Bob Borcherding
Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:50 am
Coming from Missouri, it is hard to say when my first fiddling exposure was, other than the occasional square dance, but I would guess that it was in the mid 70s, a lot of it came through the Focal Point Coffeehouse, started by Janet and Bill Boyer, who owned the music store next door, Music Folk. Janet Boyer was the sister of fiddling Bob Beers.
Dancing contras with Childgrove Country Dancers exposed me to a bunch of good fiddling as well. The first dance I went to in 1978, and many of those after, had music provided by the Indian Creek Delta Boys. Janet Boyer was the sister of fiddling Bob Beers.
Irish music, John D. McGurk's Saloon, James Kelly, Kevin Burke, James Bryan, and Johnny Cunningham were among my first attractions to fiddling.
Bluegrass festivals mostly Eminence and Winfield, with the occasional fiddle contest.
Never really thought that I could play the fiddle, so in 1978 I purchased a mandolin. A couple years later I picked up a fiddle my brother had gotten from our cousins and I could make it work, so in March 1980 I purchased a fiddle, and haven't looked back.
My first Irish tune I heard in person, might have been the tune "Behind the Haystack", played by St. Louis fiddler Kevin Keegan at Focal Point,in St. Louis. Kevin was not related to the San Francisco Irish musician, he was a tall lanky fellow, who played with his wrist bent nearly to 90 degrees. He eventually had to quit playing because of the carpal tunnel problems this brought on. He was in a band called the Mound City String Band, along with Gail Heil and Bob Abrams, and later he played with the renowned (at least in Saint Louis) Geyer Street Sheiks.
One night, at the Focal Point coffeehouse, I volunteered to work the door when Johnny Cunningham played for an entire set without stopping.
About that same time, my friend Joe Boyer encouraged my sister and me to go down to John D. McGurk's Saloon, which is at 12th and Russell in St. Louis, in the Soulard district.
The band at the time was Bowhand, which featured James Kelly, Paddy O'Brien, and Daithi Sproule, which were the house band for 2-3 years. We were spoiled. After they left, Joe Burke became the band booker, as I understand it. Bands would come, stay for six weeks, play every night, and then go. No cover charge. Kevin Burke, Paddy O'Brien, Andy McGann, Martin Hayes, Jackie Daly—the best of the best would be "asked over" from Ireland by Joe Burke, who would often play as well. Michael Cooney, so many others.
One night, in January 1994, the contradance I was hosting had nobody show up (yep!), so John Shewmaker and I went to McGurk's for some food (great burgers) and we were unable to sit closer to the performers than the rear of the 3rd room, by the door to the fourth room. Originally the bar had one shopfront, but it kept expanding, adding room after room, as it swallowed up the shops next door, one by one, over the years, until it now spans four storefronts (or is it five, that last part is quite big?) When I first went to the Saloon, it had two rooms. I once considered moving to Soulard just to be near the place.
So John and I are eating our burgers, listening to Martin, but after a while I thought, "Martin is playing a strathspey? That doesn't sound like him." So I walked to room one, which is the performance room, for the dedicated listeners, and saw this blonde 20ish woman playing and asked my friend, Nancy Lippincott, who was sitting by the stage, "Who is that?" "Natalie somebody".
I had Fit as a Fiddle, Natalie MacMaster's first cd in my cd player at home, and indeed this was her, just happening to be in town for a Burn's night performance. Of course anyone with any knowledge of Irish music in Saint Louis would tell visitors to go to McGurk's.
Just an inkling into what a glorious place it was. Nearly enough to make one an alcoholic, if one wanted to go listen to the music as much as I did, but fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on the view, I lived far away in the suburbs, so I didn't get there nearly so often. But whenever I went, there would be a fiddler or two or four in the audience. I look back at those times and think of the song, "Bob Dylan's Dream."
Anyway I never have learned to play Irish like I wanted, I looked at books, there wasn't anyone to learn from. I listened to the recordings I could get, mostly I had a cassette of Kevin Burke, If the Cap Fits, which I copied from my LP. I listened to that non-stop for years. Some of those tunes have been learned by me, others will certainly erupt someday.
So I played for dancing and picked up old-time, New England, Cape Breton, Scandinavian, English Country Dance tunes, but all along I also wanted to get those dang Irish tunes "right," though I wanted to get all those other styles "right" also. Mostly I did, but the Irish and Cape Breton still beckons me to come--I don't have nearly enough tunes to make me satisfied, nor enough of that so sought after "lonesome touch".
