Tag Archives: Music

keltikon

keltikon, The Black Boar

My Favorite Swiss Celtic rock group Keltikon have a new exciting album out, The Black Boardone and dusted at the start of 2020, this marks the band’s second full album so with all this in mind I decided to contact the lead singer, Olaf, to see how things are going for the band during the Corona plandemic and get the lowdown on the new album.

(me) The good news and the bad news (Corona)

(Olaf) Good news: a new album out from April:

“The Black Boar”

Well done, a mixed bag of Irish/celtic trad songs, English and German folk/ an Italian protest song, rocky numbers, drinking songs……an old favourite making a reappearance, “The Diving Dutchman” from the first album is back…….and “Heal My Shakra”, quite a eclectic album!

… yes, Heal My Shakra was one take of the whole band, never rehearsed before and a session just like in the seventies, interesting there wasn’t any weed around, somehow – lol. The Diving Dutchman is still one of our favorites and live a great battleship, so we decided to record it again.

Rocky road to Dublin, done in one take?

All songs on the album were done in one take but not necessarily the first one 🙂 At least drums, bass and rhythm guitar together and in some cases like ‚Rocky road to Dublin‘. We never played it live until today, fiddle and lead guitar were recorded afterwards.

“A local boozer”……………Bit of a Shane Macgowan sound there?

Interesting question. The intention of John O’Donnell Cotter was to write Pogues alike music for his poem, I had the honor to get the chance. Though he expected it become fast, I felt a walz and we discussed if a song needs to be fast to be Pogues-alike….

New violinist……Mélodie Pican?

keltikonYes! We lucky bastards were contacted by Mélodie Pican, who joined the band summer and finished the recording – she’s on most songs of the album. In the beginning of the sessions we had to learn that it all became too complicated for our former violinist Sally Welti to coordinate it with here private life and she needed more than just a rest from playing for two months or so. My father died and I had to spend 10 weeks of the year abroad Switzerland and there wasn’t much up, except a supporting gig with The Rumjacks. So Mélodie called me and joined us for that concert quite spontaneously for the very first concert at Musikburg Aarburg- no overdubs, we could already hear there how good she fits.

I must say you have assembled a great set of songs. One I have to ask is the song “We Have Been (and we are still here)”, it’s like a folk ska song, my favourite song of the album, who is doing the guitar on it, and the violin is great too!?

keltikonThe violin melody was played by Sally. The melody comes originally from the the very first fiddle player of Keltikon, Natalie Koula – she played 3 or 4 concerts with us in 2012. Every soloist, on fiddle or accordion adapted it as it gives it quite an oriental or gypsy flavour. All guitars, also this solo were played by the same bum – me.

Was it a long process, writing and compiling the songs?

Actually not, 5 of em were really new and needed a bit more work, the rest has been played live for years before.

What comes first in the process, the idea, the story, the tunes, do you hear the song in your head or…….write a tune around the words……

I’d say the best that can happen is if some refrain/hook line and words come in your mind the same time and you can develop from there. It’s much better than to have a nice tune and search for words, or the opposite. A good song comes into your brain suddenly and stays. If you haven’t forgotten it when your back home you know it could be ok :-

What does this album say?

FolkPunkRock’s not dead!

The title of the album, the Black Boar?

keltikonA little gloss/comedy on Tryon, also known as Twrch Trwyth a pagan creature that was fought by King Arthur in Celtic mythology… I think King Arthur was a jerk and it wasn’t fair, how the boar was treated.

Well produced album: Everything is always so well produced, from the sound quality of the album, the video and the Album case. You must have a great team working behind the scenes?

It’s been produced and mixed at Bau 2 Studios in Winterthur by Roger Baltensperger, he’s a great engineer and we had a great inspiring mood. Mastering has been done by „the guru“ Dan Suter (Echochamber) Zürich. The Cover was designed by me.

The Black Boar Video tie in, what was that like with the lockdown going on?

We already recorded the video in beginning of December and decided since a long time to release all in May…

So how has the Virus and the lockdown affected you and the band?

Many concerts dropped or postponed to next year, inclusive our Ireland Tour in summer. We hope we can play the very first regular concert in September again.

Promotion of the album? Near impossible?

We’re still an independent band and I didn’t have too big expectations in sales, especially in those times. I’m very surprised about fast growing of our community on Spotify, as we’re newbees there. Of course it’s promoted a bit… it would be nicer to sell CDs – download cards at concerts as we’re a live band.

(I know ye guys do a lot of touring………….)

Cancelled gigs? You had 5 gigs at legendary music pubs in Ireland in 2019, the return this year for 2020 was cancelled

(what was Ireland like, did it live up to your expectations?)

keltikonIt was fantastic to play in Ireland and we never ever expected such a warm welcome and great feedback.

Personal Level: Living in Switzerland during this period of lockdown and the like?

First of all a little shock. We just finished our last concerts in the Canton of Bern when the first restrictions for concerts where out and we knew Saint Patrick’s Day Party was gone… glad normality is back more and more…

Stress?

It became quite a thriller to hold the release date, as copyright associations and other partners became really slow due to the lockdown and changes because of home office. Provisionally the album is available online only at the moment. Physical CDs will be distributed in the next 4 weeks.

Positives? (band closer together? Fans rally around? More time to be creative?)

The positive maybe, if there is, will be that everyone at concerts, from the barkeepers over the audience to the drummer will enjoy concerts more than ever 🙂

When do you think you can gig again? Is there a definite timeline for the future?

We hope very much to play in at Celtic Festival Avenches on 29 August, also it looks like we play in Lenzerheide and Altstätten/SG in September.. But that being said; many concerts are postponed to next year, such as Openair Bischoffszell or Mary From Dungloe Festival and other festivals… the first show we should play is actually our CD release party. We expect it to happen somewhere in the late autumn.

Ok Olaf, thanks for that news on the album and the current situation. I hope you dont mind me just going over some old questions for any new fans of the band, etc. Cheers

Keltikon, What is the origin of the name of the band? 

keltikonWell, it was founded in Pfäffikon ZH, It should be celtic and celtic in ancient greek means‚ keltikon‘.

How did ye guys all meet? How long have you all known each other?

Originally the band was formed by me and a pipes player. Our Drummer Chrigel is in the band since 2015, Dave on the bass since 2016.

When did the band form? 

Keltikon was founded in March 2012

The Music: How would you describe the music that you typically create? How do you define the band. Celtic rock, punk rock, trad rock?

keltikonNames are smoke and mirrors 🙂 Let’s call it Celtic Punk Rock to keep it simple.

What is it about Celtic music that drew you to it?

