MUS 4440

Final Pa pet"

on Walsh: An Ethnography

Patrick Boyle (9605775)

P ro f . K . Szego. Nov.23 998

An Ethnography of Don Walsh

The hair is short in the front and long in the back.

There are tufts of grey in his thick beard. And though the birth

certificate may state otherwise, Don Walsh is nineteen years old

without a care in the world. The endless number of anecdotes flow

as freely as the next pint of Guinness. His zest for life is proven

in his commitment to do exactly what he wants as long as it's fun.

To Don, every night is Saturday night, good tunes make for good

times , and self-confidence is the key to prosperity.

My first encounter with Don Walsh was a nervous but very

inspiring experience. Rick Hollett, manager/producer of Record Time

Productions , called me to be part of a horn section to record for

(local traditional ensemble ) Tickle Harbour's third release

"Battery Inc 1 uded". It was to be recorded in Don' s home in a few

days. I was elated with the idea of having my trumpet on a compact

disc with so many other respected musicians. However, my excitement

went sour when I started doubting my ability, especially since I

had no prior knowledge of the tracks we were to record. Don was a

professional in every sense of the word, and the session was

terrific . Since this initial contact , Don and I have worked

together on several occasions , most recently with Dennis Parker's

album "Snowman Blues" , which he also produced. During our future

encounters (both professional and just as friends) I have

continually been fascinated with how his career as an entertainer

and technician has evolved. Each time I enter his house, I think of

the extraordinary people who have been there before me.

Den's place at 10 Tunis Court serves as a home, recording

studio, and a makeshift archive. Three large bookshelves the height

of the ceiling line the north wall of the living room. Literally

hundreds of compact discs, video and audio cassettes, assorted

papers , and books push the confines of the shelves to their limits.

The shelves house the details of Don Walsh's diverse musical life

-- a life which has been involved in many significant points in the

history of the Newfoundland music scene.

All throughout the dwelling , there are framed posters of

past concerts Don has played in. Such famous folk / traditional

musicians as Seamus Creagh, Paddy Keenan , Paddy Mackey , and John **

Daly to name but a few. This is a far cry from teenaged Don Walsh

waddling around in the lavatorial mire of the Plancentia dump in

search of entertainment. It was in the garbage that Don found his

first guitar , an archtop acoustic, during an afternoon childhood

romp. But his interest in music was sparked long before this back

in St. John's , in his families Hamilton Avenue boarding house.

Like most other families , Den's childhood home centred

around the television , with Don Messer's Jubilee being the staple

in the Walsh listening diet. Don recalls, "Being Catholic we always

to go to church on Sunday, and we had to watch to Don Messer's

Jubilee on Monday night!" There was always music around in these

early years. His mother sang , and his father played accordion and

fiddle. In fact , when his father was living out in Bellevue ,

(former 1 y called Tickle Harbour , hence the naming of the group

previous ly me n ti on ed) he bui lt hi s own fiddl e t o p lay .

** Den's edit: This should probably be Jackie Daly not John Daly

Mount Cashel Orphanage may have also indirectly

influenced Don at an early age. When young men became old enough to

get out of the orphanage , some would board at the Walsh home. Quite

a number of these 1 ads caul d p 1 ay music , so there "were a 1 ways

sessions going on all t he time." However, Dan's ears did anything

but soak up all the sounds around his home. On the contrary, Don

detested traditional Newfoundland music and was "mad about blues".

In his own words, "As a kid, I couldn't stand the stuff

[Newfoundland music]. I had no time for it , man, I was glued to the

radio." This was back in the day when FM radio had yet to hit

St. John's. Several intensive months of piano lessons garnered

nothing more than derogatory comments from the neighbourhood kids.

Perhaps as a means to appease their son's personal musical taste,

his parents bought a family record player , complete with the first

two records Don was to listen to -- "Fun , Fun , Fun" by The Beach

Boys and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles. But Don had the

urge to play music , and the landmark first acquisition of some kind

of musical inst r ument did not occur until his family moved out to

Placentia Bay.

