|
17 Mar 99 - 06:30 PM (#63840) Subject: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: skarpi Iceland. If nobody have started this kind a thread before I am glad, but If it doesent I am sorry. How many of us play in a trad.band and what is the name and where are we from, from what time are the songs and so on..... Well if I start, Iam in a band Ccalled TAMORA and we are from Iceland. We play only Irish trad.music and nothing else. The songs are from early eighteen hundred and up.We sing in English and Gealic, and we try to have all lyrics as orignal as they can get.We have guitar,bamjo,mandolin,bass,tin flute,flute and bodhr n and accordion. I hope that we can tell us more about our bands. skarpi Iceland. sl n. |
|
17 Mar 99 - 06:34 PM (#63844) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: skarpi Iceland. Ups! I see the letters are wrong in banjo, I am sorry about that. skarpi. |
|
17 Mar 99 - 06:37 PM (#63847) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: SeanM I guess it depends on your definition of 'traditional'... I play in a band with 4 others, playing guitar, base, flute, pennywhistle, bodrahn, harmonica, washboard, etc., etc., etc... whatever the song feels it needs. It's all acoustic, but we don't stick to one given style. We play Irish traditional, English, American West, Minstrel, Vaudeville, whatever the show demands... partially because it's fairly hard to carve out a profitable niche in California, and we're fairly new. So if that counts as traditional, that's us. If it doesn't, then we're just confused. M |
|
17 Mar 99 - 08:16 PM (#63878) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Bobby Bob, Ellan Vannin We're confused as hell - the posh word is 'eclectic'. It means we play just about any old thing that we feel like. Having said that, the backbone of our repertoire is Irish, quite a bit of Scottish and English, the odd Manx tune (the Manx repertoire is more song-based and not so up-beat for dancing) but we also play medleys of the old sing-along community song book stuff - Stephen Foster and the like. We also have World War II favourites as well - God alone knows why. What we play for is dancing, so if it drives the dances along, that's all we need. We use melodeon, fiddle(s), bass, and tin whistle (occasional harmonica too. As for a name, when we first were going to play somewhere (about 21 years ago), someone asked Big John for a name to put on the poster. He, jestingly, called us the Calor Gas Ceilidh Band. It was a (bad) pun on the famous Gallowglass Ceilidh Band - Calor Gas supply bottled gas. Somehow, we've been stuck with it ever since, but I don't think many of the people we play for have ever heard of the Gallowglass, so the point is lost, really. We go out and have fun, play music, get people dancing and get drunk not necessarily all in that order. Shoh slaynt, Bobby Bob
|
|
17 Mar 99 - 09:00 PM (#63889) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: bill\sables I play in an Irish trad ceilidh band called Shananikins Our line up is fiddle, Accordion, Guitar, melodeon, with doubling up on instruments we also play Saxophone, Tenor Banjo, mandola and flute. most of our tunes are trad Irish but we sometimes play the odd Scottish medely for dancing. Our oldest member plays fiddle and he is in his late sixties while our youngest ,the accordion player is only nineteen. |
|
17 Mar 99 - 10:14 PM (#63903) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Jen I wish I did! But, alas, am not good enough yet. ;-) |
|
17 Mar 99 - 11:20 PM (#63910) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: jets My band is called Raaticoon named after the old Finnish dance called Raatticoon. The Finns say but you have misspelled the name but I point out that the dance has two Ts The name of the band has but one T. We play mostly old traditional Finnish dance tunes that I learned from an up state New Yorker who had learned them from his father.Some of the songs are so old that he did not recall the names, so he and his dad renamed them to what ever struck there fancy. Also on the play list are old Arcadian songs such as Arcadia is my native land.The Marriage of Jan Pierre is another. WE have a guitar, mandolin ,with myself on the button accordion and I beat on a bass drum with a kick pedal. |
|
18 Mar 99 - 12:39 AM (#63927) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Songbob Well, I'm in a trio called "Sidekicks." We're what we term a "frontier and western" band, which means we play songs of the frontiers of the US and Australia. We are NOT a "sons of the pioneers" nor a "Bob Wills" kind of band, but oriented toward traditional and "in the tradition" songs. Three voices, a gazillion instruments (guitars, five-string banjo, mandolin, 12-string, dobro, harmonicas, mandolin-banjo, guitar-banjo, and autoharp come to mind) and lots of fun. We're a neighborhood band from the "folk music ghetto" of Silver Spring, MD. Anyone wanting to hear us can come to our Sarutday night gig (Mar. 20) at the Potomac Overlook Nature Center in the Potomac Overlook Park on Marcy St. in Arlington, VA. Music starts around 8 PM, and there's a second band as well. Should be fun. Now, if only we weren't in competition with Rick Fielding's FSGW concert.... Hate to miss him, but a gig's a gig. Sidekicks web site: http://members.aol.com/sidekix999/ (Sorry, I don't know the "href" stuff well enough to make that an active link. Someday I'll learn all that web lingo.) Bob Clayton |
|
18 Mar 99 - 12:56 AM (#63931) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: DonMeixner I play in a band called The Flyin' Column, we do tradition British Isles tunes(Mainly)and some American folk tunes. We use guitar, violin ,hammered dulcimer, %string banjo, and drums. We play most traditional tunes in a Clancy Brothers/Kingston Trio with drums style. We have five members in the band and four are singers. Don |
|
18 Mar 99 - 01:59 AM (#63936) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: j0_77 I used to play fiddle in a trad quartet - but after I played the same set of reels toooo amny times and the lead banjo player always managed to drink the pay before we got it, I quit - besides I needed to be alone to think for a while - tenor banjos, guitar sometimes a squeeze box. Best band I ever played in was totally off the wall had harmonica, autoharp, 5 string, bodhran, guitar - it was a hot boppin band - but alas we were erazed by a blue grass bunch who bored the ass of the audiences we had gotten. They just moved on in on our little sceene and drove off the people. We played kinda like Uncle Dave Macon stuff. We all just quit. Oddly afterwards the crowds dwindled and we were asked the big Q, why? Found other places to b in - that's why. |
|
18 Mar 99 - 05:45 AM (#63961) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Alan of Australia G'day, Alison & I play in a 5 piece Aussie bush band called the Beat Around The Bush Band. We mostly play for dances & the tunes are mostly Aussie dance tunes, many of which originated in Ireland. Our instruments are: keyboard, flute, whistles, accordian, bodhran (Alison), guitar, lagerphone (me), bass guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, more whistles, another guitar and various other percussions. All five are vocalists. Then we branch out into non-traditional stuff.......
Cheers, |
|
18 Mar 99 - 06:52 AM (#63970) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Bruce from Bathurst G'day, Another Australian here. I play in two bands (but never on the same night).
One band is similar to Alan of Australia's, in that we focus on collected Australian material along with the usual Aussie bush band repertoire begged, borrowed or stolen
The other band I've just joined is an unapologetic mob of folk rock noise-makers who probably shouldn't be let out after dark, called Cocky's Joy. Traditional material with fiddle, mandolin and whistle, but with a rocking rhythm section of electric guitar, bass and drums. Lock up your daughters.
But it was Nodding Thistles who kept the crowd jumping last night for St Patrick's Day. Tradition wins again!
