Box and Fiddle
Year 41 No 08
April 2018
Price £3.00
52 Page Magazine
12 month subscription £33.60 + p&p £15.85 (UK)
Graeme Mitchell – Guest of Honour 2018
by Robbie Shepherd
“Cairnie’s Canter herald the arrival of an exciting new sound to the Scottish record scene….” This canter revolves round the excellent ‘pipey’ style playing of 19-year-old Graeme Mitchell of Cairnie near Huntly in Aberdeenshire…Listen through and you will be impressed with the selection of tunes as well as the music content, some great traditional pipe tunes and more than a smattering of fine new compositions from Douglas Muir, Tom McAllister and of course Graeme himself.”
I canna believe it is nearly 40 years since I penned these sleeve notes in 1979 on his very first band recording, which included two of his early compositions. One was Walter’s Reel, written for the late Wattie Rutherford of Keith who had his own accordion-led band and who was a source of great encouragement to the budding young musician. Walter passed away recently, but would have been so proud of this honour for Graeme. The other tune was The Dunecht Loon, which he composed in my early days of broadcasting, and now I can return the compliment paying my tribute to a great family friend over all these years and such an influence on others who follow him – the Cairnie Loon has come a long wye since then.
Graeme started playing the accordion when he was about 10 years old and his first teacher was the late Jean McConnachie who was then to move to Dumfries where she had her own band. After that his dad, who played fiddle, saw an advert for Peter Farnan who was teaching at Bucksburn on the outskirts of Aberdeen and encouraged the young lad by driving nearly 40 miles each way weekly, a debt that Graeme has never forgotten. Through Peter, he started competing and won the All Scotland Accordion Championship in Perth at the age of 17 (in 1977).
It was on his first visit to the North East Accordion and Fiddle Club – the guests was Jim Johnstone – that 12-year-old Graeme was hooked by the overall sound of a full band. He was to form his own band in 1982 after graduating as a Technical Teacher and joining the staff at his home base of Huntly where he has been ‘techie’ ever since at The Gordon Schools. Though only part time now, Graeme has taken up a post with the Arkwright Scholarship Trust, which sponsors highly able pupils interested in pursuing a career in engineering. This involves visiting and working with schools all over North Scotland, a pursuit right up his street.
But I’m jumping the gun a bit here regarding his progress since his teenage years and, during a chat with him for the Box and Fiddle, we touched on the influences that were to create the safe, sure and steady sound that puts the stamp on the band. I ventured to suggest there is a distinct thread through Peter Farnan, Ronnie Cooper, Bill Black, Bobby MacLeod and of course the aforementioned Jim Johnstone and this is what he had to say.
First on Peter Farnon: “Peter Farnon was the person who really taught me the technical rights and wrongs of the accordion. I did light classical, Continental and Scottish accordion music. He was, and still is, a firm disciplinarian with a teaching style that, depending on your personality, made you work very hard to achieve the objectives that were set. I have a lot of respect for Peter.”
Then on Bill Black who did so much in introducing promising young players into his band and that included the 17-year-old student from Cairnie with a newly acquired licence to drive (in spite of the travel to Perth, he spent years of pleasure, with unofficial ceilidhs being equal to formal gigs);
“Bill and Anne treated me like one of their family, given that I had to stay over quite a lot. I also had the pleasure of witnessing the musical development of Robert and Duncan. They are very good friends.”
Graeme was also fortunate in the encouragement he got in his first stages on the accordion by members of the North East Accordion and Fiddle Club and it was Ian Duncan, a stalwart of the Club, who, having musical friends up in Shetland, introduced him to Ronnie Cooper. He first went to Shetland in the mid 1970s and mony an informal session the two of them had away from official engagements. Here’s Graeme again:
“I very much enjoyed playing with and listening to Ronnie’s style of piano accompaniment.”
And on Bobby MacLeod:
“The variety of attributes that I associate with Bobby is immense. His playing was unique, he played like a toff!”
I’m still trying to work out that last quote but above them all, from first hearing that sound of Jim Johnstone as a young lad till Jim’s untimely death just 10 years ago, he has never hidden his admiration for the man, his music, his arranging and his sheer professionalism.
The same can be said of Graeme Mitchell and his Scottish Dance Band emanating from the five/six-piece he set up in 1982. The line-up has changed little over the years with Graeme on lead accordion and original members Gordon ‘Duke’ Duguid on second accordion and Brian ‘Cruick’ Cruickshank on bass. Neil McMillan joined not long after on piano and Duncan Christie on drums, later augmented by Judy Davidson on fiddle, who was to be replaced by Susan Gordon when Judy, now Nicolson, emigrated to Houston, Texas.
