Tag: Paul Brady

MIXTAPE: JigJam’s Irish Bluegrass

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

We all grew up in rural Ireland in small communities in the midlands around County Offaly and County Tipperary. From a young age we were brought up with traditional Irish music, learning the tunes and playing in local sessions. Bluegrass was never a part of our musical upbringing, however, little did we know how strong the relationship between Irish and bluegrass music is. Our band JigJam was formed in 2012 and over the years we developed a sound which captures the crossover between these musical genres.

The creation of bluegrass music and its development over the years is heavily influenced by Irish music. When the Irish people emigrated to North America years ago they brought their music and culture with them, which you can hear within bluegrass music from tunes, melodies, and songs.

We released our new album, Across The Pond, on March 1st of this year. The theme of Across the Pond is to creatively celebrate the deep connection between Ireland and North America through newly composed material that is a dynamic fusion of bluegrass, old-time, and Irish traditional music. By also including traditional tunes and songs which are popular amongst the people from both Irish and American traditions, we added their voice to this transatlantic conversation. This album has been inspired and composed on themes of immigration, nostalgia, cultural difference, and cultural amalgamation. It views the immigrant experience through the lens of pre-immigration, the journey of immigration itself, and their lives upon having settled in North America.

This is our Irish Bluegrass Mixtape, hope you all enjoy! – JigJam

“Good Ole Mountain Dew” – JigJam

Here’s our version of the bluegrass standard, “Mountain Dew,” that we put our own spin on. There’s a similar Irish song called, “The Rare Old Mountain Dew.” It’s about the same subject – “Good Old Mountain Dew” is obviously about moonshine. What we call the “mountain dew” at home is poitin, which is Irish moonshine.

We took some of the lyrics of that song and put it into our version and also wrote our own lyrics based on where we come from. We took the instrumental tune from “Rare Old Mountain Dew” and put it in “Good Old Mountain Dew” while also adding in a bit of Irish lilting. It’s a mashup of both cultures in one song!

“Classical Grass” – Gerry O’Connor

When I was young and first learning how to play the tenor banjo one of my musical heroes was Gerry O’Connor. I was always mesmerized by the speed and precision of his banjo playing. The first time I saw him in concert was at a banjo festival in Ireland called Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival. He was sharing the bill with Earl Scruggs and his band. As a 12-year-old Irish boy, I had no idea who Earl Scruggs was at the time. Little did I know the influence he (Earl Scruggs) would have on my music and JigJam’s music in years to come, when we discovered what bluegrass was and where it came from!! In this track from Gerry, he shows his bluegrass influence himself with pristine crosspicking along with his renowned clean triplets, which was always a favourite of mine growing up.

“Colleen Malone” – Hot Rize

“Colleen Malone” is one of our favorite songs that Hot Rize recorded. Here’s a great live version from their Hot Rize’s 40th Anniversary Bash album. A lovely song co-written by Leroy Drumm and Pete Goble about an Irish girl, Colleen Malone.

“Tennessee Stud” – The Chieftains

In many ways The Chieftains paved the way for Irish bands touring in America and that is something for which we’ll always be incredibly grateful. Their album, Down The Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions, paints a vivid picture of the crossover between between the Irish and American music traditions.

“B/C Set” – Beoga

Beoga are an Irish trad band who we all listened to as kids growing up. They were known for thinking outside the box and being ahead of their time as regards arrangements. The second tune in this set is “Daley’s Reel,” which I only realized in recent years when I heard some of the great bluegrass players like Bryan Sutton and Aubrey Haynie playing it. Beoga have a very unique version of “Daley’s Reel,” played on two button accordions and accompanied by piano, bodhrán, and even brass near the end of the track. Certainly a fun one to listen to!

“Streets of London” – Tony Rice

This is one of my favourite songs sung by Tony Rice. “The Streets of London” is a very popular song in Ireland and has been covered by many Irish artists. Written by English songwriter Ralph McTell, I learned this song from the playing of the great Liam Clancy of The Clancy Brothers, Irish powerhouses. I only heard Tony Rice’s version in recent years when I delved into bluegrass guitar playing and I loved it straight away. Tony Rice’s rendition is beautiful as he incorporates his flawless bluegrass crosspicking and signature approach to this classic.

(Editor’s Note: Watch JigJam guitarist Jamie McKeogh perform “Streets of London” for a recent Yamaha Session here.)

“Water’s Hill” – JigJam

“Water’s Hill” is a song off our new album, Across The Pond. The lyrics were written by Ken Molloy as he tells the story of a couple falling in love together and marrying on water’s hill, a mound near Tullamore in County Offaly. The music is by Jamie McKeogh and Daithi Melia along with an old traditional Irish reel that is incorporated into the middle of the song. “Water’s Hill” features a driving Scruggs-style 5-string banjo part along with a strong mandolin backbeat, fiddle counter melodies, and rhythmic acoustic guitar which creates the JigJam sound, capturing the crossover between Irish and bluegrass music.

“Forty Shades of Green” – Rosanne Cash and Paul Brady, Transatlantic Sessions

The Transatlantic Sessions is an amazing platform for the collaboration of Irish and bluegrass musicians. With the likes of Jerry Douglas, Aly Bain, Mike McGoldrick, and many more, this project has wonderfully captured Irish and bluegrass crossover for years. I could have chosen many songs from their repertoire, but I went with this one. It’s “Forty Shades of Green” from the legend that is Johnny Cash. Here, it’s being sung by his daughter Rosanne and Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady, backed up by the Transatlantic band.

