LAST NIGHT’S FUN

The Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay Newsletter;
December 2007

Dear Celtic Society members and friends,

Season’s greetings to all; I can but wish everything you wish for yourselves over the holidays & into the coming New Year. In this time of giving, The Celtic Society has a very special offer for our members. Should a member purchase tickets, make reservations or merely show up at the door for one of our concerts covered in this quarterly newsletter period, i.e. for Irish Christmas in America, for Jim Malcolm and/or Maeve Donnelly & Tony McManus, should you bring along a non-member guest (or guests), the non-members will be charged the Celtic Society discount price. Do therefore think about introducing some of your friends to the music you love so well. If the response warrants, The Celtic Society will certainly continue this policy.

Members of The Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay have made this quarterly newsletter, our monthly e-mail updates and our concerts possible. I am, as ever, much beholden to them for doing so and additional thanks to those members who receive the newsletter by e-mail only. If you’re not on our e-mail list, please consider doing so. There are a few concerts The Celtic Society is within a whisker of confirming & the monthly updates will give you your first look at these & other concerts whose information is received between the quarterly newsletters.

As always, we have our Free CDs Contest available only for Celtic Society members. (Membership information is on next page should you wish to join) If you make reservations for a concert at (408) 847-6982 or celtsoc@aol.com, (or if you’ve made reservations already, you’re instantly eligible) & you’re the lucky person requesting one of the free CDs, I’ll be happy to hand over your prize at the door on the night of the concert. Only one free CD per person for each issue of the newsletter, please. For the first callers or e-mailers for each of the following concerts, we have:

• For Irish Christmas in America we have teada’s latest, ‘Yesterday, Tomorrow.’
• For Jim Malcolm we have his All-Burns album, ‘Acquaintance.’
• For Maeve Donnelly & Tony McManus we’ve the new duo CD, ‘Flame on the Banks.’

The website for our friends at The Clifford-Hoban branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann is at www.folkplanet.com/cce.

An excellent website for local folk concerts is Kevin McCarthy’s, located at

www.icogitate.com/~celticfolkmusic/index.html

For Celtic events throughout Northern California, the best website is run by Jim Scarff at www.sfcelticmusic.com.

All items in this newsletter are listed free of charge. February 7th is the deadline for the December issue. E-mail items to celtsoc@aol.com or post to myself, Bob Breheny, at 3415 Dryden Ave., Gilroy, Ca. 95020 or phone me at (408) 847-6982.

The previous address is also where to send your check made out to The Celtic Society to renew or join The Celtic Society. Our membership rates are at the individual level of $13 for one year or $24 for 2 years. The family or household level rates, whereby everyone in the family or household receives concert discounts, are $22 for one year or $40 for 2 years.

RADIO

Celtic Music is heard weekly on the following public radio stations. Please keep in mind that without the great support of these stations that grace our area, none of our endeavors would be possible.

At KUSP, 88.9 fm in Santa Cruz, the Celtic program, ‘The Continental Drift,’ hosted by Cindy Odom, is on Saturday at the new time of from noon to 2pm. There is folk music programming on weekdays from 11am to 1pm. Please visit www.kusp.org for the full schedule.

At KZSC, 88.1 fm in Santa Cruz, there are excellent folk programs hosted by Jeff Emery on Sunday from noon to 2pm and Clytia Fuller on Friday from 9am to noon.

At KKUP, 91.5 fm in Santa Clara, Celtic Music may generally be heard in the first part of Peter Schwarz’s program on Thursday from 7am to 10am. Lisa Atkinson hosts a folk program on Tuesday from 10am to 1pm and Dave Stafford hosts a folk program on Friday from 3pm to 6pm with a focus on ‘live’ performances.

At KPIG, 107.5 fm in Watsonville, about the only time Celtic music may be heard is ‘live’ from guests on John Sandidge’s program ‘Please Stand By’ on Sundays from 10am to noon. Please note that Maeve Donnelly & Tony McManus are scheduled to be on Feb. 10th show.

