Time for Christmas Tunes

Ah, December. Time to break out the Christmas tunes. This time last year, I had played fiddle at a Christmas play at a church. Now that nearly a whole year has passed in Iraq, it's time to expand the repertoire.

The Christmas tunes this year will be played in the foyer of Uday and Qusay Hussein's old palace in Mosul. It's called "Qasr Arimeh" (Castle of Spears--the pointy kind, not the Brittany Spears kind). It's vaguely gratifying to play traditional Christmas tunes on a plaintive ol' fiddle in a castle that was originally erected to gratify the excesses of a couple of ruthless (and now dead) Iraqi gangsters. How the wheel turns.

I've downloaded MIDI tunes to all my favorites, and am systematically getting them under control on the fiddle (my definition of "under control" is recognizable to the average listener). Everything comes out with a Celtic or Bluegrass flavor, which is of course by design. :)

I have about a dozen to record, ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is already posted), so keep your eyes peeled.

Mosul, Iraq could use peace on earth, and good will toward men right now! That's why we're here...

Cheers,
GT