“Sally Goodin / The Blackberry Blossom” – Gerry O’Connor

Gerry O’Connor from Co. Tipperary is the reason I began to play the tenor banjo and he has always been a musical hero of mine – his music still inspires me to this day. This set showcases his skill set, pickin’ on these classic bluegrass fiddle tunes.

“Battersea Skillet Liquor” – Damian O’Kane, Ron Block

One of my favorite tracks off one of my favorite albums. I always loved the groove in this track and of course the playing from this star-studded crew of players always leaves me feeling inspired.

“Bouli Bouli” – JigJam

This set combines the traditional Irish jig, “The Miller of Glanmire,” with the bluegrass fiddle tune, “Big Mon.” It showcases the dynamic and genre fluid nature of JigJam through seamlessly traversing both traditions while highlighting each instrument’s capabilities. We’ve been having a lot of fun playing this one live!

“On Raglan Road” – Dervish & Vince Gill

I always enjoyed this song being performed by the great Luke Kelly from The Dubliners and recently came across this beautiful version of Patrick Kavanagh’s “On Raglan Road” by the legendary Dervish featuring the iconic vocals of Vince Gill.

“The Stride Set” – Solas

I love this set by Solas from their album, The Words That Remain. We are influenced by their creative way of arranging Irish tune sets. I love the addition of the 5-string banjo featured on this track.

“Did You Ever Go A-Courtin’, Uncle Joe” – The Chieftains

Here’s a mighty set from The Chieftains’ live album, Another Country. The crossover between Irish and American genres is great here with a medley of American songs and Irish tunes and also featuring a 5-string banjo. With a great lineup of The Chieftains with Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Ricky Skaggs.

“County Clare” – New Grass Revival

New Grass Revival are one of our biggest influences as a band. Béla Fleck is one of the reasons why I fell in love with the 5-string banjo and started to learn ‘Scruggs style’ while delving into the bluegrass world. Here’s his great instrumental “County Clare,” which Béla wrote inspired by his time spent in Ireland.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

BGS 5+5: Laurel Premo

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Laurel Premo
Hometown: Traverse City, Michigan
Latest Album: Golden Loam

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

For me dance is such a huge influence. I’ve spent quite a few years as a dance musician for square dances, being a traditional fiddler. That role of being more the motor for the good time, as opposed to being the focal point, has always resonated deeply with me. But beyond that, I know that just my experience as a participant in social dance in both American old-time and Nordic traditions has given my body a vocabulary that comes out in my music. I’ve found a through line in my voice that, no matter the tempo of the music, I always am wanting to make these larger slower pulses, make longer groups of beats, tap my foot at a slower frequency. I’m certain that that longer embodiment of phrases, and the pull, and balance, from dance have played into my nature there.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I have a really early memory, I’m not sure what age, but before I was big enough to hold any instruments. I was in my bedroom, standing next to the door, and I could hear my folks playing music on the other side of the wall in the living room, my mom really tearing it up on some fiddle tune. In that moment, alone, I remember that I started air-fiddling and kind of marching around or dancing in the little corner. I just wanted to be part of whatever was going on there.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

I took a while composing this lap steel track, “Father Made of River Mud,” from the new record. For a bit, it was separate pieces, in different tunings, that I didn’t know if I’d be able to fold together as one. It’s a really beautiful moment for the maker of a piece, when some kind of grace math helps everything line up in your head, and then you get to hear the thing for the first time in its full form. That tune is like a circle, it doesn’t really have to end at any one point.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

I try and spend some time ruminating with memory that reflects back at me the elements of my personal experience that I want to embed in the performance, to make more vibrant what I’m laying down there for listeners. It’s almost a way of remembering myself to myself, because there are a lot of possible distractions when you’re recording or performing. Every little step of the setup could be something that takes you away from your body and the meaning you’re trying to imbue in the work. So, I just real quickly try to go into the wilds to try and counteract all of the civilization that I’m traversing through.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

In the last two to three years, my wild haunts have been woods, dunes, and rivers. I grew up in the woods, so shadows and green, what reverb the places with a great amount of life growing have, and the scents of being real close to the ground — those are all deep in me, and as an adult I go back to similar places to find quiet, and to kind of listen beyond that quiet. Walking rivers for the past few years, learning fly fishing, has brought about a whole other set of turns, including just a beautiful sideways weight from the gravity of the river flowing against you. I definitely take gestural impulses from my time spent in the wild, and work to keep all my senses open to what rhythms lay in front of me.

Photo credit: Harpe Star

Andrew Marlin Reveals the Observations and Explorations Behind ‘Watchhouse’

Posted on by Editor

When you’re the child of musicians, you get to see the world. By the time Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz’s daughter Ruby was one year old, she had been to 34 US states and nine different countries. “She was on a bus when she was three months old,” says Marlin. “She loves traveling.”

After a year of hiatus, the family of three is back on the road again as the duo formerly known as Mandolin Orange tour their new self-titled album, Watchhouse. And Ruby, now a toddler, has transitioned back to road life more smoothly than her father, who admits he’s still “struggling to find my sea legs.”