The entry ticket were definitely The Pogues and actually they should stay our idols in any way; also because of their versatility which is just enormous.

Creative Process: Who writes the songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? (Drinking!) Do you think these topics will change over time?

The topics of my songs are quite different, not that much about drinking… from stock exchange managers as Kings in medieval times, TV esoteric shit, of part of an old tale about a mystic dog… the only song where beer is mentioned… and the last song ‚Local Boozer is written by John O’Donnell Cotter, not by me 🙂

What is the creative process like? Do you guys just tough it out in the studio, or do you go for a few beers, how do you trash out the tunes and how do you know if you got it right?

Mostly a song is quite prepared before I present it to the band – sometimes I even record a whole demo-track including drums to show how I mean it… then we work on it, talk about certain details bout drums and bass grooves and after 3 or 4 sessions it is done and sounds good – or the song was shit.

How do ye guys get in the zone, get into the right frame of mind for writing songs/making songs?

I personally still don’t know how it exactly works. Feels like luck to me to get an idea somehow. Sometimes it appears even if you’re really in a hurry and don’t even have time for it at the moment. Or you can go to holiday, open a bottle of wine, or drink whiskey… and nothing happens…

What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

Haha, that’s a very long time ago, we rehearsed nearly every week… in the last years rehearsals have become less, because we played the songs so many times together… only for new songs actually we needed rehearsals

The Gigs/Touring:You have been on the same stage as Uncle bard, The Rumjacks, and FIDDLER’S GREEN,), anyone else that you would like to collaborate with?

keltikonFlogging Molly would be great…

Your fans? Groupies (females!)

Haha, no statements without a lawyer

Your gigs are very energetic? 

Yes, but the fat creme of Irish Coffee will compensate the loss of calories.

The friendship has survived so long, even on the road?

Well, everybody’s got quirks and being in a band touring like that is can be demanding. But after many years you know and trust each other

……you can sense it on the stage ye guys are close, brotherhood……..

For sure musically 😀

The touring? Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues?

Keltikon played exactly 171 concerts since the foundation. I’d say there were a lot of ‚favourite places‘. As the big ones we could name our supporting gigs at Z7 or Headliner at Irish Open Air Toggenburg in front of thousands… but I personally will never want to miss the pubs and there is nothing that can replace that atmosphere. I can frankly say that most organisers in Switzerland were nice and generous. The worst concert was a pub, back in 2013 in Lucerne, the owner was as high as a steeper on white wine, ex-musician (dixieland) and told us what we’re allowed to play and what not… – especially „psychedelic“ songs, how he called it, shouldn’t be played, quite an interesting experience

Have you ever dealt with performance anxiety?

Sometimes a little bit, never too much.

What is ur favourite song to perform? The bands favourite? yo

Maybe ‚Taliesin’s Poem‘, ‚The Diving Dutchman‘ and ‚Kenny McDonald’s Jig“

Which songs do you perform most frequently? A most requested song?

Maybe still ‚Dirty Old Town‘ or ‚The Irish Rover‘ – LOL

Evolution: You have had a previous album, how has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?

This is our second album. The first one was in 2014 and before was a Demo EP with a couple of songs. Think the music has changed me a bit, but still I feel that I’m a kind of punk/rock bastard 😛

The recording studio and equipment, over time has that improved? Rookie mistakes?

For our first album we recorded in an old bunker, simply on a portable tascam recorder with max. 8 tracks/mics at once (drums) loaded it on a pc. The tracks were mixed and mastered by a professional sound engineer. This time we recorded in a studio, with a good engineer supporting us.

What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? Why?

The favorite is for sure playing live. The least part? Well, sometimes booking or promotional duties.

What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

The biggest challenge might be if something technical breaks, your sound is gone and you keep a good mood playing air guitar… or if the audience is not the right one, you’re at a wrong place where your music is just not asked or you feel just consumed… luckily that happened not often… keep a stiff upper lip, don’t let anything show, keep the mood and fun between us

What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands? What is the best advice you have been given?

Do your own thing. Don’t listen to every advice because if you’d listen to all of them you’d just do nothing… don’t forget that communication and contacts will always be a big part of your success.

The rest: When you are not touring or preparing songs with the band, what is your down time?

Would say the last months have been a down time. We take it easy at the moment. Album is out, we don’t have too big expectations for this year. Let’s see how many gigs will be possible and where, one is confirmed so far…

What do your friends outside the band think or your relatives/parents?

keltikonIn my personal area only a few people are really interested in my subjects, mostly it’s people from outside. We’ve never been a „a lot of friends, partners, brothers and sisters, football club or what ever coming“-band. Would say the interest of my relatives is quite low – lol

What’s next for you?

Wait and see what’s next.

Where can people buy the new album (all the usual platforms)?

It’s available on more the 260 download and streaming platforms and will be available as physical CD in about 4 weeks.

Follow the band on social media?

Facebook, Youtube or Instagram… not that much on Twitter, you’ll find all links on our homepage: www.keltikon.com

Thanks Olaf, and I hope to see you once again, hopefully in 2020 and not too long away.

 

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards

The Men Beyond the Glass

Good chat with Silvano and Lorenzo from the band Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards, where we discuss the bands new album “The Men Beyond the Glass”, whats its like to be in a Celtic Rock band, and how the Coronavirus affected everything……….. ..

Check out Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards:

WEBSITE: https://www.ubdirtybastards.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/UBDirtyBastards/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/UBDirtyBastards

Find their music:Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/uncle-bard-the-dirty-bastards/id509295339

My time seeing the band in Switzerland

Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards

https://www.thisdrinkinglife.com/uncle-bard-the-dirty-bastards/

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Tommy Keyes, long time Super Saints fan

Interview

Had the pleasure of having a short chat with long time Super Saints fan, Tommy Keyes.  

Tommy is a Singer-Songwriter. In between a long stint as a top civil servant with the government, Tommy was a member of Irish rock band Sidewinder in the 1970s, and is now back, after a “break” of 40 years, in the profession he loves the most, wannabe rock star and keyboard extraordinaire, writing songs, making albums and performing on stage with his new band. 

He has released four albums to date, all recorded in Sun Studios at Temple Lane, with some of Ireland’s top session musicians. The albums are An Irish LifeThe Sad PursuitSome of These Stories are True, and his most recent offering, his fourth album, Temptation Once Again. An Irish life was very well received by both the critics and the public, while the song “Christmas Eve in Dublin”, a track off his latest album reached the top of the Irish singer/songwriter charts on iTunes, with the album overall getting a very healthy score of 8/10 from the Irish music mag, Hot Press, an Irish version of Rolling Stone. 

