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Fig For A Kiss by Abby Green

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From the tradition of the best women troubadours, Abby Green shines with Fig For A Kiss. The Renaissance Fair will love her perky light voice. Armed with her cittern and wonderful arrangements, the album shines due to its simplicity  and excellent production.This is a follow up to her critically acclaimed album Einini. What I love about this album is the consistency of each track. It puts you on the right mood whither you are hearing the lively Is Trua Gan Peata and My Johnny is a Shoemaker or the breezy Wild Mountain Thyme . I am reading  lots of positive review about this album on the web and I can attest this is one of the albums to own this year if you are a Celtophile!

Abby does not only sing Irish music but also takes the Gaelic language seriously through her site. She is indeed a  wonderful Celtic music talent.

Visit www.AbbyGreen.com  to order.

Musica Pacifica

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I recently got a copy of Dancing in the Isles by Musica Pacifica, an American Baroque ensemble formed in 1990 in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are currently on a tour so expect to hear them play near you soon. The tunes are actually from the 17th to 18th  century  London that combine the Scottish and Irish styles -music that co-existed at that time.

Expect to hear instrumental arrangements that were made popular during that time. I am a fan of harpsichord and recorders and they’re highlighted here! What I love about  the recording is the variety . You hear English Country dances, James Oswald, Matthew Locke, Traditional Scots Tunes, Traditional Irish and so much more.

The tunes are lively and melodic. I should also mention that I adore the packaging of the album especially the very informative liner notes.

MUSICA PACIFICA
BAROQUE ENSEMBLE

Judith Linsenberg,
recorder, whistle

Elizabeth Blumenstock,
baroque violin

Robert Mealy,
baroque violin

David Morris,
baroque ‘cello,
viola da gamba

Charles Sherman,
harpsichord

Charles Weaver,
theorbo, baroque guitar
Peter Maund, percussion

CONTACT

Judith Linsenberg
Tel/Fax 510-444-4113
judy@musicapacifica.org

For bookings, please contact Musica Pacifica through Joanne Rile Artists Management

93 Old York Road, Suite 222 Jenkintown, PA 19046
Tel: 215-885-6400; Fax 215-885-9920
artists@rilearts.com http://www.rilearts.com

Samples here: http://www.musicapacifica.org/recordings.html#

All about Celtica(Interview)

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Please visit http://www.celtica.ie for more information and recordings. Photos are taken from the band’s website.

Traditional Irish band with hints of funk is happy to announce that they are recording new tracks and are being booked on venues to play their brand of music. Composed of Gary Smyth – Guitar and vocals, Eamonn Walsh – Drums, Sean Hynes – Guitar and Bass, Ciara Walsh – Fiddle, Bass and Vocals, and Stephen Doherty – Bass and Accordion, the band has a different approach to traditional tunes with their brand of Celtic fusion. From Foxford, Co Mayo, Celtica brings a fresh sound to live band music, with up beat classic rock songs mixed with the best of Irish songs and pumping trad tunes!! according to their site.

Wah Wah Reels,  is a sophisticated track with nice funky style that appeals to both lovers of rock and jazz music. The band has a maturity of style  seldom found in band composed of their age group. The song starts with a slow easy style then lunches into a frantic second part. You better hear it to know what i am talking about.

I had an exclusive interview with Eamonn Walsh, the band’s drummer and contact person. It was fun!

Eamonn Walsh -Drums

Eamonn Walsh -Drums

How did you join Celtica?

Celtica was originally formed to do a one off gig with no real intention of keeping the band together after it, we were asked to put together a pure trad band so being who we are we done the opposite and put together a trad fusion band for the gig. No one really joined the band as such, the band is made up of members from bands we had been involved in before, Gary and myself had been in no logo together, Sean and myself had been in DYL together and Ciara and Stephen played in a ceili band together, so when we were asked to do this one gig we all just got together and started playing around with a few ideas. We played the gig and the crowd went wild for our original material which was trad music fused with classic rock, heavy rock, blues, funk and everything in between. The next day our facebook pages were filled with post asking when we would be playing again. So four years later we are still here getting bigger and better with every gig.

