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Equinox is composed of six multi-talented
musicians. All from Michigan Tri-Cities (Bay City,
Saginaw, Midland)............ this energetic band
brings you Celtic music at it's best. At the Celtic core of the band are traditional
Highland bagpipes, fiddle, flute, whistles, and concertina. By adding
guitars, mandolin, Middle Eastern and West African percussion,
the band expands this ancient music to new dimensions. Their
repertoire ranges from sweet renditions of the familiar
Danny
Boy, Come By The Hills, and the tunes of O'Carolan, to
hard driving arrangements of Morrison's Jig, Swallowtail Jig
and Whiskey Your the Devil. Having played venues from pubs and weddings to theaters
and festivals, Equinox creates a musical experience that has
the proverbial "glass" full to the rim with energy!!!
NEW "LIVE" CD COMING SOON!!!
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Vern Pococke
Djembe,
Low Whistle, Penny Whistle, Vocals, Snare,
Harmonica,
Various Hand Percussion
Background:
With ancestral roots coming from the Old
English Celts, Vern says he also found his connection to
Celtic music through listening to the background music
used in television’s early Westerns--most of which used
Irish Celtic rhythms. “Celtic music is acoustic music
that has an edge to it--a hard driving edge--and that’s
why I like it. It’s white people’s soul music.” As a
child he was “constantly encouraged” musically by a
father who “scratched out tunes on his violin” and a
mother who bought him recordings of folk music and
inexpensive toy instruments. “We even made drums out of
boxes and used those. Music played constantly in our
house.” Even though he grew up listening to Joe Feeney
singing tunes like “Danny Boy”, Vern has also found
musical and spiritual inspiration in Native American
culture. After playing percussion for Native American
gatherings, he realized that drums and other percussive
sounds could be combined to help people achieve a
mantra-like state and experience shifts in
consciousness. “If we can hit something in our show
that’s transcendent, to me that’s the connection I want
to make with the audience. We are kind of creating this
mantra, and the audience participates with us. I know
when we’ve hit it, because then I’m no longer aware of
what part I’m playing.”
Origins of the Band:
A founding member of the band, Vern says
that Equinox “began humbly as a trio of amateurs with
limited ability as musicians but with an unlimited love
for Celtic music.” Together with friends Doug Baldwin
and Mike DuCharme, Vern started a simple Celtic band to
ward off the cabin fever which comes at the end of a
long and dreary Michigan winter. Combining St.
Patrick’s Day with the Vernal Equinox, they initiated a
yearly springtime musical gathering that a friend dubbed
the “Vern O’ Equinox” party. After several years of
rehearsing for what eventually became an annual
celebration, Vern acknowledges that “our musical skill
levels finally increased to the point where our more
experienced musical friends found they could sit in
without wincing. Plus, our fever for this genre proved
to be downright contagious.” Anyone who showed an
interest in the music was encouraged to join in,
eventually swelling the band’s membership to eight,
including two piano accordion players. Ages of band
members have ranged from fifteen to seventy. Over
time, as members came and went, the consistent number of
players settled to six, with members playing a variety
of instruments. Today these include fiddle, concertina,
flute and whistles, guitar and bass, pipes and
percussion.
Musical
Philosophy:
Vern’s strong belief that all people have the capacity
and yearning to experience the Divine have led him to
use his musical performances as a way to facilitate that
quest. “That’s what I try to do--a constant goal--to
bring people to the Divine. To find that nature in
whatever we’re playing and try to bring it out and bring
it to people who may be looking for that. All humans
have something in common, and I don’t think words are
always the best way to express that. But when you use
sound, it is easier to get there.” He also believes
playing music hundreds of years old helps to inform
people of a culture’s history. “I’m in a recorder group
at my church, and we are re-experiencing music that was
created over 500 years ago. We’re able to go back to
the culture--to tap into the legacy--by playing their
music. That’s the value--music allows you to reconnect
to the experiences of other cultures at other times.”
