The mention in the 'Deliverance' thread about instruments having a signature tune started me thinking about some of the odd (musical) requests I've had over the years from 'the Great Unwashed'. Dealing with drunken punters asking for odd pieces of music seems to be an art in itself. I'd love to hear how everyone here handles these things.
I often get requests for Duelling Banjos as well. My response is usually to say, "But I only have one banjo. You need two for a duel".
Other requests we get here in this part of Oz are things like:
Pipes – Theme from the movie Titanic
Mandolin – Duelling Banjos(!)
Fiddle – The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Duelling Banjos
Whistle – Lonesome Boatman
Box – Not sure about that one, maybe Duelling Banjos
Guitar – Stairway to Heaven, or more likely Fields of Athenrye, Dirty Old Town or something of that ilk.
I normally deal with these by saying "Yeah, no worries, mate," and playing something else. I usually get away with it.
oh and my friend got a request for mozart on the box once followed by a 20 bill on the table when he started to play the first few bars and an angry punter when he stopped
A couple of years ago my band did the world's worst cover ever of mustang sally for a $100 tip. But the requester seemed happy with the results. Being in a bar band certainly has some colorful moments.
Last St Pat's I got a request for Good Night Irene. At school I constantly get asked if I can play "the Titanic song," aka that Celine Dion song that was really popular usually when I have a Whislte out. I also get Danny Boy a lot ad once I got asked to play Amazing Grace on my Gaita.
We had "Can you play anything by Abba?" quickly followed by "Well then, can you play anything by Steps" at a gig the other night. There was me on fiddle and a guitarist, doing jigs, reels and stuff, and Irish songs. He was a big and fearsome fella, and came up close to us - very close - whilst we were actually in the middle of a song and yelled "You need to learn some more songs mate!" And all this in a predominantly Irish pub in Cheltenham in Race Week ...
I got the rquest for Duelling Banjos but said I only knew Irish tunes (which was true) so he said "Then how about My Love is in America". I played that one.
Just yesterday some bodhran player kept asking me to play Captain Pugwash. I didn't mind though because I like that tune. Don't throw anything at me now!
I was at a session in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim this summer. At some point during the evening, a German visitor approached the musicians with a request for a song, of which she did not know the name. She sang us a snippet of a German version of what turned out to be The Wild Rover. The musicians used various excuses and escape tactics, such as, "No, I don't think I've heard that one before," and "Why don't you sing us your version?". Then one man, pointing towards the landlord, said, "You see that man over there? He sings it. But he never sings before midnight." The requestor was gone before midnight.
Having played in bar bands most of my life, I've gotten many strange requests over the years. When the ubiquitous "Play Freebird!" request comes, we have a version we call "Stairway to Freebird" consisting of the first couple measures of the solo acoustic guitar Stairway intro immediately followed by the ending vocal "...and she's buying the stairway ...to.. Freebird... "
Playing with an Irish band, not only have I gotten the usual tin-pan-alley "When Irish Eyes...", "I'm Looking Over...", etc., but also "The Tennessee Waltz", "The Pennsylvania Polka", Sousa marches, Sinatra songs, "Girl From Ipanema", Vince Giraldi's "Linus and Lucy" from those Charlie Brown shows, etc. We will try almost anything except "American Pie" as it goes on for 8-some minutes and you lose your audience 2 minutes into it. We once three-peated "Wild Rover" for a drunk who dropped $75.00 in front of us to hear it for the third time.
A few weeks ago I was at a pop concert and after the concert I had a conversation with the bass guitarist (very cute fellow actually ), and he was asking me if I played any music. Well I rushed to tell him yes, actually, I play Irish and Cape Breton music on the fiddle! I don't think he got it at all, because as soon as I told him that he asked, well do you know The Devil went down to Georgia? and I being a little tounge tied managed- yes. even though i have no freakin idea how it goes....but then he wanted to discuss it with me and he asked me, So who do you think won in the end? and now I'm thinking to myself, I'm in way over my head- how the hell am I soposed to know who "won"????? so i bluffed and said er, I think the devil won. which turned out to be the right answer because he was like, oh yes, defanantly- that's what I think too. thank god!!!!!
If and when you do the Fields of Athenry, when you get to the verse, "Wherre we once watched the small, free birds fly" -- throw in the signature slide guitar riff from Freebird. It's easy to do on fiddle and actually fits quite nicely.
hottfiddler, I think the devil lost:
"The devil bowed his head
Because he knew that he'd been beat
And he laid that golden fiddle
On the ground at Johnny's feet."
