Music

Caridwen Irvine Spatz has played fiddle since the age of 13 when her mother told her not to. The reverse psychology worked like a charm and she's been fiddling and singing ever since. Currently based in Spokane WA, Caridwen is the only Canadian in the band (born in a farmhouse just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba) and has lived and played music in almost every province and territory of Canada. She studied violin and opera at the Freiburg Hochschule fur Musikk, and she's fluent in many fiddle styles, especially Celtic and Klezmer. Singing in French, English, German, Italian, Russian, and Yiddish, Caridwen is often the only one in the band with any idea what the lyrical content is, though she insists most songs are about small mammals or birds. A mother of two boys, she makes the best squirrel ginger snaps and bread of anyone in Mighty Squirrel—though so far she hasn't reminded anybody in the band to brush their teeth or get in their pj's.

Caridwen plays a Roman Teller fiddle with a Morgan Andersen bow. When not playing music, Caridwen repairs violins and bows at Violinworks in Spokane, coaches a community orchestra, keeps the kids fed and turning in their homework on time, and dabbles in experimental architecture projects to keep Greg flummoxed.

Greg Spatz is a popular west coast fiddle player, currently based in Spokane WA (though he was once, years ago, almost the Maine State fiddle champion). He's best known for his work with the Juno nominated bluegrass band John Reischman and the Jaybirds (www.jaybirds.com), and has performed and/or recorded with Rob Ickes, High Country, The Good Old Persons, Frank Wakefield, Tony Furtado, Kathy Kallick, and many others. You can hear him on all of the Jaybird's rcordings: The Road West, Field Guide, and The Jaybirds.

A closet mandolin player for as long as anyone can remember, Greg recently discovered the joys of playing in the lower frequencies, and has consquently become a devoted octave mandolin convert. Not only does Mighty Squirrel indulge him in this budding obsession, he's thrilled for the opportunity it gives him to stretch his musical horizons waa-a-ay beyond bluegrass. Greg plays a guitar-body octave mandolin built by Fletcher Brock in 2006. His fiddle is a 1954 Ottomar Hausmann, and his bow was made by Morgan Andersen.

Greg's literary doppelganger "Gregory Spatz" is a well published author with two novels, a book of short stories, and numerous individual fiction and nonfiction pieces to his credit. Greg now teaches in the MFA program at the Inland Northwest Center for Writers, Eastern Washington University. His latest novel is Fiddler's Dream, which you learn about by visiting www.gregoryspatz.com or listening to a recent review from NPR's All Things Considered.

David Keenan is no stranger to music. Performing since the age of 12 and teaching since he was 17, David has turned a love of music into a full-time career that has seen him share the stage with the likes of Bill Monroe, Bela Fleck, and even Garrison Keilor. David’s proficiency on several instruments landed him a job with Sugar Hill recording artists Ranch Romance, with which he recorded 3 albums and toured for 5 years, playing over 100 shows a year throughout the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

David is currently a member of several bands in his native city of Seattle. He's a fine composer, having licensed many songs to background music giant Muzak. David is also a record producer and session player, and has taught at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, the British Columbia Bluegrass Workshop, the California Coast Music Camp, and The American Banjo Camp.

In Mighty Squirrel, David sings lead and harmony, flatpicks (and occasionally plays percussion on) his National guitar, and also plays mandolin, three-finger banjo, and fiddle. For this recording project David played a 1936 National style O Reso-Phonic guitar, 1933 Martin C-1 archtop, 1860's Charles Mezin violin with a $35 viola bow, a 2000 Bertoncini mandolin, and Ivan's clawbanger banjo in G minor tuning. Dave is also Mighty Squirrel's fashion coordinator, keeping the band well-stocked in vintage plaid...

Ivan Rosenberg has released 4 CDs of mostly-original music and an instructional DVD. Now living in Bellingham, Washington, Ivan has performed and/or recorded with Billy Cardine, Julie Elkins & David Thompson, Mike Grigoni, Chad Manning, Jake Schepps, Ben Winship, Iron Lasso, Chris Stuart & Backcountry, The Mountain Poodles, Hit & Run, and other bluegrass and Americana acts. In addition to Mighty Squirrel, Ivan plays with The Breakmen, and he recently did a duet tour with Chris Jones with plans for more in the future.

Ivan’s original music for dobro and clawhammer banjo has appeared in several film and television scores including Jerry Bruckheimer/Warner Brothers Films' Kangaroo Jack (2003), HBO's Making Deadwood: The Show Behind the Show (2004), Comedy Central's The Daily Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and High Plains Films' acclaimed documentary Libby, Montana (2004). He has led dobro seminars at the Sore Fingers Week in the United Kingdom, the British Columbia Bluegrass Workshop, and the California Bluegrass Association music camp among others.

Squirrel-wise, Ivan plays various resonator guitars and J. Romero banjos, and he also sings lead and harmonies. Before getting into music full time, Ivan got a couple of English degrees, taught at Sonoma State University, and did various writing and marketing jobs.