Jim Fowler grew up with Irish music. As a kid, he used to listen to the Wolfe Tones, and the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, along with his grandparents James S. Fowler and Margaret (nee Hagerty).
Not surprisingly, all his life Fowler wanted to do more than just listen to the music—he wanted to play it, too. Although he only recently started picking up on tin whistle, bodhran and a bit of banjo, that part of his life never turned out quite the way he had hoped.
So Fowler, the entertainment chairman at Bristol Borough’s Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, came up with the next best thing—a project that would blend his love of the music with his love for the nation’s oldest continuing AOH clubhouse, founded in 1883.
It’s a benefit CD called “Hibernian Sessions No. 1,” and it featured live music recorded at the AOH hall and performed by some of the region’s top Irish bands: The Birmingham Six, Bogside Rogues, Jamison and the Shantys.
You can pick up a copy and listen to still more live performances by the very same hot bands on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. at the AOH Hall on Corson Street in the borough.
“The CD is something I raised with the division about a year ago,” Fowler says. “It does a couple of things. It promotes our heritage and culture through music, and it makes some coin for Irish charities, such as the Hibernian Hunger Project, Project Children, Project St. Patrick and the division itself. It’s something I always wanted to do. Once I become involved with Division 1 in Bristol, this was the way to go, and we’re really proud of it.”
The CD also tied in with the division’s interest in boosting the level of entertainment at the hall. “Friday nights, it’s rockin’ there,” says Fowler. What the CD tries to do is capture the ambience of those rockin’ Friday nights.
The sessions were recorded throughout 2007 and 2008. All of the bands agreed to have their performances recorded, and Fowler, with recording engineer Chad Palmer chose the three performances they liked the best for the CD. “The bands had the final say on the mix,” he adds.
Fowler, who knows members of all the bands, can’t say enough about them: “The bands basically did this for free. They’re getting 20 CDs to sell at their shows. They dedicated their time and gave us the approval to do it.”
Of course, the CD is called “Hibernian Sessions No. 1,” which begs the question … will there be a Hibernian Sessions No. 2?”
In Fowler’s mind, there’s no question. “I want to keep this going,” he says. “In the end, once we get all the CDs sold, the division’s going to have to make the decision whether to do it again. If they don’t, I’ll put up my own money.”
Learn more at: http://hiberniansessions.com/Home.html
