Shake Out the Raincoat: This melody popped into my head one day and I
sat down and learned it quickly on the fiddle. The name came much
later, after I was sitting in my truck during a driving rain and
listening to the sound of the rain against the rhythm of the windshield
wipers. I wrote it as an Irish reel in ceili dance style, but
used a rainy day rhythm in the final recording.
Tally the Profits: This melody was inspired by noticing
how blues guitar melodies affect me emotionly in a similar way
as certain Irish jigs. I was feeling blues but writing the tune
in jig style. After several hours of polishing up my playing of
the tune I pondered the fact that monetary compensation for my
hard work might be slow coming, but that the true satisfaction
of composition is in the workings of the creative process itself!
March to Culloden: This melody was the result of my strong
reaction to a BBC film reenacting the battle of Culloden in which
the Scottish Highland Clans made their last major stand against
a larger and more powerfully equiped British army. With little
food and rest, they marched with proud determination to the site
of the battle to face defeat by the British cannons. Several of
my ancesters were present at this famous battle.
Nana's Birthday Polka: Soon after writing this tune I played
it for my mother while on a trip to California . She liked it,
so I dedicated to her after my family celebrated her birthday
during her visit to New Hampshire. Its written in Irish Kerry
Polka style.
Dougie's Delights: My celtic band practiced every week
at my friend Regina's home. She owns a large fluffy dog with a
goofy personality. Dougie the dog attended all of our practices
and I have a vision fixed in my mind of Dougie bounding out doors
during a hot summer day and leaping high in the air to plop down
in a cool shallow pond. As the splashing subsided, he oriented
himself towards the watching people, and settled into the mud.
With only his head above the water like a periscope he reminded
me of a submarine surveying a coastline. This lively reel has
a French Canadian feel.
Jig for Joe Leary: This tune is dedicated to my friend
Joe Leary, a master of many styles on the violin, who always kids
me when I see him, about having written a tune for me, and then
proceeds to improvise one on the spot! Here's one for you Joe!
Its in an Irish ceili dance style with a relaxed beat.
Ryan's Trip to Tarrytown: I wrote this reel immediately
after returning home from the annual Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Eireann convention in Tarrytown, New Jersey. The Irish dancing
and music was wonderfully good, and the little strands of celtic
melody filling my head on the long drive home began forming into
a powerful reel with a Cape Breton feel.
Dark Horse: Dark Horse took longer to write than most tunes.
I worked on this reel in spurts for two or three days, and wove
into the melody a combination of southern appalachian sounds with
a celtic flavor. I didn't have a name for it until I listened
back to a recording I made of myself playing it, and then I immediately
saw a solitary dark brown horse moving through the forest.
The Funky Jig: This tune is in jig timing but goes out
on a limb beyond the traditional form for a jig. It has a little
jazz and blues in it, and the final version on this CD reminds
me of a demented scientist, with disheveled hair, stirring madly
away at steaming vats of bubbling fluids.
Brennish Thomson Reel: This reel is dedicated to my son
Brenn. The tune reminds me of playing fiddle for Scottish and
New England style country dances.
Octothorpe Reel: This tune was inspired by my friend Bill
Perry who announced over the microphone during our Saint Patrick's
day gig that one of the characters on a key board had been named
an "Octothorp." I thought about that amazing fact for
a while and decided that the composition of a reel was in order
to comemorate the event.
New Hampshire Hornpipe: I had a lot of fun writing this
tune. I wanted a bouncy original hornpipe to add to my collection
of traditional tunes. After composing the melody I experimented
with different rhythms and Suzie's jazzy backup sounded good to
my ears. As I worked on it I realized that it reminded me of my
many years of living in New Hampshire. I like the way it twists
and turns and comes home again, like my many travels to far flung
musical events.