Luck has nothing to do with growth of Valley's Irish music scene
Michael Senft
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 15, 2006 12:00 AM
On Friday, people will be toasting the Emerald Isle with green beer and brown ale in pubs across the Valley, from O'Connor's in the northwest Valley to Fibber Magee's in Chandler. And each of those pubs will reverberate with the swirl of fiddles and flutes, bringing us the rich history of Celtic music. It wasn't always so. Ten years ago, the local Irish music scene was small.
But thanks to an infusion of talented musicians and pubs springing
up, the Valley is transforming into a hotbed of Irish music. Singer and guitarist Pat McCrossan agrees: "You can't make a living playing Irish music in New York. It's a waste of time." |
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McCrossan and Henrich are two of the "elder statesmen" of the Valley's Irish scene. They are sitting in the Irish Cultural Center gift shop (which McCrossan runs) in Phoenix, trading stories and songs during a pre-St. Paddy's seisun (an Irish jam session).
"We were here back in the late '80s and the early '90s," Henrich says. "Musicwise, there was Celtic Pride, who I used to play with at the Dubliner, and Tony Cummins, who would come in from San Diego. You were playing too," he says, gesturing to McCrossan.
McCrossan laughs. "Aye. I destroyed the crowd at the Dubliner when I plugged in my electric guitar and fuzzbox. They'd hear me all the way to Killiecrankie in Scotland. I'm not the best guitarist in town, but I'm the loudest."
Henrich, who left the Valley in the early '90s, was surprised how much the scene had grown when he returned in 2001.
"Lots of bands had sprung up, like the McMorrows and the Clare Voyants," he says. "Now, there are five or six core bands you can see regularly, and several more that play occasionally."
According to George O'Brien, head of the Arizona Irish Music Society, www.az irishmusic.com, increased exposure to the culture, through such stage shows as Riverdance and musicians ranging from new-age songbird Enya to boozy punks Flogging Molly, has brought attention to Irish music.
"High-visibility touring acts and PBS specials have helped to increase the popular awareness of Irish music and created a demand for Irish music, which has in turn encouraged people to play Irish," he says.
Henrich agrees.
"(Blackwood's) fiddle player, Jerica, doesn't come from an Irish-music background - she started playing classical and bluegrass," he says. "But she heard Irish music, and it hooked her."
For Henrich, the growth of the Valley's Celtic music scene is a reflection of Phoenix's explosive growth. As people migrate to the Valley, some are bringing Irish music with them, meeting fellow players at seisuns and forming bands.
"That's how Blackwood got started, at a seisun," he says. "We played, had a good time, had one too many and decided to form a band."
The growing number of pubs has given Celtic musicians more opportunities to play.
"Ten, fifteen years ago, there was only maybe three pubs at most," Henrich says. "There was the Dubliner, and O'Connor's and . . . "
" . . . and that was it," McCrossan finishes.
Expanding the base
With the Skeptical Chymist opening earlier this month, there are eight
pubs throughout the Valley. And Henrich says they are designed for live
music.
"The pubs are spacious," he says. "Ample room to set up, 'cause Irish bands need a lot of space. And they have great sound systems."
In addition to providing a stage for bands, these pubs are helping foster the next generation of Celtic musicians through weekly seisuns.
"Irish music is grown in the pubs, in the seisuns," Henrich says.
"The more music that takes place, the more new musicians you will have. There's a kid who's supposed to stop by later who Pat says is a great pennywhistle player, and I want to meet him, show him some pointers."
McCrossan continues, "The only place you'll see him is at a seisun; he makes it down here on a few Thursdays. His potential is unbelievable. Good bodhran (Irish drum) player, good singer. I'm on the way out, but he's on the way in."
And for pub regular Chris Devine of Phoenix, it is a chance for the audience to share in the musical experience.
"We get to share in the fun, maybe get up and dance or sing along. Everyone's in it together, singing, dancing, carrying on . . . maybe drinking a little, too," he says.
Reach the reporter at michael. senft@arizonarepublic.com
or (602) 444-8489.
Mar. 15, 2006 12:00 AM
The instruments of Irish music
• Accordion: Irish music uses melodeons, concertinas and button accordions primarily. These instruments are much smaller than the Lawrence Welk-style piano accordion and use rows of buttons instead of piano keys.
• Bodhran: Pronounce bow-rawn. An Irish drum made from a goatskin
stretched over a wooden frame. It is either played with the hand or with
a small wooden mallet called a tipper. advertisement
• Bouzouki: This stringed instrument from Greece looks like an oversize
mandolin. It was popularized in Celtic music by Johnny Moynihan and Andy
Irvine of the '60s Irish band Sweeney's Men and has become an essential
part of Irish music.
• Fiddle: The mainstay of Irish music. Fiddle styles vary depending on the region of Ireland.
• Flute: Irish music uses a wood flute that has a simpler construction and a mellower tone compared with its more typical metal cousin.
• Harp: The Irish harp is much smaller than its classical cousin and is not widely used anymore. Harps are known to modern ears through the ancient songs of Turlough O'Carolan and the efforts of musical scholars like the late Derek Bell of the Chieftains.
• Pennywhistle: An inexpensive (hence its name) metal cousin of the recorder, the pennywhistle is easy to learn and difficult to master.
• Tenor banjo: Unlike its American cousin, the tenor banjo only has four strings and lacks a resonator, giving it a distinct, percussive tone.
• Uilleann pipes: Irish version of bagpipes. Uilleann pipes use a bellows to fill the bag with air, rather than having the piper blow into them. They are quieter than Scottish bagpipes but have a shriller tone.