(But personally, I like the Devil's solo a lot better than Johnny's.)
When asked for "Duelling Banjoes" we usually make some comment such as "you have lovely lips" or another vague reference to the "sex" scene in the film. Works a charm.
As for some of the others, "Captain Pugwash" used to be part of our repetoire, on banjo, coupled I think with the "Japanese Hornpipe". We also sing "Goodnight Irene", a masterpiece by a genius.
Two girls at a dance - " Do you do that dance where you run from one end of the room to the other, and shout "HOI !" ? "
No, we didn't.
I do have this problem about The Fields....I won't do it, even if I knew it, which I don't. But I don't mind playing "Danny Boy"..curious, isn't it ?
I was playing in a duo years ago and we were booked into a local pub the same night as the Australia versus New Zealand Rugby final. The management wanted us to play, even though they were showing the game on the big screen. So, there we were, Playing to the backs of all the footy fans. Finally , a huge Moari turned round and asked " Do you blokes do requests?" We answered yes and he then said "WILL YOU BOTH feck OFF?"
Round our way we call it The Fields of Peckham Rye.
OK, that'll be lost on anyone not resident in SE London, sorry.
THey can be amusing some of these silly requests, but thankfully no-one here has really knocked our "punters" yet. It would be a fairly sterile session without an audience.
No, hotfiddler he might not have been humoring you. If you can dig up a recording of the song, there are two fiddle breaks, one that is supposed to be the "devil's" solo, and one that's the mortal "Johhnny"s". The "devil's" is way cooler -- very sinister. The devil shoulda won.
Hey spoon what is that wid ze germanz all over Lovely Leitrim I had a few come up to me one night in Desi's canal stop in Keshkerrigan saying "Monto Monto Monto Monto" Well I was shocked it took a foreigner to show any interest in the irish music at all
I saw a thing on youtube the other night with Johnny Cash singing a response to the Devil Went Down to Georgia and I think the devil actually won. I think.
The flipside of this weird request business for me was when a fella came to our session table the other night and asked if we knew The Musical Priest. The guitarist said "Why, is he a friend of yours?' The guy mumbled something about liking the 'B' part. Yeah right. We played it for him and he sat and listened with a faraway look in his eyes. Another satisfied customer!
Yeah, the devil definitely loses, but so many people have argued with me that they think the devil plays better than Johnny. I try to explain that not only does the devil really only play trick and fancy kind of stuff, but he also has a band of demons backing him up. I think I'd sound great with a band of demons as well! All in all, Johnny IS the better fiddler.
On more than one occasion, while I was busking in Riga, Latvia, just me and my mandolin, I had requests from the local Jaunieši (yoof) for "something by The Prodigy". I'm not particularly familiar with the work of The Prodigy, but I know them well enough to know that they were not known for their solo mandolin pieces. Was it meant ironically? Were they testing me to see how good a musician I *really* was (they obviously didn't regard jigs and reels - at least, the way I played them - as real music)?
That also reminds me, this summer in Feakle, I was sitting in the back of a friend's van, when some local lads came by and asked "D'you know where there's some tunes?" We directed them to Pepper's Bar, to which they responded, "No, not trad. *Real* tunes, like."
Haha this isn't a request story, but the "stairway to freebird: commment reminded me of what my dad plays sometimes..."Stairway to Gilligan's Island". The Gilligan's Island theme song vocals fit perfectly with the beginning of Stairway to Heaven...
Funny that, Greg. I've had exactly the same thing a couple of times, and in both cases they were songs. so it's not like they didn't recongnise the tune - the choruses are pretty distinctive!
And the Box requests are either 'Amazing Grace' or 'something Scottish' , even though mine's a button box not a piano accordion. Oh, and once 'something French' (go figure), so I just played 'the Rights of Man', which is the most French sounding thing I know. Funnily enough, he seemed very pleased with it, whereas 'Amazing Grace' got a puzzled look, even though all four of us were spot on since we'd been practising it the week before. Sometimes it's best not to dwell on the audience's reaction too deeply...
Playing a weekly gig in a bar in Clapham, we used to get this old guy asking for "The Donegal Trout", every Sunday afternoon .
So each week, one of our Gan Ainm reels became the Donegal Trout.
I couldn't resist it . . . two friends doing a pub gig yesterday, did some stuff on two hurdy-gurdies - I had to ask didn't I - can you play Duelling Banjos - I think we are still friends . . .
