The Elders, Irish Music & Americana
In advance of the The Elders playing in Fort Smith on April 9, 2009, there’s an interesting interview with Steve Phillips in the The City Wire.
Conducted by Peter Lewis the interview explores the perceptions that surrounds the music of The Elders on both sides of the Atlantic, and is nicely candid on that and on the standing of The Elders in the Celtic Rock cannon that exists in North America:
We’re one of the premiere Celtic rock bands in America. Maybe not up there with Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphy’s, they’re kind of in a league above us. Of course it helps to have the good fortune to be in a movie like Gaelic Storm was. No such luck yet. But on the festival circuit we’re one of the top headliners.
We’ve mentioned how the music is seen (or heard) in the US and in Ireland before, but in answering a series of questions on this Steve Phillips is perhaps more forthright. Here he is answering Is there a following for this Celtic music or Irish rock in Ireland itself or is it sort of an American phenomenon?:
I would say for the most part it’s an American phenomenon. Although in Europe they sort of have the same thing, they love Irish bands. It probably started out with the Pogues. They toured over there quite a bit. But, we’re just now starting to get a little recognition. We’ve had a few reviews of some of our records in German and French online magazines. We’re just scratching the surface over there. For the most part, to answer your question, I would say Ireland … you know, they don’t care. They love country music and the same kind of crappy pop that we have over here. But Irish music is not … that’s like taking sand to the beach, they don’t give a shit about it.
Note that just posting a couple of answers here does take them out of context, so do read the full interview for an illuminating discussion on The Elders and what drives them.
If I was answering the question above myself about whether there’s a following of “this Celtic music or Irish rock in Ireland itself” I probably would have pointed to the enormous popularity enjoyed in Ireland by such bands as Horslips, Moving Hearts, The Saw Doctors, and The Waterboys (during that phase). But then, I’ve said this all before.
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
As typos go, I’ve got to say that “Celtic rock cannon” is probably one of my favorites ….
Ha, ha! And that means…I have to leave it uncorrected.
Thanks for the link. The article (interview) was a nice read.
Now you know what being a print journalist is like.
Once it’s out there, it’s out there for good.