quote:

Originally posted by Branwyn32:
The few, the strong, the proud: the men who own hair dryers.

We still love you though, Mike. Just... In a differnet way.

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And we wake up in the breakdown of the things we never thought we could be...

quote:

Originally posted by Branwyn32:
GREAT LINK Tara! Thanks for posting the Comhaltas thing!

ah, Comhaltas (ie. "coal-tas"). http://www.comhaltas.ca/ - that's the group I played with regularly back home. Actually, the bodhran pic on the About Us page is my hand and drum. Still haven't worked up the nerve yet to play at a session here. Think I'll make that one of my things to do in 2006.

quote:

But kudos to you, Mike. The few, the strong, the proud: the men who own hair dryers.

I'm gonna claim its Macs hairdryer, Just so Delaney wont love me in that "other way"
Mike.

It's ok Mike, I'm sure you look very pretty.

Cool, Melissa! Girl, if you haven't played a session by the next time I come St. John's, I'm dragging you to Erin's, O'Reilly's, AND Auntie Crae's myself.

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"We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."
-Charles Bukowski

"Bad as I am, I'm still here."

quote:

Originally posted by Branwyn32:
It's ok Mike, I'm sure you look very pretty.

he does

quote:

Originally posted by Branwyn32:
Cool, Melissa! Girl, if you haven't played a session by the next time I come St. John's, I'm dragging you to Erin's, O'Reilly's, AND Auntie Crae's myself.

Well now that I've sort of observed a session at Erin's and seen that the people there are all pretty friendly and welcoming I might bring my drum and tag along with Mike some night soon. I don't know why I was worried that the musicians would be sessions snobs or anything. I guess I was just intimidated by the fact that the pros play these things too.

quote:

Originally posted by Tanya:

quote:

Originally posted by Branwyn32:
It's ok Mike, I'm sure you look very pretty.

he does

LOL, alright Mike, that's it. Pic of you and the hairdryer due by tomorrow.

Melissa...go for it! And hell, it's not like you don't know half those folks already anyway; I'm sure they'd be really supportive of you coming to play with them! I was actually pretty surprised as to how welcoming everyone was...every session I've been to in NYC is uppity and exclusive, and they DON'T seem to like bodhran players. The fact that there were at least 3 drummers at every session in St. John's blew me away. Though, I am glad you didn't tell me who any of the pros were till afterwards...I probably would've wet my pants. *LOL*

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"We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."
-Charles Bukowski

"Bad as I am, I'm still here."

haha Now you know why I've been a bit hesitant to go down there. I do who the pros are that play the sessions. But yes, everyone seems pretty welcoming there so I'm going to have to get my butt down there really soon. The only people I'd really know (ie. friends) down there would be Mike (Em's bf & fellow bodhran player) and Ford but hey, that works for me.

Must go practice some. I realized when I played at a session at home over Christmas that I'm getting rusty.

quote:

Originally posted by Branwyn32:
Jefe, that's really cool! Damn, tell me the 6am session was going on from the night before! *L* How'd you end up playing with those lads? Black 47 plays alot at a pub here, I really should go see them. OH! Since you're not far from DC...are you familiar with the band Scythian? Saw them here a few weeks ago, they were great.

I wish it had--that was the plan! Unfortunately, the hotel wouldn't let Neck bring their acoustic instruments into the residents' bar (they even had an extra fiddle for me to use). Apparently, acoustic instruments make more noise than a blaring stereo system and 75 or so drunks! Our little improptu jam started when I asked Joe from Black 47 if I could try his bodhran. Stephen from Neck wanted to try it, too, and pretty soon we were playing whistle & drum tunes.

I've seen Scythian a few times. They make it up to my favorite Baltimore pub once a month or so. They're a lot of fun, and seriously talented!

quote:

Ahhh, that's what my bodhran teacher said to do - hair dryer and spray water bottle for the opposite problem.

Thanks Anne, I wondered if i was doing right.
- Mike.

quote:

Pic of you and the hairdryer due by tomorrow.

Amanda, see your email in box.

Mike, see the other thread in NFLD Forum.

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"We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."
-Charles Bukowski

"Bad as I am, I'm still here."

Well, now that I've actually got a bodhran, and that I'm actually trying to learn to play it (slowly, mind you...it's only been a week), I'm already wondering what I can do the spice up the plain-jane look of my drum. The drum might as well look good (even if my playing's not).

I was thinking of putting my family crest on the drum head, and some stuff on the rim. I'm not too worried about the rim. My wife is an avid tole painter, so she's not going to have any problems putting whatever on that. I am concerned about putting stuff on the head.

Here are my concerns:
a) I want it to last a bit, not flake off.
b) I don't want it to damage the head (I've heard some paints can dry out the skin)

I've seen suggestions regarding using leather dye for decorating the head. Has anyone done this? Any other suggestions? What's on your drum?

Turning into a bodhran metrosexual,
Baldie

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Cranially Aerodynamic
______________________
Looking for Great Big Sea songbooks? Look no further--> http://baldiespace.spaces.live.com/

quote:

Turning into a bodhran metrosexual,
Baldie

BAHA! That's the funniest thing I've heard all day! Awesome!

I dunno, Baldie. Pretty much every decent bodhran I've ever seen has been bare on the drumhead. Every painted one I've touched feels really brittle and dry and seems to be meant for "decoration" or something (I hate the idea of musical instruments being used as decoration, they're for playing!).

One thing I think you might be able to get away with without any problems is henna dye. It's completely plant derived...just dried powdered leaves and water, so it might be ok...I've heard of people using on natural skin drums before. Leather day might be alright, but most modern dyes are made from extremely harsh chemicals (yeah I majored in costume design, I'm a geek), and while that's fine for a coat, I don't know what kind of effect it would have on something like a drum, where the skin-treatment process is different and it's stretched so taut.

I'm sure it can be done, I'm just not sure of the safest way of going about it. Maybe try contacting a drum-maker online at Cooperman's Drums or someplace like that?

The rim, on the other hand...I'm sure you're right, I would think painting on it would be completely fine. Good luck!

---

"We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."
-Charles Bukowski

"Bad as I am, I'm still here."

Okay, so I received an unexpected check in the mail today, a quarterly tax refund from the government. So, now that I have some spare money (plus I got a job offer today so I will no longer be unemployed) I am finally getting myself a bodhran! I am ridiculously excited! I mean, it's just a cheap one from eBay, but since I don't know how to play yet, I'm sure it'll do. I can't wait!

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Aruial

"Her hair, it was red, and her bonnet was blue."