Apple Crisp's Blog

Apple Crisp + Special Friends, March 8, Scout House

2007-03-06T11:31:00.000-05:00

Nothin' like some dancin' and hot music to keep us warm in cold weather!

Thursday, March 8, our friends Avi and Jonathan are playing the Scout House with two special guests. Eden MacAdam-Somer is the really fabulous fiddler in Notorious. Some people consider her to be one of the best fiddlers in New England. Keith Kirkpatrick, the bass player from Kebrada, the jazz band for which Avi plays piano, will join in on bass. The quartet should rock the house with a few instruments not typically heard in contradance bands.

Apple Crisp at Club Passim, Monday (7/10), 8 pm

2006-07-06T11:07:00.000-05:00

Word on the street is that Apple Crisp and friends (Apple Crisp a la Mode?) will play at Club Passim in Harvard Square on Monday, July 10, at 8 pm as the opening act for guitar player Steve Tilston. Keith Kirkpatrick on bass and David Neiman on hammered dulcimer will join in. It should be fabulous musical entertainment.

Tickets are $10 for regular admission and $5 for Club Passim members. Holders of certain other discount cards (like WBUR or WGBH cards) might pay a reduced admission price, too.

Club Passim is at 26 Church Street--a short distance from the Harvard Square subway and bus station.

Apple Crisp in The Boston Globe

2006-05-30T13:08:00.000-05:00

No, this isn't one of those things where you order food and it arrives in a newspaper like fish and chips. Globe Correspondent Keith O'Brien wrote a cool piece about Apple Crisp for the kickoff of the new season at Faneuil Hall. If you just put two and two together, you figured out that Avi and Jonathan are indeed playing there for their second year. Head out there on a Sunday sometime to hear them and you'll know that they've got power.

Apple Crisp's Debut at NEFFA

2006-04-23T01:31:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, I want to pull aside the person who does my scheduling and ask, "What are you thinking?!?"

It's about 2 am and I'm sitting here wide awake rearranging my schedule many times in my head to accommodate a trip to NEFFA later this morning to listen to Apple Crisp play at the folk festival. They're like my favorite contradance band and I realized a few hours ago that missing them play means I'm missing their gigantic debut at NEFFA.

They perform in the auditorium at 11 am during Contras from Scratch.

I really can't change my schedule tomorrow morning. No matter how many times I convince myself that my alternate plans will work, they won't. My only consolation is the hope that Apple Crisp will continue to land bigger and bigger gigs and I'll get to see them play many other times in the future, too.

So, someone, please go dance to Apple Crisp at NEFFA Sunday morning because I can't.

I was at the festival Saturday for 14 hours. I got to hear Jonathan play piano with a youth orchestra at one of the large contradances. They were fabulous!

Their Faneuil Hall audition for the 2006 season is coming up soon, too. I'm really look forward to sitting out at Fanueil Hall this summer, too, to listen to them. Good luck, guys!

Some original tunes

2006-03-29T08:53:00.000-05:00

Jonathan has written some contra tunes over the past couple years & we've now gotten them written up & posted in our charts directory.

Shooting Star, which we've also recorded

Ship's Whistle - I've also got this one programmed into my cell phone, so I hear it often.

Pinellas Reel

A Taste of Tennessee - A Father's Day gift - written on our trip to Tennessee last year

Through the Woods

Lilac Bush

Discovering the roots of our music (and country)

2006-03-27T08:38:00.000-05:00

Man, it would be cool to go back in time and see Patrick Henry play the fiddle! I thought as I skimmed my history packet in order to collect information for an american history project. I had been looking over this packet, pausing to read the text box below the main article. To my surprise, the text box stated that playing celtic jigs and irish reels was one of Patrick Henry's greatest hobbies. It even said that Patrick Henry met Thomas Jefferson at a fiddling session! Of the three people I could research, I had received the one that I could directly relate to by my music. Furthermore, I could bring in my button box and play the class something that Patrick Henry might have played when he met Thomas Jefferson. When sunday arrived, my dad and I searched 17th century tunes on the web. There were many names I recognized, but I wasn't really excited until we saw Fairy Dance listed. Fairy dance is a tune we play almost every dance along with Batchelders reel. We learned that it was by Scottish Composer Neil Gow, who lived from 1727 to 1807.

