Looney's Fortune

Looney's Fortune derives its name from a pub, Looney's Tavern, in Torrance, CA where the band members all met in the 1980's. The sessions there were every Wednesday night and would run into the wee hours of the morning.  Tons of tunes were learned there, friendships made, bands launched, loads of laughs and great times.  Looney’s Fortune chose its name to honor the memory of that.  Here's a little about each of the band members:
Georgiana Hennessy has been playing fiddle, piano and accordion for many years and she also is a terrific singer.   She has played with many groups over the years including Atlantic Crossing and Reel to Reel.  Georgiana's energy, personality and sheer enjoyment of the music shine through her playing and make her a joy to listen to.
Matt Tonge is an extraordinary guitarist.  He accompanies using both 6 and 12 string guitars and manages to make them sound like a bass and guitar in one!  He and Georgiana have made several recordings together.
Patti Amelotte became interested in the hammered dulcimer and in Irish music after attaining a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Chapman University.  She has performed throughout Southern California as a soloist, with several duos, and with the bands Blackthorne, Granuaile, Better than One, and Crannog.  In 1990 she won the State Hammered Dulcimer Championship.  Patti has performed on many television and movie soundtracks as well as releasing a well received recording with Granuaile. She teaches private and group lessons in Southern California.

Looney's Fortune (under different names) has performed most often at the Ooodles of Noodles Festival in Torrance, CA and at the Summer Solstice Festival.   They also play at the Irish session on Sundays in the Auld Dubliner pub in Long Beach.  To hear samples from their CD, go to: looneysfortune.com
 

Jim Cope

Jim Cope began his music training at a young age on trumpet, then on guitar. He was part of the folk music scene in the early 60s and hung out with singer/songwriters in Orange County through 1966. He moved to Appalachia for the next 2 ½ years as a VISTA volunteer where he worked closely with the people to help improve their economic prospects through increasing farm production, through developing arts and crafts cooperatives, and by promoting local Appalachian musicians and music festivals focusing on traditional Appalachian music. Immersed in this culture, he picked up many songs which continue to be a part of him today. Upon returning to California, he moved to Claremont and teamed up with David Millard. Three years later he became part of the bluegrass group, "Occurrence at Owl Creek," which became locally very popular. Later he began playing with the Irish Pub band, "Paddy Doyle's Boots." He also plays with the bands "When Pigs Fly" and "Old Grey Cats." In addition to being very accomplished on vocals and guitar, Jim also plays the fiddle, banjo and mandolin. In 2008, Jim completed his first solo CD project, "Never Better Than Later." For more on Jim, go to www.jpcope.com and www.cdbaby.com/cd/jimcope

Leo Kretzner -- Mountain Dulcimer Workshop

Leo and the mountain dulcimer met in 1975 and neither has been the same ever since. He has been a major innovator of the instrument, playing everything from traditional Appalachian styles of music to Celtic jigs and reels to blues and rock. He is known for his user-friendly yet highly informative teaching style in workshops, and rounds out his concert performances with vocals and guitar playing added to rollicking mountain dulcimer instrumentals. Leo has performed and taught for over thirty-five years at folk festivals and coffee houses all over the country. He has four recordings and another in the planning stage, including Not So Still Life and Bold Orion. The first two vinyl albums, Dulcimer Fair and Pigtown Fling have been digitally re-mastered as an all-traditional, all-instrumental CD compilation called Dulcimer Fling!  No longer a biomedical researcher, he’s now self-employed as a freelance musician, writer and actor, with a video, commercial, and cable television episode of "America’s Court" to his credit.
 

Roger and the Bookends

Roger Goodman plays the fiddle and harmonica, his wife Monika White plays clawhammer banjo, spoons, guitar, bass and mandolin.  Monika's twin sister Gitta also plays guitar.  They have been playing Old-Timey music since the mid 1970s.  Monika was the founder and banjo player for Old Mother Logo, an old-time, all women string band that performed regularly on the West Coast from 1978 - 1988.  Their 1986 album, “Mother Logo Branching Out,” has been re-issued as a CD and is available through Old Topanga Music.  Monika will be teaching two workshops at the Music in the Mountains Festival this year --- one in claw hammer banjo and one in spoons.  When not playing music with family and friends, she teaches graduate students at USC.  She lives with her husband, Roger Goodman who will be teaching a workshop in harmonica and a wonderful class on how to play by ear.

