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Books & Music

 TO ORDER YOUR COPY, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTON BELOW THE ITEM

NOW IN PRINT as a 288 page paperback book

A Fire on the Sea

a novel by Dan Rubin              (First Person Press, 2013)    ISBN No.  978-0-9936569-0-3

 

A FIRE ON THE SEA is a vivid adventure story set a hundred years in the future on the north Pacific coast.  It weaves realistic settings and believable characters into a story with fantastic elements that include renewal of native traditions, travel by sailing ship and communication with whales.
           
The main characters are three young people who must work together to overcome the power of the Priests who are rapidly taking over their coastal village of Ucluth.            

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Miria, the Whale King’s daughter, Robin, raised in the house of the Whale King, and Jomie, an orphan from the House of the Fishermen, decide they will make a journey to the ruins of the City to return with new knowledge. To do this, they will travel with the Sea People, the ocean-going matriarchal culture that has re-established trade on the coast. 
          

This book was shortlisted in the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award  Competition.  

Tanglecove: 30 New Canadian Fiddle Tunes

by Dave Panting & Dan Rubin                   (First Person Press, 2013)

 

This collection of original airs, marches, schottishes, waltzes, jigs, reels and freilachs has been released as a teaching tool (book and CD are available bundled together) and as an instrumental album.  To order copies of either, email Dan (use the contact page.)

 

The book includes a Preface by Newfoundland fiddler and teacher Christina Smith, a Foreword with notes for teachers and students by registered music teacher Caryl Clark and an Introduction by the Authors.   Each tune is accompanied by background notes and an illustration.   Additional teaching materials will be available online at www.tanglecove.ca.  

A launch event was held in St. John's, Newfoundland at the Rocket on September 19, 2013.  We are now working on national distribution for our book.

Salt on the Wind: The Sailing Life of Allen and Sharie Farrell

ISBN-0-920663-46-X                                (Horsdal & Schubart, 1996)

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This authorized biography of two amazing people tells how they met and began building boats together.   Over fifty years the Farrells built more than forty wooden boats by hand, without power tools, and sailed in the largest of them across the Pacific to Fiji and Hawaii, and down the Pacific Coast to Mexico.

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They homesteaded on the Mainland of British Columbia then settled on one of the isolated Gulf Islands.  In later years they became a wonderful inspiration to those who wanted to escape the restrictions of civilization and live by their own values.   Kind and generous, strong and principled, they were among our most beloved elders.     "A book that inspires and teaches."

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A new, revised updated edition has been released in 2023.  To order a copy ($35 plus postage) email the author at secondstage#hotmail.com.





SOLITUDES 
The Westcoast Music of Dan Rubin

CD 20121 - Blue Island Records (1980/re-released 2012)

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Solitudes was recorded at Goldrush Studios in Vancouver, BC and digitally remastered at Record Time Productions in St. John's, Newfoundland.  It is a richly varied collection of original songs and instrumental pieces.

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The instrumentation for this album includes guitar, violin, mandolin, bouzouki, vibraphone, clarinet, french horns, tuba, saxophone, recorder, flute, alto flute, bass guitar, string bass, piano and percussion.



This album continues to be a favourite because of its subtle combination of mythic story, humour and melodic richness.    "Evocative and inspiring music."

THE ZEST OF FLYING MOUNTAIN

CD 0208226 - Blue Island Records (1977-79/re-released 2008)

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Flying Mountain occupies a special place in the hearts of music fans in Western Canada who attended any one of the hundreds of performances by the group.  Their two albums (Earth and Sky, and Mountain's Dream) contain some of their most magical music from that time.

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This CD includes all the recorded tracks from both albums, digitally remastered to preserve ever nuance of the music.   Dance along with their wonderful fusion of music from all parts of the earth, as audiences did in the 1970s.   For more information about the band, visit their website:  www.flyingmountain.net.



"This is music that celebrates the vitality of the earth."

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