dulcimist

Gypsy Jazz Cymbalom Videos

2008-07-15T12:35:00.006-05:00

In conjunction with my article in the summer 2008 issue of Dulcimer Players News, here are a few videos of the musicians featured in the article.

Giani Lincan:

Marius Preda:

A Primer in Jazz Cymbalism

2008-07-09T15:31:00.006-05:00

I've got an article published in the latest edition of Dulcimer Player News (Summer 2008). The article is a review of three jazz cymbalom players: Giani Lincan, Marius Preda, and Marcel Comendant.

If you're not already a subscriber to DPN, check them out here. If you get a chance to read the article, I would love to read any comments you might have.

In the meantime, here are links to the musicians I reviewed in the article:

Marcel Comendant & PaCoRa Trio

Giani Lincan

Marius Preda & Mission Cymbalom

Gypsy Improvisation

2007-04-26T08:34:00.001-05:00

Here is a quick sample of some of the gypsy jazz techniques I've been working on. In this improvisation you will hear chromatic runs, diminished 7ths, minor 9ths, a minor 6th, the use of a tritone "arpeggio", and plenty of wrong notes too!! I just threw it together quickly to let you hear some of the things I've been practicing. It's in the key of Am. let me know whatcha think.

Hammer Pads

2007-04-25T10:07:00.000-05:00

I've had an ongoing quest for years, to find just what I'm looking for in 'soft' hammers. I have to say, I'm not that thrilled with the sound of leather hammers, even though they are quite popular. I suppose it's good for backing, but otherwise the leather dampens the tone too much for my tatse.

Years ago I heard Malcolm Dalglish say during a concert that he wrapped yarn around his hammers for dampening. I tried that briefly, then finally settled for a long time with a thin layer of flannel glued onto a pair of hammers.

This wasn't bad, but there was still a sound I was going for that I couldn't seem to get. It was a subtly that I heard on some of Dalglish's recordings, particularly the Windham Hill albums (probably because the recording quality was so good on those). At times the hammers sound like hard wood, while at other times (within the same song) they sounded softer.

One day, a month or so ago, I noticed the detail on the Bob Bedard hammers I've been enjoying lately and I had a mild brainstorm, that perhaps I could wrap yarn around one small part of the hammer head, so that the surface was both hard and soft. The result is that I can fluctuate between a harder or softer sound with a simple change in angle of the hammer. sometimes this happens unintentionally, but still seems to yeild a really nice textural complexity to the sound of the note.

So far I'm pleased. The dampening is not as severe as leather, so you can also acheive a harder sound simply by using a harder strike. This gives more options for dynamics within a tune. The one drawback I've noticed: The yarn eventually breaks due to all the abuse it's receiving. It only takes a couple minutes to wrap new yarn on, though. Perhaps I will play around with stronger yarns.

New Workshops

2007-01-22T23:11:00.000-06:00

I've just updated the workshops page of my website. It is not a complete listing of the music workshops I offer, but it's a start. If you are interested in having me come teach and perform for your dulcimer group, club, organization, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Kentucky Winter Dulcimer Weekend

2007-01-09T08:18:00.000-06:00

Just got back from KMW's Winter Dulcimer Weekend. This is the event that tides you over til Kentucky Music Week in June.

I had a really great time. Saw a few old friends and made many new ones. Thanks to Nancy Barker for inviting me down for the weekend. Her hospitality (along with everyone else's) was wonderful. Missy, Tom, Molly, and all the others did a great job of keeping the weekend on track. Well organized and loads of fun. It was also great hearing Rick Thum again, his energy both on stage and off are inspiring. I also enjoyed having a few Irish tunes with Steve Seifert. I had a great time hanging out with Don Pedi as well. If you're not familiar with him you should check out his website, he's got a radio show, a wealth of stories, songs, and humour. It was also nice to hear Peggy Carter's wonderful renditions of Irish tunes.

If you've never been to KMW, and you play hammered or mountain dulcimer, I highly recommend you clear your schedule for the last weekend in June or the first weekend in January, and find your way to Bardstown, KY. The website is www.kentuckymusicweek.com

If you were there and have any pictures to share, send them my way and Ill try to post them here.