But then this has an unarguably big summer. Performing as Watchhouse, after more than a decade as Mandolin Orange, was no small change. A year of lockdown had given the couple space to reflect on a name change that they’d wanted for a while, but resisted, concerned at how any reinvention would affect their devoted following.

Their latest project proves that their fans have nothing to fear: a medley of richly intimate songs and beautiful vocal harmonies that’s as identifiably them as anything they’ve ever made. Marlin, who writes the songs and plays mandolin to Frantz’s acoustic guitar, spoke to BGS about the new album from their North Carolina home, where they were enjoying a short pause between gigs.

BGS: Your current tour’s taking you coast to coast, from the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island to Redmond, Washington and all points between…

Marlin: It’s all over the map, literally. We’re out for three or four days at a time and I’m enjoying being back on tour but it’s kind of difficult to get in the groove. After we’ve been moving at a snail’s pace at home this past year, this all feels so fast-paced, so much to keep up with!

How do you feel about touring in this age of COVID. Does it feel safe yet?

I was one of the naive ones who thought we were nearly done with this thing, but we’re really not. There is a vaccine but people just aren’t taking it. So no, I don’t feel safe at all. But it’s a balancing act: we need to make money because we haven’t worked in 18 months, and we want to play shows, because that’s what we’re driven to do. Everybody wants to get back to their lives, everybody needs purpose to stay sane. To feel like there’s a reason to get up in the morning.

Was a year of lockdown hard as a new parent?

It’s all relative. Emily and I travel so much that we wouldn’t have spent so much time home as full-time parents otherwise. Eighteen months ago you would have been talking to a different person, but now I just try to live day to day, and write a little here and there. It was really difficult to write at the beginning of the pandemic, though. As a songwriter I try to latch onto things that not many people are writing about and with so many people thinking about the same thing it was hard to separate myself from it and find a way to write about it that didn’t seem unoriginal. I wrote a lot of instrumentals so I could explore how I was feeling without having to put it in words.

Have you discovered some good tunes for getting Ruby to sleep?

Pretty much anything by Paul Brady. She loves him, especially that album he did with Andy Irvine. I put that on and she’ll start talking to Paul and Andy. And because she’s been around our music since she was in the womb, if I sit down and play mandolin very quietly that’ll chill her out. I’ll sit in her room and play and she’ll doze off.

There are a lot of songs sung from a parent’s viewpoint on this new album: “Upside Down,” “New Star,” and “Lonely Love Affair.” Has becoming a father changed your perspective as a songwriter?

Passively, yes. I think the change is that I would love to help pave a safe path for my daughter and hopefully inspire some of our listeners to be kind and open up a kind world for her to go into. And that’s made my its way into my perspective even in songs where I’m not talking about it.

That’s very much the message of “Better Way,” which is about online trolling. Was that inspired by a specific incident?

A number of incidents. It isn’t unique. Every time somebody puts themselves out there on social media you have the people who love to drum up negative energy. And I can’t wrap my head around it because that’s not how I was brought up. I rarely meet people who would do that when they’re talking to you face to face. So I don’t understand why those people feel compelled to sit at their computer or pick up their phone and try to rip others apart. It’s a weird way to live.

Emily says it’s one of the favorite tracks you’ve ever laid down together.

Yeah, I love the sound of that tune. It’s a gentle drive to it, the way the groove is so set. It has this steady pulse that fits with the whole idea of the tune, this nagging thing in the back of my head: why do people feel compelled to be such assholes?

These songs were recorded all the way back in February 2020. Where did you decide to record them?

We did it right outside of Roanoke, Virginia. It’s not quite in the mountains, but it was in the hills for sure, a very peaceful place on a lake. I like making records in places that aren’t studios. It feels a little more free, to just go sit in a living room and to turn that space into a very positive musical environment is way more appealing to me than a studio where you’re watching the clock and every time you hear it tick that signifies a certain amount of money. I think you feel that relaxed energy. There’s no trying to beat the clock on this record. It’s exploring all the directions we could go as a band.

The sound of the album is certainly more exploratory than previous ones — a little richer in texture, a little less acoustic, even a touch psychedelic at times…

There are a lot of sounds we’ve used in the past but on this one we didn’t try to hide them. In the past we’ve tried to keep the simplicity of what Emily and I do in the forefront and have all these light textures around that. I think of it as a mountain peak. We’d be up at the top singing our songs and beneath us is this luscious forest, a lot of organ songs, electric guitar, drums, bass. Well, on this record we brought all the sounds up to the same level.

We’d been touring with many of these musicians since 2016 and so we were already thinking about arrangements that worked for the band and it’s a good representation of what we can do live, as a unit. A lot of people think of Emily and I as a folk duo but we have a lot of music in us! It felt nice to change the name and feel we can do whatever we want to and not limit ourselves to any idea of who people think we are.

The new name, Watchhouse, seems to be a good choice to reflect the observational world of your songwriting.

One of the most important things you can do as an artist is observe the world around you and I’ve always sought out those little peaceful places I can let my mind wander. I don’t do well in chaotic situations. I’m not the one to be right up the front by the stage in a show. I’ll usually go hang out in a corner and close my eyes and listen. I just like to find those places wherever we are, whether we’re on tour, in our neighborhood, or at home.

