They'll Be Good Yet

The new CD from Kitty Hayes & Peter Laban.

'They'll be good yet' is what accordeon player Jackie Daly used to say of us after we played our little set on Sunday nights in Gleeson's of Coore. I'd sit in with the 'band' playing the whistle for the dancing and entertainment. At some point every Sunday, Jackie would announce 'and now we'll have some tunes by Kitty Hayes and Peter Laban'. Kitty would come on stage and we'd play for a while.

In time, Jackie's words became something we'd say when playing in Kitty's kitchen during the week, learning a few new tunes Kitty had heard on Clare FM or just playing a few of the old ones. Every now and again we'd lose ourselves in the music, letting it lift our thoughts and hearts on a bleak Winter's day. Happy about the way we handled the tune, we'd say 'we'll be good yet'.

There has been talk of a CD for several years: Barry Taylor (on the IrTrad mailing list) expressed some regret that we didn't play a tune together on Kitty's lovely 2001 recording 'A Touch of Clare' and the subject came up on occasion. Jim Carroll and Pat McKenzie started recording us some years ago but nothing came from it; life threw things at us, as it will.

During the Summer of 2005 things were going well and we asked Martin O'Malley to record us playing in Kitty's kitchen, hoping to catch the atmosphere in which we like to play music. Martin set up studio while we sat around the kitchen table. We played the tunes that came to mind on the fly, slightly nervous and aware of the microphones.

This CD is the result of the two short sessions on 21 and 28 September in Shanaway, Miltown Malbay Co.Clare.

Thanks

This recording is dedicated to all our friends who used to come to Gleeson's of Coore, to listen and to dance sets, for their support and encouragement over the years and to Nell, Jimmy, and the Gleeson family for their hospitality, often far beyond the call of duty.

A big thanks to our families for their support. A special thanks is due to the following people: Tom Munnelly for his words of introduction. Jackie Daly for putting us on the spot all those Sunday nights and for our title. And didn't you make a fine job of us? Josephine Marsh for her enthusiasm, we're sorry she couldn't make it on the day of the recording, we'd have loved a bit of fiddling. Jim Carroll and Pat McKenzie for getting us started on the recording idea. Bríd O'Donohue for lovely music, tips and advice. Jackie Small for his encouragement and for playing tunes with us. Manfred Gabriel for proof reading the notes and editing. Martin O'Malley for having the patience of a saint, for making us feel at ease while recording. Geoff Wooff for over 20 years of friendship, for the pipes and a lot more.

The Intro

This CD catches the musical understanding that Kitty and Peter share with one another. The music is stately and relaxed at the same time. It eschews flashiness totally and gets under the skin of the tunes, a conversation between friends, never an argument or a race. If you wish to hear Clare music as it should be played, you will be hard-pressed to find a better example.

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Kitty Hayes [RIP]

With the greatest of sadness I have to let you know Kitty unexpectedly passed away this morning

17 May 2008

Videos now up on youtube

A second batch of videoclips of Kitty and Peter playing have been added to the youtube account
Read more.. to watch the videos here.

15 Feb 2008

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