This was the time when Dan's interest in music really

took off, for he spent "his puberty in Placentia" which would

become a pivotal era in his musical development. To be specific,

Don lived in Jerseyside (roughly two hours outside of St. John's)

amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in Newfound! and. The

popular night-spot where everyone went to drink and dance was

called "The Pink Lady", located just as you get off the bridge from

Placentia. Whatever local/regional bands were passing through would

play there. Obviously, Don could not get into the club because of

his age, however there was a snack-bar section to the

establishment. A cunning thirteen-year-old Don Walsh could be seen

from the door of the snack-bar, which opened into the club. From

this vantage point he could see and hear what he desired. The first

instrument he was drawn to was the drums. Thanks to a generous

friend from Dunville who lent him a cymbal and a snare, Don set to

work and driving his mother crazy. When Christmas rolled around,

Don found a "fifty-four dollar cardboard drum set from Sears" under

the tree, while his brother (poet/folklorist Des Walsh) received an

electric guitar an small amplifier. Don remembers "The set

consisted of a bass, snare, one tom, and a cymbal. Man it was just

awful , but I 1 oved it." Together, the two brothers would pound

incessantly on their instruments for hours on end.

Don showed an entrepreneurial spirit in these Plancentia

years during the many trips to the dump mentioned previously. He

and his friends would scour the area in search of miscellaneous

bi eye 1 e parts "to make any kind of bike we could se 11 for five

dollars ." So on one of these days, the arch top guitar was

discovered and Don had a great time with it (after a set of strings

was put on it). Soon after, Don and Des traded instruments fair and

square -- a decision with would have a profound effect on Don later

in life.

Don laments with a wistful tone of voice "I think I

missed my calling when I gave up drums for guitar because here I am

almost thirty years later [1998] taking drum lessons from Sonny

Hogan. I have always thought of things rhythmically, rarely if ever

in me 1 odi es." Speaking from my personal experience, Don "hears"

complex rhythmic ideas in his head and engages the studio musician

to "fill in the melody." This use of the word melody may be

stretched somewhat. It is used without pretention and not to

portray precisely what musicologists may deem as "melody", for

example; a succession of notes, varying in pitch, with an organized

and recognizable shape. Rather, I interpret Dan's use of the word

melody as essentially "pitch".

Another early decision which has become somewhat of a

regret, was Dan's decision to give up piano at an early age. "Man,

do I ever wish I stuck with it and 1 earned to read and write

music." It is not necessari 1 y his 1 ack of abi 1 i ty to read music

that bothers him, but the occasional communication breakdowns that

result when musical problems cannot be pinpointed and labelled. He

recalls an example: "Myself and [local bluesman] Cory Tetford were

in the studio one time recording [guitarist/producer] Sandy Morris,

and I could hear something going wrong but I couldn't say what it

was. Cory could say "oh , that's a B flat against a G. That's why it

sounds bad . " And to me , I couldn't put my finger on it right away

because I don't understand the rud i ments of mus ic . Unfortunately

it's a bit of a drawback because I can't always explain what I

mean . 11 None the 1 ess , the recordings that have come out of Don' s

studio have been world-class , award-winning quality. When I asked

Don if music came easy to him , or did he really have to work

diligently to be as good as he is , I was struck by the profundity

of his answer . Trust in yourself is the key. Den's self-confidence

in his own abilities as a musician was always under question. "It

was only about eight or ten years ago that I started thinking my

ideas were really good. I can think up musical parts off the top of

my head , and I don't need to read music to make things happen. 11 All

of this confidence in his musical ideas started to flourish once

Don started engineering himself in his own studio.

In 1969 well before his home studio was a reality, Don

was in t reduced to the a 1 bum "Legion Leaf 11 by Fairport Convention by

** Gerry Conway and Ted Horwood (son of Harold). It was his first

experience with traditional music and needless to say, he was blown

away by it . At the time Don was i n to blues and rock acts like Led

Z e p p e 1 in , but t hi s a 1 burn part i c u 1 a r 1 y caught hi s ear . S i x years

later, Don met up with fiddler Jaime Snyder at the Cochrane Hotel

(appropriate 1 y on Cochrane Street in St. John's) where Don was

living at the time. Jaime would crash at Den's place on nights he

was playing in St.John's, as Jaime lived all the way out in Beechy

Cove. The pair hit it off, and together with Jaime as the leader

they formed Red Island, a group that lasted little over a year and

recorded one LP , yet is still talked about today in Halifax.

**Den's edit: This should be nephew of Harold

Don describes Red Island as a sort of "punk-trad" band.

Jaime knew a lot about traditional music, and Don had a keen

interest to learn. The name of the band has somewhat of a story

behind it. One of the first tunes they learned was called "The Red

Island Tune". As well a good friend of the band , Vince McCarthy ,

had a grandfather who was from Red Island. Red Island was one of

several islands and isolated communities that was resettled due to

problems of infrastructure and basic economics. The boys in Red

Island did not want to let the name of the island die as well, so

it was kept on as a symbolic gesture.