Bruce |
|
18 Mar 99 - 09:42 AM (#63991) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Frank Howe Ours is a mostly a trad band - An Seinnteoir¡ (An Shen-choree). We play traditional Irish / Celtic music. Group members hale from the Farmville, Virginia area and have been playing together for about four years. We do a mixture of lively reels and jigs, whiskey songs, sea chanties, songs of rebellion, sweet ballads, tall tales, and outright lies! Group members are: Carolyn DeWolfe - (Guitar, Dulcimer, Vocals) Kevin Dunn - (Bones, Pipes, Vocals) Frank Howe - (B¢dhran, Concertina, Harmonica, Vocals) Mary Prendergast - (Keyboard, Tin Whistle, Recorder, Vocals) |
|
18 Mar 99 - 10:43 AM (#64001) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Jack Hickman - Kingston, ON I play with a group called the Kingston Ceili Band, which has been going since 1981, I am the only original of the group. Right now, we have six regular members, but that changes from time to time, depending on availability of people. Our name is really a misnomer, we are a show band rather than a ceili band, although we are gradually getting into playing sets for set dancers. We do a lot of things, vocals, contemporary and traditional ballads, O'Carolan material, but mainly oriented to Irish, Scottish and Celtic Canadian. Our instrumentation varies from time, but last night we played a benefit for the local Irish Famine Commemoration Group, and we had seven players, 3 fiddles, whistle, flute and timber flute, Bodhran, two guitars and a banjo. Made for a good sound. We play mainly within a 50km radius of Kingston, but we are not a bar band. We play for benefits, weddings, wakes, festivals, and sometimes we get paid, other times we don't.
Our website, which I am in the process of updating, is at Keep the Faith Jack Hickman |
|
18 Mar 99 - 02:40 PM (#64051) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: folk1234 Wow! I just love the names of these bands. Another clear indication of the amazing talent and diversity of 'catters. Let me tell about our group. I play guitar and sing with The Oklahoma Traditions. We are the performance and demonstration band of the Oklahoma City Traditional Music Assn. (come visit us at octma.org) We have 12 members, usually 9 or 10 are available for any one performance. We have several highly skilled musicians, some very good, and some mediorce, but improving. Each year 2 or 3 members may drop out of the group for one reason or another, and 2 or 3 new people will join. We play about 12 to 14 times a year at Fairs and Festivals (Art, Music, Cultural, and Herb) fund raising events, State Fair, and Libraries. Our instruments include banjo, penny whistle, mountain and hammer dulcimer, flute, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, bass, bodhran, and percussive things like limber jacks, wash boards, and assorted rattles. Our mision is two-fold. First is to perform and demonstrate to the people of Oklahoma traditional music from the British Isles, early and contemporary America, and other cultures. Secondly, we provide an opportunity for club members to improve their musicanship by performing before diverse audiences in a friendly and supportive environment. The more experienced members lead and mentor the less experienced. New members get on board at their own speed. We see ourselves as more than entertainers. We are ambassadors - international, intercultural, and intergenerational emissaries of times gone by and places never seen. Like bridge builders, we span obstacles of time and space to link the past to now, and the there to here. Each time we perform a traditional piece, we bring the joys, the pains, and the memories of a past and distant reality into the present. (In keeping with the folk process, I've plagiarized some of words and throughts in this paragraph from a source unknow or unremembered) We truly enjoy what we do. Please come join us sometime. |
|
18 Mar 99 - 05:07 PM (#64081) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Laurel Well, we play Irish, (tinwhistles, bodhrans, wooden flutes, etc), and I'm not sure what our band is called. Silant' Laurel |
|
18 Mar 99 - 05:24 PM (#64086) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: SeanM Jeez... after reading folk1234's post I feel kinda bad... my band doesn't seem to have much more of a mission than playing good music and drinking good beer - preferably beer that's been bought for us... ;^) M |
|
18 Mar 99 - 10:09 PM (#64156) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Barry Finn I'm in a sometimes 2 piece sometimes 3 piece group called Finn & Haddie. Don't really use instruments to much, stick to vocals for the most part. Sing work songs, some railroad songs but it's usually prison work songs & sea shanties & we lean towards Afro-American shanties at that. We don't get out to sing to often & wouldn't generate much of an audience with what we sing so we stick to a few festivals (only a few will have us). We have a ball with the worksongs & it's not something that to many people do either so it's a kick to passit around too. Barry |
|
18 Mar 99 - 10:19 PM (#64160) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: McMusic I'm in a band called "The Oppossum String Band". We play "old-time"music; three of us hail from SW Virginia, one from South Carolina, one from Georgia, and the other from up near Boston. We usually get together at Sutton, WV in the spring, decide on our one song play list for the year, and perform it at Mars Hill, NC in June during old time music week. |
|
19 Mar 99 - 01:47 AM (#64200) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Elizabeth Wow...what a variety!! I play in a band called Black Wattle. We call it a rubber band because it stretches from four to sometimes seven piece, depending on gig and availability. For Bush Dances we play trad Australian dance stuff (mostly of Irish derivation, some English and Scottish).Lineup is usually guitars, fiddle, bazouki/mandolin, tin whistle, bodhran and lagerphone. When we do pub gigs, we leave the lagerphone at home and add a whole lot of vocal stuff....trad and contemporary depending on how we feel and what the crowd is like!! Rehearsals are always pretty laid back and nobody goes home until the Tim Tams are all eaten!! |
|
19 Mar 99 - 01:56 PM (#64316) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Big Mick As most of you know, I play in The Conklin Ceili Band. We play mostly Irish, some Scottish, and some North American folk, such as Stan Rogers. We play all over Michigan, from Beaver Island to Niles to Flint to Grand Rapids to Muskegon and so on. Our instrumentation consists of the following: 6& 12 string guitar, banjo, mandolin, bodhran, whistles, Irish bouzouki, 48 button concertina, fiddle and hammer dulcimer. Four of us do the vocals and the harmonies. We try to do a mix in our repertoire that introduces our audience to as much of the various styles of music and singing of Ireland as possible. We do jigs and reels, Ballads including love songs, longing for home/emigration, drinking songs, rebel music, some sean nos which needs work but is coming, some group a capella, and so on. Most of our shows are energy driven. I have insisted that we also include a fair amount of historical reference as we do the music, especially the songs of emigration, so the audience walks out knowing more about their past than they walked in knowing. And of course the jokes. In fact, a young man came up to me this past St. Pat's Day and said he saw Hal Roach at the Milwaukee Irish Fest and the damn guy was doing my material. I am going to contact his people and register a complaint!!!!!! Mick |
|
19 Mar 99 - 03:10 PM (#64340) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: folk1234 That OK Sean, don't feel bad. My earlier msg was our PR spin. We too drink; eat & drink; and eat, drink & be happy. However it seems that most frequent tangible compensation is T-shirts. Of course the intangible joys of performing are what we live for. |
|
