By George O'Brien
It hardly seems possible that the Arizona Irish Music Society was only a "nice idea" just
a couple of months ago. While there remains much to be done, we have made great
progress.1. As of mid June, the supporters database is almost 300.
2. The e-mail calendar of events has proven to be a big success with nearly half of
the supporters receiving a weekly calendar of Irish performances and news about
the local Irish music scene.
3. The web site URL has been registered and the page is currently posted at
www.azirishmusic.com
4. A database of Arizona Irish/Celtic performers has been compiled and is included
on the web site.
5. A database of Irish and other acoustic sessions has been compiled to be included on
the web site.
6. Directories of Irish/Celtic organizations, dance schools, and feis competitions, and
regular Irish music venues has been completed and is available on the web site.
7. A collection of lyrics of popular Irish songs has been established and will
included on the web site.
8. An extensive listing of links to other Irish music and other interesting web sites
has been developed.
9. An editor for the News and Articles Section of the web site (Sherry Dudly) has
been recruited and has begun working on feature articles about the local Irish
groups.
10. Tremendous progress has been made by Alexis Feldman in putting together the
Phase 1 web site due to be ready in mid June.
11. An affiliate arrangement with Amazon.com will mean that we will get paid when
anyone goes through our web site to buy something at Amazon. By going through
our site to buy things on the web, people will be able to support Irish music (the
prices are the same). (Other programs of this sort will follow).
12. Several hundred promotional flyers for the Arizona Irish Music Society have been
distributed which include information about the monthly general meeting, the
Irish seisuns, and the upcoming weekly calendar.
13. It appears that our promotional materials have helped bring new people to the
Sunday night seisuns at The Dubliner and the Wednesday seisuns at The
Bandersnatch.
14. Promotional work by the AZ Irish Music Society as Co-Host of the Phoenix Irish
Feis fundraiser has begun with the signing up of several groups from around
Arizona and inclusion of information in e-mailings and on the promotional flyer.I won't get into all the administrative tasks it takes to get an organization like this off the
ground. Just the job of trying to figure out who is playing where is a real challenge.
However, the results are beginning to be felt. Increasingly, I am meeting people who
have already heard about the Arizona Irish Music Society through word of mouth.One unexpected benefit of creating AIMS has been the contacts I am making with Irish
groups around the state. The Arizona Irish Music Society may prove to be the first truly
statewide Irish group with web links becoming an important connection.People interested in helping should call me at 623-770-8077 or e-mail us at
aims@azirishmusic.com. There will be a general meeting on July 18th at 7:30 PM at The
Dubliner Pub at 3841 E. Thunderbird followed by the Sunday seisun.One way everyone can help is to get people signed up for our database as Supporters
(especially ones with e-mail). People who receive the weekly calendar are much more
likely to get out and support the Irish music entertainers.< BACK >