Around the same time as Red Is 1 and were on the go,

another soon-to-be famous Newfoundland band was taking traditional

music one step further as well. This was Figgy Duff, whose members

included Dave Panting (now with Rawlins Cross), Anita Best , and

Noel Dinn among others. Someone said to Don once "in Newfoundland

if Figgy Duff are the Beatles, then Red Island are The Rolling

Stones . " Don has cleverly added to this quote by saying "then does

that make The Wonderful Grand Band the Monkees?"

Jaime Snyder was the member of the band that knew the

most about traditional music , and thus, was the undisputed leader

of the group. Don had some input into the arrangement of the tunes,

as he and Jaime would work on things in the morning at the hotel

before the rest of the band would come over in the early afternoon.

Don describes the formula of Red Is 1 and as being "not

quite as structured as the Duff." In a given tune (e.g. Centennial

Highway Reel) the band would play through the melody twice and then

let lead guitarist Bruce Crummel "go mad". His solos were lengthy

and virtuosic, encompassing a wide range of styles including rock,

blues and jazz. With such an improvi satory aspect to their music,

certain signals were devised to let other members know when to move

on in the piece. When Bruce was coming to an end of a solo he would

play a particular passage , then the melody would return and the

band plays out till the end.

Red Is 1 and did something many present day St. John's

bands do not do now: tour. Nowadays ther e is a degree of touring by

local acts , but rarely beyond one or two engagements outside of the

city. The reason for this is purely a financial one. Very often

there is simply not enough money involved to make such a daunting

venture feasible for all parties. Back in Dan's day though,

financial problems were still there. Sometimes "you'd be staying in

a nice hotel, other times it ' d be a hole" as Don recounts. There

was the immortal problem of barowners/promoters who always seem to

think of musicians as second-class citizens. Sadly , it may be said

that it was one rather long tour Red Island made that ultimately

led to the band's demise.

Spending three months in a 1 itt 1 e van with anyone,

including friends, can get you down. It's sometimes easier to look

at the harder times than the good times. But this three months of

touring had it ' s share of both. Red Is 1 and (along with another

group called T.N.T) was touring all of the Arts and Culture Centres

in the province, a feat that would be monumental even by today's

standards. Geographically, Newfoundland is huge. Merely traversing

this wide expanse is a testament to the dedication of Red Island.

Where these were a series of concerts as opposed to usually

unorganized bar shows, they would be finished up playing quite

early (approximately eleven o 'clock). After the second night of the

tour, Don and a friend Claude Canes , went to a local watering hole

called Harry's Bar. There a band called the C.C. Connection were

playing. The leader singer was wearing a karate suit, complete with

sword. Don and Claude spent the entire evening heckling and jeering

this outlandish act. Afterwards , the 1 ead singer harbouring no

animosity towards the two hecklers, in fact , he was complementary.

Don happily recalls this era as "probably the most fun , best, and

happiest times of my life for sure."

Red Island also did some playing at university campuses

in the Maritimes, especially Halifax. Romance had a part to play in

the breakup of the band as well. Don labels both himself and Jaime

as "incurable romantics " who "would be in love some lovely girl for

every gig." In Ha 1 if ax, Jaime found someone he cared for very much,

Don was courting a woman in St. John's who he would later marry ,

and Bruce had a girlfriend in Stephenville. Hormonal urges won

over, and Red Island ended after a little over a year.

But before the passion took over, Red Island recorded and

released an LP entitled "In Pursuit of the Wild Bologna " , which

inc 1 udes a picture of Don sporting hair 1 ike Crys ta 1 Ga 1 e. The

project was a true mi rae 1 e as Don says "I never, ever waul d ' ve

believed Red Island could make a recording. We were all broke and

I never thought it caul d happen." Don goes on to describe Red

Island as a " buddy band " , a group of friends having fun without

being overly serious about the music or the groups direction (if

any).

But two members of the aforementioned T.N.T, Claude Canes

and Neil Bishop, started up a recording studio in Stephenvi 11 e

called Clade Sound. They agreed to take care of all recording and

pressing costs, essentially allow Red Island to "get the record out

there." All record sales waul d then go to C 1 ode Sound. Don was

taken aback by this goodwill gesture, and vowed that if he ever had

the opportunity to operate a recording studio that he would

incorporate a similar code of conduct to his clients.

