Week of Music in Retrospect

Last week was one of perhaps the most musically inspiring weeks I've ever experienced! The university brought a slough of musicians and music-academic minds to us so we could pick their minds!!

Starting the week, we had the band Mozaik (look them up), which is made up of living legends from three different folk genres. Dónal Lunny and Andy Irvine and legends in the Irish music scene, and were founding members of the original Irish super groups (Planxty, The Bothy Band, Sweeney's Men, and other more contemporary groups). These men are two of the founding fathers of the Irish Bouzouki, so I was obviously very excited. Dónal plays bouzouki mainly, as well as guitar. While Andy plays bouzouki, mandolin, guitar, harmonica, and other stuff. Bruce Molsky is an American Old Tyme fiddler and singer. Nicola Parlov is a Bulgarian and Hungarian multi-instrumentalist, and is highly respected in Balkan music. And Rens van der Zalm is a Dutch multi-instrumentalist who can basically play anything that the other four can, and just as well. The band did workshops with the Irish traditional music MA students in a band setting. Helping them fine tune arrangements they are working on for a concert with the Chieftains at the end of this month. Later on that afternoon, the band performed in the small performing arts center on campus. One of the best parts about this, the PA went out 3 songs in. The guys decided to continue playing their mix of Irish, American Old Tyme, and Bulgarian folk music acoustically, while standing in the center of the hall amongst the crowd. It was awesome!!! After the concert, the gave a two-hour seminar talking about their music and how they make decisions when it comes to mixing these three styles of music. It was inspiring to say the least. One of the best quotes, the band was talking about life as a professional musician and that one has to make sacrifices to do it. Then they also mentioned that the music will make hard decisions for you. Meaning, that if the music has a grip on you, it will guide your decisions. A girl asked, "Is it really black and white like that?" Nicola Parlov responded, "Its mostly black." It may not seem funny to you, but it was hilarious given the context of the conversation.

Okay, the next day, us ethnomusicologists had the band to ourselves over breakfast and coffee before they headed off to the next town on their tour. Svend (another ethnomusicologist in our program, and friend of Dónal) grabbed Dónal and myself to do a private interview and small recording session. Svend and Dónal are developing bass-bodhran techniques, so I just king of hung out. This we a great opportunity to get to know Dónal, and I owe great thanks to Svend for letting me tag along. Long story short, Dónal and I got to know one another and he's agreed to an interview at the end of january. We exchanged email address' and I'll also be asking him questions here and there as well, as at this moment I'm in process of writing a 20 page paper on the man.

Wednesday, ethnochoreologist (dance) Ruth Hillier, gave a lecture on work she'd done in eastern Mexico. This was interesting, but my mind was on other things so I didn't really pay attention. But, on thursday, ethnomusicologist Tim Cooley gave a lecture on work he's done on Surf-music. Yes, music that is related to surfing. It was rad!! He's from Santa Barbara, so he and I ended up having a conversation over lunch about the west-coast punk scene, its relationship to skateboarding, as a possible PhD topic for myself.

The week was topped off by a trip to Ennis in East Clare for the Ennis Trad Fest!! After a considerable amount of persuasion, I was convinced to play bouzouki in a session in Ennis on friday night. I'm glad I did, it was a good time!! The entire next day was spent walking around Ennis hanging out in sessions, then we (myself a a good lot of musicians from school) all went to see Lúnasa (considered the greatest of Irish super-groups). The concert went until about 3:30am, and was absolutely insane!!

It was one hell of a week, but now I'm back into books and freaking out that I won't get everything done on time. But, on December 3rd, all my worries will be over as that is the day all my work is due. In that case, there's a good chance I won't be writing in this till after then. So until then, wish me luck!! I'll be reading and writing till the wee hours of the morning from here on out.

Cheers.

Finally!!!!!

No more rainy days!!!! Metaphorically, this means that I've now found inspiration for my thesis and I'm damn excited to spend the next year exhausting every aspect of the topic. The Irish Bouzouki!!!! Basically, its the bass version of a mandolin. The little time I have to play is mostly spent with the bouzouki, as I've fallen in love with its beautiful tone and feel. In Irish Trad, one can play chords to accompany, play melody, melodic harmony, or a combination of all three. It's super diverse and a ton of fun to play!!

