Celtophilia

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

Sometimes, very rarely, I’ll get an email that just totally blows me away. Amidst all the advertisements for questionable medical services and people wanting to give me a job where I don’t have to work but can make thousands of dollars a month, came an email with a question I never thought to see. “Would you be interested in doing an interview with Battlefield Band?” the email asked. I looked at the email dumbly, until it asked again. I sputtered and stammered a moment. Then, just as the email was getting ready to give up on me and find another Celtic music blogger to talk to, I nodded. Okay, that’s not exactly how it happened, but the real story would have been even more boring. Needless to say, my answer was, “Yes, I’d very much be interested in doing that.”

For most of you, I don’t have to really “introduce” Battlefield Band. Legendary barely even begins to describe them. In one incarnation or another, the band has been releasing music since 1977. Their newest CD, Zama Zama …Try Your Luck…, has been tearing up music charts in the last couple of months, and we took this opportunity to talk to them a little about the new disc, keeping an enduring icon of Celtic music alive over 30+ years, and, of course… hurricanes.

Celtophilia - Do you feel that Battlefield Band has been so extensively involved in the Celtic music scene for so long that it puts an even greater than usual amount of pressure on the band when you guys produce a new album?

Alan – Yes that probably is the case. It is always hard to do an album after all these years, and after 30 albums it always is. Once you get started it does begin to flow. This album has a theme, so that makes it a bit easier. We have been thinking about this for a long time, but you can’t always do that as it gets a bit boring, so here’s to the next one.

Celtophilia - The latest album, Zama Zama…Try Your Luck, has some pretty clear political and social commentary involved in the lyrics. Has that been received in a mostly positive way? If there’s been criticism, what’s the worst thing that you’ve heard or read about the album?

Mike – Yes it may seem to have a political content, but that was really because when we were making it politics and the financial world went into a downward spin. I have to say it would have been nicer if it didn’t happen, but when it did happen and we were describing men searching for gold and riches, naturally the content began to reflect what was going on in the wide world outside the studio. We look on it more of a description of what was going on, how could you describe what is going on in any other way. I have to say, I think purely political albums that are beating you over the head with a big stick can get pretty boring and turgid. Our main concern was to play good music, and I hope you will agree that was the main theme of the record. I also hope that nobody is surprised that traditional music and musicians respond to contemporary situations. As far as we are concerned traditional music is not a backward looking thing, it is here and now and living in Scotland.

Celtophilia - I love how Zama Zama was inspired first by gold and then influenced by issues including wealth and global finance. Was this a theme that immediately appealed to everyone in the band?

Alasdair – The idea for this album was brought up two or three years ago, but we found difficulty in progressing with it at the time. It slowly developed and people came up with ideas of songs and music about gold, and reading things in the newspaper etc., etc. That Zama Zama story is unbelievable isn’t it? We had never heard about these people until there was the big disaster in the mine in South Africa. Lots of people were killed because they live underground, and mining in an unused shaft. They are obviously making a good living from it, but not doing much for their health, especially when something blows up. We are found of the album, and I think the idea came from our producer Robin Morton. I don’t think the idea appealed to everyone, but slowly it did. Slowly serendipity took over and Bernie Madoff did his thing. A couple of big banks went down and our wonderful MPs were caught at it. I suppose we knew they were at it for a long time, I suppose it was just it became very obvious. As Mike says it’s the music that counts, that’s the first thing. Enjoy the music. The rest of the stuff is in addition to the music.
Robin – The thing about politics is that it can get very boring. Did you ever hear the story about Bono – U2 were playing at Hampden Park (I hope this is true). They were playing to a full house in Hampden Park (something which Battlefield Band have still to achieve, that is fill Hampden Park!). Anyway, Bono as you know will never miss a chance to preach. He said to a hushed audience – “Everytime I clap my hands another child dies in Africa”. Some hero from the back shouted up “don’t f….. do it then!” He could also have shouted just write a cheque Bono! As the lad said, please listen to the music.

Celtophilia - Most bands who released their first albums in 1977 are either dead, dying or disappeared from the face of the earth. How do you account for the lasting endurance of Battlefield Band and your continued ability to make music that speaks to audiences all over the world?

Alan – I have been around for all that time. One of the ways to do it is it just happens organically. People come, people go, and they all add stuff to it. They then leave the Battlefield Band University and go on and do other things. I suppose the new people bring something in which speaks to audiences. Anyway, that is the idea, and it seems to work.

Celtophilia - Since Battlefield Band is, for all intents and purposes, a force of nature, how do you feel the band would fare if you were called upon to battle a Hurricane for the fate of all mankind?

Sean – I am the new boy that Alan is talking about. So I get to answer this question. My first thought go to the bathroom with a pile of Beano’s and hope that the world would still be there when I came out. I would also like to have my guitar there of course, and would practise like mad!! A bottle of Guiness would be nice, or maybe 2. A big plate of Haggis, Tatties and Neeps. Really would hope there would be some Haggis left alive after the storm.
Like all sensible people, I would try and pretend it was not happening anyway. Whoops!! got to go mow, the wind is rising. I have to batten down the hatches, where are those Beano’s? See you later.

Our sincere thanks to the lads for taking the time to answer our questions, if you want to find more information about the band, hit their website at http://www.battlefieldband.co.uk/

Slainte,
Mike

Artist: Terry Griffith
CD: Songs From The Pub

This CD was presented to me as a collection of recordings for folks that wanted to hear something very akin to what Terry’s pub show is like. I’ll tell you a secret: I love this sort of live music, but don’t get to hear nearly enough of it, so this CD might as well have been created for me personally. While I do enjoy the complicated, multi-layered sounds of modern music from time to time, I can be perfectly happy to hear nothing but a guy and his guitar just doing what they do best. That’s exactly what Songs From The Pub is about, and it delivers in a massive way. Now, the big challenge is going to be getting over to Pittsburgh to see Terry perform live.

One of the things I love about getting to listen to traditional Celtic music is hearing how different people will take a trad song and make it their own. In Terry Griffith’s renditions of several Celtic standards, what I hear the most is a real passion and understanding for the music and the lyrics. Listening to Black Velvet Band on this CD is like hearing it for the first time, and actually feeling the bitterness and frustration of a man being transported halfway around the world. “The Town I Loved So Well” puts on an equally raw and passionate display, and this being one of my all-time favorite Irish songs, instantly becomes my favorite on this CD.

Sometimes I have a problem that I don’t like to talk about… no, not THAT. It has to do with reviewing CDs. While it’s all well and good for me to claim that “The Town I Loved So Well” is my favorite track on “Songs From The Pub,” the simple fact is that it ignores the fact that there are no less than a dozen tracks on this CD that could easily rank up with the best Irish tunes I’ve ever heard. Several of them I’m not entirely familiar with, but they’re rebellious, or lonely, or emotional, or various perfect combinations of those three.

Do yourself a favor, head over to CDBaby and buy this CD, look Terry up any and everywhere you can find him playing, and go see him live. If you want more information, you can find it at www.pittsburghirish.org/griffith

Slainte,

Mike