Newfie Music

Hi again folks,

Can any buddy please inform me how I can get aholdof music from Newfoundland?
I kinda got an intrest in it now from the previuos threads

http://www.singsong.nfld.com/catalog.html

Thanks Gary - I wasn’t being entirely facetious. It is a part of the tradition of which I know very little, so thanks again.

Can help here, danny - will be in touch.

Oh. I didn’t even look to see who started the thread. The parody was so accurate that I didn’t realize it was one. Anyway, that label is probably the best source for traditional music of Newfoundland.

When I first saw the thread I was sure it was started by Startinq over, which I thought was odd because the spelling was different. What is going on here?

I was thrown for a second there. The Christina Smith on the above site is not the ame one as the sister of Jamie Smith - unless *her* brother’s name is Jamie as well.

Agreed that SingSong is the label to go to. (But a word to the wise, the label’s owner definitely frowns on the word “Newfie”.)

For my money, A Crowd of Bold Sharemen is the best traditional band out there in any of the “Celtic” traditions. Their album has absolutely top-notch Newfoundland tunes, great and unusual traditional songs, and one terrific original song. The only downside is that they only have one album so far. The Vince Collins album is another great source of strange tunes.

Also check out the Mahers Bahers -- http://www.mahersbahers.com/ -- lots of great accordion playing from Frank Maher, who grew up in an Irish neighborhood in St. John’s 60-some years ago.

Unfortunately, most of the great albums of the older traditional musicians from Newfoundland have never been released on CD. Rufus Guinchard and Emile Benoit both put out albums in when they were in their 80s which are still available, but their older LP releases have much more vigor and life to them.

Oh, I forgot Christina Smith’s first album was on SingSong. She’s a great Newfoundland fiddler, and her two more recent albums with Jean Hewson (on other labels) are must-haves if you are interested in Newfoundland tunes. (She and Jean are half of the Mahers Bahers as well.)

Before you listen to the music, Danny, you should learn the language.
http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_nov2003/Newfie_English.htm

Great Big Sea!

“When I first saw the thread I was sure it was started by Startinq over, which I thought was odd because the spelling was different. What is going on here?”

bowburner, it appears Key Maniac changed his nick momentarily to “startinq over,” then changed it back after a period of time.

i happened to click on startinq over’s profile when the thread was posted (since I was puzzled by the spelling). I have a nasty habit of opening a hundred different tabs in firefox and leaving them, and this one happened to still be open on my screen ( http://www.ke1th.com/misc/SP32-20061206-131437.gif ).

I also reccomend the Mahers Bahers. Also check out Minnie White and Rufus Giunchard.
Newfoundlanders play these great fast tunes called Singles. They are a lot like Kerry polkas.The current favorite at our session is one called As I Rowed Out In A Dorry.
I’ll submit it when I get a bit of time to write it down.

Well, it was only a bit of fun, and I thought you guys would see through the charade anyway, but I would like to know a bit more about all these “branches” of the Irish /Scottish music tree. I felt I shouldn’t keep it up when serious answers started coming in.

Ah that explains it then! You see, you can’t get away with anything on this site! Good try though 🙂

I have a recording of I’se the By that builds the boat by ex-OBDer Ian Benzie - is that a Nfld song?

My husband Cory (Ciansdad as he is on this site) used to play in a Crowd of Bold Sharemen - thats how I met him, when they were on tour here in Australia. I’ll get him to post here later - but the singsong website is prob the best site for music and info.

Yeah, but I got a slap from the moderator.

Sorry Jez! No harm intended.

bb, Jim and Gerry told us the story of how Cory left the band. Never expected you both would be on-line here! We never got a chance to meet Cory or hear him with the band, alas. Hope all is well in Australia.

Bren, yes, “I‘se the B’y” is a Newfoundland song.

Jim and gerry also announced it on the 5pm news last valentines day - I was mortified🙂 Say hi to Jim when you see him.

I’ll try to remember, but I don’t expect to see Jim anytime soon -- he and Fergus only make it out to Michigan about once a year, and we only make it to St John’s every few years (which is how we managed to completely miss Cory’s stint in the band). 🙂

I have no idea whom Startinq Over is, I don’t think he’s trying to impersonate me…we’ll, maybe some fun ahead

Ya, the Newfie’s aren’t big on being called that anymore.
There are some great groups from Newfoundland like the Rankin Family, Figgy Duff and Albrown is correct; Great Big Sea is now one of the top Celtic Canadian Band.

