Annette Hanshaw helped me Sing for my Supper (with a Sprocket Rocket!)

I grew up singing and attended as many after school choirs that I could humanly cram in along with tap dancing lessons! However, growing up can make you lose confidence a bit as you become a small fish in a big pond. So whilst I was studying drama at uni... surrounded by superb sopranos and tantalising tenors I decided to stop bothering. As although I could hold a tune, my voice didn't compare to those at the top of the class. The fact I partially lost my hearing in both ears at 22 was a contributing factor n'all... bah!

However, over the past year I've gotten into singing again.I've been learning the ukulele, and singing the tune along with what you're playing is a great help. I've also been kindly encouraged to keep it up by my other half and his family (most of whom are professional musicians, which has been a rub to the ego!) So, I recently  started thinking why didn't I give it another shot? 

My vocal heroine is Annette Hanshaw, a popular jazz singer from the late 1920s. She was an ingenue and flapper all at once, and became known as "The Personality Girl". She developed a trademark outcue by saying  "That's all" at the end of many of her records (apparently it began as when she started proffessionally performing with orchestras and felt she needed to broadcast the end of the song!) 

The lovely Annette H -  

There's a great video of her here... http://www.jazzage1920s.com/annettehanshaw/annettehanshaw.php

Hanshaw has such a wonderful tone to her voice which is so easy to listen to, but also puts on a babyish drawl (like Helen Kane) for more comical songs such as "Button up Your Overcoat". Because of Ms Annette I focused on learning vintage jazz tunes on my uke and singing along to them,. From this I found that my voice suited the style better than the musical tunes and opera we were being spoon fed in singing lessons at uni. 

Anyway, last night I tested the waters to see how I fared singing (no uke appearance as I feared doing two things at once in front of an audience was tempting bad luck!) Chris had been asked to play the trombone at the Launch Night of the latest Lomography Camera the "Sprocket Rocket". He needed a singer, and I was there, so I did it (a case of "right place right time", and fraternising with the boss y'know!) My ukulele teacher Martin Wheatley (who is a dab hand on all things with strings) also played. The video of the band and the night in general will be posted above.

And here's some piccies of the Space man unveiling the camera...

The space man going to unveil the mystery new Lomography Camera... what is it???

TA DAAA!

I had a grand night, and met the lovely Lena from "The Vintage Guide to London"  to which I'm now a contributing  writer for... huzzah (more on that another post me thinks.) So overall, apart from not turning on the mic on the first song, a successful night, yay! Any agents reading after a vintage jazz warbling,  old frock clad singer? No? Ah...

That's all...

G x