Beth, thanks so much for capturing the fun!
Beth, I like Blue! Thanks again for all your work on this! Can’t wait to hear our terrible sounding session!
Celtophile… :roll: …you just don’t get it, do you? If you want professional CDs, you have to PAY for professional CDs.
You must understand, we are but poor, pathetic amateurs, not professional music critics like you. Perhaps sometime you can bless us with your presence and show us how a real session is supposed to sound.
In the mean time, I guess we’ll just have no choice but to go on playing together, laughing our heads off, deeply enjoying the music, dilluding ourselves into thinking that we’re having a great time…
:roll:
Tom
Hey Badge:
You mean you didn’t all sound just like Mary Bergin and Joanie Madden on those fateful nights???
I’m shocked, disappointed, horrified and no longer even Reasonable…
How could you possibly share your good times and not be up to a professional standards…Are you trying to have fun or something??
Send that slide whistle solo to you-kno-who… it was perfect.
Wait till C-phile gets to Chiff and Slips…we’re all in for some criticism.. and I haven’t even posted my inferior playing there yet.
Personally, I DID sound like Joanie Madden. I just didn’t want to make all the inferior players feel bad, so I kept my playing quiet (it is possible to lip sync a whistle, you know). Wasn’t that nice of me? 
Susan
All kidding aside, I just played a bunch of samples and it was fun to hear where you guys are and how much fun you had. I would have liked to have been at that party.
Susan’s not kidding! She was ever so kind to us, NOT to up-stage us poor fledgling whistlers! 
A large part of the feeling of the evening was simply sitting in the same room with these guys. The recordins simply can’t catch all the inuendo, silly faces, and pranks throughout the evening.
The food was wonderful, the drink perfect, and the music - NOT - professional! That’s not the point is it?? Also, you have to bear in mind that some of the better tunes were played later on in the evening, and unfortunately, we had already run out of recording time on the mini disc.
So, we enjoyed it, and for you few who have no life, and so must critisize others to inflate your egos, have at us! We’re still laughing!!
B~
Hey! What’s this about running out of time? The only tunes I didn’t catch were the one or two played AFTER Parting Glass, hehe. Amazing Grace and one other, I think.
And I barely got set up in time to catch Tom’s Edmund Fitzgerald - had he started a half-second earlier I would have made him start over! 
Well Beth, those were two of the most IMPORTANT tunes of the evening, and we missed them!
But we caught the gist of the evening though!
B~
They were ALL the most important tunes of the evening!
At least we got the County Down Rap! heheheh
[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-08-05 19:48 ]
The truth hurts.
Get “Music at Matt Molloy’s”. That’s a session. Practice, practice, practice. You’re only doing the tradition a disservice.
Thanks very much for your opinion, and welcome to Chiff and Fipple*!
*Home of ten thousand competing opinions
Hey pal, Several of us have played with Matt and his fellow musicians, to much accolade. He didn’t have any problems with us then. And if you’ll kindly read back, you’ll realise there were whistlers of all ages and skill levels playing, so NO, we weren’t ALL professionals.
Well, there was Kiirsi’s darling little two year old sitting next to me and playing. She was good, though I’ll give her a year or two before I rush out and buy her CD, but she’s an up-and-comer!
So narrow minded ones: LIGHTEN UP!!! We all started somewhere, and I can tell you your attitude would most certainly NOT be welcomed in our groups. So go play with snobbish musicians, if indeed they can even be called that truly. All the best Irish musicians I’ve ever met have been of the highest caliber, both in musicianship and personality.
Not once would you hear Matt, or Paddy, or any of the greats telling someone how bad they played…it only serves to do a dis-service to the music!!! LOL
We’re gona do as our own dear Lee has said for years, and ENJOY OUR MUSIC!!!
B~
[ This Message was edited by: Brian Lee on 2002-08-05 20:56 ]
And I thought it was a joke. Well, at least the “C” word wasn’t used, yet.
The always Reasonable Weekenders
Wow, I honestly thought Celt was joking. Nevertheless, (s)he brings up an interesting point.
