Alabama 3 Sell Out The Lemon Tree Once Again

 Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion  No Responses »
May 052017
 

Alabama 3 perform another sell out gig at The Lemon Tree. Craig Chisholm reviews.

Many casual music fans may not know much about Alabama 3 apart from ‘Woke Up This Morning’, their theme tune to iconic TV series The Sopranos or from seeing their name on numerous festivals bills, from Rockness to Wizard and Belladrum to T in The Park, but for their die-hard fanbase they provide a near religious fervour which was evident in their performance at The Lemon Tree.

The band provided the sell-out crowd an entertaining 17 song set in support of their latest album, the minimalistically titled ‘Blues’.

But blues doesn’t even scratch the surface of the bands musical style – gospel, country, acid house, spoken word, rock and electronica are some of the genres that they touch upon over their 21 year, 12 album career.

The 9 piece band are a joy to watch in full flow. At the back of the stage, drums are handled by LB Dope, sequencing and effects by Wizard, bass and guitar by Rock Freebase, harmonica by Harpo Strangelove, and keyboards by The Spirit. It wouldn’t be a stretch to guess these are not their real names.

Stage front, vocals are handled by Larry Love, The Reverend Be Atwell and The Very Reverand Dr D Wayne Love.

The Reverand D Wayne – know to family and friends as Glaswegian Jake Burns – is less the shamanic, messianic figure of yore but more of a dapper East End villain in his look.

The long hair has gone, as have the sunglasses – replaced by a haircut more becoming to a man of his advanced years and a pair of spectacles. But he, along with lead vocalist Larry Love, still proves to be the driving force of the band, working a crowd into a euphoric frenzy with each song whilst co-vocalist Reverend Be Atwell cuts a dapper, but imposing, presence alongside them.

The set spans the bands entire career from old favourites to new tracks.

‘Hypo Full of Love’ from 1996s ‘Exile on Coldharbour Lane’ goes down a storm as the band members engage in a bit of synchronised swaying whilst newer cuts from their latest album. 

‘(I’ll Never) Be Satisfied’, ‘Rattlesnake Woman’ and ‘Nothing to Lose But Your Chains’, prove infectious enough to have a sizeable proportion of the crowd lining up at the merchandise stall to purchase it and have it signed by the band.

Their most famous song, the aforementioned ‘Woke Up This Morning’ is played of course – but such is the bands confidence and faith in their material that it’s played mid-set rather than as an encore.

After over an hour and a half on-stage the band finish up with ‘Hello…. I’m Johnny Cash’ from 2005s ‘Outlaw’ album, leaving the crowd ecstatic and happy.

If you’ve not seen – or heard – Alabama 3 before then it’s recommend you check them out the next time they are in town.

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Holiday Fun Delivered To Seriously Ill Youngsters

 Aberdeen City, Featured  No Responses »
May 052017
 

Holiday fun at Over The Wall’s Scottish Summer Camp last year.

With thanks to Esther Green, Senior Account Executive, Tricker PR

A charity which gives children and young people living with serious health challenges a holiday to help them discover a whole new world of possibilities is laying on an extra place for a deserving North-east youngster – thanks to the support of Aberdeen Asset Management’s Charities Foundation.

Gaining £1800 from the Aberdeen charities committee has enabled Over The Wall to provide an additional place at its 2017 Scotland camp for a seriously ill child living in Aberdeenshire.

The therapeutic recreation activity camp, for children aged 8-17 with serious and life limiting illnesses, takes place at Strathallan School in Perthshire in July.

Since 1999 many of the UK’s most seriously ill children have been able to go swimming, catch their first fish, dance in the sunshine, perform centre stage and create the memories of a lifetime with Over The Wall. The self-esteem and confidence of  campers sky-rockets as they learn that they are not combating childhood diseases alone.

The small national charity provides free residential activity camps for children and their families and through participation in a proven programme of fun-filled recreational and educational activities, the camps help promote inclusion whilst developing the confidence, self-esteem, coping strategies and peer relationships of all their campers.

The mum of a teenage boy who attended last year’s Scottish camp said of the experience:

“He had an amazing time, he returned more confident, happy and relaxed. For the first time he was able to enjoy activities and forget about his illness. I am a very happy Mum!”

