Jiggered Ceilidh Band were back at Seamill Hydro for another wedding- this time it was the Phil and Kirsty (the brains behind 51Media: Web Design).
Some highlights from the evening:
-the best man and his sidekick provided a wee sketch for the bride and groom as "Mr Bean and Teddy" (the impression started off well but by the end it had drifted into a Father Ted accent!!)
-everyone enjoyed the really well cooked fish and chips during the break (yum)
-we were asked for more business cards last night than we have for ages!
Posted at 9:18 on 22nd July 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were playing at Seamill Hydro, Ayrshire last night (we're back there next week!!). We were playing for Peter and Lynne's wedding- the evening reception kicked off with a solo from the bride...she'd penned a song for her husband inpsired by Pachelbel's Cannon. This was the first time we've ever had that! A unique experience and I think Peter (whose name means "the rock") was well impressed!
We met a few familiar faces at this ceilidh....expecting a few more on Wednesday when we return to Seamill for our next wedding of a busy summer for Jiggered!
Posted at 13:40 on 18th July 2010 by Chris Smith
Last night, Jiggered Ceilidh Band were playing in Borthwick Castle, near Edinburgh. It was a celebration of a wedding that had already happened in America recently and a chance for friends and family to watch the DVD of the ceremony and enjoy an evening of ceilidh music.
We were playing in the "Minstrel's Gallery" which was a unique experience (as you'll see from some of the photos on our Flickr page. We were situated in a sort of balcony high above the guests! The trip up the spiral staircase with all the drum kit and sound stuff wasn't much fun- and we were running up and down the stairs to demonstrate bits of the dances to some ceilidh first-timers. We got plenty of exercise throughout the night!
It was an interesting night- our first Jiggered event which also had some sword-fighting!
Posted at 10:26 on 17th July 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were playing at St Andrew's University Upper/Lower College Halls on Friday night for Kirsten and Dave's wedding. It was a bit of a drive to get there but we arrived ahead of schedule. This was just as well since access to the stage was via a fire-exit style metal staircase up the side of the building. With Ewan (conveniently!) unable to do any heavy lifting following his kidney transplant, the rest of us humphed the gear up and got set up for the reception starting (we even had time for a quick bag of chips before kicking off the music.
The night was very relaxed but everyone was still really keen to get up for the ceilidh dances. We had a great time- although on the way home (5 minutes into my own 7th wedding anniversary) I did get a speeding ticket. Grrr.
Posted at 7:21 on 11th July 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were in action again last night, this time on board The Ferry. It was the 2010 Grad Ball for the RSAMD. The students had some concerns after the ceilidh band at last year's event only played FOUR dances before leaving. Jiggered played a solid 2 hour set and the response from the graduating students was incredible! It was the first time Jiggered have played on a boat before (our "dressing room" felt like the inside of a submarine)!
This was also the first ceilidh for Ewan after his recent kidney transplant and not only did he have a fully functioning kidney, he also had a brand new drum kit! I'll get a photo of his operation staples for a future blog!
Posted at 8:04 on 7th July 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band played at Strathclyde Univeristy's spectacular Barony Hall on Saturday. This was the location for many of our uni exams- nightmares revisited!! It was a ceilidh for some Engineers and since Chris was on holiday it was a three-piece band!
Posted at 6:55 on 4th July 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were ceilidhing again last night (we're in the middle of a spell of 5 ceilidhs in 9 days). This time it was a School Leaver's Ball (Prom). It was for Glasgow school "Hutchy" held in the marquee at Carnbooth House Hotel.
The students enjoyed a meal, hynosist show, ceilidh and then DJ. It was an action-packed night and we loved coming on to perform a short but action-packed set, cramming loads of dancing into the hour we had to play.
It's back to Strathclyde tomorrow for a ceilidh in the Barony Hall.
Posted at 9:07 on 26th June 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were invited to play at Bethany's surprise 21st birthday part last night. It was a unique venue- we were playing in a fantastic barn which had been decorated with a "Wild West Theme". First job was to clamber up some hay bales with the sound gear to get up onto the trailer we'd be playing on top of. Then the guests started to arrive, every one kitted out in cowboy/cowgirl outfits.
It was a brilliant night with a lot of fun, good food and enthusiastic dancing!
Posted at 6:22 on 25th June 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were playing again last night. This time it was Katie and Paul's wedding, in the beautiful George Hotel in Edinburgh. The couple were really relaxed and the evening was a really enjoyable (Paul told us at the end "...every time I hear you guys you sound better....that's not to say you were rubbish first time!").
Jiggered play at loads of weddings throughout the year and we're often asked if we can suggest good DJs, photographers etc....We don't really know any DJs but if you need a photographer, you won't go far wrong with Alan Davidson or Andi Watson!
In other Jiggered news, Susan became a Chartered Engineer yesterday...another string to our fiddler's bow!
Posted at 19:02 on 20th June 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band are insanely busy just now (mostly with weddings). We are in the middle of a spell of 9 days when we will play 5 times! We love doing ceilidhs but with the World Cup on just now we're keeping an eye on the footy scores as they come in during the evening!
Last night's ceilidh was for Debbie and Scott's wedding in Craigielaw Golf Club (a beautiful venue- certainly the nicest Golf Club we've ever played at!). Debbie was at uni almost 10 years ago with us and it was lovely to be able to play at the wedding of our good friend. The crowd was brilliant- it was an excellent night.
