My band The Rock Island Rebels live

[Charlie Hall]

I was asked to do a sound file recently, well maybe this will do for now until I have more time, it's my band The Rock Island Rebels recorded live at Paignton the other week, I didn't know this had been recorded! The sound is typical video mic recording quality but it's a bit better than I expected.

Regards,
Charlie

[garyallen]

Hi Charlie..It sounds great...Is that you with the gretsch ?..Gary

[ha2he]

Hi Charlie,
People on the floor having a good time, that's what really matters.
As for the sound quality, what the heck, everybody enjoying themselves is what comes across. Nice one.
Regards,
Tim.

[George Lewis]

Hi Charlie,
Great to see and the sound is pretty good it gives the authentic "live" rock and roll era ambience. All those groovers dancing and having a good time.
Cheers
George

[olemuso]

Rock On Charlie!
Brilliant mate, wish I`d been there!


And for those who might not know www.rockislandrebels.com/

[Charlie Hall]

Thanks all for your comments. We enjoyed that gig and have got a lot more work coming through from it, the local gig we did last weekend was hard work because of the poor acoustics and the heat but that doesn't often happen.
Gary, yes that's me with the Gretsch. It has been my main guitar for some time as it suits the style of the band, it has a bigger sound, and can sound sweet and nasty at the same time and it does seem to have a positive effect for our kind of audiences, I don't know whether they like the look and image, or the sound, but I still feel the most comfortable with Strats, having played them since 1966. The Gretsch is harder to keep in tune because of the style of bridge. One of the guitarists of another band who was playing there the same evening and using a Tele (good sound) told me he had the same guitar but couldn't get it to sound anything like mine, and he had problems with feedback. He noticed my bridge pickup was white and his being original was black, I told him I had changed mine for an original DeArmond, which probably came off a Guild.
Regards,
Charlie

[Deleted]

WELL , fantastic ,you young ''REBEL"S.. after much trouble I finally got my sound back on my #$%$#@ computer so as well as seeing I could hear it as well....
That takes me away-back fella's,,, great-stuff & the lead singer's hair-style as was back then , the ''rock& roll '' flag & thats for sure it ''WILL-be here forever '' ,you had a floor full of ''jiver's'' on the last number ,....
Well charlie you have given us a taste how-about some more, in the future & charlie I see you backup sing as well as weilding that nice looking big-axe!!!!!!
''GOODONYER-GUY"S it takes me back to where it all started & I was there at about 15 y/old, when rock& roll hit STH australia .with the film ''rock around the clock'' & it was born to ''OZ''.. & has never left !!!!!!!!!!!!!! leather jacket's & all..

cheers from a nostalgic OZZIE....................................barry..

[Marcelo]

Hello Charlie!

Your band sounds great and all you together amuzed the audience so well, too! I also liked the band's look and the place where you made the show.

Thanks for posting!

Regards,
Marcelo.

[Len]

Hi Charlie

Rock on Rocking Island Rebels! Unlike James Dean, you do appear to have a cause. Seems like everyone was having a good time.

Thank you for posting something of your own.

Regards
Len

[kipper]

good stuff charlie sounded very original to me really comes over well in this recording. thanks. peter

[bill]

Great stuff Charlie,
Looks like a good time was had by all :-)

[didier]

Hi Charlie,

Well done, that's good rockin'

Didier

[peterbower]

Blimey, Charlie is that you behind that Gretsch, looks like it was a great night and the band sounded great. The last time i saw your band live was at Buntingford, that's a few years ago. Does your singer still do his acrobatic intro?
Lastly, what amp were you going through.
Peter

[Fender Bender]

Hi Charlie

Good to see that you also do other stuff besides the Shads and I say that with the outmost respect.What a great Rockibilly sound.I could not see what amp you were using,sounded like a Fender but it could have been a Vox.Great stuff !!

