This happened after I came across Jess Smiley’s blog and saw that he was looking for monster doodles to include in Rumpus on the Run: A Monster Look-N-Find Book! It’s well worth having a look at his illustrations, because you won’t be able to help but smile!
NAQs (Never Asked Questions): “Why does your monster have wellies?”
I’m not sure how many monsters wear wellies, but I basically live in farm country and had to climb a hedge to avoid sinking in a muddy lane the other day. Proper Devonian monsters would need to be able camouflage themselves against tractors, hedges, cliffs and mud and would probably only be able to live on Devon cream teas*!
*For some reason, the order of jam and clotted cream in a cream tea causes a lot of arguments between Cornish and Devonian people and nobody knows why.
The other day, while walking back from a friend’s, I decided to take a detour past North Sands Beach and happened to get such a lovely shot of the beach that I thought I’d share it with you (click to see the full image on RedBubble)!
If you’re in Salcombe at any point, it’s worth checking the tide tables before visiting North Sands, because at low tide you can climb round to North Sands Castle and at high tide there’s hardly any beach. There are paths behind the beach that lead to some beautiful woodlands that are full of bluebells at this time of year, so if you can go, it’s really worth a visit. In the meantime, I might post a few more photos of this beautiful area (and possibly some maps for suggested local walks).
I am now “Plymouth’s top jazz flautist” according to twitter. I know this because I am probably the only jazz flautist in the whole of South Devon (with the exception of my dad, who often prefers to play saxophone).
This post is a bit of everything – music I’ve recorded, pictures from the past year’s worth of gigs and news of gigs to come and some lovely testimonials from people I’ve played for – I hope you’ll enjoy it and feel free to ask me anything you like in the comments!
Logo by Hannah Sterry.
Over the past year I’ve been lucky enough to play lots of gigs with a great little gypsy swing band called Hamer & Isaacs. I met them, by chance, at a blues night at a pub where a mutual friend had invited us both along. I thought they were pretty cool and took a particular liking to one of them (that’s a different story) and since then I’ve stood in whenever one of the others can’t make it!
After playing with the band a fair bit, a few of them spotted my Sterry Cartoons creations on facebook and asked whether I’d like to design them an ‘art deco’ logo. I thought it’d be good fun to have a go (having not attempted logo design before) and this is what I came up with (see right).
All of this led to some really wonderful testimonials from people I’ve met through the band:
“As a professional musician for nearly four decades, I have been very impressed by Hannah Sterry’s contribution to our gypsy swing band as a deputy flautist over the last few months. She has deputised at short notice for both our lead guitarist and swing violinist, not easy roles to fill, and I have been awed by her levels of competence and creativity. Her improvisational techniques display an intuitive flair and inspiration well beyond her years, and she exhibits the stage presence expected in a seasoned veteran. I would heartily endorse her as a flautist to any potential employers, whether in the fields of jazz, rock or classical music.” ~ Julian Isaacs of Hamer & Isaacs Gypsy Swing Band
“[Hannah] is a brilliant musician and I love working with her in the gypsy swing band. Her flute solos inspire me to up my game!” ~ Melanie Scullion B.A Hons.P.G Cert. P.G Dip.Perf. Professional violinist, violist and peripatetic music teacher.
I’ve haven’t been playing jazz and designing logos the entire time though. Whenever I’ve had a few hours free, I’ve been working on a few of my own musical side projects! Most recently I’ve been doing a bit of recording with my little sister (she’s ridiculously cool, but you can’t take her anywhere). 😛
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you might have heard it before, but here’s a little bit of chilled out flute music I recorded as an earlier side project (it’s not jazz, but it’s cool and floaty)!
P.S. If you like any of my music, you can download it for FREE on bandcamp. Just click the link above. If you really like it and want me to make more music, you can donate however much or little as you like with the “name-your-price” button and you’ll get a gigantic smile and thanks from me!
Anyway, I’ve just been told that dinner’s on the table, so I’d better go, but I hope you’re enjoying the story so far and I’ll leave you with a few pictures from the last year and adates of my upcoming gigs! Hope to meet some of you at some point and as always, if you want to ask me anything, or have any great music recommendations, I’d love to hear from you in the comments! 😀
Flautist Hannah Sterry performing jazz flute for The Cottage Hotel’s Summer Music Nights in Hope Cove, Devon.
The Sterrys
Ansa Back playing at Morleigh Village Hall
Hamer & Isaacs live at the Millbrook Inn, South Pool. Photo Credit: timhirstphotography.com
BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY (27th May) Ansa Back will be playing at Bigbury Golf Club from 4pm.
JUNE-SEPTEMBER The Sterrys will be playing every Tuesday evening at The Cottage Hotel, Hope Cove for their Summer Music Nights. Feel free to come and join us, enjoy a cocktail on the terrace and take in one of the most Mediterranean views that the South Hams can offer!
Come down to Kingsbridge bandstand tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 4th May) for A Day for Howard! From 4:30pm there’ll be a whole host of great musicians playing. I’ll be wandering about with my flute (as per usual) and will be playing with Tez Locke and Mathieu Cook from 7:30pm!
