Happy New Year from Dockrad Records! Blwyddyn Newydd Dda pawb!
News of Howl Griff's New Year's Eve Single...

Hope you enjoyed our Howl Griff and Volent releases last year - which you can hear on our Soundcloud site - https://soundcloud.com/dockrad-records . Singer-songwriter Volent has a new EP with electronic influences out in March called 'Broken Promises' check out www.facebook.com/VolenteOfficialPage for updates...and in the meantime here's the great story below of Dockrad's Howl Griff being the first band to be played anywhere in the world in 2013! More info and video at www.howlgriff.com and from Wales online here: http://tinyurl.com/a4vc4cq . You can follow us on Twitter @DockradRecords or on Facebook.com/DockradRecords or visit www.dockrad.com

Diolch am ein cefnogi drwy'r flwyddyn! Dyma stori gwych isod am Howl Griff a sut mai nhw fydd y band cyntaf i gael eu chwarae unrhywle yn y byd yn 2013! Mwy o wybodaeth a gwyliwch y fideo yma - www.howlgriff.com , neu yma arlein gan y Western Mail http://tinyurl.com/a4vc4cq . Mae yna EP newydd electroneg gan Volent allan cyn bo hir ym mis Mawrth o'r enw 'Broken Promises' gwyliwch www.facebook.com/VolenteOfficialPage am newyddion a gwyliwch y gofod am cynnyrch Cymraeg yn ofuan. Gallwch ein dilyn ar Twitter @DockradRecords neu Facebook.com/DockradRecords neu gwelwch www.dockrad.com

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Unique New Years single International Dateline celebrates a year since Samoa crossed timezones and lost December 30th

Welsh band Howl Griff are set to become the first band played on the radio in the year 2013, as Samoan radio prepares to play their unique single, International Dateline, at the stroke of midnight on New Years Day 2013.

Thanks to the fact that Samoa sees in the New Year before any other country, it will make the Welsh-Anglo-American four-piece the first music broadcast in 2013.

The single is all about Samoa, with its lyrics celebrating the countrys decision to hop one day forward last year, aligning their calendar with Australia and New Zealand rather than America. They skipped 30 December 2012, moving straight from 29 December to New Years Eve.

The catchy song, a live favourite for the critically-acclaimed band, is being release to coincide with the first anniversary of this event. It is the second single from the album Fragile Diamond, which has received airplay across many UK radio stations and a torrent of positive reviews.

We were fascinated by the idea of Samoa jumping westwards and skipping a day, missing out December 30, says the groups singer, Hywel Griffiths. So we wrote a song about it.

We were interested in the implications of the move the way Samoa seemed to be stepping away from American influence and towards one more in line with New Zealand, and it led to us writing the lyrics Im changing my mind and crossing the line/ making the time up to you, and I feel one day younger.

When we play gigs in Cardiff or London, we always explain that the song is about Samoa, and it gets people really interested in the fact that they lost a day. One person at a gig said they were glad they hadnt done it here, because December 30 was her birthday.

It is a very danceable, fun song, and it always gets the crowds going, in London or Cardiff. Maybe one day well get to play it in Samoa, or New Zealand. That would be amazing.

You get a lot of Christmas singles, but this is probably the first ever New Years single. Wed love it could get played in Samoa as they watch the New Year dawn. We feel close to the Samoan people too, because theyre always beating us at rugby.

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A message from the Fulbright Commission:-

After an extremely successful pilot year the US-UK Fulbright Commission is once again running a Summer Institute in Wales for freshmen and sophomore undergraduates.

The Institute provides an immersive academic, cultural and social experience for freshman or sophomore American students who wish to deepen their knowledge of the United Kingdom and Wales and its diverse population whilst developing their communication, research and presentation skills. The programme will last for six weeks from 23 ^rd June until 3 ^rd August 2012 and will be held at Cardiff, Bangor and Aberystwyth universities.

The programme covers participant costs including academic programme fees, travel, housing, subsistence an cultural visits.

I would be very grateful if you could pass this information to any relevant or potentially interested parties. I apologise for the short notice of this message given the upcoming deadline.

