Sibling harmony inspired by musical roots

by D.E. Bentley –

For many who teach, helping others learn is an extension of a passion for what they do, and an accompanying wish to share that joy with others.  Such is the case for Conesus musician Joe Dady, who I had the opportunity to visit with August 16th.  We were joined by two of Dady’s students: Twelve-year-old Shealeigh Brown and her ten-year-old brother Casey Brown.  Both Shealeigh and Casey accompanied their instructor – along with his other students and a host of other musicians – on stage at the annual Fiddlers Picnic at Long Point Park on Conesus Lake August 4th.  The musician / students did duets with Dady and played together in an ensemble.

The Fiddler’s Picnic is a chance for musicians, and music enthusiasts, to enjoy doing what they love, with like-minded folks.  The event is rooted in a fiddlers’ fair started in 1935, held for many years at the Hemlock Lake Park.  Long Point Park has hosted the event since its resurrection in 2002, after eighteen years of silence.  It continues on under the guidance of musician and organizer Howard Appell.  For Shealeigh and Casey, being part of the 2018 Fiddlers’ Fair provided an opportunity to learn from more experienced musicians and to share their music with a wider audience.

Shealeigh is a fiddler, who has been playing the violin aka fiddle for eight years.  When prompted to explain the difference between the fiddle and the violin, Shealeigh, Casey and Joe explained, light-heatedly, that attitude is the only real difference; although fiddle can be used as a term of affection or to differentiate the genre of music played  – with violin being more classical and fiddle more for folk and bluegrass.  Shealeigh’s interests and aptitude fall solidly on the fiddle side of the attitudinal divide, and are rooted in a historically rich musical family that includes her Great Uncle Rick Streeter, who still plays in the Adirondack Playboys Band based in Lowville, N.Y.  and Rick’s father, her Great Grandfather, Ralph Streeter, who was inducted into the NYS Fiddlers’ Hall of Fame, in Oceola, NY.  Shealeigh also credits an aunt who played bagpipes with the Atholl Highlanders and an encounter with the RPO’s “Instrument Petting Zoo” for her musical inclinations.

Shealeigh started taking lessons in elementary school and at Hochstein Music School in Rochester.  Up until two years ago, when she began lessons with Joe Dady, she was a student of Kit Fallon, who plays in Geneva-based band Millers Wheel.   She has also pursued her musical aspirations in other ways, including attending the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in Nova Scotia, accompanied by her grandmother, in 2017.  She has progressed from a 1/16th to a ¾ size fiddle and already has two full size fiddles and a mandolin, given to her by family members to “grow into.”  Joe Dady has seen significant growth and predicts she will soon be ready to make use of these family heirlooms.   

Shealeigh’s brother, Casey Brown has also been inspired by musicians from his familial past.  However, he is exploring his own direction in music, quite diverse from that of his sister.  His instrument of choice is the guitar, and his musical style preferences are blues, rock and heavy metal.  He plays both a Taylor acoustic guitar and a Squire electric.  His initial attraction to the guitar was its versatility.  “ There were tons of songs I listened to with guitar, and there is a wide variety of music you can play with guitar.” It was this that inspired him, at the age of six, to begin learning the instruments.  He currently trains primarily with Robert Pickert at Mobile Music in Canadaigua, NY.  Although blues is Casey’s musical focus right now, he wants to get more into rock.  Dady was quick to support this direction, or any direction his students want to go in.  “If I don’t know it, I will learn it.”  Students, he stressed, are all inspired in different ways. Like the Brown’s, Dady has also been influenced by musical family members – including his brother John who he often performs with.  However, his initial interest in music came from T.V. “I saw the Beetles on the Ed Sullivan show and that was it for me,” he added.

When asked by Joe if he likes the Beetles, Casey responded with “Eeehhh,” adding that he likes rock and hard rock more, and Billy Joel too.  Casey’s favorite band is Godsmack and he loves, and is learning, their song VooDoo.  Shealeigh also has strong musical preferences.  Shealeigh is particularly fond of Lindsey Stirling, and loves her song “Round Table Rival,” a like shared by Casey.  There are other overlaps.  Shealeigh learned the song “The Sound of Silence” by listening to the cover by the heavy metal band Disturbed. Shared stylistic interests and a willingness to try different things is part of what brings musicians together, and it was obvious that Casey and Shealeigh enjoy this interaction as they joined with Dady and played Pete Seeger’s song, “My Rainbow Race.”

Not surprisingly, music is just one of Shealeigh’s and Casey’s many interests. Both Casey and Shealeigh, who attend Marcus Whitman Schools, are interested in sports.  Both ski.  Shealeigh also participates in cross-country in the spring and Casey is into soccer and lacrosse.  Still, they find time for music most days, but because of their busy schedules they often practice alone.  Although their parents, both are schoolteachers, encourage and nurture their musical interests, neither parent is musically inclined. “Music just skipped a generation, over mom and dad,” Shealeigh offered here.

Unlike Shealeigh, Casey and Joe Dady, who seem to breathe musical notes like air, music for me seems a foreign thing.  Something I love as a spectator but not easily inclined to as a participant.  Joe Dady did not let this stop him, and highlighted for me how his teaching style translates to confidence and success for his students.  When I commented on my attraction to the mandolin, he took a 1914 mandolin off the wall and placed it in my hands. “It’s very old,” offered Shealeigh, slightly adding to my initial hesitation.  Nonetheless, within minutes Joe had me strumming on the strings as I moved my fingers here, and there, for some basic chord acquisition.   It was evident that Joe’s quiet and reassuring tone offered even the most hesitant of learners’ freedom to learn.

During my time with Shealeigh and Casey, and their mother MacKenzie Ward Brown – who joined in on some of the conversation interspersed between musical mini-performances – I noticed that slight moments of hesitation from the students was followed by prompting from Joe that again brought them into the circle.  Solos, duets and trios offered by Shealeigh and Casey Brown and Joe Dady, in the cabin space and outside on the porch, also reminded me once again of that magical air that seems to resonate in musical worlds, where the process and the time shared is as important, perhaps more important, than the music itself.

 

Joe Dady offers lessons on banjo, guitar, fiddle, penny whistle, harmonica and mandolin.  He can be reached by phone at 585-259-3180.

Joe and John Dady – The Dady Brothers – upcoming performances include:

August 27, 2018 at the Dansville Gazebo Concert Series  – Washington and Knox – at 6:30 PM

September 1, 4 – 5 PM at Cazenovia Casino, Warren Spahn Way, Buffalo, NY (southbuffaloirishfestival.org)

September 2, 2018 at the Vitale Park Concert Series – Lakeville NY –  6 PM

They begin their 28th Annual Ireland Tour on Sept 10th.  Learn more at Oflahertytours.com.