'School Successes'
  
 
 
The greatest success story so far, must be that of the 'Diamond Ceili Bandits'
 
 
 
For more than ten years, from 1994, I ran weekly free junior sessions, first in kids homes, then in the Ace Office, & then in The Central Bar, & The House of McDonnell in Ballycastle.
  
 
The session players have always been encouraged to perform in local nursing homes & local concerts and a team of these young musicians became so regular that in 1998 I formed the group 'The Diamond Ceili Bandits'. As well as performing regularly at the 'Black Nun Folk Club', they also perform each summer as part of the summer bands open air evening concert programme for Coleraine D C, & I have also taken them over to perform at two Scottish Folk Festivals, in Campbeltown & Portpatrick.
  
 
Each year they busk at the Lammas Fair for Charity, usually make at least £300, & often win the Busking competition into the bargain. I rewarded their hard work & dedication a couple of years ago by producing their first CD, & Liz Weir kindly provided a couple of her super stories.
  
     
 
 
     
 
Success takes many forms, & one young student, Jayne Bonnar, became the Ulster Champion on her Fiddle, and went on to join the prestigious Sean McGuire's Fiddle Group.
  
 
 
     
 
Other forms of success, are for me, equally satisfying, if not more so. Like seeing shy young students, who couldn't play a note six months ago, plucking up courage, & standing up on stage, in front of a large audience, playing their music. Their expressions afterwards are easily worth all the effort, whether it be:
 
 
 
 
 
at a formal Concert, in a town hall ....
  
on stage in the Diamond at the Ballycastle Fleadh...
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
at our own wee annual 'in house' concert......
  
on the Ferry to the 'Campbeltown Folk Festival'..
  
         
 
 
 
at the opening of 'Sheep Island Hostel' ..
  
or Fiddling back home in Canada, .....
  
         
 
or in their back gardens with family & friends.
  
 
 
     
 
- sure, music can't be beat!
  
     
 
Greg Gault
 
 
 
 

One of the adult success stories associated with the music school is that of Guitarist Greg Gault, who I bumped into at a local fleadh. As a result of that encounter, he started attending the 'Learners Sessions' that I ran for a number of years in the quiet lounge bar of the old Central Bar, on Ann St. Ballycastle, while 'Kerry Joe' & later 'Cruiser' owned it.

I later invited Greg to accompany 'The Bandits' on many's a concert trip & he even went with us to Scottish Folk Festivals in Portpatrick & Campbeltown. He later became one of 'Scad the Beggars', accompanied Sabine & I on a number of costumed outings to Medieval events, including a weekend trip when he had the opportunity to fire cannon, muskets, drill with Pike Men & stay over in an old Co. Cavan Castle.

He has played with me in local sessions for many years now & after meeting one of my old musical pals Greg found himself on a trip to Brittany, with his Guitar under his arm. Recently he has taken up the Bodhran & the Bouzouki too and appeared in a video about my musical exploits. He is now one of the regular musicians to be found around the musicians table in The House of McDonnell, every Friday night, in Ballycastle.

The 2nd last time I invited Greg to join me on a trip to the Mull of Kintyre Folk Festival, he had a bad back & I took him up to the local hospital on the Saturday morning, where he met a Nurse, who now just happens to be his wife! So Greg hasn't done too badly out of his experiences with my musical school.

  
 
 
 
The Gault Family
 
     
 
Causeway Folk
 
 
 
     
 

Out of the weekly Adult Learners Session came the 'Causeway Folk' group who played for a number of years, each week, in the 'Carrick A Rede' Pub in Ballintoy, much to the delight of the tourists.

Our regular Ballad Sessions were also popular with the local folk & we had many interesting visiting musicians join us, as they passed through including the noted Irish Musician & Musicologist 'Mick Moloney'. The famous quote from that night was when our Banjo player, Pat, asked Mick if he had been playing long?

 
     
 
'Mini May Fest'
  
     
 

May 1999 saw my first attempt at filling the gap left by the Northern Lights Festival.

The 'Mini May Fest' was a weekend event with classes, sessions, concert & a Black Nun Folk Club Special.

  
 
 
 
Guests booked, included Brian Mullen, Marcas O'Murchu, John Kennedy, Martin Meehan, Maurice Bradley,
Mearaid Walls, Damian Harrigan, Catherine McLean, Paul Hill, Michael Sands,& the Diamond Ceili Bandits.
  
