Life out of the Troll Woods

Johnny Logan won the European Song Contest three times

Life out of the Troll Woods isn't quite as docile and sedate and is a completely different world. The opportunity to play with Johnny Logan came up a few years ago and of course that had been a dream to play beautiful concert halls all over Europe with an entertainer and band that was professional all the way. What an experience!! We traveled all over Scandinavia, Germany, Ireland to Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The backup band was from Denmark, actually living not far from the Troll Woods and a lot of the young guys were conservatory trained and excellent on their instruments. The old Flamin' Fiddler had to really knuckle down and practice to keep up with the level of performance involved. 

There were so many great concerts including a highlight playing in Stockholm in a beautiful old opera house and also another time playing in Halle in Germany (the birthplace of Handel). We get to see so much on these tours that would maybe have never seen or experienced if not for the music.

Of course over the years there have been opportunities to join in with some artists from the States and maybe play some good old country music just for old times sake. I remember playing harmony fiddle with John Permenter and had to watch his fingers like a hawk to get an idea of what notes to add to the melody. 

One time playing in Norway, we had a chance to hear some traditional Norwegian folk music played on their rather different but beautiful Hardanger fiddles. Guess who jumped at the chance to play one of these instruments?  It was perfect for playing some Cajun music because of the sound of the sympathetic strings  that are underneath the strings that the bow contacts.  What a treat!

Martin Petersen  (he's 74 and still going strong

There is a big tradition for dinner music at some of the Danish parties sometimes lasting for 4 or 5 hours. These are great because we are pretty much free to play whatever we want. Of course I have learned many of the Danish folk melodies which constitutes a lot of what the Danes want to hear. My friends have taught me a lot of the repertoire that is popular for these parties including folk music from all over Europe which is known here as well. Jazz standards to romantic tunes from the movies are just some of the styles we play at these functions, and of course a few toe tappin' fiddle tunes thrown in just for fun.

Once in a while we get a chance to record in a studio in Randers. A good friend Morten Kjeldsen owns the studio and is an amazing musician, engineer and producer. We have spend many, many, many hours in his studio getting our recordings as good as possible and then he takes the tracks and makes his magic. There is a good reason why there is a saying among musicians. "We'll fix it in the mix". Incredible things are done by the engineers to make the final product sound professional.

Morten recorded quite a few of the tunes on my Cd. and perhaps I'll upload some of them in a future blog. We have also just finished a Cd with the Celtic Rock band that I play with: the Djursland Spillemaend, entitiled "StayWith Me Tonight" which I will also post some examples in a future blog as well as the charming animation that is included with the Cd.

Right now I'm working on my newest project a curation website for singers who would like to learn how to sing better. You can check out the website at http://www.howcanisingbetter.net This is a work in progress so if something doesn't work I'm still learning all about wordpress, SEO and all the other stuff that goes into marketing online.

The Days are Getting Shorter and Shadows Longer

Shadows are Getting Longer

Life is simple here in the Troll Forest and we are noticing that the days are really getting shorter now and can't sit outside without a coat on. The little pesky moles are at it again and are busy tunneling around the lawn and every once in a while make a nice little mole hill just to let you know that they are around.

Cleaning Up After Pesky Moles

Even our cats are noticing the difference and spend a little more time in front of the fireplace at night but still love to romp around the yard chasing whatever insects are left. Our spoiled little forest cat also notices that his shadows are getting longer and he isn't very happy about that. 

Sniff our special little guy....SO SPOILED!!

 Looking out from his once secluded briar patch where he could ambush unwary birds, Sniff is wondering why there aren't any of his little feathered friends landing in the bushes right above his head. One pissed off puddy tat.

AnnaLise has carried sniff around like this ever since we got him as a very sick little kitten having at the time, a huge pollup in his throat. There were many times that we thought he wouldn't make it but look at him now. For a forest cat this place is  "Heaven with the lid off ".
Especially when he comes in             
from the cold and gets to eat my last can of Tuna. 

Oh Well....He's still my biggest furry little fan and loves to hear me practice and record. Sometimes I can even hear him purring when I listen back to the recordings, but that's alright!! When you play the video clip you'll be able to see a cameo of our special little forest cat in his debut appearance on video.

The neighborhood

Old Mill

Thought I would show you just where our little hobbit house is and the beautiful nature that surrounds us. Coming from the largest town in the area named Randers, the 15 km, or so takes us past some nice open fields until we get to the fussingø. That is the lake that is 2 km. from our house and the drive past the castle and up Troldeskovvej is very lovely indeed. There are many days that a walk down the road to the old mill is needed just to clear the cobwebs, enjoy the nature and of course get some exercise.
The drive up through the troll forest is quite amazing and unique and has had many of our friends a little
puzzled on how we could live so far out in the country.

Troldeskovvej

The road is not steep but a little winding and you wonder if there are actually any trolls living in the forest!!

Troll Forest Road in English

Wetlands and ponds where there are lovely swans and marauding mosquitos

A Couple of interesting sights around the area as well are some nice little ponds where the mosquito population has a fine time and then comes for a little visit while we are outside. OH WELL. Soon the marauding mosquitos and pesky flies will be gone until next year..

Danish Doghouse

Bessie, Bob and Billy in our front pasture

Of course having a few cows in the neighborhood
doesn't help with the insect situation. But they love the fiddle music and we will miss them when they are gone in a few weeks.

300 hundred year old hobbit house (Voltrup hus)

Our house is a heritage house called Volstrup hus and is around 300 years old. Just finished painting the outside a few months ago and still needs a little touch up here and there. The interior is quite modern and we have all the amenities including satellite TV and broadband internet service. Of course once in a while the cell phone reception leaves something to be desired but a heck of a lot better than smoke signals.

Beginning of Autumn

Well it's not like life in the Finland Woods, but there is a lot of music in the Troldeskoven. Friends come over quite often and rehearse or just to visit and we inevitably play or listen to some music.

Dave and Henning

The summer has gone by so quickly and the dreaded dreary Danish Winter will soon be here.  The leaves are still on the trees however and have had some nice sunny days which makes up for the frost that greets us in the morning covering lawn and vehicles.

Late Autumn in the Troll Forest

The wood is all cut and stacked in our shed for our fireplace which we have started to use in the evenings. The Danes have a word for cozy which encompasses a lot more than the english word. The word is hyggelig (pronounced hue-ge-lee) although that is a rather simplistic pronunciation and the y is rather hard to pronounce. I'll post some pictures and keep this little blog interesting when there is some time available. Stay tuned for more from the Troldeskovven. (Troll Woods)