I arrived in Cape Breton
in 1975. By chance within a week I got a job as a
lighthousekeeper. While my work kept me in these parts, by
far the strongest influence to stay was the music I
encountered and the many fine musicians I met. Both were to
have a profound impact on the future direction of my
life. At house parties and
dances, during my months off the light, dozens of musicians
took time to teach me tunes and techniques. Returning to
work, the lighthouse isolation gave me space and time to
practise, to digest what I'd heard, to study the old
collections and recordings, and eventually to
compose.
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