The Basic Timetable

Well I know many of you have been chasing me for the basic timetable so you can start to work out your days. So here it is. Tomorrow I will make the full timetable available as a document you can download if you wish. We are so looking forward to seeing you all back at the Champs and to welcome many new people who have booked this year. Its going to be a great weekend of Music, Dancing, Friendship and fun.

Friday Fun Competition

Solo Blues
Approx 10pm

Saturday Competitions

Doors Open 10.15 am

Lucky Dip
Partnering at 11.00 am

Young, Fun and Feisty
First Song 11.50am

Smooth Blues Fusion - The Juke Joint Trophy
First Song 11.55am

Fresh Fundamentals
First Song at 12.30 pm

In The Zone
First Song at 12.35pm

Valentines Trophy
Songs 1&2 at 14.30pm

Sunday Competitions

Doors Open at 10.45

Smooth, Sassy and Sophisticated
First Song 11.30

Polished and Professional
First Song 11.35

Raw and Ready
First Song 12.10

Swinging The Blues - CurlyWurly Trophy
First Song 12.15

Jack and Jill
Approximatly 16.30

You can contact us via Facebook
Lisa on https://www.facebook.com/lisa.c.graydon

Chris on https://www.facebook.com/mrdjchrisu

The Champs Competition Music

So lets give you the details of the Champs Competition music. I hope you all enjoyed my choices.
I will try my best to compile a Spotify list when I can.

Friday Night Solo Blues

40 Cups of Coffee - Ella Mae Morse

Saturday Competition Tunes. No particular order.

I'm Not Drunk, Im Just Drinking - Di Ann Price
Came To Leave - Shoshana Bean
Cast The First Stone - Paula Harris
Little Wheel - John Lee Hooker
Fine Brown Frame - Nellie Lutcher
Retro Boy - Richard Elliot
Baby What You Want Me To Do - Bonnie Lee
Back Porch Blues - Tom Rigney
Bad Luck Blues - Billy Boy Arnold
My Babe - Snooky Prior

I See Fire (Kygo Remix) - Ed Sheeran
Night Air - Jamie Woon
It Never Rains In Southern California - Albert Hammond
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Go With Me - Dietrick Haddon
I Still Believe in you - Mavis Staples

Nine One One! - R&B Bombers
Bubbly Kisses - Ina Forsman
Buff's Bar Blues - Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Leave My Money Alone - Phillip Walker
I'll Walk Away - James Hunter
Who Is He (And what is he to you) - Lenny Henry
Fever - Ruby Wilson
Stop Breakin' Down Blues - Eric Clapton
Shagging To The Blues - Original Beach Music Band

You're Gonna Get Next To Me - Bo Kirkland and Ruth Davis
Yo Dress Is To Short - Bob Steele
Driftin' Blues - Sam Cooke
Walking Blues - Joe Bonamassa
Behind My Back - Sista Monica Parker
Somebody Call The Cops - Sally Kellerman

Sunday Competition Tracks (A little bit more gritty)

Whoa Yeah - John Studebaker and The Hawks
I'm Ready - Muddy Waters
Checkin' Up On My Baby - Mick Jagger and the Red Devils
Jump The Broom - Mr Sipp
My Baby's Gone - Lightening Hopkins
Juniors Wail (Ft Elmore James) - Junior Wells
This Business Of Love - Domino
Goin' Crazy With The Blues - Hot Sardines

The Man Who Cant Be Moved - The Script
With Or Without You - Cunnie Williams
Down In Mississippi - Mavis Staples
Left Me Singing The Blues - Trudy Lynn With The Calvin Owen Blues Orchestra
Love Uprising - Jackie Wilson
Days Of Depression (Ft Blind Boys of Alabama) - The Reverend Shawn Amos
I'm Mad Again - John Lee Hooker
Grinnin' Like A Cheesy Cat - Mighty Blue Kings
Murder In The First Degree - Elvin Bishop

If You're A Viper - Di Ann Price
The Blonde Next Door - Vann "Piano Man" Walls
Singin' Down at 10th and Main - Curtis Stigers
Chaos In Tejas - Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat
Christine - The Chris O'Leary Band
St Louis Blues - Ella Fitzgerald
Work Song - Nina Simone

As we had more entrants some of the songs were paired up at the last minute to accommodate the splitting of categories into 2 rounds. But it seemed to work ok. I hoped you liked them. I had fun (and some pain) selecting them.

perhaps we might do it all again next year.

