SOREFINGERS.CO.UK - Key Persons
Jackie is crazy about Old Time music and always has a permanent smile on her face when she's at Sore Fingers Week. She likes having fun and that filters down into her activity as the principle Tutor Showcase coordinator for Sore Fingers Week. She's just the person to get the extra mile out of people - who can resist that smile? She always makes sure our evening Tutor Showcases run smoothly and an absolute treat to watch. She rounds up the most distinguished Bluegrass stars (the tutors) and gets them to go on stage playing for fun and all for your entertainment. An absolute treasure, Jackie is another person without whom the event wouldn't be the same. And she still finds time to get down to the bar after work and have more fun. Brilliant!
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Scratch Band Tutor
Jason has been an associate of this event for several years now and has become a regular Scratch band tutor which involves the delicate task of advising the newly formed bands how to get over the difficulties of turning five individual musicians of varying ability into a tight unit in just three days! Jason knows you have to cover everything, arranging, band dynamics, playing technique and even the unexpected like the fall outs and the arguments. It helps that Jason is a seasoned performer and an able musician himself having graced the British Bluegrass stages with the Daily Planet, Natural Hazard and Rabbi John and also toured with such luminaries as Tim O'Brien. Jason is a fabulous guitarist and can flat-pick with the best of em'. It's that kind of experience we crave at Sore Fingers. We are privileged to have such a chap working for you.
Job Titles:
- Sound and Recording Engineer
Joe is one of Britain's most sought after sound engineers. His work with sister Kate and many other top rated folk and roots musicians has earned him the highest of reputations on the British acoustic music scene. Joe also does the sound on the main stage at Didmarton Bluegrass Festival, so he knows how to work with the top guns. Being a thoroughly nice chap (except with the stage monkeys), we haven't found anything about him that would suggest a silly nickname...yet! Joe sits at the mixing desk and produces the best concert sound in stage monitors and front of house systems year after year. An absolutely vital ingredient for the quality event Sore Fingers Week has become! Thanks Joe
John was originally invited to work as the sound engineer at the first Sore Fingers Week back in 1996. When in year two, the then organisers Mike & Andrea Preston found themselves double booked, they asked John and Moira to caretake the event on their behalf. Following this experience, John became an integral part of the organising team and got involved with booking tutors, a job which he continues to do to this day. As things have become busier, John no longer works the mixing desk and usually hangs around (the bar mainly) handing out orders to people who already know what they are doing. Makes him feel good and justifies his unofficial title "The Captain"! You might see him M/Cing one of the concerts and even playing his guitar...in the bar!
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scoville Units
- Sound and Recording Engineer
Another fine musician Josh is currently a full time member of The Scoville Units and knows what it feels like to get on stage with all the technology that surrounds you. He has been assisting Joe Rusby for several years and is the producer of the Sore Fingers Student Concert CD. As well as being a fine percussionist and more recently getting his guitar playing up to speed, he brings extensive knowledge of the technical side of stage work. He is a great live sound and recording engineer and with the kind of standards our tutors and scratch bands expect us to work to, we have to call upon the best, at all times...
Moira has been involved with Sore Fingers Week from the very start back in 1996 using both her administrative and musical skills as a singer and player of the double bass to fine tune the event (to you and me, that means putting some order into John's chaotic ideas). Moira takes care of the event administration and will make sure you have a place on a course, and bed to sleep in when you arrive. She also takes care of tutor hospitality and makes everybody who works for the event comfortable and happy. This stressful job has caused some of us to dub her "Auntie Moira". Nobody dares challenge her though, she pays the wages!