Interview - Twin Cities Irish Music 1.10.10
Welcome back, we're glad you're here!
For those of you who don’t know already, there’s a new Podcast on the Irish Music scene, doing some fantastic things to get the word out about all the great music coming out of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in Minnesota. The TCIrish Music Podcast, being produced by Michael Sturm and Charley Beekman of The Langer’s Ball, is part of the larger Twin Cities Irish Music site, which caters to all things Irish Music in the Twin Cities. Bands, Pubs, Dance Schools, and upcoming music events can all be found on the site. This is a great new resource for folks looking for Irish music in the area, and Celtophilia wishes them the best in this undertaking! We were lucky enough to get Michael and Charley to take a moment from their busy day to answer a few questions for us. Enjoy!
Celtophilia: So, who are Michael Sturm and Charley Beekman, and why would we want to listen to them spinning Irish music on a weekly basis?
TCIrish: It’s not so much that you are listening to us, we just happened to be the ones that put it together and decided to put in the time and the effort. When you tune into the Twin Cities Irish Music Podcast, you are listening to the huge amount of talent that is in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, and really all of Minnesota. When we play our band, The Langer’s Ball, then you are listening to us! But TCIrishMusic.com isn’t really about the hosts, there isn’t a ton of witty banter or commentary, it’s about the musicians and the music.
Celtophilia: Why did you feel it was important to put together a site and podcast specifically focusing on Celtic music from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area?
TCIrish: Just look at the bands page, We’ve got some huge talent in Minnesota, From Boiled In Lead & The Wild Colonial Bhoys, to having players like Dean Magraw, Laura MacKenzie, Daithai Sproule of Altan, Martin McHugh & Paddy O’Brien! Plus some great troubadours like Tom Dahill, I think that Minnesotans are extremely lucky to have this level of music going on almost every night of the year, and usually for free. Our Goals with the Podcast are to let people know what their missing by staying home, because they didn’t have a place to turn to find out where to go, and they didn’t have a podcast to let them know just how good the music is! Whether you want a Ceili Band, or trad music, a session or to hear some pub tunes, The Twin Cities has it all. Plus, take a look at the top 20 list from PaddyRock.com for best CD’s of 2009, Both The Wild Colonial Bhoys and our Band, The Langer’s Ball are on it! That means 10% of the best Celtic Rock & Punk albums of last year came from our city. That’s why we think people will tune in.
Celtophilia: I really like the inclusion of several instrumental tracks in Episode 1, which of course are fundamental to the Irish music tradition. How important is it to you to include the more trad-focused music along with more modern arrangements?
TCIrish: Like we said, Minnesota has it all, and I want to include it all. At first we thought we’d put together a really rockin’ podcast, but then where do we draw the line? It’s all really great music, and all these people are our friends and colleagues. There just isn’t anyway we couldn’t include the great trad and folk music as well as the rock and pop and everything in between. And if our listeners are like us, there is a place for all the music.
Celtophilia: You’ve assembled quite a lineup for Episode 1, can you give us some names to look forward to in the coming weeks?
TCIrish: Well, we’re adding musicians as they get back to us to give permission, so who you’ve heard so far is who has replied to our request for permission. However, we just finished episode 2 and since episode 1 came out, we’ve added The Wild Colonial Bhoys, The Sweet Colleens, The HiBs, and a few others, beyond that, you’ll just have to tune in every Monday at 8:00pm Central.
Celtophilia: It seems like you are really trying to create an all-inclusive site for Irish culture in the Twin Cities, with pubs, gigs, bands, dance schools, etc. How can anyone who is interested in being included contact you?
TCIrish: We are trying to make it all-inclusive. We’d like our site to be the one that anyone can turn to and find out what is going on and where, no matter what Irish Music related activity they want. On every page on the website it lists our email, which is info@TCIrishMusic.com, and we’d love to hear from anyone, especially touring bands as they come through the area. Our goal is to get people out to see and support the music, and to make the Twin Cities synonymous with Irish Music like Chicago and the blues or New Orleans and Jazz. In just the 1st week we’ve been live, we’ve had well over 500 unique visitors to the site, we just started a facebook page, and I just checked it it’s at over 520 friends since just last Saturday, this tells me that this is something that has been a long time coming and well needed.
Again, huge thanks to Michael and Charley for taking the time to answer our questions, and we are looking forward to many episodes of the podcast in the future. If you want more info about the Twin Cities Irish Music website and podast, check them out over at www.TCIrishMusic.com.
Slainte,
Mike
