File Name: hallidayjimmy-oh-houseparties_M.mp3
Speakers:
JH-Jimmy Halliday
KP- Ken Perlman (curator)
JM-Jimmy Martin (accompanist)
KP When you used to play for the old house parties- how did you find out that they wanted you to play at a house party?
JH They'd ask you.
KP Did they just come to your door?
JH Yeah. Can you come tonight and play?
KP Was there ever a time you didn't feel like it?
JH Oh yes, many times, yeah.
KP What would happen then?
JH If they were depending on you, you'd have to go.
KP Well, why was that?
JH Well, you wouldn't want to let them down, sort of thing.
KP When you came to the house where they were having a house party, what would you do? What would be the first thing...?
JH You'd probably sit around for awhile and talk. They wouldn't go and dance all night, perhaps they'd just socialize for a little while and then the dance would just start and after awhile they'd break off and have lunch and they'd dance some more.
KP Would you start to play first? Would you go off to a corner?
JH Yes. Just in a corner usually and there were all different kinds of organs and pianos to play with, you know. The old parlor organs -- not very good either -- some of them would only have one pedal. You'd have to get the foot going pretty fast.
296 EM The keys would be squealing.
JH A lot of them be a high pitch, you know hard to tune. But anyway, we got by. There was more sociability then than I believe than there is now.
KPP Why do you suppose that is?
JH Well, uh--
EM There were no televisions, then, no radios -- just go to the houses and have a good time, you know.
JH It is now with cars and all you know, people go in all directions. It would be hard to get the community together.
EM No telephones or nothing, you know. We had to go and walk to the house and invite somebody
JH We used to walk to Iona to play some, didn't we?
EM Four or five miles.
JH In the wintertime too
EM Probably fifty cents a night.
KPP We heard that sometimes in the winter you'd have to go by sled?
JH Oh yes. We used to go by sled.
EM No cars in the winter, them times.
JH The roads weren't plowed then. We used to go across the ice. It was froze up the bay up there in the wintertime and go across there to play over there.
KP Was there a town there?
JH Just a country place. Earnscliff.
KP Earnscliff. It's on the other side of the bay? So ordinarily you'd be about twenty miles away.
JH About that. 18 or 20.
KP So you'd set up in a corner and start to play. And then what would happen?
JH Well, they'd dance, you know. It was square dancing -- old time dancing.
KP Do you know what kind of square dancing it was?
JH Well, each district had pretty much its own -- you know.
EM Eight hand reels
JH Yeah, eight-hand reels -- way back, there was -- was it the eight-hand reel where the man would step-dance?
EM Right, and the women.
JH Yeah, they'd all step dance between the figures we'd call them. Four couples, they'd all step-dance in between the figures. It was something to see, I'm telling you. Every clown couldn't get up on the floor then, you know. He had to be able to step dance.
