Amy Ksir Tin whistles, flute, oboe, vocals.

At the age of 13, I ran off with a wild gang of international folk dancers. They taught me to pronounce "Sitno Severnjasko Horo" and to count in 11/8. From then on my downslide into folk music was rapid. I stole my mom's pennywhistle and started listening to old Dubliners albums. My first band was a short-lived Steeleye Span/Fairport Convention cover band, whose only gig was shut down by the police before we started playing. By college I was singing harmony on Dylan songs in the campus coffeehouse, and joined a Cajun/Appalachian/Irish/bluegrass band called "Biff and the Backwater Boys." When I moved to Philadelphia to start a math Ph.D. program, I thought I might kick the folk habit, but I soon fell into the old patterns. It started with contradancing and led to hanging out in bars with Irish musicians. My real downfall came one Sunday evening when I heard this band called "Broadside Electric" on the radio (thanks, Gene Shay!). They played electrified Bulgarian dance tunes and my favorite Woody Guthrie song. I was hooked immediately. It's been a long descent into hell ever since. I'm having a blast. -- Amy