Tingstad and Rumbel

A few years ago when I was in Junior High at Whatcom Middle School in Bellingham, WA, it was required that you took the music class. We had this class twice a week with a Mr. Bartruff as I recall. Imagine that, in these times of “music is not necessary in public education.” Not band or choir, but a class where we studied and learned about music and its history.  

      
We listened to a lot of music. And not only that, we were allowed to bring in our own music to listen to. Well, I brought some in to…

    Basically there are two types of people; those that hate the Ocarina and those that love the Ocarina. Fortunately for me and my career I fall in the latter group. In the hands of Nancy Rumbel this potentially irritating little device can imitate a wide variety of styles and cultural genres.
    My personal favorites are the lower tones that create images of the Irish landscape and it’s moods. And not that stuff the Irish refer to as fiddle dee dee music. Which is what they call the New Worlds…

Watch as we have an animated discussion about a new musical direction - ocarina vs. steel guitar ...

Watch the video here!

In 2000 Tingstad and Rumbel played Carnegie Hall with our good friend Robin Spielberg. At the time Robin lived in Upper Montclair, NJ and so we took lodging at an old, run-down hotel down the block from her house Being the pre-Madonna that I am, I switched rooms a few times looking for the just right one and having finally secured the best, I decided to take a shower and chill out a bit We had just flown in from Seattle and I was really enjoying the warm water as it helped me regain my composure,…

I bet if Eric and I had a dime for every time we have been asked this we would have great retirement funds! I describe our music as melodic instrumental and I would even go so far as to say that it is Pop Instrumental. I'm starting the movement right now. The various real and virtual stores used to put it in New Age, this year our music was found in the category of Contemporary Folk for the GRAMMY voting I think one of the things that is interesting about our music is that our compositions defy…

My name is Eric and I was born in South Park Well, my actual location of birth was what is now the McLendons hardware store in Renton, WA. But my folks took me home to their humble abode in what soon become the ghetto of Seattle.I was told that my uncle was Mac Davis and that I inspired his song “In the ghetto.” But now I know that I was not true and that the name of the song was actually “A Vicious Cycle.” But none the less, it was a big day around the house as my parents were already…

Happy Valentine's Day! I have to say as I get older Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day are my two favorite holidays! Dark chocolate, my vice and candy of choice, just seems to get better and better each year. I'm positive that it improves my music and outlook on life! But more to the point I'm grateful for the wonderful family, friends and fans that I've been blessed with! What a lucky person I am to be able to play such unusual instruments and share the music. So huge thanks to you all…

My main acoustic guitar is a 1961 Martin New Yorker 00-21NY. I tell people that it was my great grampa’s and that he gave it to my grampa who gave it to my dad and then my dad sold it to me. That’s not true. I bought it in 1987 from Steve Einhorn at Artichoke Music in Portland, Oregon. It was in mint condition at that time. It has Brazilian rosewood back and sides ... still The guitar got its name because of and in homage to the folk revival in the late ‘50’s and early 60’s that centered around clubs in…

I'm down at Grammy Week having a great time hearing wonderful  musicians!  It's nice to get to listen to live music and sit in the  audience for a change. The week included a Tuesday evening Salute to Jazz (Kenny Burrell),  Wednesday evening Salute to Classical (tribute to Placido Domingo)  and tonight was a special honoring of music in television as part of the Grammy  Foundation preservation and archiving focus. I'm really excited that  a friend introduced me to a man who works at the Library of…

A Word From Nancy

Yes Nancy is Blogging - Miracles Never Cease!

Welcome One and All and Happy New Year--- This blog will be a great way for me to be more personal with you and let you know what I've been up to as an artist I had a really wonderful Holiday touring season. We played our first of many 25th Anniversary shows in Langley WA where we actually have played a show each of these 25 years! Amazing! Our duo is now often a trio with the addition of our dear friend and great bass player Garey…