You currently have one track up(Wah Wah Reels). Any plans of releasing an EP?

You never know there could be an EP in the pipe line. We are currently putting together a press pack so maybe as part of that. Id like to get one done. we’l see.

For that one track, how did you guys approach composition? Do you all set down together and jam until you make a song or is it an individual thing and then the group just add the ideas until it builds up?

Generally our best stuff is composed on the spot jamin and then someone might have a brain way at home and bring it to the band to see how it sounds so a mix of both i suppose

You are playing the drums. Who do you think is the ‘brain’ of the band and who is the ‘heart?’

Haha that’s a hard question, I couldnt say that anyone is the brain or the heart of the band everyone brings all they have to the band so its hard to say.

That is a good answer… enough for me;) Parkour and music..how do you reconcile the two?

Actually they are much the same, well for me anyway when a string of moves are put together in parkour you call it a flow and when that happens you get lost in your flow you dont thing you just move, your truly liberated and its the same with music you stop thinking and just play again you are liberated.

Give us the band itinerary for this month …gigs…recordings..those stuff.

For June we have loads of gigs lined up festivals, 3 in the Salmon festival in Ballina alone. We are revising our set this month as well and of course getting ready for our gig on the European stage in July.

Dave Rooney:Better Let It Be If It Aint Broken(Interview)

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Dave Rooney sets aside a couple of moments for us as he discusses new wonderful album. I admit it is so catchy I play it again and again,And at 5  in the morning while working on this piece, it is playing in the background softly. Dave is one of the Irish musicians who are so passionate in sharing his music to the world and continues to break grounds by reinventing his signature sound-take note:improving on it not changing -that’s the difference. And that is what I love about musicians of his caliber. They know their audience and they just write music as they feel..coming from the heart.

Please visit: http://daverooneymusic.com

-What’s the concept behind the new album If It Aint Broke?
I tend to write about life. simply because music is universal. You can reach people in a very wide spectrum.
I like the cliche,”if it aint broke,don’t fix it. To me, it’s a life lesson. The grass is always greener. Appreciate and enjoy what you have now. In this case I refer to relationships. You don’t realize what you’ve got till it’s gone. Familiarity breeds contempt. But, the devil you know is better than the one you don’t. Most importantly, everybody can relate to these lyrics, and I think this should be the case when writing lyrics for a song. I’ve tried to write about scenarios in life so people can relate easily.
I tend to write about life. Simply because music is universal. You can reach people in a very wide spectrum.

You worked with really good musicians here. Tell us about this collaboration with the producer and sound Engineer( and anything happening in the session).

I took a different approach for this album. I arranged and recorded the drums at a friend of mine’s studio. We worked for about 6 months arranging the songs. I played and sang all the songs acoustically, recorded them as a demo and then brought them to another of my friend’s studio; we’re we recorded the guitars, bass and keyboards. It wasn’t till we finished recording “till she loves again” that we decided on some brass. But it was only supposed to be a lonely trumpet solo at the end. They showed up and starting playing, and I couldn’t believe my ears. It was simply majestic. I asked them to pick 4 or 5 tracks that they thought would suit the brass, and they did. All production was carried out by myself and a friend of mine from sonic cottage studio, County Meath.

-The sound is slicker compared to the first album and most of the tracks have this poppy breezy style. What’s with the change of direction?

After writing this is my home, I felt wanted to write about happy things. A celebration of life really. I genuinely believe this was based around the happiest times of my life. I’d gotten married, my wife had given birth to our third son, I’d been to Vegas and New Orleans. My life suddenly felt very eventful and good. I think there was a lot of good motivation around me. That certainly influenced the writing and performing.

-Dave I have to mention that you have a beautiful voice. Who were the influences for your singing style?

Thanks very much. I love different styles of music. I’d say I was strongly influenced by, the Beatles, Crowded House,Paul Carrick from Mike and the Mechanics,ELO(Electric Light Orchestra), Tracy Chapman, and Billy Joel.

