Happy St. Patrick’s Day dear readers, As much as this is a day for celebration for many in Gaspé and beyond, today I would like to pay a little homage to one of the longest supporters of Irish culture around Gaspé, Leo Fitzpatrick, who passed away last month. I’ll try not to make this too … More “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” – St. Patrick’s Day With Leo Fitzpatrick (1981 & 2007)
About a month ago I left Gaspé and headed back to St. John’s, Newfoundland where I’m finishing my PhD at Memorial. As much as I’m enjoying the special holiday atmosphere here, with plenty of local traditions, visits, potlucks, and music, I can’t help but miss Gaspé and the people with whom I developed close friendships … More Snow Flurries – A Keith Chicoyne Original
It’s a rainy day today here in Gaspé so I put a fire on here and decided to listen to a reel of tape that Brian Morris loaned me last spring. It features a dub of a great out-of-print vinyl of acoustic fingerstyle guitar music on side A; then, fifteen minutes into side B (which … More The Gaspé Reel
While much of Gaspé’s population is in the woods this week moose hunting, I spent this rainy Tuesday catching up on tapes I’d been meaning to transfer to the computer for awhile. Several Barachois residents have recently loaned me tapes of the late Keith Chicoyne who passed away last December and I decided to spend the … More Uncle Norman’s Folly – A Keith Chicoyne Original Song
Here’s a lovely recording that I digitized last year from one of Joseph Drody’s tapes, labelled simply, “Old Songs From MaryEllen.” It features Joseph’s sister MaryEllen Drody-Savidant singing a selection of of old folk, country, and sentimental songs as well as picking a few lively fiddle tunes on the mandolin. MaryEllen is joined by her daughter Debbie … More Old Songs From MaryEllen
This morning Cheryl Henry-Leggo (Executive Director of Vision Gaspé-Percé) and I headed down to the market put on by the Barachois and Area Development Committee outside the Rec Centre to share the recordings we have archived and information about our project and Vision’s other activities. There were about a dozen stalls featuring crafts, baked goods, … More GCSA at the Barachois Farmers’ Market (and the Barachois Wellness Centre CD Sampler)
Today marks a milestone in my time as a researcher and community music advocate in the Gaspé. Over a year ago in August 2015, I approached Leo Fitzpatrick of Gaspé Harbour to express my interest in working with his massive collection of home recordings (over 440 tapes) that he made between 1958 and 2000. I … More Preserving Gaspesian Musical Heritage and Leo’s First Tape (1958)
Back in 2010, Brian Morris and I started a project documenting the fiddle music of his father, the late Erskine Morris (1913-1997) from Douglastown. Erskine’s music was my introduction to Gaspesian culture and has been my main source of musical inspiration for the past six years. Since we began working together, Brian has transferred about … More Erskine and Brian Morris – 1985 Cambridge Tape
The St. Patrick’s season is upon us and if you are around Douglastown, you might notice a little more wearing of the green in the coming week leading up to the 17th of March. Today is also International Women’s Day. And so with these two celebrations in mind, I wanted to share with you songs … More Old Irish Songs with Norma and Debbie
I just shared some fine old-time Gaspesian fiddling on our sister blog (Old-Time Fiddle Music From the Gaspé Coast). It features two fine fiddlers, Erskine Morris and Kingsley Marion, both playing this captivating stepdance tune that was once perhaps in wide circulation in the area. Here is the link to the music. If you know … More Uncle Peter’s Tune