I was able to quickly learn it on my accordian. In the end, I didn't get the chance to play it for my classmates, but it is interesting to realize some of the things we play connect us to famous politicians from the past. How fun to think that centuries ago, Patrick Henry might have played the same songs we play every dance.

Double Apple Crisp Thursday, 8 p, Springstep

2006-03-02T01:18:00.000-05:00

Can you smell the apple crisp baking? I sure can. For that extra special ingredient, I listened to some Apple Crisp tunes while making it.

In case you missed the news, a deluxe version of Apple Crisp is playing at Springstep tonight at 8 pm--that's the contradance formerly located at the VFW in Cambridge and sometimes still referred to as the VFW. (No experience necessary. Bring a friend or ten.) I've been psyched about tonight's dance ever since Avi told me he and Jonathan had landed the gig. I even weaseled out of a regular commitment to be at the dance the entire time. I've been encouraging all of my dancing friends to come out. Apple crisp to those who do.

If you can't come out dancing tonight, perhaps you could download some Apple Crisp tunes and make your own dessert treat. Here's how I sometimes prepare mine.

Crumb 1 cup flour, 1 cup oatmeal, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to taste with 2/3 cup margarine. Toss in some toasted nuts or chipotle or dried fruit for something special. Fill a greased 9" X 13" pan with apple slices. (Rome apples are great baking apples, but they're not available in all areas of the country.) Top with the crisp. Bake at 350 degrees till the crisp is golden brown and the apples are tender. My recipe says 35 minutes, but it never works that way. For optimum results, bring it to the contradance tonight to share with your dancing friends. Don't forget to bring a serving spoon.

Charts & Tunelist update

2006-03-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

I added some small updates to our tune list, and also started up a basic repository for charts. Some entries in the tune list now link to their charts.

gosh, we're up next

2006-02-25T19:43:00.000-05:00

I really only went to the neffa website to look up the time for emily's concord gig tonight. And there we were. Time to go buy good baking apples (and also rehearse).

Natalie MacMaster blows Apple Crisp into a whole new way of thinking

2006-02-25T14:51:00.000-05:00

Being a contra pianist in training, I had listened to many fiddlers, keeping track of who I thought was best. I had heard of many fiddle artists, but on a lazy Sunday morning, I was introduced to a new one who would stand out to me. I watched with curiosity as dad rifled through his itunes account, finally pressing play on a song called Catharsis. Catharsis is a tune that is amazingly fun to play with those chords that make you want to dance while you belt out the rhythm. When the recording started, I was surprised to hear not only a fiddler who was comfortable with her instrument as someone would be with their own home, but also that the accompaniment was electric guitars and drums. Yet, the band had a chemistry like no other, and the tune just rocked. Immediately intrigued, I heard some other songs, liking them almost as much as the first. ”Wouldn’t it be cool to see her live?” I thought, not realizing that this would become an experience I would have.

My dad must have been having a comical reaction when he heard me exclaim that it would be cool to see her live, since he had purchased tickets for the front row in the balcony to see her. He presented the tickets to me on the eighth night of Chanukah, and I found myself thinking about what it would be like for the next couple weeks.

Two weeks later, I found myself sitting forward in my seat in Sanders Theater, clapping as Natalie MacMaster took the stage. The show as a whole, was so well planned out and spectacular, that I can only describe some of the key things I noticed while listening. One amazing feature that I noticed, was that there were lots of whole band “hits,” where everyone would accent a single note or phrase. Another thing that stood out was how much she moved and interacted with her other players, especially the guitarist. It made me jealous about how portable her instrument is, but she definitely put that freedom to good use! Lastly, the band was so together in everything they did, that they were able to channel all of the talent of the players into one solid sound that I will never forget.

Natalie MacMaster

Subscribe to the Apple Crisp Calendar

2006-02-16T00:32:00.000-05:00

Seth and I made a cool discovery. You can "subscribe" to the Apple Crisp calendar & have it show up in your own calendar program (I use iCal on mac).

From your calendar program, subscribe to the following URL:


http://applecrispcontra.com/calendar/calendars/Apple%20Crisp.ics

I know this works on iCal. Anyone want to let me know if it works on Entourage?

And speaking of the calendar, I've revamped it to better blend with the website.