I hear faint influences of Phil Lynnott and Chris DeBurg is your songs. Coincidence?
No. quite a few people have mentioned Chris de Burg in conversation. I’m quite flattered, and yes I like a lot of his songs, so maybe him too, so no to coincidence. And I love Thin Lizzy.

-You are getting huge airplay in Ireland with the new album. Any more information about this?

A lot of the mainstream radio stations are playing the first single release from the album,”she’s not here” and are commenting on how catchy the whole album is, so I’m delighted with that. I’ve been added to a lot of the night time playlists,which means it gets aired a lot. It’s being received very well.

How’s the touring experience in America for your first album?
I love the States.Yeah it went well. As you know I did a 4 month pr campaign over there, and got radio play and some great reviews in New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. On top of gigs in New York and queens, I was treated and received really well. I’ll back in the autumn.

–Can you tell us what each song means?(here you can just put the title and a brief explanation of each track)

if it aint broke– don’t fix it.-if things are going well, why mess it up??

leyna– we’ve all had a leyna at least once in our lives.{break up}

nightlife– we all need to let off steam once in a while. A good night out, a dance?? a flirt?? It’s good for the soul.

till she loves again– a victim of the game of love. A once bitten twice shy syndrome. a g-up song to help her/him move on.

brand new friend– did you ever suffer the indignity of being stood up??And more importantly you don’t want anyone to know. Yet everybody knows.What is that???

sunshiny day– sometimes things do go your way. When you experience somebody being shallow, selfish or leave you in the lurch. Could be a friend or a partner, and you witness them being taught a lesson-that’s justice.

don’t give up– the music business is a very hard business to be in. Even if you think at the very least your music is as good as everybody elses.It can be soul-destroying, frustrating and very misleading, even to the most idealistic enthusiast.If your in it for money, don’t be in it. This from the independent perspective, and I speak for myself. if you truly believe in what you do, and you love what you do, then why in the world would you ever stop what you do. This is what you do. You’ll get there.

honeymoon in new orleans- had my honeymoon in New Orleans. What a fantastic place. a musicians dream. Great people, great food, great atmostphere, GREAT MUSIC!!!.

she’s not here– to wake up and find that the one you love has gone, is a harrowing feeling to say the least. Then, the first thing people do is to go immediately into denial, the greatest of self-protecting mechanisms. When all the while leaves you with a big void in your soul. When all you want is for them to come back.

–Words to your listener?
We can’t change what’s happened in our past but we can change what’ll happen in our future- D.ROONEY 201

Jacob McCauley : All About Bodhrans(Interview)

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Please visit :

Here is an interesting interview I did with Jacob McCauley which all started after my article about his performance. It’s done via facebook. It is not often you are able to get someone get back to you with the questions you sent in real time but hey the universe works in mysterious ways. Jacob granted me with all the answers about how the instrument works, the techniques, his upcoming projects and  a lot more. Join me in this wonderful insights into the heartbeat of the Irish music.

I sent him what I wrote and he got back with this:

Hi Baxter,

Thanks very much for featuring me in your blog. It’s always nice to see people taking a liking to the Bodhran, and appreciating how it is evolving. With it being such a young instrument, there is still much to be discovered, and that is one of the main goals in my career. To push the limits, invent new things, and most importantly bring that out into the world. Obviously Bodhran designs are another way that the instrument is evolving, and my work with Christian (Hedwitshchak) demonstrates that very well. I could go on.. but thanks again and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Cheers,

Jacob

The bodhrans I am seeing today are quiet revolutionary compared to say ten or twenty years ago. What’s with the heated up interest recently do you think?

To put it quite simply. As Bodhran techniques evolve, it is only natural that the instrument itself will also begin to evolve. The player needs a drum that can properly complement their playing style, and totally suit them. And thus we see the age of Custom Bodhrans, as well as a much larger range of different style Bodhrans. For example, since my back-hand technique is something new that I have developed, I require an extremely respsonsive Bodhran. I will always be striving for the Bodhran that complements me best. It is a never-ending quest in my career, but I am continually astonished by what has been made possible, and how that will further evolve.

People like you make the instrument a joy to listen with , with or without other instruments…tell me…what got you into this passion for this so-called the heartbeat of Celtic music?

I grew up in a house filled with Irish Traditional Music. I was exposed to music from a very young age. It wasn’t long before I had found the old Bodhran in the house and began to start beating the drum. It didn’t take long before I knew that this instrument would be the instrument for me. I was already interested in other instruments, but the Bodhran truly spoke to me as the right instrument. I felt I had a natural ability on it, and very much wanted to pursue that. And so it went from there… hours of practicing every day, striving to be the best I could be.

What are your plans for this year musically? I see a lot of projects and collaboration but that do you think is the biggest that waits for you so far?

I still have several projects to finish up this year. One of the largest projects being my Instructional Bodhran DVD, which I am currently filming. Another large project is an Experimental album that I have been working on since last year. It features some things that have never been done on the Bodhran, as well as the music itself being very unique. I have a couple more traditional albums to be recorded this year, as well as several other smaller projects. Touring is of course another thing to be expected in the near future. It is difficult to say what the largest upcoming project would be, but there are surely many possibilities for the future.

The albums! Yes I am interested what you have in mind . A full-length album or compilations? It would be interesting to devote an entire album with bodhran as the primary instrument .

Each recording for this year is a full-length (minus smaller projects and guest appearences). The Experimental album does feature the Bodhran a lot, as I am doing solos, as well as adding my own unique melodic approach to the music. But I have yet to create an album of which the Bodhran is the primary instrument. That is just another feat that could of course be accomplished in the near future.

As an instructor what are the challenges you faced in translating what you know to newbies?

I have to say that the most difficult challenge I face these days is essentially what I would call “damage control”. Many many new players today are influenced by or in some cases even taught by players who do not play with proper technique. The majority of players (and even many teachers) today still do not have proper technique. Without having the proper technique you first are limiting yourself, but are also risking possible health issues to your body (arm or wrist pain or worse). Every one of course has their own opinion as to what is proper and not. However, it has been my experience after many years of teaching and playing to realize what is beneficial to the player and what is not. So in short, many new students that come to me have either been influenced (by Youtube, session players etc) or taught wrong, and I need to help them break bad habits and form a proper technique. Lastly, I do not teach one style, or just my own style, I teach proper technique and allow the student to truly become their own player with their own technique that works for them.

That is a valuable information! What type of audience go to your sessions? And what are the preparations you do prior to conducting the sessions?

By sessions do you mean teaching workshops?

Or private lessons?

Good clarifications. Ok I will say for both teaching workshops and private lessons

Private lessons and Workshops are something I do all the time. In private lessons, the influx of new students usually range from either someone who has long been a fan of Irish Traditional Music, or someone who is new to this genre. In either case, my preparation and execution is the same. I first like the student to know the history of the instrument, have a good knowledge of the music, and then of course learning the proper technique and beginning to develop their own style. For workshops, depending on if they are beginner or advanced workshops, the students generally are already aware of the instrument and music. However, I still like to present them with some basic information and try and get a feel for the audience. I like to try and tailor my teaching to who is in the audience, as opposed to always teaching a workshop in the same manor. This of course depends on the size of the workshop and who exactly is in it, but I always like to get a general feel for what the attendees are interested in learning.

Being where you are now in your career, what do you think is satisfying part of it?

It is tough to say what is the most satisfying part of my career thus far. I would have to say it is a combination of things. First, teaching is incredibly satisfying because I love seeing new students learn this wonderful instrument and truly start to enjoy it for themselves. Second, performing always is satisfying because I love spreading my art of the Bodhran to many people and witnessing their enjoyment of it. Lastly, it is very satisfying to know that there is still a long way to go and at this point, the sky is the limit!

Thank you so much for your wonderful responses. It’s been a pleasure spending the time with you and putting into writing what you think. I will let you know when it is up OK? Enjoy your weekend Jacob.

You’re very welcome. I am always glad to share my experiences and help spread awareness of the Bodhran. I’ve done several interviews this year (and a few more coming up soon) so I am very comfortable with them.

Thanks and enjoy your weekend as well!

Cheers,

Jacob