outwardly sought or courted publicity. That’s not to say that he didn’t want his work recognised, believe me he did, but he let his music do the talking, and even when compliments came his way would often become embarrassed. He enjoyed the respect of others, he even wanted fame and often talked about the Caravan Home that The Mashers would one day have to drive from one Festival to another – that would have been his chosen life style – once The Mashers’ fame had been firmly established.
So what more fitting way to recognise the life of Myke than by creating a fund from which we can perhaps emulate all the work that Myke undertook throughout his life.
The basic aim of the Trust is to encourage live music and musicians within the Rotherham and Sheffield area as Myke did throughout his life. This might involve providing funds to help the various Sessions advertise and promote themselves, or contribute towards an instrument especially for a young enthusiastic person, or even an older enthusiastic performer, or help towards the cost of more formal music training in singing, stage craft or guitar.
Like Myke, there are no firm rules, the cause simply has to be musical and if the funds are available then they will be used to help.
Details of how to apply for a small Grant of Contribution etc. will be made available at a later date as we do not envisage beginning the work of the Trust until 2011.
There is of course one side of Myke’s life that has to be recognised, and that is his creative side. Myke was a prolific song writer and had written an unperformed Folk Opera. Many of the songs he performed at various solo spots at Clubs and sessions whenever he got the chance. Shy as ever, he would never tell people about the origin of the song or write it off as having been written by someone unknown.
The Trust will therefore be sponsoring an Annual Song Contest open to anyone in the Rotherham / Sheffield area.
The only rule will be that the song should be completely original, and should be able to be performed live in front of an audience.
The contest is open to writers from all genres of music, from the classics to Punk.
All the finalists will be invited to perform at what we hope will become the Annual Myke’s Birthday Bash Event. The first one featuring the Song Writing Contest being 27th July 2011.
The winner will receive a small cash prize and all the finalists will have their song featured on a CD.
So exciting times ahead.
But first the Trust needs to raise some Funds. How is this to be done?
1. Myke was not a fan of cut flowers – he preferred to see flowers where they should be, in the garden or the wild. Therefore we are asking people who may have offered flowers at his Funeral to donate to the Myke Barritt Music Trust fund. There will be a collecting box in the crematorium.
You can also donate on-
2. We hope to take further Donations at Myke’s Birthday Bash on 27th July 2010 when besides line ups from all Myke’s Bands other top acoustic acts from the Region will be appearing. More details about this soon.
3. Myke was a great collector of things. Comics, LPs, Cassette Tapes, Model Trains to sub head just a few of his interests. These will be sold off in various ways to provide the maximum return for the Myke Barritt Music Trust.
4. We will be drawing together a compilation of Myke’s recorded material and selling it as a CD and MP3 download.
5. The cult Rhiannon LP, ’The Birds of Rhiannon’ has now been digitalised. We’ll be releasing this to buy as an MP3 Download.
6. Toein’ In The Dark have also donated the down load income for their CD “Such a Long Way Back Home” to the Trust.
Both Cds are available on the Merchandise page.
7. And we’ll be looking to raise funds by other means too.
What you can be assured of is that every penny of profit will go to the Fund and will be used to encourage and develop live music in the Rotherham and Sheffield area.
We hope that you will feel that this is a worthwhile project and one worthy of Myke’s Memory, and feel able to provide your support in any way that you can.
Donations can be made by cash to: Phoebe, Jane, Sylvia or Dickie Masher
or online by secure Credit Card Payment via the button below: Please note the PayPal is all connected up to The Rawmarsh Mashers Account.
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THE WANDERING MINSTRELS FOLK CLUB
THE WANDERING MINSTREL FOLK CLUB IS A LOOSE ASSOCIATION OF MUSICIANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE THE MYKE BARRITT MUSIC TRUST WHO TRAVEL THE FOLK CLUBS AND PUBS OF SOUTH YORKSHIRE TAKING THEIR MUSIC TO ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN.
IT’S ALWAYS GREAT FUN
IF YOUR CLUB IS FEELING LEFT OUT THEN CONTACT PHOEBE -
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