The Hennacy House Band
The Hennacy House Band is named after the Catholic Worker house on Brittania Street in East L.A.  Twenty years ago these Catholic Workers began playing at wakes, weddings and parties of all kinds.  Martha Scarbrough is brilliant on harmonies; Pat Huckaby holds the band together with driving rhythms on guitar and mandolin; Donald Nollar sings and plays Old-Timey fiddle; Rio Parfrey studied under Jean Ritchie and has a rich, pure tone in her voice and great skill on the mountain dulcimer; Sandi Huckaby plays the hammered dulcimer and is the chief instigator in the group.  The band shares a love of both Celtic and Old-Time American traditional tunes, especially the ones that tell a story about unions, the poor and social justice.  In their many years together they've developed a unique sound and great cohesiveness.  At this year's festival they will be joined by Diane Grady, a great hammered dulcimer player and percussionist.

 

Wake the Bard has become the most popular Celtic band in the Inland Empire.  It began in 2003 when Pat and Sandi Huckaby, Celtic musicians from the San Fernando Valley, met folk musicians Mike and Stephanie Adams when they all moved to Green Valley Lake. They play in pubs, concerts, and parties throughout Southern California, and a time or two in Las Vegas.
The name, “Wake the Bard,” means to wake up the rich music tradition, poetry, mythology and culture that the bards, or poet-musicians, of ancient Ireland had always kept alive.  It also has the double meaning, as in Irish wake, of mourning all that was lost of the bardic tradition when the English conquered Ireland and tried to suppress its culture and traditions. 

Pat Huckaby is one of those born musicians.  He's had a guitar in his hands ever since anyone can remember.  From rock bands to Bluegrass and Celtic, Pat has played it all.  Besides guitar, he also plays the mandolin and bass, and switches between harmony vocals and lead vocals.  Pat also doubles as the sound engineer on our CDs. 

Sandi Huckaby took up the hammered dulcimer 28 years ago because she liked its soft gentle sound on slow tunes and its rousing excitement on fast dance tunes.  She knows hundreds of Irish jigs & reels and also enjoys playing American traditional music.  She loves nothing better than jamming in sessions with other like-minded folks.  Her joy and enthusiasm are contagious, so she has no trouble convincing people to join in the fun. 

Michael Adams has been an avid guitarist for over 35 years.  Early in his career, Mike and his partner Greg opened for noted performers Hoyt Axton, the Eagles, and Jose Feliciano.  A move to the mountains several years ago with wife Stephanie exposed them to a form of music they had only heard in movies--Irish jigs and reels.  Their musical interest soon changed from folk to Celtic.

Stephanie Adams was trained as a concert pianist, but after numerous guild performances and recitals, she became dissatisfied with the classical music concert world.  Meeting and performing with future husband Michael changed her musical interests forever.  Stephanie’s love of Celtic music has solidified that new musical direction.  She currently plays the harmonium and lends her beautiful singing voice to Wake the Bard’s vocals.

Clare Bellefeuille-Rice is a classically trained violinist from Los Angeles via Washington, who is frequently “lured to the dark side” to play fiddle with Wake the Bard.

MICHAEL BALLARD - Bodhran Workshop

Michael Ballard's musical career began at an early age with the study of dance and violin.  Since then he has specialized in many different percussion instruments and has performed at the Renaissance Faire for twenty-five years, especially with the group, The Clan MacColin of Glenderry.  He has taught at the annual Summer Solstice Folk Music Festival for at least another twenty years and was their "Artistic Director - Small Instruments/Percussion".   He has performed in orchestras and bands all over Southern California