Castlebay News

This is REALLY old news. We found this video of the original Castlebay performing The Great Silchie. Fred appears as the silchie and the gunner, Julia is the earthly nourice. The voice of the silchie is Mark McNeil (using an octave doubler). Mark also played the synthesizer and was the cameraman.

We have a bunch of other videos on youtube, some from The Grand Design and some from a performance at the Minstrel Coffeehouse in Morrisstown, NJ, recorded January 18, 2008.

Enjoy!

We traveled to Somerset New Jersey for the Somerset Folk Harp Festival. It had been several years since we had performed there. It was good to hobnob with several hundred harpers and harp makers.

June found us at the start of a busy summer performing for weddings
, gardening, repairing storm damage to our house. One highlight of the month was performing at the Sawyer Memorial Arts Center in Green, Maine.

The big news for May was the premier run of The Grand Design in Damariscotta. The show was mounted by the Heartwood Regional Theater Company and had a cast of 20 actors, plus our troupe of five musicians and a first-nation storyteller. The set was simple and we used projected images to set the era (1740) and places (Northern Ireland, Grand Manan Island, Pemaquid).


Julia spent about five years researching the event, collecting and composing music, writing songs and writing a script. In a nutshell, the play chronicles one immigrant ship and the fate of its passengers. First nation peoples (in this case Passamaquoddy) were the heroes.

The show played to six full houses and there were many descendants of the survivors who traveled from several states and Canada to see the production.

We released a CD and book in conjunction with the opening.

April found us back home in Round Pond, preparing for the opening of The Grand Design", doing a bunch of school programs in central Maine and, after a delay of four years, releasing the last Tapestry CD, Banks & Braes. The project got sidelined while we worked on several other recording projects.


We also recorded the music from The Grand Design and published a 30 page book which Julia wrote about the back story. These were released in conjuction with the opening of the show.

We made several stops on our way home from Florida, performing in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Vermont and New York before we got home just after St Patrick's Day. We had our first weather cancellation of the year when we hit a blizzard in the Catskills of New York. We got two school assembly programs done in a beautiful new theater in Grahamsville, NY, before they canceled school for the day but too much snow fell for the house concert we had planned that evening.

By the time we got home Caleb, our intrepid raft guide, was off to Europe. He visited Ireland, Austria, Germany and Italy before reporting to his summer job guiding in Norway.

February starts with Imbolc, the second cross-quarter day in the Celtic year. We performed a pair of Imbolc concerts in Rumford and Damariscotta then hit the road for Florida, just ahead of the really cold weather.

We were in Florida for the Northeast Florida Scottish Games and some folk club performances. After the games we spent a couple of days exploring St. Augustine. It's a beautiful city. City hall is a full scale replica of the Alhambra in Spain! There is also a living history museum, The Spanish Quarter. St. Augustine was founded by Spain in 1586. The docents we met weren't all that impressed with 1607, which is when the Popham Colony and the Jamestown Colony were established.

Some of the Spanish Quarter interpreters are in a shanty singing group, The Bilge Rats. They found out that we also sing and they put together an improptu singing session. We didn't have any 17th century duds with us but they let us get away with out late 18th century attire.


After St. Augustine we traveled to the west coast "mountains" of Florida. This is a section where there are big, rolling hills. Our hosts were Jim and Nadia Davis. Jim runs the Woodview Coffeehouse, where there is a vibrant open mic scene. It's good to see people coming out and participating! That Saturday we went kayaking with manatees in Crystal River. They seemed to enjoy Julia's singing.

In January we were the house band for our local high school Renaissance Feast. This is a celebration of choral music with the addition of food and Monty Python skits. It's always a lot of fun and you are never quite sure of what will happen. This show also marked the public debut of the baroque guitar. It has a surprisingly big voice for such a little guy.

Julia had several meetings this month with theater director, Griff Braley, to revise her script for The Grand Design for a fully staged production. The collaboration between Julia and the Heartwood Theater to produce the world premier of The Grand Design was a lot of work and the resulting show was so unusual that we spent several weeks trying to name the genre. Historic musical docu-drama? Folk Opera? The best we could come up with was "live Ken Burns with music"

Where does the time go? Mid-August 1986 was the first "official" Castlebay concert. We sang a bunch of sea songs and ballads to the great enthusiasm of the audience.