We’re doing what tradition a disservice? I, for one, am not all that interested in recreating the “Irish” tradition–it’s a magnificent tradition, but recreating it here just isn’t possible. This isn’t Ireland. Different culture, different place, different values.
My ancestors were mostly Scottish and Irish; but I’m just an American who likes Irish and Scottish music. Nothing more, nothing less. Rather than strive for some unattainable replication of a wonderful but foreign tradition, I put my own take on the tunes and make them my own. My playing still has far to go, but I can’t think of a better compliment to the Irish culture than to incorporate parts of it into my own.
We’ve sort of started our own tradition, Celt, and we enjoy it. If you can manage to stow the elitism and come join us sometime, you might find out why.
I forget who said it, but it still rings true: “Why be a second rate version of someone else when you can be a first rate version of yourself?”
Tom
p.s. I think this idea is worthy of a full discussion. As soon as my West Nile Virus goes away and I can think clearly again, I’m going to start a new thread, as I’ve seen this idea coming up quite a bit lately.
Oh my heck.
I still don’t think Celt is serious. Maybe just having some fun and trying to start something??? Everybody has fun in their own way, and I can’t think of anything better than sitting around playing Irish music with a bunch of folks who varied in skill/experience level from virtual beginners (Kiirsi’s two-year-old and me) to the rest of the many very experienced and talented players there. It was great of the “pros” there not to limit the get-together to only those who have ten years or more of serious play - the rest of us learned a lot and were encouraged to practice more and play more and go to the next session!
Susan
On 2002-08-05 20:50, Brian Lee wrote:
Well, there was Kiirsi’s darling little two year old sitting next to me and playing. She was good, though I’ll give her a year or two before I rush out and buy her CD, but she’s an up-and-comer!
Hee, hee, if Ciara was playing on her Nickel Generation F, I am happy to say I gave it to her! I was hoping she’d play one note all day and drive her mom crazier than she already is, but no such luck!
I’ve loved hearing you guys having a blast, it’s all about the fun and not about the quality anyway, it’s the elitist attitude of some sessions and players that keeps me staying away for less. Brian, I think you’re a sweetie for showing her which note to play! More power to your piping, my friend!
On 2002-08-05 20:07, celtophile wrote:
Practice, practice, practice.
D’oh! I knew I’d been forgetting something. Practice! Man, that’s a keen insight. I’ll bet there are a lot of people on this Forum that could benefit from that advice. I mean, I don’t suppose anyone on this list is actually trying to get better, do you? But thank gosh for celtophile, because when you think about it, that’s a really good idea.
And by the way, anyone who thinks a session is a performance that can be judged by the music on a recording is the one who is doing tradition a disservice. If you want to judge a session from a recording, listen to the happiness in the people’s voices.
– Scott
Hey folks, breath deep, listen to the star wars track and relax I love the resurgeance of interest in the thread but let’s not turn it into something… sickening.
Let’s re-rail this thread. The following people have ordered CDs:
Brian Lee
WyoBadger
Sunnywindo
NancyF
Susanfx
Cees
sbruyette
Kardshark (but you didn’t tell me what you want)
Kathy V (I don’t know your screen name)
DazedInLA
Anna Martinez
The following people have not requested a CD but I am assuming they want one anyway:
Clarinetwhistler
Mack.Hoover
firmly resists adding a certain name
If anyone else wants one, let me know!
And finally, are there any favorite tracks out there? I’m interested to see what people liked best.
Unfortunately, you’re all just blowing smoke about something you will never understand.
[ This Message was edited by: celtophile on 2002-08-06 16:03 ]
[ This Message was edited by: celtophile on 2002-08-06 16:04 ]
I was pleased to hear some of these session files. I’ve been reluctant to go to one (if I can find one in SW Michigan) because I haven’t attained an acceptable proficiency (in my mind). BUT if most sessions are like those heard on these files then I can hope to just go and learn and have fun without worrying about ridicule.
Thanks for posting them.