When busking on fiddle in Algorta (Murfbox's neck of the woods), near Bilbao, back in June, I was asked by a woman to play "(****) de Alegria" for her granddaughter, who was learning the violin. My Spanish being minimal, I had to ask her to repeat the title, and I probably didn't know it anyway - and being a relative novice fiddler (What on Earth was I doing playing it in public, anyway?), would not have attempted anything I didn't know inside out. Then she hummed the first line and it turned out to be Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'. Simple enough, I thought. So, I rose to the challenge and gave them a 'folk' version of the said tune - open string drones galore and even the odd roll for good measure. Grandmother and granddaughter both beaming with satisfaction, the elder of the two complimented my 'playing' and said, "You must have studied in the conservatory." Perhaps I should have strung her along.
LOL ! Ode to Joy, known round these parts as "Himno de la Alegría" or "a la Alegría",( not sure which) adopted as the European Anthem.
You should have E strung them along Dave.. There´s very little busking in Algorta. The occasional Roumanian duo or trio., but nothing approaching your quality - and anyone who knows spoon´s talents will know I´m not joking..
You would be surprised how often I am asked to play U2. Sometimes I even ask which song- but usually it doesn't really make a difference to the U2 lover.
Oh yeah... what really kills me:
It often happens on ceillis. Dancers come up to me and ask for a reel. I start playing a flute or a whistle... in 30 seconds dancers come back again: "So? Will you play it already?"
"Strange" or "special" requests made at sessions require that you ask yourself why the person is making the request. As some have mentioned, someone may be trying to see just "how good" you are. In that case, it's up to you whether you feel the need to prove it. Honestly, though, my response is usually tempered by how large a bill the person has in their hand. For a twenty, I will play the song from a toilet tissue commercial. The session is always thirsty.
The other day a chavy girl came up to us and asked for The Humours of Lissadel. I said to her that that was a strange request, remarkebly specific. She shrugged her shoulders and indicated that she didn't know what she was talking about. We played the tune though, no need for an excuse to play that cracker. Later on a mysterious round of drinks appeared from a quiet old boy in the corner. Chatting to him after, I found out he was from Lissadel, and he'd asked his granddaughter to do the request. We played it for him again
Speaking of the theme from Gilligan's Island, there are a lot of songs that you can sing to that melody. We used to do Amazing Grace to that tune with kids at church camp. Lots of fun bashing different tunes and words together.
Isn't there a tune that virtually all Emily Dickinson poems can be sung to?
Strange Requests
Strange Requests
The mention in the 'Deliverance' thread about instruments having a signature tune started me thinking about some of the odd (musical) requests I've had over the years from 'the Great Unwashed'. Dealing with drunken punters asking for odd pieces of music seems to be an art in itself. I'd love to hear how everyone here handles these things.
I often get requests for Duelling Banjos as well. My response is usually to say, "But I only have one banjo. You need two for a duel".
Other requests we get here in this part of Oz are things like:
Pipes – Theme from the movie Titanic
Mandolin – Duelling Banjos(!)
Fiddle – The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Duelling Banjos
Whistle – Lonesome Boatman
Box – Not sure about that one, maybe Duelling Banjos
Guitar – Stairway to Heaven, or more likely Fields of Athenrye, Dirty Old Town or something of that ilk.
I normally deal with these by saying "Yeah, no worries, mate," and playing something else. I usually get away with it.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by zookman2
Re: Strange Requests
"Yeah, no worries, mate". That's brilliant. I will be using that.
I get the duelling banjoes request when I am playing mandolin too. Crazy.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by timmy!
Re: Strange Requests
"Can you play Duelling Banjoes on that ukelele?" is one I've had when playing mandolin.
I take the coward's way out and point to the most aggressive musician and say, " Can't help yer mate - he's yer man for that one!"
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Bren
Re: Strange Requests
don't forget the whiskey in the jar requests.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by heth
Re: Strange Requests
oh and my friend got a request for mozart on the box once followed by a 20 bill on the table when he started to play the first few bars and an angry punter when he stopped
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by heth
Re: Strange Requests
A couple of years ago my band did the world's worst cover ever of mustang sally for a $100 tip. But the requester seemed happy with the results. Being in a bar band certainly has some colorful moments.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by timmy!
Re: Strange Requests
Last St Pat's I got a request for Good Night Irene. At school I constantly get asked if I can play "the Titanic song," aka that Celine Dion song that was really popular usually when I have a Whislte out. I also get Danny Boy a lot ad once I got asked to play Amazing Grace on my Gaita.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Why Bother?