In those days we were four singers, Julia, Mark McNeil, and I played guitars, Brian Charbourne played autoharp and some harmonica (when it didn't get caught in his moustache). I did a bit of whistle playing and Mark did a bit of flute.

Now, 20 years later, we have lost the four-part vocal harmonies and the other instruments (bass, cello, piano, synth) that Mark acquired but we have gained the Celtic harp, violin, viola and Irish flute. We now can fit our road show in a much smaller vehicle but there are certainly times when we miss those guys!

Although we will be celebrating the anniversary and the release of the new CD,Islands In Time", all month, we will have a special concert at the Little Brown Church in Round Pond, Maine, on August 16. In addition to the concert there will be a display of Castlebay memorabilia, photos, trivia, givaways, and raffles.

We don't know who all will be there from our checkered past. The last year we worked as a trio we performed with five different third partners... hmmm, now that would make a good trivia question!

Hello friends,

So far, so good! We had wonderful concerts in Richmond, VA and Davidson, NC on our way to Anderson, SC, where we had a songwriting residency with some of the students at the Varennes Elementary School. The 5th grade wrote a saong about Rosa Parks and the 4th grade wrote about geometry. You just never know where the kids will go! After a trip to Brasstown for a concert at the John C. Campbell Folkschool we drove through Atlantis on our way toward Jacksonville, FL. I know the map says Atlanta, but as hard as it was raining Atlantis seemed more appropriate.

The workshop in Jacksonville was great fun. The harpers there were eager learners. We hope to return someday.

In White Springs, FL, we played a folk club hosted by our old friend, Jack Beck. Jack and Wendy moved to White Springs from Scotland a couple of years ago. The club is doing well and there are some exciting acts lining up for next season. When they get a web site I'll be adding a link.

So far on this trip we have met many fine people who have offered their hospitality and shared their wisdom. Many thanks to Dale, Rick & Brandy, Mary Beth, Wayne & Jean, Frank, Jack & Wendy, Walter & Mary. It's folks like them that make it all worthwhile.

It's hard to believe it's March already! We have a couple of snowdrops and a few brave crocus blooming and the forest surrounding Harper's Wood is starting to hear spring bird songs.

Performances

January found us providing music for the Edgecomb Eddy School for their International Festival. We taught a folk song and a dance to each class during this residency. The countries studied took us to some new (for us) territory. Italy, Germany, France, Sweden and Norway were on our musical tour, as well as England. All the classes did an excellent job. The residency culminated in an international fair where there was a potluck buffet of appropriate foods and displays of other projects the students had done with a concert where they presented their songs and dances. It was wonderful to see how the entire student body was involved and excited.

February took us to Fairfax, VT, where we presented our program Robert Burns, The Man, The Myth, and The Music On the way home we taped a segment for a syndicated cable access program called "Musicians of Maine".

In March we went to Newry, ME, for a four day Elder Hostile program - (we were there a faculty). Over the last ten years we had done several elder hostel programs at the Sunday River Inn - most notably during the infamous ice storm of 1998. This was a last minute addition to our schedule. Our friends Holly Morrison and Sue Mack, of Ceilidh House, had unforseen commitments and we were filling in for them. It was great to reconnect with Steve, Peggy and the rest of the staff at the Inn. It was almost like a family reunion.
March 17 is, of course, St Patricks Day, a day when everyone is Irish and a great day for harpers!
We performed in Hingham, MA, in the afternoon and in Cornish, ME, in the evening. Our faithfull Subaru Forester (which just has its first clutch replacement at 213,000 miles) took it all in stride((?) do tires stride?). On our way home the following day we went to a gathering celebrating ethnic diversity. We did some Irish tunes and told our version of the Harp of Dagda. The featured people were the Native Americans who shared several chants and also some dances. At the end of the afternoon we collaborated in a performance of our tune, Katahdin, which will be included in part five of our Tapestry series. It was a real honor to play this music, inspired by Maine's tallest mountain, sacred to the native peoples, with their drumming.

