Show 25 - The Season of Sprinter

This week we feature the music of:

Doug Sparling (The Old Stone Bridge)
Russ Rentler (The Way Things Might Have Been)
Mary Knickle (Wild Irish Man)
Celtic Mystique (Play It Again)
SullivanBurton (Winnie’s Morning Tune Set)

For more information on the artists featured on the Celtic Folk Podcast, including links and pics, click on www.celticfolkpod.com.

CFP25 Show Notes:

The Season of Sprinter. After a couple of weeks of very pleasant weather, we have dived right back into winter rather than spring, here in Kentucky - or “Sprinter,” as a friend of mine describes it. Don’t forget you can purchase downloads of music featured on the podcast by clicking on the Upbeat Sounds logo next to the band’s or artist’s information in the ShowNotes. Digital Singles are $0.99 and we also offer complete CD’s in both hard copy and digital versions.

We have a good mix this week of traditional and modern folk.

Click on the “More” link to see the ShowNotes for this show.

Doug Sparling - The Old Stone Bridge.

Soundtrack/orchestral/world(celtic)/contemporary instrumental/electronica.

Instrumentation
Software - EastWest Orchestral Samples, Reason
Real Instruments: Guitar (acoustic/electric), mandolin, penny whistle, keyboards, percussion

Biography
Doug’s music has been placed in music production libraries in the US and UK. He has also written music for Pat Sajak’s Lucky Letters cell phone game, recorded and written music for Kansas City Irish rock band The Elders, and performed on the title theme for an indie film titled “Hunter.” Affiliated composer with 300Monks.com.

Website
http://www.dougsparling.com

Discography
The Old Stone Bridge - EP (2005)
Stray Onto The Path - EP (2005)
MysticSoundscapes and WinterSoundscapes online radio

Russ Rentler - The Way Things Might Have Been.

Award winning singer/songwriter performing original acoustic roots music on traditional stringed instruments including hammer and mountain dulcimers, guitar, bouzouki, autoharp, dobro and banjo. A One Man Folk Festival.

Instrumentation
Hammer and mountain dulcimers, clawhammer banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, guitar, dobro, harmonica, fiddle, autoharp, and bottle neck steel.

Biography
Russ started playing stringed instruments with his first ukulele in 5th grade purchased with S+H Green stamps in Dover, NJ. After a brief stint in hard rock bands in his early high school years, he discovered bluegrass which led to a life-long love of acoustic music. At his first night at Moravian College, he met John Gorka where they were both playing at an open mic. They soon formed the now legendary Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band and were joined the following year by Rich Shindell on lead guitar. Throughout all four years of college, they played in the Lehigh Valley centering on Godfrey Daniel’s and the south side of Bethlehem, PA.

After college, Russ went to medical school and John and Rich went on to well-deserved fame and glory in the folk music world. During his medical training, Russ continued to pursue his passion of acoustic music and picked up hammer and mountain dulcimer, fiddle, Dobro, autoharp and bouzouki. He also started building hammer dulcimers and uses his own instrument on stage.

While continuing to practice medicine, Russ has performed at bookstores, coffee houses, schools, churches, and music festivals in eastern Pennsylvania, NJ and NY. He has accompanied John Gorka on several of his return performances to the Valley and has opened for Patty Larkin and shared the stage with John Gorka, Susan Werner, Michael Manring and Amelia K. Spicer. Russ gave several performances at Bethlehem’s MUSIKFEST and was honored to have the Martin Guitar Company ask him to play their new resonator guitar at the Martin Showcase. His song “Nazareth Pike” is being used on their phone call waiting system at the Nazareth guitar factory and his hammer dulcimer piece “Planxty Fluharty” won first prize in the 2004 Mid-Atlantic Songwriter’s Contest instrumental category.

His CD “Acoustic Minstrel” made it into the list of top CD’s played in April 2004 on folk radio stations and has garnered positive reviews including one in Sing Out! Magazine. The title track of his newest release, “Scarecrow’s Lament” has won honorable mention in the 2005 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest and finalist status in the Unisong International Song Contest and Susquehanna Folk Festival Song Contest. NPR’s Car Talk just featured “New Car Smell,” another track from this CD and Scarecrow’s Lament has made it on the list for top airplays for March and April 2006 Folk Radio. WLVT/ PBS 39 in Allentown has filmed a feature on Russ and his music that aired in late March 2004 and he has appeared on “Horses Sing None of It” , an award winning folk music cable TV show broadcast nationally.

Russ has recently closed his practice of internal medicine and is now pursuing his life-long passion for performing original folk music. He still makes medical mission trips to Haiti which continues to positively inspire his life and music. His performances are a mix of original folk, Celtic and blues-inspired tunes with multiple instrument changes interspersed with his off-beat humor and wry observations about life that keep the audiences laughing and coming back for more. (As well as asking for free medical advice between sets!)

