Pub Scout sessioners: Mike Cannon, accordion; Jewel Cardinet, mandolin; Dawn McConnell, fiddle; Vita Segalla, fiddle; Tatjana Rei, fiddle; Bill Gibson, fiddle; Christine LaPado, Bass; Pierce Marines, guitar, mandolin; Beth Knight, guitar; Preston Howard, pipes; Conor O'Bryan, flute; Steven Grahn, flute;
...and me...tenor banjo and fiddle.
Influences
Tenor banjo: Dave Cory; Seamus Egan; Kevin Griffin, Angelina Carberry; John Carty; Cathal Hayden, et. al.
Fiddle: James Kelly...you got my bowing on track!; Oisin MacDiarmada...my first fiddle teacher at Willie Clancy...great player and teacher
Gerry O'Connor - beautiful player and great teacher
Guitar: Jimmy Page...the reason I got my black Les Paul Gibson at age 16 (sadly long gone :-(...) Jerry Garcia, Eric Clapton, Dickey Betts and my guitar teacher, Steve Mesple.
Music in general: In addition to all the great Irish stuff, my influences come from a lot of Grateful Dead and singer songwriters who can put lyrics and melodies together that stir emotions, such as Ray Davies of the Kinks, Slaid Cleaves, Bill Morrissey, Todd Snider, Paul Thorn, Martin Sexton, Rodney Crowell, James McMurtry, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Jerry Jeff, Guy Clark, Antsy McClain and so many others I couldn't possibly list them all.
I play tenor banjo and fiddle with Pub Scouts at the Friday happy hour 4-7 at Duffy's when I am in Chico. 2008 has had me traveling around the world, well, at least a part of it. Trips in the car back and forth across the U.S., a short stint on a cruise ship traveling to the Caribbean and Mexico, and two months abroad in the UK and Ireland (and a quick hop over to Belgium. I went places I'd never been, played golf at the home of golf, and played fabulous sessions with great players and made new friends. It's been an exciting year.
Playing Irish music brings me great joy. It's upbeat, even the minor tunes, and the music always brings smiles and toe-tapping to everyone who hears it. Everywhere I go around the world I can play tunes with people I've never met before. In Rome, Italy I couldn't speak a word of Italian and the sessioners couldn't speak English, but we knew the same tunes and spoke through our music. It truly is a universal language.
I got my first guitar, a Stella, for Christmas when I was 8. I had my first band at age 10 (We played for the old folks home down the street...Linda, Jane and me--The Summer Singers). At 16, my mother got me a Gibson Custom Les Paul and I had designs to be a "rock star," but I didn't have the persistence needed to accomplish that goal. Likewise, an early talent in golf had me practicing long hours and I became quite good (relatively), however, my lack of persistence had me fall short of my goal to be a touring professional.
In 1997, I moved to Chico and when I dropped into Duffy's and heard the Pub Scouts playing Irish traditional music, I was hooked. From being invited to play guitar at practice sessions, I soon took up fiddle and that was the beginning of a new era for me. I went to Ireland in 1998 to the Willie Clancy Summer School and Blas in Limerick, immersing myself in the music and the culture. It would take many more years before I honed my skills enough to keep up with the established players, but I am there now. "There" being a relative term. I took up the tenor banjo three years after starting on fiddle, but on both instruments, it would take a lifetime and then some to be the player I would love to be. In the meanwhile, I play as an amateur "for the love of it."
Nope, stright ahead with light I can see for miles & miles & miles From the hill I'm on today I could see the Santa Lucia Mountains. I could see Steinbeck country. Here's looking at you kid. xo
Early Shelley with early guitar. So Cute! Hope all is good w/ your move back to the West Coast where you can smell the breeze from the Sea & lush forests of green. Here's to long one stright down the fairway and you. Happy Trails Shelley Nick
Hi Shelley - sounds like you had a beautiful two days with your friends! I just want to wish you a happy and healthy New Year's Eve and a beautiful 2009!
Hi Shelley, thanks for accepting my invite....saw you on a friend's site, noticed where you are, and listened to a couple of songs - wonderful stuff. My daughter is up your way, she's teaching music at Point Arena High School. If she hasn't already heard you, I'm sure she will - and I hope I get a chance to hear you live someday!
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