It makes you sound like a pretty chilled person to live with.

I play music a lot, so if you don’t like to hear constant music then probably not… in lockdown there was a lot of noodling, a lot of searching. A lot of aggression being taken out on an instrument too.

Fair point, I can see Emily needing an occasional break from that.

Oh yeah, all the time! She’d send me out of the room, or she’d go out herself…

You’ve been in a band together for 12 years, and all that time you’ve been a couple too. How do you manage to spend so much time together without driving each other crazy?

We’ve talked about that sometimes, especially with Emily’s parents. They can’t seem to wrap their head around it. I guess we just like each other!

One song on the album that seems especially raw is “Belly of the Beast.” Can you tell me the inspiration behind that?

I wrote that tune after Jeff Austin committed suicide. I didn’t know him super well, but we had a lot of mutual friends and had crossed paths through the years and it woke me up in a scary way. Being a full-time musician you have to continually find new ways to stay relevant and interesting to people, and you have to deal with real bouts of anxiety and self-consciousness. Is this good enough? Am I good enough? Writing and playing is something I’m extremely driven to do for myself, but I also have to do it for others, and I throw my music out in the world to be judged by other people. It’s a weird process that I’ve found is extremely helped by therapy!

So is that what performing is for you: “Hiding from the monsters in the belly of the beast”?

Yes — I love that line. When people talk about being nervous to perform, for me it’s not wondering whether I’m able to perform well, it’s more that when I step out on stage I don’t know what that crowd’s energy is going to be, how receptive they’re going to be. Are these people going to allow me to be myself tonight or am I going to have to put on a hat? For the most part our fans are really receptive and I can be myself. That’s when it feels like things are right.

“Beautiful Flowers” is one of the more cryptic songs on the album. It starts with a tiny flash of color and ends with some powerful images about the climate crisis. How did you get from one to the other?

I hit a butterfly when I was driving down the road and it really bummed me out. Animals have no ideas what cars are. For something to come out of nowhere at 70 miles per hour has got to be the weirdest thing in the world. And that got me thinking about who had made the first car, and it turned out it was this guy, Karl Benz. And when he made this car he had no idea where it was going to lead and how terrible it was going to be for the environment.

For our own convenience we destroy a lot of this world and don’t give a lot back as humans. And my car hitting that butterfly felt like a really strong metaphor for what we’re doing to the earth. It’s a very delicate ecosystem and we’re killing all its intricate little working parts.

Is that a challenge for you, too, with your own carbon footprint as a touring musician?

Our carbon footprint is massive, riding on buses and planes and cars… going to a festival and them using generators to supply all the power. We all see all the problems but how to step outside of your own daily needs and confront them is the conundrum, and I’m as guilty as anyone. How do you inconvenience yourself to make positive change in this world? We’re asking ourselves that right now in terms of racism, climate change, housing inequality, you name it.

Given how personal the songs are, and the fact they’re drawn from your shared life, do you ask for Emily’s input or approval as you’re writing them?

No, not really. The way I write I’ll take a specific idea and continue to break it apart until it’s more universal. I don’t want to reveal too much of myself in any given tune. I’m not laying out a bullet point retelling of my life, just musing on how I felt in a given situation — or maybe how Emily felt, or maybe a friend of ours. In fact sometimes I’ll play a new song for Emily and I’ll tell her what it’s about and she’ll say, “Huh, I thought it was about this.” And you know what? She’s not wrong.

Watchhouse is coming to the Theatre at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 19th 2022 – grab your tickets here.

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

MIXTAPE: The Foreign Landers’ Transatlantic Story

Posted on by Editor

Each of us having grown up on either side of the Atlantic, our common interests and musical influences could not have been more similar. All of these tracks hold sweet memories in our years of being a couple, and each artist has definitely influenced our sound as The Foreign Landers. David and I thought we’d share some of our transatlantic story together through a few of our favorite songs. — Tabitha Benedict, The Foreign Landers

Paul Brady – “The Lakes of Pontchartrain”

This is one of our favorite tracks of all time. This version of the popular ballad is from Paul’s album Nobody Knows: The Best of Paul Brady rereleased in 2002. With Paul’s flawless storytelling ability and tasteful guitar playing, it makes it a joy to come back for a re-listen.

Crooked Still – “It’ll End Too Soon”

David and I have been big Crooked Still fans for a long time and they will often be our first choice of car music on any long journeys. Here’s a beautiful song written by banjoist Greg Liszt for Aoife O’Donovan that is just so sweet to the ears. This was one of the last songs they recorded before the band stopped touring in 2012 and it appears on their EP Friends of Fall.

Tatiana Hargreaves – “Foreign Lander”

This is where the inspiration for our band name “The Foreign Landers” was drawn from. Aside from having more of a story behind our name than just that, we both love this old song and especially love this version from Tatiana Hargreaves debut album Started to Ramble released back in 2009.

Alison Brown – “Fair Weather”

This title track of Alison Brown’s album Fair Weather released back in 2000 is a common favorite of ours. Vince Gill features on lead vocals and guitar, Alison on banjo, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, mandolin, and vocals and Gene Libbea on Bass and vocals.

Ron Block – “Ivy”

Well, we knew we had to involve some of Ron’s writing and performing in this mixtape. We love this track, “Ivy,” off his album Walking Song. This is a perfect album for all year round, with guest appearances from a host of our favorite players.

