"The kitchen has always been the gathering place in Maritime homes. If you've ever been to a kitchen party in another part of the world, chances are a Maritimer brought it there," says Paul McGraw, co-founder of the Miramichi Kitchen Party.
"Gathering in the kitchen, playing music and telling stories was just what our family did when I was a boy." McGraw's singing debut was on the stage of Saint Patrick's School in Saint John at the tender age of six years old. In university he became a self-taught guitar player, and then added drama to his performance skills. He met Connie Doucet, co-founder of the Miramichi Kitchen Party in 1981. "We've been performing, writing and singing together ever since."
Salt Water Sounds, McGraw's retail store, which specializes in East Coast recorded music, was in its planning stages when co-founder Doucet piped up, saying, "Too bad you don’t have a kitchen in the store; we'd have a place for our kitchen parties." The rest, as we say, is history.
"We married the concept of Salt Water Sounds fish-shed décor with the rustic country-kitchen look of the Miramichi Kitchen Party, bringing them both under one roof. The house supporting that roof was built in 1882 for Joseph Cunard, a well-known shipbuilder of the era."
With skillets hanging near the wood stove where the kettle's always on, the Miramichi Kitchen Party is guaranteed to be a knee-slapping, toe-tapping, hand-clapping good time.
Home, My Father's Songs and Dancing in the Moonlight are three album releases available and they are currently working on three more. "Don Rigley, our fiddle player, is an eclectic kind of guy. He once brought in an African Thumb piano to play. We will play any song with any instrument; Irish, Scottish, Acadian, traditional Miramichi folk music and original compositions. We usually play traditional instruments such as the bodhran, penny whistle, guitar, mandolin and fiddle."
McGraw believes in making the Miramichi Kitchen Party a memorable, cultural experience. "Our hour-and-a half-long acoustic show is often a get-to-know-your-neighbour night. If you didn’t know the person next to you when you came in, you'll know them when you leave. We hear our guests say, 'It's just like I was in my own kitchen,' for the atmosphere we are trying to create, you can't get better than that."
The Ballad of Peter Emberley is a favorite New Brunswick lumbering song. "I tell the true story of a selfless young man who was killed in a logging accident while working in Boisetown. Poet John Calhoun, who had befriended the lad, put Emberly's story to words. A local singer, Abraham Munn, set the poem to a traditional Irish tune." The Miramichi Kitchen Party brings music and folklore to life.
"Our country kitchen is where you'll hear a good story, enjoy some good down-home music and there's always a nice hot cup of tea."
Miramichi Kitchen Party Host
506 773-8010
kitchenparty@saltwatersounds.com
www.miramichikitchenparty.com