Re: Strange Requests
"duelling banjos" - advice for thirsty banjo players - teach your guitarist the other part and never, ever pay for a drink again ................
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by teetotaller
Re: Strange Requests
We had "Can you play anything by Abba?" quickly followed by "Well then, can you play anything by Steps" at a gig the other night. There was me on fiddle and a guitarist, doing jigs, reels and stuff, and Irish songs. He was a big and fearsome fella, and came up close to us - very close - whilst we were actually in the middle of a song and yelled "You need to learn some more songs mate!" And all this in a predominantly Irish pub in Cheltenham in Race Week ...
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by benhall.1
Re: Strange Requests
We get a lot of requests but we tell them we’re going to keep playing anyway.
Peace,
Ed
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by ejsant
Re: Strange Requests
I got the rquest for Duelling Banjos but said I only knew Irish tunes (which was true) so he said "Then how about My Love is in America". I played that one.
Just yesterday some bodhran player kept asking me to play Captain Pugwash. I didn't mind though because I like that tune. Don't throw anything at me now!
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by 52Paddy
Re: Strange Requests
You get these poncey students from the local uni campus saying do you do any corrrrs ?
Yes here's one for you RUNAWAY !
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Strange Requests
I was at a session in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim this summer. At some point during the evening, a German visitor approached the musicians with a request for a song, of which she did not know the name. She sang us a snippet of a German version of what turned out to be The Wild Rover. The musicians used various excuses and escape tactics, such as, "No, I don't think I've heard that one before," and "Why don't you sing us your version?". Then one man, pointing towards the landlord, said, "You see that man over there? He sings it. But he never sings before midnight." The requestor was gone before midnight.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Strange Requests
Having played in bar bands most of my life, I've gotten many strange requests over the years. When the ubiquitous "Play Freebird!" request comes, we have a version we call "Stairway to Freebird" consisting of the first couple measures of the solo acoustic guitar Stairway intro immediately followed by the ending vocal "...and she's buying the stairway ...to.. Freebird... "
Playing with an Irish band, not only have I gotten the usual tin-pan-alley "When Irish Eyes...", "I'm Looking Over...", etc., but also "The Tennessee Waltz", "The Pennsylvania Polka", Sousa marches, Sinatra songs, "Girl From Ipanema", Vince Giraldi's "Linus and Lucy" from those Charlie Brown shows, etc. We will try almost anything except "American Pie" as it goes on for 8-some minutes and you lose your audience 2 minutes into it. We once three-peated "Wild Rover" for a drunk who dropped $75.00 in front of us to hear it for the third time.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by pbassnote
Re: Strange Requests
A few weeks ago I was at a pop concert and after the concert I had a conversation with the bass guitarist (very cute fellow actually
), and he was asking me if I played any music. Well I rushed to tell him yes, actually, I play Irish and Cape Breton music on the fiddle! I don't think he got it at all, because as soon as I told him that he asked, well do you know The Devil went down to Georgia? and I being a little tounge tied managed- yes. even though i have no freakin idea how it goes....but then he wanted to discuss it with me and he asked me, So who do you think won in the end? and now I'm thinking to myself, I'm in way over my head- how the hell am I soposed to know who "won"????? so i bluffed and said er, I think the devil won. which turned out to be the right answer because he was like, oh yes, defanantly- that's what I think too. thank god!!!!! 
btw, did the devil really win?
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by BE
Re: Strange Requests
If and when you do the Fields of Athenry, when you get to the verse, "Wherre we once watched the small, free birds fly" -- throw in the signature slide guitar riff from Freebird. It's easy to do on fiddle and actually fits quite nicely.
hottfiddler, I think the devil lost:
"The devil bowed his head
Because he knew that he'd been beat
And he laid that golden fiddle
On the ground at Johnny's feet."
(But personally, I like the Devil's solo a lot better than Johnny's.)
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by fidkid
Re: Strange Requests
When asked for "Duelling Banjoes" we usually make some comment such as "you have lovely lips" or another vague reference to the "sex" scene in the film. Works a charm.
As for some of the others, "Captain Pugwash" used to be part of our repetoire, on banjo, coupled I think with the "Japanese Hornpipe". We also sing "Goodnight Irene", a masterpiece by a genius.
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by bodhran bliss
Re: Strange Requests
Two girls at a dance - " Do you do that dance where you run from one end of the room to the other, and shout "HOI !" ? "
No, we didn't.
