Donal Lunny, Paul Kelly etc on TG4 Geantrai

http://www.tg4.ie/en/tg4-player/tg4-player.html

This is a great series of good Irish music.

Lots of good stuff there. Also, Dagger, wanted to say hello from sunny California. Hope you remember the low C whistle on Highland Mandolin.

Malcolm

Malcolm, How are you?

Are you in California now?

Of course I remember!

Dagger

Doing great, moved to Northen California 3 years ago. There's lots of music here, from the Scottish fiddle community nurtured by Alasdair Fraser to all the Irish musicians in and around San Francisco. My Sobells always create an interest - apparently they are quite rare (but recognized) in these parts. My Octave mandolin needed some work to fix the action after settling a bit in the drier climate, and Paul Hostetter did an excellent job - it's just like new! Next project involves the tenor banjo, but that's another forum.

Delighted to hear it. Where are you and what are you doing?

For the benefit of everybody else, Malcolm is a great Scottish piper and whistle player, as well as playing his Sobells.

I'm in Santa Rosa, about 60 miles north of San Francisco. The company I work for were downsizing at South Queensferry and a few of us got the chance to come out. So far so good! Funnily enough I was here in 1985 with the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band when the big Highland Games were still hosted here (they're now in Pleasanton). Little did I know....

Well well .....

Funnily enough I spent a bit of time in San Francisco myself last summer. Julie and I went on a Green Tortoise bus tour - National Parks Loop in fact - and stayed a few days in the Green Tortoise Hostel.

Nice to hear from you. I think the last I heard of you was playing some Irish slides on the small pipes or something like that on Radio Scotland once. (A quick bit of research has just revealed that it would have been from 'Second Grand Concert Of Scots Piping').

All the best,

Dagger

Small world! I wish I'd known that you were going to be in the area. Ah well. I hope you had a great time, the scenery here is quite something isn't it?

I read your recent interview in here and enjoyed it very much. It got me thinking about Scottish mandolin style such as yours or Kevin Macleod's (or mine I suppose), and made me wonder if there are many mandolin players round about here like that. There's nothing quite like a big set of 6/8 marches!

Malcolm

Nah, a dying breed we are! Hens teeth!