continued with this CD. I don’t recall it being a conscious decision, as such. It was fairly serendipitous. I think it just happened because none of us could agree on a producer, and we like to think that it has worked pretty well for us. I know most musicians would be appalled by the notion of the ‘committee mix’, but it’s not really like that. We all bring so- mething different to a recording project of this sort. Some of us are very good at sourcing material, others enjoy the studio work, while some are more at home with the administrative problems and seeing a concept through to fruition. We are very lucky, also, that are manager, Gordon Webber, has a flair for graphic design, and has done a fantastic job on the art work for this and the last album (‘Live’).
It will be good to get out and promote ‘Thursday Night in the Caley’ with a few gigs around Scotland, and especially in the Highlands. That is something that we always relish. It was the village halls of the north that launched us, and we ne- ver lose sight of that. It is also a chance to meet up with old friends, and that is equally important. I’d like to think that we have always made friends wherever we have played. We’re a pretty sociable bunch and we don’t mind other people being sociable too. Invariably, whenever we go back to a venue, the talk will turn to something that happened the last time, and we’ll look forward to meeting people that we played tunes with or fell over with on previous occasions. Having toured as a band for thirteen years, we now asso- ciate different friends with certain places, and that is nice.
Incidentally, the name of the new album, ‘Thursday Night in the Caley’, is a refe- rence to our annual fiddle school ‘Blazin’ in Beauly’, which runs for a week, every October, in the village of Beauly, near Inverness. Alliteration is everything to us, so it could have happened anywhere, as long as it begins with B. Bermuda wasn’t available that week! The Caley Hotel is
the meeting place on the Thursday night of the fiddle school, and the hospitality and patience of the proprietors, Ian and Cath, knows no bounds. The name comes from a tune that I wrote for them.
We are hoping to carry on the alliteration and run a similar school in the States. ‘Bla- zin’ in Boston’ should be launched sometime next year. We have already been over and prepared most of the groundwork with our colleagues in Boston, most notably, Gerry Bell, who’s drive and enthusiasm have been im- mense. The fiddle traditions of North America sit very comfortably with what we are trying to do, and we’ve always had a good recepti- on whenever we’ve been on that side of the Atlantic.
It’s going to a busy year before that though, with plenty of tours and festivals lined up. We’re constantly working on new material and ideas, hopefully our audience enjoy what we do? Our shows are a wee bit different, becau- se as well as the ensemble stuff, each fiddle player takes a solo spot, which gives you the chance to demonstrate something of your own playing style and traditions. We are all strong personalities, and enjoy performing. Interaction with our audience is very important to us, and we like to make everyone who comes to our gigs feel involved (without feeling uncomforta- ble). We thrive on the informality of our con-
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