I do have this problem about The Fields....I won't do it, even if I knew it, which I don't. But I don't mind playing "Danny Boy"..curious, isn't it ?
# Posted on November 18th 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Strange Requests
oh. oops, hmph then why did he say he thought the devil had won???
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by BE
Re: Strange Requests
maybe he was just humoring me.
now that's a depressing thought...
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by BE
Re: Strange Requests
I was playing in a duo years ago and we were booked into a local pub the same night as the Australia versus New Zealand Rugby final. The management wanted us to play, even though they were showing the game on the big screen. So, there we were, Playing to the backs of all the footy fans. Finally , a huge Moari turned round and asked " Do you blokes do requests?" We answered yes and he then said "WILL YOU BOTH feck OFF?"
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by woops
Re: Strange Requests
Round our way we call it The Fields of Peckham Rye.
OK, that'll be lost on anyone not resident in SE London, sorry.
THey can be amusing some of these silly requests, but thankfully no-one here has really knocked our "punters" yet. It would be a fairly sterile session without an audience.
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by danny flute whistle box
Re: Strange Requests
No, hotfiddler he might not have been humoring you. If you can dig up a recording of the song, there are two fiddle breaks, one that is supposed to be the "devil's" solo, and one that's the mortal "Johhnny"s". The "devil's" is way cooler -- very sinister. The devil shoulda won.
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by fidkid
Re: Strange Requests
Hey spoon what is that wid ze germanz all over Lovely Leitrim I had a few come up to me one night in Desi's canal stop in Keshkerrigan saying "Monto Monto Monto Monto" Well I was shocked it took a foreigner to show any interest in the irish music at all
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Strange Requests
I saw a thing on youtube the other night with Johnny Cash singing a response to the Devil Went Down to Georgia and I think the devil actually won. I think.
The flipside of this weird request business for me was when a fella came to our session table the other night and asked if we knew The Musical Priest. The guitarist said "Why, is he a friend of yours?' The guy mumbled something about liking the 'B' part. Yeah right. We played it for him and he sat and listened with a faraway look in his eyes. Another satisfied customer!
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by zookman2
Re: Strange Requests
Quite often we've been asked for Riverdance. Once when we said we play traditional Irish music the reply came "It is traditional Irish Music".
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by Sugarfoot Jack
Re: Strange Requests
Yeah, the devil definitely loses, but so many people have argued with me that they think the devil plays better than Johnny. I try to explain that not only does the devil really only play trick and fancy kind of stuff, but he also has a band of demons backing him up. I think I'd sound great with a band of demons as well! All in all, Johnny IS the better fiddler.
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by irishfiddler32
Re: Strange Requests
On more than one occasion, while I was busking in Riga, Latvia, just me and my mandolin, I had requests from the local Jaunieši (yoof) for "something by The Prodigy". I'm not particularly familiar with the work of The Prodigy, but I know them well enough to know that they were not known for their solo mandolin pieces. Was it meant ironically? Were they testing me to see how good a musician I *really* was (they obviously didn't regard jigs and reels - at least, the way I played them - as real music)?
That also reminds me, this summer in Feakle, I was sitting in the back of a friend's van, when some local lads came by and asked "D'you know where there's some tunes?" We directed them to Pepper's Bar, to which they responded, "No, not trad. *Real* tunes, like."
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Strange Requests
This are all genuine requests -
Barnsley Punter: Gizaguontheeaccordionoralpanthee
(If you do not let me play your box, we will have an altrication)
Goldthorpe Punter: Playtharageananthazdeead
(A repeat of that tune may not be wise)
Punter: Can you play that tune that goes up at the start?
Punter: Do you do requests?
Band: Yes, what do you want?
Punter: Oh, anything.
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by geoffwright
Re: Strange Requests
Haha this isn't a request story, but the "stairway to freebird: commment reminded me of what my dad plays sometimes..."Stairway to Gilligan's Island". The Gilligan's Island theme song vocals fit perfectly with the beginning of Stairway to Heaven...
# Posted on November 19th 2006 by possumawesome
Re: Strange Requests
We often get a request for the very tune we just finished...
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: Strange Requests
Funny that, Greg. I've had exactly the same thing a couple of times, and in both cases they were songs. so it's not like they didn't recongnise the tune - the choruses are pretty distinctive!