The Weepies – “I Was Made for Sunny Days”

I first was introduced to The Weepies through hearing them on the radio back in Northern Ireland many years ago. My family instantly fell in love with their songs and sound, so I was so delighted to introduce David to their catalog when we were dating. Another favorite for long drives and singing along in the car. Here’s a real feel good song of theirs called “I Was Made for Sunny Days” from their album Be My Thrill released back in 2010.

The Boxcars – “You Took All the Ramblin’ Out of Me”

We just had to stick some good bluegrass in this mix of songs, and we’re so glad we chose this one. When David and I started dating, we would sing this to each other, and it has to be one of our favorites from the Boxcars album It’s Just a Road released in 2013.

Hot Rize – “You Were on My Mind This Morning”

At one of our first-ever performances about three years ago at the well-loved Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, Massachussetts, David sang lead vocals on this track written by Hot Rize. They recorded this on their 2014 release When I’m Free.

Dori Freeman – “If I Could Make You My Own”

We are big fans of Virginia-based singer-songwriter Dori Freeman, and especially love this track of hers from her 2017 release Letters Never Read. We recorded a cover of this song on our honeymoon on the Isle of Skye about two years ago now, so it holds a sweet spot in our relationship!

John Reischman – “Little Pine Siskin”

One of our favorite tunes off John’s album Walk Along John! John had been touring with the wonderful Greg Blake in Ireland back in January/February 2018, right when David took his first visit to Northern Ireland, and right when we started dating. We went to see them at a wonderful show at the Red Room in Cookstown. It was just a couple of days prior to making things “official.” I remember David playing this tune on that visit and it brings back happy memories!

The Foreign Landers – “I’m Not Sayin’”

We discovered this Gordon Lightfoot song from the late great Tony Rice on his album Tony Rice Sings Gordon Lightfoot. We have both loved this song for many years, and knew that when he would start a duo we would definitely be covering this one. We recorded this version on our EP Put All Your Troubles Away that we released in May 2021. We’re so thankful we did and hope you enjoy it!

David Benedict – “Colonna & Smalls”

David released this tune on his solo project The Golden Angle in 2018, named after the specialty coffee shop in Bath, England, back when we were dating. He has the amazing David Grier and Mike Barnett playing on this track with him.

Cup O’Joe – “Till I Met You”

David and I also tour and record with my two brothers in Cup O’Joe, our band based out of Northern Ireland. I wrote this song back in 2018, and recorded it on Cup O’Joe’s most recent album, In the Parting. I wrote this one with David in mind, not thinking that he would be playing mandolin on it a few months later!

Photo courtesy of The Foreign Landers

BGS 5+5: Eli West

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Eli West
Hometown: Olympia, Washington
Latest Album: Tapered Point of Stone

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Probably Paul Brady, as a singer and guitar player. While I don’t play Irish folk music much, the tradition, while having lots of shapes and inflection, isn’t inherently showy. You don’t see an Irish folk musician put their foot up on a monitor to take a solo. I think communicating something interesting in an understated way is so satisfying…. Leaving room for the listener, not hitting you over the head with an idea. Tim O’Brien is an American version of that as well.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

I’m a visual learner. Visual and spatial art, woodworking, painting, all have something to do with my musical decisions. I love understated chaos, like arranging things that seem to already be there. Goldsworthy is an obvious example of this, but there are many folks who do this in a variety of mediums. I tend to overthink, so anything that helps me escape my head to see things in a simpler way.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

Running, for my mental health. Also, getting to know a new town before a show. Also, eating. Big fan of eating.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I grew up on salt water, sailing, and kayaking with my dad. Also skiing and backpacking in the mountains of the Northwest. I think the understory of a dense cedar grove is pretty inspiring, usually quiet while full of life.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

Huh… I love seafood. There is a restaurant in Tel Aviv called the Old Man and the Sea. I would love to sit outside, eating fish, talking to someone like Django or Jim Hall about guitars. Since both those guys are gone, maybe drunk BBQ with Sting or Mark Knopfler would be fun (all those things borrowing from my high school self).

Photo credit: Jenny Jimenez

Aoife O’Donovan Finds Her Heart in the Verse of Others

Posted on by Editor

It’s not easy keeping up with Aoife O’Donovan. The 37-year-old Boston native grew up in a musical family, cutting her teeth with Crooked Still, a progressive bluegrass group she founded with four friends in 2001, and Sometymes Why, an Americana trio. She worked with Goat Rodeo Sessions (Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile) on an album that won a Grammy in 2013. Then, after an impromptu collaboration at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, she turned around and formed I’m With Her with Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz, winning a Grammy for “Call My Name.”

Meanwhile, it’s been ten years since O’Donovan released her first solo record, Blue Light, and since that time she’s released five more — with a new EP appearing this month. On Bull Frogs Croon (And Other Songs), she applies her soothing vocals and folk sensibilities to the poetic verse of others. The EP builds upon three numbers that bring to life the poetry of the late Peter Sears through songs O’Donovan wrote and arranged with Teddy Abrams and Jeremy Kittel for the 2015 Britt Festival in Oregon. Pared down from orchestral arrangements to a tour-friendly string quartet, she rounds out the five-song EP with two covers: Hazel Dickens’s “Pretty Bird” and traditional folk song “Lakes of Pontchartrain.”