Also, if you attended one of my workshops and have any questions or want to discuss anything, this is a great place to do so. Please feel welcome to leave a comment.

-Andy

New Tunes

2006-05-15T14:37:00.000-05:00

Continuing on this Gypsy theme, I've been learning some new tunes lately. All three in the French Musette genre, they are challenging my understanding of the dulcimer and of music in general. It's really enjoyable stretching out of my familiar Irish Trad domain. It's also enjoyable because it allows me to return to some of my percussion roots, because this style is more closely related to jazz.

Musette is a style of waltz that is associated with cafes in Paris. Often, these cafes were owned by people from the rural region of Auvergne. They would hold dances at these cafes, from which the musette was essentially born. The music is influenced by Paris, the Auvergne region, and also the Manouche gypsies that found work in these cafes. The gypsy connection with American Jazz through the influential playing of Django Reinhardt is what gives these quaint little waltzes their "jazzy" feel. The gypsy influence also provides the dark, minor scales, that these tunes often reside in.

Anyway, I've been working on three musettes:

Java Manouche, which I'm learning from a seminal LP of Jazz Manouche by Gypsy accordionist Jo Privat (I believe a 'Java' is a specific dance. No relation to coffee).

Beritwaltz, by Richard Galliano, an Italian accordionist who mixes Musette seamlessly with Tango and other forms.

Annie-Zette is the third tune, which I first heard on the "Paris Musette" compilation CD. It's a great, rare find. I heard it likened to the Buena Vista Social Club of French Musette. The recordings capture old masters playing alongside a new breed of musicians, carrying on the tradition. Annie-zette can also be heard on Swing Gitan's first recording.

Hopefully, with enough time in the woodshed, I'll be playing these out soon.

Gypsy

2006-04-26T16:09:00.000-05:00

For the last few weeks I've been listening to the amazing cymbalist, Giani Lincan, in a concert recording with gypsy jazz guitarist, Tchavolo Schmitt. Tchavolo was featured in the movie, Latcho Drom.

Giani Lincan's cymbalom playing has pretty much convinced me I need a new dulcimer, one that is chromatic and has dampeners. Check it out to hear some unbelievable gypsy swing on a cousin of the hammered dulcimer.

The recording is available in a series of mp3 files here. The tracks with Giani are "Piste 9" through "Piste 13". Hope you enjoy.

Sling Dance Performance

2005-11-02T22:39:00.000-06:00

In my usual last minute fashion, here's a head's up:

Sling Dance Company, which includes my beautiful wife, Jessica, will be performing at Links Hall in Chicago this Friday and Saturday.

All I can say is this... John Wayne meets Carl Jung. Don't miss it.

Links Hall
3435 N. Sheffield, Chicago
Nov. 4th and 5th
8PM
Tickets are $10
Info: 773-281-0824

Beritwaltz

2005-10-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a gig-free weekend, which is nice every once in a while. My wife and I had a great time celebrating our anniversary. Last Wednesday I played at the Milwaukee Farmer's Market. It was an enjoyable way to spend a weekday morning, even though it was a grey, drizzly day.

So, I've recently been revisiting a tune that I started learning back in the Spring on the dulcimer. It's a musette composed by jazz accordianist, Richard Galliano, entitled "Beritwaltz". For those who aren't familiar, a musette is a sort of French cafe melody, usually in waltz time, usually with three parts. I think (feel free to correct me) that the first and second parts are typically minor, and then the third part jumps gleefully into a major key. Anyway, this tune in particular is exciting because it slips in and out of 6/8 and 3/4 time signatures rather effortlessly creating a cool poly-rhythmic illusion. Those who know I grew up playing drums can imagine why this appeals to me. I've always been a big fan of odd time signatures and creative ways to play with time. This also explains my love for Les Aires Tordus Quebecois.

In other news, I'll be guest hosting a Celtic music radio show with Jonathan Whitall on WHPK radio, Sunday 10/23 at 9PM. It's 88.5 FM if you happen to be within blocks of the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago (not much in the wattage dept. from what I understand). Should be a good time, spinning some rare stuff from Quebec and more.

I will be sending out a show update on my email list soon. Hope to see you all soon!!

