Poor Man's Fortune
| Poor Man’s Fortune | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Austin, Texas, USA |
| Genres | Music of Ireland, Music of Scotland and Music of Brittany |
| Years active | 1998 - onwards |
| Labels | PMF |
| Website | http://poormansfortune.com/music |
Poor Man’s Fortune is a band from Austin, Texas, USA who are widely considered to be the best traditional Breton music band in the US and North America. The band also performs traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish music and traditional Galician music.
Contents |
[edit] History
Poor Man's Fortune was formed in Austin, Texas in 1998 by Larry Rone and Serge Laîné, 2 veterans of the Celtic music community in the Southwestern United States. The band quickly rose to the top of the regional scene. Over the years, Poor Man's Fortune has become well-respected as a band which has featured some of the best Celtic musicians in Texas, including piper Richard Keane, singer and multi-instrumentalist Wolf Loescher, singer Sarah Dinan, bassist and percussionist Glenn Ríos, bodhrán player Mark Stone, and fiddle players Merri Su Wilson and Heather Gilmer. The band has performed with several of Celtic music’s most famous musicians including Jean Michel Veillon, Yvon Riou,Yann-Fañch Perroches and Fañch Landreau of the Breton band Skolvan, John Skelton and James Keane. Rone recently performed on the bombarde as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony. The present lineup includes Rone and Laîné in addition to fiddle player Kristen Jensen.
Poor Man’s Fortune is the only band in North America which relies heavily on the Breton tradition of Celtic music while remaining firmly rooted in the music of Ireland and Scotland. In addition, they perform a number of songs and dances of French traditional music in which Laîné received a PhD. Rone is one of the most respected Irish flute and pennywhistle (tin whistle) players in the southern US and is one of the best bombarde (Breton oboe) players outside of Brittany. Laîne sings in English, French and Breton and performs on a startling array of instruments including Dulcitare (a guitar-dulcimer hybrid which he designed and conceived himself), accordion, Scottish lowland bagpipes, French traditional bagpipes musette bechonnet and cabrette, and hurdy-gurdy. Jensen is a native of upstate New York and has performed virtually every type of music possible on the violin.
[edit] Lineup
[edit] Current members
- Serge Laîné (Dulcitare, accordion, lowland bagpipes, musette, cabrette, hurdy-gurdy, vocals)
- Larry Rone (Irish flute, pennywhistle, bombarde, rustic oboe)
- Kristen Jensen (fiddle, vocals)
- Richard Kean (Highland bagpipes, border pipes, biniou kozh, gaita)
- Wolf Loescher (vocals, percussion, bouzouki)
[edit] Former members
- Kerri Javorka (fiddle, vocals)
- Sarah Dinan (vocals)
- Glenn Ríos (bass, percussion)
- Mark Stone (vocals, bodhran)
- Merri Su Wilson (fiddle)
- Heather Gilmer (fiddle)
[edit] Discography
- Blow Hard (1999)
- Paddy's Rambles in the Park (2003)
- In Good Time (2007)