[Charlie Hall]

Thanks for the additional comments since my last message. I liked the venue and it was one of those places that you have a good feeling about as soon as you go inside.
It is me playing the Gretsch. I didn't use my own amp, we went by cars to the gig to save fuel as the PA was supplied by the organiser so to save space we took only lead singer Mark's amp which is an Ashdown Peacemaker 40 (they are no way 40 watts, more like 20 watts) that I modified to run safely and reliably and changed the Vintage 30 speaker (I have said many times how much I don't like those) for a Jensen reissue C12N. It's now a great sounding little amp, quite loud for it's power but doesn't have as much deep bass as my own amp, and apart from a filter capacitor coming loose on the board, which Mark fixed, it has been 100% reliable. I think the preamp circuit is based on Marshall and is also similar in some ways to Barry's Ashton amp.
Peter, Mark no longer does the acrobatic stunts, he is too old for that now! We have a different drummer and bass player to when you last saw us. We stopped going to the Buntingford club about 2 years ago because of the sound meter installed there, it was too much of a pain trying to keep the volume level low enough.
Regards,
Charlie

[bazmusicman]

Hi Charlie,

That was a really good show/sound etc. everybody having a great time.

Your comment on the sound meter takes me back about 30 years or so when they first started to appear in clubs, what a pain they are.

I remember one club that we used play between Slough and Eton, ( Chalvey I think was the of the place ) the thing used to trip out the power when I hit a certain note on the guitar. which lead me to believe that it was the pitch more so than the volume that set it off.

Best regards,
Baz.

[peterbower]

Hi Charlie
I may have told you this before years ago but i will say it again in case others don't know. Its a bit of useless information but interesting. I'm not sure how you got the name 'Rock Island Rebels'. Rhode Island in the USA is known as Rock Island and when i travelled from Boston to New York by train we saw in a rail goods yard in Rhode Island, loads of goods trains with the words Rock Island Line written on them. This apparently is where Lonnie Donegan got his title from for that hit.

Regards
Peter

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Baz,
I suppose that the pitch might depend on the type of mic used for the sound pickup. I don't know how accurate these things are supposed to be. There was a time of so many seconds that was allowed with the red light on before the sound was cut off. It was a real pain adjusting the level by altering the dynamics whilst playing to keep within the time allowed and we often tripped it off, and in the end we had enough as it was affecting the performance too much having to concentrate on a red light instead of trying to entertain.
Hi Peter,
Gibson Keddie was our first bass player and he came up with the name, he got it from Lonnie Donegan's Rock Island Line. Interesting that you saw the place where the name came from.
Regards,
Charlie

[Scotocaster]

Hi Charie,your band sounds super, i listened to a few selections and boy it makes me feel young again. Like yourself, i sometimes use my Country Gentleman when i sing (yuk!) and play rhythm, but i'm so used to playing my strat since 62' that it's part of my body ha ha. Have a great day. Scott

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Scott,
Thanks for letting me know what you thought of the track samples on the site. They actually sound very dull as they are low quality samples.
Regards,
Charlie

[joeboy]

I hadn't noticed this thread until now, nice to see what you get up to Charlie. You play my kind of music, it looks like everyone had a good time.

Do you ever get down my neck of the woods?

[tonybiker]

Great movie that. Everyone having a mega time. Was this taken recently Charlie? you look about 32 years old, give or take a couple of years.

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Robert,
I haven't been to Cornwall for over 30 years, Paignton is the nearest I have been since that time.

Hi Tony,
Thanks, It was April 18th this year. I will be 60 next month so your comment has made my day.

Regards,
Charlie

[john]

Approaching the big 60 Charlie And here you are, still twanging away with more go in you than a Pit Bull Terrier on steroids.
Happy Birthday, just in case I forget.

We all should lobby the British Parliament ( if there are any members left sitting ) And demand to have you listed as a "Living Legend" or proclaim a "Charlie Hall Day" Maybe a medal minted in the shape of a valve or diode ;D

Regards
John M.

PS. Yes, I know I'm not too tightly wrapped !!!!!!

[tonybiker]

Jun 21, 2009 16:20:47 GMT Charlie Hall said:

Hi Robert,
I haven't been to Cornwall for over 30 years, Paignton is the nearest I have been since that time.

Hi Tony,
Thanks, It was April 18th this year. I will be 60 next month so your comment has made my day.

Regards,
Charlie

And I am the 16th April. A fellow ram.

[Charlie Hall]

Hi John,
Thanks for the advance birthday wishes!

Hi Tony,
The gig was on April 18th. My birthday is on July 14th so that makes me a cancer.

Regards,
Charlie

[Deleted]

HI young charlie '',you rocker-you'' I am a cancer also. but what caught my eye was you bithday date ,,It is my wedding annaversary date!!!!
cheer's & keep-on-rockin-mate ,thats what's keeping you young!!!!!!
barry..

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Barry,
A bit of a coincidence! You are right, playing (and having a lot of laughs) is keeping me young.
Regards,
Charlie