And he believes the audience can tell when this
connection has occurred. “You get a response from the
audience where they know something happened, and they
know they were part of it. And their life is going to
be different from that moment on, because they
experienced something that changed their perspective of
life for just a moment. ... We as a band aspire to
higher things. Not just musically, but as people trying
to make a contribution to the higher good. I am
convinced this is part of the appeal of what we do.”
Favorites: *
Adam Lay Ibounden/The Bear Dance and Come By the Hills
/Gloucester Hornpipe – “By making an effective use of
the low whistle and its ethereal quality, they transport
me to another time and place.”
*
O’Neill’s March/Tralley Gaol, Kid on the Mountain and
Highland Laddie /The Kemperle – “They start out simply,
and by adding layers of instruments they build in
intensity which I find very invigorating.”
*
The Lothian Sky Set and Kesh Jig/Ten Penny Bit – “They
are beautiful, yet carry a sheer power that sends a
tingle down my spine …. especially when Jean Marie comes
in with the fifth harmony on Ten Penny Bit.”
Celtic Musical Influences:
* The Chieftains: “They take traditional Irish music
and create arrangements that raise the sophistication to
the level of small symphonies. The first time someone
said ‘you sound like the Chieftains’ was my happiest
moment with this band! I have nearly worn out the
cassette I purchased of Celtic Heartbeat on which Van
Morrison sings Irish standards accompanied by The
Chieftains.
*
Lunasa: “I love the way they take traditional tunes and
expand them through modern influences ... and Mary Begen
is kind of the godmother of whistle music. She does it
so well it just sounds seamless.”
* Old
Blind Dogs: “They have a real hard-driving edge to
their music, and they blend their instruments in very
intricate layers of acoustic sound.”
*
Dervish: “They have all the simple and traditional
Irish energy, and then do amazing stuff to the music
that makes it sound so sophisticated.”
*
Planxty, The Bothy Band, Altan: “I appreciate the
contribution of their more traditional sounds.”
*
Maura O’Connell and Kate Rusby: “The richness of their
voices makes them my favorite Celtic singers.”
*
Other musical influences include Inca/Andean Flute
music, Scandanavian Folk music, and Medieval rock bands.
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Jean Marie Learman
Flute,
Whistle, Concertina, Guitar,
Lead
Vocals, Harmonizing Vocals
Background:
With a family geneology full of
self-taught musicians from Scotland, Ireland, “with a
little Welsh, German, and Slavik thrown in,” Jean Marie
has been singing since she was a wee lass helping hoe
bean fields on the family farm in Harbor Beach,
Michigan. “We sang everywhere. Doing dishes, while in
the bean fields hoeing beans, at church … my mom invited
all the nuns over from the convent a couple times a
year, and we kids would plan a program with skits and
songs and things like that for this captive group of
these nuns. No matter what we did they loved it. And
we never drove in the car for more than an hour without
having a song session,” she recalls. Thus, at an early
age Jean Marie became attuned to the rhythms of the land
and stories of the ages, a love that translates into her
soulful renditions of traditional Celtic ballads and
whistle songs, and her rousing renditions of Irish pub
songs. “I remember the first time I ever sang a solo in
fourth grade … I remember being absolutely thrilled.
That feeling of being up in the balcony of the church
and just belting it out … it was great! It was the
feeling of being recognized for what I loved.” Although
she initially found her way to music through singing,
Jean Marie also gained a love for instruments while
playing flute and baritone saxophone in school, and
guitar in college. Later, she learned how to improvise
while playing flute in a church folk group “because it
was boring always having to play the melody. That’s how
I started down the path of being a musician who didn’t
have to have music.” Now she picks up and learns to
play whatever instrument will fit into the band,
including the whistle and concertina. “It gets easier
with every instrument you pick up. You don’t have to
learn about the music any more, only how this particular
instrument plays the music. I know I’ve learned an
instrument when I don’t have to think about each single
note anymore.” Her introduction to Celtic music came
after she had already fallen in love with folk music
while involved in a college folk singer series.
