The intro and interstitial tracks from today’s episode are The Wail, the 1927 foxtrot by Carleton Coon/Joe Sanders (1927 foxtrot), performed by BLT on the 1987 cassette tape Music from Here and There, Now and Then, with Kate Barnes on piano, Mary Lea on violin, and Bill Tomczak on clarinet; Alabama Jubilee, performed live at the Guiding Star Grange by Ralph Sweet’s All-Starts (Ralph Sweet as the Caller, Lee Blackwell on drums, David Cantieni on alto sax, Stuart Kenney on acoustic bass, Dave Langford on fiddle, Ann Percival on guitar and backing vocals, Pete Sutherland on piano and backing vocals, Bill Tomczak on Tenor Sax and the Arranger) from the 2004 CD Shindig in the Barn; Red Haired Boy performed live at the 2001 Asheville Summer Soireé by The Latter Day Lizards, with Dave Langford on violin and fiddle strum, Bill Tomczak on clarinet, Kate Barnes on piano, harmonica, and Carol Hamm on acoustic bass.Log Cabin by The Latter Day Lizards from the 2007 CD Rainy Night in Montague with Dave Langford on fiddle, Bill Tomczak on tenor sax, Kate Barnes on piano, Stuart Kenney on acoustic bass; And Bethena the 1905 concert waltz by Scott Joplin, from BLT’s 1998 CD Gypsy Wine with Kate Barnes on piano, Mary Lea on violin, and Bill Tomczak on clarinet.

See the Contra Pulse website for transcripts and more. Or click here to download it directly.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent.

See and hear Bill Tomczak in action:

• Visit Bill’s collection of contra dance articles at his Musaique website.
• Head over to The Latter Day Lizards website.
• To see the Latter Day Lizards playing, check out this video of them at the Atlanta Dance Weekend in 2012, and here you’ll see them playing at the Concord Scout House.
• See Bill play drum, clarinet, and saxophone at the 1994 Old Songs Folk Festival
• Here’s Devil’s Dream/Opera Reel played by Bill, Pete Sutherland, and Bob McQuillen at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend in 2004. Even though you can only hear Bill in this video, we couldn't resist sharing it because of the charming Bob McQuillen moment at the beginning!
• Watch BLT play Romany Polka at the 2017 Vintage Dance Weekend in Cincinnati.
• Check out this virtual concert with Bill in the Portland Megaband in 2021.

Odds and ends mentioned in this interview:

• Visit the website for the Folk Arts Center of New England.
• One of the greatest carriers of the Scottish fiddle music tradition, Alasdair Fraser.
• Definitely check out the computer generated Harry Potter chapter, you’ll be glad you did!
• Vladimir’s Steamboat from Fiddle Fever
• Footage of the dance Vallimont’s Steamboat, played to a different tune
• Big John McNeil from Fiddle Fever with multiple harmony parts and multiple modulations.
• Some folks mentioned in this episode have their own Contra Pulse episode. Check them out: Mary Lea, Kate Barnes