[JerRocks2day]

Just curious Icthus, I haven't asked you what fav. bands do you like other than the ones you've posted on this journal...

[ICTHUS]

Originally Posted by JerRocks2day

Just curious Icthus, I haven't asked you what fav. bands do you like other than the ones you've posted on this journal...

Hmm. In no particular order

- Flogging Molly
- Gaelic Storm
- Metallica
- Gob
- The Aggrolites
- Coheed and Cambria
- A local band (actually these guys go to my school) called the Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra
- Lúnasa
- Sinead O'Connor
- Sublime

As far as solo acts...

- Lasairfhiona (La-sar-ee-na) Ni Chonaola (Traditional Irish-Gaelic singer from Aran Island, Co. Galway, Ireland)
- Macdara O Conaola (Lasairfhiona's brother)
- Julie Fowlis (Scots Gaelic singer from North Uibhst, an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland)
- Michael McGoldrick, and people who have appeared with him on records.
- Bob Marley (+ The Wailers)

[JerRocks2day]

Cool thing that happened this March, is that my brother and his band "Turnpike South" were going to play an Irish gig to celebrate St. Patricks Day, and I think they did a Flogging Molly song.

[JerRocks2day]

Uh....you've said that already.

[ICTHUS]

Originally Posted by JerRocks2day

Uh....you've said that already.

Whoops. At one point I didn't see that it was posted, so I refreshed and posted it again.

[ICTHUS]

Oh, also, I forgot to mention The Decemberists, another band I like.

Appointment with Dr. Stovel went great.

I've been looking at Uillean pipes. The cheapest ones I can find are like $500, and they're made in Pakistan. Every reputable pipe-related site I can find on the internet says to avoid Pakistani-made bagpipes like the plague.

*edit* Wow...I found a pipe maker in New York that don't sell their pipes for like 4 grand.

http://www.harpanddragon.com/uilleann.htm - starter set with blackwood chanter is about $475, which is fairly reasonable compared to other pipe-makers I've seen.

Current Music: Planxty - "The Humours of Ballyloughlin" (Link is someone playing this jig on the Uillean pipes, it's not Planxty though)

[ICTHUS]

Regarding what we talked about on the phone, Aaron - (actually everyone else, I commend this music to you as well):

Julie Fowlis - vocalist, fiddler, whistle player, and piper from North Uibhst, in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Her voice is nothing short of..angelic. She sings entirely in Gadhlig (Scottish Gaelic), except on her Myspace you'll find a song called "An Cailin Rua" which is actually in Irish (as Gaelige na h-Eireann) , not Scots Gaelic (Gadhlig na h-Alba). She speaks both, though, I think, as her husband, Eamon Doorley is Irish and a native speaker of an Gaelige.

http://www.myspace.com/juliefowlis
www.juliefowlis.com

Favorite vocal song of hers is probably a tie between "Biodh an Deoch Seo 'n Làimh Mo Rùin" (the person being interviewed in that video is Jenna Reid, a fiddler from Shetland) and "Oganaich Uir a Rinn M'Fhagail" on Mar a Tha mo Cridhe, and "An t-Aparan Goirid 'S An t-Aparan Ùr: Òran Do Sheasaidh Bhaile Raghnaill", "Oran Nan Raiders" and one of her instrumental tracks, "Strathspey & Reels".Lyrics are here. Those two videos are from the Transatlantic Sessions, which is basically a gathering of some of the best musicians from Ireland, Scotland, and Nashville to get together and jam. From those sessions come the only song I've ever heard Julie sing as Beurla ('in English', in Scots Gaelic), The Blackest Crow.

I really commend both her albums to you. I'm actually thinking of trying to learn to sing "Oran Nan Raiders" for a session I go to sometimes at a local pub. I also sang this song, "Baidin Fheilimi" a few weeks back. It's pretty repetitive, so it's easy to remember. Except I think I messed up the chorus and sang "baidin deontach" twice.

I'd also kind of like to sing "Oro se to beatha 'bhaile", which is an old Irish Republican battle song that dates back to the War of Independence. I've been singing this one riding around on my bike a lot, especially this verse since it's all I can remember:

Grainne Mhaol ag teacht thar saile,
Grainne Mhaol (Grace O'Malley) is coming over the sea
Oglaigh armtha lei mar gharda;
Armed youth as her guard
Gaeil iad fein 's ni Gaill na Spainnigh,
Irishmen (lit. Gaels) they are, not Frenchmen or Spanish!
'S cuirfid siad ruaig ar Ghallaibh.
To chase away the foreigners!

The song goes on to mention Grace O'Malley again,

A bhui le Ri na bhfeart go bhfeiceam,
May it please the God of Miracles that we may see.
Muna mbeam beo 'na dhiaidh ach seachtain,
Although we only live a week afterwards
Grainne Mhaol agus mile gaiscioch
Grace O'Malley and a thousand men at arms.
Ag fogairt fain ar Ghallaibh.
Dispersing the foreigners

Also...Breton music..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC6ejVXSVPI - clip of a Fest Noz (Night festival, similar to a ceili/ceilidh in Ireland or Scotland)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw_Eu...eature=related

What I like about that clip is how the musicians are standing within the circle of dancers. From what I understand this is pretty typical of Breton dances. I think this is what could be considered an An Dro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE_Ii...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sNT-...eature=related

Oh, also, a couple more Irish speaking artists to check out:

Lasairfhiona ni Chaonola http://www.myspace.com/lasairfhiona
Macdara O'Chaonola (Lasairfhiona's brother) http://www.myspace.com/macdaramusic

Lasairfhiona and Macdara grew up on Aran Island, which is a small island off the coast of an Chontae Gallaimhe (County Galway) where the primary language is still Irish and English is in the minority.

