rumblestrip

Rumblestrip: an unruly contradance band. We love to play the old tunes, the new tunes, easy tunes, wierd ones, and then add in other styles that catch our fancy.

Among other things, Nat Hewitt is an experienced dance musician; his energy, his obvious love of the tradition is what the dancers love about him. We love that about him too. He has an uncanny ability to pick tunes that fit the dance well, and keeps an eye on the dance to keep the tunes in step. With his natural abandon that keeps the band on their toes, Nat is an exciting player, on and off the stage. He plays a lot of instruments, including the highland pipes, but (thankfully) sticks to fiddle and guitar at contradances.

Liza Constable has been a singer ever since she was a little thing. Guitar came around the age of ten, and you can see the ease with which she wield her instrument - she is comfortable, certain, and willing to put her all into the rhythm. Nat thinks it’s because she’s left handed. Her skills with chords were honed with her swing bands. She plays feet too, something she picked up from her franco friends. With her lovely strong alto voice, she can sing a sweet slow romantic waltz, put in a surprising harmony, or deedle (mouth music) a fast tune with the boys…

Glen Loper plays the mando, the banjo and the drums. He’s a Mainer, though perhaps not a seventh generation mainer (like some people I know). He’s a great person to work with, especially in a band with a married couple. He’s got a great groove, cool ideas, writes good tunes and completes the band with his ability to swerve and sway as the tunes progress.

We take a lot of risks, and that makes it fun for us up on the stage. If we’re having fun, then the dancers are having fun.