Neo-Folk Romantique

It's June, the month of wine and roses, and I am listening to Sharon Knight play on her album Neofolk Romantique. A folk musician, cultural creative, and super cool redhead, Sharon's voice is the perfect accompaniment to a cloudy Saturday in Minnesota. Last night I saw her in concert with her talented guitarist and colaborator Winter. It was a rare treat and a feast for this folk music lover's soul. I had only heard a song or two by her before, but I knew I wanted to experience this minstrel live. Clearly, I was not disappointed. Her flaming red hair, her leather corset, her octave mandolin...yes, this is inspiration bold and beautiful. Her voice tells tales in a clear alto that lifts on fairy wings into a delicate soprano, making magic of the words. Whether she was playing traditional tunes or her own passionate and mystical songs, I was entranced by the magic she brings. Somehow she brings the line between old town pub and fairy forest together, in such a way that at the end of the night I felt like I had been in both.

Watching Sharon play her octave mandolin made me want to play my own instruments even more, and maybe take up the octave mando as well! Now I read on her website that she's a fan of Finnish Metal music, and that was definitely music to the ears of this Kantele playing zither enthusiast! While I'm not a huge fan of metal, the Finnish stuff definitely has that special vibe that has more in common with folk music than rock music. Sharon is a wonderful, friendly person as well, and this is her day job. So if you are reading this, you should definitely check out her website. Hard to describe, but her own bio sums it up pretty nicely:

Although her musical foundations are solidly built on her Celtic heritage, Sharon has never been one to hold fast to tradition, preferring instead to look to her roots for inspiration and then chart her own path.

That path often sounds less Celtic and more “Folktales that ran away with the Faeries at the turn of the century and took cover in an old trunk bound for the circus, which was then commandeered by pirates.” She likes it this way.

Play Date

Today my mountain dulcimer Mary Ann and I are hopping in my PT Cruiser to go play with my big brother. He plays the guitar, so we are going to have a jam practice together. My sweet Mary Ann turned one year old on April 19th, and I forgot to note it here in the blog. Actually, I forgot to note it in my life, but that's another story. I've had a very busy couple of weeks at work, and so all the home stuff was put on the back burner.

Now I'm ready to put more energy into things like my upcoming music party, hence the play date. We tried coordinating remotely, but my diatonic little lady needs face to face time with other instruments apparently. That's cool, as I love playing with others. This is the third year for my Spring Music Party, and I'm pretty excited about it. The RSVP's have been coming in, and there will be some very fine musicians and singers in attendance. Having musicians in the family is really awesome, and I'm going to take advantage of this perk more often. The family that plays together, stays together. I might just have to put that on a T-Shirt.

Sore Fingers

The problem with practicing mountain dulcimer immediately after doing dishes is that my fingertips have softened a bit after soaking in warm water. While I have managed to work up some callouses, I found my fingers a bit sensitive at the beginning of this nights practice. Sore fingers are common among musicians specializing in stringed instruments, and my first few days of practice were a little uncomfortable. It's the price we pay to get to know our instruments.

Today is the first day in over a week that I actually did practice. Avoiding housework except for necessary puttering to get through each day, I also successfully avoided building up a bank of time to practice. So tonight, even though I'm very, very tired, I cleaned a bit and practiced a bit. Because I was never blessed with discipline, I have to rely on my innate stubbornness to get me through my plan to have both a clean house and a well rehearsed list of songs in time for my music party. Sleep is what I need right now, so off I go, in the hopes that a cat or two will come tuck me in.