"We make your feet happy!" That is Out of the Wood's motto. At over 150 contradances over the last 6 years this band has made dancers' feet happy in communities all over the Pacific Northwest. Out of the Wood plays a variety of tunes from Celtic, New England, Quebecois, and Old Time music styles. Kathy, Vickie and Pat have worked hard to earn their reputation as a dancer's band: Kathy Bowman skillfully weaves in and out of the melody on her fiddle keeping the tunes fresh and lively; Pat Marron plays driving melodies and funky rhythms on mandolin, fiddle, and banjo; Vickie Marron provides a dynamic, steady, toe-tapping beat on the piano. Together the band excites and expands the dancers' musical experience....music and dance become one!
Ray Polhemus
Ray Polhemus has been actively been calling contra dances in the northwest
region for the past 12 years. Being one of the operators of Spokane's
Wednesday Night Dance Group has given him a steady diet of experience with
both novice and advanced dancers.
Ray has been calling with Out of the Wood for over 6 years, working hard
over the years to choose just the right dance to match the given tune set.
This gives each dance a compelling dynamic, and when coupled with the
enthusiasm and energy that Ray provides to each dance, it's quite an
experience.
The Lost and Nameless Orchestra (Austin, Texas) channels music that moves dancers'
feet and provokes smiles. Chris E. Peterson (fiddle, resophonic slide
guitar, mandola, glockenspiel, and guitar), who has accompanied dances
since 1980, met Patrick Conway (guitar, vocals, bass, mandolin, bodron)
in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1993. They formed an immediate bond playing
traditional fiddle tunes and writing and recording their own compositions.
Upon Patrick's move to Austin in 2006, they determined to form an
insanely great live band. Rounding out the orchestra are Nathan Quiring
(piano and keyboards), Joe Molloy (drums and percussion), Harmoni Kelley
(bass, harmony vocals, and glockenspiel), and guest musicians Win Bent
(bass, guitar, mandolin, and percussion) and Kimberly Zielnicki (fiddle
and vocals). The orchestra's much-anticipated self-titled debut CD will
be available for sale at Fire Ant Frolic 2008.
Rich MacMath
One of Austin's ever-popular callers, Rich MacMath
started calling in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1976. Rich
has been calling in Texas since the early 90s. Rich calls
regularly in the caller rotation at the every Wednesday
contra dance at Austin's Hancock Recreation Center,
and at Austin's 3rd Saturday Contra Dance.
