Guitar workshop with Brendan Taaffe - Oct 3rd 2010 DADGAD guitar back-up for dance tunes

Sunday Oct 3rd 2010 — Instrumental workshop for guitar players with Brendan Taaffe. DADGAD guitar back-up for dance tunes at the Canaan Rd workshop from 2:30-4:30 pm. It will be open to all guitar players, intermediate level and up. $20- each participant. RSVP’s are requested as the number of participants is limited. Email Mike at michael@canaaninstitute.org to reserve a seat. Brendan has a Masters in Performance from the Irish World Music Centre, University of Limerick.

FULL STORY and MUSICIAN’S BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://canaaninstitute.org/mikesmusic/viewtopic.php?p=3627#3627

FACEBOOK EVENT http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111675642225978

Quote from Brendan: “In this workshop, we’ll learn how to back up jigs and reels in DADGAD. The open feel and ringing strings of this popular tuning are particularly appropriate for backing fiddle tunes, for both rhythmic and harmonic reasons that we’ll discuss. Whether you’ll be backing Irish tunes in a session or laying it down for a contra dance, we’ll focus on getting your right hands on the right track. When I play for a dance, I think of myself as the engine that drives the dancers, and that all comes from my right hand. We’ll also look at different chord voicings, bass lines, and substitutions that create solid, interesting back-up. The open-ended feel of DADGAD means that we have a lot of harmonic options at our disposal. Please bring a guitar tuned to DADGAD and a thin pick—no special strings or set up needed: just tune your guitar to D-A-D-G-A-D from low to high. Feel free to record the workshop. I’m looking forward to sharing some tunes and ideas.”

Brendan has a Masters in Performance from the Irish World Music Centre, University of Limerick. While he was there, he studied and played with many of the top Irish players. He is now based in Brattleboro VT, where he is an anchor in the contra dance scene, playing for dance weekends and major festivals. http://www.brendantaaffe.com/

Lauded for “playing with heart as well as virtuosity,” Brendan Taaffe is a prominent guitarist, fiddler and singer in New England’s thriving contra dance and Irish music community. Brendan honed his driving guitar style and deep knowledge of the Irish tradition while living in Limerick and playing regularly in sessions. Now based in Vermont, Brendan has played at festivals, concerts and dances throughout North America and Europe with his band Magic Foot and other ensembles. Awarded a Master’s Degree in music performance in 2005 from the Irish World Music Centre at University of Limerick, Brendan has received grants in 2005 and 2009 from the Vermont Arts Council for further study.

With Magic Foot, Brendan has released two albums (Stomping Ground in 2009, an eponymous E.P. in 2008), recorded with Northern Harmony in 2005, and has two solo albums. His debut solo album, Come Sit By My Chair, was released in 2003, “offering a seamless blend of fiddling, traditional and new songs, contemporary folk, and a sampling of Taaffe’s songwriting skills and his infectious voice.” (The Rutland Herald). He is also the author of Handy with the Stick, a book about Irish fiddling, and the founder of Turtle Dove, an organization that sponsors harmony singing for adults.

Since 2001, Brendan has been a regular contributor to Fiddler Magazine, a great publication that covers all styles of traditional fiddling. Recently, many of the articles he had written for the magazine were compiled in to book called Handy with the Stick, published by Mel Bay. http://www.melbay.com/product.asp?ProductID=21805

“I love your music, love what it means to you, love that you respect the tradition so deeply but are not too serious to laugh out loud while playing the Hare in the Corn.” — Vermont Arts Council Logo

Saturday, Oct. 2, 1:30-4:30 pm
Hollis Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell Arts Quad
Sponsored by the Cornell Folk Song Society

Brendan Taaffe, of Brattleboro, VT, has a remarkable ability to bring cohesiveness and joyful music-making to diverse groups of all ages. He has led vocal workshops in Western and Eastern Europe, Canada, and the U.S., and is the founder and director of Turtle Dove Harmony, a non-profit arts organization focused on developing community through song by bringing together outstanding teachers and participants from different traditions and nations. A skilled singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer/arranger, and teacher, Brendan has performed with Northern Harmony, Village Harmony, and numerous contra dance bands, most recently Magic Foot. He holds a Master’s in music performance from the Irish World Music Centre, University of Limerick. In recent years, he has delighted in working with children, year-round in public schools and in music camps, residencies, and performances. The Oct. 2 workshop is designed for adults and teens and is open to the general public; singing is everyone’s birthright.

