Kicking Off a New Season of Music, June 9, 2013

The inaugural 2013 Edgartown Irish trad session was lovely altogether. Looking forward to many more where this came from.

House Session at Liam's

Over the weekend I found myself in yet another never-before-visited Massachusetts town: Dracut, for a house session at Liam's (I had also never been to Salem until a couple of weeks ago). Great music, and especially wonderful to have some of the old gang assembled; also a pleasure to meet a couple of fine local musicians. I've said it a hundred times but is worth saying again: I love the connective aspect of this music, the way any group of Irish trad musicians can sit down and instantly play together as if they've known each other forever. Love it. Thank you, Liam and Kitty.


Corwyn, Liam, David, Ben, and Eamon


David, Ben and Eamon

David


David and Ben


David


Eamon


The lovely Miss Flora








Eamon and Flora


Liam and David


Corwyn


Liam


David



Eamon and Sue



Liam, Flora, and Nesta



Corwyn and David


Corwyn


Corwyn and David


Corwyn and David


Sara's fiddle


Liam and David


Ben

More Porch Magic

Edgartown Porch Session, August 13, 2011 from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.

Another magical Saturday night in Edgartown, featuring top-notch music, a steady stream of friends - including a healthy dose of townies, as well as many happy passersby, with special guests, Jose - from Bolivia, making a return visit with his charango; Eric, down from Boston; and Irene, who regaled us with a few more stories and songs from her childhood in Ireland. Thanks, everyone - especially the stalwarts, David, Bob, and Susie, for helping me to fill my home - indeed, the whole neighborhood - with music and making these sessions and the summer of 2011 truly wonderful.

Irene Max Introduces The Lonely Woods of Upton from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.

Irene Max Sings The Lonely Woods of Upton from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.

Porch Session, August 6, 2011

Edgartown Porch Session, August 6, 2011 from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.

Dual whistling by David and Chris; backed by Bob. A wonderful Saturday night in Edgartown, with many people stopping by the porch - friends and strangers alike.

Thanks, especially, to Chris for coming all the way down from Boston, and to Irene - from Derry - who graced us with stories and songs from Ireland.

Fourth of July Porch Session

The Alison Boylston Piazza House, a/k/a the Midnight Mermaid.


I've begun what I hope will become a Fourth of July tradition: a barbecue on the front lawn along with music on the porch (videos at the end). My Main Street house is right on the parade route, in the center of the celebrations - which includes the parade that begins at 5:00, topped off with fireworks over the nearby harbor - so is a perfect place for a session. This brings to full circle a story that was referred to often in my childhood. According to a Vineyard Gazette piece that appeared in a May 1948 issue, my Main Street house was moved from Ocean Heights in 1848, being rolled into town on logs by oxen (imagine the house being pulled forward a few feet, with the men then removing the rear-most log and placing it the front row - over and over for three miles down a dirt road). As the story is told, that particular May day culminated with a rare spring snow storm (records of which I've never been able to find), and as was the custom of the day, with a pot-luck feast, replete with fiddlers.







A couple of the lads, fresh back from the beach.



Cormac and Bob.



Cormac



David



David, Levi, Cormac, and Bob.



Levi, Cormac, and Bob.



Levi and Cormac.



Levi, Cormac, and Bob.



Susie and David



Levi, Cormac, Bob, and David.



Fourth of July Porch Session from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.
Footage from our inaugural Alison Boylston Piazza House/Midnight Mermaid porch session, July 4, 2011. Great tunes, great friends, great craic!


Fourth of July Porch Session 2 from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.
The Bucks of Oranmore with Levi, Cormac, Bob, Susie, and David.

This was a great day - from swimming at Bend in the Road, to the parade, the BBQ, and great music - all topped off with spectacular fireworks over Edgartown Harbor.

Umbrella Musings

A few weeks ago I floated over to Tommy Doyle's in a torrent of rain. By evening's end, the rain had stopped, and it wasn't until I got back home that I realized I had forgotten my umbrella at the pub. I called Liam, who said - even before I could say hello - "Eric's got your umbrella."

I did see Eric a couple more times since that night, but I never did reconnect with that umbrella. Oh well, it probably cost me all of $5.00, and the only time I ever thought about it was when it rained (which has been a lot this month, actually). I figured it would become one of those things where I would think about Eric and the umbrella every time it rained and it would remain a conversation opener for a period of time until the memory of that particular umbrella (but never you, Eric!) faded into oblivion and I eventually remembered to pick up a new one.

But I received a text from David yesterday, on his way to the island from New York (apparently via Boston), which said, "....I've got your umbrella."

Okay, I've said it before: it's not just the great music. It's this ineffable feeling of family; of being connected to an amazing community of people who care about each other's comings and goings, life-cycle events (baby yet, Liam?), concerns, and yes, even umbrellas.

West Tisbury, January 19, 2011

I love the large, rollicking session, but also appreciate a one-on-one when the opportunity arises. On Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of meeting up with David for a few tunes on the island. The beauty of one-on-one, of course, is that there is time to take a tune apart and work stuff out slowly. Also, David has a very good grasp of the music and gave me some very good pointers.



Hector the Hero









Lovely mandolin, a great find by David's mom, Susie.  I suspect that I will end up with a mandolin someday. It would be so sweet to find a treasure like this one in a thrift shop or yard sale somewhere.

Thursday at Tommy Doyle's, 1/6/11

My fourth night out in a row. Not bad for this grandma. A good circle of musicians tonight, though we are missing Sean, who is in Ireland at the moment. (And I wonder if he's at some pub in Ireland, thinking of us and singing, "Missing you, all for the price of a flight.") Also, Cormac and Alex have not yet returned from their travels abroad. Still, for a cold January night, there was a good crowd - a nice mix of regulars, folks who knew each other from other venues, and folks meeting for the first time. Good to have David back among us, as well.

All shot with G12 on Low Light setting, mostly at ISO 3200, though a couple were shot at 6400. 






Jon, David, Liam, Chris.






Jon, David, Liam.And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg CountyDown by the Green River where Paradise layWell, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away.From John Prine's Paradise.



Clockwise, from top, center: David, Liam, Chris, Wynter, Rosanne, Ben, Levi, Eric, Jon.


Rosanne