In discussing other thesis options with my director today, he casually mentioned bouzouki as he knew I'd taken to playing it. He then brought up the fact that nobody - that he or another professor knew of - had ever done a full e

xamination of bouzouki in Irish Trad. (It's a relatively new instrument, but has been widely accepted into Irish music.) My ears perked up, and we spent the next 45 minutes talking about ideas for the papers I have due in a month, and how I can use them as a part of my thesis to come.

I'm so stoked I can barely contain myself!!! To this point school has been interesting, but not to the point that I'd like. Its been more stressful than anything. But, now that I have a vision, I'm fucking stoked!!!!! I've already got a list of names of bouzouki players in the area, as well instrument makers. I was already thinking about taking bouzouki lessons in the spring, this just seals that in stone!! I couldn't be more excited about this project!!!

I've got to consult the head of the MA Trad program and get her approval and thoughts, but I think I'll be good to go!!

This has already changed my outlook for the year. I'm so happy.

My mando, and the new addition...

Hackin' On

We're now in the last month of classes for the term. And I admit, I'm more stressed now than I've been...perhaps ever. Sorry if this thing has turned into a venue for bitching about stress. But, I gotta do it somehow. Luckily our workload has lessened in the last week so that we'll be able to give more focus to our three major written projects, and - as I've come to learn - an ethnographic dvd cataloging audio and video recordings that we haven't even done yet. How time will present itself to get this done, I have not a clue. But, oh well.

Went to a halloween/punkin-carving party last night with all the Tradies (Irish Trad Performance peeps). Of course, I found myself a cow costume to don. The night was loads of fun, and we even managed to carve some punkins as well.

The next week is going to be insane here! The band, Mozaik, which is comprised of some of the most famous and best of Irish musicians, is coming to UL to do a weeks worth of work with the performance and ethno students. Loads of workshops and performances by the band, then they're also coming into our class so we can pick their brain's for a while! Two of the musicians, Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine (Planxty, the Bothy Band, Sweeny's Men, Moving Hearts) are for lack of a better term, Gods, in Irish traditional music. Mozaik takes folk music from all over the world and puts them together to create their own brand of folk. Largely influenced by Irish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Greek, and whatever else they can use, they make some very interesting and technical music. I'm looking forward to learning from them. Also next week, noted ethnomusicologist Tim Cooley, will be here and in our class to give as a lecture on his new work focusing on music and affinity groups. In this specific case, music associated with Surf (as in surfing) culture. It should be really cool, as we've read a couple of his books so far this term and we'll have an opportunity to pick his brain a bit. Plus, we also have audio, photography, and video workshops mixed in every week till the end of term. Lots of cool stuff happening!!

I'm off to the library to wrap my head around some stuff! I can't wait for winter break so I can finally put some time into playing music!!

Cheers!

Compact...as in smaller than big.

Ok, instead of writing huge, in-depth entries, I'm gonna have a swing at doing small, more frequent ones. School is still insane. The idea I had for my thesis got shot down last week during some preliminary fieldwork recon, so I am now on the hunt for a new idea. I was hoping to investigate the old Irish rebel and republican songs and what kind of meaning they still had today. Come to find out, they don't mean much. People will say they hate the English and want a unified Ireland, but when it comes down to it nobody really cares. Most people realize that its too late for such a transition to happen, and if it did, the English pound coming into the Euro in Ireland would devastate the Irish economy that has been painstakingly rebuilt over the last 10 years. That being so, I'm off to figure out something else. Its looking like it'll be somehow involved with sub-cultures of popular music in Ireland. Yes, as much as we hate to say it, punk rock falls in the category of pop. It could be possible that I'll be doing a historical recount of the Irish punk scene of the late 70's and early 80's with an ethnomusicoligical twist.

I've been hitting session at least once a week, and they have led me to a realization. I cannot drink AT ALL while school is in. One pint becomes many very easily, and 5am creeps up rather quick after umpteen pints, singing, playing tunes, and petting donkeys. I can't afford to take a day off from homework due to hangover. But, we'll see how that one works out. I'm playing tunes when I think I can get away with not making an ass of myself, and I actually started a tune for the whole gang last night (though I had to start it four times before I got it right).

For many reasons, Ireland makes me feel old. One, hangovers hurt. BAD. Two, bars are filled with 17 year olds. Three, everyone my age has at least two kids. I'm sure there are other reasons, but my old age has affected my memory.