Brendan’s vocal workshop will explore multi-part harmony in traditional American and African songs: early gospel, Appalachian ballads, shape note hymns, shaker songs, Brendan’s own compositions, and Makwayera singing from Zimbabwe. No experience is necessary—all of the pieces will be taught first by ear, then with sheet music. Background at www.brendantaaffe.com

For more info. or to register, contact Margaret Shepard (mbs19@cornell.edu). [She has taken several of Brendan's vocal workshops and can heartily recommend them!]

Workshop cost is $25; some financial aid may be available. Payment at the door is fine, but please pre-register so we know how many to expect

Vance Gilbert

Saturday, Oct. 2, at 8 pm

Cornell Folk Song Society Concert

165 McGraw Hall, Cornell Arts Quad

Among the leading contemporary American singer-songwriters, no one so totally owns the stage as Vance Gilbert. His personality is large and he has talent to match. Every concert reveals at least two sides of this prodigious performer. There is Vance Gilbert the amazing singer-songwriter, whose words are both poetic and powerful, earning him the Kerrville Music Award’s Vocalist of the Year in 1997; whose voice is full of eloquence and passion; and whose dexterous guitar playing has been called wizardry. Then there is Vance Gilbert the comedian, who is entertaining not so much because his jokes are funny and impersonations so on the mark, but because his manner is joyful, spontaneous, and at ease, even when he’s doing some wicked skewering!

His voice is a remarkable instrument; he employs circular breathing and other vocal techniques seldom heard from a folk musician. Every year, he wows the crowd of thousands at the Falcon Ridge Festival with sustained, unamplified projection of his rich tenor, rolling out across the hills.

Expect a rollercoaster ride of an evening at this concert. Vance Gilbert knows how to write a catchy tune, but the words may haunt you: uproariously funny can be juxtaposed with uncompromisingly wrenching. The Fort Worth Star-Telegraph sums it up: “The voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god!” It’s been over 10 years since Vance Gilbert last graced us in Ithaca: help us welcome his return.

Tickets: $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for CFSS members, seniors, teens. Cornell students $10/$12. Children 12 and under free. Tickets at Ludgate’s, Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Books, Bound for Glory, and online at <http://www.cornellfolksong.org/>. Info: website or 607-279-2027.

Weekly Wednesday night jams at Canaan Rd
http://www.ludgatefarms.com/mus_jamcann.html

This is still happening! The best thing to do is get on my email list for up to the minute details. Send me a ‘hello’ -Mike

Every Wednesday 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm *new time*

NEW FORMAT! 15 minute refreshment break at around 8:45 pm and then we play the last hour until 10:00 pm without sheet music: ear only! It is great fun! Come try!

FACEBOOK GROUP for this jam session gang and affilated events! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=346116175882

Other events …

Brendan Taaffe Oct 3rd 2010 …
“DADGAD guitar back-up for dance tunes”

Sunday Oct 3rd 2010 — Instrumental workshop for guitar players with Brendan TaaffeBrendan Taaffe. DADGAD guitar back-up for dance tunes at the Canaan Rd workshop from 2:30-4:30 pm. It will be open to all guitar players, intermediate level and up. $20- each participant. RSVP’s are requested as the number of participants is limited. Email Mike at michael@canaaninstitute.org to reserve a seat. Brendan has a Masters in Performance from the Irish World Music Centre, University of Limerick. FULL STORY and MUSICIAN’S BIOGRAPHY HERE:
http://canaaninstitute.org/mikesmusic/viewtopic.php?p=3627#3627

=====

Nightingale Oct 16th 2010 …
“Arranging traditional songs and instrumentals”

Saturday Oct 16th 2010 — Nightingale instrumental workshop for Nightingalemusicians on Oct 16th 2010 from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm at the Canaan Rd music workspace. It will be open to all instruments, intermediate level and up. $25- each participant. Nightingale is Jeremiah McLane (accordion, piano), Keith Murphy (voice, guitar, mandolin, piano, foot percussion), and Becky Tracy (fiddle). RSVP’s are requested as the number of participants is limited. Email Mike at michael@canaaninstitute.org to reserve a seat. FULL STORY and MUSICIANS’ BIOGRAPHIES HERE: http://canaaninstitute.org/mikesmusic/viewtopic.php?p=3557#3557

