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Monday, September 17, 2018
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Upcoming Shows & Appearances
The Devil's Tailors at Fiddle Stage at the Virginia Scottish Games, Saturday September 2nd at 3:30 PM
We're very excited to have been asked to return to the Virginia Scottish Games' fiddle stage (http://www.vascottishgames.org/FiddleEntertainment.html). We'll be sharing the stage with other great acts like Terpsichore, Cello Below, and more; and there's a lot to do at the festival besides. Come on out and see us!
The Devil's Tailors at Fiddle Stage at the The Takoma Park Folk Festival, Sunday September 10th at 3:45 PM
We're also thrilled to be returning to the Takoma Park Folk Festival for a second time. This is a very prestigious local event, and we'll be playing the Abbott Stage at 3:45 PM, sponsored by the Folk Society of Greater Washington; and there are so many other great acts to enjoy there. Come on out and see us!
Scottish Jam Session This Coming Sunday, August 27th from 2:00 to 5:00PM at Fiona's Irish Pub in Kingstowne
Looking for something to do this coming Sunday afternoon? Want to see the Tailors (or most of them, at least), in an informal setting?
Then come one, come all to the only open Scottish jam session in the area. Play or listen to fiddles, pipes, whistles, guitars, and other instruments play the traditional music of Scotland and the Western Isles, as well as Shetland and Cape Breton.
A tune list from previous jams is maintained on our jam blog (dcscottishsession.blogspot.com), as well as an "important tunes" list sorted by key and tune type.
The jam will be preceded by a Gaelic Song circle that begins at 1 PM, and we're trying to overlap with puirt-a-beul in the beginning of the jam. Look for a list of jam tunes that are also are tunes for well-known puirt at the jam blog.
The DC-area Scottish jam will be at at Fiona's Irish Pub in Kingstowne (http://www.fionasirishpub.com). Fiona's is located at 5810 Kingstowne Center, Alexandria, VA 22315; near the intersection of Kingstowne Blvd and Van Dorn, just a bit south of the Beltway. There's plenty of parking!
The Jam will be from 2-5 PM in the bar area (the Special Events room was booked for this month).
Though the session is dominated by fiddlers, all appropriate instruments are welcome, within reason. We try to stick to a Scottish repertoire, from all areas of Scotland and regions with closely-related styles (like Cape Breton and the Shetland Isles), though a few Irish tunes slip in. We mostly play reels and jigs, though we're trying to get more strathspeys and other tunes into the mix. The level of play at the session depends on who shows up. We often start as a slow session for the first 30 minutes or so, and become an advanced session for the remainder.The Jam will be from 2-5 PM in the bar area (the Special Events room was booked for this month).
A tune list from previous jams is maintained on our jam blog (dcscottishsession.blogspot.com), as well as an "important tunes" list sorted by key and tune type.
Scottish Gaelic Song Circle before the Jam!
The jam will be preceded by a Gaelic Song circle that begins at 1 PM, and we're trying to overlap with puirt-a-beul in the beginning of the jam. Look for a list of jam tunes that are also are tunes for well-known puirt at the jam blog.
Mar sin leibh an-dràsda! (Good bye for now!)
Peter
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Shows to watch out for...
With our band back at full strength, the Devil's Tailors are back to gigging. We don't have a lot on our plate yet, but we can confirm that we will be playing the Fiddle Stage at the Virginia Scottish Games, and the Takoma Park Folk Festival again! So look for us there, and look for more news about bookings soon.
We're hoping to be back into a regular pub gig by fall.
We're hoping to be back into a regular pub gig by fall.
The Devil's Tailors Welcomes Scott Morrison to the Band
After being short-handed for a year and a half, the Devil's Tailors is very happy to be back at full strength!
We're very excited to welcome Scott Morrison to the band. We're very excited to welcome Scott Morrison. Scott is an extremely talented percussionist, whistle player, and Gaelic singer (and is actually Amy's Gaelic teacher, soon to be Pete's as well), as the 5th member of the band. He sat in with us at Southern Maryland for two shows, and everyone in the band spontaneously decided they wanted him to join us full time.
With Scott filling out the 5th slot the band, we'll stay with a single fret player, so we'll be retooling some of our orchestrations, moving Peter from whistle back to fiddle in places, and we'll probably be shifting more of our song repertoire into Gaelic in the future. So very exciting stuff!
Here's a little about Scott, in his own words:
We're very excited to welcome Scott Morrison to the band. We're very excited to welcome Scott Morrison. Scott is an extremely talented percussionist, whistle player, and Gaelic singer (and is actually Amy's Gaelic teacher, soon to be Pete's as well), as the 5th member of the band. He sat in with us at Southern Maryland for two shows, and everyone in the band spontaneously decided they wanted him to join us full time.
With Scott filling out the 5th slot the band, we'll stay with a single fret player, so we'll be retooling some of our orchestrations, moving Peter from whistle back to fiddle in places, and we'll probably be shifting more of our song repertoire into Gaelic in the future. So very exciting stuff!
