Clark Ratliffe
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Flutes, whistles and bad jokes.
The instrument he has to his lips most of the time is a modern copy of an old style wooden flute (circa 1840 Pratten). It is ideally suited to Irish traditional music with its warm woody sound and the ability to play very fast and bend notes as needed.
Clark has been a pediatric nurse for many years and is currently teaching nursing at the University of Hawaii School of Nursing. |
Lawson Cannon
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Guitar, Irish Bouzouki, Vocals
Lawson plays the string rhythm that backs our tunes. He uses alternative tunings that seek to create the open drones of Celtic pipes, as well as producing the chords of conventional string rhythm instruments. He has written a set of instruction books to explain how easy it is to do what he does. He joins Katie and Susan for our vocals, and he enjoys good-natured bantering with Clark during our performances. He also composes original instrumentals and songs in the folk tradition.
Lawson is a Doctor of Chiropractic in private practice; he also teaches ManaNalu, a manual therapy that he developed to release soft-tissue restrictions.
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Katie McClellen
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Celtic harp, mandolin, whistle, and vocals.
We are so lucky to have Katie and her harp in the band. When we hear the beautiful sounds of this instrument we know why it is the national symbol of Ireland. Her harp is a celtic style that is smaller than the large concert harps that most people think of.
Katie works for Hawaii Theater for Youth. She recently finished her Masters degree in ethnomusicology. Scottish harp music was her focus of research.
For lessons click here |
Susan Reinhart
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Bodhran, bass, vocals and the sound board
Susan is our sound technician and we all sound better because of her. She patiently responds to our annoying pleas... "Louder. No, lower. More bass. Less treble. Where's that buzzing coming from?"
Her bodhran (pronounced "bow-ron") is Ireland's contribution to the world of percussion.
Susan is a business owner |
Kevin Craven
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Fiddle
Kevin is a recovering violinist who has come over to the dark side - Irish fiddlin'. His ability to improvise the most amazing harmonies, not to mention playing the heck out of any tune we attempt, has added so much to our band. His fiddle is truly the heart and soul of our band. We share Kevin with the contra dance ceili band Whiskey Starship.
Kevin is a violin teacher.
For lessons click here |