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Paddy O’Brien and Pat Egan in Concert

Paddy O'Brien in action.

If he hadn’t been a musician, Paddy O’Brien might have been a history professor. Well, actually, he is, in a way.

This master of the two-button accordian spent a good part of his County Offaly youth traveling around the countryside, listening and playing with the old musicians and absorbing the oral tradition that went with the music.

So when he introduces a song, which he did about a dozen times this week at a house concert with his friend, guitarist and singer Pat Egan, in Lansdale, he might talk about drinking with Willie Clancy at a bar, or picking up some tunes from Donegal fiddler John Doherty, or playing with Peter Kilroe, Dan Cleary, and Michael Lynam in the Ballinamere Ceili Band.

Word is—and he confirms it—that he carries about 3,000 songs in his head. He’s produced a set of CDs containing about 500 of them. With Egan and fiddler Patrick Ourceau, he plays some with Chulrua, his latest band. And he played a few of them the other night—not nearly enough, but it was grand anyway.

June 25, 2009 by Denise Foley

Music

This Weekend: The Dublin City Ramblers

The Ramblers' Sean McGuinness chatting with the crowd.

When you listen to local bands playing “Flight of Earls,” “The Fields of Athenry” or “The Ferryman,” you can bet they owe at least some of their sound to the Dublin City Ramblers.

The Ramblers, founded as the Jolly Tinkers in 1970 by banjo player Sean McGuinness, his brother Matt, and Pat Cummins, has had many iterations since they were long-haired Irish balladeers, looking not unlike the Dave Clark Five, on RTE. Pat and Matt are gone, as is longtime frontman Patsy Watchhorn (no, not dead–retired or soloing), but their influence lingers on. And the Ramblers are doing more than lingering on. With eight gold records behind them, they’re still performing, touring and recording. They’ll be at the Irish Center on Saturday night, rocking out—in a manner of speaking—with the Camden County Emerald Society Pipes and Drums.

We talked this week to Sean McGuinness, who has reconstituted the Ramblers with Derrick Keane on guitar and Tom Miller on bass. Though McGuinness is now lead vocalist, it’s tough to tell the difference between old Ramblers and new: They all have the same tight harmony and classic tenor banjo sound that acknowledges traditional roots.

“Over the years there’s been a lot of changes but we always keep the authentic sound,” said McGuinness. “Nobody is ever disappointed, not for the last 97 years.”

And, oh yes, the sense of humor is the same.

McGuinness, like most Irish musicians, comes by it all genetically. His mother studied music in London and played the piano. His father sang and danced. He grew up in Dublin, not rich, not poor. “My mother used to say to me, with all the crime going on, ‘When we were growing up, we’d leave the hall door wide open and anybody could drop in and nothing was ever taken.’ And I said, ‘Ma, we had nothing to rob!’ Of course they made sure that we never went short.”

But with the hall door wide open, especially at Christmas, the McGuinness house was music central. “People would come in a sing a sing and have a drink. We lived in a city housing estate, but everyone knew they could drop in at McGuinness’s.” He and his brother would play, his sister would dance. “I never realized at the time,” he says, “that someday I was going to make a living at it.”

In 1970, he actually had to make a crucial decision regarding his music career. . His boss at what is now Eirecomm gave him an ultimatum: “He said, ‘Sean, something has to go.’ So the job went and I started doing music fulltime.”

And never looked back.

The Ramblers recently re-recorded some of their old hits, like the immigration anthem “Flight of Earls,” in part because an old friend—Irish immigration activist Ciaran Staunton—urged them to. “In 1985 when we released that, immigration was colossal,” says McGuinness. “People were leaving for Australia and American. At that time, there was something to go to. Ciaran Staunton has been working for years on legalizing the Irish in America and he rang our manage, John Ryan, and said, ‘Tell Sean McGuinness to re-release that song.’ It seems fitting. Right now we have the worst government we’ve had in 100 years. The country is destroyed at the moment—economy-wise, healthwise—but we’ll sing our way through it.”

And he encourages the rest of us to sing along. “Some new bands out there insist on the bar being closed, but we like people drinking and joining in the singalong,” he says. “We do requests too. If we know ‘em, we’ll sing ‘em.”

May 28, 2009 by Jeff Meade

Music

Five Questions for Eileen Ivers

Eileen Ivers playing in the music tent at a recent Wildwood Irish weekend.

Back when she was about 3 years old, Eileen Ivers recalls, she ran around her house in the Bronx with a blue plastic guitar and a wooden spoon—her first fiddle and bow. Her Irish parents loved music and the community in which she lived nurtured musical talent, so there was probably no chance this precocious sprite would not grow up to become an Irish musician.

That’s just what Ivers became—but, of course, that is a gross understatement. Ivers, a veteran of Cherish the Ladies and the Riverdance band, is recognized as one of the most gifted and creative practitioners of the art. Starting when she was still very small, Ivers started competing. By the time the competing stage of her life was over, she had collected nine all-Ireland crowns.

She continues to tour the world, dazzling audiences with her virtuosity and her unbounded energy. Catch one of her concerts, and you’ll leave exhilarated … and exhausted.

Local music fans will have a chance to see and hear Ivers and her eclectic band Immigrant Soul on Saturday, June 6, at Longwood Gardens. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

We caught up with Ivers recently and posed a few questions. Here’s what she had to say.

Q. How old were you when you first took up the fiddle? Why did it appeal to you? Were you always good at it?

A. I was about 8 years old. Both my parents are from Ireland; they would always play the music in the house. I always loved the sound of it and the emotion of it. It was just something I really gravitated to because it can make people happy and emotional at the same time.

Was I always good at it? Not initially, that’s for sure. We lived in an apartment building and the neighbors weren’t too kind about my practice ritual. But the more you practice the more you start to see improvement … and I’m not driving people as crazy as I once did.

The violin being such an emotive instrument, it really is a wonderful mirror. Your emotions come through. It really has such a dynamic emotional and rhythmic range. It’s an extension of one’s personality.

Q. You grew up in the Bronx. Seems like so many great American Irish musicians come from your neck of the woods. Back when you were playing and competing in festivals, was there the opportunity to rub shoulders and play with some of the other folks we’ve come to know?

A. The community in the Bronx and the Tri-State area was always so supportive of the musicians. I have wonderful memories of playing with my teacher Martin Mulvihill, and with Mike Rafferty and Joe Madden—all wonderful mentors. They also showed you the fun of the music.

Q. You competed in the All-Irelands many times. Was competing fun for you?

A. For an Irish-American kid, competing in the All-Irelands is a great legitimizer. You can hear and play the tunes as an Irish-born musician would. [But] I don’t think I enjoyed it. It was just a part of learning and probably a good impetus to keep the standard of playing up, a way to just get better and to be part of the community. The last time I won I was 18. There was never a reason to go back.

Q. How did you develop your style? And do you gravitate to a particular style of Irish fiddling?

A. I loved Martin’s playing so much, so my early style mirrored Martin’s quite a lot. It probably would have been been his styles, from the Limerick Kerry border.

[But] eventually you just develop your own style. It’s a very natural progression. I remember looking at it as a pure player, hearing everything from Stefan Grappelli to classical violinists. There’s so much technique that goes beyond Irish technique. You constantly learn.

Q. You now play a wide variety of styles, from jazz to African and Latin influences. How did this come about?

A. What should one do? Should one play what Michael Coleman played in the 1920s? You have to have respect for where it [the music] came from. But my other collaborations just started because of a musical curiosity—because an African drum player plays rhythms similar to what a bodhran player plays.

May 28, 2009 by Jeff Meade

Music, News

Get Set for the Penn’s Landing Irish Festival

The Penn's Landing Festival always draws a big crowd.

