Hi Glenn,
Thanks for allowing us to do an interview with you for The Canadian Celtic
Music Website Spotlight.

What is the "Glenn Graham" history? Where were you born? What got you
started in music? How old were you when you started playing the fiddle?

I was born into a musical family. My father Danny is a Gaelic singer and
speaker and plays the fiddle a little bit. The Grahams were known as being
good stepdancers and there were a couple of fiddlers through the Graham
family history. Alex Francis MacKay, a well respected old Gaelic style fiddler is my grand uncle. Other musical relatives on that side of my family tree include renowned fiddler Buddy MacMaster and fiddler/composer Dan R. MacDonald. There are even more fiddlers on my mother's side (Mom, Mary, plays the piano and is a stepdancer). This side of the family is the musical Beatons of Mabou, Cape Breton. I believe we can trace as many as fifty musicians through this lineage back to players in Scotland. Some of these relatives include my grandparents Donald Angus (fiddle) and Elizabeth Beaton (piano), my uncles Kinnon (fiddle), Angus Beaton (piano) and Joey Beaton (piano), aunt Joan Beaton (fiddle and piano) and cousins Andrea Beaton (fiddle and stepdance) and Rodney MacDonald (fiddle and stepdance). Being born into this musical family and culture, it was hard to avoid not picking up an instrument. At the age of seven I was given a half-sized fiddle by my Grandfather Donald Angus.

I was probably picking at a few little things at that point but it wasn't until I was ten that I "officially" started giving the fiddle a try. Uncle Kinnon taught a few of my cousins and I for almost a year. At that point I was more interested in hockey and baseball and didn't begin seriously practicing until I was 15. I remember that listening to old home recordings of Donald Angus at around that time really got me hooked. I've been playing ever since...fiddler Neil Beaton helped me out a bit too. I can't say enough how helpful and encouraging my parents and family were - most especially Mom and Dad and Kinnon and his wife Betty, who plays the piano. They (and the tapes of their dances and parties) were always helpful in terms of me learning tunes.

After university and my first recording, Let 'er Rip, in 1996, I decided to
team up with cousin Rodney MacDonald as an "act", so to speak. We released
"Traditionally Rockin'" the next year and played quite a bit for dances,
festivals, etc. That CD earned us nominations for Roots Traditional Artist
and Instrumental Artist of the year at the 1998 ECMA's. Rodney later went on
to politics and I decided to keep with the music and planned for another
solo CD. STEPOUTSIDE took longer to record and was a more diverse project. I
had been writing songs for a couple of years and decided to add them to the
mix. I sang on the CD, as did my sister, Amy. The CD has a more electric or
contemporary feel to it but still has lots of traditional stuff. It allowed
me to work in a full band setting, performance-wise and got some added local
radio play with the expansion into other genres besides Celtic. It was well
received by the industry and helped me get nominations for Male Artist and
Roots Traditional Solo Artist at the 2002 East Coast music awards.

Right now I am still playing various gigs. I play different configurations -
duo, trio, full band, all instrumental or instrumental with vocals, dancing,
etc. I also teach fiddle lessons here in Halifax four nights a week and
instruct at workshops and music camps such as the Gaelic College in Cape
Breton and Musicamp Alberta in Red Deer.

I am also hoping to soon complete my Masters Thesis on the evolution of Cape
Breton fiddling...So that's my story up until now!

For someone who is new to your music, how would you describe it?

First and foremost, I would describe my music as Traditional Gaelic Style
Cape Breton fiddle music. That traditional music has been passed on through
and guided by families and communities since the arrival of the first
settlers and is arguably the oldest and relatively unaltered folk fiddle
style on the continent. So with regard to my playing, I would say that it is
pure Cape Breton Celtic. The music is centred around stepdancing so there is
a high level of regard for playing in a danceable tempo and style...I think
I would describe my playing as "rhythmic and bouncy".
I also write songs and they seem to have a more "Adult-Contemporary" feel to
them than Celtic.

Do you have any other musicians in your family? Are your parents musical?
Siblings?

My Dad sings Gaelic and Folk songs; my mother plays piano and stepdances; my sister Amy sings, stepdances, and plays the bass and "picks a little" at the
piano and guitar; my sister Eileen stepdances and plays a few tunes on the
fiddle; my brother Dustin, though I know he's musical, doesn't play any
instruments.

Everyone knows that you are a fiddler. Do you play any other instruments?

Yes, I also play the guitar and sing a little bit- My first public performance was actually not as a fiddler. I sang a Gaelic song at a concert with my father when I was seven years old.

You released a new CD a few years ago called "Step Outside" which featured the debut of your sister Amy singing as well as yourself. What made you decide to put vocals on this CD instead of just instrumental like your previous albums?

I put vocals on the album for a couple of reasons. First, I had written a
number of songs and I didn't want to see them go to waste. I also wanted to
expand as an artist and do something a bit different - there are quite a few
Cape Breton fiddlers, but not many write and sing songs so I thought it
would be cool to try something different and expand performance
opportunities.

Have you composed any tunes of your own that are on your CD's?

Yes, some of my own instrumental compositions are on my recordings. I think
around 9 of my compositions are on Let 'er Rip, 2 are on Traditionally
Rockin' and 8 of my tunes are on STEPOUTSIDE.

What is your ideal composing situation? (by yourself, in a certain location,
etc.?)

My ideal composing situation is being alone and being inspired by an event
or feeling. I think I may be more creative in the evening as well.

