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Katie the Fiddler's Off to Africa!
Katie, our fiddler, will be taking a leave from her studies in Environmental Studies at Utah State University and going to South Africa to work as a missionary for the next 18 months. Our last FiddleSticks concert with Katie for a year and a half will be this upcoming Sunday, February 19. Please come say farewell, enjoy the tunes, and give Katie a good send-off:
SALT LAKE CITY
Sunday, February 19, 7:30 pmFolk Vespers at the First Unitarian Church569 S. 1300 E. Salt Lake City
The Folk Vespers is an annual concert series that brings together local folk musicians and folk music fans at the lovely Unitarian Church on 13th East. Free admission, but donations to fund the series are welcome. This will be our Final Farewell Concert with Katie, since she’ll be heading to the MTC on February 22nd, and then off the South Africa. We hope to see lots of our Salt Lake City fans at the show!
It's a lovely setting -- the church is at the corner of 600 South and 1300 East in Salt Lake. Call 801-582-8687 for information.
Folk Vespers continues each Sunday evening through March. Other artists in the series will be (Feb. 26) award winning guitar player Dylan Schorer and award winning songwriter Charley Simmons. and (Mar. 5) Scott MacLeod, original songs, with Around the Bend, the one and only bluegrass group with a hammered dulcimer!
Katie hasn't packed yet, but she knows for sure she's taking her fiddle. Maybe she'll come home with a whole new sound! If you can't make the Vespers show on Sunday, you can email her your good wishes at Katie@..., or send her letters by snail mail to:
Sister Kathryn Louise Davis
Wandsbeck 3631
In case you hadn't heard, the new CD is out and on the shelves, and the reviews have been great! This is the best FiddleSticks CD ever! Imaginative, innovative, inspirational -- and lots of fun to listen to! It’s an exciting collection of new tunes and arrangements by Katie our fiddler and Liz our cellist, and takes the music to new heights.
Here’s how Katie and Liz have described the CD on the liner notes:
Katie & Liz Davis are sisters (hence the same last name.) Once upon a time, Katie was born with a fiddle in her hands, which proved less difficult than when Liz was born exactly two years later with a cello in hers. In the early nineties, the girls' mom Kira, a folk harpist, let them gig with her at Bar Mitzvahs and Renaissance Festivals in Maryland. What started out as a casual family hobby eventually grew up, moved to Utah, and named itself FiddleSticks. Lately, Katie and Liz have expanded their musical vocabulary to include more Old-time, Bluegrass, and Jazz influences, while still staying true to their Celtic roots. This album highlights the new techniques and ideas that we've been playing around with. We hope it fits your fancy. –– Liz & Katie
HOW TO ORDER:
To order send your check for $15 for each CD ordered, plus $2 per order, to FiddleSticks, 647 North 1280 East, Orem UT 84097 (800-969-7640). Or you can order via PayPal (use email address mdavisx@aol,com for payment). You can also order on our website with a credit card at www.fiddle-sticks.com/FSListen.html or at www.CDBaby.com/Fiddlesticks6, where you can also listen to samples of the tunes on the CD.
Here are the liner notes with info about the tunes.
1 _ Waddle Waltz (Liz and Katie Davis); Jenny Dang the Weaver (Traditional): Millie, the youngest member of our family, is one year old. She doesn't exactly walk--she waddles. We don’t know who Jenny Dang was or what she wove, but the reel’s pretty good, and it highlights Liz's mysterious cello chopping technique.
2 _ Little Maggie (Traditional): The fabled Little Maggie is a troublesome girl, and that really appeals to us. We learned this off of a Bob Dylan CD, but Bob didn't write it. You will hear the dulcet sounds of Jake Armerding's voice and mando in this tune.
3 _ Ha Ha (Liz and Katie Davis): This tune is a piece we wrote mushed with "My Darling I'm Fond of You" that we learned from our mom. If you listen carefully, you'll hear why we call this tune "Ha Ha."
4 _ O May (Liz Davis): Liz wrote O May while she was supposed to be taking notes in English class, one fine high school day. Liz's personal life did not inspire this song.
5 _ Jack Be Nimble (Liz and Katie Davis): Jack IS Nimble. But is he quick? Based on the many key changes you'll hear in this piece, we'd say, "yes."
6 _ Grandma Betty's (Katie Davis): Grandma Betty is the coolest. Katie wrote this when she was eleven. Ten years later, we STILL play it, with a little extra "chop."
7 _ The Aftermath of the Pumpkin Wars (Katie Davis): Katie thought this tune needed a weird name. As Magritte would say, ce n’est pas un titre. Cat is playing piano in mostly "Cape Breton" style. Cape Breton is nice small place up in Canada, where they make really really good music. Better than anywhere else.
8 _ Bonaparte's Retreat (Traditional): Bonaparte DID retreat, in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. And Civil War soldiers used to play this as a subtle death wish to the opposing side. Jake joins us for some hot mandolin riffs on this tune, too!
9 _ Xanny Boy (Liz Davis): Xanny Boy is our three year old brother who is full energy. He loves to sing and dance with us. Currently, he acts as our chief ukulele player.
10 _ Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier (Traditional): There are lots of versions of this song out there in Music World. We have recorded this tune before, in its more traditional Irish variation (called Shule Aroon) but in arranging this American version we’ve opted for a more jazzy feel.
11 _ Three Little Jiggies Went to Market (Traditional): Everyone needs an Irish jig set. These are Billy McCormick’s, the Connaughtman’s Rambles, and Calliope House.
12 _ Whole Lotta (Liz and Katie Davis): Liz wrote the chords to this beautiful song. The title of the tune is an abbreviation of a saying our mom used to recite, which will not be recited here. Our mother Kira passed away 8 years ago, but we try to keep her useful yet colorful sayings alive. For a list of some of these folksy aphorisms, look for the hidden link on our website.
The album features guest artists Cat Larsen on piano/guitar, Rob Honey on bass, and the trendy and fashionable Jake Armerding on mandolin and back-up (listen to his lilting voice on Little Maggie).
FiddleSticks is a family musical group that performs folk songs and traditional tunes from the Celtic lands, from England, and from America. The band is made up of three young sisters, Rebecca, Kathryn, and Elizabeth Davis, and their father Mark. Featured instruments include fiddle, flutes, cello, bodhran (Irish drum), guitar and vocals.
Speaking of which, FiddleSticks have seven recordings in print: The Sampler (1998), Playing Favorites (1999), Cold Fusion (2000), Time and Again (2001), the Cat and the Fiddle (2002), Return to Nauvoo (2004), and now Ampersand (2006), featuring Katie and Liz.
CDs are available at all performances, in Utah bookstores, online at www.fiddle-sticks.com, or by mail order ($15 for CDs, $5 for cassettes, plus $2 per order shipping and handling). Buy 2 CDs and get the TSSA compilation CD (or a FiddleSticks cassette) for free -- just ask! To order send your check to FiddleSticks, 647 North 1280 East, Orem UT 84097 (800-969-7640) (Check out our web page at www.fiddle-sticks.com)
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