BGS caught up with O’Donovan about what drew her to Sears’s poetry, the qualities of a great folk song, and how she stays grounded while throwing herself into so many creative endeavors.

BGS: What drew you to his Peter Sears and his poetry?

I had never heard of Peter Sears before getting a call to write a piece for the Britt Festival in Oregon. My friend and colleague Teddy Abrams suggested that we look to the poet laureate of Oregon for inspiration, so I got a book of Peter Sears’ poems at my local bookstore and was immediately in love with his writing. I absolutely loved his work. I loved the way he was able to write about simple things, everyday things, everyday feelings — it felt like these were the thoughts of my own heart. I loved it so much. In sifting through these books, I found these three poems — that didn’t go together, weren’t from the same collections — and I put them together. I was lucky to get to meet Peter Sears at the premiere of the piece in Oregon, back in 2015. He passed away a couple of years later. But he was a really special guy.

You didn’t write these lyrics, but did any of these lines or themes coincide with something you were going through personally?

The whole song cycle of Bull Frogs Croon has that. I set these songs to music at a very different time in my life, four years ago, five years ago. They’re three songs that are incredibly relevant to the human experience. The opening song, “Night Fishing,” is a meditation on stillness, on finding comfort in your own solitude. That’s definitely a human experience — I go through that all the time. “The Darkness” [describes] the idea that waves of emotion can come over you. The final song, “Valentine,” is a love song. It’s a two-stanza poem about the simple act of being in love with somebody, and I think that’s also universal — I hope people can relate to that!

In addition to the trio of songs inspired by Sears, you included two covers — one of which is “Lakes of Pontchartrain,” which is an Irish folk song you’ve included in live shows for a while. What are your roots with that song?

It’s one of my all-time favorites. My uncle James sings this song at certain jam sessions; as I was growing up, I would hear him sing it all the time. Every time I sing it at a concert, it’s the one song that people come up to me afterward and say, “I love that song! I love that song!” I hadn’t yet recorded it. The Paul Brady version of this song is the main recorded version, in my mind. It’s just the most beautiful song.

You grew up playing folk music with your family, and you performed many traditional songs early in your career with Crooked Still. From your perspective, what makes a good folk song?

“Lakes of Pontchartrain” is a classic example of what makes a folk song good: It has a long story, and you can really follow along with this guy. You can see yourself in his shoes. He’s lonely, he doesn’t know where he is. He doesn’t recognize anybody. And then he meets this beautiful girl who just shows him kindness. It’s not like it has a happy or a sad ending: It’s just an ending that could happen to anybody. She’s engaged to somebody else. But that doesn’t stop her from being kind and from them having a beautiful connection. I actually love that part of the story: “Fair thee well… I never will see you no more, but I’ll ne’er forget your kindness.” I wish there were more songs in the world that were about that.

You also included a Hazel Dickens song. Tell me about your relationship with her and her music.

Hazel Dickens is a very special person in the bluegrass and folk community. There aren’t tons of women who are as lauded as she is, of that age certainly. She wrote beautiful songs, and she was an incredible performer, singer, and musician. “Pretty Bird” is a very tragic song. I recorded it years ago for a Hazel Dickens tribute record that never came out, and then we re-recorded it with Crooked Still, just violin and voice. I wanted to have a string quartet recording of this. Jeremy wrote this arrangement years ago, and I think it’s just stunning. I’d been doing it live — any time I was around a string quartet, I would do “Pretty Bird” — and I just wanted to have [a recording of] it.

What’s someone or something you’ve seen in music recently that makes you feel excited or hopeful?

I have been listening non-stop to the Bonny Light Horseman record. I saw that live a few weeks ago and was absolutely floored. I had not enjoyed a live concert so much in a long time. The singing was so good. The record is so good, and the live show was just even better — more enhanced, and oh my God it was just so good. I just can’t even… I loved it so much. It was like the record on steroids. Everybody should be listening to that.

You’re involved in so many ongoing projects. What keeps you going on a daily basis?

One thing I love to do daily is go for a run. When I’m running, often I’ll get song ideas, or have some lyrics pop into my mind. Sometimes I don’t remember them, or I’ll remember them days later I’ll say, “Oh, I had that idea, I had that idea” and I’ll write it down. But I think making sure to carve out at least a little time for yourself is crucial, as an artist and as a musician.

And then of course, getting to connect with my husband and my family — little tiny things, like when my daughter does something amazing. Surrounding myself with people that I love and friends and family are a huge part of that for me. When I am home, one thing we’ve been doing is trying to have meals together, even when the timing is inconvenient. Maybe it means we have lunch at 11, or we have dinner at 5:30 — earlier than most musicians would probably like to be eating — but we’re really sitting down and talking about our day. I love that. My two-year-old is now saying things like, “Tell me how your day was! Tell me how your day was!” It’s a nice moment to just put the phones away, put aside everything not at the table, and really talk to each other.

