Whether you like melody, or poetry, or great guitar work, or sweet Irish fiddle & mandolin, or driving bass and rhythm guitar, or grand piano, or a pleasant mixture of them all.

10 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Folk Pop, COUNTRY: Bluegrass



Details:
BALLADEERS AND AERONAUTS (released Nov. 2005)

David Casey has written a great collection of songs for this album, character portraits mostly. The two âaeronautsâ on the CD are Vincent Lunardi, the first air balloonist, in a song called âSailing Awayâ with delightfully, soaring Celtic fiddle and mandolin; and âAmeliaâ, a soulful, melodic song about Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean,who was lost at sea. Thereâs a light-hearted, bluegrass tune called âNeil Young Fanâ, and the last song, âAngel in This Houseâ is a very moving portrait of a young woman performed on piano, guitar, fiddle and bass. Yet the meaning of this song is somewhat elusive, and listeners have varying opinions about this woman and her fate.

Watercarvers Guild is especially honored to have Nollaig Casey, their Irish cousin, add her incredible talent on fiddle to the first and last songs of this CD. Nollaig Casey is one of Ireland's most gifted musicians, with her own unique way of playing traditional Irish music on the fiddle and such an utterly distinctive sound that it would be impossible to mistake it for that of anyone else. This âsoundâ is so attractive to other musicians that there exists hardly any major Irish artist of the last twenty years with whom she has not worked. Nollaig has also recorded and worked with Enya, Van Morrison, Sinéad OâConnor, Nanci Griffith, Ricky Skaggs, Rod Stewart, Emmy Lou Harris, Steve Earle, Mary Black, and The Indigo Girls.

Watercarvers Guild performed at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle with Nollaig and her guitarist husband, Arty McGlynn in the spring of 2002, while the duo were in Seattle on their first U.S. tour. You can hear Nollaig Caseyâs beautiful fiddle on âSailing Awayâ and âAngel in This House.â Nollaig also has a new solo album called âThe Music of What Happened.â

Watercarvers Guild would also like to acknowledge Dean Morrissey, whose imaginative artwork graces the cover of âBalladeers and Aeronautsâ with his painting, âSleeper Flightâ. This beautiful painting is from Morrisseyâs 1994 book, âShip of Dreamsâ, which was awarded "Best Illustrated Children's Book" by The New York Times Book Review. âSleeper Flightâ seems to glow with the hope and promise of adventure and the same holds true for this collection of songs. Thereâs room for the listeners to jump in and find themselves in this music and spark their own imaginations.


WATERCARVERS GUILD - THE BAND

The short version of their bio might read:
âWatercarvers Guild is a father and sons band who share a love of acoustic music and who are very dedicated to their art. Their onstage ribbing reveals that theyâre family; their level of musicianship - that theyâre true craftsmen.â

Watercarvers Guild has been steadily gaining recognition and respect since they officially became a band in 2000 and began touring the Northwest in 2001. Featuring fingerstyle guitarist Darrell Casey and his sons David and Nathan, Watercarvers Guild is an acoustic trio of multi-instrumentalist/singers who have been playing together since David and Nathan were old enough to pick up instruments. While their music shows influences of folk, Celtic, bluegrass, and pop, itâs the intricate dialogue between instruments and voices that is the signature sound of Watercarvers Guild. Music is clearly its own language for this family band; and one that they speak fluently.

Darrell, a professional musician since the early 70âs, grew up with music, picking one of his father's guitars off the wall when he was 8. He went through an electric phase before acoustic inspirations like Paul Simon and James Taylor changed his style. Two successful fingerstyle solo guitar CDâs in the 1990âs led to full-time performing.

David began "picking at the piano" at age 4, and switched to guitar only when he couldn't fit a piano in his room at college. By his teens he was composing his own music and by 18 was performing in his first band, Happy Cactus, along with Colin Meloy, of Decemberists fame.

By 2000, David had become a prolific songwriter. He and his dad recorded their first Watercarvers Guild CD and began performing as a duo. Shortly thereafter, Nathan finished high school and joined the band on bass and vocals.

Darrell notes that the image of father and sons performing together brings to more than a few minds the nostalgia of Dan Fogelberg's "Leader of the Band," a tribute to his father's influence on his music. Watercarvers Guild doesn't play "Leader of the Band," he said, but there's something very special about a dad and his kids playing music together. "It's a lot of fun, for one thing," he said. "Sometimes I look around me and say, (and I think other people do, too) 'Boy, that's got to be greatâ¦playing music with your sons. 'And, yeah, I certainly do feel that way."

However it also makes for a complex relationship, "because you're relying on each other when you're performing, and it might be that I am leader of the band in a certain way, but David has a very charismatic personality and such a strong stage presence. And, we're in business together, where you have to have some sort of shared artistic vision. And all those different aspects of the relationship come to a head sometimes. Those things don't always mesh when you underlie that whole thing with one of us in the role of being the father." Darrell says he sometimes has to remember that he may be the dad, but it's way past that stage now. "To put things on an equal footing is sometimes difficult, but it is also very gratifying."

Watercarvers Guild is currently a member of several performing artist rosters, including Arts Northwest, and has performed on the main stage of many of the regionâs best festivals. Theyâve also performed at some of the best venues in the Northwest, including the Tractor Tavern, the Panida Theater, and the Tower Theatre. With the release of their latest CD, Balladeers and Aeronauts, the group intends to expand their horizons, reaching new audiences.

For more about Watercarvers Guild, visit their website at www.watercarversguild.com.