Three Mile Stone

CD Details

Product Description

Three Mile Stone is: Marla Fibish (mandolin, mandola, accordion, tenor guitar, vocals) Erin Shrader (fiddle, vocals, mandolin) Richard Mandel (guitar, tenor banjo) This San Francisco-based trio plays traditional Irish music with lift, drive, and sparkle. Inventive tune arrangements, in which any instrument might take the lead or play backup, give way to poignant airs, traditional songs, or poems set to breathtaking melodies by Marla. Three Mile Stone has played together for years and is now finally releasing their debut CD, produced by John Doyle The core of their sound is all strings-fiddle, mandolin and guitar playing Irish dance music-jigs, reels, and all the good stuff. Erin and Marla’s bold styles are well matched on fiddle and mandolin; they are prodded and propelled by Richard’s driving guitar back-up. To toss it up, Richard will put down the guitar and pick up the tenor banjo, and Marla might hand the mandolin over to Erin and pick up the button accordion. They round it all out with some choice songs. Erin is likely to grace and surprise you with lovely a capella songs from her collection. Marla is likely to accompany her singing with the mandola. From the liner notes: The first time I remember seeing Marla was in a little afternoon kitchen session at least twenty years ago at Lark Camp, a world music camp in Mendocino, California, where Irish music enjoys disproportionate representation. She was sitting across from me playing the mandolin, wearing an old grey plaid flannel shirt and,as I recall, we both looked up at the same time which meant, ‘THAT was fun.’ It was also easy. About ten years later, Richard appeared at Lark with a guitar and was soon driving every session he could get into, far into the night. Some years after that, the three of us shared a moment of last-night-of-Lark magic over a song. On the strength of that magic, I finally moved to the Bay Area. It had always felt like my musical home more than anyplace else–and I’ve tried quite a few places. Finally, some years of foot-dragging later, we officially became a band. So, the album you hold in your hand is a milestone of sorts, not so much of miles, but of years. More than twenty years of listening, learning, leaning into a tune. Of life going on, with music on the side, yet always in the center, drawing you in like a campfire on a cool, damp night. Will you join us? –E.S.

Review

I think we may have the early favorites for the New Group of the Year Award here. What a lovely album. –LiveIreland, Dublin, Ireland

It actually began in the Bay Area back in the 1970 s. Until then, you were unlikely to hear Irish Traditional Music outside of New York, Boston or Chicago. You d never have heard it at a public venue or on the radio, and if you weren t Irish or of Irish descent you d never be able to play it. But it was in San Francisco that Joe Cooley connected with the local folk and Traditional musicians and Cooley s Hippies were born. Joe was on a mission. He played for all who would listen and he taught any that could learn. It wasn t long before Irish players of all nationalities and backgrounds were coming from San Francisco. They made their way across the country, to the pubs and the hubs of Irish Traditional Music. They played at the recognized folk festivals and venues across the US. Joe Cooley s students and their successors helped change the face of Irish Traditional Music in America, which is now an integral part of our cultural heritage. And Joe s work continues today. Three Mile Stone members Marla Fibish, Erin Shrader and Richard Mandel play Irish Traditional Music with the respect and love that it deserves. But their artistry lies not only in their music but in their approach to presenting it as well. Their cd was recorded by Jim Nunally, produced by John Doyle, and mixed by Glenn Barratt of Morningstar Records, the cream of the crop. They ve created a work of art. This is not a few tunes thrown together in someone s basement. This is mandolin, fiddle , guitar and button accordion played, recorded and produced at the highest possible level. And the songs are a delight. I love this stuff. –Billy McComiskey (Irish accordion legend)

Produced by John Doyle, this collection of mostly Irish tunes and songs shimmers like the moon on the Shannon when it breaks through the ragged clouds of Ireland s west. The trio displays a canny knack for putting together sets of three or four tunes that lead the listener from lazy hornpipe to lilting jig to reels that swing like there s no tomorrow. Marla s amazing mandolin playing sets the bar for all others; Erin s fiddle practically glows from within, with a fire stoked by her passion and experience; and Richard s guitar lays down a rhythmic foundation full of nuance and intricacy. The ladies also sing now and then, with style and grace. Both Marla and Richard display ample prowess on their other instruments, the accordion and tenor banjo. And the band ventures beyon