That is what I like about the fiddle/violin, there is so much to learn that one can never stop learning. It is like a wife, 'til death do us part.
Dancing contras with Childgrove Country Dancers exposed me to a bunch of good fiddling as well. The first dance I went to in 1978, and many of those after, had music provided by the Indian Creek Delta Boys. Janet Boyer was the sister of fiddling Bob Beers.
Irish music, John D. McGurk's Saloon, James Kelly, Kevin Burke, James Bryan, and Johnny Cunningham were among my first attractions to fiddling.
Bluegrass festivals mostly Eminence and Winfield, with the occasional fiddle contest.
Never really thought that I could play the fiddle, so in 1978 I purchased a mandolin. A couple years later I picked up a fiddle my brother had gotten from our cousins and I could make it work, so in March 1980 I purchased a fiddle, and haven't looked back.
My first Irish tune I heard in person, might have been the tune "Behind the Haystack", played by St. Louis fiddler Kevin Keegan at Focal Point,in St. Louis. Kevin was not related to the San Francisco Irish musician, he was a tall lanky fellow, who played with his wrist bent nearly to 90 degrees. He eventually had to quit playing because of the carpal tunnel problems this brought on. He was in a band called the Mound City String Band, along with Gail Heil and Bob Abrams, and later he played with the renowned (at least in Saint Louis) Geyer Street Sheiks.
One night, at the Focal Point coffeehouse, I volunteered to work the door when Johnny Cunningham played for an entire set without stopping.
About that same time, my friend Joe Boyer encouraged my sister and me to go down to John D. McGurk's Saloon, which is at 12th and Russell in St. Louis, in the Soulard district.
The band at the time was Bowhand, which featured James Kelly, Paddy O'Brien, and Daithi Sproule, which were the house band for 2-3 years. We were spoiled. After they left, Joe Burke became the band booker, as I understand it. Bands would come, stay for six weeks, play every night, and then go. No cover charge. Kevin Burke, Paddy O'Brien, Andy McGann, Martin Hayes, Jackie Daly—the best of the best would be "asked over" from Ireland by Joe Burke, who would often play as well. Michael Cooney, so many others.
One night, in January 1994, the contradance I was hosting had nobody show up (yep!), so John Shewmaker and I went to McGurk's for some food (great burgers) and we were unable to sit closer to the performers than the rear of the 3rd room, by the door to the fourth room. Originally the bar had one shopfront, but it kept expanding, adding room after room, as it swallowed up the shops next door, one by one, over the years, until it now spans four storefronts (or is it five, that last part is quite big?) When I first went to the Saloon, it had two rooms. I once considered moving to Soulard just to be near the place.
So John and I are eating our burgers, listening to Martin, but after a while I thought, "Martin is playing a strathspey? That doesn't sound like him." So I walked to room one, which is the performance room, for the dedicated listeners, and saw this blonde 20ish woman playing and asked my friend, Nancy Lippincott, who was sitting by the stage, "Who is that?" "Natalie somebody".
I had Fit as a Fiddle, Natalie MacMaster's first cd in my cd player at home, and indeed this was her, just happening to be in town for a Burn's night performance. Of course anyone with any knowledge of Irish music in Saint Louis would tell visitors to go to McGurk's.
Just an inkling into what a glorious place it was. Nearly enough to make one an alcoholic, if one wanted to go listen to the music as much as I did, but fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on the view, I lived far away in the suburbs, so I didn't get there nearly so often. But whenever I went, there would be a fiddler or two or four in the audience. I look back at those times and think of the song, "Bob Dylan's Dream."
Anyway I never have learned to play Irish like I wanted, I looked at books, there wasn't anyone to learn from. I listened to the recordings I could get, mostly I had a cassette of Kevin Burke, If the Cap Fits, which I copied from my LP. I listened to that non-stop for years. Some of those tunes have been learned by me, others will certainly erupt someday.
So I played for dancing and picked up old-time, New England, Cape Breton, Scandinavian, English Country Dance tunes, but all along I also wanted to get those dang Irish tunes "right," though I wanted to get all those other styles "right" also. Mostly I did, but the Irish and Cape Breton still beckons me to come--I don't have nearly enough tunes to make me satisfied, nor enough of that so sought after "lonesome touch".
That is what I like about the fiddle/violin, there is so much to learn that one can never stop learning. It is like a wife, 'til death do us part.