Wow,
if you've come here, you must really like to read the ramblings of a
guy not historically known for keeping it to the short, and who has a
near 70WAM -- LOL -- so, enjoy!
History of recording idea
(it seems I wrote this years ago as I got started on this project)
The
development of this idea of recording is a funny thing. It
seems
that Fate & Providence put everything before me, so eventually
they
all had to fall into place, right?
At Folklife 2003, I had just played a set with Tim McCarthy.
A
woman was purchasing one of his CD’s and asking if it
featured
both Tim and I. Tim clarified that Clatterbone was his
Celtic-rock band, and that he and I had not recorded
together. We
were taking a 30-45 minute break, so I told Tim I was going to go
around the corner of the center house to where I had played on the
preceding days to try and pick up a few more bucks busking in between
Tim’s and my sets.
I was setting up in this other location, sticking my business cards
into the lid of my pipe case, when a woman came over me and started
asking if I was also selling CD’s – because
she’d
like one! I stood to find that it was the same lady who had
just
purchased the Clatterbone CD from Tim. I told her that it was
only Tim selling CD’s. I honestly didn’t
realize what
she was asking. The only piping CD’s I knew of that
were
for sale from pipers were the ones Tim had – and I
wasn’t
selling his CD’s for him. That’s what I
honestly
thought she wanted. I played my set, got the attention of
quite a
few Folklife attendees, made a few bucks, had a good time, caught back
up with Tim, and thought nothing more of this lady’s inquiry
for
the rest of the weekend…. But it did keep coming back into
mind
in the following weeks.
About six weeks after Folklife, I was driving up to Whidbey Island, and
I thought back about this lady asking about CD’s….
and
then it hit me, what she was really asking. She
wasn’t
asking about Tim’s CD’s or recordings of Tim and I,
she was
asking if I had a recording of myself playing that I was
selling.
She liked the playing that I did in style and quality (mine was
traditional whereas Tim’s is wonderfully more expressive) and
wanted to be able to listen to my playing at times other than Folklife.
Pipers are notoriously humble and highly self critical of their own
playing. Finally realizing what she was truly asking, I was
so
incredibly and overwhelmingly flattered, I nearly drove off the
road! I think I spent the next few miles aka minutes driving
in a
daze – “She liked my playing that
much?!?”,
“I’m not good enough to record – why, it
will be a
long time before I have that much ability”, “Me, in
a
studio, recording? What a lark! That’d be
expensive
– and when would I have the time for that?”,
“I
can’t record, I’m a nobody –
I’d have to get
more established before I could record”.
Then I remembered, a friend of mine through the local Irish sessions,
Suzanne Taylor (to be featured on the album), said that a fellow I had
met at one of the sessions had a home digital studio and had put the
word out that he was willing to record folks for free so he could get
the practice. Oh, intriguing, an avenue. I
eventually
mellowed out and safely completed my drive, but remained in a general
state of humility about the compliment that came with the
lady’s
interest at Folklife.
I mentioned this to a few friends – musicians and
non-musicians
alike – all were supportive of the idea. I
mentioned it at
one of the more intimate Irish sessions I attended, and all were
encouraging. I put the idea past my instructor to see what he
thought, and he said I had the foundation ability and that it was
reasonable to work up to recording in a fairly short amount of
time. I remembered that my friend, Stoater Dave, said I could
probably use is drummer’s home studio sometime for free if I
wanted in Bremerton. I kept trying the idea on more and more,
I
introduced it to people saying that I was considering recording, the
more I heard it, the more it fit, the more it fit, the more I realized
it was the right thing for me. I started to think of what I
could
do on separate tracks and how I might produce the final product and
discussed it with my instructor.
After a few months, my “considering” turned into an
“intention”, that I hope to have ready in time for
Folklife
2004.
Ma’am, whoever and wherever you are, thank you for being the
voice of Fate & Providence, the messenger of this suggestion,
even
if unknowingly. If you read this and see me at one of the
area
events, come by and say hi – I’d like to give you a
copy
with my gratitude for the suggestion… that, at least for
now,
your suggestion that is, has given my piping a home.
19Feb08