19 Mar 99 - 03:35 PM (#64348) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Chris Nixon UK And one more... I'm with the Deal Hoodeners - 300 years old or nearest offer, performing with a Kentish Hooden Horse (winter solstice ritual)and a band of anything up 12 musicians including melodeon, banjo, fiddle, concertina, various drums, whistle and many voices giving stick to traditional English carols around the streets of Deal (and the pubs) at Christmas. The rest of the time we help run the Deal Sea Shanty Festival and generally enjoy playing a wide range of English trad. music. |
|
19 Mar 99 - 03:50 PM (#64351) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: skarpi Iceland Hallo again. When I started this thread I thought that I would get no or a little response, but I am very glad that so many folks are telling us about their bands, and want to say this, if we play from our hearts and from what we are, then we are doing well. I hope folk1234 do agree with me. And Ido not drink beer when I am playing, I drink one before and another after. Keep on writing, and keep on playing. sl n go foil. In Icelandic sj umst seinna. skarpi Iceland. |
|
19 Mar 99 - 04:40 PM (#64357) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Lonesome EJ Yeah, Skarpi, only two beers. But how many Akavits? |
|
19 Mar 99 - 04:47 PM (#64361) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: SeanM It's almost worthwhile to start a new thread on drinking vs. not drinking during a show... I opt for drinking moderately, mixed with water aplenty - but then again, I don't do much of the singing, spending most of my time playing 'whistle. M |
|
19 Mar 99 - 06:58 PM (#64381) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: skarpi Iceland Lonesome EJ, I dont drink strong wines, thats it. Akaviti is just for those who wants to forget a bad day or a memory. But if I tell you the truth I dont drink while I am playing, I sing almost every song in the program and we have about 70 songs and instrumental. So between songs I drink the best water in the world Ice cold Icelandic pure water, and that is the truth. The next best is after I have done the playing is o fcourse cold GUINNES BEER. How ever I did not start this to talk about drinking.So on we go, and talk about our bands. sl n go foil, dia quit. skarpi Iceland |
|
19 Mar 99 - 07:46 PM (#64393) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: LEJ I understand completely, Skarpi. I play in a Rock n Roll/ Blues band, where beer drinking is a part of the whole scene. However, I am the Lead Vocalist and the one responsible for guiding the group through endings and changes which are primarily keyed to the verse structure. And so I try to avoid drinking "on the job." Our repertoire is about half classic rock, half classic blues by people like Howlin Wolf, Tampa Red, and John Lee Hooker. Guess you would call that traditional. We do one Irish trad tune, "Risin of the Moon", but quite raucous and electric. I would like to get into more acoustic-folk sound , as my interest has been piqued by the Mudcateers. I was kidding you about Akaviti. You couldn't get me to touch the stuff with somebody else's mouth...LEJ |
|
20 Mar 99 - 06:55 AM (#64475) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: o'hanrahan Sean, I'm for drinking aplenty. |
|
20 Mar 99 - 08:31 AM (#64493) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: AlistairUK drinking definitely...apparantly one of my best performances was at a festival a few years ago where I had been drinking Scrumpy cider and tequila all day and smoking something that was definitely not legal...problem was everybody was coming up to me the next day telling me what an electric performance I had put in the night before and I couldn't remember a damned thing. Que sera *sigh* |
|
05 Sep 00 - 11:55 PM (#291870) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Marcus Campus Bellorum So how many traditional bands is that then? And what is traditional? No drum kit? I play in a trio "Tursacan" which began life in Armidale NSW Australia moved to Bathurst NSW, and then to Canberra in the ACT in Australia. We are sometimes knocked backed for gigs because we are not traditional enough and then on others because we are too traditional. I think the label is the problem. Lineup: Vocal Acoustic Guitar Cello Kit drum/percussion Didgeridoos The didge and drums really get up the traditionalists noses sometimes.
|
|
06 Sep 00 - 12:57 AM (#291901) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,leeneia I'm in a group of friends who have met once a month for six or seven years now. We do early music and some Celtic music, but mostly early. We have harps, flute, recorder, guitar, mandolin and percussion. Once in a while, a bouzouki, kazoo or nose flute appears. We're flexible. Sometimes I give the gang an entirely different kind of piece at the end of a session. (We call that having a piece for dessert.) For example, a Viennese waltz, a Greek piece in 7/8 time, or an ancient Icelandic lullabye. (However you spell that.) We always have our tunes written out. I think that leads to the greatest participation by the greatest number.
|
|
06 Sep 00 - 01:02 AM (#291903) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST, Banjo Johnny May I politely ask about a couple of terms ... Lagerphone, and Hooden Horse. == Johnny |
|
06 Sep 00 - 05:06 AM (#291959) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: IanS I have a question for Leeneia. Is flexibility required to make the nose flute appear or just a box of Kleenex ? Ian PS My band is called Ceolta and we play mainly Celtic traditional things. |
|
06 Sep 00 - 07:59 AM (#292001) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Bud Savoie I'm the first to play old-timey traditional Appalachian? Well, I don't play in anything you would call a formal band, but I play in a number of regularly scheduled jams, and we always have a few folks who hang around to listen to the music. |
|
06 Sep 00 - 08:34 AM (#292014) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: guinnesschik Hmmm, traditional? Let's see...I'm in a group called Eammon's Kitchen (with Jed Marum, who is a wonderful singer, musician, songwriter) and we play mostly Scot/Irish Celtic music, but throw in quite a bit of American and Appalachian songs, self-written songs on the Immigerant experience, the occaisional Van Morrison, Beatles, or even Violent Femmes song, depending upon the audience. I sing, play fiddle, and guitar. Jed plays guitar, sings, plays banjo and Emily (see his article on restringing your Backpacker). We have a bass/guitarist. Himslef plays bodhran and other percussion, and another singer. Drink? Don't mind if I do! And we can play all night if the inspiration is there. You can check us out at www.eammonskitchen.com Slainte! |
|
06 Sep 00 - 08:53 AM (#292019) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: bigchuck Well, quite a variety. I play with a not-so-traditional band called Woodchucks' Revenge, along with fellow catter midchuck and mrs chuck. Our approach is pretty rooted in 60's folk/bluegrass/old country, but a lot of our repertoire comes from contemporary songwriters. We are very much a "pickin in the kitchen" sort of group, vocally oriented rather than instrumental (which is good, because we're pretty rudimentary players). Play in VT, NY, NH, ME,and are trying to branch out. We use guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bass, mandola, bouzouki...whatever the mood hits. Two self-produced CDs available. Sandy Morse |
|
06 Sep 00 - 09:18 AM (#292030) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Naemanson Do we have to "play" in a band? I'm a member of Roll & Go, a group of 7 men and women who sing traditional sea chanties and ballads as well as more modern traditional sounding works. We do, occasionally enlist a guitar, washtub bass and banjo and we do also have a foo-foo band. I play bones to back up the rythmic quality of some of the chanties. |
|
06 Sep 00 - 09:22 AM (#292033) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Snuffy Johnny A lagerphone is basically a big stick (broom handle, etc), with beer-bottle tops fixed to it fairly loosely so they rattle like very faint bells. You play it by banging it on the floor and/or drawing a shorter stick (half of a washing tongs, etc) across the bottle tops - this adds a kinda washboardy sound. Very useful if you've got a non-musician you want to let join you. Wassail! V |
|
