We started off the year with a bang - with Andrew Dodds as guest fiddler, we started things off right at John Strongbow's Tavern for their New Year's Eve celebration. We brought out the gaita grileira for the debut of Maggie Lauder, and introduced a few new sets - the Beach Jigs (including two tunes by Peter), The Crookit Hornpipe, the Nuptial Jigs and Troy's Turf.
John Strongbow's Tavern is a fun little place with a medieval/renaissance theme. And when Peter began to learn more about the place, he discovered that his old friend Karla Booth (back from when he was just starting out on pipes and fiddle) was one of the co-owners! So it was a perfect fit. Every band needs a home port, and we're lucky to be given the chance to make John Strongbow's ours.
So for the foreseeable future, we'll be playing John Strongbow's monthly. Our first two gigs are on the calendar, with Chelle Fulk joining us on fiddle.
We've also got a Burns Supper gig coming up, the National Capitol Tartan Day Festival, and in fall we'll be playing a showcase at a local winery, hopefully leading to a regular gig there.
We're hoping to get some new shows in new venues as well, both festivals and pubs.
We'll be debuting even more new sets at National Capitol Tartan Day - including a march, strathspey, and reel set entirely written by Peter.
And is this the year we finally record that album we've been promising for the last four? Well, now that we'll be gigging more, Peter can't use "I'm out of practice" as an excuse anymore!
But the most exciting bit of news is that we'll be having a full-time fiddler joining us in June. Rosemary Hall (bio in the "the band" section) finishes up school to return to DC. She'll be spending the summer at the Smithsonian, and while we can't predict where grad school takes her, we're hoping she's with us for a while! We've known Rosemary since she was in High School, and have played with her in the regular DC jam on many occasions, as well as with the Tailors at least twice, and are extremely excited to be working with her again as our fiddler!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
It was a slow 2014
Well, we never really recovered from our fiddler shortage in 2014. We more or less took the year off, playing a total of four gigs. We had a blast making our annual return to the National Capitol Tartan Day festival, with Chelle Fulk returning to play fiddle. It was cold and windy, but a lot of fun.
Then we played a small fundraiser for the U.S. National Mòd, alongside some wonderful Gaelic singers, and with Barbara Saliunas. We provided a bunch of instrumental sets, and one Gaelic waulking/rowing song, which also saw the public debut of Peter on the wire-strung clàrsach (Gaelic small harp).
Then we got a wonderful opportunity - we got to play the main stage on both days at the Virginia Scottish Games, with Andrew Dodds as our guest fiddler, in addition to our usual showing at the Fiddle Tent. THAT was fun. Seriously. We had good and responsive crowds, and I got to debut my new Gaelic song, Duthaich Mhic Aoidh, which is about the clearances. We had a lot of people come up and talk to us afterwards, including our new friends at John Strongbow's Tavern.
Which leads to our final gig of the year, and the first of the next...
(to be continued)
Then we played a small fundraiser for the U.S. National Mòd, alongside some wonderful Gaelic singers, and with Barbara Saliunas. We provided a bunch of instrumental sets, and one Gaelic waulking/rowing song, which also saw the public debut of Peter on the wire-strung clàrsach (Gaelic small harp).
Then we got a wonderful opportunity - we got to play the main stage on both days at the Virginia Scottish Games, with Andrew Dodds as our guest fiddler, in addition to our usual showing at the Fiddle Tent. THAT was fun. Seriously. We had good and responsive crowds, and I got to debut my new Gaelic song, Duthaich Mhic Aoidh, which is about the clearances. We had a lot of people come up and talk to us afterwards, including our new friends at John Strongbow's Tavern.
Which leads to our final gig of the year, and the first of the next...
(to be continued)
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Farewell to Chelle & Susan, and where to go from here?
We had a great year with Chelle Fulk. Chelle was the consummate musician, and with her along, our musicianship and professionalism improved by leaps and bounds. Chelle showed us what we could be, and we all rose to her challenge. But we're all semi-pro/amateur musicians with day jobs, but Chelle's a real pro, and she needed a band that gigged a lot more than we did, and - combined with a move from Reston to Gaithersburg (and the vast longer commute to practice in Alexandria that entailed) - to our great regret, Chelle left the band in fall 2012, just as her other Celtic band, Keltish, was ramping up its performing and touring schedule. We hated to see her go, but before she left, Chelle recommended a new fiddler for us, Susan MacIntosh-Worrell.
