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| Cascadia Folk Quartet |
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Print Profile |
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Sound Samples
Cuckoo's Nest - Blackberry Blossom
Stones Rag
Wanderin
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| Hammer Dulcimer, Guitar, Fiddle, Bass, Vocals |
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The Cascadia Folk Quartet plays an exquisite and versatile blend of modern folk music. Sharing a love of music in the folk tradition, Mick Doherty, Kevin Shay Johnson, Lawrence Huntley and Chip Cohen have performed and toured together for many years. They call Oregon's Willamette Valley home.
The Quartet provides a memorable evening of superb music presented with wit and charm. Traditional and original songs with harmony vocals are accompanied by hammer dulcimers, guitar, fiddle and bass.
Audiences are delighted by their dynamic instrumental arrangements. These fellows are confident performers who quickly put an audience at ease. Drawing on a wealth of experience entertaining throughout the West, the band delivers an energetic and inspired concert performance.
Technical requirements of the band are minimal so set-up and tear-down is quick and easy. In many situations, the band can perform without a PA.
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The Heart of the Matter:
Cascadia Folk Quartet plays a unique fusion of traditional and modern music featuring the strong hammer dulcimer playing of Mick Doherty and Lawrence Huntley, with the big rhythm guitar style of Kevin Shay Johnson, and the playful fiddling of Chip Cohen.
Taking full advantage of the percussive possibilities of the dulcimer, combined with solid guitar and fiddle work, the Quartet is able to deliver a rich variety of music. They can rip up a breakdown with the best of 'em or serve up the sweetest melody with all the trimmings. Not to be overlooked, Kevin's voice is on the band's biggest assets. The guy has definitely got a set of pipes!
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Born in Elgin, Illinois, Lawrence Huntley began his study of percussion at the age of ten. He began his dulcimer playing career in 1982 in Portland, Oregon. He has since performed with several bands and has provided music for several film and television projects. He is the band's business manager.
Kevin Shay Johnson was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1952 and began playing guitar in 1969. He was a designated driver at Woodstock. In 1980, Kevin traveled by bicycle from Washington D.C. to Portland where he began his career as a singer/songwriter.
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1955, Chip Cohen is a multi-instrumentalist who has played music most of his life. He developed an interest in old-time fiddling while traveling in the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Over his long career, Chip has played with The Johnson Mountain Boys, and most recently with the Holy Modal Rounders.
Mick Doherty, born in 1957, in Annapolis, Maryland, traveled a lot as a youngster. With his father working as a U.S. Diplomat, Mick lived in Mexico, Peru and Argentina before graduating from High School in Brussels, Belgium. Mick is also in The Trail Band which is currently performing a program about Lewis and Clark, to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of Lewis and Clark's epic journey, made at the request of President Thomas Jefferson in 1805 - 06.
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Several of the band members are alumni of The Whammadiddle Dingbats, a band known throughout the Pacific Northwest for its outstanding musicianship and affably warped sense of humor. (A whammadiddle is a slang term for the hammer dulcimer.)
Chris Nielson, host of the folk radio show, "Root and Branch," said the Dingbats "are some of the finest folk musicians in Portland, which makes them some of the finest in the whole Northwest. Their performances are beautiful, exciting and funny," ....May they never be mellowed out by Windham Hill."
Don Campbell, writing in the Downtowner, once said, "for such a goofy name, this Trio of string bangers is extremely accomplished. Combining traditional folk music with a modern twist, the threesome whips out a happy, lighthearted, and politically hip genre uniquely their own, utilizing the tinkle and shine of the hammered dulcimer, a first cousin to the piano that sits atop a lap. Its strings are tapped with light wooden hammers, creating a lilting, bouncing air of music."
John Foyston, writing in the Oregonian said, "...they combined a gorgeous, crystalline purity of sound with an affably warped sense of humor that resulted in such gems as a note-perfect cover of "Wipeout," with the tom-tom fill played on a balloon."
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Who Are These Guys?