Recording News

Tapestry V - Banks and Braes is coming along nicely. We have two or three more tracks to complete and then it's ready for release. We have also been recording many of our concerts over the last two years and plan to release a "Castlebay Live" recording by summer.

Special Projects - the Grand Design

Julia has been researching an historic shipwreck for about three years. She has collected historical documents and appropriate period music to make a commerative concert piece honoring not only the survivors and their descendants but especially the Passamoquoddy tribe. They were instrumental in effecting the rescue, in 1741, of ten women from Grand Manan Island. Julia has completed a first draft of the script and score and we have actually recorded demos for most of the music for the first act. The piece has grown from an estimated 45 minute work to a full-blown concert of two acts. It has been exciting work and as soon as we identify sources of funding so we can pay them we will start rehearsing with our other musicians. In addition to Julia's harp and my flute and viola, we will be adding violin, cello, and a Passamaquoddy singer and drummer. We plan to present the show in the Easport area, on Grand Manan, and in the mid-coast area. There has also been keen interest shown by the Center for Migration Studies, in Northern Ireland, to host the production over there and by several presenters in southern New England.
We will be adding a page for the Grand Design to the web site. Stay tuned!

Other Items

The baroque guitar which I built this winter is on display at Maine Street Art in Brunswick, ME, until April 9. A lute I made in 1973 is also in the show.
Now that I have a baroque guitar, Julia would like a baroque harp to go with it. We have done some research on harps of the 1600 era and she has decided she wants an instrument based on the Castle Otway harp. We were just given a large apple wood log for the sound box. If it doesn't have any hidden flaws it will make a gorgeous instrument.
Of course authentic instruments require authentic clothing, so Julia has embarked on a project to find appropriate fabric and tailor early 17th century costumes for us both. I'll post some pictures when we are suitable attired.

Coming Up

We will be on tour next month in VA, NC, SC, FL, GA, MD, NJ, CT. Check our schedule to find out is we'll be near you - if you make it to a performance, please say hello!

There are a few open days left in our tour which we would like to fill. Please contact us with any ideas in your area.

Bye for now!

Greetings, friends, and well met!

What year it has been! Just when we thought it couldn´t get more exciting. We began the year at the Belfast Maine First Night, again sharing the stage with Carol Noonan and David Dodson. We really enjoy this fun, laid- back start to the New Year. All of our CD sales money for the evening was donated for Tsunami relief.

We then headed south for a series of concerts celebrating the January 25 birthday of Scotland´s national poet, Robert Burns.We have had a great time preparing a special presentation about this legendary character. The tour included North and South Carolina which we had thought might be a bit warmer and benign than Maine in January. Southern hospitality is known for making people feel at home - and they did! There was an icestorm and 20 degree weather just for our benefit! Fred had left his winter coat up north, so he really projected the image of the hardy Mainer. Seriously, the weather was no detriment for us and we loved exploring this beautiful region and making some great new friends. The tour also included a repeat performance at the Mainstay in Rock Hall Maryland. This is such a great venue in a lovely corner of the state. Check it out! We celebrated Burns´ actual birthday in Pearl River, NY where we were hosted by the library there and then invited for neaps & haggis by some local fans! What a great treat!

February and March were pretty quiet (Except for the usual Imbolc and St Patrick´s celebrations)
We had a whirlwind tour to Western Massachusetts where we took part in the Springfield St Paddy´s festivities and we headed up north to Aroostook,"the County", as well as the Passamoquoddy community school in Perry.

In April, Julia organized Mainely Celtic Harps , an exposition and celebration of the Celtic harp, which was presented at the Maine Irish Heritage Center , State St, Portland. There was a display and demonstration area with the Song of the Sea music store from Bar Harbor and the Harp Connection of Salem, MA, who had harps and other harp-related items on display and for sale. An on-going open-mike harp circle and hands-on demo hosted by the Maine Harpers Circle allowed the public to hear and try their hand at various harps. During the afternoon there were special workshops on a variety of subjects including, Harps and Healing by Mildred Crocker, The Celtic Harp Tradition by Regina Delaney, and Harpbuilding and Historic Reproduction by Jay Witcher. The fabulous day was crowned with an evening concert featuring regional musicians Regina Delaney and her harp orchestra, the Maine Harpers Circle, Jane Hively and Julia Lane. We are so grateful to all who helped make it such a success. Our hat is off to our friend Gerry Serviente who runs the Somerset Harp Festival in July. Julia was exhausted putting together our little one-day event- Gerry´s runs three days and involves hundreds of people. She´s a dynamo!