Latest MIT dance

2006-02-16T00:24:00.000-05:00

We had a solid turnout for the MIT contra dance this week, I think partly due to P.E credit being granted to students who came to dance. I every time we play, I still hear Jonathan pull of some surprising and tasty chord progression and think to myself "I gotta have him teach me how to do that!". His playing is becoming quite polished. Thanks to Barney for covering on piano for the second half.

The band (Dave, Gene, Barney & me) was also called on to demonstrate a Hey-for-four at one point, firmly establishing ourselves as renaissance men.

We'll be back at the MIT dance on May 16th.

School Contra Dance snowed out!

2006-02-12T16:27:00.000-05:00

The contra dance at Jonathan's school was snowed out last night. No word on if it will be rescheduled. Hopefully it'll be on a night when I'm not working.

Booked for NEFFA

2006-02-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

We got into the New England Folk Festival.

We're scheduled for a Sunday morning beginner Contra Session, "Contras from Scratch". 11:00 am in the Auditorium.

Rocking Horse People is also booked for the annual Beatles singalong on Saturday at 3:00.

Contra Dance at Jonathan's School

2006-01-20T01:07:00.000-05:00

Cambridge Friends School has an annual Contra Dance; it's on our calendar. I hope Jonathan will get a chance to sit in with the band like last year, and like last year, I'm working that night, so I won't get to see him play.

New classical recording up, Jonathan's article published

2006-01-16T10:22:00.000-05:00

I've posted a recording of our Beethoven Sonata duo from Jonathan's recital last month, on our Recordings page.

Jonathan's camp journal from Pinewoods was picked up by the newsletter for the Country Dance and Song Society. They reprinted the pictures & his complete text. It's nice to see it in hard print, but that means I can't link to it.

In the Mind of an Active Contra Dance Pianist

2006-01-08T16:13:00.000-05:00

Contra dance piano is a very interesting thing to play for two main reasons: one being that you get to supply the beat for the entire band, and the other being that you have a lot of room to fool around since harmony is one of the main parts of your job. Last night at the Medway dance, I realized that depending on which song I was playing and the difficulty of the chord changes, I was thinking about different things, sometimes not even about the music. I thought up this blog article while playing an easy reel, and by the end of the song, I was able to categorize my thoughts into five different contra piano modes:

1) Nervous concentration: “Man, I got to keep up with these changes or else it will sound really bad. How long will this song last? I got to stay on my toes.”

2) Band Chemistry: “Dad’s on fire! Man that’s cool! I should tell him that that thing that he did on the A rocked!”

3) Watching the Dancers: “That couple is really good! That kid is totally into it, and his mom seems to be liking it too. Whoa! Who would want to dance with her!”

4) Boredom: “Dear mom, well here I am at the Medway dance playing a good old one chord reel. I got bored, so I’m writing this letter to you with my nose.”

I have to agree with Peter Barnes when he said that one great thing about playing a contra dance is watching the dancers. Also, while doing this, you don’t have to worry about being caught staring at one hot couple for the whole time. Who would imagine that the pianist was watching you? Impossible! It also doesn’t help to have a nice old church to admire, but a lot of the time my dad’s so involved and active that I just watch him.

More on Duos

2006-01-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

Regarding the Contra Dance Duo, Bruce Rosen says -

In fact, my favorite band is the 2-person band ... me and a fiddler ... I think it's the configuration in which I play my best. It's also the easiest in many ways ... easy to pick tunes (I just do what the fiddler wants), easy to hear each other, easy for the sound guy. Two musicians can play with huge energy ... dancers are constantly coming up to the stage and marvelling at how much sound we are creating.

Duo Flying Solo

2006-01-02T23:51:00.000-05:00

We're playing the Medway dance this saturday.

This will be our first time at the Medway dance. Thanks to Rob Rudin for hooking us up with the organizers of that dance.

We had a solid rehearsal sunday putting together some arrangements for this gig. Dusted off some of our "standards" and put together some new stuff - like taking Star of Muster into Minor Swing.

The other "first" of this gig is that it's our first dance gig playing just as a duo - no other instruments joining in. When we first started playing contra dances, we were lucky enough to have more experienced dance musicians join us and lend guidance. Flying solo now (or "Flying duo?").

Playing as a duo presents some unique dynamics. First of all, we each have to work harder; there's no sitting back & letting someone else carry the tune. I'm all the melody and Jonathan is all the harmony & rhythm. I expect us each to feel worn out by the end of the night.

