Statins and Hep C

[domusic]

Hi All, I haven't posted in a while while recovering from my heart attack. But I do have one question for y'all.

Anyone here on heart meds, specifically statins, and who has never Tx'd, experienced an improvement in their liver panels, or hep C in general. I have heard that statins slow or stop the replication of the Hep C virus.

Thanks,
Doug

[wyntre9]

Celtic heppers!  

That's a good one!

I'm pretty sure I've seen Tom McCaferty's name on a couple of cd's.  Did he do a lot of recording?

(I'm relatively new to irish music - I fell in love with it coz it's so melody driven with everything, rhythm, harmony melody, implicit in a single line - it's just so gorgeous!  And I love the ornamentation.  Reminds me of baroque - my favorite classical music.)

When i was teaching I always did a month of irish music with the kids - think south bronx - and I'd always show the older kids portions of river dance - and they would BEG me the rest of the year to do that music again.  The Unicorn, of course, was one of their favorites.

And the special Ed kids ALWAYS wanted to do irish step dancing and (since I taught EITHER in the girls locker room OR the cafetorium) - I never had any space and so i'd promise to let them stand in front of their chairs for the last minute of class and dance along with the riverdancers (no turning, spinning, etc.)

OMG - it was the funniest cutest thing ya ever saw!  And proof, once again, that music transcends EVERYTHING!  I started imagining a new show - Ireland meets the South Bronx -

SO sorry to hear of all your problems and hope that now you're posting again it means you're feeling stronger and you'll stop by more often.

I'm gonna check that song tomorrow.

Wyntre

BTW - funny that they'd rather RELEASE you from the hospital then hear BAGPIPES!

Personally, I love the sound.  There's a bagpiper march down Hunter Mountain during one of those summer festivals and it's pretty darn awesome to stand at the foot of the mountain and see and then hear 500 plus pipers streaming donwhill in formation all playing the same tune.

I've even thought about getting a "practice chanter' just in case I ever get the chance to try real bagpipes.

PS - maybe we should post on other side next time if we wanna discuss music (which I'm ALWAYS up for)  I'll look for you on Community as well.

[domusic]

wyntre9,

We had a great flutist here named Tom Byrnes who passed away a few years ago, that played a black wooden flute. He was near 80 and learned flute back in Ireland. He has recorded a few records but that flute he played was so beautiful. The regular flute is a beautiful sounding instrument but the wooden ones are so much sweeter. He partnered with an old guy named Tom McCaferty, a Scottish fiddler also in his mid 80s. They were great to play with at sessions. Unfortunately McCaferty passed away several months ago too.

There is a song by the Burns sisters called Johnny Get You Gun. It's lyrics discretely refer to someone who has AIDS. Beautiful song. We should try to get our resident song writer to put something together similar to that but about Hepatitis C and all it's complexities. What'cha think?

When I was in the hospital with my MI, on the fifth day I was in a step down unit and my nurse there as a young lady from Ireland, accent and all. So we hit it off pretty good talking about all things Irish and about music. I told her a little about myself with instrument making and stuff and she knew some of the people in the Irish community that I knew. On that fifth day I was getting anxious to go home and she had been lobbying for that all day. Around 6 PM that Saturday, She came in and said, I don't think they're going to discharge you until tomorrow. I told her to go tell my attending physician that if I wasn't discharged that day, my daughter was going to go home and bring my bagpipes up to the hospital. She laughed and left the room. She came back a few minutes later and with a big grin on her face she said, It worked, lets get you dressed. Wasn't much dressing to do as I had to keep a Foley Catheter in for another two weeks. I just threw a coat over my hospital gown and went like that. I had been pretty loaded on Dalaudid pain meds for five days and really was still in lala land. It was fun though, as much of it as I can remember. Glad for the Dalaudid though. When I had bladder retention and they put that catheter in (three attempts)it was pretty painful. Worse than the MI actually. They made it up to me by being super sweet to me for the five day. After I got the catheter finally out, I took a box of candy and a card up to CCU to thank them. They were so nice I just had to do something . . .