The application deadline for all Summer Institutes is Friday 16 March 2012. For more information on each Institute and details on how to apply visit the Institute webpages: http://www.fulbright.co.uk/fulbright-awards/for-us-citizens/summer-institutes

For more information contact the UK Awards Team: programmes@fulbright.co.uk

"A new band we love. Bloody lush!" - Lauren Laverne, BBC 6music
"Life-affirming, well worth a listen, it'll put a spring in your step" - The Independent

STORM CASTLE, RELEASE SHARKS, FREE MUSIC

Diligently polishing a new album due out in spring, Welsh-Anglo-American psych-punk-alt-rockers Howl Griff invite you to a headline Camden gig, tell you about the new single, and offer you a free MP3.

STORM THE CASTLE...
On Thursday 12th January Howl Griff headline at Camden's legendary Dublin Castle http://thedublincastle.com/ Ably supported by Little Shadows, The Harlots and Deaf Offenders, HG will be unveiling their killer new single 'Sharkfins In The Sky' , released later this month but exclusively available on the night.
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/148914

...RELEASE THE SHARKS...
Released on Monday 30th January but available to pre-order now, 'Sharkfins In The Sky' combines thoughtful lyrics with irresistibly uplifting melodic invention. The story of a shooting at an ice-rink disco is soundtracked by a breathlessly catchy new wave / disco crossover, and it's fast becoming one of the band's most popular songs.

"Cleverer than a fox and twice as tuney" - Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales
More info: http://howlgriff.com/music/sharkfins.html

...FREE THE MUSIC
Every month Howl Griff give away a new song , downloadable from http://www.howlgriff.com/freemp3s.html . This month it's another longstanding live favourite: Countdown to Zero, a shuffling smorgasbord of psychedelia building into a heartfelt finale.

See the same page for access to much more free music, while Howl Griff's much-admired back catalogue is now available via Bandcamp http://howlgriff.bandcamp.com/ on a pay-as-you-please basis.

That's it for now, more next month. See you in Camden, or in what The Kids no longer call cyberspace...

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Dr. Bevil in period costume circa 1830

DR. J. MARSHALL (JACK) BEVIL is a retired string music educator, a musicologist, and a composer. He holds the degrees M.Mus and Ph.D, both in musicology, from the University of North Texas, with dual specializations in oral-aural traditions, especially those of Celtic Britain and the Celtic diaspora (particularly the American Southern Uplands), and British national music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from Sullivan through Vaughan Williams. In addition to his teaching, research scholarship, and composition, he also acts on occasion as a forensic musicologist, or consultant and expert witness in copyright and intellectual property disputes.

http://home.earthlink.net/~

llywarch/cth01.html.htm - thesis abstract

http://home.earthlink.net/~

llywarch/disab.html.htm - dissertation abstract

http://home.earthlink.net/~llywarch/pubpr.html.htm - list of publications and presentations

http://home.earthlink.net/~llywarch/tnc02.html.htm - post-doctoral investigation, question of music played during the Titanic disaster

http://home.earthlink.net/~llywarch/ku2009.html - post-doctoral investigation, linguistic basis of British national musical style, ca. 1870-1920

www.scoreexchange.com - compositions online (under Browse by Composer / B

Here are the latest scores and rankings:-

1. Sexbomb 30 points

2. Lorin Morgan-Richards 15 points

3. Mona 14 points

4. Rhianne 13 points

5. SwanseaJack 4 points

It will take a big effort to unseat the reigning champ this month. BUT for most of those in the top five a single post that hits the number one spot might do it. SO if you have time on your hands between now and Dec 31st the game is still afoot.

The 'Sheep of Excellence' are growing restless in their pen and this months winner will also receive a copy of 'A Court In Splendour' by Liz Whittaker. Read our interview with Liz here:- 'An Interview With Liz Whittaker - Author of 'A Court In Splendour'

Pob Lwc and Blwyddyn Newydd Ddaa/Happy New Year.

**Two very important results for our work in law courts during November. You may remember that I told you about Gwyneth Green, from Caernarfon, in a previous email. She was sacked by Siemens after they refused to allow her to speak in Welsh in a disciplinary hearing. Her case was heard in Abergele, and it was found that the company had discriminated against her according to race equality law (which includes language). This is an important result for the Welsh speaking Fro, and congratulations go to her solicitor, Tudor William of Wrexham, for his work on this case.