I’m Tommy Keyes, singer songwriter, recording artist and given Rob’s (me!) particular interest in football as well, I’m also very heavily involved in St. Patrick’s athletic football club and that’s where we are tonight doing this interview.

With the song Richmond nights, the start of the song……….”Hand in hand, the boy and man walk to the terraced shed, find some space and take their place among the sea of red” so……….

Yeah that song is about 3 generations. I mean my dad first brought me here, we are in Richmond park, my dad first brought me here maybe when we were 11 or 12 and then I brought my kids as soon as they were old enough to turn them into League of Ireland supporters as well. I don’t have any grandchildren yet but the song is kind of looking ahead to when you know and it’s most likely be my daughter, as my eldest daughter is very heavily involved now in the club as well, when she will have someone to bring along, and it’s the way the love of a football club, and the love of supporting the club, gets passed on from generation to generation, it’s a very, very special thing.

I think St.Pats is, I don’t know like I have seen a few of the other teams in Dublin, but I think St Pats are slightly different to maybe Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians, is more rooted within its area, its family, it’s more community based I think?

Its very rooted in the community here in Inchicore, about 10 or 12 years ago, when, 13 years ago, when the new owner Garrett Kelleher bought the club, a lot of people were telling him that the sensible thing was to, to sell up the ground here, move out to Tallaght which was been developed at that stage, share the ground with Shamrock Rovers, and he very quickly realized that if you did that you would kill the club because the club is absolutely rooted in the community here. Not just Inchicore but the areas around it, West Dublin, its of this place and we couldn’t move so he quickly said no the club is never moving from here.

And is it hard to get people out these days to follow the League of Ireland?

It’s very hard because any night of the week…..I mean we are here Friday night and we are playing Dundalk, who are the best team in the country so this should be a massive match but Liverpool are on television tonight so we are definitely going to lose supporters to that but the one thing I will say is that there seems to be a bit of a resurgence since the start of this season, we have had very good gates for home matches, Bohemians, our last away match was in Bohemians away last week, they sold out. We sold out for our last match here against Shamrock Rovers, we had to turn people away …….you know we are talking here about you know……4,300, 4,400, we are not talking about massive gates, but you know things are improving, but I mean the quality of the football is extremely good and you can shout at the television as much as you like it’s not the same as shouting at players who can hear you………….and referees who can hear you…..

Attendances are up this season……….

Definitely

Is there a reason for that, I mean for this season especially…….?

A lot of the clubs including ourselves did some very, very good promotion videos that went viral on YouTube and all that type of thing, maybe people have a bit more money in their pocket, the quality of the football is very good, I mean a lot of the time what we are trying to do is to get people to bring their friends to a match or two, because we know that if they see how good the product is, the entertainment is, they will come again.

And since you have been following them what was the highlight season for you?

Well….I have been following them 50 years, we have won the league 6 times in that period, but I think nothing really can beat winning the FAI cup in 2014, in the Aviva because that was the hoodoo that was hanging over this club, you know, 7 cup finals, we won the cup back in I think about 61, and after that we were in 7 cup finals and we lost every single one of them.  And like some of them were so close, Shelbourne went to a replay, Derry went to extra time, we lost, 7 in a row we lost, so there was this jinx hanging over us, we are never going to win the cup, even though we won 6 leagues in the same period, and we beat Derry 2-0 in the Aviva in 2014 and that was really, really special.

https://youtu.be/YLwzH42S2tQ

Did you drink for a week after that!?

Ah, no comment on that!

And there has been some special European nights here as well. Once we get beyond a certain stage in Europe we have to move to Tallaght or whatever,  and it’s never as good,  but when this place is packed for a European night you know, we played Elfsborg from Sweden and we were losing on aggregate with about 5 minutes to go, we just needed a goal to win on away goals, we got the goal and then we got another goal, and that was just a massive, massive night.

https://youtu.be/rgcAHb4dhw8

Well cult heroes I mean then, its Paul McGrath……..

Every generation brings it cults heroes, I mean we have a lad at the club at the moment Ian Birmingham, the captain, it’s his testimonial year this year, 10th successive season, and that’s 10 seasons always been in the first team, you rarely get that in League of Ireland football now.

But you know, people like Paul Osam, Eddie Gormley, Curtis Fleming, and people older than me will talk about people like Ginger O’Rourke, and Timber Cummins and people like these fellas back in the 50’s so its generation to generation.

There is a kid here at the moment called Jamie Lennon, you will see him tonight, he is a defensive midfielder,  came on as a sub for the Ireland under 21’s in tallaght there last Sunday week, you know he is a star of the future.

Chris Forrester is back, Chris has had a disastrous year, he was doing really well at Peterborough and then it kind of went off the boil, they sold him to Aberdeen and that didn’t work out at all, so he is home now, and he hasn’t played very much football in the last year so he is only  finding his feet again, when he finds his feet he is going to be massive, he was one of the legends here……….

So what should I expect tonight in terms of atmosphere…?

The atmosphere will be good, we are on a bad roll because the team hasn’t quite gelled with the new signings, Dundalk are the best team in the country, notwithstanding that Shamrock Rovers might be top of the table at the moment, so we are very much up against it, if we get anything out of the game tonight that would be good.

Then with regards music Tommy, so how is the music going for you these days?

The music is going very well, I was working in a completely different….I was working away from music for nearly 40 years because in the 70s I had been in bands, and so on, and I was the main songwriter in the bands that I was in, and then I was away from music for 40 years because I had a different career and it just didn’t leave any room for music, but I retired from that in 2015 and went straight into the studio and recorded stuff, started doing albums, getting back gigging, looking around for singer songwriter sessions…….I’m not really interested in going into pubs doing covers,

You do your own songs…

I do my own stuff and there are, particularly around Dublin, there are places where you can go and play your own material and I ended up landing on my feet really, because I got involved with a pub in Dublin called Darkie Kelly’s, which has singer songwriter night on Tuesdays, and I started playing that and then they asked me to host it and then they asked me to run it and so I run that session now, and I get to do quite a few original songs, and every Tuesday night and we usually have 9 or 10 other singer songwriters who all perform and then we have a big jam at the end, and I do a thing then in the same place, an idea came up with myself last year called the Sunday Song Brunch where twice a month we have half 12 until 3 o’clock sessions on a Sunday where we have much the same thing. And the nice thing about that is our musicians because during the day, musicians who have young kids, the kids maybe never seen daddy or mammy play so they can bring them in, so that’s nice as well.

I’m very content, 4th album, Temptation Once Again, came out in November, has done really well, got really nice reviews for it, getting a good bit of radio play, I’m never going to make money out of this but it doesn’t matter I just want my original songs out there

But you get your own audience online……..

