Dave Page uilleann piper and accordion player

[Mr.Gumby]

Yes Peter, that would be him. I wonder if he still plays the L. Rowsome set? Merry Christmas by the way to you and the family!

And same you and herself

Pretty dim here, we were one week out of lockdown and are now right back in it.

I don't know if DG plays at all. He owns or owned the Lahinch camping/caravan site by the way.

[Steve Bliven]

Erm, Rory, are you perhaps conflating Steve Bliven with Dr. Lewis Blevins? Different cups of tay altogether.

Bliven — Blevins, what's in a name? Indeed, I'm not him. He's the pituitary guy who's done all sorts of exciting things. Me, meh. He used to come to North Hero. We compared names and their origins once. Discovered we weren't related.

If Steve Bliven secretly had a Willie Rowsome set of pipes that he'd not told me about (Steve and I play tunes in-person, or at least used to, pretty regularly), then that would be the biggest plot twist of 2020.

Torrin— Didn't I ever tell you the story. This old set of pipes from an attic in Pawtucket. Hadn't been played in years. Before I could really get them going, the dog—well, it breaks my heart....

Happy Holidays to all.

Steve BLIVEN

[rorybbellows]

Heres the Willie Rowsome set I was getting confused about


RORY

[Jumper]

Dave Page lived here in San Diego from the mid-1970s until his death in 1987, and I got to know him and his wife well. By the time I met him, he was no longer playing the pipes, but still played piano accordion and whistle, and he was very generous and encouraging to us younger musicians with an interest in Irish music. John Tuohy, who owns Dave's Alf Kennedy set, is a close friend who I have played with for decades, and John has carried on Dave's musical legacy and repertoire. John and I gave all of that material to Pat Darcy that you've pointed out, now hosted on the uilleannobsession site. Michael Hubbert restored the Kennedy set a few years ago for John. It lives in a case I made for it back in the '80s.

Dave restarted the Siamsa Gael Celidhe Band, with which he had performed and recorded in the '20s and '30s, and inducted his young San Diego friends, who carried on with that moniker for many years after his passing. They included John Tuohy, Judy Lipnick, Ian Law (who are all still close friends of mine) and a few others.

Most of Dave's family followed him and his wife here after they retired and relocated from Chicago, and his daughter and one of his sons are still here.

Dick Grant, formerly of Bray Co. Clare, now lives in the Canary Islands. I believe he may have passed the Rowsome set originally belonging to Dave Page along to Dick's son Liam.

A video about Dave recently posted by his grandson Gregory Page:

https://youtu.be/0AXSOiVPhlM

[Steampacket]

A video about Dave recently posted by his grandson Gregory Page. Jumper.

Thanks for that video link Jumper. Very interesting to see the photos, video clip, and hear Dave playing the pipes.

[pancelticpiper]

Dave restarted the Siamsa Gael Celidhe Band, with which he had performed and recorded in the '20s and '30s, and inducted his young San Diego friends, who carried on with that moniker for many years after his passing. They included John Tuohy, Judy Lipnick, and Ian Law...

What fond memories I have of hearing John, Judy, and Ian play back in the day.

For a piper like myself who never got on with the regulators much it was wonderful to watch John, pretty much putting on a regulator clinic every time he strapped on the pipes, often carrying on with one hand on the chanter while playing rich regulator harmonies with the other hand.

And Siamsa Gael were always the best-dressed band at any event, matching jumpers as I recall. (My band, sometimes playing at the same events, was rather scruffy by comparison.)

[eskin]

[Thread revival. - Mod]

Dave Page was a major influence on the traditional Irish scene here in San Diego.

The players I learned from the in the late 1990s and early 2000s all had learned from Dave.