Gordon McLeod
Gordon has been playing music since childhood and performing professionally on fiddle and guitar for over 30 years. For the past 12 years he has been concentrating on Irish fiddle, attending workshops in Ireland and America with many well known Irish fiddle masters including Kevin Burke, Martin Hayes, Matt Cranitch, Tommy Peoples, and James Kelly. Gordon founded and performs regularly with the band Beyond The Pale and also with The Aisling String Trio and in a duo with his wife, Christy. He is a regular participant in Irish music sessions in the DFW area and also performs with the Trinity Hall Session Players. In addition to the fiddle, he plays a number of other instruments, including guitar, mandolin, piano and bass and is a vocalist as well. He also enjoys composing music, writing songs and producing recordings.
Steve Vanlandingham
Steve grew up in Oklahoma and began playing the guitar in college, learning the blues and ragtime styles of Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotton and other early folk musicians. He took up the 5-string banjo, inspired by the music of the Appalachian Mountains, and learned the claw-hammer styles of Uncle Dave Macon, Grandpa Jones and others. One thing led to another and before long Steve had traced the roots of American Traditional music to Ireland and deeply immersed himself in Celtic music on a variety of string instruments. Along the way he studied archeology and received a BA from the University of Oklahoma in 1978. When not on an archeological survey, Steve plays guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, 4 and 5-stringed banjos, and various percussion instruments. He even occasionally sings... Steve founded Oklahoma's premier Celtic band, "Banish Misfortune," in 1980. Popular with adults and children, they toured and performed in conjunction with the State Arts Council. He currently performs with Arabesque a duo that blends Celtic, Arabic, Judeo-Spanish, Turkish, and other world folk traditions. www.ourarabesque.com