Staff band farewell concert

Raman Arthur, who has worked as a volunteer for a year in Middle School, came to Woodstock in July 2006 as a seasoned musician and performer. He proved to be a keen and able addition to the (occasional) staff band, which during the Spring semester had a flurry of engagements in and around the school - Junior-Senior Banquet, Mussoorie Writers' Festival, talent shows. As inevitably happens when you play together, we improved, and Raman was determined to have a final concert while we more or less knew the songs.

Ridgewood was the chosen venue, and, for once, we had a proper PA set up and space to move. There was even an audience of staff and students who, on the Monday evening before graduation, were in the mood to relax (and even to dance). We ran through our repertoire of rock, blues and pop with much enjoyment (the band, I mean - I can't speak for the audience). From Cream to the Monkees to Billy Joel to Hendrix to the Rolling Stones to Robert Johnson, not forgetting a nice dollop of the Beatles (Liverpool is my home town, after all).

Personal thanks to the four musicians I have enjoyed playing with this year - Raman, who sang and played a mean blues harmonica (click here to here a clip from the Ridgewood concert); Darab Nagarwalla, bass guitar; Andrew Das, drums, and the exceptionally talented Zingrin Shishak, keyboards (also leaving Woodstock this summer). Listening to him accompanying classical violin students or rehearsing his first string quartet, you would never imagine he was also capable of mean blues piano and progressive rock organ playing. He'll be missed!

So now the band is down to a power trio of guitar, bass and drums. Anyone want to audition?

You can hear songs from the band playing at the Mussoorie Writers' Festival banquet from the box.net link below.