Lisa Gorlin
"My musical training began by ear at a very early age when I was taken to the New York Philharmonic and the ballet at Lincoln Center. It continued with my older sibling's passion for what was coming out in the 60's which became my passion as well. My sister studied violin and guitar. My interest in becoming a player began when I was ten. Two years later I learned some songs with the basic chords. My first guitar arrived shortly afterwards.
Starting out with the folk-rock music of the era, my immersion in the blues occurred gradually, coexisting with the music of my favorite group at that time: Pink Floyd. I began following Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna around from show to show (over 30 of them!) trying to soak up his virtuoso fingerpicking style. I invented my own however, and began to play acoustic blues with my own flavor, performing occasionally in coffeehouses and restaurants.
My "Celtic fever" began later when Chris caught it , after a friend loaned us a CD of The Bothy Band, the traditional Irish supergroup of the 70's (Matt Molloy, Paddy Keenan, Donal Lunny, Kevin Burke, Michael O'Domhnaill, Trina Ni Dhomhnaill).
After poring through the O'Neill's tune books, Chris first started playing the melodies on fiddle, then switched to mandolin and bouzouki. The music was infectious. Upon discovering my knack for arranging I quickly adjusted my playing style to the new time signatures and everything just took off from there. Our first performances were at private parties and SCA events. Soon afterwards we launched Bardic Night and we haven't looked back since."