In 1995 I spent a month or so in Munich with some Irish friends. At that time the Deutsche Mark exchange rate was very favourable to those using the pound and the punt and a fair few Irish students would head to Bavaria for the summer to work in the car factories and the beer festivals. I tagged along and managed to get some work at the world famous Oktoberfest, feeding Maßkrüge (litre beer glasses) into a glass cleaning machine in the kitchen of one of the smaller ‘tents’, the exclusive Käfer’s Wies’n-Schänke.
My Tunes: Jeannie Oban
My Tunes: Ruaraidh’s Hornpipe
Over the coming months I’m going to attempt to transcribe, record and post many of the tunes that I have composed. I started writing tunes pretty early in my traditional music ‘career’. I was travelling around a fair bit and didn’t have access to recordings or notation so I just made tunes up. I’ll try and post them in chronological order but I don’t remember all the dates of composition so will have to guess some.
Old-Time Tune: Barlow Knife
I’ve had this tune floating around my head for a number of years now, one of those tunes that you can hum but never get round to learning. Well, I though it was time to put that right.
I think I first heard Barlow Knife when hanging around with a bunch of old-time musicians from Wisconsin one long musical weekend in Sligo back in the mid 90’s but the memory is hazy so I can’t be certain. Four Men and a Dog recorded a more Irishy version of it but it’s the old-time versions that I like best. I got most of this version from an early 70s recording by The Fuzzy Mountain String Band with a few tweaks of my own to suit my mandolin playing.
Spaghetti Con Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino
During a recent visit to our new house by the lovely sisters Jessica and Georgia Wolfson I prepared what is probably the most regularly eaten pasta dish in our house. Jessica subsequently asked me for the recipe. As a very simple recipe I thought it would take just a minute to write down but soon realised that there are more to these Italian recipes than initially meets the eye (or taste buds). I love Italian cooking and it’s the combination of simple recipes, quality ingredients and attention to detail that makes it my favourite cuisine.
Garam Masala Recipe
I used the last of my home-made garam masala in my recent recipe, lamb curry, so have just finished a new batch. I don’t normally measure the quantities but I did this time so I could share the recipe. I have no idea if this is remotely authentic but I do know that it tastes good.
Lamb Curry Recipe
I don’t usually follow recipes for my Indian main dishes. This one turned out so tasty I thought I should write it down.
Our First Film: Out Of Milk
A few months ago, when my two wee boys had a day off school, Fiona left for work when the three of us were still lazing about in bed. She lay a video camera on the end of the bed and said, “I want you to make a film by the time I get home.” I think she was expecting something short and rough but we decided to do the job properly. Below is the result… enjoy!
Old-Time Tune: Roscoe’s Gone – Updated
I’ve been playing the tune i posted yesterday for a day now. The more i play it the more I love it! As with most tunes it has started to change to suit my fingers so here is an updated version which is closer to the way I am now playing it.
Old-Time Tune: Roscoe’s Gone
Here is my approximation of an old-time fiddle tune I heard yesterday on an album by American group The Stairwell Sisters. I couldn’t find it online so I just transcribed it myself. Apparently it was written by someone called Hank Bradley on the passing of an old fiddle player called Roscoe Parish. I love the 2/4 bar at the end of each part… really pushes it along.