These are the original liner notes submitted by the bands: these notes appear in a shorter form on the CD itself.
This page last edited on July 31, 2007 and is maintained by Craig Johnson, please email him with any questions, comments or concerns.
Lee Anne Welch, fiddle
John Light, accordion
Rebecca King, piano
Contact Luceo at Luceo@jmlight.com.
Ray Bierl, fiddle
Kevin Carr, fiddle
Paul Kotapish, mandolin
Daniel Steinberg, keyboards, melodica
Contact the Hillbillies at http://HillbilliesFromMars.com.
Betsy Branch, fiddle
Bobbi Nikles, fiddle
Paul Kotapish, guitar, mandolin
Contact Bobbi Nikles at bobbinik@comcast.net
"Salamanca" is an Irish reel, "Tamlin" is a Scottish reel, and "Whiskey Before Breakfast" is an American hoedown.
Erik thought he wrote "Wee Hours Waltz" in February and March of 2000, when the idea took shape and got massaged into its current form. But listening to earlier "idea" tapes suggest that a good portion of the A part was an earlier but forgotten idea. Much of the tune was fleshed out in the wee hours of the morning, hence the name.
"Half Past Four" comes from the legendary blind fiddler Ed Haley, who traveled around eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia. We learned "Blackjack Grove" from the playing of two great Kentucky fiddlers, Walter McNew and Art Stamper.
Kathrine Gardner, fiddle
Jim Oakden, recorder, mandolin, and clarinet
Craig Johnson, piano
Email: guppies@thegups.com, webpage: www.thegups.com
"Scotch Cap" is an old modal tune from the 1st Edition of John Playford's The English Dancing Master (1651). The dance is done in 3-couple sets. The Guppies next take a couple of turns through "Boyne Water", which despite its Irish name they learned as a Southern tune. It's rarely recorded, but it's been in their repertoire since their beginning (1981). Finally, they finish off this vagabond set with a frailach (literally "joyful dance") from the klezmer tradition, squared up a bit (but not too much) for the contradance.
Chris Knepper, fiddle
Jack Gilder, flute
Junji Shirota, guitar
contact Jack Gilder at (415) 931-9192 or see their webpage at http://www.jps.net/jgilder/tipsy.html
"Dick Gossip", also known as "Girl Talk", and "Glass of Beer" are Irish Reels. "Pick of the Litter" (Knepper) was named by Jack, as a pun on Chris' antique business.
Ray Bierl, fiddle
Marty Cutler, banjo
Alan Senauke, guitar
Mary Gibbons, acoustic bass
Contact Ray Bierl at (510) 834-4756
The Earls' bluegrass tune is known in the Northwest as "Spotted Pony" but seems to have come there from Texas and Oklahoma where it's known as "Snowshoe". (You'd think it would be the other way around.)
"Mister Isaac's Maggot", which refers to a whim or fancy, is an English country dance tune, written in 1695.
Bobbi Nikles, fiddle
Charlie Hancock, accordion
Kyle Thayer, guitar
Contact Charlie Hancock at (510) 548-7337
Hudie Gallagher's, also spelled Hiudi Gallagher's, and The Orphan are both Irish jigs. Bobbi learned the latter from Kathleen Collins.
"Reel à Jules Verret", from the Verret family of Lac St-Charles, Québec, is normally played with an extra beat in the B part, which was removed so that contra dancers wouldn't trip in the middle of the dance. "Les Siamois" was composed by André Marchand, a wonderful guitarist and singer from Joliette, Québec.
Valentine's Waltz got its name by appearing in Dan Engle's head on St. Valentine's day in 1999. Since then it's become a much requested final waltz for Stump Tail Dog.
"The Night Cap" is from an English country dance from 1932, and "Bolt the Door" is for the dance "Jack's Health", Playford 1686.
"Crow Creek" is found on the record "Southern Clawhammer Banjo" (Kicking Mule) on a cut by David Winston and Brad Leftwich. Leftwich learned the tune from George Ainley, a good old-time fiddler from Vermont who used to get down to the southern fiddler's conventions back in the 1970s. "Salty River Reel" comes from the playing of Cyril Stinnett of Missouri.
"The Winds of Change" (Knepper) was named on the windiest day of the year. "Grapevine Breakdown" (Knepper) refers to a friend's brush with death when his brakes went out on the Grapevine on Hwy 5, and he had to drive onto an emergency sand ramp (he saw red glowing metal bouncing behind him, which was what was left of his brakes). "Knepper's #3" follows the equally wonderful reels #1 and #2, and is a testament to his continuing inability to find names for his tunes.
"Never Love Thee More", written in 1686, is not a waltz but an English country dance tune in 6/8 time.