Page 24 - Johnny Wilmot, Fiddler "Another Side of Cape Breton"

ISSUE : Issue 65

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1994/1/1

During the 1950s and '60s, this traditional jig was popular among Inver? ness County players such as Dan J. Campbell and Angus Allan Gillis. Recently, it has been well- received by Irish musicians in both Ireland and the U. S. • Paul Cranford An Inverness Jig transcribed from "Another Side of Cape Breton" as played by Johnny Wihnot i''tiiPiUrf (!iQ'jj,ijT3'irrfuJitxrf [!i['jjii ' • ijJ'uji';f iij.ij;'cj'iJ'Ij.ijP[nirrrf nj% health was deteriorating, well, he didn't play. And I think he found that rather difficult to handle, too. 'Cause he loved music.... We had nights and nights and nights of mu? sic. It was just tremendous. When I look back on the years, I wouldn't have missed that for anything. (When you say "nights and nights and nights"--would they be days running, or would they be weekends mostly?) Oh well, you could go in--say, on a Sunday after? noon at 2 o'clock and you might leave, probably, at 3 or 4 Monday morning to go home. You just played right through. And then sometimes, every night in the week-- J BUS. 625-5135 / FAX 625-3851 I HOME 787-2988 OPERATED BY: CAIVIERON MUSIC SALES 307 GRANVILLE ST. PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. BOE 2V0 GUITARS, VIOLINS J MUSIC BOOKS, DRUMS / SOUND EQUIPMENT & BAGPIPE SUPPUES j • INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS • !?dlatid HOWARD NARDOCCHIO • OWNER/MANAGER Ua At Island Mazda we pride ourselves In offering the best after-sale service possible. It's easy to talk service. However, the difference Is only accomplished when the dealer makes It their policy to provide It, not promise It '' CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENCE TODAY AT: 195 PRINCE ST. • SYDNEY, N. S. 56'-6668 ''IT -lU'T F''LS RIGHT if he wasn't working or too tired. Of course, he was never too tired to play! He was always anxious to play. And then they had all these characters he used to draw. Like this Joe the Jigger he used to talk about. He was a French fellow from Glace Bay. And he always wore the big rubber boots, you know. He was rather a disreputable character. But he could jig the tunes, you know, just as well as John? ny could play them on the violin. And of course, Johnny was the type of a fellow--he got a lot of amusement out of people. You know, he could see things in people that I think other people could not. Like, you would look at somebody like that and you would say, "Oh, well, I wouldn't want that man in my house, you know. 'Cause he just--well, not on my level, let's say." But Johnny would always see something in them, you know, and he used to enjoy people like that. The different people. As he said, "Well, you know, everyday people are not interesting." So, I used to get a kick out of him, you know. Had this Joe the Jig? ger. And he'd have all the pipers. When the war was on and the air force were stationed out here at the airport, well all these people came-- pipers. and the drummers, and all of these people. He just gath? ered everybody in, you know. And he loved them all. They had a marvel? lous time with him. (Johnny's health cer? tainly didn't permit him to play in the last number of years.) No, no. Well, he was very hard on himself, you know. He CHECK OUT MAZDA'S ALL NEW '94 PICK-UPS NOW AVAILABLE IN 3.0-L V6 145-H.P. & 4.0-L V6 160-H.P. ENGINES

Cape Breton's Magazine