Invasion of the Goyles Part 1

Aloha ladies and gentlemen, here's the first tour update from the Goyles on the East Coast. We have had a BRILLIANT first five nights. :) We've hopped about all over Boston and Hartford, dragging bags between an amusingly "sketchy" (translation: "dodgy") hostel in Everett near Boston, the YMCA in Greater Boston, Boston College, Harvard University, and the very interesting Mark Twain Hostel here at Hartford.

So far we've performed and partied with The Bostonians, On The Rocks, The Veritones and The Din and Tonics! Thanks to everyone for giving us such a great time, and for the brilliant (and sometimes hilarious) performances. We've discovered that doing gigs in American colleges is really fun, because in this country a-capella is a raging PHENOMENON rather than a slightly inexplicable quirk. At our very first gig in the US (at Boston College) - we got a standing ovation from the entire audience. Score. Admittedly this is at least partly because of general American appreciation for the English accent.

Busking with On the Rocks @ Copley Square

We've done some busking at various places in Boston- including Quincey Market and Copley Square. Our fan base is getting pretty eclectic, an enthusiastic hobo and some skaters have now joined the ranks. We've also been asked to sing Happy Birthday quite a few times now, initially this was fun but it gets a little irritating after a point.

On the 27th we sang at the restaurant Gargoyles on the Square in Cambridge, just outside of Boston. First, however, we were fed a heavenly three-course meal after which we were slightly worried that we'd have to burp our way through "A Stolen Moment of Scat", but we did manage to sing. Our audience was very appreciative and bought us lots of drinks, which we appreciated right back.

At Gargoyles on the Square post-gig and post-sumptuous meal

Yesterday and today we've been at Hartford, Connecticut, doing workshops at Hall High School with a lot of the music classes and also the a capella groups "Acafellas" and the amazing "Choraliers". We sang a few songs for the classes, heard them sing, and worked on some jazz improvisation exercises with the classes. There was a lot of talent to be heard :) It was pretty inspiring to see sixteen year olds scatting effortlessly...and they were all very enthusiastic about music, jazz, singing, and life in general it seemed...probably helps that they all spend an hour every day doing music - as scheduled lesson time rather than after classes. What a life. The Gargoyles are planning to send any future offspring to Hall High School, no matter how long the commute is from England.

Last night was another really fun night- we went for dinner at Black Eyed Sally's, a jazz club at Hartford. We listened to some quality jazz- the Harford Jazz society had organised for a few students of the music college and some professors to play, including the famous Nat Reeves. Unexpectedly, we were asked to sing a few songs later in the night (again, impressive that we managed this after eating Quite. A. Lot.). Turns out we've now been mentioned in The Hartford Courant, which is quite nice. :)

Singing at Black Eyed Sally's

We've had a great time so far, thanks to all the lovely people who have helped us out. Thank you to the Bostonians and the Veritones for giving us a place to crash, and to Jarek and Malgorzata at Hartford for the delicious home cooked meals (as you can probably tell, the way to a Gargoyle's heart is through its stomach) ...and last but not least to Grace and David at the Mark Twain Hostel for being one of the best audiences we've ever had for "My Baby Just Cares.."

Gargoyles pose with Grace & David

Off to The Big Apple tomorrow. Adieu for now.

xxx