The multi-talented Danú.
The great Irish band Danú hasn’t visited the States for about two years. But on March 7—just in time for an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration— Danú will be in Philadelphia for a concert at Penn’s Annenberg Center.
Button accordion virtuoso Benny McCarthy of County Waterford was one of the founding members of the band, which first roared onto the scene at the Lorient Inter-Celtic Festival in Brittany in 1995. The band, such as it was, didn’t even have a name before then.
Danú has more than made a name for itself since then. We caught up with McCarthy in a call to his home in Waterford, just prior to the beginning of the band’s U.S tour. Here’s what he had to say about Danú, his life, and Irish music in general.
Q. Danú has become one of the preeminent bands in Irish music. In the beginning, was that what you saw happening, with the band evolving and being together so long, or did you dare to think that big?
A. “I never thought that big. We never set out to be a full-time touring band. That evolved. We just found ourselves doing festivals and touring with bands we loved, like Dé Danann and Altan, and all these great musicians we grew up listening to, all of a sudden we knew their names and they ours.
All we really cared about, at the end of the day, is playing the music and having a good night and giving everyone else a good night. That remains our primary focus. We’re not too caught up in “what is our record sales for this month.” We’re a music-driven band rather than an industry-driven band.
Q. You started playing in ’87. How old were you? Did you come from a musical family? And why accordion?
A. I started playing when I was 13. I’ll be 34 the 6th of March.
My own parents didn’t play music, but they love music. My mother would have grown up in the ceili dance culture. Her grandfather would have been a great musician in the parish I grew up in. He was the musician that played every instrument.
My oldest brother, who has since passed away, and another brother did learn a bit of music when they were young. There was still an accordion stuck in a cupboard and a banjo in another cupboard. One day, my mother or father said, “Do you want to have a go at music?” (He chose the accordion.)
Well, I was fascinated. I must have been very young when I first saw the accordion and I was really fascinated with it. I got involved in the traditional music scene in Waterford. I remember seeing Raymond Dempsey, who was 12 at the time. He was younger than me and he was brilliant on the accordion. And I remember saying, “I’d love to be able to play like that.” (Both were taught by Bobby Gardiner.)
Q. You seem to have reached a point in your career where you’re probably an influence on other players. Do you reach a point where you stop being influenced yourself?
A. I think even the guy who taught me is still being influenced by people. That’s one of the things that keeps you going playing the music.
And you can’t learn it in a book—it’s a life experience that’s part of the whole tradition. Some of the best musicians all have that. They don’t over-think it. They listen to everything, they hear everything.
Q. You’ve grown adept at tuning and repairing accordions. Can they be a cranky instrument in the way pipes seem to be?
A. They re pretty robust, they can deal with temperatures fairly easily. The accordion I have now, I’ve had for six years; I’ve only had to tune it once. I have my own little workshop. It’s more or less a hobby with me. I’ve always been ripping up accordions and looking inside them. It’s good to now how to do it.
Q. How long is this particular road trip?
A. We’re doing 16 concerts in about 19 days—the East Coast the first half, West Coast the second. Then we’re going to Utah. Then, we’re coming back to New York, Baltimore, Washington.
Q. How does the band now compare now to what it was early on. Aside from personnel, how do you feel it’s changed?
A. Individually, I’ve changed myself—I’ve matured in my style. There’s kind of a natural evolution. The big change we had a few years ago, when we had a change in vocalists. Then, a couple of years ago things wound down for a bit as we all took more home time. Out of that everyone got a chance to do some solo work and to play with other musicians.
(Regardless of the changes,) I know I’m sitting on stage beside some of the best musicians in the country. The band is playing now better than ever. Now that we got together to do a tour it’s like we just met, there’s a lot of excitement when we get together to play. The band is ready to rock and reel.
