Women with Mandolins

[journeybear]

I went searching for a picture of Annette with her mandolin - and didn't find any, though I found some others which may end up here in a bit. But I did find some of the ensemble Mandolins In Brisbane. Many of its members are women, but inexplicably, many - men and women - don't play mandolin!

[GRW3]

More than once I have pointed a young lady (they're most all young compared to me) to this thread when she indicated that she was interested in mandolin but perceived it to be a guy thing. It may not cover every woman who plays mandolin but it is a powerful resource and can lead to hours of Internet searches.

[Bertram Henze]

And here's Marla playing in a group setting, along with a couple of guys who are half-way decent players too.

Now that's one distressed mandolin.
And isn't that Santa on the far right...

[Instrings]

I went searching for a picture of Annette with her mandolin - and didn't find any, though I found some others which may end up here in a bit. But I did find some of the ensemble Mandolins In Brisbane. Many of its members are women, but inexplicably, many - men and women - don't play mandolin!

For what it is worth, I am actually sitting on the end of the sofa (on the far left) in the top picture (in the lounge) with Mando #5 on my lap. It is made of Walnut and also has a butterfly on it. All the other photos are fairly old, and I was not part of the group when they were taken.....

Annette.

[journeybear]

I thought that might be you on the left. And now I understand why I couldn't see you in the other photos - you weren't there! Thanks for sorting that out. If no one has said so yet, Welcome to the Café!

BTW, another thing I learned in this search was how many mandolin ensembles there are in Australia. Nine registered with FAME. We get occasional postings from Down Under, and there are bands we hear of, like Totally Gourdgeous. This searching helps expand our horizons, and is one of the reasons this is such a great thread - a lot of interesting musicians have turned up here, either by design or happenstance.

BTW, the other photos I mentioned in my previous post? I went back through my search results, and for every last one the source was - this thread! I thought they looked familiar! Thanks to Scott and Dan for all their techno wizardry, and to the contributors here for their dedication.

[Instrings]

[QUOTE=journeybear;945007]I thought that might be you on the left. And now I understand why I couldn't see you in the other photos - you weren't there! Thanks for sorting that out. If no one has said so yet, Welcome to the Café!

BTW, another thing I learned in this search was how many mandolin ensembles there are in Australia. Nine registered with FAME. We get occasional postings from Down Under, and there are bands we hear of, like Totally Gourdgeous.

Thank you for the welcome.

Yes, we do have quite a few ensembles Down Under, but because we are so far apart, we don't get to see much of each other.

I have attached a couple more pics of recent performances - and as you can see women are very well represented. One performance (QMO) was for Italian Week - where we played..........Italian Music , the other was Riparian Rhapsodies (Water Music) at the Heritage listed Customs House, by the river in Brisbane.

We are very lucky in our group to have some wonderful players. One is the first person to ever be accepted at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music to study Mandolin as her primary instrument! And we also have a lady who studied Music in England and played classical mandolin professionally throughout Europe for about 20 years.

[journeybear]

... We are very lucky in our group to have some wonderful players. One is the first person to ever be accepted at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music to study Mandolin as her primary instrument!

How cool is that! A clear indicator of progress.

I've said it before and I'm sure I will again - it's amazing how this instrument unites people from all over the world. And thanks to Scott and all at the Café, this has grown ever more possible and easy.

[JEStanek]

Annette, Brisbane's quite a ways from Melbourne (~1500KM) where Penelope Swales is from. Your country is so vast. Her instruments in Totally Gorurdeous were assisted by Jack Spira who builds fantastic guitars and mandolin family instruments. I dearly hope to make it back to Oz within the next few years. And welcome to the Cafe!

Jamie

[journeybear]

Time to revisit Katzenjammer. They have been busy, with a new album on the way, two facebook pages with hundreds of photos (these are just a few), more and more adoring fans all the time, and Marianne has a new hairstyle - really, that is not a wig!

[Crabgrass]

Hmmm.....seems like from those old pics, mando used to be more of a "girl thing." Makes sense. It's a small, delicate instrument. But then maybe those women weren't playing bluegrass? Maybe it's bluegrass itself that's more of a guy thing, traditionally I mean. When I imagine way back when, the mountain folk setting on the porch playing, I picture the menfolk playing, with the women in the kitchen or maybe sitting and listening....maybe singing. Does anyone know?