In another case, the small claims court found against our ex-treasurer, Edward Wynne Jones, who was claiming that he loaned 500 to Cymuned some time ago. The judge agreed that there was no evidence that the money given to us was a loan, especially as Edward Wynne Jones, who was our treasurer at that time, had not noted any loan in the annual accounts. It will be good to be able to concentrate on protecting and promoting the communities of the Fro without having to worry any more about our ex-treasurer's financial accusations.

**Thanks to those who wrote to the Guardian about their forthcoming article "Let's move to...Caernarfon". The article printed on Saturday 29th November, discussed the area's Welshness and the problems of holiday homes. Read the article HERE

**The protest outside the National Trust's AGM was a success for impact and publicity. More importantly, the members who voted showed a majority in favour of the motion to scrap the NT's housing development at Rhostyllen. Despite over 14 000 votes supporting our motion, though, it was overturned by the chairman's proxy vote.

Watch the AGM HERE The debate starts at about 1 hour 41 minutes. Keep an eye on the Chairman, Sir William Proby, as his own arguments are used against the development...

**Congratulation to Wales on beating Denmark and Australia! It was great to see Aaron Ramsey singing the anthem at the start of the Football game. This has become so rare that one of our members has written to the Football Association of Wales asking them to improve the situation. We'll see what reaction comes, but Alun Ffred Jones (Minister for Heritage and Sport) answered straight away to a copy of the letter, voicing his support, and hinting that he might speak with officers of the Association to find a way forward.

**We have had a message from the dotCym campaign:

"dotCym has arrived at an exceedingly important point in its development, and the time has come for everyone who wants to win .cym for Wales to show their support by becoming a member at www.dotCYM.org . The more people who join dotCYm, the more chance we have of winning support from ICANN (who decide who can have which domain names), and practical financial backing from the Assembly. Become a member now for just 2 a month - your support will help us to win an on-line Welsh identity. Come on - join now!"

**And finally, for those who signed the official Assembly on-line petition calling for a Welsh team in the 2012 Olympics, the petition committee have discussed it, and have decided to contact the International Olympic Committee in order to clarify the situation regarding National Teams for non-independent nations. Although campaigning for a Welsh Olympic team is nowhere near to being Cymuned policy, I have decided to follow the process for two reasons. Firstly, that so many of you signed the petition, and secondly in order to show a democratic process which will be useful to us as a movement, and also to you as Welsh voters. I hope that you will bear with me, even if you have no interest!

"We are pleased to announce the publication of issue 1 of WelshArtNow (WAN). WAN is the new quarterly art magazine that discusses art with a Welsh connection. Wales can now claim to have its own dedicated art magazine. WAN is A4 sized and contains 48 pages, printed in full colour on high quality art paper. WAN will ride on the crest of positive change and the sense of optimism that defines modern Wales; there would not seem a better time to launch a new and dynamic cultural arts magazine. Welsh art, now has its own platform and can take centre stage. A wide range of art is featured, ranging from cartoons to gallery art; there will even be an art centre fold each issue! As far as we are concerned its all art and is interesting in its own way. It would seem to make perfect sense to feature different types of art side by side. Although about now the magazine is interested in the rich and varied history of Wales and its people. Apart from talking about art the magazine will feature lots of original art specific to a magazine format (think of it as a gallery within a magazine)

WAN is a friendly lively read, our ambition is to open up art to a much wider range of people. We believe that the key to this is quite simply the need to talk about art. WAN is a talk shop for art; many voices expressing a range of opinions. Traditionally art magazines are seen as being hard going/ inaccessible, intended only for those already familiar with the discourse of art. Why should it be that way? We would like to see people talking about art in the same way as they might of a TV program or a piece of music.

So in summary an art magazine containing a good varied mix of art that is concerned with the here and now and is delivered with a bit of kick. The magazine has already generated an enormous amount of interest here in Wales and is already stocked in over 30 outlets and growing. This week is our grand launch, this Wednesday we will be in conversation with Nicola Hayward Thomas of BBC radio details of this broad cast will be published on our website at www.welshartnow.co.uk . WAN is pleased to announce that Borders Bookshops will be a supplier of the magazine. So out with the old and in with new- WAN - a new bold experiment in arts publishing."