Playdate Track Notes

Our lovely musical co-conspirators…

The Clockman* / The Foxhunter’s / James Kelly’s

Hop Jigs! The first tune is written for Marla’s lovely friend T, about her beloved John, who fixes old clocks. The Foxhunter’s is a hop jig version of the great old slip jig, which always tumbles so nicely into the last tune.

Rebecca fiddle / Marla mandolin /Jimmy guitar

Return of the Ducks*  / Fae’s Fancy * / Arthur Darley’s

Marla is incredibly fortunate to live on a lagoon. Every winter, the ducks magically reappear - buffleheads, mergansers, and more. She felt they needed a regal march to accompany their adorable paddling. Fae was Rebecca’s beloved poodle who passed away in 2021. Among her many qualities, she was a chronic tail-chaser, joyfully spinning and chasing, which Marla tried to capture in this playful tribute. Arthur Darley’s is a classic in the repertoire that has been less played of late than it was in the years following Mick Moloney’s seminal 1980 recording Strings Attached – a veritable bible for this budding mandolin player. 

Marla mandolin / Rebecca fiddles / Jimmy guitar / Maureen harp / Christa bodhran

Spring Forward* & Fall Back* 

We all grew up with these phrases that helped us remember which way to change our clocks when that moment of disruption arrived twice a year. For years Marla wanted to write tunes with these names, to attempt to capture the moods felt so keenly in those turns of the year, and the layers of meaning embodied in those pithy little phrases.

Spring Forward - Marla mandolin / Rebecca fiddles / Bruce guitar

Fall Back - Marla mandolin, mandola, tenor guitar / Rebecca concertina

The Ameliorator* / The Blockers / Old Maids of Galway

To ameliorate is to make something better, not just easier to bear. Marla is not sure why she attached it to this tune. Well, it does make things better. The Blockers is written by Sean Ryan. The Old Maids of Galway is a version of a sweet tune we’ve played forever as Paddy’s Gone to France. We were completely overcome by Liz Carroll’s dark and groovy take on it, and have tried our hand at that here.  

Marla mandolin / Rebecca fiddle, concertina / Jimmy guitar / Steve gourd banjo / Christa bodhran

My One and Only (Laurie Rivin)

This tune comes from the beautiful amazing fiddler Laurie Rivin, who captures a depth to the love one feels for their beloved. But like our taste in chocolate, we savored the bittersweet richness to that love.

Rebecca fiddles / Marla mandolin

Weekend with Christa* / Fig One* / Fig Two* 

The first polka commemorates a lovely time spent with our dear friend Christa Burch, who joined us on this recording. The second two commemorate the first ripening figs each year, which Marla always tries to capture in a photo, with a nod to the late cartoonist B. Kliban.

Marla mandolin / Rebecca fiddle / Jimmy guitar / Christa bodhran

Carole Jean* 

For Marla’s mother, who passed away early in 2023.

Maureen harp / Rebecca fiddle & concertina / Marla mandolin

Johnny C’s*  / The Hag at the Churn / Connie the Soldier

Our community lost John Caulfield in 2022, a few years after a stroke that robbed him of the ability to play his beloved fiddle and so much more. Marla played this tune for him just after she wrote it and shortly before his stroke. He loved it, and always asked her to play it for him, so it became his tune. We follow it with two traditional jigs.

Marla mandolin / Rebecca fiddle / Lewis bouzouki / Jimmy guitar

My Love is on a Train (Nicolas Brown) /  The Sport of the Chase

St. Louis - based piper Nic Brown wrote the lovely first slip jig in this set. The Sport of the Chase is a traditional tune played in many different forms. Our simple version is similar to that in the Roche Collection.

Rebecca fiddle / Marla mandolin, mandola, tenor guitar

Requiem for David* 

This was written following the untimely death of David Surette in 2021 -  a beautiful musician, beloved teacher and community builder. Loved and missed by so many. For Susie, Isa and Julianna.

Marla mandolin / Daniel piano

* Comp. Marla Fibish © All rights reserved

Many Thanks…

To our partners, Bruce and Shervin, for their loving patience and encouragement; to all the incredible musicians who added their magic to this recording; to dear Alli, source of endless enthusiasm and amazing photography. We’re grateful also for the wise and loving ears and eyes of Seán Keegan, Gary Mankin, Sylvia Herold, Janet Dows and Sam Pelgrift; and to Laurie Rivin and Nic Brown for their beautiful tunes and their trust in our recording them.

Produced by Marla Fibish & Rebecca Richman

All tracks arranged by Marla Fibish & Rebecca Richman

Recorded and edited by Marla Fibish @ Noctambule Studios, Larkspur California

Mixed and Mastered by Seán Keegan, Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland 

Photography by Alli Novak

Graphic Design by Sam Pelgrift