Broke the Floor, by Meg Wobus and Charley Beller

Broke the Floor

by Meg Wobus and Charley Beller

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Includes a pdf of the full liner notes and sheet music for all 13 original fiddle tunes!

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Digipak with compact disc of the album Broke the Floor from Meg and Charley Beller, with art and lettering by C. Ryan Patterson.

Includes unlimited streaming of Broke the Floor via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	June Apple / Keep Rocking 04:05	info	buy track
2.	Star Above the Garter / Bundle and Go / All's Quiet 03:43	info	buy track
3.	Bacon Rind / Two Fires 03:25	info	buy track
4.	Waltz for Charley 03:24	info	buy track
5.	Growling and Grumbling / Air it Out 03:38	info	buy track
6.	Meg's March / Anthill Trail 05:23	info	buy track
7.	Sandy Boys / Heater Don't Stop 03:59	info	buy track
8.	Collier's / Not the Least Bit / Dark in Here 04:12	info	buy track
9.	Kate and Rose's / Hear the Rain / Dinny O'Brien's 03:32	info	buy track
10.	Plaid Waltz 03:05	info	buy track
11.	On the Loose / Speed the Plow 03:26	info	buy track

about

Husband and wife Meg Wobus on fiddle and Charley Beller on guitar play fiddle tunes from the Contra dance, Irish, and Old-Time traditions as well as 13 original tunes written by Meg.

Broke the Floor
Once, when we were playing a contradance with our band Contranella in Lancaster, a very enthusiastic dancer did a giant balance that broke the dance floor. No one was hurt, but we had to rope off that part of the pavilion of the rest of the night. We're mostly proud, and a little chagrined, to be the band that Broke the Floor.

credits

released October 23, 2023

Meg Wobus - fiddle
Charley Beller - guitar

Sound Engineering, Recording and Mixing by Will Russell at Wilburland Studios
Mastered by Dana Billings
Cover art and design by C. Ryan Patterson
Produced by Talya Raitzyk

All tunes are traditional or by Meg Wobus* as noted with an asterisk with the exception of Dinny O’Brien’s, by Irish musician and composer Paddy O’Brien.

Tunes by Meg Wobus: On the Loose, Not the Least Bit, Dark in Here, Two Fires, Waltz for Charley, Air it Out, Meg’s March, Anthill Trail, Heater Don’t Stop, All’s Quiet, Hear the Rain, Plaid Waltz, Keep Rocking

Meg plays a 1905 violin made by Ivy Rimmer Owen in Leeds, England.
Charley plays a 1977 Alvarez DY77 made by Kazuo Yairi in Kani, Japan.
Meg’s tunes are available in the Contranella tunebook.
www.meganbeller.com
www.contranella.com

I felt very restless over the winter and one of the ways I dealt with that feeling was to book cabins and go off for a day of hiking and a night alone, away from the city. I brought my fiddle to a cabin in the Shenandoah Mountains on a whim, thinking I might practice a little bit if I had time.

I woke in the morning to downpouring rain. Hiking plans were canceled, but without much to do I pulled my fiddle out and started to improvise. The very first thing I played was the introduction to Meg’s March, a slow air. Then I wrote the uptempo reel Hear the Rain. Each successive camping trip would include my fiddle and more new tunes. I sketched them on a yellow notepad and tried to recreate them when I got home.

It would be nice to think my fiddle was keeping me company, alone in the woods, but to be honest it was very lonely. I do not enjoy sleeping alone in dark and remote cabins. However, it was something I kept doing. I had no smart phone during this time and the minutes and hours would stretch before me, with only so much hiking I could do. So I would pick up my fiddle.

The idea for the album came once I had a whole stack of fiddle tunes, and I wanted a way to share them with other musicians and folks who appreciate traditional music. I like these tunes a lot, and that kept me on track polishing them up and bringing them into the studio. Plus, I got Charley to learn all my tunes!

Meg:
Thank you to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Thank you to our families, including musical help from Emily and John Wobus. Thank you to Will for your hospitality and expertise and especially your patience and good humor. Thank you Talya for your help and guidance. Thank you Ryan for the art. Thank you to Judith and Rebekah and our neighbors for your patience. Thank you to our Kickstarter backers who made this project possible and inspired us with your encouragement and enthusiasm. Thank you to listeners of the Fiddle Studio Podcast and Meg’s fiddle students in Baltimore and worldwide. Thank you to the callers and dancers we’ve worked with over the years.

Charley:
In addition to Meg’s list I want to echo thanks also to the Beller, Gronachan, Wobus, and Neider families for their support over the years. Many thanks also to our friends and neighbors in Baltimore including the Irish Trad and Old-Time communities and the Baltimore Folk Music Society. Thanks Will for bringing great energy, space, and technical wizardry to the recording. Finally, thank you to Meg, the best partner I could have in music and in life.

Copyright Megan Beller and Charles Beller 2023, all rights reserved.

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about

Megan Wobus Beller Baltimore, Maryland

Playing the fiddle.

Teaching the fiddle.

Composing music for the fiddle.

I also hike, write, and read a lot.

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Megan Wobus Beller recommends:

Rawr!
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A great introduction to the fabulous music of Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand, two incredibly talented and creative musicians in the world of trad music, folk, and bluegrass. Megan Wobus Beller
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Not a single track that doesn't hit. Rayna's fiddling is so smooth and rhythmic, this album is a verified classic in our house. Megan Wobus Beller
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I love Becky's fiddling, she has an incredible groove and grasp of the listener/dancer's experience. And so fun! Megan Wobus Beller
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