“(Former band member) Mike DuCharme heard me play at
church and said, ‘Hey, do you like Celtic music?’ He
would feed me band after band of music to listen to, and
I really liked the energy in it … this music speaks to
me so much. Especially stuff that comes from 300-500
years ago. Sometimes it makes me wonder if it is due to
genetics. It just rings in me once I start playing
it.” A Saginaw resident, she is currently a high school
math teacher at an arts and sciences academy, by way of
a long winding road that also includes a degree in civil
engineering, jobs at IBM and Michigan Bell, and courses
in social work. Even so, she acknowledges, “I always
knew I’d rather live on a stage than anywhere else!”
Musical
Philosophy:
“I like to be the storyteller. When I’m
singing, that’s what it feels like I am.” Finding a
story in every piece of music is the gift Jean Marie
shares with her audiences. “For me it’s about
connection, a face-to-face connection with the
audience. I love the way the story I share divulges
some truth about the way the world really is. If you do
it right, the audience knows it, too, and you have an
agreement on the way the world is, for a moment.” Even
though she considers herself primarily a singer, she
acknowledges that she has learned to enjoy the band’s
instrumental music for its own sake. “Most people like
the stories of the songs, but they don’t understand the
tunes. Yet each tune has its own story, too, its own
lesson pondered. Now I enjoy playing a tune almost as
much as I like to sing. The instrumental message is
more subtle, but sometimes it rings truer, stronger,
because you don’t need words. The energies and the
rhythms, that place that you go, touches a place in you
that is deeply human and reaches what it means to be a
person with a place in this world.” And for Jean Marie,
real instrumentation is vital in a world that is
becoming increasingly technological. “Real
instrumentation … what you really hear and really
feel—that’s what world music does for me that the pop
music doesn’t do for me. As our work becomes less and
less physical, we still live in a physical body, and
music with true instrumentation takes us into that
place. Each instrument is special. Each instrument
brings a different flavor to the song.”
Favorites: *
“My newest favorite to sing is
a song by Brian McNeill called ‘The Yew Tree’. It is so
well written--each word is so perfect. It takes a look
at Scottish history in a way that is very critical and
yet hopeful as well.”
* “I also love to sing ‘Lads O’ the
Fair’. This song has everything--a fun rhythm, good
harmonies, great lyrics, and really swirling
instrumental breaks. It’s really satisfying.”
* “ And on whistle I love to play
anything in which I try to keep up with Leslie and
succeed!”
* “The song ‘Flowers of Edinburgh’ is
so wonderful to play; it feels like springtime. Then we
move into a romp and there’s so much energy. It just
feels like what ‘fun’ should sound like!”
Celtic
Musical Influences: *
Songwriter Brian McNeill from Scotland: “I met him at
the Goderich Celtic Music Festival, and I’m inspired by
his songs, just by his presence!”
*The Chieftains
* Lunasa
* Dervish: “Singer Kathy Jordan is one
of the top Celtic singers in the world, in my opinion.”
* Gaelic Storm: “Their music is really
bawdy and rowdy, but to me they are still really true.”
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Bob Pennington
Bagpipes,
Bodhran, Dumbek, Bass Guitar
Background:
How
does a former college football player and competitive
body-builder become a piper? Just ask Bob Pennington,
who put aside his athletics in favor of the bagpipes and
hasn’t looked back since. “When Riverdance came out,
when it first caught America, I saw it. I heard that
pipe, and it gave me chills. I said, ‘I have to do
that’. It opened up a whole new world to me.” Bob knew
his family roots originated in both Ireland and
Scotland, and he says that when he began playing the
chanter, then later the pipes, it felt like he was
“coming home”. “I had never listened to (Celtic music)
until I was an adult. But it was like I touched the
soil without ever being there. I could see it: the
greenery, the cows in the fields, the stone fences two
feet high--it was like I was there. I do believe we
have a connection to our heritage.” With a dad who was
a piano player in a ’50s band, and a family who loved
music and played the radio constantly, Bob was never
without musical influences. And he paid attention to
cutting-edge alternative rock bands of his day, such as
The Cure and Depeche Mode who he describes as having a
“neat way to use rhythm and had an ambience to their
music beyond the singing.” When he began playing the
pipes, he realized that these same techniques could be
found in the pipes themselves. “My drones make a
background music to the chanter, so the instrument
provides a rhythm and ambience by itself.”
