Page 28 - Johnny Wilmot, Fiddler "Another Side of Cape Breton"

ISSUE : Issue 65

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1994/1/1

came up here with him." "How about telling him I want to talk to him." So I told Johnny he wanted to talk to him. The guy, he owned 2 or 3 apartment buildings, and he offered Johnny an apartment, rent-free, if he'd go up there to live--just so he could hear him playing. Yeah, he offered him an apartment rent-free. "Just come up here," he said, "and play that thing." He told him he'd get him a job. But he wanted him up there so he could hear him playing the fiddle. Of course, he never went, but.... We were there on an afternoon--there was hard? ly anyone in the place. There never is, in that particular tavern in the afternoon. But there was a young American soldier came in. And Johnny was playing a few tunes. And he was listening. Never saw Johnny before. Now, John? ny was playing a couple of little dinky tunes. He said, "How about asking him to play 'Lord Gordon's Reel.'" So I told him. Johnny started playing "Lord Gordon's Reel" for him, and Johnny could really play that. "I knew it! I knew it!"--the young fellow--"I could tell by his touch that he was an Irish fiddler!" Isn't that amazing, eh? And Johnny was playing some dinky little thing. The Cat in the Shavings, or something like that, you know, just fooling around. But the young fellow, he could tell by his touch that he was Irish. And the little fellow's name--I even got his name--his last name was Lynch.... You know, they can say what they like, but the Sydney Mines style of violin playing, it's dif? ferent than (others). You have your Scottish style, Inverness style. I suppose you'd have to say, in the Cheticamp area, it'd be French- Scots, you know. But the Sydney Mines style was different. You can tell by listening to the Barra MacNeils, even yourself, that their mu? sic- -they play Scottish. But it's a little bit different than the Inverness Scottish. You can pick that up. That's a Northside quality. Cape Breton. Cape Breton, you know. Oh--I can say this--I don't care where in the hell, what you do with this--(some) people they're very bigoted when it comes to Scottish music. You know, if it's not Inverness, it's no good. (Eapp irrtnn M You're always welcome to come and enjoy the warm hospitality of Cape Breton Bed and Breakfasts - an island experience that goes hand in hand with our unique and splendid scenery'. If you appreciate the personal touch and all the comforts of a home, then check into a Cape Breton B?SiB on your island 'acation. Cape Breton ' ISLAND 1-800-565-9464 for infonnation it's not Scottish. I don't know how they get that way. Jerry Holland summed it up. He said, "They don't seem to realize that a whole lot of the tunes that they're playing are not Scottish to begin with." They're Irish, or they're French. Like the French people here, they had a great influence on the music here. But they don't get any credit. Johnny made that "Hughie Shorty's Reel." All the Cape Breton musicians play it. They're playing it all over Ireland. So he must have been doing something right. There's certainly other fid? dlers who could take a better tone--quality of tone out of the fiddle. Fitzgerald was certain? ly one of them. Angus Chisholm--beautiful touch. You could name a whole lot of them-- Donald MacLellan.... But technically, there was none of them could touch him. He could do things on that fiddle that none of them could touch him on it. Angus Chisholm--he tried and tried to play "Bonnie Kate" the way Johnny played it. He got in front of a (jukebox), you knpw. And Angus would be feeding nickel after nickel after nickel into that thing, listening to Johnny playing "Bonnie Kate." "How in the name of God can he do it! How can he finger that thing like that?" You know? Yeah. Oh, yeah, Johnny, he was great, boy, technical? ly. I mean, like, he couldn't play a hornpipe like Winston. Winston had that beautiful timing and everything. He couldn't do that. But he had other attributes. He had other ways of making his music. Like, there was no one around here could play a reel like him--cuts and slurs and rolls and everything. Ah cripes, they couldn't touch him. (You don't sound very hesitant about Johnny Wilmot.) Oh, Johnny Wilmot was my man, and he always was. He always was.... People have their own ideas about music. I'm only just giving you mine.... It's only my own opinion. I know what you're doing(in issuing "Another Side of Cape Breton"X and I really appreciate it, because I loved that man. And I know, when the people started coming on to him in Boston, all the Irish people--poor Johnny, he filled right up. Yeah, he did. Yeah, he filled right up. And I remember saying to him--of course, I filled up too. But I remember saying to him, "Well, fellow, you're finally getting the rec? ognition that was due you." I said, "You're fi? nally getting it now." m' JJ. BARRINGTON LTD. WHEEL AUGNMENT & AUTO BODY LTD. • • oloniMf 137 Kings Rd. 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