Chris Uren

Results

2016 UK Blues and Smooth Championships.

Here are the results for the Championships. Didn't win or place. Worry not. You're all winners simply for supporting us and 'Having a go'. Chris Uren and Lisa Graydon

Friday Fun Competition

Solo Blues
1st Janette Shillito
2nd Chiharu Chi Nakao
3rd Gina Scholdfield

Saturday Competitions

Lucky Dip
1st Ann Harrison and Michelle Black
2nd Liam Ball and Melissa Dring
3rd David Wood and Chloe Hunt

Fresh Fundamentals
1st Jennifer Cowling and Fiona Newby
2nd Anton Antonov and Melanie Farrington
3rd Chris Wiseman and Jessica Rose

Young, Fun and Feisty
1st Matthew Brook and Hannah Lonsdale
2nd Liam Ball and Bianca Blezard
3rd Deej Moors and Heidi Ayling

In The Zone
1st Paul Ray and Sarah Lovatt
2nd Niel Wiffen and Jo Wiseman
3rd Chloe Hunt and Mellisa Dring

Smooth Blues Fusion - The Juke Joint Trophy
1st Matthew Brooke and Suzanne Berson
2nd Neil Wiffen and Jo Wiseman
3rd Liam Ball and Bianca Blezard

Valentines Trophy
1st Liam Ball and Bianca Blezard
2nd Robert Docherty and Magdelena Bukala-Docherty
3rd Gary Woodward and Alex Peel

Sunday Competitions

Smooth, Sassy and Sophisticated
1st Paul Ray and Thelma Quince
2nd Nick Shore and Ann Harrison
3rd Steve King and Carol Almond

Raw and Ready
1st Matthew Brooke and Hanna Lonsdale
2nd Deej Moors and Heidi Ayling
3rd Steve King and Carol Almond

Swinging The Blues - CurlyWurly Trophy
1st Robert Jeffreys and Anna Jeffreys
2nd Melvin Young and D Lynn Davis
3rd Ken Blake and Ann Harrison

Polished and Professional
1st Deej Moors and Heidi Ayling
2nd Matthew Brooke and Carol Lloyd
3rd Robert Jeffries and Anna Jeffries

Jack and Jill
1st Robert Jeffries and Heidi Ayling
2nd Robert Docherty and Michelle Black
3rd Deej Moors and Sarah Lovatt

You all did brilliantly. Entered into the spirit of the event and we both think you are all. WONDERFULL.

Chris, Lisa and the Champs crew.

Friday Night at The Blues and Smooth

Friday night will be Freestyle, with a fun competition to introduce to the world of Solo Blues. Two rooms of music, with DJs being chucked on the second room decks as they arrive. Your first chance to get into the groove of the weekend. Meet, and perhaps dance with, your Judges. And suss out your fellow competitors and maybe even find a last minute partner. If you can make it on the Friday I know it will give you a great start to the weekend and if it's your first time then you will hopefully see what a friendly vibe we aim to give the weekend.

Lisa, myself, and many of our amazing crew will be on hand to help you with any last minute enquiries and dance with you. Please don't be afraid to chat to us as it really is our aim to make this a great weekend for everybody. There will be dancers there from all over the UK and even one or two from farther afield. So please follow the ethos of 'Dance with everybody'.

Solo Blues Dancing

When we started this event we always said that we would do our best to introduce you to more of the Blues world and this time we have chosen 'Solo Blues Dancing'. Now in the blues world this is a very serious form of dance, but we know that many of you have never heard of it. Let alone seen it. So please don't be intimidated. It's about interpretation of the music and personal expression. Below are a couple of You tube video's to give you a flavour and hopefully encourage you to join in. It's fun and there are medals to be won. It will be up to you in the future if you want to see more of it and perhaps organise some workshops. And then maybe a competition category in the future.

This first Video is taken from the 2013 European Swing Dance Champs and as you can see is taken VERY seriously https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdm1b5jtT0k. It really shows how different people interperate the music being played.

This is a short instructional video presented by Rachel Cassandra. There are loads of instructional Solo Blues video's on You tube This is just a quick example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyF5laD8RDE

So my final message to you. Come along on Friday. Enjoy and prepare for the comps on Saturday and Sunday. Lisa, Myself and the rest of the crew look forward to seeing you.

The Blues and The Smooth. Music Music Music.

When Lisa and I decided to set up the UK Blues and Smooth Championships we knew that we would be walking into the continuous debate about the music to be played. What is Blues? What is Smooth? Is there a crossover? Now I am not going to go into in's and out's of the various arguments. I am just going to tell you, as the competition music DJ, what I consider to be the various styles and where you might find them in the actual competitions. This will hopefully help you in your decisions about what to enter and what to practise to. These are only examples and actually the range of music I could choose from is vast. Perhaps next time I will talk about the R&B I could use.

