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The Story of Glasnots
When playing the glasses at festivals and gatherings, I am often asked the question "how did you get started doing this?" Because an accurate answer would prove difficult and take too much time, I usually reply, "I have a liberal arts degree with no marketable skills!" If a person presses me for a serious answer then I tell them the following
true story.
It all started with my big
Bro'. I learned how set up, tune, and play the glasses by watching my brother
Terry Hinely do it for over 10 years. Terry had an easier time explaining how he
got started playing glasses. He said he got the idea in New York City while
sharing dinner with friends one Thanksgiving in the early 1980s. He would often
colorfully describe how, during that dinner, someone demonstrated that a
flute-like sound could be produced by rubbing the rim of a
wine glass. Soon
everyone at the table was trying it. I suppose that what happened next could be
the product of my brother's playful imagination or talent for occasional
exaggeration, but it matters not; he told it so well that it is the gospel truth
for me. It seems that those at the table who were able to coax a sound from
their glasses did so simultaneously and produced together a perfectly tuned
chord. There was just the right amount of wine in each glass to make the
resulting combination of notes a rich metaphor for the warmth of the gathering
itself; harmony in its most basic sense resounded among friends. And, of course,
the proverbial light bulb switched on inside my brother's head.
Once back in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas where he resided, Terry began
collecting wine glasses and brandy snifters purchased at Thrift Town, Goodwill,
and other second hand stores. He then applied his knowledge of music toward the
goal of creating a new instrument, acting on his Thanksgiving dinner
inspiration. Bro' had already developed a very strong musical ear. Bob Dylan and
Neil Young records had taught him how to play the guitar and he had toured
Europe with the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra as a first chair French horn player.
He used that ear to tune his thrift store finds with water and gradually devised
a system of placement that allowed him to make music with them. It was only
after he began playing his instrument that he discovered that the musical
glasses, or glass harmonica, had been around for a long time. That is what makes
his accomplishment so unique; he achieved his goal independently, without
knowledge of an instrument that had previously inspired artists such as
Beethoven and Mozart.
In the mid 1980s, Terry began playing his glasses with fellow musicians. He
helped form an eclectic, original band called Right Brain Patrol and later
joined Westron Wynde, a group of fine players and good friends that mostly
played Irish music at Scarborough Faire, a Renaissance Festival just outside of
Dallas. He also landed a spot for his glasses in David Byrne's 1986 movie "True
Stories." The Talking Heads' front man penned the song "Glass Operator" and flew
Terry out to San Francisco to record it. The song is used for a scene in the
movie and is the last cut on the soundtrack album. In the summertime during
those years, I would accompany Terry on guitar and we would frequently play
music into the wee hours of the morning out in the little garage apartment in
his back yard. We discovered and nurtured a lasting connection through the music
that we played together, but at the heart of it we were always having fun. Music
was just the medium for two brothers who sincerely enjoyed each other's company.
By the late '80s, we were looking for an outlet not only for our favorite traditional Irish music, but also for our growing original repertoire. Glasnots (pronounced with a long "O") was officially born in February of 1989, when--along with founding Westron Wynde member David Gentry--we recorded our first cassette at Inside Track Studios in Denton, Texas. Taking our propensity for bad puns to an extreme, Glasnots was a play on the Russian word "glasnost", a word meaning "openness" which was being used by the media at the time as the catchword for Gorbachev's historic reforms of the Soviet Union. Not everyone got the connection, but the name stuck nevertheless. Perhaps a more graphic display of our sense of humor can be found in the title of the first cassette: Passing Glass. Giving a few animated squirts for emphasis, Terry would often inform our audience of the fact that the blue, bulbous suction device he used to tune his glasses--by varying their water levels--was a rectal syringe! Passing Glass set the formula for all subsequent Glasnots recordings. Seven of the twelve songs were original compositions; the other five were traditional Irish, most often ballads. All of the tracks were cut live in the studio with no overdubs.