That’s exactly it, that’s exactly it.

Does the football feed off it, when you are standing on the terraces on a cold wet night, does inspiration hit you………

Well I don’t know about that. but the first thing is I look around the ground as you will do this evening and behind each goal I will see a big billboard Tommy Keyes, that I decided I was going to put a little bit of money into promotion so St pats might as well have it…….so every time that Soccer Republic (TV Show) is on or whatever it is called now, if they are showing any goals from Richmond Park, just a quick little subliminal add that catches everyone for Tommy Keyes, which is good.

Which would be better, the buzz from a live performance, you are playing in front of people, or a goal tonight, is there…………

They are both brilliant……. that’s like saying you can only keep one of your kids……..which one would you give up, you couldn’t really choose between those………….

You said you were with Sidewinder back in the day…..

In the 70’s………….

Yeah, is there much of a difference between then and these times?

Yeah well first of all, big difference personally because I was just the keyboard player in the band I was never the front man, now it’s me, I’m Tommy Keyes, sometimes I play with a band, but it would be the band I put together myself and so on…………so it is different……

And the other big difference is now, and this is why I said I feel very sorry for young musicians now, in those days you could actually make money doing it, you know….the gigs all paid, there were big crowds and all that type of thing, and if you brought out an album or single people would buy it, now the venues generally don’t pay, or pay very, very little, and everyone downloads the albums, singles, or streams them whatever, I mean if you hear everything you want to hear on Spotify, why are you going to buy things, and that’s the problem. So, in terms of it been a money-making proposition it is very difficult.

But you are more catered to your audience I think due to YouTube and social media; you can go direct to your audience.

Absolutely, you can target them in that way.

Ok Tommy, just with regards to tonight’s game, any predictions on the game ………….

Mmmm………my head says we will lose, and my heart says a one all draw.

I think they lost in the cup there (To Dundalk) ……….

We played them in the League Cup on Monday, 2-1 defeat, yeah

But that was the second team maybe?

Well yeah both teams were under strength for the game you know.

Our problem this season is scoring goals, and our striker, Mikey Drennan is the only player who has scored so far this season and unfortunately, he got sent off against Bohemians last week so he is suspended so that doesn’t help. Gary Shaw is playing up front

Ok so it might be a one nil then, a narrow one nil then

I will take that now

Ninetieth minute

I will take that now.

Ok thanks very much……………….

(Game ended one nil to St. Pats!)

Follow Tommy Keyes

http://www.tommykeyes.com/

twitterfacebookyoutube

I did a short and brief review of two of Tommy’s albums. I am not a great music reviewer, maybe not even a good beer reviewer, but I gave it a try. 

An Irish Life: Tommy Keyes (2016)

This album is Tommy reminiscing about the olden days, the time he was growing up as a wee lad, the teenage years of angst and rock music, gigging around the country, the monotony of a working stiff, and the equal pleasures and sadness of seeing his daughters grow up and then leave home. Basically it’s the story of Tommy’s life in music, and in poetic form sang with passion and feeling. The soundtrack to his life in all its glory and wonder, just like the lives of his fellow compatriots, a life not too separated from what so many were going through in Ireland at the time, an Irish life we all know so well. 

The album is cleverly set up into 4 parts: Spring, Summer, Autumn and, finishing with, Christmas. Showing the various stages of life in music form, hot stepping it as a young nipper in spring, football in the summer, sad reflections in autumn, and get togethers around the family tree at Christmas. 

From the beginning we are brought into the life of a dreamer, “I was there” is the first track, taking us back to the days of late night clubs and old gigs, the craic was great and the fun Tommy had………..”Those were crazy days, I know cause I was there”, all played out to the beat of an old style light rock tempo just like what was heard back in the day. Great start, sets us up nicely, gets us in the mood…………

“Happy days” is another cracker of a tune, love it. This time Tommy goes back even further, to the excitement he had as a young nipper acting out make believe scenes as a cowboy, football superstar, or 007, like we all did when we were kids. Happy days indeed. “In our field of dreams we’ll be football teams, we’ll take to the pitch in the green shirt of Ireland, win every match on the way to the final”. Great, makes me wonder do the young ones these days, what with their Iphone and Ipads, have the same amount of fun we had when we were young, somehow I doubt it. The backing vocals on this track provided by Ellen and Cian O’Mahoney are excellent, and what makes the song stand out. There is also a nice guitar solo, from Dick Farrelly, midway through the track, just to remind you of Tommy’s rock credentials! 

The soft rock and easy listening continues with the next tune, “Landscape Park”, again about childhood memories, again about football in the park, “Kick a football until dark”. Something tells me Tommy, was a keen footballer and perhaps music was not his first love!

“SmallTown Superstars”, track 4, goes off on a little tangent, more of a country twang to this song, pretty upbeat and chirpy, and another guitar solo from Mr Dick Farrelly, perhaps highlighting the mix of the showband and the new music coming from across the water, “We were children of the 50’s, we grow up with rock n roll”, before Tommy and his mates had a band themselves and while making all the local newspapers, they “were small town superstars”, for a while at least living the dream. 

After the upbeat start Tommy slows it down a bit for the next few songs, a more soulful, more soothing collection of memories. “In Dublin” is about emigration, a subject I think most Irish people are only too well aware of, “We’re climbing slowly in the sky, never look behind, leaving on our own, America, Australia, we’re never coming home!”, while “Long Distance Call” is another reminder of the ways things were pre internet or pre skype when calling from afar. A call home, to loved ones, “On Bondi Beach on Christmas day the sky is clear, I just called to say I’m fine”. The backing vocals create an air of sadness and shows how distance does indeed make the heart grow fonder.  

Tommy’s life has settled down as shown in the next few tracks, as a working man in “Sleep She Said“, a “cog in the wheel in a lifetime of service, when morning comes I do it all again!”, all played out with a lovely melody on the guitar. He has grown up and now has a young child, “My Little Girl, it is a “Slowdown world for me and my girl”. track 8, mid life, mid album.  

We then move onto my favourite track of the album and the song that got me into Tommy’s music, “Richmond Nights”, an ode to time spent watching St Patrick’s Athletic as a young lad, “Hand in hand, the boy and man walk to the terraced shed, find some space and take their place among the sea of red”, excellently setting out the scene of footballing seeds taking root. Tommy later sings about continuing this family tradition with his daughter, “in years to come, one will hold tight to his hand, when she’s allowed to join the crowd”. I love the way Tommy expertly shows through this song, what football is all about, the love of the game passed down, generation to generation. This is what it’s all about, the passion of the beautiful game, all highlighted perfectly in “Richmond Nights”.

