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Updates, Features, & Events
Hello AmeriCeltic Reader,
Features:
• Freight and Salvage's Sound Engineer, Brian Walker, offers a primer on Playing with Others Over The Internet and his assessment of JackTrip Studio and SonoBus. (See Below)
Online Events & Outdoor Events with Social Distancing:
• On Friday, February 12th, 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM PDT it's Accordion Fridays, with TOP NOTCH Celtic accordion masters streaming Online via Facebook Live. (See Below)
• On Friday, February 12th, at 1:00 PM, Sin Silver, will perform piano bar show with the theme 'Love Songs & Lonely Songs'. Stay safe at home, and stream it online from from 'Murray's Pub' (her recreation/piano room) in Concord, CA. (See Below) • THIS WEEKEND, from Friday, February 12th, 5:00 PM - Sunday, February 14th, 5:00 PM brings the San Francisco Pipers Club San Francisco Tionól online via Zoom. (See Below) • On Friday, February 12th, 7:00 PM, join Kathryn Rose entertains with Folktastic Fridays With Kathryn Rose, via Facebook LIVE from Portland, OR. (See Below) • On Saturday, February 13th at 2:00 PM PST John Whelan conducts the 13th in his new series of Online Master Sessions, featuring The Conneely family (Bernadette, Kathleen, Michael and Pauline)! (See Below) • On Saturday, February 13th, at 8:00 PM, The Black Donnellys, Dave Rooney and Dave Browne, will stream their high-energy show to you from the RiRa @ Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV as you stay safely sequestered in your homes. (See Below) • On Sunday, February 14th, at 3:00 PM PST Tune Supply presents online, Valentine's Day from Far Away, featuring 60+ musicians, singers, and dancers from five countries. (See Below) • On Monday, February 15th, from 5:00 - 7:00 PM, Michael Eskin offers a free, Irish Whistle Master Class Workshop live on Zoom! (See Below) • On February 20th and Sunday, February 21st, Jim & Suzie Malcolm will conclude their Virtual Tour in PNW online via Zoom. (See Below) • From Friday evening, April 9th through Sunday evening, April 11th, the Spring Harmony 2021 will happen online on Zoom, sponsored by the San Francisco Folk Music Club. (See Below) Indoor Events:
NOTICE! Due to public health officials orders for social distancing to limit the spread of the COVID-19 infections, all in person events and festivals, especially those involving singing, wind instruments, etc. have been postponed or cancelled, and many will continued to be cancelled at least through the Winter. If you have plans to attend ANY such event, large or small, we recommend that you call and confirm that they are NOT cancelled.Please support our sustaining Sponsors with your Celtic business!
• Co-Founder Cecilia Fábos-Becker's e-book
Ancestry & DNA: Beyond the basics, is available for download now! (See Below)
• The United Irish Cultural Center, hosts outdoor dining under their 1800 sq.ft. 'Big Top', and many Irish and other events in their large facility in San Francisco, CA. (See Below) • Cedar Dobson offers one-on-one whistle lessons live on Zoom! (See Below) • Michael Eskin offers one-on-one Irish whistle and flute, Uilleann pipes, and Anglo concertina lessons live on Zoom! (See Below) • Sport your Celtic heritage! AmeriCeltic offers a colorful array of items, each emblazoned with the AmeriCeltic logo. (See Below) • The Celtic Tea Shoppe, in San Jose is your source for Celtic and Celtic inspired carry-out fresh baked foods, confections and rare teas! (See Below) • While Lark In The Morning in Berkeley, CA and Exploring Music in the outer sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, CA are closed for walk-ins, both stores are open for online sales and lessons. (See Below) • Publican Stan Gamble has just recently re-opened The Duke of Edinburgh Pub & Restaurant, offering outdoor service 7 days a week from 4pm to late. (See Below) • Sláinte Pub offers a full menu of great food and drink with outdoor dining service Wednesday through Sunday from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM at their location at Jack London Square in Oakland, CA. (See Below) • The Plough and Stars, a SF Legacy Business, and THE place for Live Traditional Music in the inner Richmond district of San Francisco. (See Below) • The Chieftain Irish Pub & Restaurant, local Irish Pub bringing the culture of Ireland to downtown at 5th and Howard in San Francisco. (See Below) • The Celtic Society of Monterey Bay, has a 32 year record of producing Celtic Concerts in various venues in and around Santa Cruz and Monterey, CA. (See Below) • Catherine Barry's Irish Culture Bay Area , offers a succinct listing of Irish events around Bay Area. (See Below) Scan our feature articles below, or as always, you can click here to check the full listings on our website.