[Demon_Hunter]

Originally Posted by ICTHUS

Oh, also, I forgot to mention The Decemberists, another band I like.

Appointment with Dr. Stovel went great.

I've been looking at Uillean pipes. The cheapest ones I can find are like $500, and they're made in Pakistan. Every reputable pipe-related site I can find on the internet says to avoid Pakistani-made bagpipes like the plague.

*edit* Wow...I found a pipe maker in New York that don't sell their pipes for like 4 grand.

http://www.harpanddragon.com/uilleann.htm - starter set with blackwood chanter is about $475, which is fairly reasonable compared to other pipe-makers I've seen.

Current Music: Planxty - "The Humours of Ballyloughlin" (Link is someone playing this jig on the Uillean pipes, it's not Planxty though)

You sir, have good musical tastes.

Oh, and welcome back to CGR. I did infact miss you around here.

[ICTHUS]

Thanks! It's good to know I was a missed part of this community.

Demon Hunter, did you check out any of the other music I linked to in the above post? What did you think of the Gaelic stuff?

------------------

After a chat with Aaron, I have...a lot to consider.

I'll post more later once I'm more awake.

[ICTHUS]

OMG my roommate (Melissa) is awesome.

Originally Posted by Melissa's email

hi ryan
how are you today?
/edited out personal stuff about herself/
How are you?
Remember too get yourself out for a bike ride if you have time this morning.
nothing like good ol'
exercise to boost those seratonin levels.
have a good day.
melissa

I think we're going to see "Dark Knight" tonight. We were going to go last night but I wasn't feeling well.

I never got along this well with Josh, my old roomie. It's weird, I guess the personalities of the people in this house are just magnetic enough to draw me out of my room to socialize. Ethan is a really chill Fine Arts grad student who is almost never here. Melissa is just kind of random and fun to talk to most of the time. Joel and Richard who live downstairs are really hardcore into home brewing. And Christine, who also lives downstairs...I have no idea. She's never home and I've never seen her cook a meal in this house before. It's mostly Melissa, Ethan, and Joel I socialize with.

Also, there've been random people over for the last several days I lost track of who lives here and who doesn't. :/

--------------------------------------------

In other news.. I just made the most amazing bison korma. It's simmering out on the stove soaking up some of the sauce.

Basically: coconut milk, yogurt, coriander seeds, cardamom powder, whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, bay leaves, curry powder, and about a tablespoon of peanut butter. And about a pound of bison, chunked for stewing and seared.

[Demon_Hunter]

Originally Posted by ICTHUS

Thanks! It's good to know I was a missed part of this community.

Demon Hunter, did you check out any of the other music I linked to in the above post? What did you think of the Gaelic stuff?

------------------

After a chat with Aaron, I have...a lot to consider.

I'll post more later once I'm more awake.

I didnt get a chance last night, or this morning. But im going to check it out right now. In general, i like celtic music, and other music of that nature. And since I wear a kilt, I kind of have to, now dont I.

[ICTHUS]

Originally Posted by Demon_Hunter

I didnt get a chance last night, or this morning. But im going to check it out right now. In general, i like celtic music, and other music of that nature. And since I wear a kilt, I kind of have to, now dont I.

Interesting thing I found the other day...

Julie Fowlis sings, in "Oran Nan Raiders"

Chruinnich iad is fhuair iad pìob
They gathered together and found a set of bagpipes
'S am port a chluich iad Morair Sìm
The tune they played was Morair Sim
'S cha robh fear a bha san sgìr'
And there wasn't a man in the district
Nach robh cruinn aig roinn an fhearainn
Who wasn't present at the division of the land
O, 's ann tha na diùlnaich thall
O, what heroes there are..

Well, I found a Midi file of Morair Sim.

http://users.telenet.be/scottischkil.../morairsim.mid

Now go read the lyrics of "Oran Nan Raiders" again, and get a mental image of what's going on in that song, and imagine a bunch of royally pissed off Scotsmen who've come back from the first world war only to find out that (then UK Prime Minister) Lloyd George has reneged on his promise to give them land...and imagine them marching to try to take that land by force, playing that tune on a set of Highland Bagpipes.

*edit* I learned to type fadas (the accents on Irish vowels that represent long vowels, being that vowel length is a distinctive feature in Irish) now!

Dia is dhuit! Conas tá tú? (God to you! How are you?)
Dia is Mhuire dhuit! Tá mé go hiontach! (God and Mary to you! I'm doing wonderful!)

[Demon_Hunter]

Im gonna have to youtube that song (morair sim) and see what I get.

It is an interesting mental picture.



Ryan, how have you been today?

Also, are you into metal?
If so... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7MYC...eature=related

The new stuff.

[Demon_Hunter]

Originally Posted by ICTHUS

BC is incredible. I love it. I'll be sure to post pictures of the ocean view from the front window of this house (another reason why I don't want to leave). You can see the Olympic mountains over in WA on a clear day, from here. It's absolutely beautiful. The winters can get kind of depressing particularly if you live in Vancouver, since it rains constantly (Vancouver is up against a small mountain range, so all the clouds get trapped against the windward side of the mountains and dump their lovely precipitation on the good denizens of Vancouver)

Sounds like the kind of place I would want to live. I love cloudy, overcast, rainy winters. Then again, i love cloudy, overcast, rainy weather all year round.

[Ted Logan]

Ryan, thanks for posting the stuff you mentioned the other day! I'll give you my reactions soon.