Yes, we know you’re Irish, and your idea of picture-perfect weather is, oh, say, 50 degrees, overcast and drizzly.

Well, we’re afraid you’re just going to have to suffer through the (we always hope) lovely, warm late-spring weather of the Penn’s Landing Irish Festival. Somehow, we guess you’ll muddle through—perhaps with the aid of a few cooling beverages and a fresh breeze off the Delaware.

Anyway, we hope we’ll see you on Sunday, June 7, from noon ’til 8 p.m. down at Columbus Boulevard and Chestnut. For sure, you don’t want to miss it. Why not? Well, if for no other reason, let us tempt you with just one word: Blackthorn. And this great Philly Irish band will be joined on the Penn’s Landing stage by several other outstanding musical acts, including the Bogside Rogues, the Birmingham 6 and Local Traffic. Round Tower, always a popular act, will be back this year. Expect a few sing-along tunes from entertainer Timmy Kelly, as well.

Of course, there will be plenty of great food and drink on hand to keep you refreshed while you rock out to the music. And this year, says organizer Michael Bradley, there will be more vendors than ever. “We probably have about 30 vendors,” he said. “we had eight when I took it over. It’s really taking off now.”

There will also be traditional music in the festival tent, and entertainment by many of the Delaware Valley’s popular and hugely energetic Irish dance schools, including a new entry this year, the Reel Colleens.

The annual event is nothing if not kid-friendly, featuring all kinds of entertainment for the younger set, including face-painting.

Best of all, admission is free.

The annual waterfront celebration of all things Irish is actually a couple of weeks early this year. “We moved it up two weeks because otherwise the festival would have fallen on Fathers’ Day,” explained Bradley.

Lest we forget, the festival falls on a Sunday, but you can still make Mass. An open-air service starts at 10:30 at the nearby Irish Memorial. “Then you can walk right over and start hanging around and having a good time,” Bradley said.

Of course, the festival takes a few moments to honor some of our favorite people. Singled out this year: Emmett Ruane, former owner of the popular Emmett’s Place on Levick Street; Bob Kelly and Kathy Orr of CBS3, which televizes the annual Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade; and Mike Driscoll, the very generous owner of Finnigan’s Wake.

For a complete schedule visit: www.philadelphiastpatsparade.com and look up Penn’s Landing Irish Festival on Home page.

May 22, 2009 by Jeff Meade

Music, News

Celtic Fair in Phoenixville

The Bogside Rogues at center stage.

There’s practically an Irish pub, restaurant, or gift shop in every other storefront in Phoenixville, the former steel town along the Schuykill in Montgomery County. That makes it the perfect place for a street fair featuring Irish music, food and vendors.

Check out the photos from the third annual event held Saturday, May 8.

May 14, 2009 by Denise Foley

Music

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

Teada's flute player, Damien Stenson.

We’ve got one word for you: Teada. It’s pronounced Tay-da and it’s the name of one of the finest modern-day traditional bands to come out of Ireland. They packed them in at the Irish Center for their Christmas show, and they’re back on Saturday, May 16, to demonstrate again why “Living Tradition” magazine calls them “brilliant young musicians who present Irish music as it really is: the joy of it, the full breadth and depth of it, the power and pace of it.” The concert is sponsored by the Philadelphia Ceili Group. Don’t miss it.

The first of several benefits for the WTMR Irish radio shows occurs on Tuesday, with the Camden County Emerald Society sponsoring a night of Irish music at the Coastline Restaurant in Cherry Hill. Lots of local musicians are pitching in their talent and there’s a free buffet meal.

And you know, if this is the Philadelphia area, there’s an Irish traditional session going on somewhere just about every night of the week, usually in the proximity of some good draft Irish beer (with apologies to the South Jersey Irish seisun, which serves coffee at its new locale, the Coffee Garden in Audubon).

