Traditional Irish Music Session.

Posted on by Thor

Scott Vocca and Vicki Gish who run the Irish music session at the Claddagh Cottage Irish Pub, (4308 Curry Ford Rd, Orlando, FL 32806) bought the pub, recently, only to have the property sold out from under them a few months later. Businesses in the small strip mall were abandoned and several were boarded up. It looks like the whole area will be bulldozed for new development. Inside the pub however the warm inviting music continued. Every other Wednesday these Irish music sessions liven up the pub. This was the last Wednesday session of the year before the pub closes its doors for good.

On this evening there were several soulful solos sung. When I started the sketch, a young woman with jet black hair and a young round face was singing as everyone in the bar stopped to listen. I wish I had caught her in the sketch. A tenor sang a solo in Gaelic and his voice also caused pints of Guinness to pause on their way to lips. The accordion player to my left wanted photos anytime he knew a tune and joined in. A sweet Irish woman to my right was glad to oblige although she couldn’t figure out the buttons on his cell phone camera.

There will be one final blow out Irish party where you can have your last pint at the Claddagh Cottage and listen to The Bronx Boys ring in the new year with traditional Irish and American music. Alan Murray will be joined by Isaac Alderson on uilleann pipes and vocals andAlasdair White on fiddle. This party will be the last day at the original Claddagh Cottage so get out and help them drink everything up! The party starts at 6pm and goes until 3am.

The Claddagh Cottage will be demolished in early 2017 to make way for a Walgreens. Scott and
Vicki, who purchased the pub business in early 2016 are building a new
Claddagh Cottage a mile west at 2421 Curry Ford Rd near Bumby
Ave. Stay tuned for updates as to when the new location will be open.
Meanwhile the temporary home for the Irish session for the first few months of 2017
will be at the sister pub, The Harp and Celt, (25 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL 32801). It will be held on the north
side of the bar (the Harp side) at the regular time and dates. The music starts around 6pm or 7pm and continues until the wee hours of the morning.

Mark your Calendar!

January 11, 25

February 8, 22

March 8, 22

Every other Wednesday Traditional Irish Music Sessions

Posted on by Thor

I sketched at Claddagh Cottage Irish Pub (4308 Curry Ford Rd., Orlando, FL) on November 4th. Every other Wednesday, Vicki Gish, and Scott Vocca host a traditional Irish music session at the pub. Kathleen Cavanagh, has been playing the uilleann pipes for years. These three are members of Crooked Road, which keeps the traditional Irish music alive in Central Florida. 

An Irish Session is a gathering of
musicians playing traditional Irish music (occasionally including other Celtic
genres such as Scottish, Brittany, Cape Breton, and French Canadian) on
traditional Irish instruments. Traditional Irish music is made up of dance
tunes such as reels, jigs, hornpipes, slides, and a few other miscellaneous
forms including polkas, set dances, airs and songs. It is not so much a performance, but a sharing of
traditional tunes among the musicians and those who care to listen. The
instruments might include fiddle, flute, accordion, uilleann
pipes (pronounced ILL-in), concertina, tenor banjo, whistle
(a.k.a. penny whistle, tin whistle), mandolin, bodhrán
(pronounced BOW-ron), guitar, and sometimes piano.

At this session there was a visitor from out of town. He was visiting from Minnesota and he found this Irish session to help him celebrate his 30th birthday. He had with him a bodhrán and his beat helped enliven every set. This is fairly common for musicians to visit from out of town.  There is no pressure to keep performing, so between tunes, musicians would relax and sip Guinness. I glanced at the bar several times to consider ordering a pint, but didn’t see a bartender. Once I started to sketch, I was lost in thought. Vicki got up to order and she bought me a pint. Which I didn’t expect, but I’m grateful.

Sketching at an Irish Music Session is a delight. I tap my foot to the beat and sway a bit as the sketch progresses. Perhaps traditional watercolor is more appropriate for a Irish session, but I used the tablet since I had come straight from teaching digital art to my students at Elite Animation. A little girl kept struggling to see what I was doing but her bigger sister kept pulling her back to be polite. A patron at the bar decided to pose in the archway behind the musicians so I could include him in the sketch.  Everyone laughed at his gesture.