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Playing with Others Over The InternetJackTrip Studio & SonoBusBy Brian WalkerThe technology for playing music with others over the internet has been around for many years, but only recently, during the pandemic, has there been widespread interest. The problem for musicians is that video platforms like zoom do not handle audio in a way that is conducive to playing music together with another person at the same time - it works fine if one person is muted and one not, but if two people try to play at the same time, there is a lag (called 'latency') that makes it very difficult to play together. The main reason for this latency has to do with the way data (in this case, your sound) travels on the internet. All data that travels on the internet travels in 'packets'. When you click on a link to go to a web site, the data to load that page on your computer arrives in small packets, and then they are assembled by your modem and computer to display the web page. Sometimes those packets take different routes and arrive at different times, but it's generally not an issue for most of what we do on the internet (loading websites, reading emails, watching videos, etc) but for musicians to play together, we need to send audio in two directions as quickly as possible- we need to hear each other as we would if we were in the same room, not with a lag (A.K.A. 'Latency'). The speed of light dictates how quickly we can send data to other places so distance, (along with the speed of your internet connection, network traffic and your audio setup) are factors that contribute to the latency. Most people find that playing together with under 15 milliseconds of latency is workable, but depending on the type of music being played, a higher latency may be tolerable. Anything over 30 ms will make playing together much more difficult and latency over 75ms is impossible. For this reason, we make every effort to reduce latency for a better musical experience. Here's an explanation of Latency from the SonoBus website: Even if all the Internet equipment your audio passes through were capable of operating with no processing time, the speed of light, (186,282 miles per second) means a sound played in San Diego, CA would travel to Sydney, Australia, a trip of 7500 miles, in 0.040 seconds (40 ms). For comparison, consider an in person session, where the same sound travels at 1100 feet per second (the speed of sound in air). That 40 ms delay would be the equivalent of playing with someone sitting 44 feet away. Fortunately, there are ways to 'tune' your connection to your music partner to reduce (but not eliminate) the latency. The quality of the audio affects latency because higher quality audio requires more data to be sent which can increase latency, while lower quality audio requires less data and therefore can decrease latency, but at the cost of your audio quality. When we make these adjustments, we can control is the size of the packets. The term for this is different in various programs; it can be called 'Frames per Packet' or 'Frames per Period' or 'Samples', 'Buffer' etc. The idea is that choosing a larger audio buffer size sends bigger 'chunks' of audio in each packet, which take longer to pass through the entire system, which creates a longer delay/latency, but provides higher quality audio. So, larger audio buffer size means more latency but higher audio quality and a smaller audio buffer size means less latency but lower audio quality. There are some best practices (regardless of which method you use) that will reduce your latency and improve your experience:
Here are some applications for playing music over the internet (I will attempt to keep this page updated as my research continues)
JackTrip Studio:
(https://www.jacktrip.org/studio.html) JackTrip Pros:
JackTrip Cons:
SonoBus:
(https://sonobus.net/) SonoBus Pros:
Accordion FridaysCeltic Accordion World Masters in ConcertOnline via Facebook Live!Show Schedule