06 Sep 00 - 10:43 AM (#292066) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Ely I did till they all graduated and left me. Midwestern-American-style old-time music. Seriously, our fiddlers used to debate whether they played too much like Missourians and what they should do about it. |
|
06 Sep 00 - 12:22 PM (#292130) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Art Thieme A band we once had was me and Elvis along with Patti Page and Rosemary Clooney. We called ourselves Presley, Page, Rosemary and Thieme. ;-) Buyt seriously folks, I was always a solo. That way nobody ever quit my group. But I always was at least 90% traditional. To answer someones querie about what is traditional, I'd have to say that for me it was the generally long ballads and story songs that told real tales (probably/possibly) from folk' lives. They were stanzaic in form and each verse/stanza propelled the descriptive action forward the way a chapter in a novel would perform that service. They were almost always TOPICAL SONGS in that they zeroed in on a geographical place that was vividly depicted in the song. Or they were about a subculture of sorts -- cowboys, lumberjacks -- the whaling trade -- hobo experiences -- train wrecks - the westward expansion of the U.S.A. and the settlement of the various territories. The topical songs depicted all of the ways people tried to make their livings and what impeded them from doing that -- and how they fought back against a supressing system of things with unions and sometimes outright rebellion and violence. These serious topics were tempered by tall tales -- lies told on purpose -- humorous looks at the life they were enduring -- tales that belittled the immensity of nature and made it more endurable: "It was so hot the corn was popping on the stalk. The cows thought it was snow and froze to death." The songs were generally from the past because they showed me/us how we got from there to here. The passage of time had shown that the songs were about heroic and mythic topics; similar events happening in "the present" had not revealed themselves to be the stuff that myths are made of yet. Some of the better modern songs, ones that were written in the old traditional way, were thought by me to be worth including in my repertory: songs like Stan Rogers' "White Squawl" or Craig Johnson's taumaturgic creations. Dillon Bustin adapted and wrote some fine songs too. But I DID resist these modern songs. I saw myself as setting up a musical antique store and the newer songs were, to me, like putting a plastic table in the window. Those were O.K. and did the job, but only a very few were worth showing/learning to present with the gems of history I'd uncovered after sweeping the scum of the present off the top of the pond so I might more easily gaze down into the depths of history where the nuggets I was searching for could be found. Yes, it was like a fishing expedition, but once in a while a selacant would leap in my boat. Long thought extinct, here it was. Then it was up to me to be able to recognize it and save it in saltwater until it passed away naturally and then I (and a few I taught) could musically resurrect the fish to show it off in a way that might bring modern people into the world that had been inhabited by my artifact. Frank Warner did that when he sang the songs of, and told us about, Yankee John Galusha. Sandy Paton did it when he and Caroline and Lee Haggerty preserved and issued the music of Frank Proffitt, Dave Thompson and Lee Monroe Presnell. For me, it seems that most modern singer/songwriters look into today's newspaper and their own navels for inspiration. Folksingers (traditional), on the other hand, can and do travel through time where their found artifacts were waiting to be noticed. Folks, thanks for enduring yet another diatribe from old Art. It's for you to note or discard. But it's been my mission for a long time now. If you don't mind, I'll knock at your door every so often and try to give you a magazine. Art Thieme |
|
06 Sep 00 - 09:34 PM (#292535) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: RocketMan Hard to nail down traditional. I play dobro and guitar with Pinhook Creek, a bluegrass band in north Alabama. Some would argue that the dobro is not traditional as Monroe did not use one in his band. RMan |
|
06 Sep 00 - 11:20 PM (#292571) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: bseed(charleskratz) Our name changes from time to time--first, we were the Point Isabel Poodle Players when we needed a name when we played some background music for a video that was being made about the dog park at Point Isabel (Richmond, California--just about directly across the bay from the Golden Gate Bridge. Despite the fact that my two Labradors have got all the poodles that belong(ed) to other members outweighed, the last part of the name has sort of stuck to us (we no longer play much at Point Isabel where the seminal membersl, Charlie, Sally, and I met). We've also been Nancy and the Crowes. I have suggested a couple of names for the group, most appropriately The Born Once Gospel Band since about half our repertoire consists of old time gospel tunes although none of us are particularly religious, and Charlie Bond and the Bail Jumpers (Charlie is our lead guitarist and lead male vocalist--before entering law school he had received an undergraduate degree in ethnomusicology and spent a while playing in clubs and for a while in a touring country band). For one performance (at a cocktail party at the end of a conference of university summer session executives we were Sally and the Seniors (Sally Senior is our autoharp player, and a former president of the association of summer school executives--who got us the gig, and a later one at the Cal Women's Faculty Club. As I started this post I just thought of another name I'll try to get the group to accept--it's even more descriptive than the Born Once thing: Will Work for Food. As Charlie says, we're the best band in our price range--we were offered money once but refused it, suggesting that instead of paying us our hosts have their piano tuned so we could use it in the gig. In addition to the traditional spirituals we play quite a few traditional mountain tunes and Carter Family songs, fiddle tunes, bluegrass and contemporary folk, some blues, and some original stuff: Charlie writes beautiful poetry which he sets to fiddle tunes and, Walter, our piano player, in addition to writing scholarly thrillers (T. Rex and the Crater of Doom), writes beautiful fiddle tunes, notably his "Sally's Song." We have a couple of (and sometimes three) fiddlers, one of whom, Kimmie, is the seven year old daughter of John, our bass player, Dick on resonator banjo, yours truly on open back banjo, harmonica, and occasional lead vocals, Patricia on mandolin, Nancy on guitar and lead female vocals, Josh--our other lead guitarist, Hank (a bit more than seven years old) on fiddle, Walter's wife Millie on vocals. A couple weeks ago a fine country/traditional singer, musician, and song writer, Walter Forbes (anybody know him?), after playing and singing with us commented that he knew of lots of groups who were worse that we are who are filling concert halls and making piles of money. I guess it was a compliment. --seed |
|
07 Sep 00 - 01:15 AM (#292625) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,leeneia In response to IanS's post: a box of Kleenex would never make a nose flute appear, for Kleeneses (the preferred, Latinate plural) and nose flutes are incompatible. |
|
07 Sep 00 - 02:27 AM (#292635) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST, Banjo Johnny Thanks Snuffy! I have seen those lagerphones but I didn't know they were called anything. == Johnny in OKC |
|
07 Sep 00 - 08:04 AM (#292695) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,Vincenzo Roma, Italia Is for this reason that many peolples anwer me about the fiddle... I play traditional irish music in a group "The Jolly Beggars" from Toscana, and irish folk revival "Folk Road" from Latina near Roma, but we are all italian. Ciao Vincenzo |
|