Susan hails from New Zealand, by way of the Caribbean, and grew up doing Highland and Scottish Country Dance, and though she'd performed in a lot of genres, had never played Scottish music until she played with us. She was a quick study, and we were up and running in our 2.5.0 version of the band very quickly.
We had some great and memorable gigs in this incarnation. The most memorable was the Burns Supper for the Glasgow University Alumni Club, at which Bonnie Rideout was an honored guest (who rocked out to our music all evening, which was very flattering!). Liz Donaldson joined us for that gig, as well as a Law School graduation party ceilidh. We also played for the birthday party for one of the instructors at the Culkin School of Irish Dance. In these three gigs, we got the chance to really hone our skills playing for dancers, but playing for the Irish dancers was a unique treat for this Scottish band (and the were all very wonderful and friendly and made us feel very welcome!).
Another memorable gig was at the 2013 Virginia Scottish Games when Clandestine's EJ Jones joined us on stage as my wife Amy and I sang Whaur Will We Gang, which we had first performed at our wedding reception six weeks earlier.
But after a year with us, Susan regretfully left the band after the 2013 Virginia Scottish Games because of family obligations and scheduling conflicts, and right now we're searching for a replacement fiddler; ideally I'd like someone who can play piano as well.
The question is, where will the band go from here? Will we be 2.6.0, or will we make real changes to our format to become 3.0?
We have seen one change to our format: my lovely new wife, Amy Gray, is joining us more and more on backup vocals, and there may be a bombarde and some an dros at some point in her future! But we still need a 2nd string player, to provide fiddle for songs, and for when I'm playing the pipes.
We'll see more emphasis on the pipe sets, and a little less on the fiddle-only sets. We'll be doing some more jigs and hornpipes, and some sets that start off as competitions MSRs before going into round reels. We're singing more in Gaelic; so far we've got Hi Ri Him Bo and Là Dhomh 's mi a 'm Beinn a' Cheathaich, and I'll probably add a few more, like Tha Tigh'n Fodham Eiridh.
In the interim, this coming November through January, we'll finally finish recording the first album, and probably lay down tracks for the next while we're at it. I will play some of the fiddle tracks on the pipe instrumentals, and we're likely to hire Chelle to join us for the songs.
With any luck, we'll find the right fiddler, and you'll be seeing and hearing a lot more from us in 2014!
Susan hails from New Zealand, by way of the Caribbean, and grew up doing Highland and Scottish Country Dance, and though she'd performed in a lot of genres, had never played Scottish music until she played with us. She was a quick study, and we were up and running in our 2.5.0 version of the band very quickly.
We had some great and memorable gigs in this incarnation. The most memorable was the Burns Supper for the Glasgow University Alumni Club, at which Bonnie Rideout was an honored guest (who rocked out to our music all evening, which was very flattering!). Liz Donaldson joined us for that gig, as well as a Law School graduation party ceilidh. We also played for the birthday party for one of the instructors at the Culkin School of Irish Dance. In these three gigs, we got the chance to really hone our skills playing for dancers, but playing for the Irish dancers was a unique treat for this Scottish band (and the were all very wonderful and friendly and made us feel very welcome!).
Another memorable gig was at the 2013 Virginia Scottish Games when Clandestine's EJ Jones joined us on stage as my wife Amy and I sang Whaur Will We Gang, which we had first performed at our wedding reception six weeks earlier.
But after a year with us, Susan regretfully left the band after the 2013 Virginia Scottish Games because of family obligations and scheduling conflicts, and right now we're searching for a replacement fiddler; ideally I'd like someone who can play piano as well.
The question is, where will the band go from here? Will we be 2.6.0, or will we make real changes to our format to become 3.0?
We have seen one change to our format: my lovely new wife, Amy Gray, is joining us more and more on backup vocals, and there may be a bombarde and some an dros at some point in her future! But we still need a 2nd string player, to provide fiddle for songs, and for when I'm playing the pipes.