Musical
Philosophy:
Bob
believes that his early and focused sports training have
helped him stick with learning a competitive instrument
like the bagpipes, which he calls “competitive by their
heritage.” Scottish nobleman would have their own
personal pipers, and it would become a source of
competition with other noblemen as to whose piper was
the best. “So the pipers would make up intricate
embellishments to try to outdo the other pipers, and
this would make their nobleman look good.” Today, Bob
finds the most meaning in the instrumental aspects of
Celtic music. “The singer/songwriter stuff doesn’t
capture me. I’m captured by the inflections of the
voice--I more gravitate to the sound of the story than
to the words of the story. That’s what brings the
heritage out. Their character is in their voice. You
can hear the meaning of their heritage in their voice.”
It is this character and history that Bob attempts to
bring to an audience. “I’m trying to take the listener
to that place of heritage. To give them a taste of
Ireland or Scotland. That’s the first part. The second
part is to make it relevant to this age. That’s why the
rhythm is important. If you can hit the instrument in a
way to make it relevant to 2008, you get the audience
there. The songs of the cultures have lasted hundreds
and hundreds of years. They’re going to live through
us--we’re the modern troubadours of that music. It’s
not going to die. It’s going to keep being transferred
from generation to generation.”
Equinox Favorites:
* Kesh Jig/Ten Penny Bit -- “In live
performance it is a riot with me and Leslie trying to
outshine each other. And of course, Liz just thrills as
she dances the socks off of Leslie in the finale!”
*
O’Neill’s March/Tralee Gael -- “The march is just so
ancient sounding that it takes me back in time to the
Chieftains of Ireland and their clashes with different
clans. Then it swifts to the lightness of Tralee Gaol.
It just has a great contrast that goes well together.”
*
Highland Laddie and The Kemperle -- “I put these two
songs together not really knowing if they would even
work together. It is always difficult to transfer pipe
tunes to a CD and not lose something. But I think
putting the Kemperle on the tail end of Highland Laddie
creates a “live” sound with addition of the flute and
drums.
* Kid
on the Mountain -- “It really makes me feel as if I were
on a mountain somewhere looking down into the valley.
As the tune builds intensity, it just sounds like it
should be on the soundtrack to some epic movie.”
Celtic
Musical Influences:
Seven Nations: “A Celtic rock band. I bought all their
CDs and saw them at festivals.
Lunasa:
“They take old Irish music and do a jazzy /modern swing
twist to it. It’s just like chocolate; it melts in your
ear!”
The
Chieftains: “I’m in awe of that band. They are superb
arrangers. It’s just flabbergasting what’s happening
musically all at once.”
Dervish: “The Ferndale singer is incredible; the
guitar player is amazing. They work well as a team, and
that’s where we are as a band if we can work as well.”
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Leslie Gregory
Fiddle,
Vocals
Background:
An elementary school orchestra program
gave Leslie an early start at playing the violin. But
it took moving to a town with no high school orchestra
that allowed him to develop his high-energy performing
personality. “I realized people didn’t know what a
violin was. So I started playing in the halls, songs
like ‘The Entertainer’ and ‘Popcorn’. I dressed up as
the April Fool and brought my half-sized violin. People
are always curious about the new kid, so I thought I
might as well make sure they knew who I was.” Singing
in the school hallways also gained him an invitation to
join the honors chorus. “They had fun with my
enthusiasm,” Leslie recalls. “The basses would drop out
during the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ so that eventually I’d be
singing by myself, because they knew how overzealous I
was.” All of this fueled his desire to provide
high-energy entertainment for people. While in college
at Michigan Tech in Houghton, he landed a summer gig
playing for tourists at Fort Michelemackinac, which
expanded his repertoire of Celtic and French music, as
well as clogging tunes. Later he played for the Madame
Cadillac Dance Theatre of Detroit where he picked up
more French music as well as court dances and minuets.