Website
http://www.russrentler.com

Discography
Just Yulin’ Around 1997(Yuletide instrumentals)
My Old Uncle Martin 2000 (Vintage Martin guitars and mandolin instrumentals)
Acoustic Minstrel 2004
Scarecrow’s Lament 2006
Soon to be Released John Gorka Live DVD (mandolin accompaniment) 2007

Mary Knickle - Wild Irish Man.

Contemporary singer/songwriter with Celtic influences. A variety of accapella songs to full instrumental with a voice that goes from crystal clear high notes to wailing low. Songs have a strong narrative where women figure prominently. High energy performer with great story telling.

“…one of the best songwriters to ever come out of the Maritimes…”
CIUT Radio, Toronto

“I found my heart with this album,” claims Mary Knickle of her new release, Weave (Sea Fire Musik, 2006). Comprised of twelve original songs full of journeys, hope and loss, the work is brought together by a unifying passion and one remarkable voice.

Growing up in a family of musicians and storytellers, Knickle was drawn to the art of both from an early age. Following a childhood of performing at parties and family functions, she began to work to develop both of these skills into her own work. Through taking songwriting classes and studying music at Acadia University in Wolfville, NS, she started creating a unique sound that represented her.

“I grew up listening to Celtic music,” says Knickle. “It was around my twenties that I started writing songs. It was like I instantly found a piece of me that was missing.”

This realization gave her the push she needed. Knickle soon began performing her new songs, quickly finding an audience through both her engaging performances and heartfelt writing. It was also at this time that she recorded her debut album, On the Wind and the Sea (1991). Following up on the positive reception to her initial work, she soon moved on to work on her sophomore effort, Who Will Take The Throne? (1992) at CBC’s Studio H in Halifax, NS.

Still, the always aspiring Lunenburg native felt she hadn’t completely realized the sound she knew she was looking for.

“It was soon after those sessions that I found a band,” states Knickle. “It was just a perfect group of musicians for me. I wrote a whole batch of new songs and we played them together for the next eight years.” Made up of Laurence Stevenson on fiddle and Don Moore on guitar, it was the work the band did together during this period that would go on to make up Weave…eventually.

Due to the overwhelming demand on her as self-sustaining musician, Knickle decided to take a break from the industry in 1998. It was during this period that her life took a dramatic shift. After returning from a pilgrimage to India, she got married and soon after had her first daughter.

Seven years passed and Knickle began to feel her desire to perform once again. Quickly arranging a cast of musicians, she organized the sessions that would lead to the creation of Weave.

Immediately apparent on the album is Knickle’s strong connection to the sea. As narratives twist and bend, it’s the constant element that pulls everything together. After starting with the traditional sound of “Weave the Yarn,” the album delivers the combo of “Cross the Land (intro:)” and “Fire in My Heels,” casting the work’s mood and tone from the start. Songs such as “Brideship” and “The Grail” further develop Weave’s depth, offering unique topics delivered through a first person perspective that highlight Knickle’s gift for storytelling. With eight of the album’s songs recorded in just six hours, they have the unifying feeling of being created in one inspired session.

“I’ve been playing these songs for ten years,” she claims. “I know it’s solid, it’s the sound I was always looking for.”

Now, with her heart woven into the tracks of this album, Knickle looks forward to sharing her music once again.

Website
http://www.maryknicle.com

Discography
Weave - 2006
Who Will Take the Throne? 1992
On the Wind and the Sea 1991

Celtic Mystique - Play It Again.

A Female Perspective on Celtic Folk Music.

Instrumentation
Cindy,12 & six string guitar & lead vocals; Kim, fiddle & harmony vocals; Allison, djembe and snare drum & other percussions

Biography
ECMA & Music Nova Scotia Members

With a unique folk sensation; add in some celtic tones, our style is our own and sure to have all enjoying!! You hear what we deliver straight from our hearts. We keep our style simple but precise.
Cindy Malcolm
Beginning in music- “My start was early. At the age of three I headed off to church to play fiddle with my mother (ha, ha). I later received my first guitar at the age of five and have been entertaining ever since.”
Instruments – Six and 12 string guitar, ukulele, fiddle, mandolin, piano, and cello.
Favourite song the band plays – I See Your Face (original)

Kim Malcolm MacDonald
Beginning in music – “I guess I was introduced at a young age from listening to all the different kinds of music my mother played. Then I started with the piano, which I took for seven years. I loved the piano but I hated to practise. From there I did a little bit of guitar and then it was on to classical music with the fiddle; we played in the orchestra but I didn’t like it that much. My love now is the fiddle (Cape Breton style), especially playing with my mother, Pauline, and with the band.”
Instruments – Fiddle, guitar, piano, tambourine, shakers, and cabassa.
Favourite song the band plays – Dirty Ole Town

Allison MacLennan
Beginning in music – “From the time I was young I loved all kinds of music and have been lucky in the last few years to be invited to perform with the band.”
Instruments – Djembe & Snare drums, hand shakers and other percussions.
Favourite song the band plays – November Child (original).

