snotty var

1. Maid Behind the Bar/Jim Hodder's Reel
2. Paddy in London/Geese in the Bog/Newfoundland Spring
3. Flowers of Edinburgh/Little Beggarman
4. Boys from Ballosidare/Clumsy Lover
5. All Around Aunt Ruby's Garden/Mac Masters' Tune/Paddy's Jig
6. Out Behind the House/Up the Southern Shore

7. King of the Fairies/Rolling in the Rye Grass
8. Denis Murphy's Polka/£42 Cheque/John Ryan's Polka
9. Father O'Flynn/Toss the Feathers
10. The Sandpit
11. The Lark's March
12. Tell me Ma/Leslie's March/Good Morning to your Night Cap/Flowers of Red Hill/The Banshee
snotty var \'snät-' vär\ An old fir-tree, with resin clotted on the bark. [Dictionary of Newfoundland English].
snotty var. A group of St. John's musicians playing well known Irish and Newfoundland tunes frequently heard at weekend pub sessions, folk nights and dance-ups.


Musicians

John Bishop (tin whistle, low D whistle, flute)
Michelle Brophy (flute)
Rob Brown (guitar)
Allan Carroll (bouzouki, mandolin)
Jim Fidler (Egyptian Def drum, chicken shakes)
Mike Hanrahan (tenor banjo, bouzouki, mandolin)
Frank Maher (accordians)
Pat Moran (fiddle)
Francesca Swann (cello)
Brian Titus (tin whistle)
Rick West (bodhran)

Technical Credits

Produced by Don Walsh
Recorded at Dadyeen Studios, St. John's, Newfoundland
Engineer: Don Walsh
Mixed by Gaston Gagnon at Dadyeen Studios, St. John's, Newfoundland.

Digitally mastered by Jason Whelan and Don Walsh at Sound Solution, St. John's, Newfoundland

Photography by Mark Lawlor
Layout by Newbury Design and Rick West

Project Coordinator: Rick West

Maid Behind the Bar/Jim Hodder's Reel 3:03 (trad/E. Benoit, arr. Walsh, Carroll)
The reel, Maid Behind the Bar, seems to get played at least once at every session in St. John's. Jim Hodder's reel was composed by a well known fiddler from Black Duck Brook on Newfoundland's west coast, Emile Benoit.
Tin whistle (B. Titus), flute (J. Bishop), accordion (F. Maher), fiddle (P. Moran), guitar (R. Brown), mandolin & bouzouki (A. Carroll) and bodhran (R. West)

Paddy in London/Geese in the Bog/Newfoundland Spring 4:19 (trad, arr. Walsh)
Three jigs. The first two have long been associated with the playing of Frank Maher. The third tune, wild as a sleet storm on the North Atlantic, is aptly named.
Tin whistle (B. Titus), low D whistle (J. Bishop), accordion (F. Maher), fiddle (P. Moran), guitar (R. Brown), bouzouki (A. Carroll) and bodhran (R. West)

Flowers of Edinburgh/Little Beggarman 2:50 (trad, arr. Walsh, Carroll)
Two frequently played reels. The melody from Little Beggarman is used for "Me Old Ragadoo", a favourite at trad song sessions.
Tin whistle (B. Titus), accordion (F. Maher), fiddle (P. Moran), guitar (R. Brown), mandolin(A. Carroll) and bodhran (R. West)

Boys from Ballosidare/Clumsy Lover 3:21 (trad/Neil Dicke, arr. Bishop, Brown)
Two quick reels. The Clumsy Lover is a 'kitchen' pipe tune popular in Cape Breton and Scotland.
Tin whistle (J. Bishop), guitar (R. Brown) and bodhran (R. West)

All Around Aunt Ruby's Garden/Mac Masters' Tune/Paddy's Jig 4:11 (trad, arr. Walsh, Moran)
Three singles to wear you out at a scuff. Aunt Ruby's is one of the 'Running the Goat' tunes and bears similarity to "Miss McLeod's Reel". We found the second on a CD by Baxter Wareham who in turn learned it from Mac Masters of Placentia Bay.
Tin whistles (J. Bishop, B. Titus), low D whistle (J. Bishop), accordion (F. Maher), fiddle (P. Moran), guitar (R. Brown), mandolin (A. Carroll), Egyptian Def drum and chicken shakes (J. Fidler) and bodhran (R. West)

Out Behind the House/Up the Southern Shore 2:58 (trad, arr. Walsh)
Two easy going jigs from the repertoire of the great west coast fiddler, Rufus Guinchard.
Tin whistle (B.Titus), accordion (F. Maher), fiddle (P. Moran), guitar (R. Brown) and bodhran (R. West)

King of the Fairies/Rolling in the Rye Grass 4:12 (trad, arr. Walsh, Bishop)
A set dance and reel. If you know the second tune by another name, this isn't surprising. There are over 20 synonyms for "Rolling in the Rye Grass".
Tin whistle & low D whistle (J. Bishop), fiddle (P. Moran), guitar (R. Brown), bouzouki (A. Carroll) and bodhran (R. West)

Denis Murphy's Polka/£42 Cheque/John Ryan's Polka 4:00 (trad, arr. Walsh, Carroll)
Three polkas. No lack of Murphys or Ryans in Newfoundland. And lots of 42-pound checks in peewee hockey.
Tin whistle (B. Titus), accordion (F. Maher), fiddle (P. Moran), guitar (R. Brown) and bodhran (R. West)

Father O'Flynn/Toss the Feathers 2:49 (trad, arr. Walsh)
A lilting jig followed by a frantic reel.
Tin whistle (J. Bishop), accordion (F. Maher), fiddle (P. Moran), guitar (R. Brown), banjo (M. Hanrahan), bouzouki (A. Carroll) and bodhran (R. West)

The Sandpit 3:41 (trad, arr. Walsh, Bishop, Brown, Swann)
A new arrangement of a slow reel found on a 1984 recording by the Scottish band, Ossian.
Flute (J. Bishop), guitar (R. Brown) and cello (F. Swann)

The Lark's March 3:00 (trad, arr. Walsh)
A free-spirited jig in four-parts. Also known as, "The Lark in the Morning". Let the debate continue.
Tin whistle (B. Titus), low D whistle (J. Bishop), accordion (F. Maher), fiddle (P. Moran), guitar (R. Brown) and bodhran (R. West)

Tell me Ma/Leslie's March/Good Morning to Your Night Cap/Flowers of Red Hill/The Banshee 6:05 (trad, arr. Bishop, Brown, Brophy, Hanrahan, Walsh)
A polka... march... and load of reels.
Tin whistle (J. Bishop), flute (M. Brophy), fiddle (P. Moran),guitar (R. Brown), tenor banjo (M. Hanrahan), bouzouki (M. Hanrahan) and bodhran (R. West)