Any contra dance band tries to create different moods or textures over the course of the dance. The most common way to do this is by using different combinations of instruments - i.e. "Just fiddles & accordions on this verse..." That device isn't really available in a duo. Either we're both playing, or I can carry the occasional verse solo on vibes. And that's it for instrument combinations. That means that our range of textures has to be more internal, coming from *how* we play. We need to challenge ourselves to create variety within the duo.

The really fun thing about Apple Crisp-with-no-condiments is that we can hit grooves together that just can't happen with other people in the band. Jonathan & I know each others' playing far better than we know anyone else's. We can go at our own speed, speak our own musical shorthand, even predict each others' mistakes, and get each others' musical jokes without having to explain to the other musicians.

The new Thursday Night Schedule is out

2005-12-31T17:50:00.000-05:00

And we're on it.

Happy New Year everyone, see you at the dances.

Gig Roundup

2005-12-18T12:52:00.000-05:00

The week was rich in music and performance.

We each spent the early part of the week practicing hard for upcoming gigs.

Jonathan came along with me to my Jazz gig on wednesday. It was my first jazz gig on vibes, and I think it went really well. Recordings are available on the trio's website. Jonathan even sat in with the band for All Blues and So What.

Thursday Morning, Jonathan's middle school jazz ensemble had their first performance. They played Mo Better Blues, So What, and Sir Duke. They sounded super - the band held together very well, and the solos were fun to listen to.

The long day ended with Jonathan's classical piano recital - A "Beethoven's Birthday Party". Jonathan played 2 solo pieces, and we played a Sonata for four hands together. We hope to have a recording of that posted soon.

More Gig News

2005-12-12T07:05:00.000-05:00

Congrats to "Whippersnappers" Emily & SK. You guys sounded great the other night at VFW!

Jonathan & I have a few (non - Apple Crisp) gigs coming up this week.

I'll be playing with my jazz trio Wednesday at a holiday party, and Thursday morning, Jonathan has his first Jazz performance with his school Jazz ensemble.

Then Thursday evening, he has a piano recital. He has prepared some Beethoven and Chopin to perform and we will also be playing a Beethoven sonata for 4 hands together.

Recipes and Web Rankings

2005-12-01T22:26:00.000-05:00

Welcome MSN Search Users.

It seems that a large portion of the visitors to this site come here looking for apple crisp - the kind you eat. I'm here for you. Look on the new Recipes page.

Searching for the term "apple crisp" on msn search ranks this site #1 out of 463,287 results. Google ranks us far lower - somewhere past the first 100 results. (Of course if you google "apple crisp" with another term like "contra", or "vibraphone", you'll find us easily). I'd guess that the difference is that MSN gives our high ranking for "apple crisp" because the words appear in our domain name and the search words also appear often on these pages. So take that, applecrisp.com.

If you'd like your recipe included on the recipes page, post it in the comments below or send it in.

Gifts, Part II

2005-11-26T11:36:00.000-05:00

Who is the gift for, the giver or the recipient? I admit that I enjoy giving at least as much as receiving gifts, and perhaps that's partly due to ego satisfaction.

In the previous chapter of this story, Jonathan gave me a very cool Apple Crisp gift. My turn.

I bought him an accordion at an auction at folk music camp. I wasn't intending to get it, but couldn't say no when I saw it go up for bids. I managed to keep it a secret for a few weeks & gave it to him at his birthday party.

Chanukah's coming, Jonathan.

Recording

2005-11-23T00:27:00.000-05:00

We recorded a couple of jigs last weekend.

Shooting Star/ Old Favorite

For a different feel this time, we weren't trying to rock out, but do something sweet sounding. The first of the two jigs is by Jonathan, the second is by this "trad" guy who lives in Ireland. I hadn't realized it before, but this does come off sounding appropriate to the winter holiday season. Perhaps we'll use it on the Apple Crisp Christmas Album ("Apple Crisp: Home for the Holidays" ?). You listen to it while sipping eggnog & trimming your tree.

Recording is still new for us & hard work. It usually takes a full day to get one recording done, and it's far from perfect. We don't do overdubs, so all one hears in our recordings is from one continuous take. That practice may not persist, I'm learning about editing now, so we can go in to fix mistakes.

I also added an older recording to the recordings page, "Katy's Rambles/ Lady of the Lake". It should have been there with the others, I don't know why it got missed before.