Hey folks,
I was just checking out the website for regularly Chiffboard contributor David Schulz and his band An Dochas. Talk about talent! David and these guys rock. Check out the website here: http://www.andochas.com/
Be sure to check to check out some of their wicked mp3s!
http://www.andochas.com/05-Track%2005.MP3
http://www.andochas.com/11-Track%2011.MP3
http://www.andochas.com/09-Track%2009.MP3
Awesome stuff!
Chris
I listened to the first track…pretty…very pretty!
David Schulze? I know him.
I agree david rocks, it ws his CD which inspired me to pick up a tin whistle, and start playing my bodhran. My brother used to be good friends with him, thats how I know him, he rocks
David Shulz lives just north of me a couple+ hours. And, he does visit this board infrequently.
That second link Chris listed above is a pretty neat old traditional tune (6/8-forget the name), and David plays it on the uilleann pipes. For you pipers, he has a 1/2 set pipes by Seth Gallagher (unless he’s upgraded recently), and is self-taught in a short couple+ years (far as I know). His reed sounds perfect, as does his playing, and he lives in this formidably challanging dry climate in Eastern Washington State. So imagine the challange of getting his playing (for recording) to this point so quickly. A really great progressive rendition of this old tune.
That third link, with David wailing on the low whistle is a really fast reel which changes 1/2 way through to a more Balkan sounding zone. Totally cool! David is intense.
Jeez I thought everone knew how talented David was. He came down to my house to buy my old Guild guitar and brought his guitar player and a duffel bag full of whistles and pipes and shook the windows of my 130 year old house for about 2 hours. Im telling you this guy can play the hell out of a whistel..no one that young should be that good. Hell Im old enough to be his grandfather. Needless to say I didn`t play my whistles with him. Mostly just stood there with my mouth opened. When they were done checking out the guitar up came my zook and they took off again. Way to much fun.
ROCK ON DAVID!!!
Tom
Thanks guys, and thanks Chris. If you could just see how red my face is right now 
.
Like alot of you I’m still learning and trying figure this stuff out..and trying to keep my pipes in tune argh! 
I actaully just got back from a gig in St.Cloud Minnesota where we performed with this great Irish Tenor named Michael Londra. Talk about unhappy pipes! They went from cold Washington, to hot Phoenix Arizona and then to sub-zero Minnesota 
Tom, I still owe you a visit..I need to check out your new flute!
David, you’ve got a nice band going there. You’ve also got a good man (or woman) on the boards too. So much recorded music you hear nowadays is overmixed, processed, tweaked, and fiddled with until it sounds like audio mush – not so the clips on your site. Keep up the fine work.
Congrats David. When you starred in the pipe recital at Gaelic Roots 2000 we knew you’d go far. Slante. Nancy and Norman
Wow.
David, your music is gorgeous. Inspired.
Now please tell me, what kind of low whistle is that?
Best wishes,
Jerry
Great music! Thanks for letting us know, Chris…I had never heard of this group before. I really enjoyed the whistling and pipes.
What’s up with the whale sounds on the end of the third mp3 link??
Thanks again for the kind words about the CD. For those of you who have recorded you know the feeling of wishing you could go back and redo a lot of stuff, and for me this is the case with most of the CD. However I think it is a decent representation of what we were doing live at the time.
Everything was rushed because our sound engineer was thinking of leaving town, like he had done before in the summer.. with only few days notice, and only a few days before we were suppose to record, doh!
Funny story really, because most of the recording was done in a very drafty converted chicken barn in the middle of winter. So we were huddled around this small wood burning stove for most of the session trying to keep our instruments warm. I actually had to place my whistles ( mostly overtons) on the stove to get them in tune, and as for trying to keep the pipes playing… I’d rather not even talk about it
The low whistle on the slip jig is a Colin Goldie Bass Low A, and then a low D by Colin on the reels.
Those whale sounds I believe are the fiddle with a few effects on it, and that bit is actually not a part of that set but the beginning of the next song. See most of our stuff is arranged for Irish dancers and that happened to be part of a show we did that had a lot of dramatic elements, so basically those sound effects are part of a story that was being told.
Cheers,
David
Not to rain on the party but might there be a conflict with your band’s name being very similar to another, recorded band? Dòchas is an all female quintet from Scotland. I don’t know who came first or if it even matters but when marketing CDs and such it could be an issue.
Cheers,
Aaron
That reminds me of the old story about how to make it big in music. First, bill yourself as the Chieftans. When they get wind of it and threaten to sue your socks off you say, “Oh, so sorry, we’ll change our name immediately.”
Then, you change your name to “_______” and bill yourself as “________, formerly appearing as the Chieftans.” 
Or, there’s always the old favorite, “Free Beer…” Hmm, what would “Free Beer” be in Gaelic?..
Well, let’s see if I can drag this thread back on topic.
The music samples are beautiful David.
Chris, thanks for posting the links.
I see two things in my future, a trip to Hastings Music for the An Dochas CD and a visit to Lewis & Clark High School in Spokane, Washington where they will be performing on December 31. 
And here I thought I lived in a cultural backwater.
Lawrence
I know it as “Hag with the Money.”
These clips are hot, hot, hot. Can’t wait to hear the next album, David!
That’s the title that links to the file on the An Dochas site.
Lawrence
Ah yes the other Dochas. We found out about them a year or so after we had our stuff set up..LLC. website etc.. I think we are both different(An Dochas..Dochas…hmmm) enough that there should not be any problems, although if there is I’m sure we can flexible enough to work something out. Or maybe we could combine forces and then take over the world with our Dochas..bwhahahahah!
Hey Lawrence, yeah we’ll be playing at the First Night deal down town Spokane. If you happen to be there be sure to introduce yourself. We can talk about metal tubes with holes in them 
Cheers,
David
I normally avoid going anywhere on New Year’s Eve, but for metal (or plastic) tubes with holes in them, I’m planning to make an exception. I’ll be the tall guy who looks disturbingly like my avatar 
Lawrence
Great! I look forward to meeting you! Also please check out another great local band called the Celtic Nots http://www.celticnots.com. A truly great band that has helped us out alot, and I’d venture to say much better then we are, although they would be quick to argue about that with us
Happy Holidays!
David
You know, I kept wanting to go into the Hag with the Money, it’s similar enough, but David’s version is slightly different from the hag I know (woops ), esp in the 2nd part. I keep hearing a recording (in my head) of a group singing David’s version. Was it the Cheiftains or Alton?