Julie Foster, Trusts and Foundations Fundraiser for Over The Wall said:

“The camps enable the children to reach beyond their illness to rediscover a whole new world of possibilities and we rely on donations like this one from Aberdeen Asset Management, along with volunteer support,  to help us give children a week of experiences that are memorable, exciting, fun and empowering, in a physically safe and medically sound environment.”

Claire Drummond, head of charitable giving forAberdeen Asset Management said:

“Through the support of the Aberdeen Committee we are giving a local child the chance to attend camp, create memories for a lifetime and build their self-esteem and confidence at the same time. We are proud to be able to provide support in the local community in which we operate in this way.”

Aberdeen Asset Charitable Foundation was established in 2012 to formalise and develop the Group’s charitable giving globally. The Foundation seeks partnerships with smaller charities around the world, where funds can be seen to have a meaningful and measurable impact and the firm encourages its employees to use their time and skills to support its charitable projects.

The main focus of the Foundation is around emerging markets and local communities, reflecting the desire to give back to those areas which are a key strategic focus of the business and to build on the historic pattern of giving to communities in which Aberdeen employees live and work.

For more information visit http://www.aberdeen-asset.co.uk/aam.nsf/foundation/home

For full details of  Over The Wall visit http://www.otw.org.uk

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Preview – Enjoy Music Festival, Hazlehead Park, 3rd June

 Aberdeen City, Featured, Gigs and Concerts  No Responses »
May 022017
 

Local Music Festival Returns – Promising to be Even Bigger and Better than Last Year! By Craig Chisholm.

“When it comes to Scotland’s greatest bands, Primal Scream are right up there.”

Last year’s Enjoy Music Festival had it all – a great line up, a sunny day and a crowd that loved every second of the day. With top acts such as Example & DJ Wire, Green Velvet, Former Seahorses singer Chris Helme and Dusky joining up and coming local acts such as Emerald Sunday, Ransom FA, Colin Clyne and even an appearance from the Portlethen Pipe Band it proved to be a roaring success with everyone that attended.

This year’s line is even better with headline performances from Scottish indie legends Primal Scream, a DJ set from Chase & Status, the iconic DJ John Digweed, local stars The Little Kicks, rappers Shy and DRS and premier Stone Roses tribute band The Complete Stone Roses.

A full supporting bill across 5 stages will see a mix of bands and DJs entertain patrons whilst a fun fair, family entertainment area, a Market Place and an exclusive VIP area will give people places to hang out and have fun throughout the day.

And all your food and drinks needs will be catered for in the numerous bars and the food village on site.

Speaking about headliners Primal Scream, who return to Aberdeen after a sold-out gig at the cities’ Beach Ballroom last year, the festival’s marketing director, Mark Lenthall said

“When it comes to Scotland’s greatest bands, Primal Scream are right up there. From the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, to T In The Park and Reading, they have played them all, so we’re thrilled to be bringing the band to Aberdeen this summer. With T2 Trainspotting hitting cinemas now, what better festival act could we have!”

So, with no T in The Park this year why not make it along to Hazlehead Park on Saturday 3rd June to kick off the summer in style and make this the biggest and best Enjoy Music Festival to date?

Photographs from last years event  – goo.gl/2ZoHXs 

Tickets are on sale at www.skiddle.com/festivals/enjoy-music
Website www.digitalloveaberdeen.co.uk/enjoymusic
Facebook www.facebook.com/enjoymusicaberdeen
Twitter @EnjoyMusicAbdn

Work Begins On £16m Student Accommodation Complex

 Aberdeen City, News  1 Response »
Apr 282017
 

With thanks to Ross Anderson, Senior Account Manager, Citrus:Mix

Construction work has begun on a £16 million student accommodation development in Aberdeen.
Focused on sustainability and technology this next generation of student accommodation will meet the needs of the newest university generation.

The development, is located on the former tyre depot at the corner of Willowbank Road and Hardgate, will serve both Robert Gordon University (RGU) and the University of Aberdeen, benefiting from good public transport links and close proximity to the city centre.

Carlisle-based Northern Developments has started work on a 222 en-suite student bedroom scheme which received planning consent in 2016.

Northern Developments has delivered more than 1,000 student beds across the North of England and bring 32 years’ experience in design and build delivery. This experience is reflected in the focus on sustainability of the building and ensuring that the experience of the students living in it will be of the highest quality.

Aberdeenshire sub-contractor Andrew Cowie Ltd has started groundworks on the site and the project will be complete in the summer of 2018 for September arrivals.