07 Sep 00 - 08:22 AM (#292699) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Skipjack K8 I think and hope this is a first. I play odd times for bill\sables band named after the Mudcat..... well at least a loose translation into Geordie, so 66% of the members understand it at least. It is Clarty Moggies Ceilidh Band. Bill posted to the top of this thread over eighteen months ago. Sadly, Bill's fiddler has gone on. His death caused the disbandment, and the young accordion player Bill referred to is none other than Sam Pirt, who is now firmly established with 4-2-2 (Incidentally, Sam, my missus says that's sponge mixture, something about flour, eggs and margerine! Is this so?). See Bill if you need more details, weddings, barmitzfahs, etc, wakes a speciality. Skipjack |
|
07 Sep 00 - 09:37 AM (#292739) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: IanS Thanks Leeneia for the reply, but in my part of the world nose flutes are not treated with the respect they deserve and are usually referred to as "snotterphones". I myself dabble with the instrument (or should that be dribble) but I do find that its very hard to give your best performance when suffering from a cold - do you have any advice ? Ian |
|
07 Sep 00 - 01:51 PM (#292934) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: stubblejumper Ive been playing in a ceilidh band called The Srubblejumpers now for 21 years We have button accordian concertina fiddle and guitar. Hence the nickname an insult levelled at people from North Lincolnshire U K Country Bumpkins! |
|
07 Sep 00 - 06:41 PM (#293125) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: RWilhelm I play in Sweet Loretta's Snake Oil Jug Band, a four-piece band featuring various combinations of guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, washtub bass, jug, washboard and kazoo. We do almost exclusively jug band songs from the 1920's by the Memphis Jug Band, Gus Cannon, Dixieland Jug Blowers, Whistler's Jug Band, King David's Jug Band, Cincinnati Jug band etc. Arguably not traditional, but pretty close by American standards. |
|
08 Sep 00 - 12:20 AM (#293296) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,leeneia 1. To IanS: Did I allege that the noseflute deserved respect? No. I merely admitted that we play it. 2. To Earl: You intrigue me. What exactly is a jug band? People blowing into different size jugs (as if Coke bottles?) Where do you find that old music? Does it sound like bluegrass, blues, dixieland, tin pan alley or what? |
|
08 Sep 00 - 01:08 AM (#293324) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: RWilhelm The answer is yes. It is a little bit of all the styles you mentioned except it is usually only one person blowing into one jug. It was originally African American music going back at least a hundred years and it was widely recorded in the 1920's. There have been a lot of recent reissues of old jug band music and some of those guys could make a jug sound like a french horn. A good sample of old jug band music is on the Yazoo CDs "Rucus Juice and Chitlins" vols 1 and 2. A good source of jug band info on the net is The Jug Band Rag./ I should also mention that main reason jug band music is still alive is the great recordings made by Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band in the 1960's. Thanks for asking. |
|
08 Sep 00 - 04:44 PM (#293668) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Herge I play in a band playing Irish and Scottish Dance Music Haste to the Wedding www.geocities.com/hastetothe_wedding Herge |
|
08 Sep 00 - 04:59 PM (#293678) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,Pete Peterson at work Play semi-regularly in a band that is called Otter Chaos (more or less traditional gigs) but re-names itself Ben Borscht and the Beats every year for the Non-Traditional Band Contest at Clifftop WV. We are: Drew Smith, autoharp, Mike Resnick, mandolin, Susan Sterngold, banjo for traditional gigs, guitar on non-trad, myself guitar on trad and fingerstyle bj on non-trad gigs. On good days we sound more like Janette and Joe Carter than the Carter Family; Susan imprinted on Janette about fiteen years ago and has only gotten better since that time. Other bands I am in tend to be pickup bands |
|
08 Sep 00 - 11:31 PM (#293872) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,Rich(stupidbodhránplayerwhodoesn'tknowanybet I had a nice trio called Slán Abhaile, that consisted of fiddle, mandolin, bodhrán, assorted percussion and vocals (about half Irish and half English). Alas, Our fiddler moved leaving two-thirds of us to scramble for a fill-in every time we got called. My mandolinist just started his doctorate degree on top of holding down a job. This leaves him no time to play, which leaves me as an accompanist without a lead. I''ll be sticking with sessions and pick-up céilídhs for awhile. Just as well. I've always enjoyed playing sessions, and love playing for dancers, but as soon as it became a job, it became a job. All of a sudden, we found ourselves saying "we have to play at so-and-so." ON the other hand, I've been teaching bodhrán for a couple years, and that's a job Im really enjoy. Slán agat, Rich |
|
09 Sep 00 - 05:05 AM (#293963) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: dusterjim Though I play different types of music (folk , rock bluegrass, gospel, ect.) this is my group. http://sites.netscape.net/dusterjim1/volunteers |
|
09 Sep 00 - 05:21 AM (#293969) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Shamrock I play at various sessions but we only "Brand" the group for paying gigs. Upstairs in a Tent is a name we use when booked to play Jigs/ Reels N Stuff. Ballad type sessions are done using either Out on the Ocean or Saddle the Pony. A friend of mine turned up too early for our gig and asked the doorman to direct her to the Shag the Donkey gig. When I do a duo with my bud Owen we play as the Symbolics. We do the intro by saying welcome etc I'm Sim and over here we have the Bbbbbbbbanjo player. Good for a laugh. |
|
09 Sep 00 - 02:17 PM (#294178) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,leeneia I went to the Jug Band Rag site mentioned by Earl and tried to listen to some jug band music, but I found myself tangled in a thicket of ABC files instead. This stuff is always happening to me! |
|
11 Sep 00 - 03:46 PM (#295181) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Irish Rover We have a Irish/Scots Trad folk group called Haggis du jour. |
|
12 Sep 00 - 01:57 PM (#295788) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Scotsbard Our quartet eventually settled on the name "Furagh Larq!" (all puns intended, and the gaelic is kewl too) Our repertiore tends towards traditional celtic tunes, but we also tackle anything that tickles our fancy. I think the nuttiest thing we've tackled so far was the "Jalapeno Chorus," the silliest was "Phil the Phluter," the most fun was "Kingston Town," and the prettiest was "Gypsy Rover." We also tend to weave bridges and harmonies from other tunes, or experiment with different settings. Scheduling gigs is tricky because all of us have other musical committments, and finding time to record is proving even harder. However, its still some of the most fun I have with music. ~S~ |
|
12 Sep 00 - 10:16 PM (#296131) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,TaunusBop Hi folks I play on a band down here in Argentina called McCondom (accordion, bass, acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, tin whistle and drums), and our songs range from trad irish, to sea shanties and original material. We sing either in english, spanish, gaelic and even russian, and definetely we're not the best musicians around but we love the craic. We've been doin' gigs aplenty lately and our performances around one of Buenos Aires' main squares on Saturdays for booze & pennies are quite a success. Slan leat TB |
|
12 Sep 00 - 11:41 PM (#296189) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,leeneia Scotsbard mentioned scheduling problems, and I suppose most of us have them. We meet on Sunday evenings, the old traditional homework slot. It seems like a good time, because people are refreshed from the weekend and because conflicts with other events are unlikely. We do have to knock off because Monday morning looms ahead, but it still seems the best time to meet. |
|