Fado

2005-10-09T11:25:00.000-05:00

We (Donnybrook) just played at Fado Irish Pub in Chicago last night. It was, as usual, a really fun, rowdy crowd. It seems that every time we play there, the night gets crazy toward the end. Last night was no exception, thanks in part to our pal Declan from Galway and many others.

The last hour of the night, which ended around 1:30AM, we played two sets of tunes, one about 20 minutes and the other at least a half hour, maybe longer. There were more people dancing than I've ever seen at a Donnybrook show. Harkened me sentimentally back to my ole punk rock days, to be honest with you. There is absolutely nothing more enjoyable for a musician than to play music to a crowd of people dancing there patooties off. It's a very surreal experience.

So, in those last, long couple of sets, Jonathan and I traded off on the piano quite a bit. He'd play fiddle while I played piano, then we'd switch tunes and he'd play piano with me on whistle, all without stopping. I doubt the crowd even noticed all the switching, as they were pretty engrossed in their boogie.

At some point my hands had pretty much become a pair of useless clubs with which I was banging the piano. Now, mind you, I'm not much of a piano player. So, at some point we switched to a tune in E minor, and I realized I don't really know the key of e minor on the piano. So I took to simply banging out a rhythm on a single 'E' note.

I write all this to say that as I type, my thumb hurts!!

Last nights fun, to be sure.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2005-10-04T11:01:00.000-05:00

I've just finished a stretch of several weekends playing gigs out of town. The last two weekends were with Donnybrook and the McNulty School of Irish Dance. These have been wonderful concerts, playing to audiences of 400-500 people.

Actually, the theme of this past weekend seemed to be 'the falling instruments'. Early in the concert, while singing (not playing an instrument), out of the corner of my eye I noticed my dulcimer sliding off the riser we were standing on. The leg of the stand must have slowly crept to the edge due to the vibrations of the music. I'm proud to say I caught it before it completely collapsed and didn't miss a single lyric in the song.

Before all that (during sound-check), Jonathan had a 'fiddle incident' when his fiddle fell off of the piano landing on the strings, thus, breaking all the strings in a dramatic display (sound included). Fortunately one of the stage guys had a violin at home to assist in string replacement.

While out-of-town gigs are always fun, I am looking forward to some 'home' time. In fact, it being autumn and all, I'm hoping to pick up some pumpkins and start cooking.

Here's my secret recipe for pumpkin pancakes. You've got to use fresh pumpkin, none of that canned (oompah-loompah colored) stuff. You have to cook the fresh pumpkin first, but well worth this extra step. This recipe yields a pretty moist flapjack, which is a matter of taste. You might want to use less pumpkin if you don't like it so wet, but I advise against it. It reduces the scrumptous factor significantly. Let me know if you try the recipe. Enjoy:

1C Flour
1/4 C Whole Wheat flour
3T Brown Sugar
1.5 t Baking Powder
1/4 t salt
Lots of ground cloves
A little nutmeg & Cinnamon

1/2 C Milk
1T Oil
1/2 t Vanilla
1 Egg
1 C Pumpkin

Mix dry ingredients well. fold in wet ingredients. Should be lumpy don't mix too much. Let it sit in the bowl for about ten minutes (I'm not sure why, but this helps...I think it gives the baking powder time to act). Get 'em on the griddle.

Photos from Ford Library

2005-09-27T08:22:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are some photos from the concert at "Fridays at the Ford" in Western Springs. Thanks to Rick for sending the pictures. One of the things I enjoy most about these community concerts is the opportunity to have alot of interaction with the audience. Problem is, if I'm not careful I end up talking more than playing.

The blog that cried content

2005-09-26T12:04:00.000-05:00

My apologies to the feeders out there who actually thought I was posting new content earlier this morning. Just me fiddling with the blog trying to figure out how to set up some categories. I think I got the jist of it!!

While I'm writing, Donnybrook did play a pretty darn good show this weekend with the McNulty School of Irish Dance at the Schauer Center for Performing Arts in Hartford, WI. It's a concert we put on combining some of Donnybrook's typical pub stuff, with a few things more suitable to the theatre setting, all intertwined with the McNulty dancers spinning and jumping around us. If Socknitter or anyone else sends any pictures of the event my way (hint, hint) I'll post 'em here.

