Session Man

I got to record a tin whistle track for The Jo Henley Band yesterday.  Thanks to Mark Bryant and Seasound Studios for thinking of me!  One of the things I wanted to do when I started playing tin whistle was get good enough so that people would think of me when they needed that something extra, something Irish.  And I'm no virtuoso, but someone at least thought I was good enough for one tune.  It was a good time.

I haven't been to a traditional Irish session in a while.  I need to get back to that.  Even though I'm not the regular whistle player for the Gobshites right now, I still want to keep up with it.  And trad sessions are a very important part of the learning process.  Nobody plays a traditional Irish tune the same way, and it's fun to get together and hear everyone's personal spin on an old jig or reel.

Some of the best musicians you'll never hear of show up at trad sessions.  A really good one gets everyone involved, whether it be playing an instrument, singing an old song, even reciting a poem, dancing, and of course the odd pint or two.  It's what they call The Craic.  You can't really define a good craic, but you know it when you see it.

Don't forget to come out to the Rock Your Irish event tonight in Clinton, if you're in the area.  And if you're in the range of WAAF-FM, we're going to be playing live on Bay State Rock at around midnight.

See you at the pub.