More beautiful poetry in the next track, song 10, “Bloom”, another slow number, this time a song to his daughter, the memories of her growing up, and now she is in adulthood, “The rose is in bloom”. “Souvenirs” follows in the same vein, “A baby tooth, a tattered teddy bear, a lock of golden hair”. By the time we get to “Dust In My Eye”, we see his daughter has grown up, “I am standing in terminal two, handing your suitcase to you”, as she prepares to travel abroad. In “Shooting Stars”, he hopes she will return, “near or far, please be here for Christmas. All these songs are slow numbers, one follows the other, a father showing his love for his children in music form. Anyone that is a parent can empathise with this passion from the heart. 

“An old Irish song” is a number with some traditional music included, there is a bodhran, the tin whistle, a fiddle, even some As Gaeilge sung beautifully by Ellen O’Mahoney and Carla Ryan. One of my favourite tracks, as it is hard to get an original traditional tune right, but Tommy does it just fine. The song is about where his mother taught. 

The last track, “New Years Eve”, highlights the ending of the year, a time when we are all together as a family, and the album comes full circle, a pleasant conclusion to the life and times of Tommy Keyes. It starts like it will be a version of Auld Lang Syne but with a touch of Dublin soul. “Here we are again in New Years Eve around the family tree”. A fitting end to a great album.

I enjoyed this album a lot and in some sense it is good that Tommy has returned to music but this time without the pressures of trying to “make it” or the endless hassle of meeting album deadlines and doing gigs for self promotion. Now that Tommy has lived, his music shows a more soulful reflective mood, easy going and with a wonderful poetic style of writing easy for the listener to follow and partake in. It is a good album and one to listen to again and again. 

Temptation Once Again: Tommy Keyes (2018)

Two years after “An Irish Life” Tommy returns with “Temptation Once Again”, another easy listening collection of songs, but this time the topic is love, the good and the bad of it all. The “mainstays of the live set”, were brought to life in the studio with a team of the best session singers and musicians one can find! 

On the cover we see temptation…………..women, beer, the party lifestyle…………the story of my life! (yeah right!)

“Just A Simple Love Song”, kicks off the album, and what an excellent track to start with, brilliant, we get the the drums, piano, the backing vocals, violin, cello, sax, all coming together nicely, music that has a bit of everything, but “it’s just a simple love song for you”. “Snakes and Ladders”, seamlessly into song two, a similar song and mood, love is in the air…………..”feels like we’re playing a game of snakes and ladders, and we’re always falling down”, the turbulence of a rocky relationship but feels like it will all work out in the end. In both songs backing singer Ellen O’Mahoney and Tommy on lead vocals guide the songs expertly to their destination. 

Track three, “By My Side” is a kind of Randy Newman style number, I half expect to hear it on the new Toy Story movie, a contemplative song, “I was searching far and wide for an answer that was right there by my side” true love was found. 

“Superman”, the next track, sounds like an ode to Tommy’s parents, working the piano, while singing some soul, “little fingers wipe away the tears, pull the blanket tight around my ears”.

Track five, “It Wouldn’t Be Me”, and we are back to the Randy Newman crispy voiced pop sounds. Works well and easy to listen to. This time we see some problems from the lovers, “I can change if you want me to, I can be anyone you’d like me to be, but it wouldn’t be me!”. Richie Buckley on sax is heavy on this one. Nice tune. 

We get to see the reality of life as a young musician, on “Brimful In My Soul”, “I’m empty in my pockets but I’m brimful in my soul”, the harsh life as a musician with promises of stardom, “I was playing a open mic to a crowd of nine or ten”. Temptation here, perhaps, is to pack it in, give up on your first love……………….music? A very good song, love the story in it, from the heart and a nice slow number with Tommy perhaps giving us a glimpse of the struggles he, like a lot of musicians, went through for his craft.

Track seven, “Something’s Broken”, like the previous song, is another mellow piano sound that lingers in the mind. “Lean on me and I’ll guide you home” perhaps a song showing his love towards his children? “I promise you, you’ll never be alone”

Tommy on the piano once again shining in the next number, “The Moon and the Stars”. Gerrard Farrelly softly on the drums, while the chorus “you light up the night like the moon and the stars” sang beautifully by Ellen and Cian o’Mahoney, Paul o’Toole, and Padraig MacMahon, easy going and upbeat, the couple are back in love again. And “Everyday I Fall In Love Again” an enduring love song, Tommy’s upbeat tones declaring “everyday I fall in love again with you, with you, everyday I fall in love with you”, undying love. 

But is the love undying since we move onto track ten and we get “Temptation Once Again”, an easy going soul/pop number, where an older man encounters a younger woman, “she’s walks in your direction flashes you a smile”, “experience is best”, tempting for the old man. Another song where the musicians and the session band come together as one, with a great sax again by Richie Buckley, and Gerrard Farrelly on the drums again smooching it up, with, I am guessing his brother, Dick Farrelly on bass strumming out those heavy moods, all in unison, excellent track. 

“Valentine” brings the pace down a bit, a slow love song with the excellent pairing of Aisling Bridgeman and Aine Gallagher on their violins in the background, a lovely song of “two lovers growing old, bring(ing) back those memories, bring(ing) back that smile”

Track 12, “Christmas Eve in Dublin”, did very well in the ITunes charts, and it’s not hard to see why, as it’s a lovely seasonal song perfect for the time of year that’s in it, meeting in the pub over pints, seeing “Just the same old faces, just the same old show Christmas Eve on Dublin, they say it looks like snow”, slow number with a lovely guitar melody running through. Pubs, pints and Dublin, what’s not to love there? 

Perhaps track 13 shows what can happen if you indulge too much in the old beer drinking, as “I Was Joking”, Tommy sings about acting the maggot, playing the joker, but it got out of hand, “I never meant to hurt you, I was joking that was all”. A break up on the cards?, “Now I know the jokes on me”

Perhaps the break up has happened as in “Drunk Lullaby”, it certainly looks like lost love and someone has hit the drink, “A bottle of rye and a drunk lullaby and an old faded picture of you”, Clare Kinsella on the cello the stand out here, very good. 

Bu the last track, “Land’s End”, Tommy looks back on life again, “memories, nothing more, lands end, lands end, land end” a song that reminds me of Tom Waits with his gravelly voice, contemplative and reflecting the short time we have on this little old planet we have”awaiting the last ship, to the other side, lands end, lands end, lands end”. A great song to finish a very good album, an album where time spent perfecting the songs in the studio was well worth it all with the musicians in their own unique ways come together to produce a well crafted love album. I was thinking that Tommy could be the Irish version of Louis Armstrong, Randy Newman or at times Tom Waits. take your pick!  Yes it is that good!

