From what I can tell, the session scene here in Sarasota Florida is passable…its not Boston, but its not dead, either. Any given session, we’ll get a fiddle or two, a few guitars, a banjo, a whistle or maybe two, and perhaps a mando or an Irish flute.
Two months ago I found myself wishing that someone in town played accordion (yes I know, but I’ll admit it). Didnt tell anyone or anything, just an active, reaching out into the universe kind of thought/wish. Uh, well, and sure enough, a week later, this guy shows up at the next session with not one but two, and is chock full of tunes. He’s become a fairly regular sessioneer, and to boot he’s not an obnoxious box player.
OK, fine, no big deal, right? So last weekend I found myself out of the blue making the same kind of wish about having an Irish Harp in the sessions. Havent heard of anyone in town even thinking about the harp, though a few play various breeds of dulcimer.
Well, today I got an email from a local fiddler who is putting a friend of hers in touch with me who just received an Irish Harp for christmas and wants to learn, take lessons and attend some sessions.
Hmmmmmm
So it looks like she’s found a teacher and she’ll start coming to the beginner’s slow sessions I do every Tues nite at the local pub.
Woohoo!
I hope to meet the harpist when I attend my first learner’s session.. thats another instrument I’d looove to learn. Unfortunately, its a bit more expensive than the dear little whistle.
I think the stars must be perfectly aligned over Sarasota.. today, I recieved my first letter back from a college. FSU. I’m accepted there! Not my top choice, but it definitly bodes well.
Thanks for sharing Kevin, hope to see you around McSwiggins.
On 2003-01-23 18:21, DazedinLA wrote:
So, I wonder, what should I wish for next? >
Well, you could start with world peace…
oh, and a bodhran for me if ya happen to think of it
Seriously, that is way cool! Do you ever record your sessions? We do not have any around here that I know of and I would love to hear what it is like to attend one..
Seriously, that is way cool! Do you ever record your sessions? We do not have any around here that I know of and I would love to hear what it is like to attend one..
Cheryl
Hey Cheryl:
No, havent recorded any yet, but mostly cause I havent settled on a Minidisk recorder yet. I’m looking at a couple of Sharp units and am hoping to start taping – er, recording I mean – our intermediate session soon (our beginning sessions are every tues and we have an intermediate sesion every 2nd sunday and an advanced one every 3rd). I’ll let you know if you’r interested when I get my act together on that.
Also, if you’re interested, you might email Avanutria, who produced a nice cd set of a recent session of Chiff and Fipple folks.
Hey LAWHISTLE:
Tell ya what, lets run a little experiment. Rather than me wishing for ya to find some fun players, why dont you give it a try? In the meantime, I’ll let you know if I’m ever back in LA, the magic land of good sushi and Angelyne (whistful sigh). We can play tunes on Venice beach till that rollerblading Rosatafarian electric guitar player chases us off of his turf!
So, this brings up a broader question: Harps seem not all that common in the mainstream IrTrad recordings. I love the sound, but I just can’t think of many groups that have a harper. The Chieftains (RIP Derek Bell), Deanta. On this side of the pond, Ceoltoiri (probably not mainstream, but they’re from down the road from me); Joemy Wilson has Sylvia Woods playing on a lot of her albums; and Neal Hellman often has a harper. The latter three don’t do much session music.
So, not being a session guy, I’ll ask – are there many harpers at sessions, on either side of the pond? Also, am I missing any great groups with harpers?