The Barra MacNeils are very exciting as is ..
Ashley MacIsaac. Fiddler
Ashley is a guy who covers his face completely with a scarry white wrap-a-round. Very intense.Warning!! He’s entertaining.

Across The Sea is getting lots of airtime and comes from the west coast of Canada.

Lurker here - just pointing out that the Barra MacNeil’s the Rankins and Ashley MacIsaac are from Cape Breton, NS, not Newfoundland.

Back to the sidelines.

close enough…

For any lovers of obscure films, Ashley MacIsaac is the guy who appears in the Okinawan movie Nabi no Koi (Nabbie’s Love), and plays the Green Fields Of Glentown whilst jumping around like a mad thing. Very random and weird, but as starting over says, very entertaining.

I met a girl in a bar in Abu Dhabi once.
She said - I’m from a little place in Canada, you won’t have heard of it
I said - Where?
She said - Cape Breton
I said - all I know about Cape Breton is the Rankin family
She said - that’s my brothers and sisters!
And so they were.
The following year I ended up working in Halifax, NS.
With a bunch of self-described “Newfies”

Starting over - I dont think most people from NFLD would agree that it is “close enough” - they didnt even join Canada until 1949 - before that they were a part of Britain - that is like saying that because Canada borders America or because the next island from Australia is NZ that they are almost the same. I think Patkiwi would have something to say about that.

I think I hear newfie percussionist coming, with his wildly mis-aligned blue eyes and his pit boots on.
Youse lot will be sorry………

Cape Breton and Nfld. are about as far apart culturally as one can get. Our music is indeed simiar and our love for being rowdy and boisterous legendary but to call a Newfie and Cape Bretoner the same? Or close enough? Hells bells that borders on blasphemy in my part of the world. That would get your teeth knocked in in any bar in either place for that kind of a slip. Some peoples kids.

Certainly Newfoundland music is less like Cape Breton music than Irish is like Scottish….

wow, here is a guy calling himself a Newfie, another giving history lessons, and why the past ( 1949 ) would apply, who knows?
close enough is what we central anglo’s say about the east coast. As for a poke in the jaw, thats your answer to any discussion you can’t handle. Fighting is always the answer…seems to work for Bush…..
the rest of the world can see why The British Isles cleared their jails…

nice one, Maniac! YOu had me fooled, i thought wow that’s weird…hee hee….

Remember the Monty Python Austalian sketch where EVERYONE was called Bruce?

Keith Murphy (from St. John, NFLD, not living in VT) released a solo album last year called Bound for Canaan. It’s of all traditional songs, many from his native Newfoundland. His band, Nightingale, also plays many songs and tunes from there. They have a set of Newfoundland singles recorded on a live compilation CD, released through Hill and Hollow Music.
www.blackislemusic.com

correction to above--*now living in VT

hahaha yeah, that was really random…

So, what about tunes from St.-Pierre et Miquelon? Do they have any? Apparently they have an annual Basque festival there, as there is a large Basque contribution to the population (I know, Basques aren’t even Indo-European, never mind Celtic, but I’m just curious anyway.)

His newest is “Suffer No Loss” -- songs from Newfoundland and New England, in beautifully sparse settings with voice and solo guitar. There are several classic traditional Newfie songs, including Lukey’s Boat, Great Big Sea, Fair Mary, and Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s. Long-awaited, this one does not disappoint!

For ordering info: http:/www.blackislemusic.com (also available on cdbaby, itunes, and Amazon).

Hah! Just reading over this old thread, and see that bb asked me to say hi to Jim (Payne) when I next saw him. Alas, it took me 7 years to get around to it, and I’d completely forgotten the conversation by then!

Amanda, thanks for the heads up on Keith’s new album.

There has been a lot of great new traditional Newfoundland recordings since this thread. The ones that immediately pop to mind are “The Eastern Light” by The Dardanelles, “Chain” by Daniel Payne, “The Freels”, and “Aaron Collis and Emilia Bartellas”. Also a great seasonal album “A Lovely Time of Year” by Jim Payne and Fergus O’Byrne -- only one track of tunes there plus some original songs by Jim, but the bulk of it is a wonderful batch of Christmas carols from the Newfoundland tradition.