Kitty Hayes

I am saddened to learn that concertina player, and widow of flute and whistle player Josie Hayes, Kitty Hayes died at home in Shanaway Miltown Malbay this past Saturday. Her friend, Peter Laban, has posted a heartfelt obituary. Here are some wonderful videos of Kitty and Peter playing together. They also recorded a well-reviewed CD together, and Kitty recorded a solo CD, as well.

Breathe Often

My teacher gave me a great tip about how to learn where to breathe: Learn the tune with a breath in every measure. Then you'll be able to take a breath whenever you need one, and you won't always do it in the same places, which makes the tune sound repetitive.

Téada

I've decided that I had better post more photos from the 2007 Dublin Irish Festival before the 2008 Festival rolls around! So here are some photos of Téada.

It was raining cats and dogs when I pulled into the festival on Sunday afternoon. The police had shut the festival down because of the danger of lightning. They told me at the entrance that only "participants" (entertainers) were being allowed in. When I produced a participants' ticket, they told me that I still couldn't go in. Go figure.

Eventually, the gates were opened. When I got to the tent in which Téada would be performing, it was almost empty, although it filled up quickly as people came back into the festival. The band came in and started setting up their instruments and doing sound checks.

Here's a photo of flute player Damien Stenson during the sound check.

 

Yes, that is a B♭ flute on his lap. No, he didn't play it during the show. Before the show started, an audience member (not me!) walked up and asked to try his flute. He handed it over to her, seemingly without a second thought.

The band also includes bodhrán player Tristan Rosenstock:

 

...fiddler Oisín Mac Diarmada, Paul Finn, playing button box:

 

Seán Mc Elwain plays guitar and bouzouki.

 

Readers familiar with Téada's earlier incarnations will notice that this is a substantial change in lineup from the performers featured on Téada's first couple of albums. To my ear, their sound is different as well. No matter how you felt about their previous work, I think that their most recent album, Inné Amárach, deserves a listen with a fresh ear. There's a wide variety of tunes, mostly dance music, but not just jigs and reels. There are no songs; the album is strictly instrumental. It really is a "new band." The title is Irish for "Yesterday Tomorrow," and I think it perfectly captures the spirit of the album — an obvious knowledge and respect for the sources of traditional music inside of a contemporary sound. The US version of the album includes a promotional DVD about the band which is in much the same spirit. Besides featuring Téada, it also includes (short) interviews with Peter Horan, Sean Ryan, and Verona Ryan. The DVD is interesting, but unfortunately doesn't focus on performances of complete tunes. The CD, however, is first-rate playing from start to finish. I really like Inné Amárach.

Micho Russell Video

I'm Not Dead

In case you wondered. But my home computer is.

Lucky I can make music without a computer these days.

Here are some folks who've linked to me recently:

• Mi amigo, Sergio Gonzalez, who plays flute and bouzouki on the Kells CD which I reviewed ages ago, has a new radio show, and a blog to go with it. If you're ever in Patagonia, check it out, or listen in online.
• Joel has a new flute/whistle blog.
• Thanks for kind words from Beniy.

General Guinness Band

The photo above is the Columbus-based General Guinness Band playing at the 2007 Dublin Irish Festival. The members, from left to right, include guitarist Steve Steele, bodhrán player Tom Davis, vocalist James O'Shea, flute player Larry Dulin, plus fiddler Charlene Adzima, who is not, I believe, a regular member of the band, but who played with them during all of their Dublin Irish Festival shows.

 

The Kitchen Sessions

Those of us who can't make the commute to an actual kitchen in Co. Clare for tunes and dancing can content ourselves with Clare FM's ongoing series of programs, presented by Paula Carroll and recorded in the homes of music lovers around the county.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: Clare FM's trad archive is one of the best destinations for trad fans I've found on the Internet. They feature great music with knowledgeable presenters, and regularly include material not available anywhere else, such as visits from musically-talented local youngsters and the kitchen sessions mentioned above. It's all in MP3 format, so you can listen to the shows in whatever way is convenient for you.

Finally, here's one more way to hear tunes in a Co. Clare kitchen. Kitty Hayes is featured in the first track on the first kitchen sessions program, and Clare FM has done a program featuring her as the start of a new series on "different aspects of life for older people in Clare." It doesn't seem to be available online, though.

Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne

 

Well, it's been entirely too long since I've posted any photos from the 2007 Dublin Irish Festival, and since I took a bunch of pictures at the CCÉ show last night I'd better work on clearing the backlog.

Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne played a nighttime show in the pub on Saturday, mostly featuring songs from their latest album, The Old Simplicity.

For recent comments and photos from Niamh, check out Niamh's Musings, her blog.

 

My Name is Yu Ming

Via the photoblog Ireland from a Polish perspective, here's a funny but slightly tragic film from TG4 about a Chinese man who spends six months learning Irish so that he can work in Ireland. It's full of great comic moments and worth five minutes of your time, I think.

On Shopping, Spit, and Rolling in the Ryegrass

Some unrelated things on my mind today:

I put my money where my mouth was and ordered a stack of CDs from the Tayberry Music going-out-of-business sale. Having received the CDs, I'll recommend it again. I got great CDs at bargain prices, they were friendly, shipped quickly, and they fixed a misshipment at their expense. I wish the owners a happy retirement!

A while back I was having a problem with, um, drool getting into my whistle while I was playing. I asked my teacher about this and he said he'd never had the problem. But I figured it out; I just need to not look down while playing.

Mick O'Brien and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh have an interesting version of Rolling in the Ryegrass on Kitty Lie Over. They seem to prolong the first parts of the first two bars of the A part, and they don't go up as high, in relative pitch, on the second bar, as most versions I've heard. That, plus some other differences, gives the tune a really different feel. I like the whole album.