Full video of interview here

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Irish Stew

irish stewManaged to grab a short chat with Bojan off Irish Stew

Celtic music: Why? What’s the reason you play Celtic music?

Well it’s a simple answer, why not, we believe we all have the same Celtic roots back in Serbia, actually the Celts were there 1000 years ago
I listened to a lot of Irish music, I grew up with Irish music, I didn’t listen to Serbian music at all. I just heard the Pogues and that was that.

Why did you call the band Irish stew of Sindidiun?

Sindidiun is an old Celtic name for Belgrade, so that’s the reason

What was the first Irish song you tried with Irish stew?

I think it was the most popular traditionals like Whiskey in the Jar, the Irish Rover and stuff like that, then after we did some covers and then we decided to make our own songs and do that

Playing with the Orthodox Celts, did those guys give you much help?

Yeah yeah, of course They were the first band in Serbia playing the Irish music, so they were also a big influence and I’m proud to be member of the Orthodox Celts as well
(on OC front-man Aleksandar) What a great singer and a great person

If I go to Serbia, is there really a deep love for Celtic music, is the connection really that strong, the connection?

Yeah, historically yeah, the Celts were all round Europe they actually founded Belgrade, before the Romans, they set up the city

What’s the ingredients for a good Irish Song?

A good energy, a bit of happiness a bit of sorrow, that’s basically an Irish song, ha ha!

What’s your favourite song that you composed?

The Lady of Tomorrow, from the latest album. When I wrote this song I imagined she was from Ireland!

Full article here

Carry on Camping, the unOrthodox Celtic way!

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Orthodox Celts

orthodox celtsInterview with Aleksandar, not long after he had finished the concert

So that was a tight deadline, wasn’t it?

You tell me, tell me your impression

Well you were on for 9 but you didn’t start until 10.30

You know we planned to be here at 1 pm. To make a sound check at half past 5, to have some kind of relaxed time before the gig and to start playing at 9

But actually everything went wrong, first we started our journey last night at 9.30 pm, there was heavy rain in Belgrade so we started to travel an hour later, 10:30

We went to Hungary, we were in Budapest around one o’clock

Those guys closed the highway. We lost two hours in Budapest, then we arrived at the border around 7.30 and were there until 1.30 pm (the next day)

We really were wondering shall we make it our not, actually we didn’t believe we would be on time,

We were ready to call the organizers to move the concert until tomorrow, but everything went ok

We came here at 9.05, so we did a sound check and then we started playing as soon as we can

The warm up band played some similar songs, but ye guys rocked it tonight.

The set list for this occasion, and for occasions like this, is always full of traditional’s, but when we cover other songs we try not to do as other bands do, we are trying to make it personal so maybe that’s why it sounds different.

The band before us, a great traditional band, but we make it much more rock

orthodox celtsSo where does the inspiration come from?

Me, personally,  the start was my father, as I was little he was always listening to the Dubliners and stuff like that so I was used to listening to Irish folk, to Celtic folk, to Scottish folk

Later on I discovered the Pogues and that was the trigger . I can say that with pride just because they were the first to mix all those punk and rock stuff with folk

When you are listening to all those bands after the Pogues, just punk, the Pogues were much more than that

Why Irish music, because it was the most comfortable thing for me to express myself

You know when we are talking about music it’s a huge thing, I like classical, I like rock, I like punk, but overall I express myself through Irish music

You finally got the chance to play with Shane MacGowan, what was that like? (Exit Festival, Serbia, singing the Irish rover, 2002)

orthodox celtsI cried, you can believe me or not, when he came onto the stage I was crying like a child

Shane was like, “what the fuck is going on”, why is he crying. It was great!

My wife was with me, she was like, “come on”, but I was crying!

I was trying to get in touch with Shane for some time before that and when they told me I would be on the stage with him it was, first, an honour, secondly for me something special, he is the one reason why I am doing this.

But actually the main impact on me is Ronnie Drew, not Shane himself, but Ronnie Drew it was his attitude , Ronnie was the main man, Shane was an inspirational person, the one who made me writing lyrics, but attitude, I don’t know how to say that but gentleman stuff was Ronnie

I always think that if I am Irish he’d be my grandfather, that’s it, I was so familiar with this person, just listening to him

The success of Star of the County Down video?

First of all you must know we didn’t start doing this because we wanted to be famous, this is what we are, believe me, Serbians are much in love with the Celts, I mean the ancient Celts, most citizens are from Belgrade, the Celts disappeared, sorry, but we are Celtic people, some-parts, so it was a reason why people feel what we feel

We didn’t know what it would sound like to be honest, I mean the greatest breakthrough of ours, Yes we uploaded ten years (after it was first produced), so when YouTube came around we grabbed the chance, and we did it!

Full article here

Carry on Camping, the unOrthodox Celtic way!

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Uncle Bard and the Dirty Bastards

Interview with Paolo (manager) and Lorenzo (banjo)

Uncle Bard & The Dirty BastardsSo Uncle bard and the Bastards explain the name

Paolo Well the very evening when the band started out they just played one short gig, it was with our friend Roberto the bard, Robert the bard

Real Irish name!

Paolo And at first they didn’t know how to call themselves and they just made this name up, I mean, the dirty bastards but it was meant to be just one short gig

Actually the gig went very well, and they decided to go on and they kept the name actually

And where was the first gig, somewhere in Ireland?

Paolo No, in Italy

Lorenzo Close to where we live, close to Milan

Uncle Bard & The Dirty BastardsBut you all met in Dublin and brought it back, did you?

Lorenzo The bass player in Dublin spent a lot of time in Ireland (Rob ‘Uncle Bard’ Orlando)

Paolo But they met in Italy

Lorenzo But we were friends before

The first gig, so you said it went well?

Paolo They enjoyed themselves and they decided to go on because it was worth it,

Did you play Irish traditional songs or was it more you own kind of stuff or was it just let’s see what we can do. See how it works so

Lorenzo It was traditional songs. Some Flogging molly, some Dropkick Murphy’s, some Dubliners stuff

I mean there are a few bands that do Celtic music in Italy, isn’t there?

Lorenzo Nowadays…yes

Paolo We like drawing a line between the bands that play Irish music because they love Irish music and they also love Ireland, and the bands that play Irish music just because its fashion

Lorenzo yeah, it’s a sort of fashion nowadays in Italy

Paolo Celtic stuff

Lorenzo but there are really  good bands, good bands but it was different when we started no one playing Irish music expect for traditional Irish music

It was hard to find venues to play in…

So how did you build up your fan base, was just word of mouth, or it was something new?

