Album Notes

Coleraine Road is:

Rosemary Caine: harp and vocals
Rosemary hails from Ardee in County Louth, Ireland. She performed at Bonratty Castle in Ireland while a young woman and has never looked back. She owned a very successful bridal shop in Massachusetts for many years but has now given it all up to focus on the harp. Her daughter has also taken to the harp and they perform together quite often. Rosemary is happiest when she has 6 places to be all in one day, 3 of which are at the same time, and none of which are closer than 30 miles to each other. Believe it
or not, she pulls it off every time!
Don Calsyn: fiddle, mandolin, guitar and vocals
Don came to New England via Illinois, Texas and Missouri. He began playing the guitar in college and the rest, as they say, is History 101. He also plays banjo, fiddle, mandolin, bozouki, bodrhan and whatever else you put in front of him. He keeps us all in stitches (actually groans) with his "punny" sense of humor. He is JanSound Studios and did all the recording and mixing for the CD.
Karmin Calsyn: flute
Karmin came with her dad, Don, to New England. She played the flute in high school. Karmin was recruited by Don to join the band after our whistle/bagpipe player moved
away. This was just a few months before our trip to Ireland to play at a wedding in a castle. She caught on to the tin whistle and became a great asset to the band.
Corki Demers: guitar and vocals
Corki is a native New Englander, still living in the town where she was born. She was extremely involved in music in high school and picked up the guitar just so she wasn't
always looking for someone to accompany her when asked to sing at weddings, funerals, etc. She did not know 1 Irish tune when she joined the band (not even Danny Boy). Now she
is totally hooked on the music and addicted to the fun! Her husband and 3 kids wonder if there is a "12 Step" program set up yet and if they will ever have a steady supply of clean socks again.
Jim Ferry: bass and vocals
Jim was born and raised in New Jersey. He has been in a few bands playing guitar and bass. He came to New England to enjoy the laid-back way of life. Actually, he would
enjoy it if he had a spare minute between running his three daughters to preschool, kindergarten, dance, gymnastics and running himself all over Massachusetts as a social
worker. Jim has played Irish music since he was a teen. He does a killer impersonation of almost anyone and is always up for a political debate.


About our music:
Coleraine Road has been together for just over 4 years. We started playing mostly traditional arrangements of the songs but were inspired by groups like Solas and Altan to experiment a bit. We have yet to hear a version of Star of the County Down like ours. We changed it from 3/4 time to 4/4 time with a driving rhythm.
There are two original tunes. Don wrote both of them. The first is a happy reel called "Coleraine Road". It has a slight bluegrass feel and is a blast to play. The second is a guitar solo, "Chord on Blue", written in DADGAD tuning. It is a sweet tune that can bring a smile to a woeful heart. "Red is the Rose" is one of the first tunes we played together. We play it at almost every wedding we do, of course we leave out the heartbreak verse at the end.
The rest of the tunes are ones we couldn't resist including on our debut CD. We are currently working on a second CD to go with our show "Wild Irish Women" which
we will take to Ireland in May of 2003. It will have a great mix of traditional and original tunes,together with a huge amount of fun.


HOW WE GOT TOGETHER
Coleraine Road started as a need for a local bar to have an authentic "Irish" band for St. Patrick's day. Rosemary, our harpist, hails from a town called Ardee in County Louth in Ireland. She was recruited to do a few tunes as a guest of the rock and roll band hired for the evening. She brought Don, our fiddler, and a few others with her and they had a great gig. They made such an impression at the bar that they were asked back the following year. Don asked Corki to come along and sing harmony with Rosemary. Again, the night was a great success and Don, Corki, and Rosemary decided to keep it going throughout the year.
Don and Rosemary knew Jim and how much he loves Irish music. He was asked to join the group and play guitar. Later, when Don found out Corki knew how to play guitar (a three chord wonder), Jim started to play bass. We have had a few other members come and go including Karmin our flute player. Karmin is Don's daughter and picked up on the Irish tunes very quickly. She is now a new mom and a
working mom which leaves her with no free time to remain in the band. Fortunately for us, she was able to be a part of our first CD.
Our next project is a theatrical show entitled "Wild Irish Women". We have written a few original songs and plan to bring the show to Ireland in 2003.