The Raspberry Jam

The Raspberry Jam are an entertaining, toe-tapping, 3 piece country folk band from Neath Port Talbot. The Raspberry Jam are: Marcus Gumms – Acoustic Guitar Dave Holland – Ukelele/Mandolin Lloyd Williams - Percussion

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The Raspberry Jam at Wales' Downton Abbey!! Coed Y Mwstwr! #downtonabbey

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Is this really happening?

So I haven't written a blog in ages, sorry about that!  I just thought i'd get on it now as tonight is a huge ground breaking night for The Raspberry Jam.  After being together for 17 months, we are about to embark upon a Live Recording gig, so we can put a Live CD Release together!!

As I'm writing this, part of me actually cant believe it, I don't think it will sink in, until we have an actually copy in our hands.  The fact that we are in a position to do this is quite overwhelming.  We wouldn't have the opportunity to do this live recording if it wasn't for YOU!!

We cannot begin to put in words how grateful we are that so many of you turn up in massive numbers to listen, watch and dance to the music that we Love playing!! We love playing the songs that we do & we love the fact that you love it as well! We have met many friends through the band and it has been incredible to encounter you all.  Meeting Mike Bass aka The Silver Fox has been genius, some of the songs just don't sound the same without him!  We do need to get him a waistcoat though!!

We cannot thank you all enough for the privilege and opportunity you have given us.  Thank You!!!   On that note, why don't you come down and be apart of The Raspberry Jam's live recording??!!!!!!

We are recording it at Blanco's Hotel, Port Talbot starting at 9pm.  We're all nervous but excited at the milestone we have been able to reach.  There are many things in The Raspberry Jam dream pipeline and hopefully this is the first of many!! Thank you for helping one of the dreams being realised!! Marcus, Dave & Lloyd

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We look very Mumford & Sons here!! Come see us Live at The Adelphi, Swansea 5pm!!

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We go on in 10mins!!

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Marcus' trying out his new microphone tonight! We're on in the Surge, Taibach in 15mins!!

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Afan Tavern at 6pm today!

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Being Silly at a Wedding!

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Here we go Cwmafan Music Festival

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Come and join us Live in The Grand Hotel, Port Talbot 9pm!!

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Thank You so much

Well, we are not on the road this weekend, as we are still on our mini break, but we just wanted to let everyone know how much we appreciate you all!!

In the 13 months we have been together you have helped us reach:

over 2100 likes on our facebook page over 500 followers on twitter & over 10,000 video views on our youtube channel.

Also you have turned out to see us more than once and YOU the make The Raspberry Jam show what it is!! We never thought we would experience gigs like we have! Thank you for being so supportive!

We have met amazing people while being on the road & we call you all friends!

Again, huge appreciation from us to you & we will be back on May 16th!!

Cannot wait to see you all soon

Marcus, Dave & Lloyd

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This is a way to make us feel Loved!! Thanks King Arthur!

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Lloyds percussion Selfie

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Look at us gigging on a Tuesday!!

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Lloyd Loves The Scarlets!!

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1 more Sleep & The Raspberry Jam 1st Anniversary show is here!

I cannot believe it.  The Raspberry Jam 1st Anniversary show is tomorrow!!  It is going to be a great night & we promise to give it our all! Last night we rehearsed an absolute fan favourite classic last night (Wed 12 March) with Northern Lights.  The Guitar Wizard & Songstress as they are also known as are extremely talented & for a duo they can set a room alight with their talent & sound! So here's the low down of our rehearsal last night.  LLoyd brought pop corn chicken and a krushem from KFC.  Marcus rocked up making an entrance as only he knows how.  Abby isn't feeling too well, so she pushed through the pain barrier. Sunnie worked out the tricky parts of the song & Dave helped, well more like took credit for it.

The one monumental thing that happened, apart from achieving a great cover, was that Dave managed to break a Kazoo!  How is this possible I hear you ask, well the answer is simple!! Dave's either hard or full of hot air, but anyway we got to buy a new Kazoo now! Nice one Dave!

We will post pics tomorrow of us setting the staging and getting ready for the biggest show of The Raspberry Jam's 1 year life! See you all tomorrow Marcus, Dave & Lloyd

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2 More Sleeps to Go!

In exactly 2 more sleeps it will be time for The Raspberry Jam 1st Anniversary Show!

A massive thank you to everyone who has bought tickets and made this event a sell-out.  We are extremely appreciative & shocked by the response of our Raspberry Jam friends.  We wouldn't be where we are without you & we owe you all so much.  We will try to say thank you this Friday's at our 1st anniversary show & it is shaping up to be an incredible night!   Last night (Tues 11th March) we had our rehearsal with The 2 Tones. The 2 Tones are extremely talented and their technical ability mixed with vocal harmony heaven makes this acoustic duo a joy to watch.  So last nights rehearsal started off a little sketchy, as we are attempting something a little different & something that really shouldn't work.  After battling through the first 40 mins, things began to come together & I can proudly say we have a great finished product. The vocal harmonies, word pronunciation, rhythm section all mixed with guitars, mandolin & of course the ukulele help this song sound slightly different to what you may have heard before.  I don't know if the performance will be as sassy as Jay Kay's & Anastacia's or as sexy as Timberlake's and Kylie's Brits collaborations, but if we nail it right on the night, it will be great!!

Tonight we embark upon a rehearsal with Northern Lights.  Here goes to creating another masterpiece for the The Raspberry Jam 1st Anniversary Show.  Excited doesn't begin to describe how I'm feeling right now. Dave - Ukulele The Raspberry Jam

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1st Anniversary Show - Karma Detectives Rehearsal

Well as most of you probably know, we have our 1st year anniversary show coming up on March 14th.  Rehearsals are well under way and last night we had a rehearsal with one of our band friends 'Karma Detectives'. We've decided to cover an all time great, a classic & after last night it is sounding good.  I'm biased obviously, but the Karma Detectives did put us through our paces.  It was a Raspberry Jam rehearsal like no other.  After 2 or 3 attempts we normally give up and look for something else, but not the Karma Detectives.  They made us stick it out & I'm happy to say that I'm glad we did.  I can't see this kind of perseverance happening in a regular Raspberry Jam rehearsal, but it was one practice that is for a very special occasion, so we'll let it slide. We all worked hard, but 2 very important things came out of the night.  Marcus has renamed Andrew Dyer - Mr Tinkle!  Andrew kept piling the pressure on Marcus to play an octave higher on the guitar & were simply not used to technical arrangement, so in jest (& a little frustration) Marcus shouted 'Easy now Mr Tinkle'.  I don't know whether or not it will stick, but I for sure will never forget that moment. Ross has been dubbed The Harmony King, because wherever possible he is looking for harmonies and getting as many people involved in harmony mayhem possible. We're having so much fun putting this show together for all our Raspberry Jam friends & it will be a great night of music and memories! If you haven't got your ticket sorted yet, get down to The Four Winds, Aberavon or contact us to sort this for you.  Tickets are only £5. We'd love to share this night with you. Marcus, Dave & Lloyd The Raspberry  Jam

Rehearsal Time - 3 hours