[Ed Goist]

Shirin Delsooz now has a lovely tune (A Trip to Tehran) from her So Subtle It Makes No Sense release on the Mandolin Cafe MP3 player.

She also has these photos of herself with her Gold Tone Oval-Hole A-Style mandolin posted to her Facebook page. (The second pic possibly setting the record for the smallest amount on a mandolin pictured in a photo in this thread )

[Ed Goist]

Here's the cover of Cheryl Watson's most recent album, Watertown.
One of the tunes (When in Drought Blues) from Watertown is currently track # 5 on the Mandolin Cafe's mp3 player.
Be sure to give it a listen...Great Stuff!

[Ed Goist]

Hi Larry. I know, right?!
Here are a couple more videos of her. They're a little more laid-back but equally impressive.
My favorite part of these performances is probably the second selection in the duet video (it starts at about 2:10 in). The Morris can't help but reveal her Bluegrass roots with some nice 'chop action'...Great stuff all around!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLJekrIg3q4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHpckQjhOxY

Here's more from Olga Egorova...A delightful rendition of 'Whiskey Before Breakfast', again on her Howard Morris F5 mandolin (#111).
Young lady has serious chops (the last :30 is insane!)...and exceptional performance charisma!

[Pete Summers]

Wow and double Wow!
That girl's the devil in disguise. I can't imagine that sort of mastery of an instrument in my wildest, drug induced dreams. Thanks for that link.

[Wesley]

Yeah that's just the way I play it too.......

In my dreams.

[Crabgrass]

I love how she expresses sheer joy in her playing. Utterly delightful!

[Ed Goist]

Isn't she just outrageous?!
Here's the video that started it all...Breathtaking stuff.

[Bogle]

Ed--Thanks for your post regarding Cheryl Watson. She is good people.... immensely talented, terrific musician, and that voice......WOW! I know that she worked on that cd project for a long time, and I'm willing to bet it's outstanding.....I've got to get a copy!

[Crabgrass]

Isn't she just outrageous?!
Here's the video that started it all...Breathtaking stuff.

Hey Ed, I could watch your girl Olga play all day. Thanks again for the videos; got any more? I'd love to see her playing with a bluegrass band.

[Ed Goist]

Hey Ed, I could watch your girl Olga play all day. Thanks again for the videos; got any more? I'd love to see her playing with a bluegrass band.

Agreed! I could watch her play all day also. Not only is she a technically gifted player, but she plays with such gusto (like you said), and she also has an interesting European or Old-World vibe going on. I'm a big fan!

Her Moscow-based Bluegrass ensemble is called "Zelenaya Lisa". Check them out on YouTube. Here is one of their videos (Stingray) that features her prominently:



Also, be sure to check-out the two videos I embedded in this post. Great stuff!

Plenty of other great stuff on her YouTube channel.

I found out about her through the Morris Mandolins Facebook page...The internet can be an amazing place.

Enjoy!

[mandobassman]

Isn't she just outrageous?!
Here's the video that started it all...Breathtaking stuff.

I agree that she is a very talented and I enjoyed the other videos of her playing acoustically, But the sound of the mandolin going through the Peavey amp with way too much reverb, IMO, was too much for me. I first saw this video over on Mando Hangout and couldn't get through half of it before I turned it off. The combination of frantic playing and all of that reverb was making my brain hurt. She has quite a talent though.

[Crabgrass]

Nice little piece by Mike Marshall and Chris Thile on her channel also, "Carpathian Mountain Breakdown".....

http://www.youtube.com/user/Olgertin.../0/N33DHsPsCOk

Mike Marshall is grinning all over the place. hmmmm, Eastern European flavor....interesting!

[Bill Snyder]

I don't think this group has been mentioned previously in this thread. They are Lucy Angel. Made up of mother Kate Anderton (I think she is on mandolin) and her daughters Lindsay and Emily.

[Bill Snyder]

Here is a video.

[Jkater]

No pics of Sierra Hull yet?