We had the fiddle/flute version of duelling banjos, rude jokes about chickens, bass ukelele envy and a kazoo-off! The audience seemed to really enjoy it (Becky even managed to be colour co-ordinated with some of the audience too) and we all had a lot of fun on stage!
I’ll be playing at B-Bar again in March, but this time with Hamer & Co, so that’s definitely something to look forward to!
Recently, I was lucky enough to perform with half of Hamer & Isaacs gypsy swing band at the Red Lion in Newquay and thought I’d share my favourite moments from the evening with you, so here goes…
5 favourite moments from The Red Lion gig:
Performing music with some wonderful people and smiling through every minute!
Howard Kahn‘s (bassist) brief moment of crazy dancing to club music in the interval. I’m sure he’ll demonstrate if you ask him *very* nicely. 😛
My latest artwork hasn’t had anything to do with Sterry Cartoons. Most recently I’ve been designing this logo for Hamer & Isaacs gypsy swing band. The band have had a number of successes in the South West and London, with performances at Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in Padstow and upcoming performance at The Royal Albert Hall on March 8th (see their shows page for more information).
Don’t let me carry on though – see for yourselves! Here’s a video from one of their performances at Plymouth Jazz Club!
Hamer & Isaacs play volcanic, swinging gypsy jazz. Whilst portraying the influence of Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France, the unique addition of Rosie Corlett’s soaring, flaming vocals is guaranteed to turn the thermostat up a notch.
Let me know what you think, and if you like the music, feel free to head over to the Hamer & Isaacs website for more!
**EDIT**
As of 2015, Hamer & Isaacs has morphed in to two separate groups:
Hot Club of Stonehouse
Hamer and Co.
Both groups can still be found playing in venues around the South West.
I’ve decided to release a few flute pieces (and a short harp cover) on bandcamp! You can download them all for free or, if you really like them, can name your price! Just click below to have a listen and download!
Earlier today, I found out that one of my cartoons has been shared on facebook over 1000 times, and I’m amused at the thought of that many people seeing it and laughing/groaning simultaneously (I am easily amused), so I’ve decided to make some more.
Today I give you… an animated french music cartoon gif:
Sterry Cartoons has a facebook page now too (as well as nice new shop on zazzle), so if you’d like to see what I create next, feel free to hit the like button and stalk the creativity! 😛
This is the very first cartoon I ever created and now you can buy it on all sorts of things in my Zazzle store!
As far as I can remember, the idea for this cartoon was sparked by a chat with a lovely friend (singer and teacher Sarah Barnett). We were wondering whether it would be possible to make smiley faces out of music notes. I got a little bit obsessed and eventually came up with these.
The music puns followed on naturally and made a few friends smile, so they stayed. 🙂
Musical Compliments Gifts
Here are just a few of the products I’ve made so far. They’d probably make great gifts for your musician friends and music teachers, or (if you’re anything like me) you might just want to treat yourself because it makes you giggle. There are all sorts of products to choose from (not just these ones), so if you want to see the whole range have a look over here (Zazzle Shop).
Sterry Cartoons is a webcomic featuring educational music jokes and animal-related humour. The comic has received a great deal of interest online, partially due to the viral success of Musical Compliments (a cartoon featuring a joke about naturals and sharps), which has been shared by over 20,000 people worldwide.
LIVE JAZZ tonight at the Mill Club, Kingsbridge from ‘The John Sterry Trio’ (aka. The Sterrys).
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Tonight I’m playing with The Sterrys Jazz Trio to raise money for The Poppy Appeal! I’ve played there once before and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I’m hoping that this time will be the same.
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
Hannah Sterry 