Seamus O'Kane
Maurice Bradley
Marcas O'Murchu
 
 
 
'Black Nun Fest'
  
 
 
 
June 2003 saw my 2nd attempt, with the first 'Black Nun Fest'
 
 
 
 
Rick Davis
Malinky
     
Rick Davis in action
Malinky @ 'The Black Nun'
Rick, Ann-Marie, Greg & Danielle . . . .
plus Seamus O'Kane, Dessie & Seamus
       
 
'Causeway Dulcimer Festival'
  
     
 
My third attempt was the first 'Causeway Dulcimer Festival', in 2005, but for details of that successful festival you will need to go to
 
     
 

"One of the two featured artists on the 'Tradmusic.com' Web Site for Dec. 2002 was

Dick Glasgow."

  
 
 
 

"Many thanks to Dick for taking part in our Q&A feature:

1. What instruments do you play?
Well there's playing, & playing.
At sessions, I usually play the Fiddle. However, I also take along my Tenor Banjo, Anglo Concertina &/or Mandolin if I feel the session could benefit from them, eg. If I know there are going to be a few songs.
For the Medieval & Renaissance costume gigs I do with my wife, Sabine, & Piper friend Patrick Martin, I also play the Hammer Dulcimer & a Baroque type Fiddle my friend, son Kevin's Godfather, & excellent Dublin Luthier, James Beatley made for me.
For tuition purposes around the local Primary Schools, I teach the Tin Whistle & Bodhran, as well as the Fiddle. I find the Whistle is an excellent first instrument, eg for P4s, & the Bodhran really appeals to boys who might otherwise consider the notion of playing an instrument to be a bit cissy!

 
 
2. How long have you played for?
My first Traditional Instrument was the Bodhran. My first one was made for me by Lindsay Porteous, of Culross, when I was living in Fife, & in charge of the wildlife in Pittencrief Park, Dunfermline. I used to go off for Mad Musical Weekends with Fife's Famous Folk group - 'Heritage', & just wanted to 'dae somethin'! I was 23, & didn't think I was very musical, also reckoned I'd left it too late, so took up the Bodhran cause it looked - even easy enough for me.
I still use that Bodhran when I teach in School, it has a twenty eight year old skin on it, & sounds grand. Wish my skin was only twenty eight years old!
  
 
3. Did you have formal training or lessons?
No lessons, no training. Well, except for three weeks of classes at Milltown, with John Kelly senior & Bobby Casey for Fiddle, & John McMahon for Concertina. Oh, & one week before a Fleadh in Buncrana with Pappa Glackin.
I suppose you could say that I've only got myself to blame now for my playing - & the punishment, well I've just got to keep playing for another fifty years, or else.
  
 
4. Who inspired you to learn?
It's perhaps not hip to say so these days, but Barney McKenna was the first Traditional Musician I ever saw who really made me sit up & say, hey wait a minute, this Trad stuff isn't all crap after all!
Then the guys in 'Heritage', Fife, cause they seemed to have so much fun with their music.
However, then I found Bell's, & the rest, as they say, is history. In the days I first started haunting Sandy Bells, the regulars included Aly Bain, Phil Cunningham & brother Johnny, Dougie McLean, Dick Gaughan, Cathal McConnell plus all The Bairns. However, the main inspiration for my Fiddle playing came initially from Pete McClements, who just oozes enthusiasm & excitement (oh & his sweat is 98% proof!). Later I got hooked on the bowing of Derek Hoy & Gerry O'Connor, Dundalk.
Finally, the other major influence would have to be, dare I say it, a Flute player, Kenny Hadden. He is another one of those wonderful musicians who, like Pete, just inspires people to want to play. Another fine, refreshing quality Kenny has is shooting from the hip, so if your not playin' it right - he'll tell you - an excellent guy to be around when your learning.
Don't you find there's not enough up front folk around these days - still plenty back stabbers about though!
  