Eddie Ward, commercial manager for Northern Developments, said:

“We are very pleased to have started work on the Willowbank Road site and look forward to delivering this exciting development.

“It will meet the demands of modern student living in every respect and will be very appealing to the millennial generation who quite rightly expect high standards and the latest technology to suit their technological and educational needs.

“As a business we strive to use a local supply chain to both deliver the best in class development but to also support a local economy such as that in Aberdeen.”

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Aberdeenshire Greens Launch Manifesto

 Aberdeenshire, Environment  No Responses »
Apr 282017
 

With thanks to Martin Ford.

Aberdeenshire Greens have launched their manifesto for the 2017 council election.

The manifesto sets out the priorities and approach for Green councillors elected to Aberdeenshire Council this May.

The Scottish Green Party is contesting five of the nineteen council wards in Aberdeenshire. There is currently one Green councillor on Aberdeenshire Council.

Rachel Shanks, Green candidate for Stonehaven and Lower Deeside, said:

“The more Green councillors elected to Aberdeenshire Council this May, the more influence they will have. We want to prioritise investment in education, better local public transport and protecting Aberdeenshire’s special environment.

“Inevitably, Aberdeenshire Council is going to face some tough challenges in the years ahead. Green voices need to be heard in the council chamber when the Council decides how to respond. The last five years have shown a Green presence has made for a better Council. We want to build on that this May.”

West Garioch Green candidate Richard Openshaw said:

“The election on 4 May is a local election. It’s about local issues, not national ones.

“We’re proud of the Green successes on Aberdeenshire Council since 2012, like funding for youth work, traffic calming, cycling and walking. Our manifesto for the next five years sets out what we will prioritise going forward.

“The forecast rise in pupil numbers in Aberdeenshire schools means additional resources for education are essential. I was appalled at the education cuts advocated by the Lib Dems and Conservatives in their proposed 2017/18 Council budget. Green councillors will give priority to spending on schools and resist education cuts.”

Mearns candidate Karen Allan said:

“I particularly welcome the manifesto commitments on road safety and tackling climate change.”

East Garioch councillor and Green candidate Martin Ford said:

“A significant number of proposals from the 2012 Aberdeenshire Green manifesto have been agreed by the Council and have become Council policy. Greens elected to Aberdeenshire Council this May will similarly seek cross-party support to get Green proposals adopted.”

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Candidates Back Call For New Bridge On A939

 Aberdeenshire, Environment  No Responses »
Apr 282017
 

With thanks to Aberdeenshire SNP.

Aboyne, Upper Deeside & Donside SNP councillor Geva Blackett has written to Aberdeenshire Council’s Director of Infrastructure Services, Stephen Archer, requesting that the cost of a functional bridge on the A939 at Gairnshiel is built into the council’s Capital Plan as a matter of urgency to save the Grade 1 listed bridge currently in use.

In her letter, Cllr Blackett says:

“Almost exactly five years ago, this beautiful bridge was closed for some weeks to allow extensive – and expensive repairs – to take place and not for the first time.

“The resulting 40-mile detour caused chaos for motorists and had a severe impact on the fragile economies of Braemar, Ballater, Strathdon and Tomintoul.

“Now we find that despite the 18 ton weight limit imposed, even more expensive and extensive repairs are required in the near future and as traffic increases with the Snow Road linking Grantown to Blairgowrie gains in popularity, so too will the need for major repairs as the bridge is no longer fit for purpose”

Cllr Blackett’s letter points out that when the current bridge was built after the 1745 Jacobite uprising to form part of the Military Road, cars, coaches and 38 ton lorries did not exist. 

“Imagine for one moment a Chippendale chair” continues Cllr Blackett’s letter

“You would not allow the public to continually sit on it and break it; you would say that people can look at it and admire it but if they want to sit down they should use the functional chair placed alongside. The same argument should be applied to this bridge which plays an important part of our built heritage, is of historical importance and could be a tourist attraction with picnic tables and proper parking”

Cllr Blackett’s case for an adjacent bridge is supported by a candidate from Perth & Kinross and by a candidate from Moray, both of whom have written to Aberdeenshire Council.

Alison Mullholland standing for Blairgowrie & the Glens Ward in Perth & Kinross said:

“I understand that historically, repair work necessitated by previous damage, took some weeks to be completed. During which time, the resulting forty mile diversion curtailed the number of tourists travelling along the A93 through Glenshee to Blairgowrie and west to Kirkmichael and beyond.

