Hey, Bruce, ... Picture Question

[Milligan Hay - Iowa d:^)]

I found an old picture and was wondering if you recognize the building in it.

Finally it is spring break down here for a week.  I hope the weather changes to spring-like when school starts again.  I am getting tired of bucking the buses through 3 foot snow drifts.

Hey, there is a super-fantastic Irish band that is going to be playing at the Husby Performing Arts Center in Sioux Falls, Friday night at 8 PM.  They are worth a drive to see them.  They are from all over Ireland.  http://www.muireann.ie/tourdates.html

The band is called "Danú", and they are the best traditional Irish band that I have seen yet.   I saw them last year at Ames, Iowa.  The female lead singer sings mostly in Irish Gaelic and the band is one of the most sought after groups in the Celtic genre.

[gough whitlam]

I wish I was a little closer and I would be there.  Love those Irish bands.

[Milligan Hay - Iowa d:^)]

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@gough whitlam wrote:

I wish I was a little closer and I would be there.  Love those Irish bands.

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Here is a couple of YouTube videos that will give you a good taste of the powerful range this group has, especially the lead singer.  This first clip is Danú playing some great Kerry tunes with a guest and his "lady" friend "Peggy" joining in to dance a jig.  The drum player (Bodhrán) plays a drum that looks a lot like mine.  In fact, he sort of looks like me, except my hair is cut much shorter. *grins*  I try to play my bodhrán in the same style as him as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0RInGkoMQk

In this second clip, lead singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (pronounced MWI-wren Nick OWL-eve) sings a slow lament in the Irish language.  It is a song about someone having to leave their home forever.  You can hear the sadness in the song even without knowing a word of Irish.  This video was filmed in Scotland, where they hold their own, in playing Celtic music.

And on this third clip, is one of my favorites.  It is about a girl that finds herself having to marry an old man and she is not happy about it.  It is entirely in Irish and very beautiful to hear.  I love the drumming in it a lot.  Enjoy!

[Milligan Hay - Iowa d:^)]

Bump.

[gough whitlam]

You mention drunning.  I used to play drums in a rock band years ago.  The best I could do was keep up and make a noise in time. But it was fun.

[Milligan Hay - Iowa d:^)]

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@gough whitlam wrote:

You mention drunning.  I used to play drums in a rock band years ago.  The best I could do was keep up and make a noise in time. But it was fun.

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Boy, if you want to see some impressive drumming, check out that drummer Donnchadh Gough, playing this solo set.  He plays faster with one stick than most could every play with two.  He is my "hero" in bodhrán playing.  I try to play his style, but I am not as "animated" as he is.

http://youtu.be/3hFdpseAebY

Here is a biography of Donnchadh (pronounced Don-a-va) that you might find interesting.  The bodhrán is one of the cheaper instruments that you can buy and the most versatile.  You can get loads of different sounds out of one and most folks who have even a bit of rhythm in them, can play it.  Watch the video and enjoy a master at work.

http://homepage.eircom.net/~mooneyspub/Danu/Gaeilge/donnchadhbiog.htm

[Milligan Hay - Iowa d:^)]

Here is another fantastic bodrán player that I got to meet in Des Moines a few years ago.  His name is Eamon Murray and he can really make the bodhrán do a workout.  His style is "top-end" with a smaller drum with thin skin that makes it more "musical".  Check out this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32nwImGLMIY

[Milligan Hay - Iowa d:^)]

Oh, and one more I almost forgot to mention. The great John Joe Kelly. Perhaps the best bodhran player to ever pick up a stick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9HyB5yNS1A&feature=youtube_gdata_player