LAURA ORSHAW: Grandad's Flying Squirrels

Laura Orshaw

Grandad's Flying Squirrels

© 2004 Laura Orshaw (692863077628)

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A blend of Southern Old Time, Celtic and Bluegrass fiddling mixed with some great traditional, acoustic country vocals.

notes

Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine writes, "with this latest series of tunes, Laura Orshaw has firmly established herself as a significant emerging artist in the arena of traditional American music." Laura Orshaw is, "an extremely talented musician with unlimited potential".

Sing Out! Magazine writes, "Laura Orshaw is that rare player who certainly has the chops, but also plays with great emotion and drive...Aside from her obvious ability as a player it quickly becomes apparent what a fine accompanist her father is. His drive matches hers for an exciting listening experience...Besides her talented fiddling, Laura is also a fine singer...Laura Orshaw is certainly a player to watch."

Dirty Linen's review of Laura's last recording stated, "this is a fiddler of seemingly boundless energy. With finesse, style and a contagious joy, Orshaw attacks each piece."

Bluegrass North Magazine adds, "From the first bow of "North Carolina Breakdown" to the last note of "Soppin' the Gravy", Laura Orshaw's second CD of old time fiddle tunes is joyfull energy....Her own tunes capture the essence of old time and stand well beside chestnuts such as "The Star of Munster" and "Flying Indian".... Laura sings "The House Carpenter" in a rich, strong voice as pleasing as her fiddling and well suited to the old time themes....Laura Orshaw serves up an excellent feast of old time and old sounding tunes with energetic but tasteful playing."

At age 8, Laura learned to play the mandolin and guitar from paternal grandmother and regional old time musician, Betty Orshaw. Laura started playing the fiddle at age 10 and by age 13 had recorded the highly acclaimed release, The Grizzly Bear Chair, featuring 18 cuts of Celtic, Bluegrass, Old Time and original fiddle music. Her influences are many and varied including; Hazel Dickens, Alice Gerrard, The Blue Sky Boys, Molly O'Day, Rose Maddox, The Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, John Hartford, Peter Rowan, Norman and Nancy Blake, The Del McCoury Band and The Freighthoppers to name only a few.

Laura can be heard and seen at festivals, dances and coffee houses throughout the North East with the four piece retro Bluegrass band, The Lonesome Road Ramblers or as a duet with her father, Mark Orshaw on guitar. Playing over 150 shows in 2003/2004, Laura balances performing with school work and teaching fiddle.

Grandad's Flying Squirrels was recorded by Will Russell at Wilburland, Newfield, NY. Artwork for the project was provided by Tim Tryon of Cortland, NY with studio photography by Jim Smith, Smith Photography, Sayre, PA.

Musicians include: Laura Orshaw, fiddle; Mark Orshaw, guitar and mandolin; Ron Markell, frailing banjo.

Instruments used for this recording:
Sofia Violin by Pencho Penev
1941 Martin D-18 guitar
Alvarez Denver Belle banjo
Wooldridge F Style mandolin


The gracious liner notes for Grandad's Flying Squirrels were written by Ithaca, NY fiddler, Judy Hyman....

I first heard of Laura through her first solo album,
The Grizzly Bear Chair, which she recorded at age 13
after four years of playing the fiddle. Will
Russell, who engineered it, gave me a copy and said,
"Check this out. She can really play". So when she
started to come to my house after that for fiddle
lessons, I had an inkling of her abilities, but I
wasn't prepared for how much fun she would be to work
with and how easily she would absorb new tunes. Her
passion for fiddling and natural musicianship are what
you're always looking for in players of a new
generation. She is developing her repertoire at a
ferocious pace, inhaling new tunes whole. Then, after
living with them a bit, she makes them her own.

On this second album, she's chosen tunes from several
different traditions-old-time, bluegrass, Irish --
plus a few originals. Her sources are varied - from
Doc Watson to the Bing Brothers to John Hartford to
fiddling friends to her own creativity. And while
Laura may see herself as mostly a fiddler at this
point, her singing and songwriting on New Deal Train
are impressive and her abilities as a tunesmith are
exciting. Laura's technical ability has grown
enormously since that last album. Sometimes she plays
with the blazing speed of youth and sometimes she
plays a relaxed tempo with an easy confidence that
transcends her age.

Always, she makes you eager to follow the story that
will be hers.

--Judy Hyman

Judy Hyman is internationally recognized for her rhythmic fiddling which transcends old-time, rock and pop. Judy was recently featured on the cover of Fiddler Magazine and is well known along with husband, Jeff, for her work with the Ithaca NY based, Horseflies. Judy also tours with Natalie Merchant. Visit her website www.judyhyman.com.



What other folks are saying about Laura.........

"this is a fiddler of seemingly boundless energy. With finesse, style and a contagious joy, Orshaw attacks each piece"

--Dirty Linen Magazine

"Laura Orshaw is that rare player who certainly has the chops, but also plays with great emotion and drive".

--Sing Out!


"an extremely talented musician with unlimited potential"

--Bluegrass Unlimited


"Laura also has a very beautiful singing voice and when asked to sing, enthralls any audience she is performing for.....she is a very accomplished young lady and could stand beside such fiddlers as Bonnie Rideout or the Scottish fiddler Ally Bain, to mention but two."

--Stuart Garratt, Trance-Media2000, UK Radio Promotions

reviews

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  • Great Music
    author: JoAnn S.

    I am enjoying my CD so much. I love this type of music.