Next Big Jam is Sat Oct 30th Halloween!
Potluck dinner and Music Jam Costume Party

EILEN JEWELL returns to Ithaca for another ROOTABAGA BOOGIE show:at CASTAWAYS–EARLY SHOW 8 pm Fri. Sept. 24

ROOTABAGA BOOGIE presents EILEN JEWELL at CASTAWAYS in Ithaca EARLY SHOW–8 pm FRIDAY SEPT 24

“BUTCHER HOLLER” tribute to Loretta Lynn climbing the Americana charts; Boston Globe critic calls it “a deft…irrestistible…tribute ”
advance tickets $15 at www.castawaysithaca.com

Boise, Idaho native EILEN JEWELL has become a genuine force in the world of roots music here in the U.S. and Europe, too. Her homespun sound threads together old-school country, jazzy blues and Sun Records rockabilly. The Boston Globe said, “The slow organic sway of her melodies, and the sensual way she rubs against the low end of her register, will remind some of Gillian Welch. Also like Welch, her writing is both intimate and vivid, classically framed and closely observed.”

On her newest album (released July 27 and currently in the #4 position on the Americana radio charts), Eilen pays tribute to groundbreaking country icon Loretta Lynn, a woman Jewell describes as a national treasure: “We pay homage to her humble roots and straightforward, hard-hitting performance style,” say Jewell. “All of the songs in this collection were written by Lynn herself and are a testament not only to her strength as a songwriter but to her personal strength as well. In the 60’s and 70’s, Loretta Lynn dared to write songs about topics that were widely considered off-limits, especially for women. The fact that her words still hit a nerve today is proof of their timelessness.”

Butcher Holler’s twelve sharply delivered performances - nearly all under three minutes each - feature a handful of Lynn classic hits such as “Ain’t Woman Enough (to Take My Man)” and “Don’t Come Home Drinkin’ (with Lovin’ On Your Mind)”, songs that helped define Lynn as a pioneer in music that praised strong-willed, confident women. Jewell also digs up lesser known tracks from the extensive Lynn songbook, presenting them with her own expressive vocals and backed by her crackerjack band. It’s exactly the same set of fine musicians whose work on the 2009 album Sea of Tears propelled Eilen deeper into rockabilly and early rock n roll territory. Sea of Tears was one the top albums of 2009 on many American radio stations (as well as a couple in Europe and Australia), it earned Eilen Female Artist of the year and Album of the Year honors on the Freeform American Roots chart. She tours and records with guitarist Jerry Miller, drummer Jason Beek, and upright bassman Johnny Sciascia, formerly of the Tarbox Ramblers.
If you caught Eilen’s Grassroots Fest performance at the dance tent or at one of her other Rootabaga Boogie shows here, you’ll understand the buzz about this young singer-songwriter who delivers barroom tales and old-is-new-again melodies with a no-frills sensuality. When Signature Sounds president Jim Olson first heard her play, he was “….completely knocked out” by her distillation of country, folk, and blues. “She hits that sweet spot between Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, and Billie Holiday,” Olsen says. Jewell and her band have been touring hard, in Europe three times this year. and to Australia twice. Recent milestones include opening for Loretta Lynn and in addition to honors listed above for her current album, Sea of Tears, her previous album also earned a place among the Americana Music Association’s top 100 albums of 2007. Letters from Sinners and Strangers, in fact, turned up on many year-end “top 10” lists and the Boston Phoenix said, “These Letters are dust-coated tributes to twangy old-time folk, tear-soaked country ballads, and devil-may-care romps.” Wrote Yankee Magazine, “It’s easy to see why she’s so well received. Eilen’s sultry, world-weary sound brings a much needed sense of sincerity to the land of steel guitars and cowboy boots…”

More info about Eilen: http://www.eilenjewell.com; for info on the show, Tracey Craig, Rootabaga Boogie Productions, rootabagaboogie@lightlink.com TO PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS: www.castawaysithaca.com

Friday Sept 24
8 pm EARLY SHOW
TICKET in ADVANCE $15
CASTAWAYS
415 Old Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca, NY

What the critics said about Eilen’s previous album, SEA OF TEARS:

“Every track is a gem” — MAVERICK magazine (UK)

“…as dark as it is compelling. A lot of great art has been the result of darker emotions, and darker emotions certainly yield excellent results for Jewell on Sea of Tears.” –ALL MUSIC GUIDE

