Guest No More

Subject: Guest No More
From: Leeder
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 06:15 PM

I've just become a member after participating sporadically as a guest for a couple of years. What took me so long? Originally, I was working for a company whose workflow was becoming more uneven, I was on-line with time on my hands, I discovered this forum, but I didn't want to draw attention to myself by formalizing my participation. (Call me paranoid, but I just didn't feel comfortable with the situation.)

The company unexpectedly shut down its Calgary branch office, I opted not to relocate to Toronto, and since then I've been lowering my overhead and trying to stretch my severance to pensionable age. (Not too successfully -- I expect I'll be going to the B-list of less suitable day jobs soon.) Ironically, I'm posting less often since I've been at home with time available. For one thing, I share the home computer with a university student/fantasy writer son. For another, having to go downstairs and fire up the computer is a slight disincentive compared to being already on-line.

I don't feel any need for anonymity, so I'll go on a bit about myself. I'm 58, married, with two adult children (son and daughter) from a former marriage and one son of university age living at home. Musically, I play clawhammer-style (sort of) banjo and octave mandolin, mostly. One of my interests is Canadian traditional music (I'm still secretary of the Canadian Society for Traditional Music, as of the meetings a week ago.) I like most kinds of folk music, particularly American old-time and British traditional. I tend to prefer the traditional end of the folk music spectrum to the contemporary end, but there's lots of good stuff in the latter as well; I just find there's more mediocre stuff to wade through to find the gems. I've written a few songs and tunes that have been recorded by other people, and am working on a CD of my own (stalled by an equipment problem -- I'd hoped to have it out for Christmas, but that's not realistic now). I play in a "Celtic" group in Calgary (Scottish and Northumbrian repetertoire with some Irish and Canadian), participate in other "Celtic" sessions, and do solo gigs when they come along, which isn't all that often.

I helped run a folk club for over 11 years, until I got overloaded. I was president of the Canadian Folk Music Society for a couple of years. I've volunteered at folk festivals in various capacities (not in the last few years, though). I've been editor, co-editor and various other jobs with the Canadian Folk Music Bulletin (a quarterly publication of CSTM), and am still involved. I take part in some grassroots activities, including a singers' circle and a contra dance group.

Maybe becoming a member will be incentive to up my participation, but not in the short term -- I'm off to England to visit my daughter and check out my first grandchild, until about mid-November. Thank god for Airmiles!

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Steve in Idaho
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 06:21 PM

Well Welcome!!! Nice to meet you and hope to hear more from you!!

Steve

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: SharonA
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 06:23 PM

Welcome to the ranks of the "identifiable" Mudcatters, Leeder! Greetings from 'way down south in Pennsylvania!

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Mr Red
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 06:34 PM

Welcome
If you aim to check-out a few venues they are a little closer together than you are probably used to.
my site covers the the mid west of England (look for Gloucester) but I link to sites in the geographical proximity. (mostly)

surf from there.
Yorkshire (up and to the right 4 hours) seems to have the biggest density of 'catters. Where is No1 daughter's Uni?

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 06:42 PM

Welcome to the Mudcat Leeder.

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 07:13 PM

Tell me about the clawhammer. Is it that you "sort of play" clawhammer, or that you play "sort of clawhammer"? If the latter, would you tell us about the stroke style you use?

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 07:24 PM

So now head across to the Mudcat Photos section and put a picture in the roigues gallery. Or maybe with till you've got one with your grandchild. And there is the Profiles section as well.

Thanks. It's good having a better idea of the people with whom you are exchanging views.

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Sorcha
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 07:50 PM

Yes, indeed, welcome to the zoo! We're only dangerous near feeding time! Glad to have you, friend.

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: GUEST,8_Pints
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 07:51 PM

Welcome to Mudcat.

What sort of Northumbrian music do you like?

I play the Northumbrian Small Pipes together with "Geordie Broon" from time to time.

We are in the Manchester, UK area - but whereabouts is your daughter based?

Perhaps we shall see you soon.

Bob vG

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: JohnB
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 07:53 PM

Please tell me more about these dense Yorkshire Catters :) JohnB ExLancastrian. Oh Welcome BTW, I am usually a guest when at work but I am at home right now so I'm not, a guest that is.

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: John P
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 10:09 PM

It's nice to hear that there is one more octave mandolin player on Mudcat. We can always use more. I too am an octave mandolin player who sort of does clawhammer banjo.

