Fiddle player from Olympia Washington.
I started playing after visiting Ireland in 1975 and hearing a band called Stocktons Wing in Sligo. I had played classical as a child, still had my fiddle, so when I came back, I started to play it again. I started lessons with Frank Ferrel, who was in Seattle at the time and began to play with the local CCE chapter. I was very fortunate to be in Seattle at this time because Dale Russ was also here and played regularly with us. I still listen to recordings I made of Dale playing in those days and continue to learn the tunes.
In 1978, armed with a few tunes, I went back to Sligo where I met Joe O'Dowd. Joe was in his mid 60's then and had just retired. He played somewhere almost every night and I followed him where ever he went for about a month. He was a wonderful person, incredibly generous with his time, and a great inspiration for me.
I came back to Seattle and met the piper Denis Brooks, who had just moved there from San Fransisco. Denis and I played together for several years (until he moved back to Cork). I think his playing has had the strongest influence on my style and I'm still drawn to the music from the Sliabh Luachra.
I originally went to Ireland to visit Yeats country and see all the places he had written about. I had no idea there was a thing called Irish Traditional Music. I'm glad I did because it has had a huge impact on my life.
Tunes in John Culhane's tunebook: 16
| The Joy of Time and a Re-Haired Bow | June 20th 2008 |
| The Sliding Sound of Guitarists Changing Chords | March 2nd 2006 |
| The tunes you don't hear very often | December 5th 2005 |
| Stories About St. Patrick's Day Gigs | March 11th 2005 |
| Discussions | Re: where to go in county Cork and county Kerry | September 5th 2008 |
| Discussions | Re: My flute sounds like... | August 11th 2008 |
| Discussions | Re: Why? ~ How not to play "The Butterfly" | August 8th 2008 |
| Discussions | Re: "Complete" position and good tunes on the fiddle... | August 5th 2008 |
| Discussions | Re: "Complete" position and good tunes on the fiddle... | August 5th 2008 |
| Name | Type | Key |
|---|---|---|
| The Bridge Of Athlone | hornpipe | Gminor |
| Gan Ainm | jig | Dmajor |
| The Humours Of Castlelyons | jig | Eminor |
| Saint Patrick's Cathedral | polka | Dmajor |
| Mrs Ryan's | polka | Gmajor |
| Boil The Breakfast Early | reel | Gmajor |
| The Shoemaker's Daughter | reel | Gmajor |
| Andy McGann's | reel | Cmajor |
| Sean Ryan's | reel | Gdorian |
| The Two Birds In The Bush | reel | Adorian |
| Fahey's | reel | Cmajor |
| Paddy Fahey's | reel | Gmixolydian |
| Finbarr Dwyer's | reel | Dmixolydian |
| Father Burke's | slip jig | Gmajor |
| Miss Wharton Duff | strathspey | Cdorian |
| The Manitoba | waltz | Eminor |