“Therefore I would strongly support consideration of an adjacent replacement bridge, thus facilitating the repair and subsequent preservation of the beautiful and historical Gairnshiel Bridge, whilst allowing all forms of traffic access via the new bridge.”

Angus Anderson standing for Moray’s Speyside Glenlivet ward said:

“The purpose of my writing to you today is to make you fully aware of the significant financial impact businesses in Tomintoul and beyond will suffer should the bridge have to continually close for repairs. One business owner advised me that over one hundred and fifty coaches visit his shop each year and virtually all of them arrive via the A939 from Aberdeenshire.

“There is also obviously a preservation and historical concern given the bridge’s age and status and I would urge you to consider that too. I support Councillor Blackett’s request that a new bridge be factored into the Capital Plan and thus reassure the businesses in Tomintoul and beyond that Aberdeenshire Council is taking a long term and pragmatic approach to the importance of this bridge to the Snow Road route.”

A 60 second video by Cllr Blackett is also being released on social media.

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IFB Appoints New New Non-Executive Director

 Aberdeen City, Information  No Responses »
Apr 282017
 

With thanks to Beverley Tricker, Tricker PR.

IFB, one of Scotland’s leading managed service and data network providers, has recently formally appointed Jane Stewart as Non-Executive Director to the board.

Jane’s appointment strengthens the team at IFB as it further commits to its major strategic growth plans throughout the UK. Jane brings proven strategic, commercial and high growth experience to IFB. 

With a CA background, Jane has over 20 years’ experience in private equity, corporate finance and Board level finance and strategy roles.

Jane is also currently part-time Strategy Director at William Tracey Group having formerly operated as Group CFO.      

IFB’s CEO, Graeme Gordon says:

“Jane has supported IFB in its development over the past two years in an ad hoc capacity and I am delighted to welcome her formally to the Board at a key point in the company’s continued growth story. Despite tough local trading conditions, 2016 saw IFB achieve year-on-year revenue growth with continued positive financial performance. 

“This has allowed the business to further invest in the right team structure for the future, including Jane’s appointment and recent additions to our Business Development team in the central belt.  Whilst we seek to further expand across the UK, the North East continues to be a key market for IFB.”  

Jane Stewart, IFB’s Non-Executive Director comments:

“It is an exciting time for IFB and I’m thrilled to work with the Board as the business looks to further evolve its strategy and prepare for significant expansion into new services and new geographical markets.”

Graeme Gordon added:

“As our customer needs have evolved, so has our strategy and approach. IFB recently announced investments totalling over £1.5M in network and managed services which has enabled the business to improve its service offering and to develop new solutions to bring to market in conjunction with key partners. 

“Our priority continues to be supporting our customers to get on and stay on through exemplary customer service coupled with competitive, innovative connectivity, networking and managed services solutions, delivered via our own infrastructure or that of our key partners.  

“This, combined with our focus on building the right team for the future, cements our growth ambitions. Jane’s wealth of experience will help IFB move forward with these plans.”

In addition, IFB has increased its Cloud based data protection service offerings with support from Dell and Cisco Finance.

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Looking Back At Nuart – And Forward

 Aberdeen City, Articles, Featured  No Responses »
Apr 282017
 

By Fin Hall.

“Beneath the paving stones, the beach.” That was the apothegm of Nuart Aberdeen. I would add: “Above the rubble, art.” 

I must admit, the level of success that Nuart Aberdeen has achieved is beyond my expectations.

I knew that this innovative project, I nearly used the word ‘happening’, because that is what it was, was going to be interesting and popular, particularly amongst people who like art and culture, but it captured the imagination of so many others also.

Before the international artists arrived, not many people I spoke to was aware of it. But as soon as the Herakut painting of their six year old daughter on the New Market wall in The Green was underway, the interest of the citizens of the city was well and truly piqued.

As each new work was underway or completed, it was virtually all that the conversations was about.

The magnitude of some of the works quite surprised some people: such a thing has never happened in Aberdeen before. But equally pleasing was the reaction to the smaller scale pieces too.

Norwegian artist, Nipper’s Mission Directive, Make, Take and Replace installations were popular (where he left made items on clipboards in various locations, e.g. The Shiprow, Trinity  Quay and Harriet Street to name but three, and these things were free for people to take and keep. Then local artists could leave a sample of their work, to be taken too), and so successful, that I personally only saw a work left on one place as I drove by, and by the time I got parked and went back there, it had gone.

