Erskine Morris (1913 – 1997)

Erskine Morris (1913 – 1997)

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Interview with CBC Breakaway - Douglastown CD

Here's a link to an interview Laura and I gave with CBC Radio's Rachelle Solomon. Rachelle did a great job putting this interview together and we're really thankful for the publicity this gave to the project. Apparently the phone lines flooded when they opened up the lines to give away two copies of the CD. Congratulations to Flora Grant of Douglastown on her CD!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

CD Now Available – Douglastown: Music and Song from the Gaspé Coast

Dear readers,

I wanted to let you know that as of July 30, 2014, the CD Laura Risk and I collaborated on with the Douglas Community Centre is available for purchase. You can purchase it from:

1) The Douglas Community Centre (Call 418-368-0288 or email centredouglas@douglastown.net)

2) Thirty-Below (http://www.trentesouszero.com/286.html)

3) CD Baby (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/various633)

We are hoping to have it available a few other places for online purchase in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned.

I wanted to pass my heartfelt thanks to all the people of Douglastown and beyond who joined us for a very special evening on July 30th for the CD release party during the Irish Week. We had over 140 people out to the event and were touched by the warm, enthusiastic response. A special tip of the hat to Maurice Girard, Leo Fitzpatrick, Sharon Howell, and Bernard Rooney for sharing their memories of their recordings with us during the release party: It was thanks to them and dozens of other donors in the community that we were able to put together this CD and that the evening was as magical as it was.

I'll translate what Trente Sous Zéro said in the last paragraph of their description. I feel very proud to see our project being distributed by the foremost resource for recordings of traditional music in Quebec:

Gaspesian fiddlers Yvon Mimeault, Liette Remon, and Édouard Richard have helped us better understand the diversity and uniqueness of the music from this peninsula in eastern Québec. this magnificent disc of collected music adds yet another facet to this Gaspésie, already rich in music. More than a repertoire, it is a particular style, highly rhythmic, that many will discover through the music of the Drody family, Erskine Morris, and many others. It is also the musical story of a remote village that, for so long, has kept its local music alive, all the while adding new popular musics and instruments along the way. Songs tinged with pump organs and guitar solos, harmonicas and accordions, also take us through important pages of Douglastown's musical history.