Blue, Blues Blues.

 

Let's start with the amazing Buster Benton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ILvoVn-T0 

This is a piece of classic "Middle of the Road" Blues. In competition terms you could get this for newbies or more experienced dancers.

 

Now a track from Jimmy Dawkins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVaCXCpv_4w. Much slower and In need of more dancers interpretation. Your only going to get something like this if your in the Opens or maybe Down and dirty.

 

Another Blues Classic originally by Muddy Waters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaRbgUDpBdo Why would I put this in. Because of it's short. swinging and those wonderful breaks. Hit them and the Judges might just be impressed.

 

Smooth, Smooth, Smooth

 

Let the debate begin. What you dance to Smooth is up to you. But here are a couple of what I consider to be Smooth tunes. Your going to get something like this as part of the Valentines Trophy and for sure in the Juke Joint Trophy. "Cause we play it a lot at Juke Joint"

 

 Tower of power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVWxYSko5FU. Great tune AND it also has breaks. This is smooth. Yep. Reckon this would be a pretty good competition track. Downside, its 5.20 long and I would not dare to chop it. Against my principals. Anyway the coolest breaks are at the end.

 

Here is a heads up. Somebody will get a Curtis Stigers track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT7DdqiMnkk This is a very Smooth piece of Jazz. It's so smooth if I tilted it a bit you would slide off. But will you get THIS Curtis Track!!!!

 

My last selection today is Blue Six. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByC96NIXNkA. Used to be a regular play at Juke Joint. It's starting to get near to the R&B vibe, But not quite.

 

Thanks for looking. If you are still thinking about booking then get shifting. Booking can be via the website at http://www.curlywurlyevents.com/blues-.php or you could contact Lisa direct on 07763 134026 if you want to talk to somebody.

 

The Facebook competition page can be found here https://www.facebook.com/events/1573372316239595/

 

 



 

The 2016 Competition Music

On the Three days of the Championships you will have some Amazing DJs looking after you. And they will play during the frequent freestyle and night sessions. But apart from one category (Swinging the Blues, which is Lisa's and Dave's baby) I will pick the Competition music. It's a task that I take very seriously and the process began not long after last years competitions. In the photograph you can see three vital USB sticks. Yes, difficult to believe, but I have a system!!!

 

As I listen to music and hear an old or new potential track it will get put onto the small green stick. This lives in my car and is listened to as I drive to and from gigs. It currently holds around 840 possible tunes. If I deem it as a real possible then it goes onto the middle purple stick and I go through that from time to time. Currently this holds around 60 tracks. The big Green stick is track's that will get played. Currently 5 tracks. But tracks do get deleted.



Chris Uren



 However, I am constantly hearing and reviewing new music, a track could make it on as late as the Friday Night; So a long way to go yet. And what makes a competition track. Well maybe I will try to explain that next time. How a track is good for one category and not another etc. Until then a link to my Spotify List to give you a flavour of what could be on the cards for you.

Just A Few Blues Tunes

Now if you are still sitting on the fence. Get off and book. It's going to be a great weekend. Book by going to the Website http://curlywurlyevents.com/blues-.php or you can contact myself or Lisa via our Facebook Pages
Lisa Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lisa.c.graydon?fref=ts
Chris Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dj.chrisuren

And if your desperate to speak to a REAL human then Lisa on 07763 134026

 

It's Getting closer

Now it really is getting close. Lisa and her team of helpers are thinking about how to look after you during your visit. The Judges are discussing the rules and what will be expected from you (Smile, Smile, Smile AND Enjoy yourself) and I am working on the Medals and Trophies that you are taking back home with you. The last Round of the Valentines Trophy heats will take place at The Supper Dance on the 17th. Click on the link to get the facebook Details. https://www.facebook.com/events/201498030195720/.

And if your still not sure what to enter at the Champs you can get your pass and decide later. But get your place sorted as it's filling up.

It is going to be a fantastic weekend of Music, Dancing, Competition. But above all, an event of Fun and Laughter with a group of people who love Music and Dance. I look forward to seeing you all there.

We are all looking forward to seeing you in just 5 weeks time. I will post next about some of the categories and the music.

Lisa Graydon Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lisa.c.graydon?fref=ts
Chris Uren Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dj.chrisuren
Event Facebook page for details https://www.facebook.com/events/1573372316239595/