Half-Pat's Day at Little Prague!

Hey, kids -- In advance of our Halfway to St. Patrick's Day gig at Little Prague in Davis, here's a swell new graphic that you can download and print onto the beer coaster of your choice. You can even use it as a temporary tattoo if you can fit your upper arm into your computer's printer! Please do not -- DO NOT -- print this onto self-stick label paper and stick it onto road signs, parking meters, police car windows, etc. We're into, like, beauty, man, not ugly. That's why we love to hear and play this fantastic music!

Please plan to join us at Little Prague this Saturday night for fine food and music to match. Call for reservations (530-756-1107), and let the nice folks know whether you're coming for dinner or for dessert only, and whether you'd LOVE to have a place close to the band!

See you there!

On a Bender at the Fairgrounds

We had a lot of fun at the Yolo County Fair on August 15! Josh had an in-service training day at work, and Pat is a bit under the weather and just doesn't have the energy for a 90-minute gig, so we were playing in "the-show-must-go-on" trio mode with Dave, Jim, and Lee. Folks were dancing, smiling, clapping. I'm told we sounded great, partly to the credit of Josh the Sound Guy, who placed the mics, rode the pots, and ground his teeth when a certain fiddler zoomed in and out of mic range. Sounded good to us on stage, too. A good sound system -- monitors and all -- meant that the tin whistle was right up there with the fiddle, and we could hear everyone up on stage.

So about 1 hour into our 90-minute set, the stage manager comes up between tunes and asks us if we can knock off a little early. Not the kind of request I usually like to hear. But he had a good reason -- and a few minutes later we were in the back of his Cushman cart and on our way to a date with Destiny; or more like a date with Dave Bender, the Channel 13 weather guy. Take a look at the clip at the KOVR 13 website! I figure we used up about 4 of our allotted 15 minutes of fame right there, and it may be the only chance we'll ever have to play backup for a tropical storm smacking into Texas off the Gulf of Mexico.

We'll be playing again on September 22 at Little Prague Bohemian Restaurant in Davis. Hope to see you there!

Fair Enough?

We're putting the last touches on a series of reels, jigs, strathspeys, and songs to keep you feeling cool this Thursday, August 16, at the Yolo County Fair! Look for us between 4:00 and 5:30 at the East Stage. The Fair starts this Wednesday, August 15, and you can download a complete PDF list of entertainers directly from the Fair's Official Website (or click here for the HTML version).

The Fair's free (though parking isn't), the food can't be beat, and the weather forecast for Thursday shows a high of only 91 degrees. Okay, so you won't need a jacket -- but that's still pretty mild. Once 5:30 rolls around and we pack up our cases, you can walk right into the Exhibit Hall next door to watch the taffy puller or a slicer-dicer demo, enter a raffle or two, and pick up all of the latest pencils, stickers, and refrigerator magnets from a variety of county service providers, or go line up for some of those amazing tacos, roast beef sandwiches, or chicken and corn.

It's such a lovely way to spend the evening!

Fair Weather, Friends!

"Fair weather" in Yolo County means the clear skies, sunshine, and dry heat of August -- just the sort of thing to make those awnings and exhibit halls at the County Fair seem that much more inviting!

Make sure to come by the Fair on Thursday, August 16 to catch Riggity Jig's afternoon performance. We'll be playing from 4 to 5:30 at the East Stage, just between the Arena and the Exhibit Hall. That's a good spot for refuge from the heat, with plenty of shade, a comfortable place to sit down, and cold drinks right nearby. And if your toes start tapping so much that you get the urge to jump to your feet and dance a quick jig, don't worry -- paramedics will be standing by.

The Yolo County Fair runs from August 15 though 19, 2007.

July 17 Benefit Reminder

Angela Yee's benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is coming up Tuesday night at 5:30 at Sacramento's Pyramid Alehouse. Just $25 at the door, and validated parking in a city lot is free! Riggity Jig will provide the music, Pyramid will provide food and drink -- all you have to do is sweeten the pot with a little money for a good cause!

You can also donate directly to Angela online. Every donation helps!

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Benefit July 17

We invite all Riggity Jig fans to enjoy good music for a good cause right after work on Tuesday, July 17. There will be a benefit show for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at 5:30 that evening at the Pyramid Alehouse in Sacramento. It's a cost/benefit kind of thing: the cost is $25 at the door ($20 in advance), and benefit is good music, food, and drink, and the knowledge that your money is going to a good cause. We're raising money to sponsor our friend and supporter Angela, who is in training for the Pacific Grove Triathlon coming up in September. The money she raises will go toward research into curing and preventing leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and myeloma.

The Pyramid Alehouse event is a great opportunity for you to cool off (on what could conceivably be a warmish Sacramento day) before you continue to travel home in a sober and responsible way.

Mark your calendar today -- or better yet, email Angela for your advance tickets -- and we'll look for you there!

