Tunes in the Arisaig House Bar with Eilidh Shaw & Ross Martin

Tunes in the Arisaig House Bar with Eilidh Shaw & Ross Martin

When I mentioned to friends I was heading up to the western Highlands of Scotland, I kept hearing that I should meet fiddler Eilidh Shaw and guitarist Ross Martin. They were right. We met on many different occasions and were able to record in an amazing location.

"Peggy Gordon" w/ Tommy O'Sullivan

"Peggy Gordon" w/ Tommy O'Sullivan

Back in 2013, I was headed down the west coast of Ireland and landed in Dingle for a day. As I order a drink at the Courthouse Pub, the man behind the bar asks, "Do you play the fiddle?" Yes. "Is your name Casey?" Yes. This man is Tommy O'Sullivan and he runs the pub with his wife Saundra. It turns out we had met in Texas. When planning to return to Ireland with my family, a stopover in Dingle was a must.

Pub Session with Blackie O'Connell & Cyril O'Donoghue

Pub Session with Blackie O'Connell & Cyril O'Donoghue

Six years ago, I randomly met uilleann piper Blackie O’Connell and bouzouki player Cyril O’Donoghue while traveling through Doolin, Ireland. We had a memorable pub session night and reconnected on my Otherlands travels…at the very same pub! It was a wild night of tune energy.

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OTHERLANDS: Spain [Recap]

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OTHERLANDS: Spain [Recap]

Our travels kicked off in September 2019 with six weeks in the Iberian Peninsula. During our time living in Valencia, Spain, we had the chance to do some exploring but hadn’t yet made it to Andalucía or Galicia as a family, so that is where our Otherlands journey begins…

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"K" with Anxo Pintos

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"K" with Anxo Pintos

Two days before leaving Spain, I met with Galician master hurdy gurdy musician and composer Anxo Pintos. Instrumental and personal synergy were immediate and before we knew it, the sun had gone down.

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"Muiñeira de Negros / Noitébrega" with Begoña Riobo

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"Muiñeira de Negros / Noitébrega" with Begoña Riobo

For collaboration #4, I received my first Galician fiddle lesson from Begoña Riobo. She showed me the ways of muiñeiras, xotas, and ornamentation. I showed here the way of the hórreo.

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"A Miña Burriña" with Xosé Liz & Hugo Franco

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"A Miña Burriña" with Xosé Liz & Hugo Franco

While in up in the northwest Galicia area of Spain, I prepared material for a trio gig with Xosé Liz (bouzouki) and Hugo Franco (guitar). Here is an arrangement of A Miña Burriña from our collaboration.

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"Elzic's Farewell" with Javi Gómez

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"Elzic's Farewell" with Javi Gómez

On my final afternoon in Seville, I was able to meet flamenco guitarist Javi Gómez. We twisted up an old American fiddle tune with a standard flamenco farruca guitar melody for a lovely melding of our traditions.

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"Tientos Tangos" with Ricardo Bustamante

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"Tientos Tangos" with Ricardo Bustamante

I met Ricardo Bustamante while attending a weekly flamenco concert on Sunday nights in a cozy terrace at Mar d’Amura (Cabanyal, Valencia, Spain) and promptly took a couple lessons with him. In our second meeting, we focused on a slow and beautifully melodic tango of his own, Tientos Tangos.

OTHERLANDS: A Global Music Exploration

OTHERLANDS: A Global Music Exploration

Well, I quit my job, and we took our 10yr old daughter out of school. We shipped our lapdog pitbull to a friend in the US and our giant hairy cats to my sister in L.A. Most of the things we own are on boat somewhere in the Atlantic on their way to a storage unit. It’s time to start a new project…Announcing: