Two comments
“Arundo”
I ended up having to spend a Sunday night in Cork city last April after Hammy Hamilton’s 2014 “Flute Gathering”. I had just been going back to the hotel when I noticed a sign outside a pub saying “Arundo” were playing, and that they played a mix of Irish / South American music . Right, says I, one more pint and that’s it - [ it had been a hectic 4 days in Ballyvourney, hanging out with guys like Niall Kenny and Michael Clarkson and other such genteel company ], so in I goes, right into the middle of a spoons solo ! The player was Johnny “Bongos” Horan, and although some of you here are not going to accept this, he was feckin’ brilliant. It was another 3 pints, not 1, and I bought their very reasonably priced double CD, which I’ll post later. I got home, listened to the double CD, and really enjoyed the playing on it. I did a search for “Arundo” in eBay, and found this earlier CD of theirs very cheap. This seems to be a CD recorded a few years ago, and although some of the tunes might be regarded as hackneyed around here, the playing in my opinion is superb.
[ I’ll come back to this - have to go ].
Players….
John Byrne - uilleann pipes, flute, whistles, panpipes and quena.
Kevin Byrne - guitars and mandolin
Kevin O’Sullivan - uilleann pipes, Highland pipes and whistles
Johnny “Bongos” Horan - percussion and vocals
They were a trio when I saw them in April - minus Kevin O’Sullivan. They seemed to be the resident band for a Sunday night - I think the bar was called “Counihan’s”, in Pembroke St. in the centre of Cork. Worth having a look in if you’re in Cork city on a Sunday night.