“I don’t really study just one style of music, but I
like learning the music needed for each specific playing
situation. I love learning lots of different music. I
will hear great pieces of music, or friends will send me
CDs with great tunes, and I’ll try to learn them.” With
an ancestry that is Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, and
Jewish, Leslie says he has always been interested in
music from other cultures. “Our original family name
was Gruszczynski until my grandfather changed it to
Gregory. I guess he sold a few consonants and bought a
vowel. Thank goodness he did, or else I wouldn’t be
able to sign checks!!!” Leslie believes it was his
family history that provided him with a love of world
music--such as Klezmer music that he explains would
“blend the best musical themes from their geographical
area into one musical genre. Celtic music has the same
process going.” His early love for world music also
drew him into dancing, and today he participates in
vintage ballroom dancing with his wife Sherri. Leslie’s
dancing makes its way into his performances in the form
of a dance-off with the band’s Celtic dancer--all part
of his desire to provide compelling high-energy
entertainment for his audiences. He used his musical
and performance talents to win the talent contest on a
Prairie Home Companion Cruise, and was invited to
perform on the radio program with Garrison Keillor which
aired in July, 2006. “It was a very exciting experience
and definitely fulfilled my five minutes of fame--I hope
I still have ten minutes left!”
Musical
Philosophy:
Leslie finds his inspiration in music that he finds
personally compelling, music that draws him into its
story. “I guess playing is really the art of being a
storyteller. When you hear a great story that pulls you
in, you try to tell the story to others. And in
performance you want to be as entertaining as possible.
You want to draw the audience into your version and make
them want to hear that.” Leslie does just that with
his high-energy fiddling, as he works to create music
with a uniqueness to it: “to provide the audience with
something extra that they can’t get anywhere else.”
According to Leslie, that something extra comes from the
unique performing blend that is Equinox. “It’s the show
as a whole: music, audience, dancing, singing. It’s a
broad range, and we have a band that can create that.”
As far as his personal role is concerned, Leslie says
that he just wants to be as entertaining as possible.
“I like changing things up. The music evolves during a
performance. I just try to be as awake and aware as
possible--to be into the music and to generate energy.”
It is this energy he believes calls to “some kind of
spirit” in each member of the audience. “When they
listen to our music, I want them to have this buoyant
happiness, an aura of well-being. Not just an
intellectual experience, more like a craving for more,
so they’ll go out of their way to hear us again.
There’s a lot of psychological energy in our
performance. I like to get that kind of energy
transformed from our band to the audience, to where they
want to keep their feet moving.”
Equinox
Favorites:“My
favorite songs to perform are the ones that build and
build with driving energy that is just exhilarating:
Gloucester Miner, Catharsis, Kid on the Mountain, The
Kemperele, The Morning Dew, Whiskey in the Jar,
Balleydesmond Polka. I like our emphasis on the quality
of music that spans an emotional range from tranquility
up to the whirling Dervish!”
Musical Influences:
ABBA—“Their driving, fun
melodies build a desire to hear more.”
Enya and Sinead O’Conner—“For their
moody, driving music that is also slightly disturbing.”
The Chieftains—“They were my first real
influence in Celtic music.”
Loreena McKennitt—“I love her
arrangements and moody music.”
Orren Tikkannen—“For his storytelling
abilities and the way he can bring out musicality on any
instrument, even those he couldn’t play!”
International Folk Dancing—“Music from
around the world that is so compelling it makes you want
to learn the dance steps!”
Riders in the Sky—“Entertaining from the
word ‘GO’!”
The Moody Blues—“For their fantastic
musical craftsmanship and thematic creativity.”
David Grisman—Early Dawg Music—“He used
tight arrangements with everyone keeping a driving,
compelling melody going.” |
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Katherine Morris
Guitar,
Whistle, Vocals (also plays Bodhran, Pipes, Banjo)
Background:
When Kathy was 15, a hot summer gave her
the perfect excuse to spend a few months in a friend’s
basement picking out ’60s folk tunes on an old guitar.