And the Box requests are either 'Amazing Grace' or 'something Scottish' , even though mine's a button box not a piano accordion. Oh, and once 'something French' (go figure), so I just played 'the Rights of Man', which is the most French sounding thing I know. Funnily enough, he seemed very pleased with it, whereas 'Amazing Grace' got a puzzled look, even though all four of us were spot on since we'd been practising it the week before. Sometimes it's best not to dwell on the audience's reaction too deeply...
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by bc_box_player
Re: Strange Requests
You could kill two punters with one stone- combine "The Devil.." with "Sweet Georgia Brown"..
The Devil Went Down On Georgia Brown
No man made has got a shade
Lookin' for a soul to steal-
Two left feet, oh so neat,
And willin' to make a deal.
They all sigh and want to die
With a fiddler playin' it hot,
I'll tell you just why,
Boy, let me tell you just what!
It's been said she knocks 'em dead
But I'm a fiddler too-
Since she came, why it's a shame,
I'll make a bet with you.
Georgia claimed her, Georgia named her,
But give the Devil his due,
No gal made has got a shade,
And I think I'm better than you!
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by LastToFinish
Re: Strange Requests
Playing a weekly gig in a bar in Clapham, we used to get this old guy asking for "The Donegal Trout", every Sunday afternoon .
So each week, one of our Gan Ainm reels became the Donegal Trout.
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by RockyRoader
Re: Strange Requests
I couldn't resist it . . . two friends doing a pub gig yesterday, did some stuff on two hurdy-gurdies - I had to ask didn't I - can you play Duelling Banjos - I think we are still friends . . .
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by c.g.
Re: Strange Requests
When busking on fiddle in Algorta (Murfbox's neck of the woods), near Bilbao, back in June, I was asked by a woman to play "(****) de Alegria" for her granddaughter, who was learning the violin. My Spanish being minimal, I had to ask her to repeat the title, and I probably didn't know it anyway - and being a relative novice fiddler (What on Earth was I doing playing it in public, anyway?), would not have attempted anything I didn't know inside out. Then she hummed the first line and it turned out to be Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'. Simple enough, I thought. So, I rose to the challenge and gave them a 'folk' version of the said tune - open string drones galore and even the odd roll for good measure. Grandmother and granddaughter both beaming with satisfaction, the elder of the two complimented my 'playing' and said, "You must have studied in the conservatory." Perhaps I should have strung her along.
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Strange Requests
LOL ! Ode to Joy, known round these parts as "Himno de la Alegría" or "a la Alegría",( not sure which) adopted as the European Anthem.
You should have E strung them along Dave.. There´s very little busking in Algorta. The occasional Roumanian duo or trio., but nothing approaching your quality - and anyone who knows spoon´s talents will know I´m not joking..
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by murfbox
Re: Strange Requests
You would be surprised how often I am asked to play U2. Sometimes I even ask which song- but usually it doesn't really make a difference to the U2 lover.
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by kuba
Strange Requests
Oh yeah... what really kills me:
It often happens on ceillis. Dancers come up to me and ask for a reel. I start playing a flute or a whistle... in 30 seconds dancers come back again: "So? Will you play it already?"
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by kuba
Re: Strange Requests
"Himno de la Alegría"
That was it, Murf.
"nothing approaching your quality - and anyone who knows spoon´s talents will know I´m not joking.."
You haven't heard me play the fiddle. Whatever talent is displayed in my mandolin playing is more than made up for by my fiddle playing.
# Posted on November 20th 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Strange Requests
"Strange" or "special" requests made at sessions require that you ask yourself why the person is making the request. As some have mentioned, someone may be trying to see just "how good" you are. In that case, it's up to you whether you feel the need to prove it. Honestly, though, my response is usually tempered by how large a bill the person has in their hand. For a twenty, I will play the song from a toilet tissue commercial. The session is always thirsty.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Dave McGrath
Re: Strange Requests
The other day a chavy girl came up to us and asked for The Humours of Lissadel. I said to her that that was a strange request, remarkebly specific. She shrugged her shoulders and indicated that she didn't know what she was talking about. We played the tune though, no need for an excuse to play that cracker. Later on a mysterious round of drinks appeared from a quiet old boy in the corner. Chatting to him after, I found out he was from Lissadel, and he'd asked his granddaughter to do the request. We played it for him again
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: Strange Requests
Speaking of the theme from Gilligan's Island, there are a lot of songs that you can sing to that melody. We used to do Amazing Grace to that tune with kids at church camp. Lots of fun bashing different tunes and words together.
Isn't there a tune that virtually all Emily Dickinson poems can be sung to?
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by AlBrown