 
5. Who were your musical heroes?
I've really covered those in my last answer. Reminds me of those school exams when you batter on, & without reading carefully, answer all six questions, only to run out of time & learn too late, that you only needed to answer four!! - but I digress.
Apart from all those listed above, who are definately to blame for me keeping going, I guess you want some even more famous names, so here goes. De Dannen would have to be way up there, mostly Charlie Piggot & Frankie Gavin, but that whole group were so exciting to watch. I must mention 'The Corries' too, who initially helped to steer me away from Pop music.
Noel Hill of course played a big part in getting me interested in the Concertina, although nowadays, I can't keep Micheal O'Raghallaigh's CD off the turntable, or whatever you call that yolk you stick the CD on!
Banjo heroes would have to include that Paragon of players, Mick O'Connor, a fine solid, truly Traditional player. I'm afraid, for me, you can stick all those other flash Harrys where the sun don't shine!!
Fiddle giants for me, must include Frankie Gavin, Tommy Peoples, Tony Linnane & Alasdair Fraser.
Singers would include Rod Patterson, Tony Cuffe & Jim Malcolm.
Outside of Trad music, my heroes along the way, would have included John Martyn, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell & Bad Company.
Nowadays, I mostly listen to Classic FM, or Lyric FM to clear my head of the Diddly Dee.
  
 
6. What make of instruments do use and why?
I played my Great Grandad's Fiddle for many years, but splashed out last year & bought a lovely new Fiddle made by Dublin Luthier James Beatley. There was always something special about playing my Family Fiddle, & still is a special feeling playing my new one, when I've known the maker for well over twenty years.
My Brass 1920s John Grey Tenor Banjo is a lovely instrument, very musical, but a bit on the loud side, so I always play it with the Resonator off.
I have a very nice Jeffries Concertina, which only has twenty six buttons, but heck, I'm no Noel Hill, so it's plenty for me, although I did scrape a 2nd place at an All Ireland one year on the wee box.
My Mandolin, Octave Mandola & Hammer Dulcimer were all made by Oakwood. They're lovely to look at & are a real treat to play. I saw the Oakwood stand at one of the last Edinburgh Folk Festivals, & fell for them there & then, & if I needed a hand made instrument now, I wouldn't go past them.
 
 
7. What is your preferred method of amplification (pick up/microphone etc)?
I simply play into a Microphone rather than a pic up as I find I get a more natural sound that way.
  
 
8. What piece of music do you wish you had written?
Dvorak's New World Symphony.
 
 

9. What are you listening to at the minute?
Liz & Yvonne Kane's 'Well Tempered Bow'. I have no desire to play like the typical Clare / Galway style, but it's heaven to listen to. I find I can't just sit & listen to my favourite Fiddle players like Gavin or Peoples, they just make me want to play, but the Kanes or Martin Hayes I can just relax to.
The other CD I can't leave alone is one given to me by a Canadian friend, Par Monts et par vaux by 'La Volee D'Castors'. I spent a Summer floating round Brittany with Paddy O'Neill (The Gulpin) & Desi Wilkinson, & we spent a lot of time with some brilliant local musicians who played the most wonderful Breton music. Once that stuff gets into your blood, it's there for life - every bit as infectious as Ye Olde Irish Music. I defy anyone to keep their feet still with that music in their ears. Long live Le Fest Noz!!

 
 
10. What musical ambitions do you have?
I don't have any great desire to conquer the world with my music, & have never been interested in being a better player than anyone else - except myself. I'd just like to keep improving a little, & playing till my dying day, at 110 if possible!
 
 
11. What advice would you give to someone learning to play their instrument?
Boy, that's a hard one! I'd say, you only get out of an instrument what you put into it. If you have love in your heart, go practice, if your heart is full of anger, leave your instrument well alone, & go kick a ball.
 
 
12. What is you favourite tune at the minute?
Ah now that's an easier one. I think the finest track I've heard in a long time is on the McGoldrick / McSherry CD - 'At First Light' - Track four 'Ornette's Trip to Belfast' is absolutely incredible. It puts me in mind of Coolfin, they were the finest band on the planet. The most amazing musical experience I think I ever had was watching Coolfin live in Coleraine a few years ago. That bands rhythm section is totally awesome, & to the purile purists who do Coolfin down, all I can say is, please 'go forth & multiply' with great speed!!"
  
 
 
 
Many thanks, & continued success, to all at 'www.tradmusic.com' for their interest, & their brilliant Web Site.