Lorenzo It was something new and we are playing every weekend so people learn the songs….

Got used to you! I know this song, I know this song!

Lorenzo Yeah!

What’s your favourite song, of the guys? (to the manager)

Paolo The guys, I think its….

He is trying to remember a song now, look!

He is playing for time now….

Lorenzo do you want to check the check list

Paolo “I did not belong to this world”, I have to admit that’s my favourite song

Lorenzo Only because I am the song writer!

A request tonight, yeah!

Uncle Bard & The Dirty BastardsSo Paolo what about 2016 for the band, what are you hoping for?

2016?

Paolo 2016, ok it is going to be a great year for the Bastards, as we have a lot of requests at the moment and

People are really happy with them, I don’t why because you can see Silvano here, you can look at him

Baby face

Paolo He doesn’t deserve it the bastard (tag) especially, ha ha

We are doing well

They are doing well and

So we are full of requests from all over the world

From all over Europe

And we are hoping to go to Ireland, to play in Ireland

National stadium in Dublin

We have very good reports from places where they have played

In August they have played in the Netherlands in front of 10,000 people

We got a large number of messages on Facebook, Facebook messages just to congratulate us

And actually so things are getting better and better

Uncle Bard & The Dirty BastardsSo what’s your part in the band anyway? (to Lorenzo)

Lorenzo I play the banjo, the banjo and the mandolin

But tonight I will only play the banjo

So what can we expect from the band tonight, what kind of music are you going to play,

How would you describe your sounds?

Paolo Crap!

Lorenzo Bullshit, ha

Very good manager, here, very good manager!

Lorenzo We are going to play sounds of our album, a few traditional ones, Irish traditional, but even a couple of songs written by English song writers

Uncle Bard & The Dirty BastardsI have a question like, what is the Italian part of your band, I mean there must have some kind of Italian kick to the band, there must be something that you can bring from Italy to a Celtic punk band?

Lorenzo H’mmm. I really don’t know! Except the looks maybe

Yeah ok you are good looking guys

Don’t look like Shane MacGowan or anything that’s for sure

Lorenzo I really don’t know

When you are up playing the banjo, do you instantly click into an Irish or is it just….

Lorenzo Yeah because banjo is not a musical instrument that we play in Italy, so the only way to play it is in an Irish way or a bluegrass way

And I learnt to play the banjo in Ireland

Is this when you were Busking around Dublin, and….how did that go for you busking around England and Ireland and Wales…?

Lorenzo It was a great experience

Was it a bit daunting at the start, was it a bit nervous?

Lorenzo Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was really a great experience

Do you have any crazy stories from your time busking on the streets

Grafton street, must have been difficult, because there are so many people that be playing on Grafton street

Lorenzo Yeah but there are rules between the buskers, and you just have to keep distance and then at the end of the day you are playing with other musicians. It’s really great because there is friendship between musicians. And we started playing with three guys and then we ended up in 20 maybe, with a Russian guy playing guitar and a few Irish musicians

It was really, really beautiful

Ok, and did you play in Galway as well? Galway is always pretty good for busking, isn’t it?

Lorenzo It is. It is. And the level of the musicians are really high

So what about 2016 then, what are your plans, what are your hopes?

Lorenzo We are writing the songs for the new album

We will do a summer tour

Will that include any gigs in London or Ireland?

Lorenzo Maybe London we are talking about it, don’t know yet when and where?

What does the manager say?

Paolo with a couple of venues, but for the moment it is really hard to get there but we are in talks with them, we are trying to get there

Lorenzo I don’t know if we are going to play in Ireland because

Italians play Irish music in Ireland

Paolo It sounds strange!

Uncle Bard & The Dirty BastardsBut I think Irish people like to see their culture appreciated and they like to see, you know, it’s cool for us to see that we are not just crazy Irish people playing this music, someone else appreciates it, you know

Lorenzo I hope so!

So what got you into the scene anyway, I mean how did you start? How did you get into this music?

Lorenzo Well every one of us has a different story about it

I stared playing the banjo

I started visiting, living for a few months in Ireland

And then I started learning Irish music.

What made you pick up the Banjo, why particularly the banjo?

Lorenzo Because I used to play the guitar, so I try

It was fun, so

What’s your kind of favourite song on the banjo, what’s your favourite tune?

Lorenzo My favourite tune

I prefer to play jigs more than reels

Whereas ballads probably Raglan Road or the Town I love So Well, we will play tonight.

The Town I love so Well is one of my favourite songs ever

We will be looking at you tonight then!

You played with the Dropkick Murphy’s, what was that like?

Lorenzo Twice, a really great experience

Did you get to meet them, hang out with them?

Lorenzo Yeah, yeah, Kenny is one of the best and better musicians I have ever met, really, we were sound checking, and he went on stage, stopped just to shake hands to every one of us, thanking us for been there, was incredible

So where abouts was it again, England or Ireland, no it was Italy where you played with the Dropkick Murphy’s?

Lorenzo Turin and Milan, it was a sold out show so

Did you learn anything from looking at the….., I don’t know, looking at the stars of Celtic (rock) music at the moment or whatever?

Lorenzo Really nice guys, they are really professional

Full article here

A bunch of Italian Bastards

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Olaf Ohl, lead singer of Keltikon

Here is an interview with OLAF OHL, lead singer of Keltikon, Switzerland’s best Celtic Punk rock band. 

Check out his music here

A drink with Keltikon, Switzerland's Celtic Punk Rock band, irish music, beer, irish pub, bagpipes

A drink with Keltikon, Switzerland's Celtic Punk Rock band, irish music, beer, irish pub, bagpipesWhere did you get the inspiration for starting a Swiss punk Celtic band?

We had a kind of blues rock band first, which didn’t work out, then I met a half Scottish half English guy Ian Duncan, so I founded the band with him. At first we only played acoustic guitar and pipes  and so after some months Rino the bass player joined us, then  we got our first fiddle player, drummer and …….

You haven’t been going to long, you’ve only been around since 2012 I think, so what’s the feedback so far?

Mostly good!

I see you have even been to the Czech Republic, you’re even doing touring outside of Switzerland?

Yes, yes, that was pretty nice. I love Czech Rep for many years and I go there regularly, twice or three times a year. I got a lot of friends there, I know a punk band there so we organise a little tour last year. We will go there again this year, also we can play at the festivals there

So what about 2015? Any different venues, perhaps London, or even Ireland, maybe!?

Maybe for March the 17th?

St Patrick ’s Day in Dublin?

Would be great!

What was the first Celtic punk album you listened to? Were you into the Pogues, the Dubliners, even Stiff Little Fingers or………..?