Check our calendar for all the local listings. And if you have an event, please add it to our calendar (yes, you can do it yourself).

Don’t forget to eat, drink, and buy Irish.

May 14, 2009 by Denise Foley

Music

Last Call at the Three Beans

The gang at the Bean.

Since April 1995, if you wanted to hear or play Irish music in South Jersey, the Three Beans coffeehouse in Haddonfield was your cup o’ Joe.

That’s about to change. The Three Beans is losing its lease and, on May 21, one of the longest-running sessions in the Delaware Valley is moving to new digs—the Coffee Garden, at 57 East Kings Highway in nearby Audubon.

Kathy DeAngelo, who with husband Dennis Gormley has been moderating the musical get-together at Three Beans since April 1995, notes that it’s not the first time the session has had to move. The session has been filling all the available seats of the cozy lounge of the “the Bean” for so long, it’s hard to remember that it was ever anywhere else. But it was. “We were doing the session at other places before that—for 3 or 4 years,” she says. (One of those places was Katie O`Brien`s in Haddonfield.) “We’re undoubtedly the longest continuously running session in New Jersey, and probably the Delaware Valley.”

The new place, like the Three Beans, is unlike most other traditional music session in that the strongest brew on tap might be Columbian supremo. Gormley sees this as an advantage over noisy bars. “Because this place is another coffee house,” he says, “we don’t have to worry about being in a place where there are four TV sets on the wall.”

So the good news is: The music will go on. The sad news is: It just won’t be in the comfy confines of the Three Beans, home to a harp case full of cheering memories and good times. Gormley recalls with fondness all the great musicians who have passed through, including the legendary Eugene O’Donnell, tenor banjo phenom Angelina Carberry and button accordion wizard Martin Quinn, and world-class harpers Grainne Hambly and Billy Jackson.

Marie Ely, who has played whistle and flute in the South Jersey session since Katie O’Brien’s (including a stint when the session took refuge in a church basement), says the Three Beans session started small, and grew. “The first session at the Bean consisted of Dave Field and me. Kathy and Dennis had a gig,” she says. “We maybe had four pieces in common and were comfortable enough playing two of them.”

Compared to the bar, Ely says, “The Bean was a homier atmosphere. They were very accepting of our session as compared to Katie’s, where, toward the end, we had to compete with karaoke night.”

May 14 will be mark the last session at Three Beans. But to help you preserve the memories, we offer a photo essay and two videos.

Watch videos of music sessions.

May 7, 2009 by Jeff Meade

Music

No Silly Love Songs

Shannon and Matt Heaton are performing in Bethlehem on April 25.

When Shannon and Matt Heaton sent me their new CD, “Lovers Well,” in February, I thought, “Perfect, love songs, just in time for Valentine’s day.” Then I listened.

At least two of the tunes involve dogs and guns. Several describe some serious flirting that could be called by another name, but we can’t say it here. And yes, there are sweet songs of undying love, but there’s also some dying going on too.

“Okay, they’re relationship songs, really,” laughed Shannon when I pointed this out to her. “When we tried to have love be the hook, it was cumbersome. Relationships are complicated. A friend told me about a book she’d read by [psychotherapist and spiritual writer] Thomas Moore who said ‘Every relationship has an end.’ It’s really simple. A lot of time the end is parting, somebody’s died, or jealousy gets the best of you. When we say these are love songs, we’re talking about so many different aspects of relationships. It’s how we manuever them.”

They’re not Barry White and they’re certainly not Paul McCartney, but they are tunes that certainly do capture the richness and poignancy of love. Some may actually be familiar to you, like “Lily of the West,” a traditional American folk song that’s been covered by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Peter, Paul and Mary, but which has been “Irish-ized” by Shannon Heaton (Flora is now Molly and she comes from Ireland, not Lexington). It’s a story of obsessive love, betrayal, and eventually murder. “The Golden Gloves” is a delightful tale of a young betrothed woman who falls in love with the man chosen to give her away and discovers a clever way to marry the true man of her dreams on her wedding day.