The aim, in his own words, was to form a band that was simple and unobtrusive, that would swing, create lots of musical gaps and lift, where nobody gets to cut through – and be dancy! That for him, he agrees, encompasses Bill, Jim, Ronnie and Bobby. On being complimented often on retaining the same players – and it used to be easier when there was plenty of playing for such a group – he sings the praises for the band members for their loyalty; yet he had to mould them into the sound he wanted and therein lies the secret.
Graeme is very much a family man and Esma and I are proud to have been friends all these years going back to his student days when we used to have him as a guest in our rural concerts – these were hameower affairs but that’s the lifestyle we both appreciate. When asked about favourite venues, he says he equally enjoys playing for his wife Elaine’s fund-raising dances followed by the all night ceilidh at the house; yet the heart tells me that deep down he feels there is nothing better than playing at any hall where dancers appreciate the great music.
Both son Neil and daughter Lisa have been given the opportunity to play and he is very proud of what they have accomplished, adding, “They were never obsessive like me and I’m glad about that. They always knew it was part of my living, it was my job and consequently we all benefited from it.”
We have all benefited from the down-to-earth approach of Graeme Mitchell with his dedicated pursuit of the best interest of our music and he is well worthy of the honour to be bestowed on him at the NAAFC Celebrity Luncheon. In Graeme’s words, “When people are really up for a good ceilidh dance, it can be a very exhilarating experiencing for a band. I love it.”
From Brian Cruickshank
I have been involved in the Scottish Dance Band scene for well over 34 years. It is all thanks to Graeme Mitchell for selecting me to play bass and for trusting me to fulfil his vision of having a local dance band from the North East corner of Scotland using what talent he could source in the area at that time.
Three of us have always been involved in the band from its inception and this is somewhat a record considering how long ago that is. We are Graeme, myself and Gordon Duguid on second box.
Since his own band began he has always been the person that everyone looked up to in regard to his choice of tunes, his accordion technique and also his spot-on tempos for the dancers. Since the very early days he has always been an inspiration for young (and old) accordion players and bandleaders alike.
Well done to you, Graeme, on receiving this award. It is well and truly deserved.
by Robbie Shepherd
“Cairnie’s Canter herald the arrival of an exciting new sound to the Scottish record scene….” This canter revolves round the excellent ‘pipey’ style playing of 19-year-old Graeme Mitchell of Cairnie near Huntly in Aberdeenshire…Listen through and you will be impressed with the selection of tunes as well as the music content, some great traditional pipe tunes and more than a smattering of fine new compositions from Douglas Muir, Tom McAllister and of course Graeme himself.”
I canna believe it is nearly 40 years since I penned these sleeve notes in 1979 on his very first band recording, which included two of his early compositions. One was Walter’s Reel, written for the late Wattie Rutherford of Keith who had his own accordion-led band and who was a source of great encouragement to the budding young musician. Walter passed away recently, but would have been so proud of this honour for Graeme. The other tune was The Dunecht Loon, which he composed in my early days of broadcasting, and now I can return the compliment paying my tribute to a great family friend over all these years and such an influence on others who follow him – the Cairnie Loon has come a long wye since then.
Graeme started playing the accordion when he was about 10 years old and his first teacher was the late Jean McConnachie who was then to move to Dumfries where she had her own band. After that his dad, who played fiddle, saw an advert for Peter Farnan who was teaching at Bucksburn on the outskirts of Aberdeen and encouraged the young lad by driving nearly 40 miles each way weekly, a debt that Graeme has never forgotten. Through Peter, he started competing and won the All Scotland Accordion Championship in Perth at the age of 17 (in 1977).
It was on his first visit to the North East Accordion and Fiddle Club – the guests was Jim Johnstone – that 12-year-old Graeme was hooked by the overall sound of a full band. He was to form his own band in 1982 after graduating as a Technical Teacher and joining the staff at his home base of Huntly where he has been ‘techie’ ever since at The Gordon Schools. Though only part time now, Graeme has taken up a post with the Arkwright Scholarship Trust, which sponsors highly able pupils interested in pursuing a career in engineering. This involves visiting and working with schools all over North Scotland, a pursuit right up his street.