Here's a little about Scott, in his own words:
Scott Morrison is a private music instructor living in Elkridge, Maryland where he has been running his school, Rimshots, Inc., for nearly 20 years. He holds a B.S. in Music from Frostburg State University with a double concentration in K-12 Music Education and Percussion Performance. His teaching credits include private percussion lessons through Rimshots, regular workshops on the bodhràn, spoons, bones, and tin whistle at The House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park and at The Appalachian Bluegrass Shoppe in Catonsville, annual appearances at area Celtic Festivals in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Southern Pennsylvania, and at the Gaelic College in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Mr. Morrison plays in the world beat band called Big Blow and the Bushwackers and he leads his own Scottish/Irish traditional ensemble called Dìleab Phrìseil (Precious Heritage) and has performed with Celtic music notables like Billy McComisky, Bonnie Rideout, Neil Foley, Anrew Dodds, Ben Williams, Skylark, Donna Nomick, and now The Devil’s Tailors. Mr. Morrison is a fluent Scotish Gaelic speaker and has worked part time as an on-line Gaelic instructor for the Atlantic Gaelic Academy and as a Gaelic phone interpreter for Language Line Services. He also writes Gaelic poetry, sings traditional Gaelic songs, and is currently working online towards a BA in Gaelic Language and Culture through the Gaelic College on Skye, Scotland called An t-Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Mr. Morrison also has had an article on the history of the bodhràn in Percussive Notes back in 2011.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
We're playing a jam this Sunday, and Southern Maryland Celtic Festival 4/29!
The Devil's Tailors at Pub Stage at the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival, Saturday April 29 at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM
We're very excited to have been asked to return to the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival
(http://www.cssm.org/events/festival/) for two shows this coming April,
at their pub stage. We'll be sharing the stage with other great acts
like Iona, The American Rogues, and more; and there's a lot to do at the
festival besides. Come on out and see us!
Amy and Peter will be traveling to Scotland soon after, in May, but look for more shows to be announced starting soon.
Amy and Peter will be traveling to Scotland soon after, in May, but look for more shows to be announced starting soon.
Scottish Jam Session This Coming Sunday, March 26th from 2:00 to 5:00PM at Fiona's Irish Pub in Kingstowne
Looking for something to do this coming Sunday afternoon? Want to see the Tailors (or most of them, at least), in an informal setting?
Then come one, come all to the only open Scottish jam session in the area. Play or listen to fiddles, pipes, whistles, guitars, and other instruments play the traditional music of Scotland and the Western Isles, as well as Shetland and Cape Breton.
The DC-area Scottish jam will be trying out a new home, at Fiona's Irish Pub in Kingstowne (http://www.fionasirishpub.com
The Jam will be from 2-5 PM in the bar area (the Special Events room was booked for this month).
Though the session is dominated by fiddlers, all appropriate
instruments are welcome, within reason. We try to stick to a Scottish
repertoire, from all areas of Scotland and regions with closely-related
styles (like Cape Breton and the Shetland Isles), though a few Irish
tunes slip in. We mostly play reels and jigs, though we're trying to get
more strathspeys and other tunes into the mix. The level of play at the
session depends on who shows up. We often start as a slow session for
the first 30 minutes or so, and become an advanced session for the
remainder.The Jam will be from 2-5 PM in the bar area (the Special Events room was booked for this month).
A tune list from previous jams is maintained on our jam blog (dcscottishsession.blogspot.
Scottish Gaelic Song Circle before the Jam!
The jam will be preceded by a Gaelic Song circle that begins at 1 PM, and we're trying to overlap with puirt-a-beul in the beginning of the jam. Look for a list of jam tunes that are also are tunes for well-known puirt at the jam blog.
Peter
Sunday, December 4, 2016
More Changes to the Devil's Tailors
It's been a few months since we last checked in, and some great gigs. After our gigs at the Virginia Scottish Games, the Takoma Folk street festival, and the Outlander Fashion show, Rosemary Hall has had to say farewell to the band. She's going to be immersing herself in her last semester of grad school, among other projects, and so decided it was time to step away from performance.
We'll really miss Rosemary, and wish her the best of luck in all her future adventures!
But with that second hole in our line-up, we had to fill the ranks quickly. Fortunately, we found a new fiddler almost immediately, in the form of the electrifying Kaitlyn Likas!
Kaitlyn is the fiddler for Capital Celtic and The Wild Irish Roses, and will be also joining the Devil's Tailors full time. As her bio on the Capital Celtic site says:
Kaitlyn Likas (A.KA. The Wild Irish Rose) is an award-winning fiddler and Irish/ Scottish dancer based in the Washington DC area. From an early age, Momma Likas ingrained in Kaitlyn and her siblings an awareness and appreciation of their cultural heritage. As a first-generation Irish American, Kaitlyn makes a point to be active in her local Irish community here in Virginia, DC and Maryland. You might have seen her sawing on strings, and dancing on swords with the well-known Irish sister group, "The Wild Irish Roses."