Photo credit: Rich Gilligan

BGS 5+5: Vance Gilbert

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Vance Gilbert
Hometown: Born in the Philadelphia area, but Boston has been home for the last 40 years
Latest album: Good Good Man
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Bentfield Hucks

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

I see much of my songwriting as writing a great script for a movie. I’m most often intent on telling a story and making it as visual as I can muster. However, literature plays a great role too, as word usage and wordplay get the tongue’s mind involved. I remember reading Louis de Bernières’ Corelli’s Mandolin, and wanting to sing the whole thing when I was done, like some slightly overweight Black Homer.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

My freshman year, while I was at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, a crew of us piled into a classmate’s yellow tonneau-topped Pontiac Sunbird and drove the 2 hours to Boston. We parked at another classmate’s house and took the MTA into town. At one of the stops on the “Red Line,” there was a guy playing jazz standards on a vibraphone, and I simply don’t remember the rest of my stay there (save for the lo mein in Chinatown). From that moment on, I wanted to be in Boston playing music.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

That would be writing “The Day Before November,” the closing piece to my new album, Good Good Man. OK, you asked — the tough part was fear. I had a storyline in mind, like a Rod Serling sci-fi movie about a neighborhood “spooky-old-man-in-that-house” and a loving prank a small, parentally-abused little boy plays on him at the urging of his group of friends. It has ended up as a spoken word piece, but I was afraid to even begin the thing for fear of screwing it up. Isn’t that something? To not even begin to create something for fear of doing it badly? The storybones of the piece existed in notebook after notebook and in my head for about 12 years. Yes, 12 years. Once I rolled it out in some kind of pentameter it took about 2 weeks to write and 2 1/2 months to memorize.

My poor dogs. Memorization repeats happened during late evening walks in the fall of 2016. Now that I think of it, neighborhood windows were open — maybe I should be apologizing to some neighbors too…

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

Never mind the calendar. Things happen when they happen. If it takes 40+ years to figure out how to sing with nuance instead of bluster, write to tell the story rather than to just spit out alliteration, and to stop comparing myself to others that seem to have the whole package together at 23 years old, then that’s how long it takes.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

It would most certainly be chicken wings with some sort of awesome sauce/rub, a root beer, sweet potato fries with just a little heat, and Richard Thompson just hanging out and playing tunes at the table. I’d even share my wings with him. Do you know how far out of my zone that would be? Particularly the sharing the wings part? NO ONE, not even Richard Thompson, better reach across that plate uninvited. NO ONE. …What fool would do that to a brother anyway?

Six of the Best: Dervish’s Cathy Jordan Chooses Her Favorite Irish Tunes

Posted on by Editor

What would the world be without Irish tunes? A lot quieter, that’s for sure. Ireland’s musical tradition has enlightened, infiltrated, and inspired all corners of the planet – and American roots music owes it a huge debt.

Irish folk group Dervish have just released their first studio album in a decade, a loving tribute to the songs from their home country that have travelled the world. The Great Irish Songbook is studded with guest stars – from David Gray to Steve Earle, Kate Rusby to Andrea Corr, not to mention an appearance from Hollywood actor Brendan Gleeson.

But what are the band’s favourite Irish songs? We asked singer Cathy Jordan to choose six of the best.

“Whiskey in the Jar”

“This is an incredible example of a song that has journeyed around the world and been adapted to the particular environment it found itself in. It was originally written about a Co. Kerry-based military official who was betrayed by his wife, but adaptations also turn up in the American South, the Ozarks, and the Appalachians. On our album we did a version with The Steeldrivers, but we’re also big fans of this one by iconic Irish rock band Thin Lizzy.”

“Ye Rambling Boys of Pleasure”

“This is such a beautiful song of unrequited love: a young man regretting love lost because of immaturity. The song forms the basis of a poem written by the famous W.B. Yeats (he was trying to recall a ballad he’d once heard a peasant woman sing to herself in Sligo). The poem is commonly known as ‘Down by the Sally Gardens’ and was itself later put to music — I sing a version with Kate Rusby on The Great Irish Songbook.”

“Nothing But The Same Old Story”

“Written by Paul Brady, this song captures what life was like for Irish immigrants heading to England to find work during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Their lives involved a mixture of exhausting work, discrimination, and distrust, while longing for a normal life and to go home. The song first appears on Paul’s album Hard Station in 1981.”

“The May Morning Dew”

“The heartbreaking story of a woman who recalls her old friends, family and loved ones as she walks by their deserted dwellings in post-famine times. It’s sung here by one of my favourite Irish singers, Dolores Keane.”

“Rainy Night in Soho”

“To me, Shane McGowan of The Pogues wrote one of the most amazing love songs of all time with this one. [It’s a] love that survives through years of friendship as well as hardship. Oh, to have the last line written about you: ‘You’re the measure of my dreams, the measure of my dreams.’ This version is sung by another great Irish singer and songwriter, Damien Dempsey.

“Mná na hÉireann” (Women of Ireland)

It’s fitting that Kate Bush, one of the most poetic of all pop artists, recorded this song. It was written by 18th century Ulster poet Peadar Ó Doirnín; the music was added by composer Seán Ó Riada in the mid-20th century. Ó Riada was really important in the revival of traditional Irish folk and the words to this song are as powerfully Irish as you can get.

