Hi, Bob –
Thanks for the welcome (and thanks to Eric for buying the CD at Amazon!).
I am laughing right now looking at your question about miking my Clarke. This has been my dilemma for 10 years performing with the Volunteers! In the band’s original incarnation,there was a strong Pogues leaning, which meant that my poor little whistle had to compete with the overbearing sounds of a loud, wild Irish bass player and punk-influenced guitarists and singers. Yikes. I know all you whistle players are cringing as you read this. Back then, I could not compete with those sounds and just played directly into a mike hooked up to a sound system, choosing moments in the mix when other players went to grab for a pint.
The most dramatic example of this was a time playing at Churchill’s Pub in Miami, when our harmonica player literally fell off stage and passed out. You could hear me really well after that.
I still don’t have a hook or pick-up for my instrument, but it isn’t as much of an issue because the band has evolved into a more acoustic-leaning unit. The new players are so polished and much more sensitive to making a space for me, aurally. I still just play into the mike, positioning it right at the mouthpiece. But I would love to hear from someone who’s done it successfully how they amplify their instrument when playing live. (Obviously volume isn’t a problem in the studio, which is why I love recording with the band.)
Traditional tunes on this album? “Whiskey in the Jar,” “The Irish Rover,” “I’ll Tell Me Maw,” “The Foggy Dew,” “All Around My Hat,” “The Mountains of Mourne,” “The Black Velvet Band” (<—I love the lyrics to that one, a bleak tale about an innocent lad who is set up by a beautiful petty thief at a bar), “A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day,” “The Parting Glass” and – hoorah for the whistle player, who finally got to play something that lay well on her instrument! – “Star of the County Down,” played pretty fast.
I originally taught the tune to our fiddle player, who didn’t know it, so she plays it with the whistle turns just like I do. I think I got my version of the song from a pennywhistle songbook authored by Robin — somebody. I can’t remember his last name.
I can see as I’m writing this that my memory is beginning to fade. Either I’m doing an IRIS or it’s time for bed for me. I’ll check back with the site again later in the week. Hopefully by then someone will have offered some hints on amping – I am all ears.
–Barbara, aka, The Miami Colleen
p.s. Yes, those are just two pints of Guinness. I kept arguing with the photographer that it looked silly for the glasses to be full, but the decision was made to keep them that way for the shoot, for some reason. Maybe because the lead singer recently swore off the likker and is keeping his promise.
