Great Rocky Mountain Session Review

Whistle
1

Wow.

That about sums it up - wow.

I just got home (Bri - it’s twelve gallons of gas from your place to mine!) after the nonstop 9:30 AM - to - 1:30 PM “flight” to Boise. Session tunes certainly make good driving music!

Brian and Heather are wonderful hosts and great cooks (this morning, Brian made us French Toast! And it didn’t even smell like elderberries :wink: ) Tom and I had an awesome time. Let me fill in a few more details of the weekend:

I arrived around 5 PM on Friday, just in time for dinner. We had to be careful (corn on the cob + whistles = potential for disaster) but it was very good. Brian received a Meg (and the corn!) for his birthday and returned the gesture by giving Tom some white whistles that I didn’t get close enough to see what they were, and gave me a practice chanter to play with.

http://www.rit.edu/~eeg6662/storage/HappyBirthday.mp3

It was great to meet Cees and Susanfx and finally put faces to the names - although I never did manage to remember Cees’ real name! After the friday night session (complete with silly hats), we settled down (eventually) and watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Brian fell asleep at some point, and after we took his picture he woke up again and decided to go to bed. I guess he figured it was too dangerous to be asleep around us.

He’s probably right…

Naturally, having Monty Python fresh on our minds influenced our comments the next day greatly, as you will eventually hear in sound files I post/burn.

I was going to mention the milkshake fiasco on Saturday but Brian summed it up pretty well already! ( http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?topic=4470&forum=1&start=120&127 )

Earlier saturday, Brian had shown me his very fancy and high tech aviator’s watch. Unfortunately he seemed to be having trouble working it, as he got the hour wrong several times during the evening. Including in his post - we got done at the session around 12:30, not 1:30. But it was still late enough for him to groan about his birthday arriving!

Tom and Brian are wonderful people and if ever you have a chance to visit them, do so! I can’t wait to see them again.

–Beth

(edited to change file location)

[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-07-24 02:08 ]

2

OK, from left to right, who’s who?

3

Wow, y’all look like you a wonderful time.So who knew who beforehand, and how did you meet?

4

Darvis took the words right out of my keyboard.
I know the three on the left (their right)back row. And who’s the cameraman? I know who it would have been if I were there.
Great report Beth!!

Mack

5

Aw sheesh!

I thought I had the times pretty close. Oh well - it was LATE!!

As for the photo, from Lef to right:

Tom, Beth, Alison (our host on Sat. night), Me, Joe (the tall goofy lookin’ guy in back), Stephanie, and my fiancé Heather.

Bri~

6

I’m sorry Heather, I know YOU!!

Mack redfaced Hoover

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On 2002-07-21 16:56, janice wrote:
Wow, y’all look like you a wonderful time.So who knew who beforehand, and how did you meet?

I knew nobody beforehand, and had only talked to Brian on the board here. I don’t think I had ever chatted with Tom, except maybe in passing on some thread.

Tom told me that he and Brian were talking before I got there, wondering what I was like. But I think we clicked pretty well!

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I think we’re all equal when wearing funny hats!!! :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:



We really did have a great time, and personalities were not a problem. It was mentioned more than once throughout the evening by more than just me, that this music, was one of the best ways for people to come together and share themselves with each other (in a fully clothed way too!) in a manner that crosses political boarders, cultural differences, educational backgrounds and religious affiliations.

To repeat the saying I mentioned last night, (still can’t remember where I heard it first said though…)

“The greatest thing that separates the human creature from the whole of the animal kingdom - is music.”

How true it is!!

Bri~

9

On 2002-07-21 17:56, Brian Lee wrote:
I think we’re all equal when wearing funny hats!!!

You asked for it!

(edited to change file location)

[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-07-24 02:08 ]

10

Boy, did we miss a party. I sure am happy for you guys.

Say Beth, since you moved to the West, have you found that your whistles behave differently in the dry and higher altitude?

Any changes in whistle preference by brand or just the same??

Love the hats. Gotta wear em in that kind of sunshine! Even at nite indoors, it would seem!

11

To tell the truth, no - but that is more likely because I didn’t get much chance to play them at school. I am playing a lot while out here, though, and I will try to make note of any difference when I return.

I have noticed that when I come home from work and my apartment is 90 degrees, and while I am waiting for the AC to make an impact, the heat helps my metal whistles keep from clogging. =) Oh and actually now that I think of it I was experiencing a lot more clogging of hoovers and laughing in SLC than I do in Boise.

12

Thanks. It’s on my mind since my two trips to Denver way back in the 80s were quite educational vis-a-vis my guitar. The string tension was different in the high altitude, the changeable barometric pressure stressed it so it never sounded right, and other guitars that I didn;t like normally sounded better there. The dryness can be deadly for all wood instruments, including fancy-pants whistles so all should be careful if you’re not playing them a lot and"humidifying" them with your “breath.” Ebony, cocobolo, rosewood will crack in that dry.

I figured there must be less clogging at least but I wondered about air pressure differentials.

13

No way is this thread going off the first page!

Here’s something to keep the interest going:

http://www.rit.edu/~eeg6662/storage/dannyboyfriday.mp3 (~700 KB)

14

That dog sounded a little TOO interested in Tom’s leg I think! Could it be love?! ROTFLOL!!!

B~

15

Sounds like a poorly-played theremin! Hey I have one of those metal slide whistles, With practice you can actually play in a key…
What fun!

16

Way too funny.What the hell was that last note anyway???

17

Thermins…mmmmmmm…

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On 2002-07-22 23:18, Brian Lee wrote:
That dog sounded a little TOO interested in Tom’s leg I think! Could it be love?! ROTFLOL!!!

B~

Don’t worry, Danny Bob gave him a good home!

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A partial list of the tunes played in SLC:

Blackthorn Stick
Connoughtman’s Ramble
Haste to the Wedding
Drowsy Maggie
Jackson’s Favorite
Ballydesmond’s
John Ryan’s Polka
Off to California
Maid Behind the Bar
Sally Gardens
Drowsy Maggie
Lord Mayo
Warlock Five
Dusty Windowsill
Harvest Home
Stack of Barley
Boys of Bluehill
Far From Home
Danny Boy
Egan’s Polka
Merrily Kiss the Quaker
The Blackthorn Stick
(Boys of Ballysomething)
Lilting Banshee
Twisting of the Hayrope
Julius’ Lullaby
Thumper’s Jig
Women of Ireland
There Were Roses
The Bricklayer
The Parting Glass - shot down as too early
Rosin Dugh
The Butterfly
Gander in the…Praties
Star of the County Down
Road to Lisdoonvarna
Edmund Fitzgerald


[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-07-23 15:51 ]

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Sounds like everyone had a great time, Beth! Do you know if this will be an annual event? What instruments were there … besides the whistles, I mean? :slight_smile: