Dark Dealings

American Irish Music:Damien McCarron of the Indulgers and Mile High Celtic Hour (Interview)

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Also in this edition: Celtic Vampire novel Dark Dealings and Cherish the Ladies.

Celtic Music Fan asks Damien McCarron what it’s like to  front a band called The Indulgers and to host a show called Mile High Celtic Hour.

They offer more than the rousing beats and electrical vibes. They are melodic and sophisticated musicians. The Indulgers play original Celtic Rock Music and they are synonymous with the word energy! So what type of sound(s) defines them?

They play  Celtic/Western/Americana/Irish Rock music. They are based in  Colorado USA, owing much of their music to the strong Irish/Scottish roots. Formed in 1998, the band are fronted by Damien McCarron who is originally from Dublin. He does the lead vocals and guitars. Now to go into specifics about their sound, think about it in terms of bands/solo artists like Waterboys, Horslips, Thin Lizzy, Christy Moore, Paul Brady, Spirit, Fleetwood Mac, Irish Trad and The Beatles.

The rest of the band are:

Mike Nile – Vocals, Guitars, Mandolin, Harmonica and Electronic Bagpipe
Renee Fine – Fiddle/Violin
Aaron Haywood – Bass
Frannie (Cheech) Mannone – Drums
Guesting on occasion:
Neale Heywood – Guitar
Ryan Bunnell – Guitar

Damien McCarron also runs a show called The Mile High Celtic Hour (TradioV.com) which offers an hour of great Celtic tunes rockin’ or otherwise but never a dull moment! He always brings something new to every show and we will talk more of that here.

Damien joins me today for a quick chat. He is also our artist of the week!

I think the Indulgers are making music that lovers of melodic Celtic rock are looking for. What do you have in store for your listeners this 2013?
Hi Baxter,
I suppose I kind of have my hands full at the minute but I’m not alone as the Indulgers set out to release a new CD. There’s fourteen new songs and it’s more a collection than a concept CD although the theme of immigration does tend to seep into what I write with Mike. The track list includes both a softer side and some rockers.

 Fast tunes or slow tunes: which one works best for you live?

The band feeds on energy but likes to change tempos and instrumentation throughout a show. There’s always time for a nice romantic styled song, but only just enough before we’d up the pace again. Each Indulger CD by tradition includes a instrumental piece featuring Renee on the fiddle and includes “fine” in the title, the lovely “Doin Fine” continues that aspect for this seventh album. The CD was mastered in LA by Howie Wineberg just this past week and will be ready to release in the next month or so.

We’re playing all these new songs live and in recent days rehearsing older material with a new arrangement or two, adding an little more electric guitar to the mix. Should be an interesting year with the new shiny CD at last. It’s been a little while since the last release, six years even, so hopefully folks remember our CD’s are a lifetime treasure and a must for every home.

You now have a weekly show called Mile High Celtic Hour and I always tune in because it is informative, fun and spontaneous. The video streaming is a great way to show music videos of the Celtic artists you are playing. How did MHCH came to be?

With Glen Hansard

 

The Mile High Celtic Hour was something I asked TardioV about hosting not too long after their launch. The concept of TV on the Net, streaming live from a real studio was something that I thought was brilliant. It’s also archived, which does no harm at all. The morning show host Matt Need endorsed the idea of Celtic Hour with the producer Trevor O’Connor. Matt comes form FM radio background and I had been a guest a few times on his previous FM show. Initially the producer had ,been looking for a country music host, so I pitched my idea.

What can we expect happening to MHCH in months to come?

We’re ten weeks into the show, well ten episodes, it’s a hour long and allows me to cover the Celtic music genre all the way to the edges and back, having guests is a fun aspect, and one guest the Celtic Caterer will continue to join us now and then as a running segment. Last show he lit a hogmanay cake on fire. Not the normal is likely what we’ll look for, but staying within the confines of the Celtic culture in general.

Can you tell us about your upcoming playlist on the show?

I’ve no idea what the next playlist for the show will be, it’s an ongoing dig of all thing’s I come across and think, that’s pretty show like, there is no overall plan, except to be aware of the theme that might expose itself as I try to capture good content. I’d imagine I might get a better plan as I settle into the idea that every Thursday morning it’s a blank sheet.

You came from Ireland. How has Irish American music changed so far since you first arrived?

I’m twenty years in America, so the music has changed. In Celtic circles the genre is multi-layered in a way that’s so far from the purity of the past it’s not even talked about anymore. Celtic rock has established itself as a genre gaining slots in major festivals where as back in 1998 that was “never going to happen”. At the same time there’s also a huge amount of “punk” ballad/cover bands now too which seem to have replaced the actual solo ballad singer in the pubs. Session music in Colorado is at the strongest it’s ever been and I think it’s fair to say every band is touring so there’s more to see than ever too.

It’s all good.

From the state of Colorado, The Indulgers with a new song “The Cure”. “Won’t you try a taste of medicine” The legalization of MMJ has led to many a new store front. So here’s a few to the sounds of a new song.

Here is the latest Mile High Celtic Hour episode.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/27678729

To know more about Damien McCarron’s band The Indulgers, please visit them through the following sites:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Indulgers/59965579492

http://www.shamrocker.com/

With The Indulgers

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A Celtic Vampire Holiday with Dark Dealings

For a limited time—DARK DEALINGS is on sale for $0.99 for Kindle! This is until end of year. Yes I read the book and I really love the story! I asked author Karen Victoria Smith about the sequel and she hopes to have next book ready for May release next year. For those who don’t know yet, this is a great read. The first of its kind. I have been searching for years for a story that will bridge my love for vampires and Celtic culture and Dark Dealings and its upcoming follow up revolve around these themes.

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Dealings-ebook/dp/B007Z9DEEI/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1356388041&sr=1-2&keywords=dark+dealings

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Featured Video: Cherish the Ladies, Celtic Christmas medley with Irish Dancing

They are part of the amazing album Together for Christmas(Various artists).

Members of the Celtic band “Cherish the Ladies” perform a medley of Celtic Christmas tunes live in the witf Performance Studio, with Irish dancing by Michael Holland, 2-time All-Ireland National Champion Irish Dancer.

Merry Christmas my dear readers!

A little bit of this and that…

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In this edition: Damien McCarron of Mile High Celtic Radio, Karen Victoria Smith, Dan Coleman, Celtic Twist and Moxie!

Mile High Celtic Hour : You ultimate guide to Irish and Celtic music.

Got the feeling that you need to update you Celtic music collection? Work schedules and classes can sometimes take you away from what’s going on with the ‘scene’. Well worry no more.

Mile High Celtic Hour is guaranteed to put you ahead of things Celtic. This is a show based in North America, featuring a playlist  that is diverse. You get to hear bands from all over the world and get to sample their best songs plus video via livestream.

Damien McCarron grew up in Howth outside Dublin and was immersed with  Irish music and tradition. As a musician, he shared stage with amazing musicians  in the  field including members of Solas. This is a very exciting time for Irish music and the rest of  the Celtic world. Damien is definitely in the right track and the right time, with the right crowd

Damien talking between music. .

Here is the page where you can watch and listen to his show:

http://www.livestream.com/tradiovdenver

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Celtic Twist Autumn Renovations in Scotland.

Celtic Twist

The website of the duo Celtic Twist is updated! I met Phil Holland and Dave Palmley over a year ago and I have enjoyed their albums. They are doing  interesting things with their diverse musical backgrounds by mixing them up with Celtic style.

They moved to Scotland  from Italy around two months ago and Phil is taking her time drinking the sight of the beautiful Scottish landscape. This is where she grew up and Scottish music makes a huge part of her musical influences.

Dave Palmley’s pop rock influence creates a radio friendly balance for Celtic Twist. He likes experimenting with various instrument including the synths. Have you heard of a harp tune using the effects pedal?

If you are looking for something interesting on the web, do drop by their website: http://hollandandpalmley.wix.com/celtictwist and say hi.

Notes:

This piece was originally inspired by the native north American people and their loss of land and cultural identity, but it is really in homage to all people of all races and creeds wherever they may be in the world, past, present and future, who suffer the indignities of invasion and oppression.
Phil: Celtic harps, Violins, Voices and Piano.
Dave: Guitars, Voices and percussion.
This will be on our forthcoming album, to be released later this year.
More news to follow.
http://hollandandpalmley.blogspot.com/

Notes:

Dedicated to a dream come true,moving back home to the west coast of Scotland.This meditative and hypnotic piece of music is entirely written, arranged and performed by Celtic Twist (Phil Holland and Dave Palmley).We wanted to share with all our followers this beautiful place and its magical atmosphere.

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Dark Dealings Book Interview via Rock On Radio

Having a great time at the Draft House

Yes our musical culture has a literary friend in the form of Karen Victoria Smith. She wrote the book Dark Dealings which talks pretty much about Irish mythology, Wall Street  vampires, shape- shifters and what they like to listen to in their ipod. You might think I am kidding about that last bit but I am serious. There are a lot of r references to Irish music in the novel and I think she is doing an amazing job pushing the culture and mixing it with the hip, the supernatural and how the money world works. I had to reread the book after it is done because I can’t part easily with the characters. They stay with you like long lost friends.

My friend Christi and I had a blast listening to her interview via Rock on Radio hosted by Dan Coleman and the gang. It was a wacky show and Danny asked a lot of interesting questions about the book. There’s a chat room where listeners can interact with the hosts.  We also met Karen’s best pal Deedee who also happens to be part of an indie rock band Strumberry Pie. The internet made this world a better and smaller place. Christi’s in Michigan and I am in the Philippines. And we all had a blast!

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Introducing Moxie

Moxie

Genre:  Irish Contemporary Music / Jazz / New Age Bluegrass / Folk

Members : Cillian Doheny Tenor Banjo / Nylon & Steel String Guitar / Mandola

Jos Kelly Button Accordian / Keyboard

Darren Roche Button Accordian / Nylon String Guitar

Ted Kelly Tenor Banjo / Tenor Guitar / Mandolin

Paddy Hazelton Percussion

Hometown:   Limerick / Sligo

What Lies Behind the Wall has notes tapping with suspense at the beginning of the track. It is like watching a flower bloom in hyper speed. Like all remarkable Irish bands playing traditional music, Moxie offers fresh approach to a tradition that has been around and is determined to stay.

Their sound is vibrant and the arrangements are intricate. This is traditional music with a cool twist. Sophisticated style blends with rustic simplicity making them one of a kind Irish band. In Elixir’s Walts, they took advantage to pauses and trance like melodies to create a dramatic effect that blends organic percussion with luminous instrumental delivery. This is the music of a butterfly’s wings flapping in a near flight.

Bug and Bear’s further showcase the hypnotic capacity of the banjo and guitar especially when it is given to the right hands. There are three tracks available for sampling in the band’s site http://breakingtunes.com/moxie. I am sure what’s on the site is just the tip of the iceberg.

Band bio: Formed in late 2011 as part of the annual folk festival, Sligo Live, Moxie are a Sligo and Limerick based band that formed through years of musical friendships from playing together at certain festivals around Ireland. The band incorporates Irish music with other genres such as folk, rock and new age bluegrass. A vibrant new band playing an exciting mix of traditional based compositions with richly developed layers of fantastic harmony. The band includes JPTrio members, Ted Kelly (banjo, tenor guitar, vocals), Jos Kelly (button accordion, keyboard, vocals), Paddy Hazleton (percussion, vocals) and Limerick based musicians, accordion and melodeon powerhouse Darren Roche and virtuoso banjo & guitar player Cillian Doheny.

More here:

http://www.myspace.com/moxiemuso

https://twitter.com/#!/Moxiemuso

https://www.facebook.com/Moxiemuso?ref=tn_tnmn

Dark Dealings: The Dark Interview with Novelist Karen Victoria Smith

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Plus: Riders by Dave Hum, Brendan Hendry, Brendan Mulholland and Paul McSherry, Kinfolk and Will Tun and the Wasters

Blog:  Storyteller’s Grove   http://kvictoriasmith.blogspot.com/

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5830445.Karen_Victoria_Smith

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/KVictoriaSmith

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116156670429771791626/posts

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/karen.k.smith.37

Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/kvictoriasmith/

Wall Street has fangs. In a 24-hour world, does anyone notice the unusual behaviors of many, including the reclusive rich. When international power brokers, vampires and shape shifters hiding in plain sight, threaten  Micaela and those she loves, will this heiress to a Druid legacy deny her power again and let others die? Can she accept the friendship and love of others with strange and frightening powers? A thrill ride of money, magic and murder across the globe.

Do you sleep better at night believing that vampires are things of fiction?

It is the first time that CMF features a novelist. I think that those who read Dark Dealings will really know why she is making a stir in the literary world. Through the twists and turns of this story, Karen Victoria Smith incorporates traditional Irish music either as a way to describe a feeling of the moment, an incident music or the tunes around characters when they go to a ceilidh. This is after all a story that merges Celtic myths and vampire horror. For those who haven’t picked their copy of Dark Dealings, I recommend you do it now. It is a great read.Very satisfying and full of suspense and action. You won’t be disappointed. In fact you will keep coming back for more and wish for a continuation story of the characters. It is a book with a lot of HEART, WIT and LAUGHTER. You will know more through this interview:

CMF You created an interesting character in Micaela. How many percentage is she you?

 

KVS: It is an interesting process. I did not set out to create a character that was me. But writers write what they know. And by that I don’t mean just that because I worked on Wall Street that is what I write about. We, as writers of novels or music,  know emotions and experiences; we know our life and the lives of those near and dear. I was recently talking to a friend about a difficult decision I had to make but wasn’t ready to make. I said I was just going to put it up on the shelf and deal with it later. I suddenly heard Micaela’s voice coming from my lips. She is in some ways a lot like me.  But good characters always get to do the things we wish we could do and say the things we wish we could say. Micaela is perhaps my alter ego in that way.

You told me that Dark Dealings is “It has been a labor of love. A tribute to all I know and have learned”. How strong is the knowledge of Celtic mythology in your family?

The knowledge was stronger in my grandmother’s generation. She is my Una (Micaela’s grandmother), but not so much in my parents’ generation. My grandmother instilled in me not only basic knowledge as a small child but a love and curiosity for my Celtic/Druid heritage. I began to seriously reconnect with that heritage in college and have pursued it since.  My dream would be to live in a traditional cottage in a  small Irish village where I could write and smell the earth and feel the energy from the land.

Your characters unfold gradually as opposed to in your face kind of vampire treatment. Do you have a liking for things that are implied in writing?

I have always like novels of discovery.  I want my readers to see my characters change and grow and, in the process, become dear friends and family, even the vampires.  I am a throwback to in my approach to writers like Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, even Stephan King.  I can only wish to approach their caliber of writing, but I like the tension, the relationships to evolve. It is so important that reader feel like a novel is an experience in which they are a participant and not an observer.  When I read as a child, I always imagined myself to be a character in the story. That extended to my favorite television shows and movies.  I wrote some of it down but never kept it.  Guess today you would have called it FanFic.

Dark Dealings is certainly not your typical vampire novel. We are dealing with a career woman dealing with powerful people and war of wits. Is this going to be a chronicle?

It will be a chronicle of both Micaela and a number of the characters in Dark Dealings. I am currently working on edits for Ogham Court, which is based on Devlin, Nora, Aine and set primarily on the street where the Salmon Run Inn and the Singing Stone is located.  Relatively minor characters in Dark Dealings but who have developed lives of their own that I suspect one day will come full circle back into Micaela’s life.  Micaela as a strong career woman is again a reflection of my personal career path before a became obsessed with writing.  She is also a product of my taste in female characters. I could never stand helpless females waiting always to be rescued.  Even when I read Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (hardly paranormal horror LOL) I identified with Jo. She was smart, strong-willed with a hidden vulnerability, with a sharp tongue that was sometimes her undoing.

I think one of the things that are worth noting is how the relationship between the characters unfold. When we think of Nikki, her tale is kind of ‘sneaky’ because who would have thought there is more to her than just working as a law enforcer. Are you more into the characters or the plot?

I think both are important. But I consider myself character-driven.  I start with a rough sketch of a plot and the theme. I spend a lot of time in the beginning developing my characters and they continue to reveal themselves in each round of edits.  For me, it is taking well formed characters and sticking them in tough situations and watching how they respond and are changed as a result.

 Where did you get your inspiration for the Baron?

Beyond my central interest in my Celtic heritage, I have been fascinated by old European royalty before the late 19th century. Two of my favorites are the English , particularly the Tudors and the early Russian dynasties. Both are so deliciously dysfunctional full of treachery, murder and political intrigues.  I actually debated the end scene for the Baron (trying to avoid spoilers here). Could have gone either way for him.

If ever this becomes a movie, who do you see playing the role of Liam?

I have some thoughts on this but I would really love to have readers chime in on my Facebook page with their suggestions or to  my Pinterest board for Dark Dealings.  I love seeing for my work and the works of others how each reader brings their own interpretation to the character. It is a shame we lost Heath Ledger, though 

The book is like a sly predator. It starts gradually and the last parts become really explosive and action packed. This isn’t one of those sentimental romance novels masked as vampire fiction. was deviating from the typical vampire franchise your intention?