A drink with Keltikon, Switzerland's Celtic Punk Rock band, irish music, beer, irish pub, bagpipesFor me it was definitely The Pogues, in the 80’s

Why the Pogues?

I don’t know!

I mean you are living in Switzerland!

Because the Pogues are famous all around the world, and even an idiot like me realised this band exits!

What was the very first song you learnt for the band, what was the first number?

It was Lark in the Morning (Traditional Irish song)

Ian came in and it’s also a pipe tune so he came in with the pipe tune, and I found out that there is a real good version from the Johnsons (1960s Irish folk band) which I remember well, from the 60s so we picked this one.

A drink with Keltikon, Switzerland's Celtic Punk Rock band, irish music, beer, irish pub, bagpipes

Who is the creative person behind the band?

It’s actually me because I arranged and wrote most of the songs, and I’m doing the bookings for the band.

I have to ask about your last album, what was it called!

‘Agenbite of Inwit’A drink with Keltikon, Switzerland's Celtic Punk Rock band, irish music, beer, irish pub, bagpipes

Yes, what the hell is that!

Inspired by a book of James Joyce, Ulysses, about a woman with a real hard feel for catholic guilt, and ‘Agenbite of Inwit’ means deep remorse or been very sorry for everything. And we wrote up this song because we dedicated it to Dominique Strauss Kahn, Silvio Berlusconi and Donald Trump

What!

They don’t have any ‘Agenbite of Inwit’ in their life.

Yes I seen that in one of your concerts, Ian mentioned Berlusconi and Donald Trump in a concert and I didn’t get the connection!

Yeah, so that’s the reason why!

That album, there is quite a variety in that album, I mean you have your bang, bang guitar music, then some kind of melodies, it is quite an extensive album. I mean you have “Seven Sisters of Seven Seas”, and then you have a bit more rockier tunes, so what was that like making that album?   All different kind of influences?

Well it’s more like the pop rock songs were more written by Ian. Actually I like this music too but I tried to get something else in, but I like punk music anyway, I was composing the faster and harder tunes.

It got very good feedback from all the punk websites, I’m sure you have seen. I think you were compared to Neil Young in one website! 

To Neil Young!

Yes, did you not see that!

Yes I’ve heard that. Well actually it’s really true I am a huge fan of Neil Young but I would never have thought that anybody can hear that on our album!

Do you have any die-hard fans that follow you around all the time when you are travelling around Switzerland?

There is only one, Alex!

Ha, we already met him!

We have other fans coming regularly, but Alex is with us for nearly every concert.

Have you ever had any article of underwear thrown at you at a gig!? Not Alex’s!

Not yet, as far as I can remember!

A drink with Keltikon, Switzerland's Celtic Punk Rock band, irish music, beer, irish pub, bagpipes(To Alex) Alex is the number one fan over here. Alex, what’s so special about this band, tell me?

Well they are a good band, they have some great music, there great guys, and well they are very friendly, they bring me to the concert and bring me back!

What about the lead singer? I heard he is a bit moody?

Sometimes, sometimes. If he is in a bad mood you shouldn’t talk to him.

He was compared to Neil Young, would you agree with that?

Well, Neil Young is not as good!

Well that’s why you’re the number one fan!

A drink with Keltikon, Switzerland's Celtic Punk Rock band, irish music, beer, irish pub, bagpipes(back to Olaf) We are drinking beer all the time, so what’s the best beer in Switzerland?

Well there are a lot of interesting beers, at the moment I like CHOPFAB very much, it’s a beer brewed in Winterthur. It’s a nice smooth draught beer. It’s the translation of Headless

And what’s your favourite Irish beer?

Well, Smithwicks

So, what’s the best pub in the world?

I guess the best pub I was in was in Edinburgh, but I forgotten its name!

If you had to choose Scotland, Ireland or Switzerland what’s your choice?

Well I don’t know, Ireland

But unfortunately I’ve never been there

Shocking, that’s the headline!

I guess I will find a way there soon, with Alex!

Cheers

 An unedited audio version of the interview is here. The “knicker version”

Full article here

A Drink with Keltikon

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

The wearing of the green

“The Wearing of the Green” song, with lyrics

The Wearing of the Green: Historical Context

“The Wearing of the Green” is a traditional Irish folksong that dates back to the Irish Rebellion of 1798, when the Irish rose up against the British. The revolutionary Society of United Irishmen adopted green as its colour, and supporters wore green-coloured garments, ribbons, or cockades. 

At that time of the late 18th Century, the wearing of green clothing or shamrocks by native Irish people was considered by the British authorities as a rebellious act in and of itself, and potentially even punishable by death.

 It is to an old Irish air, and many versions of the lyric exist, the best-known being by Dion Boucicault, an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas.

The tune of “The Wearing of the Green” was first published in The Citizen, or Dublin Monthly Magazine, vol. III, January–June 1841. 

The Orthodox Celts is a Serbian band formed in Belgrade in 1992 which plays Irish folk music combined with rock elements. I like their version of the old song, they give it some passion and make the fire in the belly of any true Irish patriot rise up….. I had the good fortune to meet the boys in the Orthodox Celts, a great bunch of lads….. read it here 

“The Wearing of the Green” Lyrics:

Music from the Orthodox Celts

Oh. Paddy dear and did you hear the news that’s goin’ round?

The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground.

St. Patrick’s Day no more will keep his colour can’t be seen

For they hangin’ men and women for the wearing of the green.

I met with Napper tandy and he took me by the hand.

He said : “How’s dear old Ireland and how does she stand?”

She’s the most distressful country that you have ever seen

For they’re hanging men and women for the wearing of the green.

For the wearing of the green, for the wearing of the green

They’re hanging men and women for the wearing of the green.

And if the colour we must wear is england’s cruel red,

Shure Ireland sons will ne’er forget the blood that they have shed.

You may take the shamrock from your hat and cast it down the sod,

‘Twill take all root and flourish there, tho’ under foot ’tis trod.

My father loved his country and sweeped from in ‘is breast,

But I had one they died for her must never soul be blessed.

Most tears me mother shad for me, how’d bitter they had been,

But I had proved the traitor for the wearing of the green.

And if at last our coloured shirt be thorn from Ireland’s heart,

Her sons would shame and sorrow for the dear old my wound heart.

I hear the whisper of the land that lies me on the sea,

Where rich and poor stand equal in the light of freedom’s day.

Oh, Ireland, must believe you driven high from tyrant’s hand,

And see come mother’s blessing from the strange and distant land,

Where the cruel cross of England shall never more be seen,

And in that land we live and die still wearing Ireland’s green.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post