It seems that April is National Poetry month, and so the silver Subaru carried us to Connecticut Vermont, and Albany, NY, area for several Robert Burns programs.

Early May was spent performing Beltane/ Mayday concerts and preparing for our five week trip to the British Isles and Ireland in June. Julia tried valiantly to get the garden organized and planted, but it was so wet the only thing that thrived was lichen and moss ! She stuck a few plants and seeds in the mud and we took off for Scotland. Dear friends and ballad singers extraordinaire Geordie MacIntyre and Alison MacMorland worked tirelessly to arrange several school programs and concerts in and around Dunblane and Stirling. Accompanied by our Maine storytelling friend, Delia Farris, we presented songs and stories of Maine and the immigrants who came here, some from the area of Scotland where we were teaching. In between working with tiny hill schools in the Trossachs and larger urban schools, we enjoyed hill-walking followed by pub-crawling and the wonderful conviviality of our hosts. Delia and her friend Nancy went off to explore Findhorn, and we set off for the Causeway Dulcimer Festival in Northern Ireland.

Julia had met the organizer, Dick Glasgow , on her previous trip to the area when she was doing research for her upcoming project, the Grand Design. This will be a musical commemoration of the 1740 shipwreck of Northern Irish immigrants in Maine. She spent some time at the Center for Migration Studies and the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, then had some time to check out some of the local sessions. In Bushmills, she met up with Dick and friends at the Smugglers Inn. He was just beginning to organize the festival, and invited us to participate as it coincided with the trip we had already planned. What Luck! So we flew across to Belfast from Glasgow, then took the train up to Coleraine, and a bus to Bushmills collecting other festival participants along the way. We got there just in time for our gig in Ballycastle at the infamous House of McDonnell ! It culminated in a session which broke up in the wee hours, then Dick came to pick us up and take us to our accomodation. Dick is another dynamo- we think there are really two of him as he seems to be everywhere at once at all hours of the day and night.

The festival included not only dulcimer players (it seems that the dulcimer is historically a traditional instrument in Antrim) but local fiddlers, singers, flute and fife-players plus a Northumbrian pipe trio. To open the festivities, there was a traditional fife and drum band in the town square. They had these amazing huge LOUD (deafening!) drums played with curved sticks called lambeg drums. We were told that originally they were used for signalling across battlefields and each regiment had a specific rhythm. The workshops included local lore and songs presented by the legendary John Moulden as well as presentations by instrumentalists. We also made the acquaintance of a woman from Rathlin Island who was the unofficial island historian. A group of Rathlin Islanders settled in Maine, so we had a wonderful time comparing stories and lore. In addition to meeting and playing with some great musicians from North America, England and Ireland, and sampling some of the famous Bushmills whisky , we explored the incredible Giant´s Causeway area. Black Nun folk club We had a fabulous time.