Gourd Festival, wedding, and into summer

Since our last post, we played the Gourd Festival at Greg and Mary Leiser's ranch. That was loads of fun! We caught the very end of the Putah Creek Crawdads' act on Saturday and played to appreciative audiences both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

The Leisers had bins and bins of dried gourds of all shapes and sizes, and under huge, shady tents they hosted artists who were selling statues, boxes, birdhouses, marionettes, and more, all made from gourds. A number of artists also led workshops on how to clean, cut, and paint your own decorative gourds. I'd be out of my gourd if I didn't say most of these artists were out of my league, but it did make me want to try my hand at some gourd projects. Fortunately for me, the Leisers' ranch is just across the river from my house, so I plan to go back soon and find a suitable gourd. Guess you could say I've been bit -- cucurbit, that is -- by the gourd bug.

Another big event was Saturday, June 23, when our drummer Pat (Kelsey) Olson tied the long-distance knot with her sweetie Jouko Salo. "Long-distance" because Kelsey lives in Sacramento and Jouko lives in Helsinki, and they'll each stay put for the time being. Kelsey and Jouko are heavily into wireless communication, though, and with cell phones long-distance is much less of an issue these days -- at least in terms of billing. I don't know about cooing. I think this has maybe gone far enough for now, but please join the band in wishing Kelsey and Jouko many years of happiness! You can add your good wishes by adding a comment to this post.

We're looking forward to more opportunities to perform this summer, and will let you know as we fix dates.

Sacramento Valley Scottish Games

The luck of the Irish to you on Friday the 13th!

Some of the Riggity Jiggers will be joining in for the fiddlers' jam at the Scottish Games in Woodland, April 28 and 29. It's a fun event with great music, a parade of Scottish beasts, and fantastic opportunities to spend American dollars on Scottish foods, goods, and crafts. I love to hear the skirl of the pipes. Some folks say the reason a bagpiper walks when he plays is that he's trying to get away from the awful noise, but I think it's that walking is the closest a player can come to dancing and still get music out of the thing.

Whether you're a pipe band enthusiast, a big weight-over-the-bar fan, or you just like the look of a manly skirt, you're sure to have a good time at the games.

Gourd Festival upcoming . . .

Recent surveys confirm that many people who like Celtic music also have a fondness for large, dried, inedible vegetables. So what could be more natural than for Riggity Jig to play at the Fifth Annual Spring Gourd Art Festival, May 19 and 20, in Knights Landing?

Greg and Mary Leiser host the festival every spring at Greg Leiser Farms, where you can admire and buy gourds and gourd art, and even learn how to make gourd art for yourself. Mary grew up in the Northeast listening to Cape Breton music, so we'll do our best to remind her of those days.

All-day parking is $2.00, but admission is free and you can bring a picnic lunch or pick up a meal from an on-site vendor.

All in all, sounds like gourd, clean fun, no? Plan to make a day of it!

For more information, go to http://www.gourdfarmer.com/festival_2007 (somehow this won't work as a link, so just type it into your browser and take a look).

More from St. Patrick's Day

What could be more fun than playing the night away on St. Patrick's Day?

Dave, Jim, Lee, Josh, and Pat are in recovery mode now, working on new material for our next gig. Thanks to everyone for coming out to hear us!

St Pat's 2007

Well, three-fifths of the band started out the day with a warm-up session at the Keegan and O'Sullivan St. Patrick's feast at the Maxwell Inn in bustling Maxwell, California. It's a big family-and-friends affair that's been going on for years, and we've played there once before. Many young dancers (2 to 6 years old) were there. Others who probably didn't start out the day feeling so young also joined in, and looked more youthful with every bouncing step! Thanks to the family for having us, the Maxwell Inn for a fantastic buffet, and most of all, Great-Grandmother Rose Ann Burns Lang, without whose genetic contribution I wouldn't be Irish at all.

On the way out of the Maxwell Inn, Lee had a surprise encounter with a bear. It's really not that uncommon in Maxwell. At first Lee was little startled, but it turned out after a brief conversation they realized they were actually related. You know, wasn't I just hearing that everyone's Irish on St. Paddy's Day? And so the bear grabs this huge pillow, gives it a squeeze, and buys Lee a drink. You just can't beat small-town hospitality.

Later on, the three-fifths drove down to Davis, picked up another fifth or two, and the whole band enjoyed great weather and a fine Saturday night crowd for St. Patrick's Day dinner at Little Prague in Davis! Great, great, great! Many thanks to the mysterious, small pair of step dancers (Are the wee folk about?), a dinner crowd that was happy to clap and shout at appropriate intervals, and Vaclav, Eva, and their crew who turned the cozy Czech restaurant into a C(z)eltic haven if just for the night. Oh, and many thanks from the band to the generous tippers who remember that, yes, applause is all very well and good, but by itself it don't put rosin on the bow (or bread on the table).

I'll post some shots of the Little Prague gig shortly. Til then, just look at the photo up at the top right of this page and imagine us all a year older: some taller, some balder, some . . . well, altered in shape. On second thought, let's not imagine that. You'll see when we get some new photos online.