Four fellows who have a blast on the road making music, singing, sharing lies and true stories. The Quartet features a former school teacher and garbage man, a fireman, a storyteller and a maintenance man. The schoolteacher has sung at countless political rallies, the fireman has played the West with the maintenance man, the storyteller has performed in Europe and Japan.
The Music
Cascadia Folk Quartet specializes in North American folk music. Old-time hoedowns, country rags, waltzes and polkas are featured in the instrumental repertoire. A banjo-playing, Folk Dance Caller is available to work with the band for some good old-fashioned fun on the dance floor.
Forays beyond the borders result in renditions of Mexican, Greek, Israeli, Peruvian and Celtic melodies performed in a concert set. Traditional and contemporary folk songs showcase the group's expressive singing, featuring songs of the open road, topical humor, swaggering cowboys, wandering hoboes, unrequited love, and sleeping babies.
The Hammer Dulcimer
The hammer dulcimer is a tuned percussion instrument thought to be an ancestor to the piano. The strings are struck with small wooden mallets or "hammers." Lawrence and Mick play dulcimers that feature 68 strings, are equipped with dampers and have a range of three octaves.
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Discography:
Cascadia Folk Quartet, 1996
Bus Stop in Paradise, 1995 "Tropical" music with
hammer dulcimer and steel pans.
Lucky!, 1990
Saturday at the Market, 1988
Harmonic Tremors
Old Time Hammered Dulcimer Favorites
Dulcimer Christmas, 1987
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Audiences and Clients Rave about their performances:
"Kevin and his group did a wonderful job -- thanks so much."
Lisa Greeley, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca, July 2007
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"Super Job! I wanted to thank you again for helping find the Cascadia Folk Quartet for my company picnic; they fit the theme perfectly! The band was great and even involved the kids in the music which many of the parents enjoyed. We had a hoe-down, and the crowd loved it. I just wanted to thank you again and let you know that they did an excellent job. I couldn't have asked for a better band for my event. I look forward to working with you in the future!
Kelli Dennis, Marketing Communications Analyst,
SRC Software, June 2005
"I wanted to thank you and the lads from Cascadia Folk Trio for a truly wonderful performance here at the library. People kept stopping me afterwards telling me how much they enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to have them and I hope they can return sometime."
Ginny Watt,
Children's Division, Beaverton City Library
January 2003
"The 'Whammadiddle Dingbats' have been a great entertainment "find" for the Port of Portland's public events. They were very well suited for the Port's grand opening for a newly remodeled area at Portland International Airport. The 'Whammadiddle's music was perfect for our audiences of families, children and seniors. The group was professional, on-time and a delight to listen to. We have used their talents in other events since the airport celebration. I would highly recommend this group to anyone planning events for families. Their music is up-beat and well received by the audience. We look forward to working with them in the future."
Katy Tobie, Community Affairs Specialist
Port of Portland, February 1996
"It was the Morrow County Museum's recent good fortune to host the appearance of The Whammadiddle Dingbats during our annual St. Patrick's Celebration. The audience, which ranged from the preschool offspring of young professionals through retired wheat ranchers, were unanimous in their appreciation and enthusiasm for the Dingbats. Performing under far less than ideal conditions, the Dingbats provided a memorable evening of wit, charm and superb music. They were a delightful addition to our festivities and I hope to prevail upon them to make a return engagement."
Marsha Sweek, Director, Morrow County Museum
March 1991
At the 1990 International Rotary Convention House of Friendship, which attracted 20,000 Rotarians from around the world:
"Without question, your performance received the most enthusiastic response from the audience of all the performances during the five day convention. You managed to capture first their attention, and then their imagination in what was a wonderfully varied and entertaining program. There were many comments afterwards about how much people had enjoyed your music. Should you ever need a recommendation for future engagements, I would be most happy to tell anyone how successful your performance was.
Many thanks again, and very best wishes,
Amanda Baines Ashley
Convention Entertainment Coordinator
August 1990
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