We're very excited to introduce Chelle Fulk, the Tailors' latest seamstress, who has joined us in the 2.4.0 incarnation of the band!
The dedicated fiddler slot has been hard to keep filled, with such great friends as Lauren Brenzo, Andrew Dodds, Barbara Saliunas, Katy Summerlin, Rosemary Hall joining us on stage either as one-time guests or recurring players; and for much of the band's life, Susanne Bard in this role.
As of last September, Susanne departed the band, for reasons of health and family, and we wish her the best! Soon after, we began looking for someone to step into that slot, and Chelle - with whom I have had the opportunity to work and play on several occasions - seemed an obvious choice.
Chelle comes to us with a long resume, having played in The Pyrates Royale, Coyote Run, Keltish, and many other groups. Chelle's biggest strength is the diversity of accompaniment, harmony, and improvisation she brings to her playing. This frees me up to do less fiddle in the songs, and be bolder on fiddle in the instrumentals; and at the same time she can rock a tune when playing unison on fiddle while I pipe.
Chelle joined us for our performance at the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival, and will be playing at least two private events in the immediate future and looking to book more.
Chelle's a busy (and famous!) gal, and so when we can't get her for gigs in the summer and around holidays, we will likely still share the stage with the lovely and talented Rosemary Hall, when we can pull her away from her studies at college.
With Chelle's arrival, we'll be rolling out some new repertoire - a set of slip jigs, a new Gaelic song, and some fun Scots songs to be accompanied by 17th Century Lowland Bagpipe (also known as the Galician Gaita Grillera).
We hope to soon have some more surprises with regards to gigs and personnel, but I want to note that starting in 3 weeks, we're going to back on the wagon with regards to recording our long-delayed first album which, honestly hasn't got much further than the scratch tracks we laid down a year ago.
-Pete