11 AM --Shipcats--https://www.facebook.com/Accordion-Babes-128066897203923 5 PM -- Rowan Lipkovits -- https://www.facebook.com/accordionnoir 6 PM -- Calvaleigh Rasmussen -- https://www.facebook.com/calvaleigh.rasmussen 7 PM -- Salane's 'The Dark Family Hour': https://www.facebook.com/The-Dark-Family-Hour-105784227882339 Check the Facebook Event for updates! Accordion Fridays is back with LOTS of fiery, gifted artists from the US, Canada and Europe doing free live video streams. Shipcats (Hamburg, Germany), Rowan Lipkovits (Vancouver, Canada), Calvaleigh Rasmussen (Berkeley, CA), and Salane's The Dark Family Hour. There will be a great mix of folk, jazz, soul, rock, and comedy so don't miss out! Check out the box and click the links to see live online concerts and then look for the little red LIVE button. More info about the artists: Shipcats, (Vanessa Cetin and Renee de la Prade), are a duo of high-energy, multi-instrumentalist women with a maritime flair. They're based in Hamburg, Germany, and play a mix of sea music, surf-rock infused with roma rhythms, punk songs, carribean music and whatever else feels like it would make a good party! Accordion, baritone ukulele, saxophone, foot percussion, harmony vocals... fun times! https://www.facebook.com/Accordion-Babes-128066897203923 Rowan Lipkovits is well-known as a co-host of Vancouver, Canada's "Accordion Noir Radio Show". He's got a delightful, soulful take on everything from Cure songs to sea chanties, a smoky voice and a penchant for storytelling. Rowan also founded and toured with The Creaking Planks; a band lovingly described as the jug band of the damned. https://www.facebook.com/accordionnoir Calvaleigh Rasmussen plays dance music from across the centuries, weaving medieval songs with strands of 20th century folk music into big cozy sound tapestries. You'll hear lots of European and American folk music, lots of great rhythm and a bit of singing, live from Berkeley, California. https://www.facebook.com/calvaleigh.rasmussen Salane's 'The Dark Family Hour': dark mysterious music, polkas and waltzes, psychedelia, comedy and Tom Waits covers. Salane is an unforgettable performer who brings us to other worlds. Oakland, CA USA https://www.facebook.com/The-Dark-Family-Hour-105784227882339 All shows are LIVE, FREE, and HAVE ACCORDIONS. You know you want - some bellows-shaking cheer! ↑Top↑Sin SilverFriday, February 12th, 1:00 - 2:00 PM PDTOnline via Facebook LIVE, from Concord, CASin Silver is an Irish singer songwriter based in the Bay Area in California. To watch the show, go to Sin Silver's Facebook Profile, and then look for the little red LIVE button. Sin live-streams from 'Murray's Pub' (her recreation/piano room) every week and this week's theme is 'Love Songs & Lonely Songs'. Find Sin's Live Performance by checking Sin's Facebook Profile, or go to www.livestream.com/watch and search for Sin Silver. During the live stream, just drop your requests in the comments.
Virtual Tip Jar: With a unique style, her 'Irish piano' and angelic voice are delighting audiences. A featured artist at Northern California's Graton Casino Resort, she brings a unique flavor to her craft. Whether she is playing her expertly crafted originals, covers with her own twist or celtic music, Sin Silver is someone that deserves to be heard live. Check out her website here: www.sinsilverandtheavenue.com or email her at sinsilverandtheavenue@gmail.com. ↑Top↑Schedule
Friday (2/12)5 PM - Welcome party/open hangout until whenever Saturday (2/13) 10 AM - 12 PM - Master Class with Máire Ní Ghráda 1 PM - 3 PM - Master Class with Debbie Quigley 3 PM - 5 PM/? - Open hangout until whenever Sunday (2/14) 10 AM - 12 PM - Master Class with Tommy Martin 1 PM - 3 PM - Making Wooden Reeds with Michael Hubbert 3 PM - 5 PM - Piper's Chair featuring both prerecorded as well as live performances. 5 PM - ? - Open hangout until whenever Zoom shuts us down for having too much fun San Francisco Pipers Club West Coast TionólFriday, February 12th, 5:00 PM - Sunday, February 14th, 5:00 PMOnline via Zoom Join the Zoom EventPlease join this weekend for the 2021 West Coast Tionol, for the best in Uilleann Piping. Zoom link above. Send your registration fee of $50 (or $20 per class) via PayPal 'Send Money' to piperssfuilleann@gmail.com.