Photo credit: Colin Gillen

MIXTAPE: The Rails’ Take on UK Roots

Posted on by Editor

Agreeing on music is difficult in any household. Kami and I get along musically when we’re holding instruments, but our tastes diverge when it comes to what we listen to in our downtime. Elvis vs PJ Harvey, jazz vs metal, my extensive vinyl collection vs Kami’s beaten-up CDs from the 90s etc. But we agree on a few things, and the artists we’ve chosen for this list represent our sliver of common ground.” — The Rails (James Walbourne and Kami Thompson)

FROM JAMES WALBOURNE:

The Pogues – “The Old Main Drag”

Where does one start with The Pogues? They are a band that has influenced me so much over the years it’s hard to know where to begin. Their blend of trad, rock, punk, country and balladry mixed with the singing and lyrics of Shane MacGowan is a force to behold. Sticking two fingers up at the trad/folk establishment (Ewan MacColl was none too impressed with their version of “Dirty Old Town’”) their music spoke to me. I think this song is perfect, hard-hitting and still relevant. I spent some time playing guitar in The Pogues and I feel blessed to have done so.

Tim O’Brien with Paul Brady – “Mick Ryan’s Lament”

I used to go and watch Tim O’Brien play at The Weavers Arms in London and have always loved the way he would mix Irish and bluegrass music. His singing with Paul Brady on this track is stunning.

The Kinks – “Village Green”

Maybe not the most obvious choice for a roots music playlist but I think it valid. I come from a place called Muswell Hill in North London and it just so happens The Kinks come from there too. On the same road the Davies brothers grew up on, a few doors down, is a house called ‘Fairport’ where Fairport Convention started. It was also an old doctor’s surgery where I used to go as a kid. Just behind that is my old school. I like to think there might be something in the water up there. This song is from the classic Kinks record The Village Green Preservation Society and tells of someone longing for the little country village they came from. An English folk song if ever I heard one.

Derek Bell – “Carolan’s Farewell to Music”

Traditional music played on the harp by Derek Bell of The Chieftans. It’s beautiful.

Nic Jones – “The Humpback Whale”

This record blew my mind when I first heard it on the radio a number of years ago. Just when you thought you’d heard your last great guitar player something like this comes along. Every guitar player should hear it. Tragically, Nic was involved in an automobile accident some years ago which left him unable to play anymore.

The Everly Brothers – “Cathy’s Clown”

We’re both huge fans of harmony singing in general (all the bluegrass brothers, Stanley, Louvin, Delmore, etc) but perhaps our favourites will always be The Everlys. Perfect mix of pop and country.

Son Volt – “Tear Stained Eye”

One of my favourite songs from the Jay Farrar canon. Another musician who can blend folk, rock, country and blues into something unique. This particular track is classic country-sounding but there is something other worldly about it that makes it timeless and haunting. This lineup of the band was a huge influence on me and we even had the great Jim Boquist playing bass on our most recent record, Other People.

Nick Drake – “Time Has Told Me”

I think we both had a go at playing Nick Drake songs long before we met. I for one could never work out the tunings but Kami had them all figured out, which left me begrudgingly impressed. This track is the opening song from Five Leaves Left. It’s a great antidote for homesickness as I find you’re immediately transported back to an English garden the moment you put it on.

FROM KAMI THOMPSON:

Lal and Mike Waterson – “The Scarecrow”

This album is a masterpiece of oddball Britishness. The songs are exceptional and the singing is sublime – Mike is one of my Favourite Ever Singers. I’m lucky enough to know and sometimes sing a tune with Lal’s daughter, Marry, who is also a gifted songwriter.

Martin Carthy – “The Trees They Do Grow High”

Martin and my mum, Linda, used to share a flat off the Archway Road in the ‘60s or ‘70s. So Mum says, anyway. The Waterson/Carthys are the undisputed First Family of Folk. James picked up an old Martin Carthy vinyl at a record store near our old flat, a short walk from the Archway Road, and this song was on it. It’s mesmerising. We learnt it from Martin’s album and put our version on the Australia EP we put out a couple of years back.

Richard and Linda Thompson – “Did She Jump or Was She Pushed”

My mum and dad. I love mum’s vocal on this and it’s one of Richard’s poppiest, ear-worm choruses. Love it. Maybe they’ll put it all behind them and get back together!

Alasdair Roberts – “The Cruel Mother”

Alasdair is a Scottish folk musician of enormous critical acclaim who, he probably won’t mind me saying, hasn’t exactly bothered the charts. He’s far too clever to be popular. His songs are intricate, academic, beautiful. I often make notes at his shows – reminders to self, scratched on bar mats, to read more books.

Max Jury – “Christian Eyes”

I don’t know anything about him, and haven’t heard of any releases since this came out, but this song is pretty much perfect. Whenever it pops up on shuffle I listen to it two or three times.

Kate & Anna McGarrigle – “Tell My Sister”

Kate and Anna were always on the stereo when I was a kid, both of my parents would play their records. Maybe the records they both played was one of the few strands of continuity I felt moving between their respective homes as a child. I love the McGarrigles’ music still and now I get to listen to (and love) Rufus and Martha’s music through a prism of assumed familiarity.

Cathal McConnel – “Scotland-Ireland / The Hangover / Fermanagh Curves”

This song is so evocative, it hurts. I feel the Celtic blood surge in my veins as the tune soars and soothes. It brings my heart almost to bursting every time I hear it. Also, Cathal seems to almost never stop for breath, which is a marvel in itself.

Photo credit: Jill Furmanovsky