Band Member Bios
Name: Macfarlane "The Cannone"
Role: Violin
Fast Fact: Recently, she purchased Paganini's soul from a thrift store in Hell, Norway. Devil only knows how it got there.
Bio: Argyll is more than a textile motif worn by legions of nouveau-modernistas -- it is also a place, you see. It was here, in Arrochar, on the isthmus between Lochs Long and Lomond, that the generations-long conflict between the Macfarlanes and Colquhouns was finally laid to rest. Like the Montagues and Capulets of old, a forbidden love grew between the two clans. Unlike the Bard's tale, however, tragedy did not await the star-crossed. Robert Colquhoun was a cobbler. Sharron Macfarlane, his soon-to-be-betrothed, was a seamstress.
But this is not a story about Robert and Sharron -- it is a story about their daughter. Young love being what it is, it wasn't long until "Mary" M.C. MacHoun was born. Her parents told her M.C. stood for Mary-Claire. The townsfolk knew better.
*Here's an interesting side-note: In the Highlands, when two families are united in holy matrimony, even beheadings can be forgiven; to breach a surname though, is unthinkable. Thus we have the compromise: Macfarlane Colquhoun MacHoun (the last name being a combination of the two member families).*
Both sides of the lineage were satisfied; but the result left poor "Mary" with an un-ladylike name. After all, who would ask such a lass to strathspey? Well, the years wore on, and gradually, young Macfarlane began to take a certain pride in her name. Her father (who had abandoned shoemaking for masonry) related Colquhoun family history as they journeyed together across Argyll and Dumbartonshire fixing crumbling paddock walls. Her mother (who now ran a bed and breakfast from their home) told countless tales of heroic Macfarlanes as the two tended to the daily chores.
On "Mary's" eighth birthday, her great uncle Hugh Proudfoot bequeathed her a noble gift -- a Grand Amati violin. It seems it had come into the family in 1798 as some sort of gambling windfall. Needless to say, she was playing jigs and reels in no time. All of the country-lads who balked at her unconventional name soon felt her wrath: she was controlling the dance now. Faster and faster they'd reel -- trying to keep up, but in vain. Owing to her explosive style, locals took to calling her "The Cannon." With each volley, this fiery fiddler's fame quickly spread. People came from as far away as Shetland just to hear her play. Arrochar became the new epicenter of a Scottish fiddle revival. None, however, could match the skill of "The Cannon."
And so, when vee device played a series of sold-out shows at McCaig's Folly in early 2006, they heard whispers of a great local talent. Always looking to make foreign friends, they threw their instruments in the boot of a lorry and drove down to the Arrochar Alps. There they met "The Cannone" (who'd added the 'e' after a recent trip to France). Explaining themselves and their mission she gladly lent her bow. "As your Mr. Jefferson said, 'Every generation needs a new revolution.'"
Very true Ms. Cannone, very true.
Long Live The vee Revolution.