Fast-forward several years, to the dawn of the age of the

personal computer. At a friend's house, Don is fascinated by a (now

archaic) TRS-80 can defeat him in a computer video game. This

interest eventually led Don to take a lot of computer courses at

Memorial University, a decision that would later be an asset

perhaps Don himself didn't realize. He developed (after acquiring

the training) a computer program for doctor's offices , which

encompassed patient profile , automated billing , and generally made

life in the doctor's office easier.

The idea sold, and it's still sel ling. The program is

still being revised and updated, in conjunction with Dan's

colleague Jill Blackmore . In 1986 with some funds f rom the sale of

this program , Don incorporated Dadyeen Studios (a name harkening to

Dan's familial heritage from County Cork in Ireland) and set up

shop on University Avenue in St. John's. This has since moved to

Tunis Court. Very recently, some renovations to the basement studio

have created much more space for recording equipment and musicians.

Don has stayed true to his word. Very often, he records and

produces albums just to get them on the market and in the ears of

listeners. Such is the case with Denis Parker ' s new album, which by

all accounts is selling well.

With Red Island gone, Don felt an urge to play in a band

again . Don along with Gerry Strong (flute and tin whistle), Eric

west (classical guitar) and Des Walsh (fiddle) formed Tickle

Harbour. Tickle Harbour has gone through several incarnations, with

a few interpersonal problems. Eric and Don were at loggerheads as

Eric was classically trained and sometimes said some of Dan's ideas

"couldn't be done." As well , Eric played classical guitar and the

difficulties of getting the instrument to sound well in a P.A. was

not worth the anger involved.

Tickle Harbour has survived almost twenty years, and Don

himself h as 1 ikened the band to a " co-operative" as members are

very often in rotation. From the beginning, Don recognized some

weaknesses in the band. During this time, Tickle Harbour was

somewhat of a ceilidh band , a band for parties and dances.

Arrangements simply consisted of melodies, so when the band would

make an appearance at a folk festival , Don would scout the place

for local talent to join Tickle Harbour for their set. There was

" strength in numbers. "

This would not be able to occu r today. The Tickle Harbour

of the Nineties roster is highly arranged, with each instrument

having individualized parts. Dan's arrangements are difficult to

play, let alone transcribe in standard Western notation. Sometimes ,

as can be imagined, this presented problems. World-famous fiddler

Seamus Creagh became part of the band almost as fast as Don could

find him. Seamus was a huge y influential musician and friend to

Don. However Seamus was a melody player , and no matter how

convincing Don was in presenting his ar rangements, Seamus would

always find his way back to the melody.

With Seamus Creagh in mind , the unorthodox side of Don

Walsh shoul d be noted. On Battery Included , trumpet and saxophone

are put on a set of polkas that Seamus wrote. These instruments are

not common in traditional folk circles (though an argument could be

made for the Acadian group La Boutine Souriante who have a full

horn section), but Don thought they would add a lot to the piece.

Upon he a ring a rough mix of the tune, Seamus (who is

somewhat of a purist) told Don in an e-mail "I'm mesmerized!" **

Similarly, the present day instrumentation of Tickle Harbour

includes Francesca Swann (host of MusiCraft on CBC Radio) on cello.

"I did not want an electric bass in Tickle Harbour. I got nothing

against electric bass , but the cello does the job of an electric

bass and then some " Don told me . Dan's ears seem to be open to many

types of sounds , and he is not afraid to put anything into the pot

if he thinks it will be appealing to the audience.

To date , Tickle Harbour hnve released three recordings:

The Hare's Ears (1982) , The Brule Boys in Paris (1992), and Battery

Included (1998). Incidently , Batte r y Included recently won a host

of awards at the 1998 Music Industry Association Awards show in

Corner Brook. All of the albums have their covers painted by

Newfoundland artist Gerald Squires , and each title has is a area of

Newfoundland just as the band name is. One would have to give Don

a pretty penny to purchase The Hare's Ears, as he is not pleased

with it in hindsight. "If I could I ' d find them all [the copies of

the a 1 bum] and me 1 t them. It's really not very good " Don says with

a laugh. ***

Another pivotal Newfoundland band Don has been in is the

Pl ankerdown Band, along with Wade Pinhorn , George Morgan, Kelly

Russell, and Frank Maher. This group was quite prolific , touring

internationa ly and releasing one CD entit ed "The Jig Is Up". Don

has mixed feelings about the group. He loves the music they made,

** Don's edit: Actually after playing the rough mix for Seamus at his house on one of my visits to him in Ireland Seamus said, "Mesmerizing"

*** Don's edit: Maybe I should have told Patrick it was my singing that was terrible on that recording and not the band.

but the gruel ing touring and the subsequent nature of the

interpersonal relationships in the group made t ings difficult . If

Don made a mistake while playing he would be given glares, whereas

if the same thing happened in Red Is 1 and, "everyone would have a

laugh" . Dave Panting once said to Don " Don when you where in Red

Island and I was in the Duff I used to envy you having fun onstage.