#14 on the NO DEPRESSION TOP 50 list

19th most played album on AMERICANA MUSIC CHART for 2009

“Best country roots album of 2009″ –Philadelphia Enquirer

“Sometimes as darkly damaged as Lucinda Williams, at others as defiant and teasing as prime Peggy Lee and always authentically Americana in the Gillian Welch tradition….She’s mighty good.” –Los Angeles Daily News

ITHACA NY — Fri SEPT 17th An O’Shanigans dance party at Bethel Grove! The O’Shanigans are back for a fabulous Contra Dance at Bethel Grove Community Center with the marvelous Nancy Spero calling the dances at 1825 Slaterville Road (Rt 79 about 4 miles east of Ithaca) Ithaca NY from 8-11 pm. Don’t miss this c…elebration of the roots of New England folk dance! This is an authentic Old New England style venue with a newly refinished wooden dance floor! Bring clean shoes, a water bottle and YOUR FRIENDS! All dances taught, No partner needed. Admission $6- Sponsored by: TCCD - Tompkins County Country Dances.

O’Shanigans is Tim Ball on fiddle, Mike Ludgate on mandolin and tenor banjo and Phil Robinson on guitar.

BAND WEBSITE http://www.canaaninstitute.org/oshanigans.html
VENUE WEBSITE http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayDance.com?key=US_NY_ITH_TCCD
VENUE’S POSTER http://canaaninstitute.org/photos/TCCD_Insert_current.pdf
BAND’S EVENT POSTER http://canaaninstitute.org/docs/Oshanigans_current_poster.pdf
FACEBOOK EVENT http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138051732905626

NPR: Youth Flock To Contra Dancing — Contra dancing has been around since the 1700s. If you don’t know it — it’s kind of like square dancing but with long lines of dancers. The dance is having a renaissance around the country thanks to a thriving youth scene and incredibly lively acoustic music. Article by Marika Partridge on All Things Considered NPR July 2nd 2010 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128273050

DIRECTIONS to this DANCE — http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayVenue.com?key=US_NY_ITH_BG Bethel Grove Community Center 1825 Slaterville Road (NYS Rt.79) (from Ithaca take State Street east to Rt. 79, about four miles from the Ithaca Commons; a few hundred yards past the Bible Church) Google Maps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=1825+Slaterville+Rd%2C+Ithaca%2C+NY+14850&sll=42.41161%2C-76.29505&sspn=0.008523%2C0.01929&ie=UTF8&hq&hnear=1825+Slaterville+Rd%2C+Ithaca%2C+Tompkins%2C+New+York+14850&ll=42.40552%2C-76.432515&spn=0.034097%2C0.077162&z=14

More information About Contra Dancing:
http://www.greatmeadowmusic.com/music.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_dance
http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayDance.com/US_NY_ITH_TCCD
http://hands4dancers.org/
http://www.syracusecountrydancers.org/
http://contra.binghamtondance.org/contra_calendar.htm
http://www.thedancegypsy.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTtEOaruqr4
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128273050

ITHACA NY — “At long last, Not From Wisconsin is releasing the CD we have been promising you for over a year now. The sessions for this record began back in June of 2009 and finally here it is. So many hours fussing over every last detail…it has all come to fruition and we have a record to share (and a darn good one, we think).

So…join us, please, on Saturday September 18th at Wildfire Lounge here in downtown Ithaca. We’ll hit the stage right around 9PM, play two sets and then hang out and drink with you. There will be two options for the cover charge, $3 to get in or, for $10 you can get a CD to go with your night of live music. If you’re not sure you want to buy the record, you can always just pay the $3…but when you inevitably decide to buy it..it’ll cost you another $10…wouldn’t you rather use that $3 to buy a beer and tip your bartender? I mean, it just makes sense, don’t it?

Spread the word, come on down, and enjoy a night of music and revelry…at long last you can bring some Not From Wisconsin home with you!

Oh, and by the by, we’ll also be playing at 4pm on Sunday the 12th for Porchfest. We’re playing at 109 Farm Street on the Cascadilla creek side. So, stop on by!

Details:

NFW live at WIldfire in downtown Ithaca
Saturday September 18th @ 9PM
$3 or $10 gets you a CD and admission”

RSVP via facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=152830071409877&ref=mf

ITHACA NY - The Pearly Snaps will have their CD release party at Felicias happy hour (5:30-8:30). Felicia’s Atomic Lounge 508 West State Street Ithaca, NY 14850 607.273.2219 www.atomicloungeithaca.com — Stephanie Jenkins and Rosie Newton with be playing cuts from their recording and will also be joined by friends for some tunes. Their new CD is also available at local retailers such as Ludgate Farms and Ithaca Guitar Works.

