OTHERLANDS COLLABORATION # 11
Location: Roslin, Scotland • Date: Dec. 19, 2019
I'm pretty sure that Éamonn and I met at Celtic Connections on my first trip to Scotland many years ago. He would have been playing with Salsa Celtica and I was playing with Alison Brown. We shared tunes for sure. We saw each other up at the Shetland Folk Festival a few years later, and have also shared a few gigs together with Alison.
*To learn more about Éamonn and his projects, please visit: www.eamonncoyne.com
When my family was headed to Ireland, I checked in with Éamonn to see if he would be around, thinking that he might be living there. He actually was on tour in the country at the same time as us, but path’s never crossed. And then a stroke of luck—I learned that he lived outside Edinburgh, Scotland. One month later, I rang him the day we arrived to Glasgow, and he had just one day open before the holidays...and it was the very next day. His younger son was home from school with a holiday cold, but if we could work around him, we had a date. Through a combination of train, bus, and foot I was at his front door by late morning.
After catching up for a bit, we mused about what an Irish banjo player and American fiddler should play in Scotland. Éamonn said there's a tune that's been in his head lately—from a group called Swåp, formed by two Britons and two Swedes. Could it be a fit for us? Seemed like a perfectly logical fit to me. And it could jumpstart my Swedish repertoire for when I'm there next spring.
He admitted that he's playing it faster than the original recording, and in the key of G instead of D, finding that both adjustments suited the tenor banjo better. And, he thought we just might want to check the original for melody accuracy. This took us into a conversation about how melodies of traditional tunes passed aurally must have changed like a game of telephone over the years as they are transferred from person and tradition. In contrast, for contemporary tunes which we have written or recorded record of, we can find out what the intended melody of the composer is. But even those morph over time as others play them and add their own style (or change key and tempo…ahem).
Sitting around his kitchen island, I scribbled down a few melody fragments and he adjusted a few notes in his melody. With the extra range available on my 5-string fiddle, I was able to transpose to the key of G easily, and it really suited my instrument. The melody and tempo of the tune was so pleasing that we debated whether or not to add more tunes for a medley—as is common for Irish or Scottish music. In the end, we decided, since nothing is normal about this collaboration (Irish and American musicians in Scotland playing a Swedish tune at Christmas), we would bypass the standard conventions and play the tune, and only the tune.
And where is the sick son? He's quite happy experiencing dad's nice bluetooth headphones for the first time, enjoying Home Alone 2...it is Christmas, after all.
Éamonn and I shifted to his living room, for full Christmas scenery, and got set to record the tune. It would be my first time trying three cameras—I have the time, an understanding guinea pig, and ideas for each shot…so why not? Éamonn's older son comes home from school and joins his brother with some tablet time. We talk about our parental reservations regarding screens, eyeballs, and brains, but decide it's for a good cause. Music at the house. Dads are doing their thing. It's Christmas.
The takes begin. Playing and hanging with Éamonn is so easy. Conversation flows. We have history. After a few times through, testing harmonies and registers, we decide that it's not getting any better so we call it a day on this piece.
Sadly, one of Éamonn's musical heroes and friends had passed away the day before, Irish guitar pioneer Arty McGlynn. Earlier while we rehearsed, Éamonn told me a story of how Arty encouraged him to keep playing as a teenager and how important that personal message had been for him. After we finished our tune, Éamonn played some of his favorite Arty recordings and educated me on Arty's contributions to the Irish tradition. Holding the banjo again, he picked a tune called "Jenny's Welcome to Charlie," off of Arty's first record, McGlynn's Fancy. I backed him up and we finished our day playing with this small tribute.
The remaining time together was spent with Éamonn playing "must-hear" Arty tracks for me. This is a musician's hang that I love—playing music for a friend that they have to be exposed to. While I had a great time at college and learned so much in the classroom, I think my most valuable take-aways from academia were the CD collections of my friends. I'm happy that this enthusiasm continues years beyond my college days.
With my gear packed up, Éamonn walked me down the block to the bus, and I started my journey back to Glasgow. Hugs and happiness. Glad to reconnect. Happy holidays.
CREDITS
Songs: I'm Not Fed Up with the Pacific Ocean (Ola Bäckström)
Music Arranged by: Casey Driessen & Éamonn Coyne
Tenor Banjo: Éamonn Coyne
Fiddle & Audio/Video: Casey Driessen
Additional Music: Jenny's Welcome to Charlie (Intro, traditional) Yellow Wattle (Outro, traditional)