We're doing another one of these this coming Saturday in Spencer, WI, if you happen to be in the area.

see ya soon,
-Andy

Recent Gigs

2005-09-21T13:13:00.000-05:00

Hey folks,

It's been a busy few weeks here, so I haven't had much time to update things. I do want to take a minute to say thanks to a few folks. A couple weeks ago I played at the West End Art Fair in downtown LaGrange, Il. It was a really enjoyable weekend. I met lots of really nice folks, made some new friendships, and just had a good time. I want to say thanks to Sharon, at Someplace Else Coffeehouse, also in LaGrange. She's the one who passed my name on to the folks at the art fair. Sharon's a wonderful person and advocate for local folk music. If you get the chance, check out her website and make it to a concert at Someplace Else, it's sure to be an enjoyable evening.

Secondly, I want to say thanks to Rick at The Thomas Ford Library in Western Springs, IL. I played there last week for their "Fridays at the Ford" concert series and, again, had a wonderful time. I love finding those 'hidden gem' venues, and The Ford is just such a place. They only have five concerts a year, but mark your calendar for November 11th, Mark Dvorak will be playing there. If Rick sends me pictures from the evening I'll post some here.

Well, that's all for now. I think my lunch is ready!! More soon. Thanks for stopping by and please keep in touch. If you were at any recent gigs, let me know, I'd love to hear from you.

-Andy

Fox Valley Folk Fest

2005-09-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

I performed yesterday with Al Tauber at the Fox Valley Folk Festival in Geneva, Illinois. I haven't been there in a couple years, so it was good to be back and see people I hadn't seen in a while, Dan & Dona Benkert, the Joneses, the Murphy Roche folks, and others. Thanks to Dave Humphreys at Two Way Street for the invite!! Thanks also to those who came out to see us.

Al also performed a set with his 'other' Andi (as andi and i) at the festival.

I talked on stage about being a punk rocker at heart. While I usually state that for the comic irony of a punk rocker playing the dulcimer, it's true. Here's a link to a website I found that chronicles my "early years". I especially like the religious cult twist. Put's me in the same camp as Cat stevens, I think. If you don't know that story you'll have to ask me at a gig sometime.

But I've also been remembering those long gone days recently because Randy 'Biscuit' Turner, singer of The Big Boys, a great Austin punk bank in the eighties, just died a couple weeks ago. Going to a Big Boys show was incredible. By the end of the night you couldn't distinguish the audience from the band, because they worked hard at getting the whole crowd involved. And then at the end of the show they always implored the kids in the audience to go start their own band. That was a great influence on me as a teenager.

While, my music sounds pretty different now, I think punk rock and folk music share that common theme of getting everybody involved. I'm interested in finding new creative ways to do that in my music now. I used to do shows at cafe's where I would invite just about any musicians I knew. Whoever showed up would dictate what tunes we played. I've also seen audience members drawing and sketching during my shows. That might be interesting to facilitate that more intentionally. Maybe bring along a common sketch book to my shows and pass it around for anyone interested in adding something to it. It could become a sort of collective archive of audience creativity. Might be kind of cheezy though. Any ideas?

Here's a few more photos of Andi and Al, to demonstrate the many emotions of our favorite newly cropped crooner:

Non-music related vacation content

2005-08-28T11:45:00.000-05:00

I realize that I picked a bad time to start a blog about my music, as I launched the blog in early August and have basically taken the entire month of August off from playing music. nevertheless, I hope you enjoy these snippets of what I've been up to in the meantime.

My wife and I just got back from a week in the northwoods of Wisconsin. We spent two nights camping at copper falls state park enjoying hikes and bike rides along beautiful views such as this.

Back at the campsite we made some delicious gourmet campfire delights such as these marinated veggie skewers. Something about open-fire makes everything taste better.

The highlight of the camping was the night my wife, Jessica, had a run in with a bear. Heading back to the campsite after dark, she found herself about 5 feet away from a black bear. Once she realized the bear was not just me in dire need of a shave and breathe mint, she slipped into a near by campsite and the bear ran off into the woods. All parties unharmed.

Here's a digitally enhanced re-enactment we created the next morning for your viewing pleasure.