Knee is alright. After a couple weeks of fearing this thing was going to fall off, I'm finally getting into a workout routine that'll get this damn thing back to tip-top!

The whole homesickness thing is starting to set in a bit. Everyone says it takes a couple months, and they were correct. I wasn't sure how it would effect me due to the fact that I've been so busy and I didn't think I would have time to think about it. But it seems in this time of extreme stress and exhaustion, all I want at the end of the day is a burrito and a familiar voice to talk to. Granted it's getting better as I get to know people here better, but oh what I would give to die laughing from one of Travis' ridiculously un-PC jokes, or to get a hug from little Mia Paustell. But I digress.

I love it here! I'm learning so much I feel like my brain is going to explode (both in good and bad contexts)! I've made a gaggle of new friends and have been humbled greatly in many facets. And, I've only been here two months. Who knows what will happen in the next 10, possibly 14.

Looks like I struck out on the whole "swingin' for minimalism" schtick. Perhaps next time. Chairs!

The Music Issue. Vol. 1

I've realized in the last couple years that I've developed a kind of musical-instrument A.D.D. If it makes any kind of sound that can be used in some way to make music, I want to play it. But coming here has taken this to a whole new level!

Taking mandolin lessons and starting to play some proper Irish tunes has been great, but I'm already branching out into new instruments. A friend in the MA Trad Performance program noticed me playing mandolin in a session one evening, and then offered to let me borrow her bouzouki. Its a Greek instrument that has been altered and integrated into Irish music, and is basically the bass version of a mandolin. Since picking that up last week I've been attempting to adapt what I'm learning on mandolin onto it. I've also started taking weekly African Drumming classes on wednesdays. The man teaching is has traveled all over Africa studying and playing music, and he's a great facillitator of these classes of 40+ people. Everyweek we focus on different regional and tribal styles. These classes have come as a savior, as my classes are growing in intensity and it gives me a place to productively pound the hell out of something! I've also started messing around with different open-tuning systems on guitar.

As far as Irish music goes, I've begun playing in sessions a couple times a week with the students from the MA performance program. These players are insanely talented!! There's a few All Ireland winners in there, as well as a few rising stars in Irish music! I guess thats bound to happen when you start playing before you're potty trained. I'm doing my best to get back into the groove of playing tunes again, as well as trying to figure out the intricacies of how Irish Trad culture works. As a part of that, I'm starting research on the integration of non-traditional instruments into Irish music, how they are integrated, resisted, and the feelings regarding them. I'll be working with an American cellist who is in the program here, as she is one of the very few to play cello in Traditional Irish music. She'll be a case study which will allow me a direct, and contemporary look into non-traditional instrument integration. I'll also be looking at it through my own experiences of playing mandolin, and now bouzouki (basically a bass mandolin), as they are both of Greek origin and somewhat accepted, but not completely.

Some of you may know that I had interest in working with a university project called the Sanctuary Initiative when I came here. Well, I am now the student representative for the program on campus. The Sanctuary Initiative is aimed at working with refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers, and even those on work visas, with an intent to help maintain displaced communities through music. We work with an NGO (non-government organization) based in Limerick by the name of Dorus Luimní that is focused on doing the same through utilizing music, film, dance, art, etc. We had our first event two weeks ago here at UL in celebration of national Ghandi Day. We had three amazing performers: Ustav Lal, a 17 year old piano prodigy who has adapted classical Indian Ragas to piano; a classical Indian dancer, Tilottama Nandy; and a sitar player Dara O'Brien. In combination with a concert, all the artists - who now live in Ireland - give workshops for music and dance students. I went to all three of them, and the concert, and was completely blown away!! I had no idea how complex Indian classical music is, and how transcendental it can be. After an extremely successful day I immediately came home and started looking online for Indian drone machines and even sitars (just out of curiosity). We're planning on three events per semester, so we'll see how much worse my musical A.D.D. can get!!

On another note, my program here is insane. I don't get to bed before 2am, ever. Reading is my life. I've got a couple fieldwork projects going on. One with the cello and Irish music, the other starts tuesday doing preliminary reconnaissance on the Irish punk scene to see what's going on. My thesis could end up being on the Irish punk scene, but we'll see. I found out when I got here that Ireland has been declared the most globalized nation in the world!!! Lest to say there's a lot out there, and a lot going on!!