Mark your calendar, the next Irish Music session is November 18th, followed by December 2, 16 and 30.

Kevin Hing’s 50th Birthday

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50 years is a major milestone and cause for celebration. Kevin  Hing had me do a sketch of him and his dad at the traditional Irish music session at Claddagh Irish Pub (4308 Curry Ford Road). Since I needed to scan the sketch before I gave it to him, he suggested I drive out for his 50th birthday celebration in Clearwater which is just south of Tampa. This was a chance to see how my Toyota Prius performed on a longer road trip.  This was a chance to stretch out her legs on the open road. I drove for an hour or so in the quiet cabin towards the setting sun. A draw bridge raised leaving me waiting for some time to get on the island.

The home was right on the Inter coastal waterway. There was a very diverse crowd. There were conservative politicians out by the pool and plenty of musicians mingling in the kitchen. Vicki Gish and Scott Vocca thanked me for the print I had given them. They had it framed and it went on the wall for the first time that morning. I arrived a bit late because of the drive, but my timing was perfect because the food had just been put out. There was plenty of BBQ and I loaded my plate. I got a soda from outside, but when the Irish music started, I switched to the thick rich Guinness beer. Kevin thanked everyone for coming. He was happy to share this island paradise with so many of his friends. He got a bit choked up  as he spoke about how lucky he was and people filled the silence with applause.

Irish musicians from all over the state of Florida came to Kevin’s birthday celebration.  Besides the Orlando Klan, there were musicians from Tampa and Clearwater. As they started to play, the sun dipped below the horizon and the sky burned orange. I sipped my Guinness between reels. As the evening grew darker so did my sketch. I’m half Irish on my mother’s side. Her grand parents came from Corr Ireland and the music seems to be in my blood. When my sketch was done, I packed up my supplies. I have never stayed to the bitter end of a traditional music session. They must play very late into the night. Kevin confided, “Sometimes it’s hard to tell if your playing really well or if you’ve just had too much to drink.” My sketch seemed to take form without effort, then again I might have had too much Guinness.

Claddagh Cottage Irish Pub

Posted on by Thor

Every other Wednesday, musicians gather at Claddagh Cottage Irish Pub (4308 Curry Ford Rd., Orlando). This bi-weekly Traditional Irish music session is hosted by Scott Vocca and Vicki Birdfeather Gish. Keven Hing, who often drives from the West Coast of Florida to play fiddle with the group, asked me to come to a session to meet and sketch his dad who was in Florida for a visit. I arrived right around 7:30pm when musicians were just setting up. A small green sign above the corner booth read, “Reserved for Musicians.” Vicki had ordered a print of the last sketch I did at the pub as a birthday present for Scott. I had to give her the print without Scott suspecting. We went out to her car for the clandestine exchange.

Guinness was poured thick from the tap and the music began.  Kevin arrived with his mother and father.  This was a rare instance where I had to include specific people in the sketch. I focused most of my attention on Kevin and his dad. The music made my job easy. The lines danced and flowed. As the bar grew darker as the sun set, Vicki grew concerned that I wouldn’t have enough light. She went out to her car and actually found a light bulb of a higher wattage for the ceiling fan lamp above the table. After the original bulb cooled down, I replaced it and aimed the light at the wall. It gave the scene a warm glow. Matt Saunders beside Kevin played the flute and Vicki is on fiddle. There were eight or so musicians off and on throughout the night.

Kevin’s dad used to teach folk dance, that is how he met his lovely wife. He asked, “Does anyone ever dances to the Irish music?” Kathleen Cavanagh, who plays the Villeann pipes responded, “Yes, when we perform at music festivals, my young daughter often dances.” Although his arms were often crossed, I could tell that inside, Mr. Hing was dancing. There is magic in this age old tradition of playing in the pub. These are the remaining 2012 session dates…

July 4, 18

August 1, 15, 29

September 12, 26

October 10, 24

November 7, 21

December 5, 19