Two Bits String Band

John Guay on hammered dulcimer and Vonnie Estes on piano or pump organ as Two Bits is an evolution of the Gigue-a-Bit contradance band when Patty Rutins, our fiddler, is unable to attend performances. We have been very lucky so far to have had David Kaynor and/or Maura McNamara take Patty's place when she's been otherwise engaged. We also play on a regular basis with several other groups under a variety of names: When we play with Patty Rutins on fiddle and vocals and Henry Simpatico (multi-instrumentalist and vocalist/MC) we concentrate on an Irish repertoire and are known as Patty, O'Henry and a Couple o'Coppers. Joining Yannig Tanguy on fiddle and Jeremy Clifford as dance caller and fiddler among other musicians for Adirondack barn dances we are known as either Ironville or the Lone Horse Ramblers. As part of Daylily or Dudley Nightshade we perform with Terry Klein on fiddle, Gail Griffith on concertina and dance caller, and occasionally Marilee Urbanczyk on whistles and percussion. We play mostly colonial period music with them. Our Irishtown Breakdown band includes David Jones on union pipes and Diane Jones on fiddle. Along with Scottish and Irish tunes we throw in some Quebecois music. Another couple of names for the tune called "Irishtown Breakdown" are "Glise a Sherbrooke" and "Reel de Tadoussac" so we can get away with the French Canadian tunes on the pipes. Irishtown is a hamlet consisting of a church and one room schoolhouse in the Adirondack mountains. Once in a great while we get to play with fiddler extraordinaire George Wilson at contradances as part of the Brunswick, NY Dance Orchestra, and with Bliss (fiddle and flute) and Robbie McIntosh (bass) as part of the Cambridge, NY Dance Orchestra. The two of us also session locally (see our intrepid Pan-Celtic session road manager's site at www.CelticTreasures.com or our myspace friend's page for the Saratoga Pan Celtic session for a schedule), in New England, and around the province of Quebec whenever we get the chance! PS - The "$Grand$ Estes Waltz" we've uploaded is one that John wrote for my parents' 51st wedding anniversary (and our 1st) in 2001. Other tunes he has composed include "Gail's Golden Jig"(played on the Youtube of Totally Very Beginner's Contras below), "Lydia's Wedding" and "Kyle's Carey". Hope you have fun listening to our music!