“At first we shared the guitar, teaching each other
chords and techniques. Then I bought my first guitar at
Woolworth’s for $19.95. It had a neck like a 2x4, but
it stayed in tune,” she recalls. As she had already
learned to sing harmonies in 3rd grade choir, it wasn’t
long before Kathy and a few friends formed a folk trio,
playing family reunions, parties and churches, and
school music programs. Later, visiting her mother’s
relatives in England provided her with a means for
experiencing the small village folk clubs and learning
about English folk music. “Naturally, that experience
has had the largest impact on my music,” she says. “I
love that stuff!” After finishing college at Kendall
School of Design in Grand Rapids, Kathy started a career
in interior design, as well as getting married and
having four children of her own. “Then I met my best
friend and duet partner, Carol Levack. We were a
well-known duet around Michigan from about 1976 through
the 1980s. We had a repertoire of American folk stuff,
some of the English stuff I had learned, and Appalachian
style music—for which I learned the lap dulcimer.”
Kathy and Carol toured historical societies and museums
doing a program of songs about women in Michigan
history. A bit earlier, Kathy had developed a love for
bagpipes and joined the Flint Scottish Pipe and Drum
band to become a better piper. With her daughters
performing Scottish solo dances, eventually she, the
girls, and some women piper friends began to perform as
a group called “Gaelic Tradition”. In 1983, this group
was chosen to represent Bay County at the World’s Fair
in Knoxville, Tennessee. “We all went and stayed for a
week, and led the fair parade each day, and gave several
performances during the day,” Kathy recalls. “It was a
wonderful time!” Eventually Kathy connected with singer
Jerry Casault and formed the band Hoolie. Beginning
with a mostly Irish pub repertoire, eventually the band
settled into performing Maritime music, and the group
had a successful 14-year run playing tall ships
festivals, lighthouse festivals, and touring the
Netherlands, England and Scotland over the years. In
fact, Kathy still plays side-gigs with some members of
this band in a group currently called Duality. A few
years ago, Kathy brought her vast musical experience to
Equinox. “After Hoolie ended, I started to go to any
musical gathering I would hear about in an effort to
quench my music addiction, and that’s how I ran into the
Equinox folks. Playing in Equinox satisfies the
performance need I have, and I can be creative within
the genre. The band is like a family, and the music
gets better as the bonds grow tighter and the affection
and loyalty within the band get stronger. It is
important that all the band members have a passion for
the style of music they create, and that seems evident
in Equinox.” Kathy still works as an interior designer,
specializing in ceramic tile design. Reflecting on her
rich musical history, she says: “I’ve always had to
balance my time between my husband, my kids, my job, and
music. Music is a huge part of my identity. If I
didn’t have the opportunity to play music, there would
be a massive hole in my life that would be difficult to
fill with any other activity.”
Musical
Philosophy:
Kathy
says she most enjoys the entertaining aspect of
performing Celtic music. “I would hope that listening
to this music would bring joy to listeners, as I think
Celtic music is uplifting. To me, this music evokes
emotion that is happy and cheerful, yet calming. Of
course, to move any listener, the music has to have some
power and a groove. That’s what I want to put behind
Equinox ... an edge that catches your ear, and an energy
that excites your senses. What I am enjoying about
being this band’s guitar player is when I drive the
music, my bandmates can deliver the power.” However,
along with enjoying the performing aspect of Celtic
music, Kathy says she also struggles a bit with not
actually having what she calls “the birthright to play
Irish music.” She explains, “We are Americans expanding
upon the tradition of Celtic music, because that’s the
type of music we personally prefer to play and listen
to. Also, we try to put our own spin on the tune,
timing and lyrics. So we present a Middle American
interpretation that someone wants to listen to .... I
guess we are simply performers of a music style we
admire. We bring this to our audiences so they don’t
have to travel to Ireland to hear the real thing! A
listener will come to hear Equinox because they like
Celtic music, and enjoy hearing and watching the Celtic
instruments being played.”