Zoom Link for the Weekend
Join Zoom Meeting
San Francisco Pipers Club Website
Folktastic Fridays with Kathryn RoseFriday, February 12th 7:00 PMOnline via Facebook LiveJoin Kathryn for Folktastic Fridays! Click Here to go to her Facebook Profile, and then look for the little red LIVE button. Kathryn Rose is a folk singer and recording artist from Oregon. She has been singing since she could talk and grew up listening to Irish and Scottish folk music. Kathryn says: Kathryn began seriously collecting songs after her grandmother passed away and she discovered a treasure trove of handwritten Irish folk songs tucked inside the piano bench. After that discovery, Kathryn transitioned from a classical singing background into the folk world. Her favorite musical style is Sean-nós, and she is working on her Gaeilge to perform more of these songs in the future. She performs folk music from both sides of the pond, with an emphasis on Ireland and even a dash of Gaeilge here and there. Kathryn accompanies herself on the tenor guitar, but at various times in her life has had encounters with the piano, violin, lap harp, ukulele, and tin whistle. Her influences include Susan McKeown, Christy Moore, the Clancy Brothers, Seamus Begley, Sarah Ghriallais, Moya Brennan, and more. With her melodic voice, her love of world cultures and her attention to detail, she continues the tradition of Celtic folk music as an artist, a performer and an inspiration for peace and harmony in a complicated world. Kathryn and her husband live in somewhat peaceful harmony with their brood of hooligan cats. More on Kathryn Rose Facebook Profile: https://facebook.com/kathrynrosefolk or check the Facebook Event. ↑Top↑John Whelan Master Sessions #14
The Conneely family (Bernadette, Kathleen, Michael and Pauline)
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Publican Stan Gamble and his partners have an update! Many of you have heard the rumors about the The Duke of Edinburgh Pub & Restaurant.
The Duke is, and will remain, THE only Authentic, (and we do mean AUTHENTIC!), British Pub in the Bay Area, located across the street from Apple Headquarters on Wolfe Road in Cupertino.
The atmosphere at the 'The Duke', is the same as you would find in any pub in the British Isles, full of friendly patrons who come in to socialize, play darts, have a pint or two, and eat a meal. If you are looking for a comfortable elegance, pints of beer and authentic food, in an authentic English Pub, there is no a better choice in the Bay Area. The Duke offers a large number of beers on draft and by the bottle. Almost anything English, Scottish or Irish is available. Murphy's Irish Stout brewed in Cork, Ireland and Scotch Eggs is always a good choice.
The servers are excellent and very knowledgeable about the beer and food menu. The menu is expansive and worth exploring. The dark pubsy feel with old regulars in their respective, but not crowded corners around lunch hour in Cupertino, is a great boon.
You can't find more 'authentic' atmosphere, because the entire building was built in jolly old England, then disassembled, shipped and reassembled on site in Cupertino. With the red velvet seating and wall paper and ornate, dim lighting, you are transported to London as soon as you enter the etched glass door.
More info. on The Duke Facebook Page, website www.theduke.com or call 408-446-3853.
↑Top↑Since opening in April 2017, Sláinte has also featured some of the finest local and regional singers and musicians, in live, acoustic performance and quickly become the hot new place for Irish music in the East Bay.
Host Jackie says:
Well folks, Sláinte has joined the rest of the Bay Area bars, pubs, and restaurants that are "hibernating" for the winter. We've held on trying everything we could think of but we've exhausted our reserves, are low on supplies, and after meeting with some trusted advisors, we've decided to temporarily close our doors.
Rest assured, we will do everything we can to reopen as soon as we safely can but we can't keep asking our volunteers to risk themselves with our recent numbers. With the weather changing and the drastic drop in hours and numbers we feel that this is the best and only option for us right now. Please keep the craic alive and our fundraiser in mind while we take this time to figure out our next steps. We love you all so very much xxx.
The menu at Sláinte features Irish cuisine from Irish-born Executive Chef, Jackie Gallanagh, with dishes that include both imported & local ingredients and a bar menu of classic cocktails, a well-stocked selection of whisky, premium spirits, and local & imported beers.
More Details on the Sláinte Facebook Page.
