Randy Miller
Randy’s musical style is influenced by the fiddling of Paddy Cronin, Sean McGuire, Simon St. Pierre, and Jerry Holland, all of whom he has been fortunate to visit with and hear in person. These great players inspired him to learn the fiddle while acquiring his own style of bowing and ornamentation. Combining sounds from his home state of New Hampshire with Irish and Cape Breton Celtic styles, Randy plays “New Hamptic.”
An avid dancer steeped in the robust contra style of the Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire, Randy phrases the melody with a dancer’s sensibility. He has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad at numerous venues including the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, HOTAfest, University of Chicago, Star Hampshire Dance Weekend, Gypsy Moon Ball, Lady of the Lake, and the Shetland Folk Festival. In addition to giving private lessons, Randy leads workshops in fiddling and has been designated a Master Teacher of Contra Dance Music by the N.H. State Council on the Arts.
Randy also collects and publishes fiddle tunes under the imprint, Fiddlecase Books. His latest CD, released in ’05, is The Fiddler’s Throne with Tom Hodgson, Will Miller and David Loney.
Bill Thomas
Flute player Bill Thomas is a long-time dancer and dance musician whose repertoire includes tons of New England tunes. In the early ’70s he fell in love with Irish music and his flute has been heard at sessions and dances ever since.
Along the way Bill took up the uilleann pipes and continues to add his lively playing to local sessions in New Hampshire and western Massachussetts. Learning from many native Irish musicians both in the States and during his several trips to Ireland, Bill has developed an authentic playing style which follows the tradition and yet is his own. An accomplished furnituremaker with a shop in Rindge, New Hampshire, Bill has also made uilleann pipes including the set he now plays.
Gordon Peery
Gordon Peery has been playing piano for contra dances since the late 1970’s. His early style contained elements from Cape Breton, however, informed by such diverse influences as Oscar Peterson and the Rolling Stones, he has evolved a unique way of playing which has been described as “barrelhouse Irish.”
During the 1990s he gained national recognition while playing with the bands Fresh Fish and The New Hampshire Fiddlers Union and can be heard on recordings made by both groups. The latter band, which included Randy Miller, represented New England at the 10th annual Shetland Folk Festival. Gordon is also the managing editor of the Monadnock Folklore Society web site. He lives in Nelson, New Hampshire, the contra dance capitol of the world.