Equinox Favorites: *
O’Neills March and Traley Goal -- “These show our unique
sound, since we’re making use of our three whistle
players.”
*
Lad’s o’ the Fair -- “Jean learned this from the
composer, which gives us some unique ownership to the
piece. Also, I think the arrangement is interesting.”
*
Pipes and Battle Medley -- “The way the pieces build
musical tension is powerful.”
*
Kesh Jig / 10 Pennies -- “The pipes are played with the
rest of the band, creating a powerful sound. Also,
featuring the fiddle and pipes separately, then
together, is interesting musically.”
Musical Influences: “I
have been inspired by English folk music in general.
Specifically, I love the musical energy of the groups
Lunasa, Dervish and Altan. I particularly admire John
Doyle’s guitar playing. As I figure out new guitar
accompanying parts, I try not to be predictable; that’s
what I like about John’s playing. As far as vocalists
go, I like Karen Casey’s unique voice, very strong and
controlled with the musical embellishments and phrase
turns that I identify with Irish vocals.” |
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Liz Sauer
Dancer
djembe,
dumbek
Background:
The youngest member of the band, Liz
began dancing for Equinox shows while she was still a
high school student. “A local country club had hired
the band and some Celtic dancers separately for a
party. Afterward, the band asked me to come and dance
at their next gig,” she recalls. Although she was
initially nervous to work with the band, Liz says that
for her “it all comes together when I hear the music and
just start dancing.” Beginning dance classes at age
four, Liz has had training in jazz, tap, ballet, Irish
dance, and ice skating. “Most people don’t know I was a
figure skater for six years,” she says, “but it was
something I really wanted to do. The biggest highlight
for me was skating with (Olympic champion) Tara Lipinski
at a training camp.” Today Liz acknowledges that her
years of skating have influenced her Celtic dancing.
“I’m Irish dancing and use some of the steps, but I make
it my own and add my own flavor and interpretation based
on what the energy of the music says to me. And I like
how skating has molded into dancing, because I’ve always
had very good posture and form.” After dancing with the
band for several years, Liz also began drumming with the
group on a regular basis. “I was carrying a drum for
Vern, and I was just kind of playing it. He said, ‘Wow,
that’s pretty good.’ So at the next gig he handed it to
me and said, ‘Just play it quietly.’ At first it was
intimidating, but it’s good to know that I’m getting
better at musical things and not just being recognized
as the dancer.” Liz is no stranger to music, having
played the flute in band for eight years and studying
piano for six years. And for years she attended folk
music festivals with her aunt and uncle where she gained
an early exposure to world music. She says that while
initially she was a timid drummer, playing summer gigs
at the Michigan Renaissance Festival quickly helped her
improve. “It was easier to explore ways of drumming
there, and we played so many sets a day that if I
screwed up on one it didn’t really matter because
sometimes we had seven shows a day.” In addition to
being a dancer and musician, Liz is also an artist and
is currently studying art therapy at Western Michigan
University. “Art is just another way of expressing
myself,” she says. “(Art therapy) is a way—rather than
using a verbal approach to unlocking feelings—of
allowing people to really open up and heal.” Eventually
she would like to integrate art therapy with healing
work in music and dance, but for now she is content to
let these other interests simply work their way into her
art: “I once did a fat cat sculpture where I used
mandolin strings for whiskers, so they are all curled!”
Although Liz admits that it can be hard to juggle all
her interests, she says she wouldn’t give up any of
them. “All are separate parts that have come together
to form the person I am. Doing all of this IS fun.
It’s my life. It’s what I do!”
Performing Philosophy:
According to Liz, when she performs
musically or as a dancer, she hopes the audience members
will find something personally inspiring to take with
them. “I really want them to have a good feeling where
they can feel changed inside and take something with
them that is just for them,” she says. And often she
can tell when this moment has occurred. “When we are in
that groove on stage, where we feel changed by what we
are playing, we know that we are sending that energy out
there to the audience. When that happens and we are all
aware of it, it is just the greatest feeling.” Liz has
wanted to be on stage since she was a young girl
listening to her mother’s favorite singers such as Tracy
Chapman, Lisa Loeb, and Sheryl Crow. “The
‘strong-woman’ feel their voices expressed definitely
invested those thoughts of wishing I was on stage.
