Dan Rubin and Dave Panting launching book of fiddle music
In the 30 years since they met in an impromptu jam on a picnic bench on a muddy field in Alberta, musicians Dan Rubin and Dave Panting have written more than 60 original folk dance tunes. Tonight, they’ll release the fiddle music for 30 of them in book form.
Panting, well-known for his work in Figgy Duff, Rawlins Cross and the Irish Descendants, and Rubin, who performs as one-third of Atlantic Union, are holding a launch party for “Tanglecove: 30 New Canadian Fiddle Tunes” at Rocket Bakery and Fresh Foods in St. John’s, beginning at 7 p.m. The book, which comes with a CD of the waltzes, jigs, reels, airs and other tunes, features notes for teachers and students and rich illustrations, depicting the stories behind each of the songs, as well as photos of some local musicians to which the project pays tribute: Rufus Guinchard, Emile Benoit, Frank Maher, Art Stoyles, Stan Pickett and Seamus Creagh.
“You might be walking down the street, slapping your bare feet on hard concrete, sitting by the shore of a quiet inlet, sailing your schooner through a storm, or riding along in a van with the band on a the way to a gig, and suddenly a melody is there, playing itself in your head. So it is with these tunes,” write Rubin and Panting in the introduction to the book. “They have come to us over the years. We write them down, save them up, play them with friends. The great thing about putting them together in a book and CD is that they can be passed on to other players.”
Rubin and Panting will read from the book and will perform several of the pieces. Admission to the release party is free.
Copies of “Tanglecove” are available at O’Brien’s Music and Fred’s Records in St. John’s.
Rubin and Panting will hold a concert in celebration of the book at Gower Street United Church on Oct. 12.