[In other news, Algeria 0, England 0. Ya beauty!]
Posted at 14:13 on 19th June 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were playing last night at a wedding in Dundee. That meant we missed England's first match of the 2010 World Cup [I was toying with various possible titles for this blog but the best I could come up with was "Green Day (American Idiot)" to sum up the goalie's howler from the match between England and USA].
We played for Jen and Ainslie Chinembiri's wedding reception. It was a fantastic mix of Scotland and Zimbabwe in the guests, music, outfits. The wedding was in the beautiful garden of Smithy Croft with marquees. Thankfully it was a beautiful day. We enjoyed watching the African guests teaching the Scottish guests how dancing should be done!
Posted at 13:08 on 13th June 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were playing for Alison's 40th in Dollar on Saturday.
I learned a few things:
-the right salad buffet can satistfy even a carnivore like me
-Dollar's a picturesque wee town
-despite rumours to the contrary, enthusiastic English ceilidhers can make for a great crowd
-Jiggered sound just right (even without an accordian)
-it is possible for you to stand in a way that's uncomfortable for you but even worse for the person you're talking with (!)
Posted at 18:10 on 30th May 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were playing at Glasgow's Thistle Hotel last night. It was the annual ball for the Christian Unions across Glasgow. The function room had an enormous dance floor but it was packed with energetic and enthusiastic students- it was a fantastic night.
And just before 11pm the fire alarm started ringing- everyone went outside and we had to wait for about 20 minutes before getting back in! Definitely a Jiggered first- we'll remember this ceilidh for a long time!
Posted at 7:40 on 22nd May 2010 by Chris Smith
Hogmanay is the evening of the year which we are in greatest demand...so much so that we arrange our evening in "slots" (early Hogmanay: 7pm-10pm and through the bells: 11pm-2am). We've already booked up the early Hogmanay slot to a church in Glasgow.
If you are interested in the "through the bells" slot, we would come to set up our sound equipment earlier in the day, go back to Glasgow and return in time for an 11pm start at your event. So we can only accept clients who are within about 30 minutes drive of Glasgow.
We have had other enquiries about this slot already and we had to turn away lots of potential clients once we were booked up for 2009, so if you would like to have us play the through the bells slot please get in touch as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Look forward to hearing from you by email (jiggered@hotmail.com) or by phone (07793886607).
Posted at 12:49 on 16th May 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were playing in Edzell last night. It was quite a trek to get there but it was a beautiful day and driving in the sunshine was actually quite enjoyable! We played at Glenesk Hotel for Liane and Coo's wedding. The music went down well (and we were asked to do TWO Hooligan's Jigs)!
Ben was filling in (pardon the pun) for Ewan who had a kidney transplant on Friday which seems to have been a success. His mum donated one of her kidneys and Mrs C and Ewan are recovering well!
Posted at 12:35 on 16th May 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were back in wedding action last night. We had travelled up the West coast to Crear, which is a fantastic venue. It's set in spectacular rural surroundings and the acoustics were beautiful.
The wedding was for Martin and Mhairi of Paper Igloo. Their guests really enjoyed the night- there was loads of really enthusiastic dancing (including a particularly wild "Cumberland Basket" at the request of the groom).
The bacon rolls and ice cream were a highlight for me too!
Posted at 8:48 on 2nd May 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were playing at Leapark Hotel in Grangemouth last night for Margaret's 50th. It was a great night and one which really lived out the traditional definition of a ceilidh (see Wikipedia's definition) with loads of friends and family gathered together, many of whom were only too keen to perform their various talents! We had two solos, an Irish dancer and the birthday girl gave a speech too...
We're playing again tonight: near Tarbert (long drive).
Posted at 10:49 on 1st May 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band were back at Strathclyde Union this time for a Malawi fundraiser. It's always great to be back in the venue where it all started for us back in 2002 (eight years ago- that's mad). Vertigo was quieter than usual but the dancers were enthusiastic and we enjoyed our night as usual...Ewan bought 5 tickets for the raffle and Jenny bought 2. They ended up winning three times although they decided not to claim prize number three! Maybe the second prize (the ropey looking Ginger Tam's) put them off!
Posted at 11:23 on 17th April 2010 by Chris Smith
Jiggered Ceilidh Band returned to the Tudor Hotel, Airdie. This was the venue for one of our first ever weddings (Andy and Alison's) so it brought back a lot of memories.
This time we were playing for a SANDS charity event. The Charity support those affected by the death of a baby, so Jiggered were keen to play for such a worthy cause. The night started off with ceilidh, but there was also a buffet, DJ, auction and raffle....an action-packed evening!!
Posted at 22:22 on 27th March 2010 by Chris Smith
It was weird that the same week Jiggered Ceilidh Band got an enquiry to see if we'd go to play in Slovakia in November, we also performed at an International Ceilidh! David Wilson is a top guy and along with his wife provides a home, family and regular ceilidhs for International students. We're always glad to come along to Adelaides on Bath Street, Glasgow and play to a packed room and even more crowded dance floor.
The response after this latest ceilidh was amongst the best ever...comments like "you've never been to a ceilidh until you've been to a Jiggered ceilidh", "Jiggered are the best band in Glasgow...no...Scotland" and "fantastic....Chris is incredible on the keys and holds the band together" (yes, that last one is a really a genuine quote). It seems our fanbase is spreading to Namibia, Russia....
Anyway, we'll be back!!
Posted at 23:33 on 20th March 2010 by Chris Smith
