Tradition has it that Friday 13th is an unlucky day. So what did we do? Not only did we schedule a concert for Friday June 13th 2003, but we also decided to record it for release as a CD! The concert was promoted by Bob Breheny and the Monterey Bay Celtic Society and took place at Judy Hackett's Espresso Garden and Café, a great venue for acoustic music in San Jose, CA. The concert was sold out, the audience was enthusiastically loud, and the result was this CD.
The CD contains a mixture of tunes and songs we have already recorded and some previously unrecorded material. We included the old material because the band has a different instrumental lineup now than it did on either of our previous CD's (notably fiddle and uilleann pipes), and just because we damn well like them! We've also included a couple of video clips that will play on your Mac or PC. Just put the CD into your computer's CD drive and follow the on-screen instructions.
All of the tracks on this CD were recorded that night with the exception of a very special set of tunes we recorded with the MacTarnahan's Prince Charles Pipe Band. They are one of a handful of Grade 1 pipe bands in the USA, and were also the world champions at the Grade II level in 2001, so it has been a great privilege for us to be associated with them. The set of tunes we play with them is part of one of their competition medleys and was recorded at Santa Catalina School in Monterey, CA on Saturday June 28th 2003.
We hope you enjoy the tunes on this CD. You'll hear some missed notes, chords, and technical glitches (which we'll blame on Friday 13th !), but we think it captures the atmosphere of what was, for us, a very special evening.
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