Contact them at (510) 823-2644 @slainteoakland or check the website https://slainteoakland.com.
↑Top↑The Plough, like many bars and restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area, is struggling to survive. It is extremely difficult to support our family and employees with no ability to earn an income.
We have long prided ourselves on being ago to place for Irish traditional experiences. Over the years we have been privileged to host many well-known musicians from Ireland and around the globe. The Plough hosts weekly traditional Irish seisuns and dance. At our Irish Seisuns customers listen as musicians share tunes or even learn to play themselves. The Plough is also a vital venue for bluegrass jams and gigs, as well as a place where local musicians can be heard. We want to make sure that the Plough can continue in those efforts. We have been so touched by the support of friends, musicians, dancers, and patrons. They are what make the Plough the institution that it is and we can't thank them enough for their support at this difficult time. Please consider a donation to help us continue at https://www.gofundme.com/f/sfplough. Thank You!
- Sean Heaney
The Plough and Stars Irish Pub, is known around the world for hosting incredible Irish music and pulling beautiful pints of Guinness since 1975. Since then, it has evolved to host live music every night of the week, except Monday, including all genres of music; Bluegrass, Country, Rock, Zydeco, acoustic Americana, and of course, Irish Traditional.
The first Saturday is always Americana Jukebox and every third Friday is Bluegrass Bonanza! We welcome you to stop in for a drink and try our famous, award winning pints of Guinness, or indulge in any of our other specials. We host Happy Hour all day every Monday with free pool, and the first Monday of the month has a Pub Quiz at 8:30 PM. Check out our website for a full calendar of events!
For a video of a Plough session from 2014, Click Here.
For more about the Plough, check www.theploughandstars.com, call 415-751-1122, or email Sean Heaney at sfplough@aol.com.
↑Top↑The Chieftain Irish Pub & Restaurant, is a bustling SoMa spot with Irish pub grub & beers on tap plus sports on the satellite TV.
This local Irish Pub brings the culture of Ireland to San Francisco, offering a full bar, Happy Hour specials, and a full Irish restaurant menu, including favorites like fish and chips which goes with any style of sport, music or fun.
'I am in the city every 2-3 months and The Chieftain is an absolutely integral part of every trip. Mark runs an amazing, authentic Irish pub. Major plus, the only place I know of in northern California to get Kilkenny!!'
'Walked in, Saturday night about 7pm and there was a table right inside the door. We had a shepherds pie and an Irish stew. The shepherds pie was actually made with lamb! The live music was great entertainment too!'
For a video of some the Chieftain's food menu, Click Here.
The Chieftain hosts live music on Fridays and Saturdays. Click Here for the current schedule! The live Irish traditional music and song session every Sunday evening is always great Craic! Here is a sample Irish Session from 2009: Live Irish Session at the Chieftain.
For the latest happenings, check the Chieftain facebook Page, or call 415-625-0436, or email Mark Nagle at mark@thechieftain.com or check www.thechieftain.com.
↑Top↑The venerable Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay has a 32 year record of bringing world class Celtic musicians to the Monterey Bay Area and is a key sponsor of AmeriCeltic.
ALL EVENTS CANCELLED DURING COVID-19 PANDEMICClick here for full details of All Celtic Society of Monterey Bay Concerts on the CSoMB website! (Click on 'Video' button for videos.)
↑Top↑Catherine Barry maintains a separate Irish Culture Bay Area website, with a calendar focused on Bay Area Irish events, supported by the Consulate of Ireland in San Francisco.
ALL EVENTS CANCELLED DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Click here for details of these events and more on the Irish Culture Bay Area website!
We publish articles or comments that relate to our Mission (see below), to our thousands of Celtic concordant readers. If you have one, email us: Tony and Celia Becker, americeltic@gmail.com
↑Top↑AmeriCeltic is a user supported, non-profit service organization. Our Mission is to restore awareness, celebrate and preserve the culture and history of Celtic Americans by promoting live Celtic music, festivals, history & ancestry as well as report and comment on related current events. To help fund our efforts, click here or click on the Donate Button on our AmeriCeltic Website www.americeltic.net.
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