Here’s the running order for the day:
4.30pm – Jack Handsley
5.15pm – Flossie & Danny Withers
6pm – The Storm
6.45pm – Ben Carr & Guests
7.30pm – The Travelling Tezburies
8.30pm – Bullet Proof Future
9.30pm – The Filthy Gorgeous
Here’s a little video of Hamer & Isaacs gypsy swing band playing at the White Horse Inn in December! I was lucky enough to guest with them and Steve Jenner (guitarist) that evening and had a great evening of jazz, meeting new people and friendly banter! 🙂
At the time the landlord was running a 12 days of Christmas event which led to this brilliantly surreal image of inn, innkeeper and camel.
Anyway, Hamer & Isaacs have recently released their new live album “Live & Lovely” and you can listen to it all on bandcamp! Just click below to listen and download!
Open University coursework, music exams and life just carrying on as normal and have meant I’ve been desperately trying to meet deadlines (and not blogging much recently). This means that the cartoons have taken a bit of a hit, but the music keeps going!
Last Friday’s Gig with Hamer & Isaacs
We were playing at the Hermitage in Kingsbridge and at one point I found myself improvising hard-edged jazz flute to one of the fastest, liveliest (and most fun) renditions of “Summertime” I have ever played. Becky Brine was singing that night and her performances are always really good humoured, so we all had a brilliant night that only ended after not one… not two… but THREE encores.
Last Saturday we played a lovely birthday party for Greg’s (our lead guitarist’s) dad. Speaking to everyone after the gig it seemed like it went down really well and rumours of this crazy 8-piece spread as far and wide as East Allington pub, or so I’m told! 😛
There was a really touching moment when one of the guests discovered that the tenor sax player is my dad. He made us both realise how special it is to just be able to play music together as a family – it can be so easy to take it for granted, because I’ve grown up playing music with my dad and grandpa, but I really love that we can all just get together and play and I love that they gave me the opportunity to learn and never worried about my mistakes. I don’t know who I’d be without all of that.
This Saturday we’re gigging on a farm, so we’re packing tarpaulins, plenty of extension leads and wellies and looking forward to a friendly, relaxed evening (including crazy, lively music).
Sunday is recording day! Apparently we’ve got a band backdrop (photos to follow) and we’re being helped out by an amazing team of people who all deserve a huge THANK YOU and a good pub meal. There’s also a band website in the works, so I’ll post links to that when it’s ready.
Anyway, here we all are, looking very smiley (and slightly orange). More coming soon!
Do you mind conversations about zombie ninja pirates?
How about debates about the newest things in science?
Do you like Monty Python? Are you musical at all?
Can you manage to be lewd without losing your class at all?
Because…
I’d like a boyfriend please!
I’d like a boyfriend please!
It’s mostly for great company and not those birds and bees,
So I’d like a boyfriend please!
(Y’know, if it’s not too much trouble)
Are you fussy about food?
Are you considerate or rude?
Do you like cats (no, not for dinner)?
Are you taller? Fatter? Thinner?
(Could you possibly put up with my ridiculous ideas?)
Do you think this drawing’s great?
What kinds of people do you hate?
Are you kind and are you stable?
Are your hands above the table?
Because…
I’d like a boyfriend please!
I’d like a boyfriend please!
I’m obviously too fussy, but I’d like one that’s a tease.
Yep, I’d like a boyfriend please!
(Or maybe I’m closing my mind too much)
I shouldn’t be so picky about gender.
But instincts have a stranglehold on me.
It shouldn’t be my fate, to pro-cre-ate;
There are already too many fish in the sea.
Anyway…
If we’re going to be so ridiculously politically correct about it…
Might as well include everybody…
I’d like a girlfriend please!
I’d like a girlfriend please!
And if you’re unsure, it doesn’t matter anymore.
Leave judgements and criticisms at the door.
You could be hetero- or homo-
It’s no problem; I’m no phobe- Oh.
I just have one more thing to say:
Though, theoretically, I’ve no preference,
Logic didn’t get the reference.
So… I’d still probably like a boyfriend please.
(Apply now with your CVs.)
I feel I should point out that I have a lovely boyfriend (and a ridiculous sense of humour), so please don’t take this seriously – it’s just a bit of fun! This is a poem/song I’d forgotten about and unearthed as I was trying to clear up the mess of files on my computer with names like “idea”, “another thing” and “messing about”.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this post anyway! Let me know what you think in the comments!
Art image by freeimageslive / creator is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
This might get me a whole lot of hate, but it’s a handy chart that I feel I should share with every musician, artist, photographer, writer or other creative who has ever been asked and even sometimes expected, by complete strangers, to work for free.
I am not saying that you shouldn’t work for free, but stressing that it should be your choice, that you shouldn’t be pressured in to it and do not need to feel guilty if you refuse. Would you ever expect a builder or lawyer to work for you for free?
Example: I have been asked before (by people I do not know) to play 15 minute slots on the harp (not an easy instrument to transport) for absolutely nothing, for profiting festivals and offered only a 5% discount on the cost of a ticket in return. Obviously, my answer was no.
Music is a skilled job and those choosing the profession should be paid accordingly and not exploited.
Hannah Sterry 
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