13 Sep 00 - 03:01 PM (#296575) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,John Leeder I play in a traditional band called Gan-Ainm (it means "nameless", I'm told). Although we mostly play in an Irish pub, the James Joyce in Calgary (Canada, not Scotland), the Northumbrian and Scottish part of our repertoire is predominant, with some Irish and Canadian material as well. Of seven members, four were born in Canada, the others in Yorkshire, Glasgow and Kansas -- none in Ireland. Our collective instrumentation includes Northumbrian pipes, melodeon, concertina, harmonica, flute, whistles, octave mandolin, five-string banjo, guitar, bodhran and stand-up bass. Two of us sing occasionally. We mostly do quasi-sessions (i.e., no stage, no mics, no set list, no rehearsals, but more or less set personnel), with the occasional stage performance (e.g., at the Water Valley Celtic Festival last June). So there you are, for what it's worth. |
|
14 Mar 01 - 07:58 PM (#417780) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,estucky@hotmail.com I play in a jug band too! We call ourselves the Skiffle Symphony and have a very similar instrumentation as you, play memphis jug band, missisippi sheiks, gus cannon and originals. We are based in California, where are you? |
|
14 Mar 01 - 08:19 PM (#417797) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,catlin Yup, this too. I belong to "Rope Them Goats", located in State College, PA. We've not yet played in public, (as in played in a bar as a group) but will be playing for a wedding next month. After the wedding, we'll be thinning our numbers down to: 2 guitarists, one of whom also plays boudhran, and recorder (me. I play it like a pennywhistle). Although this Saturday I'll be playing in a bar with a good friend of mine who is a fiddler. If it's printed in "The Fiddler's Fakebook", or "Rise up Singing" or in any of Sylvia Woods' books, and is from the Brithish Isles, we've played it. O'Carolan is our forte. And, by-the-by, "Sheebag and Sheemore" is the wedding march, with "Eleanor Plunket" as the piece played during the wedding, and "Lord Inchiquin" as the recessional. Yum. |
|
14 Mar 01 - 10:27 PM (#417869) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: aussiebloke G'day... I play with a 'rubbery band' (whoever turns up for our regular session at an Irish pub) and we call ourselves Murfi agus a cháirde - pronounced Murphy ar-gus a cord-ya - which, I am reliably informed translates to Murphy and Friends. Ages range from early 20's to high 50's, between 6 or 8 of us we muster banjo, mandolins, mandola, transverse flute, oboe, fiddles, guitars, bandurria, squeezeboxes, whistles, Appalachian dulcimer, and one feller brings a pedal steel guitar that to me seems out of place and is starting to get on my nerves... I play percussion - lagerphone, bodhrán, bones, spoons, shaky eggs, clap-sticks and stuff. We play mostly Irish tunes - jigs, reels, polkas, hornpipes, and lotsa Aussie stuff - with its Irish musical roots. We sing lotsa Irish rebel tunes, and plenty of trad Aussie songs (sheep & shearers, cattle and drovers, sailors, ships and 'convict' transportation to Australia etc.) You will find a collection of pictures and more info about the lagerphone on my web-site and papers by Bob Bolton and Peter Ellis here Cheers aussiebloke
|
|
15 Mar 01 - 03:05 AM (#417995) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Peter Kasin I play in a coupl of groups. In one group, made up of me on fiddle, Shay Black on guitar, Dick Holdstock on mandolin, and the Mudcat's own Riggy on English concertina, we take sea songs and arrange them as instrumentals, for background music at parties and other like gatherings. The other group is called the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers - about 70 of us. We meet once a month in members homes for a potluck/session/business meeting/more session/more food, then we eat more, and in the Spring we perform three concerts over a weekend with our fearless leader, fiddler Alasdair Fraser, a wonderful performer and a great guy. Aside from that, two regular Irish sessions East of San Francisco, and a monthly chantey sing aboard the schooner C.A. Thayer, berthed at S.F's Hyde Street Pier, part of the National Park Service's San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. If you're in S.F. on the first Saturday night of any month, come aboard and join the sing! -chanteyranger |
|
15 Mar 01 - 03:34 AM (#418004) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Sarah the flute I play in a traditional band called The Flying Chaucers. Our line-up is flute/whistles, melodeon, fiddle/bazouki/mandola, guitar and percussion...and when I'm not playing I spend time shouting at people to get them to dance !!! |
|
15 Mar 01 - 07:24 AM (#418048) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Firecat I used to be in a group called Fireboots when I was at school. There were three of us, me on bodhran, Will Owen on accordian and Tom Richardson on fiddle. We played tunes like Winster Gallop, Athol Highlanders and the theme tune to Last Of The Summer Wine. We only did a few gigs and then split when myself and Will left school (we were both in Year 11 and Tom was only in Year 7). |
|
15 Mar 01 - 07:45 AM (#418055) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Hawker Me! The Cavaliers Mainly Irish, English, Manx, Cornish and Scottish Been in existence 24 years this year, 13 of those with the current line up Lucy |
|
15 Mar 01 - 08:29 AM (#418074) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: John P I play in a group called Telynor. We do Euro-trad music mixed with some medieval and Renaissance mixed with some Appalachian and blues. I play cittern, guitar, lap dulcimer, Celtic harp. My partner plays hurdy-gurdy, nyckelharpa, fiddle, and bouzouki. Pretty much everything we do started out as traditional music. John Peekstok |
|
15 Mar 01 - 09:25 AM (#418108) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Mooh Several years ago I was invited to join "Homespun" as their bass player. The material was mostly trad songs and tunes with a few newer pieces in the traditional style. Only occasionally have we added original material, though a couple of us write alot. There is one Homespun cd entitled "Eight Hands Round". We have evolved into "Kerrykeel" and lately we have performed very little due to outside obligations of various band members. Sometimes we play without certain members and there is alot of instrument switching. In fact, I haven't played much bass with them in the last few years as my guitar work seems to be required. The original guitarist plays fiddle and mandolin(s) and another has been brought on board to play bass and drum. Other instruments are piano, various mandolins, banjos, whistles, concertinas, and once in a while things like bowed psaltery will appear. Most of us sing, though I generally don't, saving my voice for smart-ass remarks. We once had a piper in the band, but don't anymore, and others have come and gone, but always amicably. Some of you might be acquainted with Warren Robinson from our band. He's involved with the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals, the Folk Alliance, and is a director of the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival. If you've attended the Celtic Roots Festival you may have heard us play, we've played every one. I regret that we don't get to play more often, so perhaps it's time to find another band to fill in the gaps. One of the things we've always done is take alot of instruments to the stage. I try to keep it to 3 guitars but I once had two basses and a mandolin as well. Nowadays I will generally share a bass, not play mandolin at all, and try to restrict myself to 3 guitars (though last gig I took four). The appeal of this band, as frustrating as it is that we play too infrequently, is that I get to arrange the guitar parts for and by myself on material which is interesting to me. Within the context of the band, the material is interesting, though I wouldn't do most of it as a solo act. I am free to use various tunings and several different guitar styles and types as I see fit. Making it fit with everything else is alot harder than when I played with rock bands. There is a risk of becoming too big, personnel wise, but such is the cost of our collective ambitions. Sometimes we're a 5 piece, but usually between 6 and 9 people take the stage. Mooh.
