MEET OUR PERFORMERS…

ELISE MACGREGOR FERRELL – Band Manager, Songwriter, Trio performer on fiddle, Great Highland Bagpipes

Elise’s musical journey began at age 5, with piano lessons and playing flute for her middle school’s marching band, as well as listening to classical music every night during dinner. She fell in love with folk music at Yosemite’s first Strawberry Music Festival, becoming a regular at both the Spring and Fall festivals, while also entering the world of rock and roll music as a handheld camera operator and principle director for the Concord Pavilion’s live-feed video screens. Later taking up fiddling, she squandered countless early motherhoood evenings learning traditional Irish and Scottish tunes at drop-in Celtic sessions, and joining old-time/bluegrass jams. It could be said that Elise jumped off the deep end when she became a Great Highland Bagpiper, nowadays performing solo for swank private events, competing with California’s Silicon Valley Pipe Band, and marching seasonally with Canada’s 100-year-old Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band. Elise’s original inspiration for founding Charmas came from watching her favorite Celtic bands, The Old Blind Dogs and Molly’s Revenge. Since then, the band has evolved continually, with influence from various new members and guest performers.

 AARON CLEGG – Sea Music captain, Trio performer on lead vocals, wooden flute, whistles, saxophone

Aaron Clegg: At age 13, Aaron first went to a traditional Celtic music session with his musician father, and his life changed forever. He returned to that session in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for the next 15 years off and on, learning to play Celtic flute and tin whistle, singing Irish songs and sea chanties, and eventually taking classes and playing in sessions with many famous Irish musicians. Meanwhile, he played saxophone in high school and college jazz bands. Rounding out his versatility in instruments and genres, Aaron became part of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir for two years, performing at major concerts and sporting events and on national television. In 2013 he sang at the San Francisco Sea Music Festival. Aaron teaches private lessons in classical and wooden flute, tin whistle, saxophone, and voice technique, performs at weddings and memorials, and earns the balance of his living teaching at schools in the Santa Cruz area.

 PHIL JOHNSTON – Trio performer on acoustic and electric guitar, lead vocals

Phil’s musical family started him on the piano at age 6 -which  only lasted for a year, before the “great Folk scare” and the arrival of the Beatles inspired him to switch to guitar and never look back. Phil was 11 years old when he landed a lead singing role in a production of the Gian Carlo Menotti operetta, “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” Seven succeeding years of learning how to play the Blues and Psychedelic Rock music (with a particular focus on the music of Jimi Hendrix) may have helped  Phil to earn a degree in Music Composition and Theory from the University of California Santa Cruz. “Between jobs” after college, he answered a want-ad for a guitarist/vocalist to join the Celtic-American folk group, Shanachie, and subsequently spent three years touring the U.S. and Europe, performing Celtic and American folk music. One highlight of this touring which Phil fondly recalls was representing the U.S. at the Dublin, Ireland Millennium Folk Festival in 1989. Nowadays, Phil uses his combined talents as a guitar player and vocalist to cross between genres and creatively explore the Celtic and American Roots music catalogs, developing ideas that bring fresh character to the Charmas musical family.

 Mick O’Broain – Creative Collaborator, bass, lead vocals

Mick started playing bass at 17, mainly due to uncooperative girlfriends.  He quickly worked his way up to managing a 10-piece band, and producing multiple recordings of his own original music, arranged for full band with three- and sometimes four-piece horn sections.  Although he is a bassist at heart, he has also performed and recorded on guitar and piano, and has many lead and backing vocal credits.  Fortunate enough to attend Alisdair Fraser’s “Fiddle Camp” for a few years as an “accompanist” on bass and guitar, Michael learned the subtle intricacies of Celtic rhythms.  Seven days in the woods with over a hundred fiddle players will definitely change a person.  These adventures also included regular study under preeminent Celtic guitarist Tony McManus.  A tragic addiction to Guinness stout, acquired during a hitch-hiking trip through Ireland, still haunts Michael, but he assures us regular access to “the Black” was not a major factor in his decision to play with Charmas.  More at MKBmusic.com

 Dave Clarke – kit drums and hand drums

Dave speaks the language of prehistoric man. Late-night, high-energy rock, funk, and blues keep this versatile drummer happy as a clam, but it turns out he’s also a natural for playing jigs and polkas! Just beware Dave’s dry sense of humor. You can miss it if you blink, but there is always more coming when you least expect it. Which is why we don’t usually give him a mic. Just the drums, two sticks, and a bottle of hard cider. Requests are welcome. This man can play anything!