LOL, I most definitely do not write romances.  The recent trend in vampire and shapeshifter fiction has been very light, right up to vampires that walk around in the daylight.  It was not always like that. Vampires and other preternaturals  can be multi-dimensional characters yet they are capable of great violence.  I am actually a huge fan of Laurell K Hamilton and her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series.  Ms. Hamilton builds intricate worlds of preternatural creatures in an alternates and very edgy universe.  Her plots and subplots are not everyone’s taste as she pushes the envelope on sexuality and violence.  But at the same time she explores questions of power and what it means to be human or a monster.  The Trueblood television  series is similar in that it does not sugar coat the needs and desires of the humans or preternaturals.  Lestat in Anne Rice’s chronicles is also from that same genre.  Ms Rice’s beautiful writing is I think pivotal to the resurrection of the paranormal genre beginning in the 1970’s and 1980”s

I think there can be romance but that it must be the light part of a very dark world.   It is part of the exploration of the character whether they are a normal or a preternatural.  In Celtic tradition there is the balance between the male and the female, the light and the darkness. Balance does not always mean 50-50. AS the light and dark half of the day the balance changes throughout the year and is part of the cycle.

Dark Dealings is an LGBT friendly fiction where characters like Connie really shines. Has the current political climate gay rights also influenced your writing?

 

Frankly no.  The current political climate is wonderful but a step in the evolution of society that began decades ago.  When I first imagined Dark Dealings, it came from the recognition that most non-Judeo-Christian cultures have some form of the vampire and shapeshifter. I wanted to develop an international multicultural world for Micaela to move in. It seems a natural extension that a diverse world be just that …diverse.

Somewhere in my upbringing, twelve years of Catholic School notwithstanding, I developed a more pagan philosophy regarding all living things. It perhaps comes from the Celtic acceptance of all the possibly creatures that populate the Otherworld and this world. Or maybe growing up in the post-Woodstock generation.   In my world, as in my life,  people do not come from cookie cutters or in one flavor. It is the variety that makes life an exciting ride.   In the middle of Dark Dealings, Micaela goes to her grandmother Una to talk about creatures and thing which are not supposed to be.  Una’s response is that “we who have touched the Otherworld know differently.”  I wanted to create a world in my book and the books that follow that accept that all things are possible and valid. It sounds trite but if we can accept the premise of vampires and werewolves who seem just like us than why not LGBT characters who are three-dimensional and powerful characters in their own right.  I love the character of Connie; she is smart, quick with a weapon when needed, a powerful shapeshifter and a loving and loved partner who happens to be another woman.  Regardless of sexual preference I want all my characters to be multi-layered and complex. I did not set out to make her lesbian but as she evolved she spoke to me and told who she was.  She is in some ways the perfect foil for Ethan or perhaps a hint at a less stuffy side of him.  I suspect we will see more of her.

Amazon page:  http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Dealings-ebook/dp/B007Z9DEEI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339463063&sr=1-1

Barnes and Noble page:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-dealings-karen-victoria-smith/1110689732?ean=2940014403795

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Dark-Dealings/book-CsfyASlwhkGw-LavyIuQHA/page1.html

Smashwords (for other formats) http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/157380

Available in print through Amazon.

Also in print at CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/3868445

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Featured MP3: Riders by Dave Hum

http://www.davehum.com/

One of the tracks taken from the album Travelling Light. I will have a full album review soon.

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Featured video: Brendan Hendry, Brendan Mulholland and Paul McSherry

They have a CD Tuned Up. Review also coming up soon.

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Featured Band: Kinfolk

http://www.myspace.com/kinfolksongs

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kinfolksongs

Bio:

Kinfolk are Brian Mcdaid and Gerry Power. Brian and Gerry met in south of England in 2000. Both were working in different bands, and involved in different musical collaborations. Gerry was busy on the London singer songwriter circuit playing suppot spots to established artistes such as Nils Lofgren, Colin Blunstone, Geno Washington, Bert Jansch. Brian was poised to go to America having just been offered a deal. Since that meeting they have worked together with a number of other musicians, mainly playing live venues throughout the UK. Since late 2004 they have been drawing on their shared musical heritage to create KINFOLK and their debut album: THIS LAND.

Brian was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His parents are from Donegal and Fermanagh in Ireland. Gerry was born in London of Irish descent, his parents coming from Cork. Both share a similar musical heritage being influenced by traditional and contemporary folk music from Ireland, Scotland and England. For Brian this influence was inevitable – his uncle was the lat Irish folk legend Corny Mcdaid.

Typical of many young people, their musical experience and experimentation developed over the years. These included rock, pop, jazz, funk and country. However throughout their musical careers they have always maintained a strong acoustic and folk link.

This meeting of musical experience has produced a song writing duo that has flourished and developed together. They have produced songs of quality diversity, appealing accross a wide range of folk music tastes.

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Up and coming: Will Tun and the Wasters – Star of the County Down- Acoustic Cabin Sessions

They will be my featured band around mid-October so watch out for an interview with someone in the band .