Page 30 - A Little Visit with Ashley MacIsaac's Parents

ISSUE : Issue 72

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1997/6/1

since he was a wee, little boy--and could? n't get tickets. So," she said, "the night of the concert, my husband and I were sit? ting down around 1 o'clock in the afternoon and," she said, "'Let's take a drive down? town and maybe--', you know." So she said, "We drove down, and for miles and miles and miles on both sides of the street, every? thing was blocked solid." And she said, "We kept edging our way, there was security there, and they made an annotmcement over a loud-speaker that if people want--if they'd wait until they took all the fence down that was all around this big place where Ashley was going to perform, they would sell the tickets for half price." For these people that were going to stand up. She said they waited three hours. And they took all the fence down all the way, for miles, and they got in and stood up, she said, for the whole night, to watch him perform. She said, "It was something for you people to be there to see this because," she said, "people in Cape Breton would probably never believe this. But we see what he does up here." And that made me feel really good that people will stand in line, yeah. We have a video tape somebody sent us where they're standing--and I wouldn't do it my? self. And I'm saying this honest from my heart, I wouldn't stand in line as long as those people did, waiting for an autograph. They're lined up, like, rows of three. The video tape must be two hours long and-- Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, is the home of one of the great fiddle traditions in North America, and Alex Francis MacKay's sound, rich in Gaelic accent, is an expression of an older world • a world of Gaelic language and mouth music; Clydesdale work horses and cows with Gaelic names; and long hard days of farm work followed by I evenings of endless streams of Istrathspeys and reels. Available in stores now. http:www.rounder.c( A Lifelong Home contains over 75 minutes of music, with some 76 distinct jigs, reels, airs, marches and strathspeys. Ashley is signing everybody's autograph. And there's--oh, I'm not talking teenagers, I'm talking about people Angus and my age. Standing in line to get a--I wouldn't wait that long. But they're just standing there, and just so excited. And he signed every one of them before he left. He didn't just sign one, he signed them all. Angus: And of course, last summer he told people, "If you're ever in Cape Breton, come to my father and mother's in Creig? nish!" And we have a (guest) book out there, and another one somewhere else, where there are 200-some teenagers stopped in here last summer. Carmelita: And their parents! Angus: And their parents. A lot of them with their parents. And they come from Victoria, B.C., and from up north. All parts of Canada--even parts of the States--and they come here. And we haven't had one in the whole group of them that we wouldn't gladly invite to come back again. They'd be just that nice. Actually, we were out here building the deck this fall and a car stopped across the road. They're looking up and they're kind of easing along. And they'd stop, and they'd--well, gee. Finally somebody hol? lers out, "Is this Ashley Maclsaac's home?" "Yes, it is. Come on up!" "Oh my God, we can go up!" You know. "This is great. Should we really do this? Should we really come up?" Carmelita: It's a riot. Angus: We get a charge out of it, and we enjoy the fact that they come up. (What do they want to see?) They just want to be able to say they were here. (What do they want to see, though?) Carmelita: Well, I'll give you an example. Experience The Delta Difference Sydney*s First Class Accommodation At Affordable Rates 'Waterfront location, in the heart of Downtown Sydney, adjacent to the City Hall, 3 blocks from Centre 200 and the Sheraton Casino Sydney. ' 152 Harbourview Guest Rooms. A Indoor Pool & Fitness Centre. A Exciting 55' Water Slide. A Continental & Maritime Cuisine. A Children's Menus & Prices, Kids 6 & under EAT FREE. DellaSydney Delta Hotels & Resorts 300 Esplanade, Sydney, N.S. BlP 1A7 (902) 562-7500 Toll Free Reservations Canada 1-800-268-1133 U.SA. 1-800-877-1133 30

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