Pulled together by the magnetic, globe-trotting compositions of Brian Pickell and a love of traditional music, the group is both stunningly musical and energizing to listen to. The band combines the talents of Shane Cook; (multiple winner of the Canadian and Grand Masters Fiddle Contests and the American Grand National); renowned Ottawa multi-instrumentalist James Stephens on fiddle, mandolin and viola; and Pat O’Gorman, an admired mainstay of the Canadian music scene, on flute, whistles and pipes. Julie Schryer is widely considered to be one of the finest piano accompanists in Canada, and Brian is an accomplished composer, guitarist, and banjo and mandolin player. Together, they are a musical force of nature.
Brian’s compositions are now being played and recorded widely: Deaf Shepherd (Scotland), Tony McManus, arguably the greatest guitarist in Celtic music (Scotland), Liz Doherty (Ireland), The Halali Fiddle Band (USA), Oliver Schroer (Canada), Nicholas Williams (Canada), Pierre Schryer (Canada) and numerous others. They are clearly fresh sounding, yet very friendly to old-time and traditional music.
The material ranges from driving and raucous to warm and lyrical. Although all the players possess impressive individual skills, this effort is very much about the great joy of playing together.
James Stephens (Co-Producer / Recording Engineer)
James is known for his work both as a performer and producer / recording engineer. In performance, he plays a multitude of stringed instruments with an emphasis on fiddling. He has an abiding interest in traditional forms and styles, but also works extensively with singer-songwriters and was himself the principal songwriter in critically acclaimed pop/roots band "Fat Man Waving".
James can presently be found performing with traditionally influenced groups such as The Brian Pickell Band, Finest Kind, Ecosse (Bobby Watt and Duncan Gillis), banjo player Ken Perlman, and JIIG (James, Ian Robb, Ian Clark, Greg Brown). He also performs regularly with singer/songwriter Jennifer Noxon.
James has co-produced and engineered recordings with all of these musicians as well as such others as Pierre Schryer (the album “Blue Drag, co-produced and engineered by James, was nominated for a 2004 Juno Award), Ian Tamblyn, Washboard Hank, Dermot Byrne, Shelley Posen, Nicholas Williams, Lynn Miles (2003 Juno winner), Chris White, Genticorum, Tom Lips, and, Michael Jerome Browne.
Julie Schryer
Julie is considered one of the most accomplished piano accompanists for traditional music in Canada and grew up playing in the Canadian fiddle competition milieu with her 4 brothers. Her early influences were recordings by Felix Dolan, Glen Paul, Josephine Keegan, Violet Tulloch, Yvan Brault and Gilles Losiers. She further developed her style, using more open sounds, by working closely for many years with guitar players Brian Pickell and Nathan Curry. Julie spent 6 years recording and touring with the Pierre Schryer Band. She is well known as a teacher at the Goderich Celtic College and the Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp in California. She has been featured on numerous recordings with one or more of her brothers and on those by Anne Lederman, Eleanor Townsend and René Côté. Most recently Julie has been recording and performing with the Brian Pickell Band, which is touring it's new CD "Fresh Canadian Fiddle Tunes", recently appearing at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and at several music festivals in Ontario and the USA. Julie and Pat O'Gorman also play as a duo and have appeared together at the Chicago, Goderich, and Owen Sound Celtic Festivals among numerous other engagements.
Pat O'Gorman
Pat O'Gorman began playing bagpipes 35 years ago in the Ontario Highland Piping world and has studied traditional music in Ireland, Brittany and Cape Breton. He is considered one of the foremost Irish flute players in North America and plays Irish Uilleann pipes and whistle as well. Pat has been at the cutting edge of Celtic music for 25 years with bands such as Na Cabarfeidh, Rare Air, Morgaine Le Fay, Windbags, and most recently with The Brian Pickell Band. He has toured throughout North America and Europe, has appeared on over 30 recordings, and has been recorded for numerous television and radio programs and for several films including Men With Brooms. Pat has taught at the Goderich Celtic College, the North American Comhaltas Conference, the Boston College Gaelic Roots Week, and Chris Norman's Boxwood Flute Week in Lunenburg, NS. In 2003, he was heard as a guest soloist, along with David Greenberg, with the Baltimore Consort on CBC Radio's InPerformance. This concert appeared in February 2004 on CBC TV's programme OpeningNight.
Shane Cook (Fiddle)
Twenty-two year old Shane Cook "rates at the top of the short list of the finest fiddlers in the world today." He is a master at merging his versatile Canadian old-time fiddling with a wide variety of fiddling styles that include Cape Breton, Irish, Scottish, French-Canadian, Texan and Bluegrass. Currently Shane is balancing his music career with his studies as a fourth year student in music at the University of Western Ontario where he performs with both the UWO symphony orchestra and the UWO jazz ensemble. In concert Shane often shares the stage with Tiffany Fewster and Brian Pickell as well performing as a member of the Brian Pickell Band. Shane has also recently completed tours in Canada and the USA as a member of the production Bowfire, "an unforgettable performance by the leading names in each genre of modern violin playing." Some of Shane's past tours have seen him perform from coast to coast in Canada and the USA as well as in Germany, England and Taiwan. As a competitive fiddler Shane has an impressive record having earned over 250 awards including the top honour at all four of the most prestigious fiddle competitions in North America:
- Canadian Open National Champion (twice)
- US Grand National Champion (as the only Canadian to have won this award)
- Canadian Grand Masters Champion (three times)
- Grand North American Champion.
Incredibly, Shane is the youngest fiddler ever to win three of these four major awards!
Mark Sullivan (Fiddle)
At twenty-one, Mark Sullivan has won the Canadian Open, Pembroke and Grand Masters fiddle championships, among other competitions. Mark's versatility is well represented on his "Traditional Styles" CD which encompasses Canadian old time, Irish, Scottish and French Canadian fiddling. He has performed throughout Scotland and Ireland as well as at home, and has been featured on BBC Radio Scotland's "Take the Floor." His playing is simultaneously brilliant technically and full of feeling.