Talisman

A Brief History

For two decades, Talisman delighted audiences at festivals, fairs, concert halls, pubs, weddings, farmers markets, dances, rallies, and fundraisers. The band's hammered dulcimer, fiddle, flutes & whistles, guitar, and voices — delivering a percolating blend of Celtic, New England, Appalachian, and original tunes and songs — stir the feet and give the brain's pleasure receptors a friendly nudge.

Known for its “imaginative arrangements” (Victory Review), the band has drawn on 300 years of dance music and songs from the Celtic and American folk traditions, often creatively weaving old tunes into modern songs. Talisman could soothe, but they more often turned listeners into dancers with expertly tackled jigs, polkas, and reels.

Talisman has two recordings available — Phoenix (1996) and Just Up the Hill (2004) — which may be purchased from our web store. Each features the band's inspired arrangements and accomplished, good-humored playing in over an hour of engaging tunes and songs.

Read what people have said about Talisman:

“Like all good bands, the whole is better than the sum of the parts, and the combination of dulcimer, fiddle, and whistles/flutes trading leads driven by excellent guitar playing makes [Just Up the Hill] a winner.”
-- Dulcimer Players News

“I love music that transports you to another place. Talisman's music does that for me.”
-- Don Griswold, Old Liberty Theater, Ridgefield, WA

2008 - 2013

Carl Thor and Sara Martin form the common thread that runs all the way to the beginning of the Talisman band, back in 1994. Pictured at left is the most recent version of Talisman, featuring Lori Prime on fiddle and Rich Goss on guitar, along with Carl (hammered dulcimer) and Sara (flute & whistle). Vocals were also always an important part of the Talisman sound.

The new configuration started off strong in 2008 with gigs at farmer's markets, the Vancouver Peace & Justice Fair, and other events. With Sara working full time in Olympia, Lori on a variable work schedule, and the contra dance bands becoming more active, it became harder to schedule times for the whole band to rehearse or play gigs. Talisman still played at regional farmers markets and at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle, but more and more gigs were covered by a trio or duo, sometimes with guest musicians, and the performance schedule gradually tapered off over the next few years.

The last performance (to date) by Talisman was at the 10th annual Vancouver Peace & Justice Fair in 2013. Seth Moran sat in on fiddle because Lori wasn't available. As part of Talisman's set, a flash mob contra dance was staged to promote the Contra in the Couve! dance series. Noah Grunzweig stepped up to the microphone and began calling as a group of dancers materialized out of the crowd to form a contra dance line in front of the stage. It was a satisfying end to active performing by Talisman. Our friend Rob Hoffman was there and produced a very nice video of the proceedings (left).

Will Talisman rise again? It certainly has formed the foundation for all that you hear and see here at Talisman Music, and there could yet be another incarnation of the band. In the meantime, we offer several other flavors of music for you to enjoy, so please explore the rest of our site, or read on to learn more about the earlier days of the Talisman band.

2007

The shortest period in Talisman's history was the transitional year between the time Rich Goss took on guitar duties after Jeff Kerssen-Griep left the band, and the time Ian Clemons went off with his fiddle to form his own band, Mistral. The photo at right shows the band at a St. Patrick's Day show at the Mary's Woods retirement center. It was still a busy year, with performances at the Old Liberty Theater in Ridgefield, WA, the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle, Sharon Moore's hayloft concert series in Salem, OR, outdoor concerts in Lake Oswego, OR, Beaverton, OR, and Corvallis, OR, plus two or three weddings.

2005-2006

After parting ways with Laura Bissonette, the band recruited Ian Clemons to take over the fiddle chair. Ian brought a refreshing dose of energy to Talisman along with a desire to sing and his interest in music from Brittany and other Celtic subcultures on the European mainland. Talisman maintained a steady performance schedule that included the Stormy Weather Arts Festival in Cannon Beach, OR, the Vancouver Uptown Village Street Festival, the Vancouver Sausage Festival, farmers markets in Vancouver, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Lake Oswego, St. Patrick's Day at the Old Liberty Theater in Ridgefield, along with private events and, of course, the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle.

