Towards the end of 2002 Neil, decided that being in the band was too stressful commuting from his house in North Wales, and so the band was on the look out for another replacement guitarist, at the same time Mark had been offered a touring position in a "bigger" band and so was also not available for selection.. Much discussion followed on whether, and in what form the band should continue.
In the end Nic, Liz and Nathan chose to slim down to a Quartet, with Lizzie reworking all the dual fiddle parts and keeping the best bits, at the same time a breaking in a new guitarist. Jakey Graupner ... a long term fan of the band and occasional solo support act was drafted in. Most of the fans never knew he could play electric guitar ... They should have picked up the hints from the previous christmas bash where he joined them onstage for the encore with a very battered Strat'!
Jakey's (and the Quartet format) first gig was in Kent - Deal, and this was proof that everything would work as a quartet. The change also brought some energy, which developed into the sessions where the Skyclad EP was born. This was also the period where Bluehorses played the Saul Festival and after a highly charged evening, the final encore was Jakey taking the lead to a rendition of "Folk on the Water" to the Deep Purple tune of a similar name. As everyone left the tent to return to their resting places, there was a fog over the canal penetrated by red and blue lights ... one of the barges had caught fire and this was the responders dealing with it. A mercurial sign maybe.
The Saul show had gone so well, that Nic was soon talking to David Wheeler about doing another video, this time for DVD and this was penciled for 2005 Saul festival. In the intervening months Jakey had to resign his place in the band, due to personal problems and a big panic followed to find a new guitarist in time for the video recording. A manic call around everyone they knew in the Cardiff area turned up Jay MacDonnald, who passed the audition with flying colours and then learnt the set off, in super quick time ready for the first shows of the year.
By the time Saul came around Jay looked as if he had always belonged, and all the work with rehearsals etc. had also generated some new tunes for the DVD. The DVD itself was filmed direct at the festival, with all the usual panics of getting things right , and even then the first couple if tracks had to be repeated as there was a problem with the sound.
The DVD certainly helped in getting the shows for the next year, and especial at Montreux, where they played 2 nights at the Jazz festival, earning many new friends. The tee-shirts are still treasured to this day.
What caught the spark, or how Nic got to hearing the Folk Metal of Scandinavia, we will never know. However this lead to another milestone, with Nic and Jay locked away for hours working on new material, emerging with what transpired into Thirteen Fires. This utilized a lot of the new technology that had become available, which allowed for Studio standard recording to be done in a much more convivial atmosphere, without the time and money pressures of hiring a studio.
The pressure of the forever present struggle to make ends meet, finally came out on top, and the band fragmented after the tour to promote thirteen fires. All we are now left with is the memories
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