“What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This famous line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet implies that the names of things do not affect what they really are. Maybe that’s true. After all, love is love, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Montague or Capulet you can’t help … More What is in a name anyway?
To those who don’t listen to Irish music all that often, listening to a set of tunes may sound like one long song that goes on forever, kind of like what techno sounds like to me. If you listen long enough though, you begin to recognize the unique style of each musician. If you’ve ever heard Martin Hayes play … More Learn to play like yourself
Everything comes full circle and I’m reminded of that more often than not. Take for example, bell-bottoms and leg warmers. Who would have thought they’d be cool twice in my life-time? Or platform shoes, of which I’m still afraid to walk in. Even when it comes to my writing. I come up with an idea, I start … More The joy of coming full circle
Though I keep learning new things on my fiddle, the one thing that is the hardest thing to do while playing, is smile. But smiling can be the difference between a good performance and a great one. … More Smile, it’s contagious
More than a few years back, I saw the Wailin Jennys perform this song live in Vermont. If you have ever seen them perform, you know you can feel their 3-part harmonies through your core. Their songs are passionate and emotional and the stories behind them are poignant. Today, on one of the most important 24 hours of our lifetime, … More One Voice – Make it heard
In some Chinese folklore, it is believed that the gods tie an invisible red cord around the ankles of those that are destined to meet one another in a certain situation or help each other in a certain way. I love this concept. I envision a red string attached to me throughout my life and … More The red string
I have rediscovered my love for mountain biking. Recently, I went out on an all-women’s mountain bike ride. I have to admit I felt a bit out of shape, especially on the climbs where I held steady as the caboose of the group. (In my defense I still ride a hard tail and was most likely … More How music is like mountain biking
I’m always impressed with melody musicians who can just call out the key of the next tune they are going to play. I have a hard time just lifting my foot to say I’m switching tunes. Not to mention, most of the time I have no idea what keys I play in. Aren’t all fiddle tunes … More The key to being a good musician
I didn’t grow up in a very religious family. We were not required to go to church on Sundays but we did celebrate Christmas eve and Easter at church every year. Easter for us as kids was more about waking up to a basket filled with candy that some imaginary bunny delivered, a big dinner with family and the … More 100th Anniversary of the Easter Rising
Recently, I was talking to an old college friend who is a professional poker player now and has been for over 10 years. I find this profession to be very intriguing (if only I could play poker). I imagine the life of a poker player is similar to the life of a professional musician in … More How playing music is like playing poker