Local artists, however were leaving samples of their work at various locations on the trail.

These clipboards are still in situ with the hope that this sharing of work will continue.

The school children I mentioned in a previous article helped paste up their contribution to Julien de Casabianca’s Outgoings project in Queen Street and Shiprow, and in the future, they will pasting more works up in their local areas, thus creating a bit of a legacy.

Julien himself said, in a very interesting and comical talk he gave in the Anatomy Rooms, that he is looking forward to returning next year – as did other artists, particularly on their social media pages.

The event, which was more than just painting, stencils, and sculptures etc, included films and discussions in the Belmont cinema, live music in Drummonds and a fight club debate in Underdog. There were also free pavement chalk painting and street printing workshops too.

Proving exceedingly popular was the street walking art trail tour. Around 300 turned up for the Saturday afternoon one, meaning that it had to be split up into two seperate groups with more than one guide per group.

On the last evening of the event, the members and artists from NUART ABERDEEN spent a very enjoyable time having a game of bowling down at Codonas.

It seems inevitable that the event will return next year, James Finucane, told me,

“The people embraced the art and the artists wholeheartedly. The turnout for the street art tours was phenomenal and it was great to see so many people exploring the city on their own as well, looking for all the works.

“We look forward to developing plans for Nuart Aberdeen 2018 with our partners in the near future.”

So do we James, so do we.

Meanwhile his task continues as he goes ahead with the organising of Nuart in it’s home city of Stavanger as it enters it’s 17th year. This year it runs from 31st August until 15th October.

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CLAN Lunch Raises Over £10,000

 Aberdeen City, Featured, News  No Responses »
Apr 282017
 

With thanks to Jessica Murphy, Senior Account Executive, Citrus:Mix.

Generous individuals from throughout the north-east have come together to raise more than £10,000 at a leading cancer support charity’s annual fundraising lunch.

CLAN Cancer Support welcomed 280 guests to Ardoe House Hotel and Spa last week for one of the charity’s biggest fundraising events of the year.

Star of Channel 4’s First Dates CiCi Coleman hosted the popular event, which included a prosecco reception, 2 course lunch, guest speaker, auction, raffle and a Michael Bublé tribute act.

Guests heard from Claire Fleming who spoke about her Christopher’s CLAN challenge fundraising effort in memory of her brother who died of cancer when Claire was a teenager.

Claire is bringing in funds for CLAN to help other families going through a similar experience, as she realised how much she would have valued the support of the organisation herself.

In advance of the lunch, table hosts were provided with a donation bag that they could fill with any unwanted clothes and items that could be handed over to CLAN on the day.

The donations gathered will be used to stock the charity’s busy shops on Rosemount Place and Chapel Street – with a fantastic 56 bags donated on the day.

The lunch was sponsored by BP for the eighth year, enabling every penny of the money raised to go directly to CLAN’s provision of free cancer support services across the north and north-east of Scotland.

Dr Colette Backwell, chief executive of CLAN, said:

“Year on year, our CLAN lunch continues to be generously supported by the people of the north-east and it was wonderful to see so many people there on the day.

“I took the opportunity to highlight how the funds raised from last year’s lunch have been spent on extending the geographical reach of CLAN’s service provision, development of our Children and Families Service which now supports over 350 children and their families, and CLAN Haven which, in 2016 provided accommodation on over 9250 occasions to cancer patients and their families from remote locations in the north-east attending Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for cancer treatment.

“CiCi was a fantastic host and we also appreciate Claire Fleming joining us and sharing her story with guests. We are delighted to have raised £10,000 and I would like to thank everyone who continues to back us. This support is hugely appreciated by our clients and everyone at the charity. I’d also like to extend my gratitude to BP for their continued commitment in supporting us through the event.”

CLAN Cancer Support is an independent charity which provides comfort, support and information, free of charge, for anyone, of any age, affected by any type of cancer. CLAN aims to support people to reduce anxiety, stress and to increase their ability to cope with the effects of a serious illness.

Based in Aberdeen, the charity covers the whole of north-east Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland. CLAN has a presence in Ballater, Banchory, Elgin, Buckie, Inverurie, Fraserburgh, Lossiemouth, Peterhead, Stonehaven, Turriff, Kirkwall and Lerwick.

For more information about CLAN Cancer Support, please call (01224) 647 000 or visit www.clanhouse.org

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