Then it was back to Scotland where we stayed a couple of days in Penicuik, just south of Edinburgh and visited Rosslyn Chapel . The da Vinci Code notwithstanding, the chapel is truly extraordinary and well worth a visit, as is the entire area. Rosslyn Castle is just behind the chapel in a bend of the river which contains one of the oldest intact blocks of the ancient Caledonian forest. It is rare to see any truely wild space - this is one. Our next adventure was to visit the island of Iona . Our friend Jim is associated with the Iona community and arranged for us to stay with a life-long islander. Getting out there takes a bit of planning as there are at least two ferries, depending on which way one chooses to go. We opted for the longer, less travelled route, which included a stop at the Starfish Harp shop in Ballachulish (it's just behind the chocolate shop). It was worth it for the scenery and generally more leisurely experience, although a mad dash for the boat can certainly be exhilarating ! Jane picked us up and tookus to her lovely cottage. We attended a service at the Abbey and wandered among the ancient stones (photo). The next morning was gorgeous weather, so we thought we´d "take a walk". I was so glad Jane gave us such a huge breakfast (a vat of oatmeal followed by eggs, rashers (bacon), toast and more toast, tea and more tea). Although the island is only about 3 miles by 1 mile (the same size as Monhegan) there are few real trails and there are many boggy areas and lots of fences.Thankfully, we had been provided with a map so at least we had a clue where we were and where we wanted to go! Exhausting as it was, we really enjoyed exploring the elemental beauty of this quiet and powerful place and would have loved to spend more time there. Staying with a woman so deeply rooted there made it even more magical.

As it was, we set out for Fort William staying with our friends at the Ossian Hotel. It happened to be the weekend for several different walking and running races, including the 3 Peaks Challenge. The participants attempt to climb Great Britain´s highest peaks (Ben Nevis, Snowden and Snaefell Pike) in a continuous 24 hours, including the driving between! In any case, the place was jumping with teams, hangers-on and tourists.


Bonnie Galloway was our next destination. The weather was idyllic and we met up with our Stravaig friends in Dumfries and Dalbeattie. Galloway has beautiful forests through which we hiked and ended up at the neolithic stone monument Cairn Holy on Midsummer´s Eve. This atmospheric spot is situated high above the ancient seat of clan Hannay overlooking the Solway firth.

A long drive to Wales with a lunch stop at a canal-side pub brought us to the new home of songwriting story-singer Anne Lister and her husband Steve Purbrick in Pontypool near Cardiff. The biggest dilemma was trying to decide which castle, historic manor house or standing stones to visit in the short time we were there! The layers of history are mind-boggling and both Anne and Steve are experts. They are planning on setting up specialty tours tailored to groups with specific interests. They took us to the town of Hay-on-Wye which is literally made of books! We did play at the folk club in Llantrisant where we heard some wonderful local musicians and then took the train to Portsmouth for our final engagement,the International Festival of the Sea .

As many times as we have done this festival, I seem to forget the scope of it! So much amazing sea-related activity. After some exciting glitches with security (their computer was hit by lightning) and accomodation (the hotel´s pen and paper technology proved insufficient) we became reacquainted with old friends Shanty Jack, Baggyrinkle, Hughie Jones, Portsmouth Shanteymen, Stormalong John, among so many others, plus the wonderful and ever-helpful Ken & Jan Lardner from the Chantey Cabin (Thank God for their caravan!) as well Robin and Chris whom we had met at previous festivals and who very kindly rescued us from having to sleep under a bridge. One highlight of the festival was the departure of the Columbian tall ship Gloria whose entire crew stood at attention on the yards and sang a farewell song that stirred the blood as they were towed out of the harbor in the setting sun. It was breathtaking! Our cunning departure plan then took us north again to Edinburgh just in time for the G-8 riots and thankfully home before the London subway bombing. Our spirits were heavy with these as we worried about our friends and their loved ones as well as the national tragedy of the event.

Back here in Maine, it was challenging to process the whole, multi-faceted journey. We dived immediately into the craziness of summer with the usual Little Brown Church concerts here in Round Pond, plus festivals and weddings. Julia had to put on her pith helmet and wield her machete to rescue her beloved garden from the weeds, but it soon was flourishing.

The most memorable wedding took place at 10,000 feet on Dantes Peak in Durango, CO. (Special thanks to "Galen the Gallant") Since neither of us had been to this area before, we decided to plan some extra sightseeing time. We went out to Mesa Verdeand hiked out to see petroglyphs as well as exploring the road to Silverton , north of Durango. All we could say was WOW all the time and the trip took twice as long cause we had to stop and take so many pictures. >We did make the acquaintance of several local musicians and performed a house concert in town. We feel like real jet-setters as this wedding was at 3 in the afternoon on Friday and at noon on Saturday we played for another wedding in Boothbay Harbor here in Maine! To complete the mountain theme, we had a sunset concert at the Summit House on top of Skinner Mt in Hadley MA the following week. This is a grand old hotel in an unusual and beautiful setting in western Massachusetts.



