New Tunes

Every so often, when I sit down to practice, an interesting snippet of melody or chord progression emerges out of my ramblings and entices me to spend some time developing it. As a result I've written a lot of tunes, some of which are actually worth playing. In early 2007 I published a collection of my original tunes called A is for Avocado.

Since then I've continued to write tunes, and I've been meaning to post some of the new ones. Now I'm finally getting a chance to do so. Here are five that I hope you will enjoy.

• Warren's Favorite: This jig in A is dedicated to Warren Argo. Written July, 2008.
• The Adirondack: This reel in A appears on the Elixir CD. Written in 2007.
• West Street: A reel in F named after my house in Brattleboro. Written in October, 2008.
• Hemlock Jig: a jig in G, written summer 2008.
• Pine Street Homestead: a birthday waltz for Ruth Hazzard in the key of G, written November 2009.

Elixir tour! (and free CDs...)

Elixir will be in New England this coming weekend, wearing snazzy hats and rocking out with some brassy music for your contra dancing pleasure. We've got a free copy of our CD for anyone crazy enough to come to all four dances; check in with us at the Brown dance if that sounds like you. Here's the schedule:

• 2/20: Brown University Contra Dance
• 2/21: Greenfield Contra Dance
  (my new 3rd Saturday series)
• 2/22: Brattleboro Contra Dance
• 2/23: Concord Contra Dance

For more info about Elixir, to listen to samples of our music, and to look at pictures of our pretty faces, visit the Elixir web site. See you on the dance floor!

new fiddle

I have a brand new fiddle! I'm now playing a handmade violin built in Antrim, NH by fiddler and violin-maker Rodney Miller in 2006 based on a Guarneri design from the 1700s. The instrument has a rich tone, is very even across it's range, and is wonderfully responsive. It projects well and blends nicely with other instruments (especially clarinet).

I also have a new bow, made by Roger Treat in Putney VT. The bow has excellent balance and nimble articulation, and complements the new violin nicely. Thanks to both Roger and Rodney for their amazing craftsmanship, and for making it so much more fun for me to play music!

Now...when you have a new fiddle it's critical to make sure that it sounds good with your brother's new flugelhorn. After extensive flugelhorn-fiddle duet testing yesterday, I'm glad to report that both new instruments passed with flying colors. You can hear for yourself at an Elixir gig sometime soon...

New 3rd Saturday series in Greenfield

I'm excited to announce that I will be taking over organizing the 3rd Saturday contra dance series at the Guiding Star Grange in Greenfield, MA, beginning on January 17, 2009. The series will feature tremendously awesome bands that you don't get to hear very often in Greenfield, along with the very best callers around. 3rd Saturdays at the Grange will be a friendly, exciting and welcoming place to dance - a thriving scene for experienced dancers and an inviting place for beginners to give contra dancing a try.

Here's a little preview of the 2009 lineup:

• January 17: George Marshall, Green Street
• February 21: Nils Fredland, Elixir
• March 21: Lisa Greenleaf, Nightingale
• April 18: Rebecca Lay, Firetruck (Ethan, Anna Patton, Karen Axelrod, Garrett Sawyer)
• May 16: Steve Zakon-Anderson, Magic Foot
• June 20: Adina Gordon, The Figments

For a complete up-to-date schedule check out the events page on the Grange web site. If you want to spread the word, here's a 3rd Saturday poster. See you at the dance!

Welcome to the new web site

Welcome, everyone, to my newly updated web site. This revision has been a long time coming; I started working on it last December, but a few other projects got in the way. Since then I've played on and helped produce three CDs (Peter Siegel's Living in Rome, Anna Patton's Isadore's Breakfast and Elixir's Super Tonic), started a job at CDSS, helped organize a dance weekend, and played a ton of gigs. Oh, and bought a house. My apologies to anyone who has tried to find out where I'm playing or get a copy of the newest CD from the old web site. The updated site has a new look, new merchandise, and an up-to-date calendar. Enjoy! And .