We had a great time at the Rock n Flore festival!!! The what, the who, the where, I hear you say! The Rock’n’Flore music festival held at the botanical gardens in Mornac near Anguoleme. We were thrilled to be invited to play, and shared the bill with Joane Calice, who has my local guitar hero Thomas Ottogali in her band. Also the fab’ Cognac Saints. We were in good company eh? 🙂

Our good friend, and ace photographer Ian Wilson was on hand to capture the experience.

You find Ian’s photos from the night here.

It really was a great night, and one we’ll remember for a long time. So many people to thank, Francis the sound engineer who was a pleasure to work with, all the Rock’n’Flore team who made us feel so welcome, and of course head honcho Igor Burtin for giving us the chance to play. Thanks Igor!

Why “musicici.com”?

There is a thriving flourishing live music scene in France. In the summer especially there is so much to see and do it’s hard to keep track of it all. We got fed up of hearing, “we didn’t know it was on”, and, “where do you find out about these things”. We found that people living in the Haute Vienne had no idea what was happening in the Charente or the Dordogne even though they might be just a few kilometers over the border. We decided to do something about it. This is it – ‘music ici‘!

To start off with we are just going to focus on our little corner of France. Using Confolens in the Charente as our hub, we’ll report on what’s happening within a two-hour drive. We’ll tell you about gigs, concerts, festivals, we’ll report on artists, bands, and venues. We want to share with you some of the vibe that’s happening here.

We want you to get involved. If you went to a great gig, tell us about it. If you are a band, send us your dates, we’ll publish them. If you are a venue, let us share your calendar.

From time to time we’ll invite guest writers, and reporters. We’ll arrange interviews and photoshoots. If your mother comes from Russia or has a black handled knife, we want to know!

Contact Music Ici here

We, as in, The Sugaree Band have bagged a gig at the local Roman baths! Which means, we’ll be playing on 7th August at Cassinomagus the site of the old Roman thermal baths at Chassenon. Got our picture in the brochure, and our info’ on the website here. Dead chuffed is us!

At last, after months of hard work, sweat, blood, tears, nudity….I present to you, the very limited edition Sugaree Band CD….

Containing 10 of the songs that we love to play the most. Covering a fairly wide range of styles to demonstrate our versatility, each one lovingly crafted for maximum eargasmic effect. Actually it’s a CD we’ve put together to try and get work, but we have a few copies left over. If you’d like one, you can have one! for 5 euros! Just contact us, and tell us.

Keep on Rocking in the Free World!!! 🙂

My very first older person’s illness. I’ve had shingles, and it stinks. Here’s the gruesome evidence…..

I’d been feeling a bit low for a while, starting end of Feb really, but as lots of people were getting colds/flu, I thought I’d maybe go the start of something like that. Next I came out in a rash. Nothing new for me, as I often get a slight rash just before I’m ill (ever since I went to Turkey in 82!). Things seem to be getting worse by the day, and I come out in blisters. A trip to the doctors confirms I have Shingles. There isn’t really anything you can do apart from rest, and take painkillers if you need then. I’m thinking i’ll be over it in a few days, but 5 weeks later I’m still not clear. I’m feeling much better, the pain has turned mostly to itching, I’m healed enough to be able to wear a cycling jersey, and I managed an hour on my bike yesterday, but that wiped me out.

Anyway, not complaining…..onward and upward! 🙂

OK, anybody can do it. If you have some original songs you can upload too! 🙂

Click the badges to find out more, or upload something of yours.

Blimey! stratobiker.com is 10 years old this weekend! Where did that go?

10 years ago I started this blog while recovering from a bike crash. Little did I know at the time the significant part that would come to play.

I’m gonna chew it over on a bike ride and get back to you later….

Yeah, so 10 years ago I was a hardworking IT contractor. I earned great money, but I hated it. In my spare time I raced my bike and played guitar.

When I crashed my bike it really shook me. I remember the surgeon telling me my shoulder would never be the same again…and he was right! 10 years down the line I can hardly raise my arm high enough to scratch my head. I cannot throw a stone, and I had to give up my dream of becoming a trapeze artist. It still hurts too. Not all the time, and my brain has learned to switch off to it, but from time to time. It get’s very sore after a couple of hours on the bike, but I manage it, usually by putting my hand on my leg and cycling my arm up and down. I’m not complaining, I can still ride my bike, and I can still play my guitar.

Yeah, so 10 years down the line, I live in France, where I’m semi retired. I still ride my bike a lot. I don’t function if I don’t get my exercise fix, and France is such a beautiful country to cycle in. I still play my guitar. I’m in “The Sugaree Band“, playing Rock, Blues, Funk, and anything else that takes our fancy. I started a Jazz club! It’s been going from strength to strength. In fact so many good things have come out of it it deserves a post of it’s own.

When that surgeon told me my shoulder would never be the same again I was gutted, and I didn’t realise the extent of the effect it would have on me. If he’d told me I would move to France and start a jazz club….well…who knows what’s around the next corner eh?

Here’s to the next 10 years. I wish you all well.

Share