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Put your hands on the remote! browse music »Grand Picnic by Grand Picnic
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fave it Traditional Folk | Celtic
13 tracks | 53 minutes
Released Oct 2003
on Dean Street Music
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for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.
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- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:30 Saint Joseph's Reel / Pulaski Skyway / Little Red Brick House in lyrics BUY MP3 05:30 Saint Joseph's Reel / Pulaski Skyway / Little Red Brick House in lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:30 Saint Joseph's Reel / Pulaski Skyway / Little Red Brick House in
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:48 Dean Street lyrics BUY MP3 02:48 Dean Street lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:48 Dean Street
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:04 Peter's Jig / Where's Marco / Smart Young Man lyrics BUY MP3 05:04 Peter's Jig / Where's Marco / Smart Young Man lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:04 Peter's Jig / Where's Marco / Smart Young Man
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:55 Druttjenkarl Leken (Drunkard's Dance) Swedish Hambo-Mazurka lyrics BUY MP3 02:55 Druttjenkarl Leken (Drunkard's Dance) Swedish Hambo-Mazurka lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:55 Druttjenkarl Leken (Drunkard's Dance) Swedish Hambo-Mazurka
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:34 Romanian Invirtita / Grasshopper on a Sweet Potato Vine / Old Gr lyrics BUY MP3 06:34 Romanian Invirtita / Grasshopper on a Sweet Potato Vine / Old Gr lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:34 Romanian Invirtita / Grasshopper on a Sweet Potato Vine / Old Gr
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:56 Judith's Waltz lyrics BUY MP3 03:56 Judith's Waltz lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:56 Judith's Waltz
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:28 Raise the Devil / Hayride / Raise the Devil lyrics BUY MP3 03:28 Raise the Devil / Hayride / Raise the Devil lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:28 Raise the Devil / Hayride / Raise the Devil
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:14 Bunch of Rushes / Bonaparte's March / Butcher's Row lyrics BUY MP3 05:14 Bunch of Rushes / Bonaparte's March / Butcher's Row lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:14 Bunch of Rushes / Bonaparte's March / Butcher's Row
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:39 Canadian Waltz lyrics BUY MP3 03:39 Canadian Waltz lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:39 Canadian Waltz
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:15 Puff Adder Quickstep lyrics BUY MP3 03:15 Puff Adder Quickstep lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:15 Puff Adder Quickstep
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:40 The Mouse in the Cupboard / I Lost My Love / Scollay's Reel lyrics BUY MP3 03:40 The Mouse in the Cupboard / I Lost My Love / Scollay's Reel lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:40 The Mouse in the Cupboard / I Lost My Love / Scollay's Reel
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:39 Grand Picnic / Johnny in the Swamp / West Virginia Gals lyrics BUY MP3 04:39 Grand Picnic / Johnny in the Swamp / West Virginia Gals lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:39 Grand Picnic / Johnny in the Swamp / West Virginia Gals
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:03 Galician Waltz lyrics BUY MP3 03:03 Galician Waltz lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:03 Galician Waltz
New York's GRAND PICNIC plays HIGH-ENERGY CONTRA DANCE MUSIC combining the rhythmic drive of old-time Southern tunes with French Canadian and New England fiddle music.
Bio / Background
One evening in the late Fall of 1989, the five members of Grand Picnic met at "the loft" on Dean Street, half a block off Flatbush Avenue in the beautiful borough of Brooklyn. Excitement was building over the unique sound the band had been developing at local dances over the previous few years, and the boys decided it was time to record. As they made their way home that night, none suspected the adventures that lay ahead.
Rehearsals began. The band quickly discovered that creating music for listening (and posterity) was much harder work than delivering the unrestrained live performances that dancers find so exciting. Hundreds of tunes were considered, hundreds rejected. A metronome was hooked up to an old guitar amp and dubbed "Mr. Mazer," in honor of Michael's rigorously rhythmic childhood accordion teacher. The band spent hours practicing with Mr. Mazer to find the right tempo for each cut.
↓ more ↓Eventually recording sessions began--at the elegant Bones Tones studios overlooking Prospect Park. Engineer and owner Hank Bones' kitchen was invaded and occupied, and amid the tasteful Hawaiian decor, sessions continued sporadically for over a year. In 1991, the recording was finally released. While neither technically nor musically perfect, the tape successfully captured the Grand Picnic energy, and was universally deemed to be fun listening.
A decade later, Grand Picnic is still known for its exciting and innovative approach. But band members, who all originally lived within a few blocks of the loft, have moved and changed jobs, and a majority have married and produced heirs. Obstacles to new recording projects abound.
The tape, meanwhile, sold out three editions. Many have told us that it is among their favorites. Quite a few have written to us to buy a new copy because they'd worn out the first. It has proven surprisingly popular with children--even other people's children. Original Grand Picnic tunes have been learned and played by musicians from the Pacific Northwest to North Carolina, Denmark, and the coast of Brittany.
Bowing to popular demand, we are proud to reissue this classic album of high-energy contradance music in cleaned-up digital splendor. We hope you enjoy it again, or perhaps for the first time!
Grand Picnic
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