Sarah McQuaid: Links

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Andy Manson Guitars: In January 2008 I took delivery of my beautiful new guitar, custom-made for me by Andy Manson; he calls it his “Bluebird” model. Past clients of Andy’s include such notables as John Paul Jones and Jimi Page (Led Zeppelin), Ian Anderson and Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), Andy Summers (The Police) and Mike Oldfield – so I'm in good company! I’ll always have a soft spot for the beautiful old 1965 Martin D-28 that’s been my staunch friend since way back in 1988, but I have to admit that the trad tunes in particular are a revelation on the new instrument – clear as a bell, every note ringing out strong and true. I haven't looked back since.
John Pearse Strings: I’ve been using John Pearse strings for well over 20 years now, and I still think they’re a major cut above the rest. I use his 80/20 Bell Bronze set, Medium gauge – .013 to .056. Have a look at the list of endorsees on his website and you’ll see such notables as Chris Newman, James Taylor, Nanci Griffith, Si Kahn, Christine Lavin, Kathy Mattea ... and me! I’m honoured.
Stefan Cartwright - Shruti Boxes: Ever since I heard Jackie Oates playing a Shruti box on one of her albums, I'd been thinking about buying one for myself. When it came time to record my third album The Plum Tree And The Rose, I bit the bullet and bought one made by Stefan Cartwright in Gloucestershire after coming across his website, http://www.shrutibox.co.uk. I'm really glad I did. It produces a really lovely rich multi-layered acoustic drone, and thanks to the ingenious lever system it's relatively easy to change chords and intervals while singing. I used it on the Occitan troubadour song 'S'Anc Fuy Belha Ni Prezada' by Cadenet (c. 1160-c. 1235), and think it works really well despite the clash of periods and places!
Gerry O’Beirne: I thank my lucky stars that I've been fortunate enough to have Gerry O’Beirne as producer for all three of my solo albums. He has an impeccable ear and an unerring instinct for knowing what the music needs to make it perfect. He’s also a master songwriter and musician, a fiendishly good Scrabble player, a dab hand with a camera (check out the photo gallery section of his website) and one of the most fundamentally decent and lovely individuals I’ve ever had the privilege to know. To have been able to work with him (three times!) was an honour and a blessing for which I’ll always be grateful.
The Field Mouse Conspiracy: Soon after my move to Cornwall, my fellow music journo/book author/musician/songwriter Colin Harper got in touch with me to ask if I'd be willing to sing a song on a new album he was making, consisting of his compositions performed by various singers and bands. I jumped at the chance, and thanks to today's technology I didn't even have to travel to Colin's base in Belfast to do it. He emailed the backing track to the Sawmills Studio just up the road from me in Fowey (a most exotic place, accessible only by either a boat or a precarious walk across a railroad bridge, used for recording by the likes of Oasis, Stone Roses, XTC et al -- see www.sawmills.co.uk for more info), and I spent a beautiful afternoon there putting down lead and harmony vocals on Colin's song "Three Syllable Time". The result can now be heard on the new album "Freedom & the Dream Penguin", released under the collective name The Field Mouse Conspiracy. Besides myself, other artists featured include Judy Dyble (ex-Fairport Convention), Alison O’Donnell (ex-Mellow Candle), Peter Wilson (a.k.a. Duke Special), Susie Young, Joe Echo and Tina McSherry, not to mention numerous others -- see the FMC website for the full list! If you'd like to hear a sample of "Three Syllable Time", the track on which I sang, click here:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/fieldmouseconspiracy.
Fovea Hex: Some months back I was asked by my esteemed friend Clodagh Simonds to do a bit of singing on an EP project of hers entitled ‘Huge’. Described in one major music magazine as a “reclusive genius” (she recludes mostly in Ranelagh), Clodagh was long, long ago a member of the legendary Irish folk-rock outfit Mellow Candle and since then has been quietly tipping away at some extremely interesting musical projects under the name Fovea Hex. Have a look at the website and check out that EP!
Dick Gaughan: Dick is a major hero of mine, for all sorts of reasons – his singing, his playing, his presence, his politics, and most of all his classic album Coppers & Brass. When I was asked to co-present a workshop on the DADGAD tuning with him at the Strandhill Guitar Festival in September 2006, I was thrilled and terrified. Despite having not taken my old Martin out of its case for over three years (owing to small children and one thing and another), I said yes (I’d never have forgiven myself if I’d said no) and spent the next several months madly re-learning how to play the guitar. In due course I found myself sitting beside him in front of an audience that consisted largely of bored-looking teenagers in Metallica T-shirts. We got through the gig and afterwards he gave me a hug and made me promise that from then on the guitar would come out of its case on a regular basis. It will. Thanks, Dick. I owe you, big time.
Luka Bloom: A true gentleman among musicians. A few years ago, he rang me up and invited me to be his support act on a short tour of various venues around Ireland. It was a brilliant opportunity and I would happily have done the gigs for free, but at the end of the tour he insisted on paying me out of his own pocket, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. To see him perform night after night was an education in stagecraft: for sheer power and authority in front of an audience, he’s hard to beat. And he writes beautiful songs, too.
Niamh Parsons: Niamh is one of my favourite singers in the world and has been a great friend to me over the years, but we’d never sung together until the day we recorded ‘The Parting Glass’ for When Two Lovers Meet in 1996. It was amazing to hear how well our very different voices worked together (click on MUSIC to hear a sample). As Niamh said on the day, “we twiddle in the same places.” Well, yeah. We duetted again at a double-bill gig near Dublin in the winter of 2008, and in July 2009 Niamh contributed guest vocals to two tracks on my third album The Plum Tree And The Rose. Thank you so very much, Niamh!
Seamie O’Dowd: It was Seamie who asked me along to the aforementioned Strandhill Guitar Festival, so he was more or less directly responsible for the rekindling of my musical career, such as it is. Best known as the guitarist with Dervish, he’s also made an excellent solo album, Headful Of Echoes. To my mind, though, it doesn’t quite do him justice; to get a proper idea of the full range of his talents, you’d have to listen to the stunning instrumentals he contributed to the Masters Of The Irish Guitar compilation album – or better yet see him live. He also did a superb job of producing singer/songwriter Tony Reidy’s album A Rough Shot Of Lipstick – worth buying just to hear Seamie’s mix of acoustic and electric guitars on ‘Sean na Sagart’, a mesmerising number in 5/8 time about a local man who made his living by informing against priests back when the penal laws were in effect ....
Iarla Ó Lionáird: I was extremely nervous about singing in Irish on the When Two Lovers Meet CD, and would never have summoned up the audacity to do so if it weren’t for the encouragement and endlessly patient coaching I received from Iarla. He recorded his own version of the same song (‘Táim Cortha ó Bheith im' Aonar im’ Luí’) nine years later, on his 2005 solo album Invisible Fields – a beautiful piece of work, highly recommended.
Pierre Bensusan: Back in 1985, I was spending a year studying in Strasbourg, France. I’d already been shown the DADGAD tuning by a Breton guitarist I met at a festival, and then I came across Pierre Bensusan’s Livre de Guitare, which at the time had just been published in a beautifully designed and produced hardback edition. In addition to vast amounts of information on playing the guitar and tablature for both original and traditional tunes, many of them in DADGAD, it also contains poems, lovely illustrations by various artists and photographers, and some very nice recipes (try the four-grain bread!). The book is now available translated into English and in paperback, but I’ll always treasure my dog-eared hardback original. Many years after buying it I had the pleasure of meeting its author in person, and any of his concerts I’ve attended have been memorable. He’s a brilliant guitarist and a powerful character.