Website
http://www.myspace.com/celticmystique

Discography
Mary Mac/Drunken Sailor Trad-The Country EDGE Celtic Hour
Demo CD - “Play It Again” 2004

SullivanBurton - Winnie’s Morning Tune Set.

SullivanBurton is a full-on powerhouse of sound blending new world and old world, traditional with contemporary sounds for an audience experience that is more than enjoyable. It’s a party!

Instrumentation
Bruce Burton-vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, banjo, bodhran, fiddle
Bob Moore-bass guitar, guitar, vocals
Tom Jones-bodhran, dumbek, djembe, other percussion
Shannan Sullivan-fiddle/violin, vocals

Biography
SullivanBurton’s latest CD, “Monkey Bars [self-released 2005] is an energetic acoustic/electric mix of largely Irish material that goes well beyond the usual pub standards, with crisp playing and strong singing and a good mix of the sensitive and the silly. “Winnie’s Morning Tune Set” begins as a quiet acoustic guitar piece that morphs into a hot fiddle reel with resonating bass lines as Winnie presumably wakes up. Among the songs, there are fun versions of the Oysterband’s cheerfully cynical “Blood Wedding” and Tommy Makem’s bawdy “Town of Ballybay”.”-Tom Nelligan, Dirty Linen Magazine

SullivanBurton (yes, all one word, both ampersand and hyphen-less) is a duo consisting of two good friends backed by two wonderfully talented musicians and friends who all share a passion for Celtic music and a penchant for adventure. Founding members Shannan (Sullivan) and Bruce (Burton) previously played together in the popular Illinois band, the Bogside Zukes—Bruce (1993-2003) and Shannan (1997-2000). Shannan and Bruce finally decided to collaborate in August of 2003 as SullivanBurton. The remainder of that year and the following one turned out nicely successful for the brand new group even including a concert date with the group Danu. The later additions of former Zukes members Bob Moore on bass and Tom Jones on percussion rounded out their sound and have turned the name SullivanBurton from a descriptor to a title.

The music created includes both traditional and contemporary Irish/Celtic colored and tempered with the unavoidable influences of growing up in American pop culture resulting in a fusion of Celtic/American/Urban/Folk. Audiences love this group for their disarming charm, sharp wit and good-natured ribbing with each other—not least to mention their fantastic musicianship. SullivanBurton brings you into the mix and leaves you soaring…

Website
http://www.sullivanburton.com

Discography
SullivanBurton (2004 self-release)
Monkey Bars (2005 self-release)

First Annual Celtic Folk Scotland Tour - September 2007

Ever wanted to visit Scotland and see the real sights, visit a real, traditional pub session with great artists playing wonderful Celtic and traditional music, visit the hidden sights of a country steeped in over 6000 years of history?

Come join me on our first ever Celtic Folk Scotland Tour in late September 2007. I’ll be serving as your tour guide, driver, pub advisor and personal shopper for the trip. We have put together the Itinerary and have posted a pdf file right here in the Celtic Folk Podcast show notes - click here to go to the post with that link.

The Celtic Folk Scotland Tour will be a limited opportunity for Celtic Folk Podcast listeners on a first-come, first-served basis, so email me quickly if you’re interested.

The ShowStopper Track:

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite track from this week’s podcast by emailing us, telling us who you want to hear again

and we’ll tally the votes and crown the winner the ShowStopper Track. So drop us a line and tell us who you liked the best of the four great tracks this week.

The Larkin Brigade - Sean South of Garryowen.

www.thelarkinbrigade.com

Please help us support these fine artists by taking a look at their websites, buying their music or at least let them know how much you enjoyed listening to their music on the Celtic Folk Podcast.

Check out our parent website at www.upbeatcafe.com

where you’ll find a schedule of great live music, as well as our Online Music Shop were you can buy those

old-fashioned CD’s, as well as digital downloads.

STOP PRESS We are currently uploading all the digital tracks and “Sip-A-Clips” to the server.

 

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A note for Artists:

Would you like to have your music included on a future Celtic Folk Podcast? Just email us or submit a song to us through Sonicbids.

Please, please, please give us some feedback and let us know how we’re doing. All podcasters live for feedback, both good and bad - it let’s us know what you, our listener and subscriber, want to hear. Email us at info@celticfolkpod.com