with Roxanne Oliva
Tune junkies Rebecca Richman, Roxanne Oliva and Michael Harmon played together for years at Irish sessions throughout the bay area before they formed MENTAL NOTES, maniacally learning hundreds of jigs & reels and collecting an enormous stash of Celtic dance music. MENTAL NOTES draws from folk traditions where the accordion and fiddle play tightly-knit unison melodies against a lush & percussive DADGAD-tuned guitar.
MENTAL NOTES plays for contra-dances, cèilidhs, folk festivals, and regularly delights unsuspecting pub crowds with effervescent tunes.
Playing fiddle since her early childhood, Rebecca Richman has embraced the Irish fiddle as her own. She recently added English Concertina to the mix. She also shreds Old Time and French tunes with ease.
Accordionist, recording artist and Celtic music teacher, Roxanne Oliva has appeared on over 30 albums, a host of musical styles, with various luminaries including Paddy Keenan and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Tom Waits.
Michael Harmon, rich with performing and sound-engineering experience, can currently be seen playing for square and contra dances, driving the beat of Irish sessions, and delighting friends with a heartwarming song around a campfire.