Cady Finlayson & VIta Tanga: Their Story

"People ask us all the time, how did a French guitarist and a Brooklyn-based fiddler end up playing Irish music together? It all started in the most unlikely of Celtic rendezvous - on the First National Tour of Almost Heaven (a show about John Denver). I'd played Irish music for years and Vita is well-steeped in the world music and electronica genres.  We were both hired to do this tour, and that's where we met, travelling across the country in a van with five actors. Vita and I entertained ourselves during soundchecks playing everything from French Christmas songs to the Theme from the Muppet Movie.  At some point, though, I just had to play Irish music - I missed it too much.  Vita was happy to go along with this so every day during the singers' soundcheck we'd run backstage and try tunes. We  played everywhere and we did video clips, from fountains in Cerritos California to the Grand Canyon.   We also spent long days riding in the van, and it was easy to share ipods and get ideas.  

So that's how it started.  It was a musical chemistry from the beginning and we have great fun exploring all the possibilities. Vita brings all sorts of influences to the mix and I sometimes think he is "the global twist". -Cady Finlayson