Upper Lake >> It could be said that Don Coffin has an ongoing love affair with Ireland. He’s been to the country five times in the last 35 years to learn the culture’s unique music, attending a number of programs, which have assisted in refining his skills. “They put on summer music schools that are wonderful immersion schools into Irish music,” he said. And once he heads back across the Atlantic, he makes sure to bring plenty of Irish flair with him. “I’ve kinda immersed myself in it since 1980,” Coffin said. “I’ve had several Irish bands since then.”
But Coffin’s musical endeavors began before his trips across the pond and the subsequent discovery of traditional Irish tunes. “I started out playing country and bluegrass music and the more I looked into that the more I got into the roots of it,” he said. According to Coffin, the origins of this quintessential American music extend back to Ireland.
Coffin was also attracted to the skill required for mastering the style. “As folk music and all, it’s technically challenging,” he said. “Irish music has a very high standard of virtuosic technique involved to play it, especially on the fiddle.”
Though the fiddle and pipes are the genre’s oldest instruments, Coffin plays the Irish guitar, which requires specialized skill as well. “It’s not like paying regular guitar. You adapt different tunings and the techniques are different. So it’s interesting,” he said.
In 2003, Coffin relocated to Lake County, where he came together with a group of like-minded musicians to form UnCorked, his most recent Irish band. “We started playing when there was a place called the Corkman’s Clipper,” he said. “We started doing jam sessions there.” He set up music events at the now-closed Irish pub, hoping there would be other musicians in the area as interested in the unique genre as him. Thankfully he was in luck. A few individuals were drawn to the idea of forming a band specializing in Irish music and UnCorked was eventually created.
Though most of the original members come together for some performances, the line-up varies due to conflicting schedules and location changes. “We have anywhere between three to five people in the group. It sort of ebbs and flows,” Coffin said. UnCorked’s original five were Don Coffin, Dennis Hadley, Dan Harris, Andi Skelton and Eleanor Cook. Cook has since moved to Colorado and Hadley joined the band Gator Nation, but he still performs with UnCorked in his free time.
Though the band mostly plays Irish music, they prefer to leave their options open. “We advertise ourselves as Irish and more so that we’re not totally boxed in as doing everything Irish,” Coffin said. “Some of the tunes cross over between American old time and Irish. It crosses over into old time and Appalachian music … We stretch ourselves a little bit. Once in a while we also throw an ethnic tune in there.”
UnCorked chooses their songs from a common body of music called session tunes, which make up a significant chunk of the music performed in Ireland today. “There’s a wonderful book called O’Neil’s. It’s a compilation of Irish music that was brought to America in the 1900s … That has been the Bible for Irish players,” Coffin said. Though each band adds a specific flair to their music, they all draw basic tunes from the same place. “There’s their own little flavor everywhere you go, but there is a common body of music.” Coffin explained that because of this session music, if he traveled to Ireland right now, when he arrived he would be able to play 50 to 60 percent of the country’s music.
UnCorked performs around the county at annual events such as the Kelseyville Pear Festival and they’ve also brought their Irish tunes to the Soper Reese on various occasions. In March the band is naturally in high demand for Saint Patrick’s Day activities. During this time they take their music to different schools in the area.
For some lower-key performances, the group can be counted on regularly at the Blue Wing Saloon in Upper Lake. Several years ago when Corkman’s Clipper closed they moved their act to the Blue Wing and they’ve been playing there once a month ever since. They can be seen every first Tuesday of the month at Blue Wing’s $20 Tuesdays.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
