The Project

(a. k. a. Fiddle Tunes I Can't Quite Recall)

So, what's "The Project" all about?  Well, a few years ago I met a fine fiddler at Clifftop named Pat St. Onge.  Pat was from up in Ontario and immediately drew my attention as he was the only person I found running around this Appalachian Festival who was playing Canadian-style fiddle --- real tough Ottawa Valley stuff and well.

Being a man "up in years" he was surprisingly never at a loss to think of something to play.  Meanwhile, at half his age, and having known and played hundreds of fiddle tunes, I couldn't think of a damn thing to play.  Pretty perplexing.  Then I learned his secret!

Whenever I saw Pat out his campsite wandering around the festival he always had on a set of small headphones and was listening to something on a little Walkman cassette player.  Turns out he had taped himself playing every tune he knew (and it must have been hundreds) and when he wasn't playing he was listening to those tapes and reminding himself of his own repertoire.  BRILLIANT!

Now I've set about to record every tune I know and place them on my I-Pod and here on this web page so that someday I'll be able to remember all the good tunes I've learned over the years and play them at the drop of a hat.  And I mean reel them off like I just got done practicing them before you walked up.

In order to accomplish this I'll continue to engage some of my best musical buddies, in the tradition of Tom Sawyer whitewashing that fence in Hannibal, to go on this musical journey.  So far I've had help from Doug Smith, Barb Kuhns, Joe Hinkebein, Mike Bing, Jimmy McCowan, and my lovely and talented wife, Patt Plunkett. 

Yours in Fiddlin',

Charlie Walden

17 September 2008