The Band
Chad McAnally:
Whirling vortex of anecdote, contradiction and harmony,
Orthodox non conformist and cavalier detractor of the ephemeral,
Holistic rationalist, confessor of audible history and faithful cynic,
Playing and making trees of strings,
Born the year of the Bhola Cyclone and Devlin's arrest,
Herbivore, beholder of the absurd, militantly peaceful,
Counter of syllables, follower of streams, and chronic composer,
Avant traditionalist, Ann's adherent, patiently hopeful.
Inventory:
- Whistles by various people
- Gaelic Harp by Chad
- Hammered Dulcimer by Chad
Shawn McBurnie heard early about the green fields of Canada
and arranged to be born on "the shores of Columbia"—but since then has contrived to spend most of his time elsewhere. He can attest that the timber there still grows thick in places, but the salmon and sturgeon have fallen on hard times. He's never seen a buffalo up close, and is glad he's never been near a whole herd of moose—when you get between a cow and her calf (as he did once when young and foolish), a couple are plenty.
He made a gradual and circuitous transition between Pacific Northwest and Minneapolis Nordeast, picking up the occasional bit of Appalachian music along the way to season the Scotch broth (or Irish stew as the case may be).
Shawn prides himself on his prowess with the bodhrán, and contributes to the Twin Cities session scene by leaving it at home.
Inventory:
- Vocal equipmentbuilt using an old and idiosyncratic Scottish design with Irish amendments made in Canada
- Bodhránsomewhat crotchety and temperamental, of probable Middle Eastern descent courtesy of some old goat
Michelle MacGregor: A recent transplant to the Northern tundra from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. A fiddle player with attitude and a self-proclaimed rebel.
Blame it on her mum, who claims responsibility for Michelle's interest in Celtic music. Mumsy admits to have listened repeatedly to the likes of The Chieftains and other Celtic groups while Michelle tapped her foot in the womb. Since then, Michelle has found her own sound with the fiddle by blending bits from the Scots, the Irish and a wee bit of Cape Breton influence thrown in for good measure!
You may have seen Michelle touring the west coast with her old punk rock Celtic pirate band, or perhaps you have danced to her music at a Ceilidh or Contra dance. You may have also caught her at a local club/pub playing acoustically with various band members. Or if the stars shine on you, you were lucky enough to see her playing on stage with Alasdair Fraser or Eileen Ivers.
Michelle has also been seen whack'n the old goat and occasionally strumming the Mando just to keep folks wondering.
Inventory:
Jason (Mac)Novak makes his dwelling near the storied St. Anthony Falls in County Hennepin, Minnesota. A genetic sport, he has transcended a rich heritage of disinterest in and ignorance of Irish music.
Jason's musicianship sheds a pallid but unrelenting light upon local sessions, and he has performed with flute players Larry Nugent and Brian Miller, pipers Michael Cooney and Tom Klein, multi-instrumentalist entertainer and musical archivist Tom Dahill, and other local artists of far greater worth than notoriety.
Inventory:
-
Uilleann pipesa full flat set of Uillean pipes in C by Alan Ginsberg,
masterfully refurbished by Dave Boisvert of St. Paul, Minnesota;
chanter reed by Joseph E. Smith by Alan Ginsberg - Timber flutean eight-key blackwood in D/Eb;
an amalgam of Rudall Rose and Nicholson designs by Peter Noy - Whistles by whomever'nuff said
- Citternno, it's not a bouzouki by Joe Foley
- Jasonappearing by permission of another obscure local band, Roisin Dubh by Gayle Whinnery and Bill Novak
“No! Not the mind probe!”
“Hush. I'm tuning.”
“I have bad news: the reality generators are breaking down.”
tinwhistles, low whistles, what have you
not your usual do-it-yourself project
'hammered' refers to the method of playing,
not intoxication or what one is tempted to do
halfway through tuning it
“Whipped cream is like a Swiss Army knife.”
...The timber grows thick on the shores of Columbia
With Douglas in grandeur two hundred feet tall
The salmon and sturgeon dam streamlet and river
And the high Rocky Mountains look down on it all
And it's if you grow weary of pleasure and plenty
Of fruit from the orchard and fish from the foam
There's health and good hunting way back in the forests
Where herds of great moose and wild buffalo roam....
“Wow. That just curdled my coffee.”
“Pathogens are our friends.”
“I feel so.......pillaged.”
“Even more noteworthy was MacGregor's exceptional fiddle playing,
which danced atop traditional arrangements with the ease
and grace of Michael Flatley.”
—Dave Herrera, Westword Magazine 2005
by Paolo Lorenzo
Virzi tone producer – Unknown Maker
from Kentucky
Yet another old goat...
