Mandy Siegel Jams The Shed

PBGB Family Member Mark Bolsius gave us the tip that a seasoned vocalist named Mandy had recently moved to Merimbula. Mark proposed that we invite Mandy along for a Sesh. Great idea Mark !  Pure Sheddery !!

We knew very little about Mandy, but soon put a couple of pieces of the puzzle together.......to wit...........

• Mandy has a ‘MySpace’ page which features four of her original compositions.
• Mandy’s partner Di used to get drum lessons from Ken Vatcher (Ken is here, Ken is there, Ken is everywhere) and indeed Ken knew Mandy in a former life, and
• Mandy and Di have recently moved to Merimbula from Melbourne. This is a permanent move and we figured Mandy would be keen to immerse herself in the local music scene.  What better doorway than The PBGB Shed ??

We always love having new players in The Shed,  so we welcomed Mandy with open arms.  Mark came along of course, and Ken popped in, armed with his dazzling chops.  We also had the pleasure of Chris Ralf’s company.

Jazz standards seemed to be the flavour of the day, so it made sense to put Mandy in front of a microphone, Mark on his keyboard, Chris on his bass stick, Ken on the Roland kit, and Neil on the desk.

Roll ‘em team................

It was immediately apparent that Mandy COOKS !  Mandy has a great voice and all the moves, the smiles, the sparkle in the eyes that make for first class entertainment. And she obviously loves working the microphone ! We had a great time.  

At the end of the day, Neil took the recordings away and did a bit of sifting.

It needs to be said that ...........

• The afternoon was a jam, pure and simple
• Mandy, Mark, Ken and Chris had never played together as a combo before, and
• They didn’t play any song twice – once through on the fly and you're done

So the fact that we got any worthy results at all is pretty extraordinary.  But we did. Indeed we have two songs to proudly add to the PBGB Juke Box  They are both classic jazz standards..............click on the titles here.............

• At Last ( a 1941 composition by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren ), and
• God Bless The Child ( 1939, Billie Holliday and Arthur Herzog Jr. )

Or click on the titles on the PBGB Juke Box on the left of your screen for a listen.

Now folks, we are stoked. Whilst these versions of the songs are the result of a jam, it is abundantly clear that Mandy has a brilliant voice. And Mandy is stoked to have discovered The Shed, and will be back. She has, after all, been given a PBGB Tee Shirt and warmly welcomed to the PBGB Family !!

We are looking forward to posting more of Mandy’s  great vocals on the PBGB Blog in due course.  Meanwhile, enjoy her offerings.

And before we sign off, how about a big round of applause for Mark Bolsius, who made this all happen and who plays the keyboards, Ken Vatcher, for some of his ( usual ) stunning drumming, and for Chris Ralfs who bravely set up his bass stick, peered over Mark’s shoulder at the charts, and excelled himself. And for Neil, who twiddled all the knobs.

Well done team !!  More please !!