STOP PRESS!...The new CD has been getting a lot of air play on BBC Radio Scotland's Iain Anderson Show and other programmes.....It is now available from Musicinscotland.com, Footstompin.com and MusicScotland.com
The CD "Far from Home" was released in May 2008 and features Scottish traditional tunes played on the guitar. The tunes come from the treasure trove of fiddle, pipe and harp tunes that form the backbone of the Scottish musical tradition. The album is the first ever featuring only Scottish tunes played in the flatpicking style on the guitar. Please check out the website www.johncarnie.com for more info.
I'm a guitarist and singer and got my first guitar when I was 12 and many of the musicians I saw then I still closely follow to this day. Most are listed in the 'influences' section opposite and I blame many of them for not only a mispent youth but also a mispent everything else!
I've taught flatpicking jigs and reels on the guitar for several years and I've just written an article about the history of flatpicking guitar in the current edition of "The Living Tradition Magazine". Previous bands included electric ceilidh rockers "Desperate Danz Band", acoustic blues trio "Off the Tracks" (recent great sold out reunion gig at Stonehaven Folk Club! ) and the Mountain Blues Ramblers. More recently I was a tutor at the Scottish Culture and Tradition classes teaching traditional guitar for a number of years.
The CD features the jazzy double bass playing of Brian Shiels and some bluesy twists of long time cohorts, Dave Moir & Spider Mackenzie. The above tracks are written by a number of people including the late Scottish piper Gordon Duncan who wrote "Rory Gallagher's Jig" I hope you enjoy the music!