We'll see more emphasis on the pipe sets, and a little less on the fiddle-only sets. We'll be doing some more jigs and hornpipes, and some sets that start off as competitions MSRs before going into round reels. We're singing more in Gaelic; so far we've got Hi Ri Him Bo and Là Dhomh 's mi a 'm Beinn a' Cheathaich, and I'll probably add a few more, like Tha Tigh'n Fodham Eiridh.
In the interim, this coming November through January, we'll finally finish recording the first album, and probably lay down tracks for the next while we're at it. I will play some of the fiddle tracks on the pipe instrumentals, and we're likely to hire Chelle to join us for the songs.
With any luck, we'll find the right fiddler, and you'll be seeing and hearing a lot more from us in 2014!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Welcoming Chelle, and the Devil's Tailors 2.4.0
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
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
Thursday, June 23, 2011
In the Studio
The Devil's Tailors are (finally) recording our first album! It will cover our oldest repertoire, the stuff we were playing pretty much when Susanne joined the band, leaving us with an additional album's worth of material for the next effort.
This past weekend, Jim came over to my house and we laid down five scratch tracks and four guitar tracks, and on Tuesday night Chris came over and we recorded a click track for one of his songs. Jim will be returning Sunday morning to record three more click tracks and four guitar tracks. And I've got a workaround in place for a click track for sets where we're changing tempo, like those with a strathspey/reel and/or march/strathspey transition.
We're very excited to be finally doing this, and hope to have an album to sell in the late fall. Not soon enough for the Virginia Games, probably, but soon after that.
This past weekend, Jim came over to my house and we laid down five scratch tracks and four guitar tracks, and on Tuesday night Chris came over and we recorded a click track for one of his songs. Jim will be returning Sunday morning to record three more click tracks and four guitar tracks. And I've got a workaround in place for a click track for sets where we're changing tempo, like those with a strathspey/reel and/or march/strathspey transition.
We're very excited to be finally doing this, and hope to have an album to sell in the late fall. Not soon enough for the Virginia Games, probably, but soon after that.
Friday, May 27, 2011
New Performance Dates
We've just booked some interesting gigs. We'll be playing the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Diversity Day festival on June 8th, with Lilt's Keith Carr sitting in for Chris Lindsay (who's on travel), the Homespun Ceilidh Band's Jennifer Lubell joining us for some steps & bodhran, along with Rosemary Hall, who'll be returning to play with us for a third time.
On July 6th, we'll be playing an employee picnic for the folks at the Smithsonian on the DC National Mall, playing on one of the stages put up for the Folklife Festival (which will be on break). A lot of acts put in bids for this one, and we are very pleased to be asked to perform.
We're also finalizing a concert-on-the-lawn at the Carlyle House in Alexandria, VA. This is a new concert series they're putting on, and is open and free to the public, so come on out. Dates are still being discussed, but we're probably looking at late July.
We're also likely to play a birthday party in August, and are looking at a possible pub gig, before the Virginia Scottish Games over Labor Day weekend.
On July 6th, we'll be playing an employee picnic for the folks at the Smithsonian on the DC National Mall, playing on one of the stages put up for the Folklife Festival (which will be on break). A lot of acts put in bids for this one, and we are very pleased to be asked to perform.
We're also finalizing a concert-on-the-lawn at the Carlyle House in Alexandria, VA. This is a new concert series they're putting on, and is open and free to the public, so come on out. Dates are still being discussed, but we're probably looking at late July.
We're also likely to play a birthday party in August, and are looking at a possible pub gig, before the Virginia Scottish Games over Labor Day weekend.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Some New Tunes
The Devil's Tailors will begin looking aggressively at new festivals & venues to play, and we're hoping to be performing a lot more in the fall.
In preparation for this, we've dusted off a few sets we haven't played in a while, specifically a great - and very challenging - set of stathspeys and reels in C and G (major and minor), a set of very elegant Scots Measures in D minor, a hornpipe/reel set, some old Highland jigs, and a set of equally old slip jigs. And a few songs we've performed a couple of times but really are looking to polish up.
Fun times are afoot!
In preparation for this, we've dusted off a few sets we haven't played in a while, specifically a great - and very challenging - set of stathspeys and reels in C and G (major and minor), a set of very elegant Scots Measures in D minor, a hornpipe/reel set, some old Highland jigs, and a set of equally old slip jigs. And a few songs we've performed a couple of times but really are looking to polish up.
Fun times are afoot!
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