Fiddler’s Brawl to celebrate 30 years of performing in Bethel
Fiddler's Brawl, a collection of fiddlers, guitarists, flute players and more, will be celebrating the band's 30th anniversary of performing in Bethel with its regular monthly performance at Whitlock's Restaurant on March 7.
The group was formed by guitarist Billy Michael, and the first incarnation of the band included violinists Larry Deming and the late Steve Negri, plus fiddlers Howie Bujese and the late Bob Christopher. The quintet debuted at Mackenzie's Restaurant (now the Putnam House) in March of 1994.
“Three decades of music is tremendous,” Michael said. “When you look at a world where bands come and go and break up, this kind of a monthly music performance is really special. It's a long time.”
This band isn't a traditional band, as it invites others to perform with them, and the musicians duel against each other or “brawl” as part of the performance. Ahead of the performances, the band doesn't rehearse together, so what the audience sees is different every time.
“I'm a lifetime musician in Bethel, and I was 42 years old at the time, and I wanted to put on a show with some fiddle players, so I got four of the best around in the area,” Michael said. “To make it even better, we got a referee, (former) Bethel Judge of Probate Dan O'Grady. So it was like a contest, but we called it a brawl, and I sang and played guitar.”
That first Fiddler's Brawl went over so well that it continued
almost every month since then. The News-Times reported that 10 years ago, then-state Sen. Michael McLachlan, of Danbury, brought a proclamation from the state General Assembly in honor of the band's 20th anniversary.
Since then, the group and the instruments have expanded to embrace various musicians and vocalists around the area, including mandolinists, bassists, accordion and banjo players and even a cellist.
“It's been a wild smorgasbord
of local talent that has shown up over 30 years,” Michael said. “We've had kids who played with us at 10 years old, and they were launched into their own bands.”
Throughout the last three decades Fiddler's Brawl has played at Redding Roadhouse, One Front Street, Molly Darcy's Irish Pub and Edison Kitchen, among others.
“We never know who we're going to have join us, except Howie Carlough, the fiddling genius, has been a core,” Michael
said. “Each show, he brings a constellation of people, I bring a constellation of people and we have five or six people on the stage on any given night, and that's augmented because people will come up out of the audience as well.”
Each show may include some Texas swing music, Irish tunes, classic jazz and more. For the 30th anniversary show, Michael and Howie Carlough will be joined by Julie Sorcek on flute, Chuck Pomeroy on electric bass and Tim Cole on mandolin.
“I truly love the way we approach every show with absolutely no rehearsal or forethought, seat of the pants, face in the wind, high wire act without-a-net excitement,” Carlough said. “Even on the rare occasions that a song will fall apart, that in itself is great fun and source of great joy that infects everyone in the room. It's like they're right with us taking the plunge. Also, I've never played with anyone like Billy. He is a walking encyclopedia of the pop music of every era from the 1800s on and can call up hits of the '60s at will — the 1860s as well as the 1960s.”
John Murray, owner of Whitlock's, said Fiddler's Brawl sells out every time.
“Billy is like an icon in this area,” said Murray, who has owned the restaurant for a year and a half. “He's a great guy and the fiddlers are all amazing musicians and have a loyal following of people who come every month. They make a personal connection, and that's what music is all about and what keeps people coming back time and time again.”
The 72-year-old Michael spends most of his week playing at other local venues, but said the Fiddler's Brawl is like nothing else he does.
“I generally play regular bar music, doing standards and background music, but the Brawl is uniquely different because of its expansive repertoire that goes all the way through the Civil War era,” he said. “I've been blessed. I have been a professional musician since I was 14 so I've never had a real job. I'm living my best life.”