Monday, April 13, 2009

Fun One at the Mill

We had a packed house at the Mill tonight. We had visitors from all over the world. We had Martin from Sweden taping. Alison and her friends from Scotland fiddling.

No Wayne, no banjo for a long time until PJ showed up (beckoned, as I understand it). Timmy Mills showed up about the same time.

Don't y'all forget- another Side Door on Saturday night.

We're expecting:
Lucinda and Jon Piro
Tim Pak and Andrea Marshall
The Java Brothers
and American Roots


Good times!

2 comments:

Wayne said...

I thought about everyone. Wish I coulda been there. Where was young Jason? Some nights we are banjo rich, and then tonight, you have to call on somebody? What's the world coming too?

I'll be around for a condensed version next week.

See ya Sat at the Door....

Ralph said...

Banjos? We don't need no stinking banjos!

Yep, for the longest time, we were the fiddle (and mandolin) jam last night. Remember those nights when we've had six banjoists? Last night wasn't one of 'em.

For a little while we were nothing but fiddles (3) and guitars (many) and bass. Dale and Kendall provided most of the vocalizing. Then, Chris and Brian showed up relatively early. Brian put the call out to Philip J. George, who lugged banjo and fiddle. Pretty soon, we had a great jam going. Tim and Curtis Thornton sang a couple. Everybody contributed terrific stuff. The place was packed, PACKED.

The highlight was when we were led down the Celtic fiddle path by Alison McNeil, who's in town with her fellow Scots Annie and Dorcas for a concert of singing and Scottish harp Wednesday night.

She played medleys of tunes with names like The Drunken Piper, Bayou Fiddler and The Knees of Edinburgh -- Chris, Dale, Brian and Doug did a great job finding the rhythms and progressions of these relatively simple tunes. The place went bonkers.

(One of the above fiddle tunes is a name I made up. Can you guess which? Answer below.)

The Swedes are in town for an April 16 commemoration, right, Chris? We had more photos and videos taken of us than Charlize Theron on the red carpet at the Oscars. Anyway, just another night in good ol' cosmopolitan Radford. Naturally, I forgot to bring my guest book. Ack!!! Figures.

(The made-up fiddle tune is "Knees of Edinburgh." The JBs now have to compose such a song.)