I was always so nervous with the Duff , it was not always fun. " But

the tables turned , and now Don was not getting the most out of

music.

" Buddy bands " are not always good things. Friendships and

having a good time can c oud musical precision and slow the

progress of commercial success . But to Don (and many , many other

people including myself) music is supposed to be fun and it ' s meant

to be shared with others. Don C'alls hoth Red Is and and Tickle

Harbour "buddy bands" and he speaks with such joy over recent trips

with Tickle Harbour to Boston and Vancouver, calling it ' ' the time

of our lives. "

" You don't have to be a wicked player to be in the band

[Tickle Harbour] , if that was the case, I ' d probably be kicked out!

You just gotta be able to pull your weight." Don also recalls a

time in the studio during the recording of " The Reunion" on Battery

Included. He had to "fire himself" because the guitar sound and

style he wanted could be better executed by Sandy Morris. The odd

thing about this is that Don himself wrote the tune in question !

He says " Don Wi=ll sh the producer fired Don Walsh the performer on a

tune Don Wa 1 sh wrote . " Perhaps it is Don 1 s modesty and op e nness

t hat makes him the efficient producer he is. Without such

qualities, recording sessions would be a nightmare, with egos

flying everywhere. Don has the abjlit y to control the studio

situation without steppjng on any toes , including his own!

I would like to conclude with a description of a Tickle

Harbour concert from September 30th, 1 9 98 at The Art Gall ery of

New f ound! and and Labrador. I have seen and performed with Tick l e

Harbour several times throughout my life, but t his perf o r manc e was

p a rticularly special. When I arrived and took my seat in the f ront

row , I was surprised not to see a ny s ort of sound system . As the

t hr ongs of people filed into the hal , it was apparent that no such

system would arrive. They were going acoustic.

Don 1 s percussive " brute-force" approach to guitar was the

first thing to catch my ear, though I could hear each instrument

with utmost clarity. They played Centennial Highway Reel, a tune

Don knew since the early years , yet this time Don s ays " wi th about

fifteen more chords to it, it used to be j1 st A minor to G."

The goatskin of Fergus 0 1 Byrne 1 s bodhran reverberated in my ches t ,

as did the cello when 1 ow notes were hit. " This must be how this

music should be experienced " , I t hough t. But despi t e the grea t

acoustics of the room, Don said he missed a sound system monitor

blasting his face with h is gui t ar.

When Fergus switched to concertina, was worried that it

may drown out Vonnie Barron's vocals. I found out later in a

conversation with Fergus that he and the band had the same

misgivings. But the great sound continued, and Vonnie was heard. I

was impressed at Vonnie's diction at the high speed.

Over in the corner was Don and Pat Moran having a laugh

while plaving. I don't think they stopped smiling once during the

performance . Don has a seventh peg on the owE string of his six­

string guitar which allows him to tune down to D on the fly. Every

so often , Pat would flick the switch to D. much to the del ight of

everyone except Don. But even he is laughing , and he is conjuring

up what to do to Pat during the next tune.

The honest happiness of everyone onstage is clearly not

an act. Tickl e Harbour were delighted to play to such a packed room

filled with an appreciate audience . Between tunes , Don and Gerry

exchange in witty banter, and no one thinks " come on guys, get on

with the music. " These musicians are havjng just as much fun as the

audience. Rarely have I ever seen such first-rate musicianship

coup ed with genuine exuberance to perform.

nn Walsh is a big part of that. and that sense of

kindnes~ radiates throughout his whole ife . I feel fortunate to

know him and work with him , as I always learn something new about

music and myself. He is about having fun as opposed to making as

much money as possible. Having the ability to promote, produce, and

create high quality music is something he values immensely and

something he does well. I wou d be very lucky to meet anyone else

with as much generous spirit. Under Dan's banner of music , people

come first.

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