The cassette was a hit at the Renaissance festivals and other shows. It was
followed by another successful cassette in 1990, Paris Troika. Soon after the
release of the third cassette, Stumpknocker, in early 1991, David moved on to
Europe to further his entrepreneurial computer ventures. At the same time, I
took the opportunity to tour the world for a year. Terry kept Glasnots going
during this time by employing the talents of former Westron Wynde members Brian
Tarrant, Lana Henry, and Steve Gauldin. Then, in 1992, Glasnots released its
first CD, Donne Did. It featured a 74 minute collection of our favorite tunes
from the first three cassettes. The CD was followed by an all instrumental
cassette entitled Please Don't Walk on the Glass(1992) and Fisherman's Harvest
(1993).
Terry and I continued to play the major Renaissance festivals in Texas and
Oklahoma and special engagements throughout the region. Fueled by the success of
Donne Did, we also continued to record, releasing a new CD every year. Each
successive CD--Brave Spirits (1993), Quiet Thunder (1994), Mayfly Matinee
(1995), and Beggar's Dance (1996)--relied more and more on original music. This
format allowed us room to grow as a songwriters and even tap the talents of new
found artists and friends in Nashville like singer/songwriters Joe Scutella and
Rod Picott. Cut and mixed in one long night in September of 1996, Beggar's Dance
proved to be the high point in Glasnots' recording career. It was a melancholy
mixture of original tunes and re-workings of old poems and ballads. The last
track utilized the rare overdub to great effect as we inserted recordings of
some old family voices in an instrumental called "The Old House."
Terry and I wrapped up our very successful 1996 season with memorable
performances at the Dickens on the Strand Festival in Galveston, Texas and then
took our usual winter break. One early morning in March of 1997 I received word
that Terry had been in an automobile accident and would not recover. What
follows is a selection of the notes from the memorial CD called Re-Elect the
Moon which was produced shortly after his death:
On Thursday, March 6, 1997, Glasnots co-founder Terry Hinely was passing
through a green light in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas when an uninsured
driver without a license ran a red light and struck his vehicle. Terry never
regained consciousness and died two days later at Parkland Hospital. This would
have been Terry's 10th year of spreading joy at Renaissance festivals throughout
Texas and Oklahoma. Many knew him as the cheerful glass harmonica player who,
along with his brother Donal on guitar and vocals, performed as Glasnots. Over
the years, thousands have watched in amazement and wonder as Terry's fingers
evoked magical and haunting music from an odd, makeshift assortment of brandy
snifters and wine glasses which he had carefully selected from local thrift
stores. But music was only one facet of an influential life. Terry was also a
gifted teacher of German and English. He taught in the Irving School District
for almost 20 years. Many current and former students have called and written
expressing sorrow and also their gratitude for having known him as a teacher and
a friend. He was a loving husband, companion, and friend to Heather Williams and
an irreplaceable father to his daughter Kelsi. Anyone who observed them knew
that he and Kelsi shared a relationship that few fathers and daughters ever
reach....
My notes from the same CD still reflect, as well as any words can, my feelings
about Bro':
...my brother has always been my standard. All my life I've sought his
approval and he always responded with encouragement that was unconditional. His
insight was essential to my growth as a human being. He was my mentor, my
partner, my idol and my best friend. On behalf of Heather, Kelsi and the Hinely
family, I would like to voice our deepest gratitude for the incredible
outpouring of love and concern we have received since Terry's death. No words
can adequately convey our appreciation to the countless among you who have both
expressed your sorrow and lent your support. For Terry and myself, I would also
like to thank all of the participants and patrons at the Renaissance festivals
who listened to us rain or shine, year after year. Your backing made our
endeavors possible and it greatly extended the time I was able to spend with my
brother. The magic of those shared late afternoons will forever remain my most
treasured memory. I am eternally grateful.
It has been well over three years since we lost Terry, but the letters, phone
calls, and e-mails still come in requesting Glasnots' CDs. It seems that the
music still strikes a common chord among those who hear it, just like at a
certain Thanksgiving dinner almost 20 years ago. It is rewarding to know that
people still want to listen. There is no doubt that I, too, miss the music; but
as I said before, music was just the wonderful excuse for two brothers who liked
to hang out together. It is his company that I miss the most.
--Donal Hinely
Contact:
3064 Old New Cut Road
Springfield, TN. 37172
(615)384-9872
©2005 donal hinely