Two exciting Ceili Rain shows booked in Pennsylvania the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day (March 14th and 15th). Burt and I are sure to work up some new fiddle and pipe medleys! Visit www.ceilirain.com for details!

Joe Davoli to fiddle at Drumcliffe’s Irish Dance Hooley. Join us at St. Ann’s gymnasium at 4461 Onondaga Blvd. Syracuse, NY on Saturday, January 31st at 5:00-10:00.

Top notch dancers, live music, pipers, food and beer for purchase, raffles.
Admission: $10 for adults, kids under 18 free. Joe plays at 8:00.

Bring your “axe” or just your ears. Emphasis will be on fiddle tune back up.

Time: January 5th, 2015 at 7pm.
Location: Clarion Hotel, 100 Farrell Rd, Syracuse

http://www.guitarleague.com/

“Christmas in Killarney” Brunch, at Kitty Hoynes 1:00-4:00 on 12/6/14. 301 W. Fayette St. Syracuse, NY 315 424-1974

Burns & Davoli -yes, we sound like a law firm… Call us the “heavy pickers”

Tim Burns, frontman for the popular roots-rock band,Two Hour Delay, teams with Joe Davoli, award winning instrumentalist to play a mix of originals, covers, Celtic fiddle tunes and holiday music.

Trinity Community Coffee House coordinators are pleased to welcome back Joe Davoli and Harvey Nusbaum playing 7-9 p.m., Saturday, October 18, 2014.

Central New York is lucky to have these two proficient and well-rounded musicians presenting various traditional fiddle styles. Their friendly off-the-cuff manner belies their deft playing but not their love of the music. Their fiddle repertoire comes from new and old, near and far. Old, as in the essential music for dances and entertainment before recorded music. New, as in tunes that meld world beat rhythms into melodies influenced by the old fiddle music. Near, as in the music originating right in our own backyard, sometimes called bluegrass, jazz or old time. And far, as in the Celtic styles which originate in Ireland and Scotland.

The Coffee House is located in Trinity Church (98 Main Street, Camden NY 13316), next to the Post Office at the stop light and intersection of SR69 and SR13 in the Village of Camden. Guests may enter through the front doors, with handicapped entry through the Parish Hall at the rear of the church. A free will offering for performers only will be taken in lieu of an admission. Refreshments will be served at intermission. For information, call 315 245 1987, check events at www.trinitycamden.com or channel 99 on cable.

Joe Davoli and Nick Piccininni play this wonderful tune written by John Sheehan. Robinson Memorial United Church in Syracuse, NY was host to this unique concert. Joe and Nick met while playing with Delaney Bros. Bluegrass. Joe now plays with Ceili Rain and Nick plays with Floodwood. They continue to make fine acoustic music together, performing concerts when their schedules allow.

Well, the 2014 Ceili Rain March run is in the history books! Some truly memorable shows! Those still in need of a Ceili fix, watch the following video. WCNY did a nice story on the band.

Finally! March is here! One of my favorite months of the year! I’ve been on a bit of a tune rampage, getting ready for this season’s run of Ceili Rain shows. Check my calendar. A lot of exciting shows added throughout the northeast and out west!

Friends & fiddle/mandolin enthusiasts. November & December, an extremely busy time doing something I haven’t done since the 7th grade…I’m in a play…I’m not joking…

However, this time it’s professional theater @ Syracuse Stage playing “Joe the Fiddler” in their production of “A Christmas Carol”. In 7th grade, the production was “Theseus and the Minotaur”. I was the Minotaur and all’s I had to do was run around the stage with a bull mask over my head and growl…

Anyway. Syracuse Stage productions are always top notch. The cast is made up of equity actors/actresses and Syracuse University drama majors. “A Christmas Carol” is sure to get you in the Christmas spirit as well as provide you with several laughs at my expense as I’m in costume, mutton chops and all…

There are 33 show open to the public. If considering going, order fast as many shows sell out. For ticket info www.syracusestage.org. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Greetings NYSOTFA members! Take a listen to the following examples. They coincide with my August newsletter article. Have fun. Feel free to email me with any questions.

 

From the NYSOTFA Newsletter:

Calling all fiddle tune enthusiasts! We know fiddling is an aural tradition. Tunes I’ve learned over the years by memory, I never forget. Tunes I’ve learned from paper…Every once in a while I’ll find myself saying “waaait a minute, how’s that tune go again?”

So, that being said, I’d like to share an exercise I give to my students called “interval training.” This exercise helps build strong “hand – ear” coordination. Excelling at this exercise will come in handy for two reasons: One, it will help you to better navigate your fingers around the fingerboard and two, it will help you be more efficient when learning a fiddle tune. By that I mean the more fiddle tunes you learn, the quicker you become in figuring out the “learn-able” phrases that make up the melody. The better your ears hear the intervals from note to note, the quicker you’ll be able to find those notes and the longer the phrase your ears will be able to absorb.

So, say “Sailors Hornpipe” in G major. First, run your G major scale -technically practicing the intervals of diatonically occurring 2nds. When your pitch is impeccable, move on to 3rd’s. Then 4th’s, 5th’s, 6th’s, 7th’s and then 8th’s -more often referred to as octaves.

As stated earlier, fiddling is an aural tradition. So, I will post these exercises on my website www.joedavoli.com so that you can hear them executed. I’ll also post a slowed down version of “Sailors Hornpipe” identifying the various intervals that make up the melody. As always, feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions.

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