1998-2005

After Carl and Sara moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1998, they launched a search for musical partners and a new era began for Talisman, resulting in a fertile period of performing with Jeff Kerssen-Griep on guitar and Laura Bissonette, aka "Miz Biz," on fiddle. Living not far apart made it easy to get together for rehearsals, and the band built a solid repertoire of music ranging from ancient Celtic songs to modern compositions. Not only did the band play at farmers markets, festivals, and concert stages throughout the region, there were also the legendary St. Patrick's Day performances at R. P. McMurphy's Pub in Vancouver, appearances with the Touch of Class Chorale, the Northwest Folklife Festival, and many private events. Talisman released their second CD, Just Up the Hill, in 2004. The title came from their frequent announcements at the Vancouver Farmers Market to say: “Hi, we're Talisman. We live just up the hill" (from downtown Vancouver).

1995-1998

Talisman's second life began after Pamela Bruner and Janet Fouche left to form their own band, Ad Astra, in 1995. Carl and Sara met guitarist and singer Russ Kapp and invited him to join with them to form a trio. Russ brought a wide range of stylistic experience to the mix, and Talisman blossomed with roots firmly in the Celtic soil but with new hints of contemporary and jazz influences. The trio performed regularly in the Kansas City - Lawrence - Topeka corridor at cafes, festivals, and private events. They went into the studio to produce Talisman's first CD, Phoenix, in 1996. They also contributed to Allen Macfarlane's CD project entitled The Passage to the New World. But this version of Talisman was not to last, either. As Carl and Sara prepared to move to the Portland area, the trio played a farewell show at Borders Books in Lawrence in the late spring of 1998.

Talisman achieved a different kind of notoriety with the publication of Amy Blackmarr's book of essays, House of Steps, in 1999. Amy was a good friend and a fan of Talisman's music. In the book, she included her impressions during a Talisman performance at the Full Moon Cafe in Lawrence, which was a regular venue for Talisman.

“The band is called Talisman, and Sara and Carl and their friend Russ are the musicians. I'm sitting in the Full Moon Cafe in downtown Lawrence wrapped up in the scent of Greek food. I'm listening to Scottish ballads, Swedish love songs, Finnish waltzes, and I'm dipping hot pita bread into hummus. I'm drinking a mellow French red wine. Patchouli incense from the store up front selling Eastern rugs, saris, and Sherpa bells wafts through the room, blending with the music and grilled meat that is savory, strong, a little pungent.

“Outside, an evening rain drums on awnings and trails down car windows. Inside the cafe, the lights fall soft on the wood and native gray stone, the plaster walls and light-colored tile floors. Where the guests sit, down a step from the band, the ceilings are low...

“Uncle Walter goes waltzing with bears, sings Sara. Her clear soprano resonates above the men's deep harmonies, the precise notes of Carl's hammered dulcimer, the simple tenor of Russ's classical guitar. Over the break, we share wine. Supper is pasta, feta cheese, sliced tomatoes, Greek salad.

“Sara plays the woodwinds and flutes, a recorder, and a drum, a round bowl she sets up on one knee and brushes with a wooden paddle during the Irish marches. The drum sounds out a low, soft ‘thrum’... not like beating, but more sustained.”

-- from House of Steps by Amy Blackmarr, Viking, 1999.

1994-1995

Talisman first grew out of friendships forged in 1993 during a season of rehearsals and performing with the Lawrence (KS) Arts Chorale, directed by Carine Gutlerner. Carine was an excellent and innovative teacher, and everyone in the group learned much about singing, other languages, listening to each other, and preparing for performance. Carl had been playing the hammered dulcimer for a couple of years by then, and was encouraged by harpist Pamela Keller (now Bruner) to perform a couple of Celtic tunes with her during the Chorale's concert in November of 1993. One thing led to another, and Pamela, Janet Fouche, Sara, and Carl decided to start a band together. At the Chorale's April concert, the four performed together for a segment of the program, showing off some of their new band's repertoire. A lot happened in a short time, with Talisman producing two cassettes in the summer of 1994, and playing at a variety of local venues, including the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, the Kansas City Scottish Highland Games, house concerts, special events, and a live radio appearance on KANU FM. The early recordings, Eclectic Celtic and Dragon Dreams, are long out of print, but marked the beginning of an era for Carl and Sara and their ongoing music project, Talisman.

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