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Retail/Wholesale orders:
Postage $2.00 per CD domestic First Class Mail only. IT'S
ABOUT TIME ...... It's not often that an acoustic band gets literally mobbed at the
end of their set at a folk festival, but this tended to happen to The
Bringers more often than not ..... and the constant question asked was
"Do you have a CD?"
We figured it was about time to remedy that, and therefore the
title of our CD, "It's About Time ...."
It is a great honor to us to have it released thru Random Factors of Los
Angeles, California.
Guesting on the recording are vocalists Nichelle Scott and Catherine Rustenbeck, and Joe Bethancourt.
Unfortunately, the band is no longer in existence, alas, but the CD is still available!
BUY IT HERE
THRU RANDOM FACTORS !!!!!
Highlander Radio
rates 'Celtic Circle Dance/Cup Of Wonder' in their Top Ten, and 'Tamlyn' is in their Top 100!
Tamlyn the Bard: (Trad. / W.J.
Bethancourt III)
Let us tell you a tale ..... of faeries, Irish bards and gypsies
....... around a campfire on a lonely, rainy night. "Tamlyn," the reel,
not the Child ballad, is by an unknown author from an unknown time - this
is one of those melodies that the people of Ireland tell you were "written
by the Faeries" ..... and it may very well have been. Joe's inspired
poetry from 'The Song of
the Bard' weaves itself into the mystery and power of the tune,
creating a completely otherworldly experience. It evokes campfires and
Bards, wild dancing and the Wild Hunt, coursing thru the stormclouds with
thunderbolts in their hands.
Have a friend hold your coat-tails for this one.
Michi: fiddle Leaving of Liverpool:
(Trad.) .... so we decided to see if we could do 'happy and up-beat'. Well,
sort of. At least, up-beat. This rather rollicking lament about leaving
your loved ones on shore while sailing off to sea is one of our "standard"
pub songs. In other words, we reined ourselves in and didn't completely
tweak this one ..... good tune, good song, and lots of just plain fun.
Catherine and Nichelle: lead vocals Marching McCahill to Milltown:
(Left-Handed March/McCahill's/Return to Milltown) (Trad.)
Um .... we think these might be the names of these tunes. It's a set of
melodies Michi learned from a tape put together by Gordon Lyons of "Wild
Mountain Thyme." The names are approximate guesses, due to lack of memory
and water spotting on the tape jacket! If you know what the "real" names
are, please let us know!
This is one of the first set arrangements The Bringers ever presented,
and it has remained a favorite of ours and of our audiences for three
years.
By the way, the various whistles and yips that you hear in these songs
aren't there just for fun. They are how we signal to each other in the
middle of a tune. Listen to how they work! Michi: fiddle Cold Blows the Wind: (Trad. Child
#78)
This was Nichelle and Catherine's audition piece; the first thing we
ever heard them sing. (Is it any wonder they were shoo-ins?) They learned
it from a "Ween" album. This disquieting love story is a variant on the
Child ballad 'The Unquiet Grave'. The girls came up with an unsettling
vocal harmony that adds a chillingly beautiful touch to this supernatural
love story.
Catherine and Nichelle: lead vocals Irwin Owen on the Road: (Planxty
Irwin/GarryOwen/Rocky Road to Dublin) (Trad.)
Michi learned the arrangement of "Planxty Irwin" from Terry Foy; he
calls it "cleaking a twassic." "Rocky Road to Dublin" is a complicated 9/8
slip jig that the band decided to shift to 4/4 right in the middle of the
song ....... and "Garry Owen" seemed to work as a bridge between the two.
It's a little silly, but loads of fun.
Note to other musicians: Do not attempt this stunt without supervision
and a safety net!
Michi: fiddle Geordie: (Trad. Child
#209)
Vash learned "Geordie" when he was 17 from the singing and playing of
Frank Blair of "Emerald Skye" at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. Our
version is a Robert Burns-ish variant of the ballad, where our heroine
rescues our hero from execution for a crime he hasn't commited. An amazing
example of a Scots ballad where nobody dies (except the poor sod whose
death was the cause of it all .....).
This one has become a staple of our live shows and Vash's signature
song. He says he feels the song so deeply that it's easy to bring that
across in the singing and take the audience along with him.
Vash: lead vocals Walks of Eireland: (Gravel
Walks/Farewell to Ireland) (Trad.)
One of the Bringers' "take it to the edge" tunes. This set regularly
inspires the comment, "Does everything have to be a race with you guys?"
at sessions. What can we say? We like to play FAST! Again: don't try this
at home. What more needs to be said?
