"At Manny's Place" and the 1990 Tape now available on Bandcamp

Dear readers,

A while back Brian Morris and I decided we would slowly put up all of Erskine's home recordings on a Bandcamp page for his father. The internet has changed a lot since we started this blog in 2010. For years, I struggled to find a way to share whole albums of Erskine's music online in a playlist-like format. Platforms that seemed like they would be a good fit came and went. But Bandcamp seems to be here to stay and is increasingly popular for independent musicians and producers. All the music will be available for free listening and downloading by but you are welcome to leave a donation if you like. The first two albums - "Fat Molasses" (The 1990 Tape) and "At Manny's Place" - have now been published there for your listening enjoyment.

Manny's barn "At Manny's Place" - Douglastown, Gaspé, 2011.

Green Grow the Rushes - From Alden Patterson and Claude Methé

 Hello everyone,

There's been a tune I've been meaning to share on here for a few years. In 2018, Laura, Brian, and I were in Goderich, Ontario playing at the Celtic music festival and camp where we were showcasing Gaspé Bay fiddle music. We spent the week teaching and performing to a very interested audience of traditional musicians - both beginner to professional. There I met husband-and-wife duo Claude Methé and Dana Whittle from Ste-Béatrix, QC who were also there performing and teaching. We had a lot of fun jamming and it was also a fortunate encounter for our research as well.

While we were talking, Claude brought up an old fiddler named Alden Patterson (1916 - 1989) that he met once in the early 1970s and who was living in Ste-Foy, just outside Quebec City. Alden had originally come from Sandy Beach, Gaspé. As a teenager, Claude had met Alden's two sons, Daniel and Beverley, who were playing guitar around Old Quebec and the three became friends hanging around Old Quebec together. At the time, Claude was early into his interest in the fiddle and managed to acquire a few home recordings of Alden. Although Claude doesn't know what happened to these tapes, he remembers this one tune he learned from Alden's playing called "Green Grow the Rushes." 

Claude played this tune for me to record during our hangout in 2018 so that I could share it on this blog. Have a listen to him playing Alden Patterson's "Green Grow the Rushes."

Claude played this tune often during his stage appearances throughout the week. He also recorded it on a 2000 album with the group Entourloupe. This title is applied to many different melodies in traditional fiddle music but the version here is very Québécois in its structure and phrasing although the melody seems to suggest an Irish polka, perhaps this one bearing the same title.

We don't know much about Alden and where he learned his music yet but if you or anyone you know has any more information, we'd love to hear from you. I want to thank both Claude and Paul Fackler for their contributions to this post.

Enjoy and have a go at learning this delightful melody.

"Airs piqués" - A New Album of Guitar Duets from Guy Bouchard and Mathieu Fournier

Earlier this month I opened my mailbox to find a CD copy of the latest project from Gaspé musicians Guy Bouchard and Mathieu Fournier. Both excellent fiddlers whom I've gotten to know over the years, like Brian and I, they also enjoy playing Gaspesian fiddle music on the guitar in the flatpicking style. Indeed, Brian has always said that this music suits the guitar well and this new album proves just how much this is the case. 

The sonic qualities of Mathieu's lead guitar and Guy's accompaniment, along with their more relaxed tempos, give the listener a more contemplative space to appreciate what I've always considered the enigmatic beauty of these melodies. The older Gaspesian fiddle music doesn't tend to follow the more predictable melodic contours and harmonies of 20th century fiddle music and the two guitars work perfectly to highlight the unusual and unique contours of the music. It was a joy to put this CD on the stereo and get lost in the sounds, expertly recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ike Barsalou in Gaspé. It felt like I was getting to hear this music from somewhere new and fresh and appreciate just how special these old melodies are. 

There are sixteen tracks of guitar duets on this new album. All the selections are drawn from fiddlers around the Coast, much the material learned from various archival collections. In fact, there are a few tunes from Erskine Morris and others that have been mentioned on this blog: Bill Lucas, James Henry Conley, Cyril Devouge, and Tunny Hottot. As well, Guy and Mathieu have also been learning music from other Gaspesian families from the north shore and Baie des Chaleurs region of the Coast: Anglehart, Chouinard, Denis, Francoeur, Keighan, LeBreux, Mimeault, Riffou, and Richard. As such, the CD is also a wonderful cross-section of older Gaspesian fiddle repertoire from a wide swath of different communities across the Coast. The beautiful cover design comes from their friend and fellow musician Eric Bond.

You can listen and download or order this CD on their Bandcamp page.

Here is an interview Mathieu did the other day for Radio Gaspésie where he talks about the project. And here he is on CBC-Radio Canada.

Airs-Mémoire: Traditional Fiddle Tunes from the Tip of the Gaspe Peninsula

I'm happy to announce that the latest edition of the Airs-Mémoire collection of transcriptions is now available for download. This project to preserve these melodies in sheet-music form is a collaboration between musicians France Dupuis (Quebec City) who did the transcriptions and Guy Bouchard (Douglastown) who played the melodies for France and suggested the guitar accompaniment that appears along with the music. I was fortunate to see the beginnings of their collaboration when I was visiting Guy shortly after he moved to Douglastown in 2018; France was visiting at the same time and we all passed many hours jamming on some of these tunes in Guy's living room. We even got to perform them for Bernard and Christina's wedding anniversary party that year!

France and Guy see this collection as "a tangible way to preserve and disseminate tunes from the local oral tradition." The new edition contains 54 traditional tunes from the eastern Gaspe Peninsula, a table of contents, and an appendix of references. 

It is available for download for $18 from France Dupuis' website.

It has been astounding to see so many people helping make this music and Gaspesian musicians better known far and wide. I want to congratulate France and Guy for their ongoing dedication and tireless work with this music.

Porch jam session. The Kennedy Homestead, Douglastown 2018. L to R: Guy Bouchard, Laura Sadowsky, France Dupuis, Glenn Patterson, Brian Fournier, Norma McDonald