Contra Pulse

This episode, Julie sits down with legendary fiddler, violin maker and tunesmith Rodney Miller. Rodney is recognized as a “Master Fiddler” by the National Endowment for the Arts and his career of performing, teaching and recording traditional and genre-defining fiddle music spans across decades and continents. Julie speaks with Rodney about his early musical influences, his recording and tune-writing process, his finely honed fiddle style and bow hold, and his latest pandemic project: a new tune-book containing 270 original compositions. Enjoy!

This episode, Julie talks with the prolific caller, pianist, and producer Tony Parkes. Tony is known internationally as an exceptional caller for beginners and experts alike, and this conversation delves into the detailed history of his roots in square dancing, learning alongside greats like Ted Sanella, as well as the heyday of the Yankee Ingenuity dance in Boston, and the joy of playing and calling for community dances everywhere.

Hi, Contra Pulse listeners – this is Ben Williams - editor and producer for this Contra Pulse. I’m just popping on to let you know that we’ll be releasing Contra Pulse every three weeks moving forward instead of every two. Our episodes have been more in depth and have more music, and moving to a three week schedule will allow us to put out that same, high-quality podcast without needing to rush anything, and be better able to sustain this work long-term.

We have a great interview coming up for you next week on Tuesday February 9th, with the incomparable Tony Parkes, and interviews with Jeremiah MacLean and Owen Morrison are coming up after that!

Thanks as always for your support – you can check out past interviews, transcripts and more at contrapulse.cdss.org, sign up for our mailing list, and reach out to us directly at [email protected]

Catch you next week!

This episode, Julie sits down with true contra renaissance man Nils Fredland – trombone player for Elixir and other bands, Revels North artistic director, as well as a singer, Waldorf teacher, and caller extraordinaire. They discuss his background in classical trombone, how he ended up in the contra scene after a cappella and ska music, some great memories from stage, and reminisce about the legendary Ralph Sweet. Enjoy!

This episode, Julie interviews the wonderful violinist and violist Mary Lea from the legendary bands Yankee Ingenuity and Bare Necessities. They discuss Mary’s roots in the Boston contra scene, her approach as a fiddler and how she works with improvisation and variation. They also get into some of the nuts and bolts of playing for dance, some of the many other styles she plays for, and her perspective as a longtime booker of bands for the Brattleboro Dawn Dance. Enjoy!

In the second part of Julie’s conversation with Vermont musical legend Pete Sutherland, they talk about what makes good dance music, how drums changed his approach to dance playing, the difference between playing in large bands and small bands, and we explored what it means to respect tradition without being a strict traditionalist.

This episode, Julie talks with Vermont musical legend Pete Sutherland from Pete’s Posse, The Clayfoot Strutters, and many more. They covered so much that we split the episode into two parts. In part one, they discuss Pete’s musical roots, the contra scene in the early 70s, how he teaches music theory, and more. Look for part two next week!

This episode, Julie talks with Andy Davis – a founding member of the “New England Dancing Masters” and a decades-long pianist, caller, and organizer of contras, community dances, and weekends. They talk about his beginnings, the intersection of calling and playing, teaching dance to children, and the deep roots of the folk dance community.

This episode, Julie interviews Gordon Peery, the wonderful piano player from New Hampshire and bands such as Fresh Fish, Fiddler’s Union, and Trip to Nelson. They talk about learning the craft from Bob McQuillen and other influences, great gig stories, and what tradition means and how it’s crafted. Enjoy!

This episode, Julie interviews the illustrious Audrey Knuth, from The Free Raisins, Wake Up Robin, and other places across the world. They have a lot of fun reminiscing about their various contra adventures starting in Boston, Audrey’s transition from classical violin to fiddle, her priorities as a dance fiddler, her inspirations, and much more. Enjoy!