About Michael…
Photo by Craig Chaddock
When I was a kid, I played concert flute from the time I was 6 years old. All through school, I played both solo repertoire and in orchestras. When I went to college, I played mostly renaissance and baroque recorders in the Collegium Musicum at San Diego State University. One semester when I was in the Collegium, my wife-to-be, Linda, played the hammer dulcimer for a few months. When we graduated from SDSU, I found a used dulcimer in our local Reader paper and bought it for her as a present. During the next several months it turned out that I played it a lot more than she did and was starting to be able to play a few tunes. I found an instructor and for the next 7 years played and taught the instrument. I used to take dulcimers with me on business and pleasure trips but a few years ago the airlines started cracking down on what they’d allow people to store in the overhead compartments.
I decided to learn an instrument that wasn’t quite as big as the dulcimer, and since I loved the music of Robin Bullock, decided to take up the Mandola, tuned as an octave mandolin. I played for about a year with our local Mandolin Orchestra, and one day Linda and my friend Sandy took me to the local Irish pub to listen to a session. As I watched and listened, I kept thinking “I can do that…”. The next week I showed up for the first time with a stack of music books and my music stand, and lasted about 10 minutes before slinking out completely embarassed. I came back the next week, and left the books at home.
That was the beginning of what has become an central activity in my life, playing in Irish sessions in pubs, and at festivals. I sold the mandola, bought an octave mandolin, then a tenor banjo, and started playing the whistle. The whistle led to the flute, and the flute led to the Uilleann pipes. I also in 2002, I picked up a guitar to learn backup since it would really contribute to my group and recording sound. I play exclusively in Drop-D tuning figuring if its good enough for John Doyle (Guitar God), its good enough for me! I also play backup on GDAD tuned Octave Mandolin, inspired by the playing of musical genius Zac Leger.
In 2004 I traded Bob Tedrow a flute in exchange for my first anglo concertina, which I really enjoy playing. I’m now on my third and final concertina, a beautiful 30 key C/G by Wally Carrol.
Most recently, starting in November 2009, I’ve been developing traditional Irish musical instrument emulators for the iPhone and iPod Touch, currently have 8 apps on the iTunes App Store. “Concertina” (in four tunings) emulates an Anglo Concertina, “JustDrones” emulates the Uilleann pipe drones, “3QuarterSet” emulates a 3/4 set of Uilleann pipes drones and two regulators, and finally “4QuarterSet” which emulates a full set of Uilleann pipe drones and three regulators.
Please see my iPhone/iPod Touch app page for links to more information about the apps.
I co-host a weekly session in San Diego, CA on Tuesday nights at The Ould Sod (going on nearly 10 years now), also co-host once a month at the session at the Auld Dubliner in Long Beach, CA. I’m also an active member of the Southern California Uilleann Pipers club and was producer of the club’s “Seven Years of Listening” CD set.