|
|
15 Mar 01 - 09:58 AM (#418137) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: The Dane I play in a trad band in Denmark called "Miri It Is" after a song in mideaval English (it means something like "it is merry"). We play trad. irish, english, danish and contemporary folk. Instruments: bodhran, guitars, bones, mandolins, bozouki, flutes, whistles, fiddle. By the way, this has been an interesting thread to read... Nice to read what kind of music all you guys play. Jacob |
|
15 Mar 01 - 05:24 PM (#418557) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Ruthie A I do! Several... I started off in my school ceilidh band, The Sand-Dancers. For those who don't know, 'Sand-Dancer' is a term used for people who live in South Shields, in the north east of England. That band was started off by Alistair Anderson about 8 years ago, and is now, sadly, starting to die out. We still do ceilidhs, but we're not as strong as we have been. I'm also in another band run by Alistair as part of Caedmon Folk, in Gateshead. He thinks we're called the Caedmon Band, but the rest of us are trying to convince him that we're actually called Ali and the Fraggles. We normally number about nine, including fiddles, viola, mandolin, bazoukis, guitars, concertinas, melodeon, flutes, whistles, recorders, bodhráns, clarinet, bass clarinet, clog dancing and banjo. Bassoon, when I get it. To top it all off, I'm in a folk-jazz trio called Ceol Na Mantra (sort-of Gaelic, which translates into 'Music of the Ommmmm'). I play flutes, whistles and fiddle there, but mainly jazz piano. I sing, too. My friend Kat plays fiddle, whistle and concertina, while Adam plays lead fiddle, random guitar and bodhrán. I do lots of solo stuff, too. And wind bands, which are evil by nature and therefore shall not be mentioned any more in a traditional forum. Ruthie |
|
16 Mar 01 - 04:58 PM (#419416) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Jim Krause Nah, I guess not. Thought I did. Once. The Euphoria Stringband is a quartet with guitar, string bass, clawhammer banjo, and Yours Truly on fiddle and mandolin. We use traditional Appalchian folk music as a springboard for our own Midwestern take on Old-time music. When we play for contradances, we play quite a number of tunes that are Celtic in origin, but have been played in the mountains of Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia for a couple of hundred years with a generous sprinkling of tunes from Missouri, Illnois, and Texas. And occaisionally we come up with some of our own compositions that we adapt to our peculiar style. |
|
19 Mar 01 - 04:03 PM (#421091) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,davidleask03@genie.co.uk There's a lot of talented people out in mudcatters-land. I play guitar, bodhran, a little banjo and bozouki and sing in a band called Fridays Penny. My friend Pete plays fiddle, guitar and banjo('s), his three daughters (Emily, Sarah and Julie) play fiddle, banjo, mandolin, mandola, double bass and flute. We mostly play traditional (that word again) music from Scotland and Ireland with a little American and English thrown in. Sometimes we get paid but more often we do it because we enjoy it (and the free drink, when it's offered (Not often enough!) - Pete and I get the alchohol as the girls are all under 18). Then there's the Celidh band we play in and then there's the Fiddle Group but thats another story! |
|
19 Mar 01 - 11:31 PM (#421289) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,Yves Savariaud (ysavari@club-internet.fr) I am french and I play and sing with two bands. ELECTROGENE COUNTRY BAND and HILLBILLIES http://electrogene.nfrance.com/ysite and I made a site for friends loving the same music on http://perso.club-internet.fr/ysavari You are welcome Au revoir Yves Savariaud |
|
20 Mar 01 - 09:49 AM (#421497) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Peg I have been in the past. I am not at the moment. Anyone need a singer in the Boston area? :) |
|
29 Aug 01 - 08:53 AM (#537383) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull |
|
29 Aug 01 - 09:52 AM (#537421) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: RangerSteve I play in a band called "the Woodlot Howlers". Our instrumentation is Banjo, Fiddle, Harmonica, Guitar, and Mandolin. We do mostly Southern and Canadian fiddle tunes, Old sentimental songs, and gospel songs. We rarely get paying jobs, but we don't really go looking for them. Our one regular gig is at a place called Albert Music Hall in Waretown, NJ. They don't pay. It's a labor of love. One of the benifits of not traveling to paying jobs all the time is that after 16 years, the band is still intact with all the original members and we're still friends. |
|
29 Aug 01 - 10:27 AM (#537443) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: SlowAlan I used to play in a band called the Ginger Minge Binge Bush Band in Dunedin New Zealand. Now I play in a combo called Bald Ugly Stupid Bastards. Less hair, same racket. |
|
29 Aug 01 - 10:32 AM (#537449) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: smallpiper I play in a band called Last Straw (nowt t do wi camels back) we have small pipes, whistle, low whistle, fiddle, cittern and guitar. we play a variety of Scottish, Irish and Northumbrian/border tunes and sing a few songs as well. |
|
29 Aug 01 - 01:21 PM (#537568) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,djh I have had a little trad. blues and folk style band (mando/guitars/banjo/harp...pretty versatile) for about 2 years. We play trad style originals too. Everything from blind Willie Johnson type stuff, to Bill monroe, to Dylan. I calls it John Henry's Hammer and I am in Rockland county NY. I am always looking for New folks to play with and may need a new lead guitar shortly.Anyone local and interested in playing sometime PM me. I am a member just not at this PC DJH is my alais. |
|
29 Aug 01 - 02:06 PM (#537595) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,Celtic Soul Again, depending on your idea of what is traditional, my group may or may not fit the criteria. Most of what we do starts out trad, but we take huge liberties with some of the material. Some of what we do is not trad, but fits the feel of traditional music. And there are a few that we just plain like, and the hell with their not being even remotely traditional. The idea with my group is to have fun, make sure the audience is having fun, and to make each piece uniquely ours. We do mostly British Isles folk, (my main focus being celtic) but our influences vary as widely as rhythm and blues, jazz, reggae, bluegrass and plain old rock and roll (in addition to the main influence of the traditional, which is where we usually begin). We play locally (within 4-5 hours of our homebase of the Washington DC area), but have been known to pick up and take off to locations several thousand miles away (when we are paid well enough). We sing mostly in english, but depart to Gaelic on a few songs. We have entertained the thought of a few other European language songs as well, but nothing has come of it yet. Our repetoire consists of material that spans quite a few ages. From one piece in what sounds very nearly as if parts of it were not English (though it all is), to pieces verifiably Renaissance, to pieces written a hundred years ago on up to pieces written only a few years ago. So long as it fits the motif, we put our earmark on it, and we all (audience included) has fun with it, it's fair game. |
|
29 Aug 01 - 02:37 PM (#537610) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: pavane Some years ago, I started a ceilidh (or twmpath here in Wales) band called 5 Bar Gait. I think it is still going, having merged with another, but we are no longer members, for various reasons. |
|
30 Aug 01 - 01:23 AM (#537950) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a tradional band. From: GUEST,Boab The "Winklepickers", Vancouver Island. I play accordion, bodhran, and Jaws harp on occasion. Others play banjo, mandolin, whistle, guitar, more bodhran, pipes, and keyboard. Celtic, general trad., music hall, country----just any folk-music----- |
|
13 Aug 09 - 06:18 PM (#2699752) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: GUEST This 8 years old, but to "Mooh" who posted about Homespun. My dad is Earl. I was trying to download the ablum, but can't find it on any bit-torrent sites and am too lazy to go home and grab it. I think he was the piper you referred too. He's upgraded pipes since then, ha. Cheers! - Neil |
|
13 Aug 09 - 06:42 PM (#2699769) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: skarpi and now I am in a band called " Our Rose " trad,band , we have , Harp , tin flute , guitars , accordian , fiddle , Hardangerfiddle , Bodhrán , bass . and a new cd on its way . kv Skarpi |