And there is the lovely, lilting “Lao Dueng Duen,” which I at first thought was in Irish but is actually a Thai song Shannon learned when she spent a year in Thailand on a Rotary Club scholarship when she was a teenager. The child of globe-trotting parents (she spent some of her childhood in Nigeria where her mother was teaching on a Fulbright Scholarship) Heaton had wanted to go to France to learn the language, but chose Thailand after she heard all of the other scholarship winners opt for either Paris or London. “I was ambarrassed that no one had chosen Africa or Asia so when they got to me I said, ‘How about Thailand?’ My mother picked me up and said, ‘So, are you going to France?’ and I said, ‘No, Thailand,’ then burst into tears. All because I was too stubborn to be like everybody else!”

Since she didn’t speak Thai, she asked to be placed with a bi-lingual family. Looking back on it, she says, she should have been more specific. Her family was bi-lingual—they spoke both Thai and Chinese. Heaton didn’t speak Chinese either. But she did learn Thai eventual.

“My first year of college I was doing cooking, banana leaf folding, doll making, and music,” she laughs. “ It was kind of like home ec, called life sciences. Eventually my language got good enough so I majored in ethnomusicaology.” (She returned to spend her junior year there as well.)

She still speaks Thai fluently, so for the CD, she sings in Thai, only translating the melody so it would have a Celtic sound. The liner notes include her rough translation of the lyrics—and this one is a classic love song:

“Oh my love, my moon.
Like the fragrance of a flower
Such is the heady perfume of her essence.
It envelopes me completely, like nothing before.
The scent of her, [my soul mate], this beautiful woman
Oh the sweetness of this love.”

“I’ve always been really nervous to do that song when we perform, but [musician and folklorist] Mick Moloney encouraged me to do it,” she explains. “We performed it at a benefit Mick organized in October to raise money for the Mercy Center in Thailand. Mick has a home in Thailand and he’s studying meditation and aiming to spend more time there.”

And she added it to “Lovers Well” not only because it’s a pure love song, but because “ singing it, I’m immediately transported back to Thailand, where I’m sitting in my teacher’s livingroom, I’m 17, and it’s hotter than hell. I don’t speak Irish, but I can imagine that the same thing happens to people who might have learned sean nos in Ireland. When they sing in that language, there’s an immediate transportation back home. ”

But what about her own love story? The Heatons met in 1992 “because I need a guitar player for a wedding gig. He was the first person I called who was home so he got the job.” (Their friend, Steve, was first on her list. “Musically we’re not compatible and personally I don’t think it would have worked out, so I’m glad Matt was home and Steve wasn’t,” she says.)

Matt had an eclectic background. He studied classical guitar, played in rock bands, and was writing tango music when they met. “At the same time he was doing independent study in Irish traditional music because he was interested in it,” she says. The two picked up tunes and techniques (he for guitar, Shannon for flute and voice) playing in sessions in Chicago and later on many trips to County Clare. Moving to Boston—one of the most Irish cities in America—also helped cement their bond to Irish trad. “Matt really got into it, so it’s really the only music he plays now. He kept up the tango stuff and had me try tango music with him. But we settled on Irish music.”

They married in 1995, after finishing college, and decided to perform together, a decision that has been both a joy and a challenge, Shannon says.

“It is a profound challenge—how to keep thing separate and how to integrate things, especially,” she laughs, “when you live in a small house.”

And when you’re also on the road together, as they are now, promoting their CD of eclectic love songs. Matt and Shannon Heaton will be appearing on Saturday, April 25, at the Godfrey Daniels Coffee House in Bethlehem (http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/calendar for details). If you decide to go—and I encourage it—you’ll see that, despite the challenges, these two make beautiful music together.

April 16, 2009 by Denise Foley

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