JP

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: catspaw49
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 10:17 PM

Glad you fianlly joined John. Many of us have enjoyed your postings and hope to hear more from you now.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Leeder
Date: 05 Nov 01 - 11:48 PM

Thanks for the welcomes and info. To answer the questions in order:

Banjo: I play a melodic clawhammer style but use an anchor (i.e., little finger on the head). I've never seen anyone else do this, except once a bluegrass player who was trying to demonstrate frailing in a workshop but had forgotten how. (I started playing Seeger style, moved on to frailing, but left the anchor on. People told me it was impossible, but by then it was too late to quit.) I use a lot of single notes and small chords, lots of drop-thumb. I lose something in attack and traditional feel, but gain a lot in precision. I do a lot of non-traditional stuff, my own arrangements of non-banjo tunes and songs, etc.

Northumbrian music: One band I play with, Gan-Ainm, has two smallpipes players, father and son. Dick Lofthouse (the father) plays a lot of the usual repertoire and Scottish and Irish tunes. (He also plays melodeon and concertina.) Derek (the son) plays tunes he learned from his father, and is getting into French and Breton stuff. (He also plays flute and whistles.) My knowledge of Northumbrian music is mostly tunes I've learned from them (most of whose names I don't remember, but I can play along with them), plus old High Level Ranters, Alistair Anderson, etc., records.

Locale in England: My daughter lives in the Bournemouth area. I've started another thread to see if anybody can get together while I'm over there. (I've got a folk club floor set the night I arrive, if I'm not too jet-lagged.)

Octave mandolin: What tuning do you use? I'm a boring old GDAE player; I know some people do AEAE.

Again, thanks all for the welcome.

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Big Mick
Date: 06 Nov 01 - 12:33 AM

Sure am glad you joined us, John. Be sure and learn to use the search engines, especially when looking for lyrics. Doesn't matter what your discipline is, or what type of songs you are looking for their are plenty of great 'Catters willing to help. And now we have one more. I love this place.

All the best,

Big Mick

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Leeder
Date: 06 Nov 01 - 12:41 AM

Re photos: I don't have a scanner; maybe my son can help me figure out how to get a photo on-line (my older son, who's designing my CD packaging).

Meanwhile there's some photos of me at http://homepage.mac.com/bcreeler/PhotoAlbum1.html (password pints!!!), if anybody can't resist...

Guess I'll have to learn to do the blue clicky thing now; meanwhile, cut and paste, I guess.

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 06 Nov 01 - 12:59 AM

Welcome to the fray, Leeder. If you get to Yorkshire, you might want to look for the beautiful seaside town of Whitby. It's an incredible place, a center of traditional song in the heart of Mudcat country.

chanteyranger

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Leeder
Date: 06 Nov 01 - 01:09 AM

Chanteyranger, I was in Whitby overnight two summers ago, but didn't know about the music. My son Murray is a Dracula buff, and Whitby was one of his destinations (of course!) on our trip around England. We stayed in a B&B, had a nice fish supper, wandered around the town, had a pleasant visit. Murray's first published story (in a vampire fanzine) was set "On the Dracula Trail" in Whitby.

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Bardford
Date: 06 Nov 01 - 01:36 PM

As the self-appointed official photographer of the Tipperary House in Inglewood Bi-weekly Celtic/Trad/Folk/Misc Session, and as a fellow Mudcateer, it behooves me to provide a blue clicky to the photo site mentioned by co-sessioneer John Leeder, who, along with some other fine singers, string players, pipers and wind players, really enhance the bodhran session we have going there.

There are two pages thus far; I'm partial to the images of Nov.3

Welcome officially aboard, John.

Cheers, Bardford

Tipperary House Session pictures

The passord is "pints!!!". No apostrophes, but use three exclamation marks.

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Leeder
Date: 06 Nov 01 - 01:44 PM

Thanks for being behooved, Bardford! Once again I'm saved from having to take the trouble to learn a new skill for myself. (But I just learned to do line breaks in song lyrices in the "Firearms..." thread, so I'm feeling a bit smug anyway.)

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: GUEST,Melani
Date: 06 Nov 01 - 02:07 PM

Welcome, Leeder! Just kick your son off the computer and hang out!

Subject: RE: Guest No More
From: Leeder
Date: 06 Nov 01 - 03:06 PM

My son's house-sitting for a few days, Melani, so I get more time than usual. But normally it seems counter-productive to kick him off when he's doing schoolwork or writing. Sends the wrong messages.