Thats all for this installment. Next time I'll tell you about my new found ability to accidentally switch from Scottish to Irish to English accents in sometimes poor, but brilliant fashion!

Cheers!

In the beginning...

Hey ya'll!! I've started this blog as a way to keep all of you updated on what's going on here in good ol' Ireland. I don't get to talk to all of you as much as I'd like, so I figured this will work as a way to keep you in the know.

Most likely, this will hold a fair amount of ramblings as well. Everything from everyday stuff, to random thought vomit, to academic ideas and theories that I'm pondering in my research here. Which I can guarantee you there will be some of that (sorry in advance). I'm not sure how often I'll be writing, but I'll update it as often as I can.

Aaaaah, where to start... Well, I've been here nearly a month now. I'm happy to say that I'm getting acclimated nicely. The weather hasn't been too bad really. We've had warm sunny days for the last 10 days or so, and it looks like it'll be that way for at least another week! The campus is great!! Its situated right on the River Shannon, which is one of Ireland's largest rivers. Its gorgeous!! The lingo has taken a little getting used to, but my array of Irish roommates has been kind enough to explain the occasional phrase that makes no sense at all. One thing that gets me is when instead of saying, "Can I help you?", they say, "You alright?" One of these days I'm just going to burst into telling the poor lady at the lunch counter all my problems and sins, my disconcerted feelings about todays misguided youth, and how the fish-n-chips fish tasted a bit too fishy the day before.

The roommates of 38 Dromroe village. We've all decided that we've been given a gift. We all get along really well and everyone (so far) takes care of their own shit and cleans up after themselves. There are many horror stories going around about housing nightmares on campus, so we're super stoked to have a cool house. (Oh yeah, I've come to realize that my use of words like: stoked, rad, sick, bitchin', and sweeeeeeet, quickly label me as being from California. Being proud of this, I'm doing my best to teach these poor depraved souls (Irish and American alike) the wondrous joy of saying "RAD"!) Back to the roommates...Leah: from Nashville, fiddler, working on a MA in Traditional Irish Fiddle. Super cool girl and becoming a good friend. Tony: from Michigan, fresh out of High School and working on a double BA in Traditional Irish Fiddle and Guitar (this kid makes me weep at my lack of musical ability). All around good kid. Evan: home grown in Killarney, County Kerry. Age 25, just coming back to school after living in Australia for two years. Studying Applied Languages with a focus on Irish, Spanish, and Japanese. This guy is 200% personality!! He's absolutely hilarious to the point where he should have a cartoon character made out of him!! Andrew: a 20 year old Galway boy, already has a Music BA in Traditional Irish Piano, Guitar, Banjo, and Fiddle. He's got a few All-Ireland titles under his belt for piano accordion, fiddle, banjo and mandolin. Very modest and nice guy. He's now going for a second BA in Mechanical Engineering. Susan: from Cork City, working on her MA in International Business and Consumerism (I think). Super sweet girl.

The program. Kate (Irish step dancer) wasn't lying when she told me my program was the hardest thing that the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance had to offer. Its gnarly! I'm gonna come out of this with one hell of a mental storehouse of knowledge, but damn, it ain't gonna be easy. Lots of reading, lots of research, lots of theory. The library is already my second home. At least the music section of the book-house has huge windows and a nice view! I've started taking mandolin lessons from a guy by the name of Sean Keegan. Probably only 22 or so, and absolutely insane!! He's gonna teach me Trad (Irish tunes), classical mandolin, banjo, and whatever else seems cool. I think I'll get a lot from him. I've come to find out that the people they have giving lessons here are, for the most part, living legends of traditional Irish music. The greatest in the world teach here. Or, they come here when they can to teach master classes and give lectures. Its fair to say that I feel quite intimidated around the caliber of the musicians I'm around, as all the students here are amazing musicians. Oh, I also might start playing bass in Trad this coming spring. I just need to find myself a bass. There's a cellist here who plays trad...she is amazing!!! Everyone and their grandma is already trying to get her to record with them!

Well, there's the first installment. Yes, its all boring stuff. But, I had to get it out of the way. The ones to follow will be more exciting...I promise I'll do my best to make them so!! Next time I'll tell you about the guy that tried to convince the Garda (cops) that I was selling drugs to students!! But, thats for another time. Keeps your eyes peeled for future installments kiddies!!

Sláinte!

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