Kaitlyn began her dancing career at the age of 4, learning Scottish Highland dance because Irish was sadly not available in Southern Maryland "back in the day." She later was taught Irish dance in high school from both the Hunt and Broesler schools in Maryland, winning various competitions and championships.
Kaitlyn is a self-taught fiddler with humble beginnings as a classically trained violinist. After playing classical for over 10 years, Kaitlyn took on the new challenge of teaching herself the fiddle. Since then, she has not looked back! Kaitlyn is the only female fiddler to perform in the Baltimore-based Irish punk band, The Charm City Saints. The Charm City Saints contributed music to various Irish films and documentaries. Kaitlyn has also recently performed with Black 47, O'Malley's March, Celtica, and The Fighting Jameson's. Her musical inspirations are Lunasa and The Chieftains. Since starting "The Wild Irish Roses," Kaitlyn has performed at several Irish/Celtic festivals on the east coast, including ShamrockFest. She has graced the stages of The Kennedy Center, and various restaurants and pubs. One of the most recent highlights of Kaitlyn's career was performing before Her Excellency, Ambassador to Ireland, Anne Anderson at Fiona's Irish Pub in Kingstowne, VA.
In her spare time, Kaitlyn volunteers as secretary to the Ballyshaners, a charitable Irish organization in Old Town Alexandria. She enjoys painting and sculpting, and dreams of opening a Celtic arts school in the future. Kaitlyn currently works as a contractor to the Department of Defense.
We are very excited to have Kaitlyn with us! We've already played two gigs with her - one a house concert/ceilidh for a wonderful couple and their friends and neighbors who had visited Cape Breton but hasn't had much chance to see any music; and the other the St. Andrew's Day Kirkin' at Christchurch Episcopal in La Plata, MD, which we first played last year. A great thank you to everyone who saw us there.
But Kaitlyn is not our only change. We have become a smaller band in another way, and this time in a permanent one. Soon after our Mid-MD gig, Peter was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. You might have noticed from the pictures taken from Strongbow's in August 2015 that he had become a very... jolly... piper. Well, no more of that. Much of this year has been a relentless focus on his health and weight, and so music has had to take a back seat to that. The good news is that Peter is down 75 pounds as of this writing, with 25 more to go, and his blood sugar is completely under control - meaning he'll be playing tunes in good health for the indefinite future, but the bad is that this and the personnel change has once again slowed down work on the album.
So the plan moving forward is this:
We're going to be spending December and January getting Kaitlyn up to speed on some of our current material, while working up a few sets that were in the pipeline - some of which Peter composed! Peter and Jim will also begin laying the groundwork for the album, with an eye to the first tracks going down in January and February, after some December trial runs. We'll resume our hunt for the perfect person to step in and fill Chris' large shoes. And some time in spring, look for the website to be completely revamped!
It's slow going, but the destination is in sight. Thanks to all of you for sticking with us!
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
A line-up of shows this September!
Saturday 9/3, 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM, Main Stage, Virginia Scottish Games, The Plains, VA
Sunday 9/11, 10:00 AM, Takoma Park Gazebo, Takoma Park, MD
Saturday 9/17, 12:45 PM, 2nd Annual Scottish Heritage Weekend: Outlander Style, Carlyle House Park, Alexandria, VA
After a summer break, we've got three great shows coming up in September. Firstly, we'll be returning for the 3rd time in a row to the main stage of the Virginia Scottish Games. We'll be joined by Jennifer Lubell on the bodhran. Entrance is $20/adult for one day, and there's so much to see at the games.
The next weekend, we'll be in Takoma Park playing in the downtown gazebo, just up the block from the House of Musical Traditions, opening the Takoma FOLK festival. This is a small festival put on by many of the organizers of the much larger Takoma Park Folk Festival, which is taking a year off to look for volunteers to help run the event (email me if you're interested!).
Finally, on 9/17, we'll be in Alexandria, VA at the Carlyle House, performing in period costume on period instruments for an Outlander-themed Scottish heritage festival. We had a lot of fun doing this last year, and it'll be great to do it again. The event runs both days, and you can see a fashion show of reenactors on the following Sunday (to which Peter might turn up as well).
We keep running into roadblocks for our album, but October has been set aside to go into the studio. I've got the gear, I've got the software, time to lay down some tracks. Stay tuned for more info!
We're also performing at a St. Andrew's Day/Kirkin' o' the Tartan festival at Christ Church Episcopal in La Plata, Maryland on November 27th, along with the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums! This'll be a great event for everyone in the Southern Maryland area to come out and enjoy! More info on this event as we get closer to it.
Mar sin leibh an-dràsda! (Good bye for now!)
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