Maybe not singing, but at least doing something that I
could create a difference with.” Now that she is on
stage as a young adult, Liz says she still has that same
desire to create a positive impact for others by what
she does. “I am still hoping I may be instilling that
feeling in another little girl’s heart. My goal is to
portray that passion (our band) is feeling together on
stage to those who are bearing witness to it as our
audience. If we are doing our job, they will be able to
feel that passion, too.” Because she is so caught up in
the passion of what a performance might convey, Liz says
she rarely gets stage fright. “Once at the Ren Faire
there was a leaf on the ground, and I fell backwards.
But I caught myself and bounced back up, and just put my
arms up and said ‘Yeah!’ I’ve always liked that quote
about if you are going to screw up, then screw up Big!”
When asked about advice she might want to give young,
hopeful performers, Liz is thoughtful. “Everything I’ve
done has taken a lot of work,” she reflects. “I’ve put
a lot of years into those talents, that’s why they are
there. Anyone could do what I do, but it just takes
time. You’ve got to be motivated, and you’ve got to
want it.”
Equinox
Favorites:
*
Tamlin—“This is an extremely delicate piece that slowly
builds itself into a speed train on the strings of the
fiddle. It conveys a story about a mischievous pixie at
play, and in dancing to this I feel that I become that
pixie. With the slow-rising tempo of the tune in my
hands, I mold a story of deviant prances and trickster
spins along the stage space.”
* Kesh Jig & the Ten Penny Bit—“The
whole composition of this tune is an ongoing playful
battle between the pipes and the fiddle while Vern and I
jazz-hand sway in the background and beat our coaxing
drums. I become that unexpected victor in the battle
against the fiddler’s broken ankle dance with my
high-flying kicks as I chase him across the stage!”
* Adam Lay Ibounden & The Bear
Dance—“This is one of those tunes that carries a drum
pulse deeper than the beat of a heart itself. I can’t
help but close my eyes in a trance to really take in the
volume of its journey while my lower drum beats
collaborate with Bob’s tight pops on the dumbek head.”
* Gloucester Hornpipe—“This hornpipe
was one of the first pieces I ever performed routinely
with the band, and for that it makes for one of my
fondest memories with them. (Not to mention Kathy’s bird
call interpretations through the intro and my ongoing
shuffle-hops during the “Kill the Dancer” game this
song’s tempo seems to bring out in my band members!)
* P Stands for Paddy—“My love for this
song comes from the connection Kathy and I make each
time we play it—my drums in sync with her bold guitar
strumming. Also, before each instrumental break, I feel
this is one of those rare moments where my hands
actually become drum sticks. In my head I make a
crescendo on a giant drum kit with a build-up so heavy I
tend to imagine a KISS concert’s stageside fireworks
exploding into the air every time we really get this
piece rocking.”
Performing Influences:*
Savion Glover—“This man’s feet are famous all across the
globe, not just because of his tap technique but for his
rhythmic beats as well. I could only hope to one day
dance in such a way where something as subtle as the
stomping of my feet sends shivers up the spines of
onlookers.”
* Bill Whelan—“Bill Whelan is the
composer of the spectacular music of the Riverdance
production. His brilliant works were some of my first
insights into Celtic-based music. I enjoy reminiscing on
my past experiences of seeing the show and tapping my
toes to the rhythms of the dancers.”
* Ruth St. Denis—As a pioneer of the
modern dance movement, Denis was not fully aware of the
technical movements of the cultural-based dances she
performed. However, they were beautiful all the same
because she performed her own interpretations of them.
This has inspired me to feel free about my own unique
expression within the type of dance that I perform and
not to worry so much about getting the technicalities
all in line.”
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