Danú

I feel like I’m setting a bit of a bad example as a teacher if I want to reschedule a lesson.  I feel even worse about it if it’s for personal reasons.  But not quite as bad if it’s for personal reasons involving going to see live music that has come all the way from Ireland and will probably never be within close proximity to me again in my lifetime.  Oh happy was the day I learned Danú was coming to town!!

photos via danumusic.com

I have one student on that night so I kindly asked if he wanted to move his lesson to another available time – he didn’t. That’s ok. It had something to do with him being a bit lax on the practice this week.  So I got to go to the show and it was ethereal & inspiring & amazing! They bring traditional Irish tunes and mix in many of their own compositions and arrangements. That was one of the things I was most impressed with, that it wasn’t just music they’d heard or been playing forever. At some point they wrote these songs and seamlessly wove them into Celtic repertoire without it being obvious they weren’t ancient and familiar folk tunes. The man who played fiddle was so quick and loose and agile and a joy to watch. I was very curious about one of the drums they were using, it had a kind of more “boingy” sound I hadn’t heard come from a bodhrán before.  I will have to look into that. We had super close seats and it was so fun to see their playful camaraderie on stage.   I didn’t get any pictures; I just took it all in with my eyes and ears. Maybe next time…

3 Crested Hens

There is a song I request nearly every time I play with the Celtic Crew.  I heard once it’s not even really an Irish tune but somehow it has worked its way into traditional session repertoire and I am so very glad!  It really is the loveliest tune; beautiful melodic lines, an unrushed, almost sauntering tempo, and plenty of places for me to embellish as I feel so inclined.  The tune is Crested Hens by Gilles Chabenat.  Some say it’s a traditional Breton dance tune he slowed for his version, while others maintain it is an original.  Either way, Chabenat is a French hurdy-gurdy player who credits a line from a Debussy composition as the inspiration for this tune. I will have to have an extensive listening party to see if I can discover which one he plucked it from.

I have been having some fun playing around in Sibelius recently.  It’s been five or six years since I last used it for an assignment in college – far too long!  I thought that arranging a favorite tune might be the perfect exercise to familiarize myself again. So here is a bit of what I’ve done with it, I have already started working on a few more – it was so much fun and I can’t get enough.

I thought it appropriate to specify exactly how many crested hens there are – at least in my version – since it is not noted in the original.  The three violin part arrangement is a nod to the trio I often played in growing up. We had the greatest time playing everything from Telemann and Bach to Khachaturian and the beloved Michael MacLean. I dearly miss playing with you Lauren and Sasha!  How wonderful it would be to play this together someday, perhaps the next time we are all serendipitously back in Sitka at the same time!

So this is how I envision this tune being played (live of course!) with friends and family gathered for a dance or a dinner party.  Side note.. how cute is that lady bug that snuck into this picture?  So cute, indeed.  Happy music making! – Kera

 

Gig Salad Talent Show

This is a throwback post about the talent show that Gig Salad hosted in February of last year but I wanted to write about the experience as it was a wonderful one for us.

As The Eskimo Girls, Abbie Benton, Heather Strange and I have played together for several years. We met in college and stayed fast friends as we navigated through living together, first real jobs, not so glamorous jobs, sharing our ideas and aspirations, tipsy bananagram marathons, and learning to live in the real world after a petrie dish college experience. Together we form an acoustic trio comprising of guitar, violin, ukulele and lovely vocal harmonies.  We play mostly in the folky, americana genre and have covered some of our personal favorites but focus mostly on original songs.

Gig Salad is a local company founded to bridge the gap between performers of all varieties and event coordinators, whether they be personal or professional. They are truly an incredible services and since we signed up last year have helped us book many gigs ranging from weddings and corporate events to dinner parties and charity benefits. If you are a performer of any kind and haven’t signed up, you absolutely should! The basic profile is totally free and as you start booking more gigs you can upgrade your account for added features and greater visibility.

Here we are at the show, enjoying ourselves and walking the “carpet.”  My mom comes to Missouri at least a couple times a year and just so happened to be in town that week!  She loves hearing us of course, and I absolutely have a great time being able to show her what we’re up to!

A few things about the event. There were so many types of acts there – the diversity was incredible!!  Of course there were many musicians, so we got to make a lot of new friends. Also in attendance were a juggling & rapping duo, a comic, and a couple dance troupes.  We were excited to go for it because of the prize package.  A whole year subscription of the professional Gig Salad profile, spots on local tv and radio, and a bit of cash to be used for furthering the act. The winner of the talent show was selected through audience voting, which I thought was alright but the judges opinions should have had at least some merit, like a hybrid voting situation where the experts had greater weight than the voting public. I definitely did not expect to win, though I was hoping we would at least place! It’s perfectly ok though, the kids who danced and dressed up like penguins were adorable as anything and could not be denied!  All in all we had a good time, met some new people, and got a chance to perform in front of people we hadn’t before.  A wonderful evening indeed!

Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with Gig Salad but they have been an easy way for our band to book and perform more than we could have on our own. So I thought I’d send Gig Salad some love!