But I’m jumping the gun a bit here regarding his progress since his teenage years and, during a chat with him for the Box and Fiddle, we touched on the influences that were to create the safe, sure and steady sound that puts the stamp on the band. I ventured to suggest there is a distinct thread through Peter Farnan, Ronnie Cooper, Bill Black, Bobby MacLeod and of course the aforementioned Jim Johnstone and this is what he had to say.
First on Peter Farnon: “Peter Farnon was the person who really taught me the technical rights and wrongs of the accordion. I did light classical, Continental and Scottish accordion music. He was, and still is, a firm disciplinarian with a teaching style that, depending on your personality, made you work very hard to achieve the objectives that were set. I have a lot of respect for Peter.”
Then on Bill Black who did so much in introducing promising young players into his band and that included the 17-year-old student from Cairnie with a newly acquired licence to drive (in spite of the travel to Perth, he spent years of pleasure, with unofficial ceilidhs being equal to formal gigs);
“Bill and Anne treated me like one of their family, given that I had to stay over quite a lot. I also had the pleasure of witnessing the musical development of Robert and Duncan. They are very good friends.”
Graeme was also fortunate in the encouragement he got in his first stages on the accordion by members of the North East Accordion and Fiddle Club and it was Ian Duncan, a stalwart of the Club, who, having musical friends up in Shetland, introduced him to Ronnie Cooper. He first went to Shetland in the mid 1970s and mony an informal session the two of them had away from official engagements. Here’s Graeme again:
“I very much enjoyed playing with and listening to Ronnie’s style of piano accompaniment.”
And on Bobby MacLeod:
“The variety of attributes that I associate with Bobby is immense. His playing was unique, he played like a toff!”
I’m still trying to work out that last quote but above them all, from first hearing that sound of Jim Johnstone as a young lad till Jim’s untimely death just 10 years ago, he has never hidden his admiration for the man, his music, his arranging and his sheer professionalism.
The same can be said of Graeme Mitchell and his Scottish Dance Band emanating from the five/six-piece he set up in 1982. The line-up has changed little over the years with Graeme on lead accordion and original members Gordon ‘Duke’ Duguid on second accordion and Brian ‘Cruick’ Cruickshank on bass. Neil McMillan joined not long after on piano and Duncan Christie on drums, later augmented by Judy Davidson on fiddle, who was to be replaced by Susan Gordon when Judy, now Nicolson, emigrated to Houston, Texas.
The aim, in his own words, was to form a band that was simple and unobtrusive, that would swing, create lots of musical gaps and lift, where nobody gets to cut through – and be dancy! That for him, he agrees, encompasses Bill, Jim, Ronnie and Bobby. On being complimented often on retaining the same players – and it used to be easier when there was plenty of playing for such a group – he sings the praises for the band members for their loyalty; yet he had to mould them into the sound he wanted and therein lies the secret.
Graeme is very much a family man and Esma and I are proud to have been friends all these years going back to his student days when we used to have him as a guest in our rural concerts – these were hameower affairs but that’s the lifestyle we both appreciate. When asked about favourite venues, he says he equally enjoys playing for his wife Elaine’s fund-raising dances followed by the all night ceilidh at the house; yet the heart tells me that deep down he feels there is nothing better than playing at any hall where dancers appreciate the great music.
Both son Neil and daughter Lisa have been given the opportunity to play and he is very proud of what they have accomplished, adding, “They were never obsessive like me and I’m glad about that. They always knew it was part of my living, it was my job and consequently we all benefited from it.”
We have all benefited from the down-to-earth approach of Graeme Mitchell with his dedicated pursuit of the best interest of our music and he is well worthy of the honour to be bestowed on him at the NAAFC Celebrity Luncheon. In Graeme’s words, “When people are really up for a good ceilidh dance, it can be a very exhilarating experiencing for a band. I love it.”
From Brian Cruickshank
I have been involved in the Scottish Dance Band scene for well over 34 years. It is all thanks to Graeme Mitchell for selecting me to play bass and for trusting me to fulfil his vision of having a local dance band from the North East corner of Scotland using what talent he could source in the area at that time.
Three of us have always been involved in the band from its inception and this is somewhat a record considering how long ago that is. We are Graeme, myself and Gordon Duguid on second box.
Since his own band began he has always been the person that everyone looked up to in regard to his choice of tunes, his accordion technique and also his spot-on tempos for the dancers. Since the very early days he has always been an inspiration for young (and old) accordion players and bandleaders alike.
Well done to you, Graeme, on receiving this award. It is well and truly deserved.