“Steph “Pearly” Jenkins and Rosie “Snap” Newton have been making music together since high school. They moved to Ithaca and quickly joined the ranks of local oldtime musicians. They’re excited to release their first duo CD! Steve Selin, Richie Stearns, and more friends join them for this release show. Rosie Newton! fiddle, voice, spoons, banjo; Stephanie Jenkins! banjo, voice, ukulele, guitar.” -Felicia

ITHACA NY - Music at the Ellis Hollow Fair Saturday Sept 11, 12 noon - 5 pm at the Fairground next to the Ellis Hollow Community Center on Genung Road — JAM TENT open jam 12 noon - 5 pm, OPEN MIC, 2-3 pm CONTACT INFO TO SIGN UP and PERFORMANCE TENT SCHEDULE: http://canaaninstitute.org/mikesmusic/viewtopic.php?p=3603#3603

ITHACA NY - Sept 3rd 2010. The Community School of Music and Arts in downtown Ithaca is pleased to announce that the school is open for business.

First Friday/Gallery Night will go on as planned with two openings of Ink Shop shows in the building from 5-8 pm tonight. The CSMA office is open for class registration and private instruction continues.

Thursday afternoon, September 2, a dump truck lost control as it was coming down East State Street and turning onto E. Seneca Street, and crashed into the east parking lot, crushing two cars and slamming to the side of the school.

According to CSMA’s executive director, Robin Tropper-Herbel, two practice rooms at the site of the crash sustained major damage, but the building has been determined to be structurally sound and safe for the public.

A leader in community arts education and cultural programming for 50 years, CSMA offers year-round instruction in visual arts, music, dance, theatre, and language arts, and presents performances, gallery exhibitions, and events in its spacious downtown facility located one block east of the Ithaca Commons at 330 E. Martin Luther King Jr / State Street.

Cornell Folk Song Society Concert

Ellis Paul

Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell Arts Quad

Maine has produced some amazing folk musicians, and one of those many mighty is Ellis Paul, who grew up on a potato farm in Aroostook County. He took the folk “scene” in Boston (and the nation) by storm in the 1990s, winning an unprecedented 13 Boston Music Awards. Now based in Charlottesville, Virginia, he spends much of his life on tour and in the recording studio. He’s a favorite at Falcon Ridge but rarely makes it to Ithaca, so mark your calendars.

Long a leading voice among singer-songwriters, Ellis Paul is ranked with Billy Bragg, Shawn Colvin, and Ani DiFranco for his urban, literate, folk/pop style. Although his songs are snapped up for film and TV soundtracks, he remains authentic: unique, without pretense, never imitative. He’s got it all: great voice, skilled guitar work, remarkable lyrics, charismatic stage presence. With poetic, powerful storytelling and tunes with a “hook,” he gracefully builds a bridge between his populist heroes Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and contemporary issues and outlook. It was his request to perform for the Cornell Folk Song Society specifically on September 11, when he is likely to share many songs from his latest (and 15th) album, The Day Everything Changed. Ellis Paul has “the sensibility of Bob Dylan and Bill Morrissey delivered with a passion that sets him apart…,” declares Performing Songwriter Magazine.

Although many singer-songwriters fall into the trap of introspection, Ellis Paul has always had a strong sense of commitment to community, thanks to his small-town upbringing and years as a social worker in Boston, trying to keep poor kids out of trouble. That humanism is what drew him to Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Old friend Bill Morrissey says, “Ellis Paul has a sense of roots, of connectedness to the whole history of folk music; he sees the thread that runs through all the generations of this music.” Nora Guthrie asked Ellis Paul to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute show for her father Woody, and he was also made an honorary citizen of Guthrie’s birthplace, Okemah, Oklahoma, in recognition of his success in reviving interest in the Dust Bowl troubadour. Nora writes, “Wise, tender, brilliant, and biting, Ellis is one of our best human compasses, marking in melodies and poems where we’ve been and where we might go if we so choose to. Personally Ellis, I’m goin’ where you’re goin’!”

Tickets: Ludgate Farms, Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. Cornell students $10/$12. Info: 607-279-2027 or website.