The Flaming Czars

The Flaming Czars - 500mph Instrumental East European Folk

Dan Whaley - Guitar Geoff Graham - Accordion

Classically trained ivory tinkler Geoff & hamfisted garage punk string plucker Dan first met when playing in rock'n'roll and blues bands, but discovered they had a shared love of music from the opposite hemisphere. Since mid 2006 they have been plying their hi-octane East European instrumental folk at a number of Sussex's fine folk clubs, and occasionally tread the boards up in that London. See below for details of when you can next catch them, or when you last missed them.

Forthcoming Gigs

Tues 16th Feb - Folk By the Fireside at The Woolpack, Burgess Hill

Previous Gigs

14th July, 2006: Scaledown, London W1 (preceded 3 hours and several pints earlier by a live set on the Scaledown Radio show on Resonance FM)

19th Sept, 2006: Six Bells Folk Club, Chiddingly, East Sussex - fantastic venue, great atmosphere, great performers

31st Oct, 2006: Fireman's Arms, Five Ash Down, East Sussex - Splendid monthly open mic night featuring a wide variety of performers

14th Nov, 2006: Six Bells Folk Club , Chiddingly, East Sussex - fantastic venue, great atmosphere, great performers

28th Nov, 2006: Fireman's Arms, Five Ash Down, East Sussex

9th Jan, 2007: Six Bells Folk Club, Chiddingly, East Sussex - as well as playing the usual rip-roaring East European folk tunes, Geoff switched from accordian to joanna for a quick runthrough of some of the old r'n'b/r'n'r numbers we used to do in The Silencers

12th Mar, 2007: Brighton Singaround, The Lord Nelson, Trafalgar St, Brighton, East Sussex - we also joined in on some of the English & Irish folk tunes being played by the regulars

16th Mar, 2007: The Basement, MCPS-PRS, 29-33 Berners St, London W1

14th May, 2007: Brighton Singaround, The Lord Nelson, Trafalgar St, Brighton, East Sussex

26th June, 2007: Fireman's Arms, Five Ash Down, East Sussex

11th July, 2007: What's Cookin' at Leytonstone Ex-Servicemens Club, Harvey Road, Leytonstone, London E11 with Manuela & The Music Makers & Dan Mangan

19th July, 2007: Uckfield Festival, The Fireman's Night at the Luxford Lounge, Uckfield Civic Centre, East Sussex

11th Sept, 2007: The Round Georges, Brighton, East Sussex

18th Sept, 2007: Six Bells Folk Club, Chiddingly, East Sussex

5th Oct, 2007: The Greenhouse Effect, Hove, East Sussex

10th Oct, 2007: The London Unity, Brighton

18th Oct, 2007: The Royal Oak, Lewes with the excellent Ben Paley & Tab Hunter

6th Nov, 2007: The Round Georges, Brighton, East Sussex

27th Nov, 2007: Fireman's Arms, Five Ash Down, East Sussex

10th December, 2007: The Borderline, London W1

8th January, 2008: The Round Georges, Brighton, East Sussex (extended set i.e. we played every tune we knew, and a few we didn't)

2nd April, 2008: The Crown & Anchor, Brighton, East Sussex

2nd July, 2008: The Crown & Anchor, Brighton, East Sussex

15th July, 2008: Uckfield Festival, The Pig & Butcher's Night at the Luxford Lounge, Uckfield Civic Centre, East Sussex

19th July, 2008: The Prince Albert, Brighton with Los Fantasticos and The Richwoods

29th July, 2008: The Round Georges, Brighton, East Sussex

6th Aug, 2008: The Crown & Anchor, Brighton, East Sussex

9th Aug 2008: Desmond Dekker stage, Endorse It In Dorset Festival, err, Dorset

20th Sept, 2008: British Seaside Cabaret at Oxford House, Bethnal Green with The Richwoods, Don Tempi and many more fine acts

1st Dec, 2008: Brighton Singaround, The Lord Nelson, Trafalgar St, Brighton, East Sussex

15th Dec, 2008: Private Party

24th Jan, 2009: The Dyke Tavern, Brighton, East Sussex with John Zonn and The Richwoods

26th July, 2009: The Woolpack, Burgess Hill, West Sussex. Our first ever "hometown" performance. It's only taken us 3 years...

5th Aug, 2009: The Crown & Anchor, Brighton, East Sussex

9th Aug, 2009: Wildcat stage, Endorse It In Dorset festival, apparently just over the border in Wiltshire, not in Dorset as you'd assume.

9th Sept, 2009: The White Horse, Hurstpierpoint

6th Oct, 2009: The Round Georges, Brighton, East Sussex

20th Oct, 2009: The Woolpack, Burgess Hill, West Sussex. Opening night of the Woolpack Folk Club, hosted by none other than....The Flaming Czars!

24th Oct, 2009: The Woolpack, Burgess Hill, West Sussex. And 4 days later we were back, entertaining the diners with 1 set of standard Czars material, and 1 of rock'n'roll numbers on joanna and lecky git

10th Nov, 2009: Six Bells Folk Club , Chiddingly, East Sussex

17th Nov, 2009: The Woolpack, Burgess Hill, West Sussex. Second night of the Woolpack Folk Club, hosted by none other than....The Flaming Czars!

12th Dec, 2009: Mooch, Burgess Hill. My 40th birthday bash

19th Jan, 2010: Folk By The Fireside #4 at the Woolpack, Burgess Hill

2nd Feb, 2010: Six Bells Folk Club , Chiddingly, East Sussex

16th Feb, 2010: Folk By The Fireside #5 at the Woolpack, Burgess Hill

Video footage

The following YouTube clips were filmed by Dave Hopkins at the British Red Cross benefit gig at Oxford House, Bethnal Green on 20th September, 2008. From my persepctive, there are two particularly notable things from this footage:

1) I really didn't appreciate how fast we play until I saw this footage and

2) I really ought to heed my own advice and shut the dickens up between songs. Still, drunken overexcited high-pitched ramblings aside, these songs crackle with enough energy to power a Soviet agricultural production co-operative.

Rospryahaite http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhRoyiI5SoA

Zwei Gitarren http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opBoqvU5MXg

Hungarian Dance No 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYBPGwzi0g8

Ach, Du Dunkle Nacht/Fag Butt Frank http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_eYZGu-c58

Hava Nagila http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQHbdX_S3Qw

Shazam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSJDTVV-xeE

And here's some footage of Rospryahaite shot by Pam'la Motown at a private party we played on 15th Dec, 2008: