Episode 60: Daithí Gormley Interview (Accordion)

It doesn't get better than this.

'A good reel would wipe the cobwebs off his heart.' Last Night's Fun and Joe Cooley, a -kick-you-in-the-chest-kind-of-accordion-player.' Looking for the ghosts of James Morrison and Michael Coleman on the streets of New York City. Translating the music of the fiddle into the language of the box. A grandmother's recordings a treasure trove for the aspiring Daithí Gormley and the chancey nature of recording in the studio.

'There's only one trick to becoming a great musician - you figure out what you're not able to do, and don't do it.' Finbarr Dwyer's advice to Daithí.

Daithí's album with Catherine McHugh is
‘Fiddling without a Bow – Irish Traditional Music on Button Accordion’
https://daithigormley.bandcamp.com/

And his book 'Fiddlers of Sligo Tunebook' compiled with Oisin Mac Diarmada, is available here:
https://custysmusic.com/search?q=Daith%C3%AD+gormley&type=product

The tunes Daithí plays:

Last Night's Fun
The Templehouse Reel and an unnamed reel, from the playing of Michael Joe and Larry MacDonagh
The Spike Island Lasses and Farewell to Leitrim
Tell Her I Am and Tatter Jack Walsh
My Love is Fair and Handsome followed by The Maid of Mount Cisco (composed by Paddy Killoran)

And finally - it's hard to do justice to Ciaran Carson's last collection of poems, which we mention during the chat,
'Still Life.' It's shot through with sorrow and love, and a savouring of the last of life.
https://www.gallerypress.com/product/still-life/

Ciaran Carson also wrote what many regard as the best book on Irish music yet written, 'Last Night's Fun.' Which happens to be the name of the tune with which Daithí began todays episode, talking about the legendary Joe Cooley. Thank you, Daithí.

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If you'd like to check it out, this is Craig Ferguson's 2010 monologue on Brittney Spears and addiction that Darren mentions. It's powerful, and worth the watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=7ZVWIELHQQY&feature=emb_logo

To see some of the Irish Music Legends work go here:
instagram.com/irishmusiclegends/
facebook.com/irishmusiclegends

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