Johnny Get Your Gun
http://tinyurl.com/yfdquv

Doug

[wyntre9]

Missed this comment;

"I've seen Some great poetry/song writing on this forum (ie.Friday night fight songs). We should collaborate and publish/record some tunes."

Hey, great idea!

Maybe we can get one of the techhies around here to set us up for a cyber jam?  

Now that would be fun.

And Kim, from the other side, has quite a repertoire.  150+ and counting, I believe.

CHCNME,

It's so good to see you back!  Hope everything's going well and your new grand (son?) is fine and you'll visit more often.

[wyntre9]

"I hooked my bag pipes up to a compressor once and could play the hell out of them and didn't even get winded.'

Hahahahahaha.  

I like Ullean pipes.  And ya don't gotta be alive to play it (no breath).  *LOL*

Yes, Joanie Madden did a couple of master classes at the last festival I went to.

I found it interesting that (anecdotally) she really doesn't think the tin whistle is needed to get that authentic sound - but I took some classes with Mike McHale and he and most of the players in the class disagreed.

Actually, what I'd like to have is one of the traditional wood transverse flutes - but they're so darned expensive.  Last year I was nosing around antique shops up near Durham and I found the body and foot joints to what I think is a military fife and a regular C flute and I searched the darn place for the head joints and even got the owner to help and we couldn't find them.  I bought the parts anyway, (got him down to $35, thinking maybe i could find someone to make head joints at a price i can afford but that's just another one of the many projects that got sidetracked after starting TX.)

I bought a Sindt tin whistle last year - had to wait almost nine months for it - it plays great.

I'd love to play fiddle - it looks like so much fun to play in the Cailli bands.

Where's the festival you mentioned?

Keep us posted and send more music!  :)

[domusic]

Actually 6 string guitar, whistle and fiddle. You're right about fresh old standards. It's a great song and the way we sing it in church is very flat! Without feeling. Oh Well . . .

Irish/Celtic festivals and plain old folk festivals are alway a lot of fun. There's a local non profit here called Folk Net, who have three or four folk festivals down in the metro parks every spring and summer and they're great. Lots of parking lot jams going on and it's a great place for new and talented artists to break onto the scene.

Flute is so nice. Beautiful. Joanne Maden of Cherish The Ladies (a friend) is so great on flute and whistle. Franky Kennedy (of late) from Altan was another great flute player. I play whistle a little as well as Bag Pipe. Not real good on either because I run out of breath easily. I hooked my bag pipes up to a compressor once and could play the hell out of them and didn't even get winded. I couldn't figure out how to march dragging a compressor behind me though so I just gave up.

I have a number of Mandolins floating around Europe including this band in France:   http://preview.tinyurl.com/338fjk.

I've seen Some great poetry/song writing on this forum (ie.Friday night fight songs). We should collaborate and publish/record some tunes.

Take care,
doug

[wyntre9]

Ok.  I just listened to the whole track.

Tin whistle?

Acoustic 12 string?

I'd only heard the first verse before so didn't hear the fiddle.

it's so hard to do a fresh effective arrangement of such a famous old standard but you guys did it!

I've gone to the Durham (in the Catskills) irish festival a couple of times. musicians come in from all over the world and after master classes on all aspects of traditional Celtic music and instruments and dance and storytelling, at night everyone gathers at one of a dozen pubs in the area and you get to hear jam sessions with a hundred plus fiddles all playing the same tune - soooo cooooool.

(I'm a woodwind player, myself - flute, soprano sax, picked up tin whistle a couple of years ago, bodhran - a little - would LOOOVE to learn concertina but guess that's gonna have to wait for another life.

And mandolin is gorgeous.  Ever hear the Vivaldi concerto for two mandolins and orchestra?

So glad you're doing well and you got your lovely daughter helping you out.

Keep DOING music.  :)

Wyntre