|
13 Aug 09 - 07:15 PM (#2699793) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: Songster Bob Interesting to see an old thread like this and have a chance to update it. I'm in three bands, or 2.675 anyway. I'm still in Sidekicks, but it's a duo now, or at least a trio with one inactive member. And the duo in Sidekicks, myself and Pete Kraemer, is the nucleus of Last Gold Dollar, an electric ensemble that does a bit of everything, but electrifried folk is the basis (I play electric clawhammer banjo and mandolin, plus guitar, for example). Guitars, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, keyboard, bass, drums, and steel guitar in various combinations. The other band I'm in is Civil War Comrades, a trio featuring a recently-divorced couple and myself, doing 19th C. pop songs, folk songs, and the occasional light classical piece. Everything from the Federal period (we do a 1799 show and 1812, too) through the Civil War, but don't try to be a "soldier band." This is the band that gets gigs. We have two on Saturday. The other bands and ensembles haven't had many gigs to speak of lately. Sigh. Bob |
|
13 Aug 09 - 08:33 PM (#2699844) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: Maryrrf I'm in a duo that does a mix of Irish pub songs, American folk and we are now working with a fiddler to do some old timey stuff: http://www.myspace.com/turffire |
|
14 Aug 09 - 03:46 AM (#2699988) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: Allen in Oz Another Australian here. I play in a Bush band...the Bell Bird Bush Band for square dances (aka bush dances) . The band consists of Keyboard ( Wilma) Violin ( Bob) and guitar, vocals and harmonica ( Allen ). Now that I am retired I also play in a trio for Nursing and retirement homes ( all World War 1 and 2 songs and 1930s and 1940s music ). Quite delightful. Some of the old music had beautiful chord progressions and it should be nurtured and played forever. AD |
|
14 Aug 09 - 03:57 AM (#2699993) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: Marilyn My better half, self and daughter are in a band called Halfe Pannikin along with three friends. We play mostly trad. British and western European with a tiny sprinkling of more modern stuff that still feels like trad. if you know what I mean :-) Instruments are lute, guitar, cuatro, bouzouki, whistles, recorders, clarinet, saxophone, fiddle, octave fiddle, melodeon, flute, mandola. Hubby and I also sing as a duo with mandola, flute, melodeon and recorders (but not all at once!). Our repertoire is almost exclusively traditional songs and tunes from the British Isles. Marilyn |
|
15 Aug 09 - 01:19 AM (#2700720) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: Michael Harrison Big Mick - Just wondering if you happen to know my good friends from the band, "Legacy," especially Dr. Don and Valerie? Cheers,...........mwh |
|
15 Aug 09 - 04:38 AM (#2700771) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: GUEST,HelenJ I play in a ceilidh band called 'Marmalade' due to the fact we meet for breakfast on Saturday mornings at respective members' homes at the unheard of hour of 08.30. We then practice until 10.30 or so. We play traditional Irish, Scots, English and Breton tunes on fiddle, flute, accordion. We started off as an all female group but as some dropped out we have enlisted the help of some male players, my son, JohnJ on melodeon and his friend on guitar. We also have an 'errant' learner guitar player called Jen who is very promising (when she shows up....sorry Jen!) We play for the fun of it. HelenJ |
|
15 Aug 09 - 12:53 PM (#2700964) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: Suegorgeous Until just now (practically), I was in a duo called One star awake - vocals, fiddle and harmony vocals, performing mainly trad folk songs. Fiddler sadly had to leave - so now looking for a new fiddler in Bristol UK - anyone know of anyone? hoping for a pianist too at some point... |
|
15 Aug 09 - 03:39 PM (#2701114) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: Mooh Neil...Give me a call, I'll give you a copy. Peace, Mooh (Mike Crocker). |
|
15 Aug 09 - 05:04 PM (#2701183) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: GUEST,leeneia Not quite a band - I belong to a group of friends who meet monthly and play early music and Celtic music. We haven't had a gig for some time, though. |
|
15 Aug 09 - 07:36 PM (#2701276) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: Mooh The aforementioned Homespun/Kerrykeel spun out and died a couple of years ago. I have, for 10 years or so, played a variety of music from celtoid to swing with a very good fiddle player, and we get community, wedding, nursing home, and dinner music gigs. I like duos because I get all the freedom I need to arrange on the fly. There is also another duo with a concertina player, though we mainly hitch our cart to an Irish singer as a trio. When we do the duo thing we are mostly trad. Again, as the sole guitarist, there is lots of room for improv within the accompaniment. Am considering another group... Peace, Mooh. |
|
15 Aug 09 - 07:53 PM (#2701285) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: RangerSteve Eight years after I originally posted, I'm proud to say my band is still together, with two of the founding members. Other members either moved away or passed away, we've never kicked anyone out. We'v been together since 1985. That's probably not a record, but I think it's pretty good. |
|
14 Jul 10 - 09:51 AM (#2944841) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: GUEST,Patricia Ann "Patches Holmes" - Appal. Dulc HI - I came across this site searching for Appalachian Dulcimer players in NH>>>>I am originally from Wheeling, Wva where I bought my dulcimer from Dulcimer Maker Carl Bryant - I graduated with a degree in Appalchian Culture from WHeeling Jesuit COllege (now Univesity) I was invited to teach the Little Middle Folkschool to include the dulcimer at the John C. Campbell folkschool and have been teaching Dulcimer and the traditional appalachian music arts and crafts throughout the Eastern US for 50 years now.......I enjoy my time with other dulcimer players and musicians at coffee houses, festivals and just out on the front porch of friends and family-- My dad (BLess his soul) taught me to tap, clog, play bones, guitar, spoons, guitar and the jug ( I never did get the hang of the jug) I wanted to find other folks that I could join sometime and play - I just moved back to NH from Signal Mtn,.TN - Have been a current member if the Allied Arts in Chattanooga, Tn....SO I think that you are doing a great job trying to get a thread going - Do you have a newsletter of somekind???? Do you all get together at any time for a gathering?? My daughter on Signal Mountain has her own production co. and owns 80 acres on Cloudland, Ga. We decided to start a folkschool last year - so it is in progress ---- I am the director of it (The Folkschool on the Mountain)....then my daughter here in Dover, NH is having a family crisis and I am needed here//I will still be teaching where adn when I can...My car was vandalized at the High School in TEnn. where I was teaching a woodland sculpture program to Juniors and Seniors,,,,So - it is still in garage - Had to come here without it - I teach Arts in Education and the schools are close - so transportation is not too much of a problem right now....Anyway - I would like to be one of your threads in Traditional Mountain Music.....My dearest friend Hoss Williams was a Wva Balladeer and passed away within the year after playing and singing at the Grand Ole OPry - he did a tribute to Burl Eves who first recorded Go Tell Aunt RHody......I began to help him at the West Virginia Gas and Oil co. Festival when he had trouble playing so long with the arthritis in his hands....I also would see Alan Freeman, a dulcimer player at those festivals and Maddie McNeil was at the John C Campbell taking dulcimer lessons when I was teaching the Little MIddle Folkschool... I saw her 20 years later at a concert and she remembered me, but I could not remember where I had met her...She said she would print it in a dulcimer newsletter and for me to read it ---- I could not believe it was her....anyway -hope you will consider me a new thread........til later - never goodbye Patricia Ann "Patches" Holmes - Traditional Appalachian, Heritage and Environmental folklife artisan.....Dover, NH patchesholmes@live.com |
|
24 Feb 12 - 05:54 AM (#3312582) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: GUEST I have moved to Barrington, NH _ patchesholmes@live.com |
|
24 Feb 12 - 08:27 AM (#3312638) Subject: RE: How many of us play in a traditional band. From: GUEST,. how interesting |