Michi: fiddle King Henry: (Trad. Child
#32) An old favorite of Joe and Nichelle's (Nichelle has been requesting
this one at Joe's solo shows since she was a little kid) and a new
favorite of ours. Here we take a well-deserved opportunity to be truly
dramatic on yet another Child ballad. The instruments actually become
lyrical tools, blending flawlessly with Joe's narration and Nichelle &
Catherine's frightening characterizations. This mythic tale unfolds with
vivid color, pointy claws and big sharp teeth. Be afraid- be very afraid!
Joe: lead vocals, double-neck guitar Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye: (Trad.)
We've always felt this song was taken from the wrong angle. It's always
presented as a sad lament, when in fact it is bitter and mournful with the
promise of hope at the end. Our attempt to "correct" this is to have Vash
take an impassioned lead accompanied only by the bodhran and a disturbing
choir of 'ghosts' provided by the rest of the band. This is a truly
timeless statement, apparently from the Napoleonic wars, about the effects
of war on love and loved ones.
Vash: lead vocals, bodhran French Canadiennes:
(Mary-Louise/Reel Beatrice/Mary-Louise) (Trad.)
This one is pure fun. Michi and Vash changed "Mary-Louise" from
Puerta-Buel (mouth music) to instrumental music (sort of backward, since
in mouth music voices are used to imitate instruments). Michi learned
"Reel Beatrice" from Terry Foy at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. The
audience participation part is clearly defined here by claps, stamps,
whistles, and such, which provide for a very "live" feel.
Michi: fiddle I Am Stretched On Your Grave:
(Phillip King/Frank O'Connor) (copyright 1990 Mulligan Music)
This is a song from around 1979 that was written so completely "period"
that entire mythologies have sprung up about the "ancient" origins of the
song in folk circles. This is a morbid tale of love beyond death ( can we
see a pattern forming? ). Catherine takes the lead as a young girl who
sits atop her lover's grave wishing and lamenting. The girls' modal
harmony ( Byron steps out from behind his didgeridoo to sing with the
girls ) evokes the confusion and shock of the loss of a loved one. Vash's
trance drumming provides a static backdrop and stable foundation for the
story to unfold. All in all, a truly mournful song.
Catherine: lead vocal Anatolia: (Uskudara
Gidedriken/White Turk/Uskudara Gideriken) (Trad./Regier)
Michi got into Turkish musical forms, got fascinated, played this for
Joe, and this is what came out.
She learned "Uskudara Gideriken" at a workshop on Turkish music in the
summer of 1999. Her penchant for Slavic rhythms and speed playing gave
birth to "White Turk". The set calls up images of sweaty bustling Turkish
marketplaces, and campfire dances in the desert.
Joe restrung and re-tuned his octave mandolin to get the Turkish Saz
sound.
Michi: fiddle Irish Blessing: (Trad.)
Vash learned this one as child. He takes a solo with it, to offer a
spiritual well-wish to our listeners.
Vash: vocal Celtic Circle Dance: (W.J.
Bethancourt III) (copyright 1984, 1992 W. J. Bethancourt III) Read the lyrics of Celtic Circle
Dance/Cup of Wonder.
This is one of Joe's most requested works, and with the addition of the
band it takes off into the Faerie Realm like a rocketship. "Celtic Circle
Dance" is an original composition by Joe, calling forth archetypal images
of ancient gods, standing stones, and long-forgotten rites. We are using
the piece here as the first half of an epic journey. Keep listening. Cup Of Wonder: (Ian Anderson)
(copyright 1985, Chrysalis Records)
The epic continues. The band considers this combination of songs to be
their crowning achievement, especially considering that they were recorded
in one take in a candlelit studio.
"Cup of Wonder" is an under-appreciated gem by Jethro Tull, from the
album "Songs from the Wood."
Joe: lead vocals, double-neck guitar, second guitar, electric sitar,
guitar-synth CREDITS
Producer: Joe Bethancourt / White Tree Productions The band and their instruments:
Michi: 4 and 5-string Fiddle, vocals THANKS
THE PLACES: Fiddlers Dream, The Olde English
Inn, O'Connors Pub, The Sharlott Hall
Folk Festival, The Arizona Renaissance Festival, Quantum Leaf, Alpha Far
West, Boogie Music ....
THE THINGS: The Van of Adventure,
Preston's Pants, Works4Me, The Arizona Irish Music Society,
Porcupine Studios, Creative Noise Studios, Emily the Brontosaurus, The Great Dark Horde, White Tree Productions ....
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Available on CD.
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