Islands also were also a theme this year. In addtion the the British Isles, we found ourselves on various parts of the Maine Archipelago . Matinicus is the furthest out inhabited island on the east coast (23miles). We took the state ferry out, which goes once a week, and returned on the "water taxi" (a lobster boat) which goes whenever you pay, weather permitting. There is also a small plane which goes back and forth to Rockland. It is truly a unique living situation-everything needs to be either brought from the mainland or made/grown on the island. There is no store, movie rental, gas station. etc. We loved staying in one of the oldest houses, owned by the town´s historian, surrounded by artifacts of island life. Our concert was well attended, and we decided to play for the craft fair the next day. After eating some killer sticky-buns made by the island baker, we went for a walk around the island through the cool woods to a serene sand beach. The place is definitely not for the typical tourist.

Our other island adventures included a visit with our author friend Tom Allen and his wife Scotty on Ragged Island, made famous by Edna St Vincent Millay . We had an interesting time, which involved a great deal of rowing, getting back for our gig at the Harpswell Family Festival . This is the stuff of which songs are made... Closer to home was dear old Loud´s (Muscongus) Island where we played what has become an annual house concert for the island´s summer population. Although many of Maine´s islands used to boast a year-round communities complete with school & church, due to lack of "modern amenities" most of these places are only inhabited in the summer.


Things slowed down a bit in Sept, though there were some special events for local historical organizations that gave us a chance to play some of the music we have been researching. Our local Pemaquid Historical Society hosted us at the Harrington Meeting House where we played selections related to local history. The Friends of the Maine State Museum had a fundraiser at the
Pownalborough Courthouse
with the focus of Maine in 1761. Even the food was authentic! We provided music appropriate to the period complete with costume.There are so many stories worth telling and singing! Julia has this thing about coherence and she loves putting together theme programs and digging up appropriate music and stories for them.

October found us in Western Maine playing Autumn theme concerts at the Rumford Public library and in various schools including Fred´s hometown of Harmony. It was great to reconnect with the folks there and celebrate the changing season. Thanks are due to the Musicians and Performers Trust Fund, which helped underwrite some of these programs. In November we enjoyed a trip out to Vermont where we helped the Scottish Cultural Organization of the Twin States (SCOTS) commemorate their 25th anniversary. What a pleasure it was to play for these appreciative enthusiastic folks!

December, was, well, the usual "holi-daze". Features included a concert of "Celtic baroque" music with Deborah Friou and her husband Forrest. Deborah played violin as well as harp and Forrest played a Scottish style harpsichord which he built. Continuing in the early music vein, we were the back-up band for the local high school Renaissance feast/concert. We were joined by violinist, Tamora Goltz and her son Nathaniel Stimpson, who doubled on French Horn and krumhorn. In addition to our usual collection of instruments we used cello, tympani and didgeridu!!?? There were 90 students involved this year and so there was little room for us in the stage area and we had to play from a balcony. Fred had to make an entrance by descending on a rope- he always wanted to be Errol Flynn...

2006 came in quietly for us as we prepared for upcoming adventures Fred is building harps again, plus a baroque guitar in anticipation of various 400th anniversaries here in Maine- stay tuned.


Julia continues to work on her Grand Design project and is hoping to soon get some commitments for performance of it -stay tuned! New recordings this year will be, finally, the fabled Tapestry V- Banks & Braes. Technical difficulties and the proximity of an overly enthusiastic chainsaw team kept us from our 2005 goal. Never mind. We also have most of a new Maine live concert recording which we plan to release this summer.

I´m sure some things have been missed- sincere apologies to anyone who feels left out !

Much heartfelt thanks goes to all the friends and fans who help make these tours possible. We are forever grateful for your enthusiasm and support and especially to those who "put up with us" along the way. We look forward to seeing you all again soon and to sharing our new musical discoveries.

Please stay in touch and feel free to tell us your stories.

All the very best

Julia Lane & Fred Gosbee