After the camping, we spent four nights at the residenz, a bed and breakfast in Ashland, WI, owned by our good friends Bob and Reba Rice. It's a beautiful victorian home with tons of antiques and two great hosts. If you're ever looking for a weekend getaway, it's a great choice. Right on Lake Superior, Ashland and the nearby Bayfield Peninsula host any kind of outdoor activities you could ask for, great restaurants, and a wonderfully welcoming community of people. Thanks Bob and Reba for a really relaxing, fun week.

Weekend in Boston

2005-08-17T07:48:00.000-05:00

Well, we just got back home last night from a weekend in Boston. We were there for a wedding which went great (congrats C & C!!).

I did manage to stop in for a session at the Burren hosted by fiddler, George Keith and a box player by the name of Sean Gannon (I believe). George lived here in Chicago for a while and we first met at the Wednesday night session at Irish Times in Brookfield back in the mid-nineties. At that time, the session was really booming. There were nights with 15 musicians or more crammed around the fire place. Somewhere I have a recording for George and Alfonso performing an extremely melodramatic version of Czardas at Irish Times.

The Burren session was small, and I actually didn't play much. Partly because I had family and friends (and a burger) at another table, so I kept running back and forth. But also because I didn't know alot of the tunes they were playing which is a reminder that (1) I must keep learning tunes and (2) I really need to get back into going to sessions here in Chicago. We also didn't stay too long, as we were on our way to a "string" of candle-pin bowling.

For the Knitters among you, I did stop at Woolcott in Harvard Square. I actually ended up talking with Sean of Sean's Soapbox, which is how I knew of the store in the first place.

Paddy Reynolds Recording

2005-08-09T15:04:00.000-05:00

Chicago's own (can I say that?) John Daly is involved in a new release highlighting classic recordings of the New York-based Irish Fiddle master, Paddy Reynolds. John has graciously posted the recordings on his website so folks can give it a listen before it's released. Good stuff.
Check it out here, along with some enjoyable anecdotes written by John.

Posting Comments

2005-08-08T13:45:00.000-05:00

Thanks to those of you who pointed out you could not leave a post. I've changed the settings so that shouldn't be a problem. Just choose 'other' or 'anonymous' in the comments page. Thanks.

Moher Pub

2005-08-08T08:02:00.000-05:00

We (Donnybrook) played at a new place Saturday night. It's called Moher Pub, at 5310 W. Devon in the Edgebrook neighborhood of Chicago. it's a nice, fairly small pub, although I hear word they're expanding to the space next door. They've been open since May and apparently they are the first new liquor license in the neighborhood since 1947.

For those interested, our own Davey Arwine and Sean Cleland are leading a session there on Sunday afternoons at 2PM.

Arbor Vitae

2005-08-04T09:22:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back I performed at the Arbor Vitae Art Fair, in the Northwoods Wisconsin resort town of Arbor Vitae. It was a great setting for an art fair, out in a wooded park, surrounded by pines. Very enjoyable day, good weather, very nice people.

I shared the stage with Greg Percy, an art teacher from Madison Wisconsin who writes songs about, you guessed it, art. The songs are mostly geared towards children. More popular titles included "Van Gogh, no stereo", and "Picasso Polka". I know you're groaning, but he really pulls these off well, getting kids from the audience up on stage to participate. He really does a good job of merging historically, interesting art knowledge with the down-to-earth way that children view art.

Anyway, it was a nice mix for an art fair, his educational stuff and my instrumental stuff, switching back and forth. The crowd seemed to respond positively.

Here's a photo that greg emailed me from the day:

That's me playing a set of tunes on the tin whistle.

Welcome

2005-08-04T08:44:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog. My name's Andy Young and I'm a hammered dulcimer player in Chicago. I mostly play Traditional Irish and Quebecois music. I also perform on Irish flute, tin whistle, and guitar/vocal. You can check out my music website at www.andyyoungmusic.com.

I have a couple goals for this blog. One is to keep friends and folk music fans abreast on my comings and goings, musically speaking. The other is to offer a place to share some of my knowledge about playing the hammered dulcimer to other players. I certainly don't claim to be the end all player, but in the spirit of the digital-aural tradition I thought it would be a good thing to pass on what I've learned.

I also kind of hope this becomes a place for me to receive some feedback on performances and generate interesting dialogue about traditional music, the hammered dulcimer and other things.

Thanks for stopping by.