  • Laura Orshaw: Hitting it Big
    author: Nicholas Weber

    This girl is an amazing artist. She's not just one of those people that just play. She has the feeling of it. I have had the pleasure of seeing this young lady perform and I think she is a beauty to listen to, and to watch. I am just seventeen, but I am a strong fan of country, bluegrass, and stuff in that region. If you ever get a chance to, go see this girl.

  • Joyfull Energy
    author: Bluegrass North Magazine

    "From the first bow of "North Carolina Breakdown" to the last note of "Soppin' the Gravy", Laura Orshaw's second CD of old time fiddle tunes is joyfull energy....Her own tunes capture the essence of old time and stand well beside chestnuts such as "The Star of Munster" and "Flying Indian".... Laura sings "The House Carpenter" in a rich, strong voice as pleasing as her fiddling and well suited to the old time themes....Laura Orshaw serves up an excellent feast of old time and old sounding tunes with energetic but tasteful playing."

  • Laura Orshaw plays with great emotion and drive
    author: Sing Out! Magazine

    "Laura Orshaw is that rare player who certainly has the chops, but also plays with great emotion and drive...Aside from her obvious ability as a player it quickly becomes apparent what a fine accompanist her father is. His drive matches hers for an exciting listening experience...Besides her talented fiddling, Laura is also a fine singer...Laura Orshaw is certainly a player to watch."

  • Laura Orshaw has firmly established herself as a significant emerging artist in
    author: Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine

    When she released her first compact disc several years ago (BU, Nov. 2003), fiddler Laura Orshaw was only 13 years of age. Now with her second recording project, "Grandad's Flying Squirrels," she has demonstrated an amazing growth in both poise and skill. The 16 selections include original tunes "Bigler On The Gallows" and "Jillian's Chair." Also included are a pair of vocals, "Franklin D. Roosevelt's Back Again," performed by Mark Orshaw, and Laura on "New Deal Train," where she demonstrates a vocal style akin to Becky Buller. Other notable performances include "The Flying Indian," "Quince Dillon's High D," and the medley "Mason's Apron"/"The Star Of Munster." With this latest series of tunes, Laura Orshaw has firmly established herself as a significant emerging artist in the arena of traditional American music.

  • author: Burt Baldwin

    It is truely a blessing to sit and listen as Laura shares her talent. I've had the honor of attending her concerts and have talked with her. She is so down to earth and yet her accomplishments make her soar. I know in my heart she will one day share the limelight with the likes of Allison Kraus among others. She will definately be a household name known to all!

  • Great playing, great singing, great accompaniment!
    author: Kevin T

    Been around Laura for a couple years now. She absorbes tunes like a plant takes water. What she gives back is as pretty as any flower.Give this CD a listen and hear for yourself. Great heart felt music from Laura,Mark and Ron.

  • . . .a joy to listen to.
    author: Dennis R. Miller

    Laura Orshaw is one amazing musician. Her second CD, Grandad’s Flying Squirrel, at the ripe old age of 16, is a joy to listen to. First, it’s obvious that she loves old time, traditional fiddle music and it’s just as obvious that she has taken care to listen to it and maintain its essential feel. This teenager understands our musical roots better than many musicians twice her age. She is not flashy but her knowledge of the feel and the actual technique give her a confidence that leaps out of the speakers. She makes the trickiest licks sound easy as a spring waterfall--the grace is in the naturalness. Her father, Mark Orshaw, provides a solid rhythm behind Laura. Both of them understand something very basic that eludes many other old timey musicians. Mountain music was played by people – farmers, loggers, miners. It was their release from a hard day’s or hard week’s labors. For some it was their way of communicating with all things eternal. It was their way of expressing joy, sadness, heartbreak, hope and loss. It was also a way to excel and many took joy in creating and executing a tricky lick, a lightning fast lick, a new way of playing a note. Music was their creative outlet. Laura and Mark approach the music in the same spirit. There’s never a sense of showing off. There is always a sense of performing this music with love and a true appreciation for its joyful, haunting, and pioneering spirit. Even the two songs Laura wrote for this album stay in the spirit of tradition, rural life and family. The songs on Grandad’s Flying Squirrel sound like a couple pretty talented folks sitting on the back porch playing for the family and neighbors on a Sunday afternoon, and that’s the highest compliment I can give. Check this album out, not only for the excellently rendered songs, but to watch a very talented person as she continues to explore her art.

  • Maturity and musicianship beyond her years. Quality playing, song writing, and r
    author: Laura Bear of Bearasello

    This CD is an excellent example of a major talent beyond her 16 years. Excellent musicianship, beautiful vocals, songwriting, and interpretation; glorious range of fiddling- from hard driving to emotional fills and inflections. Mark Orshaw's first-rate guitar accompaniment is a perfect scaffolding for Laura to build on, and Ron Markell's banjo technique adds a depth and flavor that sounds straight from the hills and hollers of old time and bluegrass music. Laura's vocal in the CD's only a capella song is haunting. Don't miss this CD!

  • a wonderful recording, excellence on the fiddle!
    author: Stephen Tryon

    Now that's old timey! Well done! A very contagious recording, You'll want to listen to it over and over again. Excellent fiddling and accompaniment, driving with feeling. Laura's singing has developed to a beautiful style that fits so well with the traditional and old time tunes.

  • The vast scope of her musical interest and abilities is amazing.
    author: Stu Wiilson

    I am not a reviewer for a publication, nor a musician...just someone who has loved bluegrass since the early 50's. This is Laura's best effort yet. The thing that impresses me most is the timing Laura and her father have. A must in bluegrass. The song selection is varied and good. And, how about that banjo player.

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