You're going to be touring British Columbia later this month and next for
the first time with Kimberley Fraser and Buddy MacDonald, fellow Cape
Bretoners. What can people expect to hear at these shows?

People can expect to get a good mixture at these shows. Playing as a trio,
the shows will have a "no-nonsense" intimate and acoustic feel to them.
Rootsy versions of stuff on STEPOUTSIDE and all of my recordings will
probably be done. Audiences can also expect to see vocal numbers by both
Buddy MacDonald and myself as well as piano and stepdancing solos by
Kimberley Fraser. There will also be guests at some of the shows...I'm
hoping to keep everything as comfortable and informal as we can as I feel
that that's the way our music and culture has always been. People can expect
the usual Cape Breton mixture of slow airs, marches, strathspeys and reels
with the occasional clog or hornpipe too.

What's on the agenda for the coming months for you? Will you be doing any
touring this summer?

It's going to be hectic over the next few months. After this tour there will
be a lot of playing and teaching in Cape Breton, including three weeks at
the Gaelic College in St. Ann's. I'll also be in Red Deer (Alberta) for a
week with Amy where I'll be heading the Strings (fiddle) program at Musicamp
Alberta. I really enjoyed that last year.

Do you play a certain type of fiddle? Do you have a preference as to the
make of fiddle you like to play?

I play a Gio Paolo Maggini copy (I believe). Maggini was one of Italy's famous master instrument makers. It's a pretty old fiddle with a mellow, warm tone when played acoustically. It was given to me by my uncle and was one of my grandfather's violins so it has lots of sentimental value too...I think that with instruments everything is really self preference; I can just tell if I like a fiddle after the first few notes; the name or make of the fiddle doesn't always tell the tale. I also now own and play a Yamaha EV 204-PR Silent violin (electric). This is a really cool instrument-great for practicing and performing with and really easy to play. I'm now doing some clinician endorsement stuff for Yamaha Canada and am looking forward to working with them in the future. My guitar is a Canadian-made Norman B20 acoustic guitar.

Who are some of your musical influences?

I've got many musical influences and don't like naming names sometimes
because I'm scared I'll forget somebody. But anyway, my family is first on
the list. My parents have always been good supporters; my mother has always
been good for helping me with learning old tunes by ear. Kinnon and Betty
Lou Beaton have always been there with encouragement and inspiration. Kinnon taught me the basics, but I have also learned so much by listening to his "dance tapes". His dance playing is unbeatable and I love the tunes that he
composes! My grandfather Donald Angus Beaton's playing has been a HUGE
influence. He used a lot of ornamentations and cool bowings that you can
hear on old home recordings. I really enjoy listening to that old "Gaelic"
sound in his playing. John Morris Rankin's style was similar and tapes of
his playing have influenced my playing too. Hearing other older fiddlers
like Alex Francis MacKay and Buddy MacMaster would of course be influential
as well. I also really enjoy Howie MacDonald's smooth, "sassy" playing too.
I also like listening to rock and pop rock. I like anything from Def Leppard
and Honeymoon Suite to Gordie Sampson, Aerosmith, Jimmy Rankin and The
Rankins and John Meyer. I'm always amazed by Dave MacIsaac's guitar playing
too. He's got an incredible musical mind.

What do you enjoy to do when you're off the road?

When I'm not teaching or performing, I like to simply spend time with my
family and friends. When I'm home in Cape Breton I like going to dances and
pubs like the Red Shoe when there is good music happening. I also spend time
playing around with songs I've written or just writing music.

What have been some of the highlights of your career so far?

The four ECMA award nominations are definite highlights, especially the Male
Artist; that blew me away! Travelling to places like Scotland, Ireland,
Iceland, and California has always been fun. Recently, my song Whispers From
Heaven was featured on the Dawson's Creek TV show. That was an honour.
Hearing my music on the radio is always a highlight. STEPOUTSIDE was also
twice on the top ten most played albums on the Galaxie Music Network- Folk
Roots. That was encouraging. Any time someone tells me that they enjoy one
of my compositions or actually play it or want to get the music for it-
that's always an honour.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?

That's a tough question as anything can happen so quickly or unexpectedly in
life. I really couldn't tell you, but music will always be there for me to
hopefully play and enjoy. I always want to be playing for people, at least
on some level. Not too much makes me happier than playing music and making
people happy with it. I definitely want to be doing that in 5, 10, and maybe
fifty years! I want to continue recording albums for as long as I can too.

Is there a place that you have yet to tour that you would like to visit?

I've yet to tour in the South Eastern US. I'd like to tour Florida and Texas
and I'd like to go to California again. A big coast to coast tour of Canada
would also be fun too...Hawaii, Australia, and Japan would be interesting.

Now for some more entertaining questions! ... What's your favourite
movie / tv show?

My favourite movie of all time is Braveheart. Top Gun, Backdraft, Ghost, and
Titanic are up there. I like Jim Carrey comedies and Wayne's World was once
an old favourite too. I don't really have a favourite TV show- that goes in
cycles; I like Hockey Night in Canada at play-off time. I watch MuchMore
Music a lot as well.

If you could perform with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

Past:
Donald Angus Beaton- His music has been very influential to me.
Present:
1) Def Leppard- They're just Rock Stars- My sentimental favourite band of
all time - I also like John Mutt Lange's work, who produced them.
2) Lenny Kravitz- He's Mr. Cool and he can really play.
3) Kylie Monogue- She's so darn good looking!
Best of luck with your career in the months and years to come!

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