SESSIONS

There are a number of free Celtic music sessions in the area where many of the outstanding local Celtic musicians perform in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in or merely to enjoy the music, since if a musician falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear, there won’t be a sound, and also the chance to meet other people with interests in all aspects of the rich Celtic culture.

Wednesday evening sessions in Santa Cruz, are held in private homes. To find out where, e-mail crooked.road@yahoo.com or call (408) 422-1463.

There is a session in Monterey on the 3rd Sunday of the month at Duffy’s Tavern, 282 High St. in Monterey beginning at 3pm. For info, call Marc at (831) 333-1493.

Irish sessions are held every Sunday, from 5pm to 8pm, at O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub, 25 San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose, alternately led by button accordionist John Lavelle & fiddler Art Friedman. O’Flaherty’s has also added a weekly Tuesday night session from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. The pub’s phone is (408) 947-8007 & website at www.oflahertyspub.com. For session info, contact Art at (650) 224-5604 or friedman_art@yahoo.com.

The Clifford-Hoban branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann sponsor sessions on the 2nd Sunday of the month at The Britannia Arms, 8017 Soquel Ave. in Aptos from 7pm to 9pm & a session on the 3rd Sunday of the month from 2pm to 4pm, at The Windmill Coffee Spot, 2-1231 East Cliff Dr. in Santa Cruz. For info, contact Tane at (831) 469-3710 or tachyon@tachyonlabs.com.

There are also CCE sponsored sessions on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7pm at homes in the Monterey area. For info, call Marc at (831) 333-1493

There are ‘Mostly Celtic Sessions’ on Tuesdays at CB Hannegan’s, 208 Bachman Ave. in Los Gatos which begin around 8pm and you can call (408) 395-1233 for info.

CELTIC MUSIC NIGHT

The marvelous Celtic music multi-instrumentalist David Brewer, from the popular band Molly’s Revenge, has organized a free Celtic Music night that is held every Tuesday at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 9850 Monroe Ave. in Aptos from 7pm to 8:30pm. The evening is for people interested in listening to & learning about the instruments in a casual, fun, friendly environment. Each week there will be a different presentation of the music with related history & cultural context, question & answer and free coaching for those interested in learning Celtic technique & tunes on an instrument. There will be also be an informal Celtic jam session with refreshments in the reception hall next door. Regions to be covered will include Ireland, Scotland, Cape Breton, Brittany, Galicia & Asturias. Instruments demonstrated will include Highland pipes, cauld wind pipes, uilleann pipes, whistles, Irish flute, mandolin, guitar & bodhran with special guests presenting fiddle, accordion & harp, as well as singing & dancing traditions. To see what the evening is like, visit www.myspace.com/saintandrewcelticmusicnight. For more info, contact David at (831) 239-0602 or visit one his websites at www.davidbrewermusic.com, www.david-brewer.com or www.myspace.com/davidbrewerceltic.

DANCE

Linda Preston teaches classes in Irish step dancing on Tuesday evenings at The International Academy of Dance in the Kirby School, 425 Encinal St. in Santa Cruz. Children’s class is from 6:30pm to 7:15pm. Adults/teens meet from 7pm to 8pm. For further info call (831) 438-7543.

TOURS

Ed Miller’s Annual Folksong Tour of Scotland takes place from June 14-25 2008. Since 2000, the acclaimed Scots singer & folklorist Ed Miller has been leading folk music-based tours of his homeland. If you have ever enjoyed Ed as a performer, imagine spending 11 days with him traveling Scotland as he shares his friends, country, music & knowledge with you ‘on location’ … Border ballads in a 16th century farmhouse, visiting sites that have inspired Brian McNeill’s great contemporary songs, dancing to the fiddle of Iain Fraser, sea songs in Pittenweem harbor, Gaelic songs from Margaret Bennett in Skye and the Highlands, Jim Malcolm’s songs of Perthshire… all these, plus the chance to explore the hills, shops, pubs & museums of Edinburgh, Fife, Perthshire & the Highlands are among the experiences that Ed brings you on his very personal tour. Full itinerary details, pricing & applications are at www.edmiller@songsofscotland.com or send your mailing address to edmiller@songsofscotland.com.

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