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The approach of St. Patrick's Day brings out Celtic bands
Posted: Mar 13, 2008 in Things to do, Music
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The first half of March is prime time for musicians specializing in Celtic sounds associated with Ireland and Scotland.
"Everywhere we go, we get this wonderfully warm reception," says Brad Sprauer, vocalist and guitarist in Mother Grove. "We're very wanted this time of year -- which is always nice."
Mother Grove's schedule is packed through St. Patrick's Day: tonight in Indianapolis, Saturday in West Lafayette, Sunday in Chicago and Monday in South Bend.
Meanwhile, the rest of the calendar isn't barren for acts that wield bagpipes and penny whistles.
"There is a Celtic music scene that's just under the radar of the usual pop stuff that's more household-name in nature," says Bryan Meyers, drummer for Indianapolis-based band Siochain. "There's a fan base and venues to play in a lot of cities."
Meet Mother Grove, Siochain and three other acts that bring a Celtic lilt to the heartland:
Patrick Grant
When: 6:30 p.m. today.
Where: Indianapolis Liederkranz, 1417 E. Washington St.
Admission: $12. For more information, call (317) 782-9216 or visit www.cdbaby.com/cd/patrickgrant
When Patrick Grant was a sheet-metal worker for more than 24 years at Amtrak's Beech Grove facility, he likely was the only Irish tenor on his shift.
"Or any other shift, for that matter," Grant says.
Now 73, Grant brings authenticity to the ringing vocal tone associated with "Danny Boy" and other Celtic ballads.
He was born in Scotland to Irish parents, and he lived in Ireland as a youngster.
"I think what really gives me the Irish tenor thing was having lived in Ireland as a child," he says. "Those were the formative years, and that's what gives you that close contact with the Irish music."
A resident of Indianapolis since 1975, Grant often sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Racers and Checkers hockey games, and he also sang the national anthem in the 1988 baseball movie "Eight Men Out."
His recording resume includes albums titled "Celtic Memories" and "A Toast to Ireland, with a Little Scotch."
"I'm not young anymore, so I'm not looking for stardom," says Grant, who will sing tonight at the Indianapolis Liederkranz and Monday at McGinleys' Golden Ace Inn. "I'm just enjoying what I do."
Mother Grove
When: 9 p.m. today.
Where: Fionn MacCool's Irish Pub, 8211 E. 116th St., Fishers.
Admission: Free. For more information, call (317) 863-2100 or visit www.mothergrove.com
Vocalist-guitarist Brad Sprauer played in various rock bands before Mother Grove made its debut album in 2002.
"I've heard every guitar riff you can imagine put around my songs," he says. "Some are cool, but there's nothing like a penny whistle played over one of your songs."
The band's lineup and instrumentation -- Laura Adams on fiddle; John Holland on bagpipes, penny whistles and mandolin; Ron Fife on drums; and Jim Farley on bass -- offers a change of pace for nightclub audiences, Sprauer says.
"It's not a screaming Marshall (amplifier) stack in their face all night," Sprauer says. "It's a screaming bagpipe in their face all night."
While original songs are a large part of Mother Grove's "kilt rock" sound, the band also plays Celtic standards as a tribute to its roots.
"It's like we travel with this big extended family everywhere we go," says Sprauer, who traveled to Scotland for his wedding. "I don't think I could get that with a regular five-piece band."
Hogeye Navvy
When: 1 p.m. Monday.
Where: Fionn MacCool's Irish Pub, 8211 E. 116th St., Fishers.
Admission: $10. For more information, call (317) 863-2100 or visit www.hogeyenavvy.com.
Hogeye Navvy vocalist-guitarist Mac Bellner says she gravitates to the stories told in Celtic tunes.
"I like the ones that when I look at the words, I think, 'Wow, I wish I'd known this person the song's about,'." Bellner says. "That's what I really get into."
Bellner and bandmates Terry Bellner (her husband), John8andrew Bellner (her son), Garry Farren, Ken Langell and Dmitri Alano pride themselves on strong choruses sung in harmony. The "navvy" part of the band's name is bygone slang for someone who works outdoors.
Bellner traces her Irish heritage as "a Murphy on one side and a McElroy on the other." But as a youngster living in Mississippi and Texas, she wasn't exposed to a wealth of Celtic music.
She's made up for lost time as a member of Hogeye Navvy, which played dates in Ireland a few years ago. On one night of that tour, button accordion master Johnny O'Leary and other native players made guest appearances with the band.
"We were pretty blown away," Bellner says. "We were sitting at the feet of masters."
Siochain
When: 5 p.m. Monday.
Where: Fionn MacCool's Irish Pub, 8211 E. 116th St., Fishers.
Admission: $10. For more information, call (317) 863-2100 or visit www.siochain.net.
The band's name is pronounced "shee-a-con," and drummer Bryan Meyers is well aware that the Gaelic word for peace doesn't adhere to the phonetic rules of English.
"I always like to say, 'No, we're not a female '70s funk singer, we are not a type of Chinese cuisine, nor are we the tiger from 'Jungle Book,'." Meyers says.
To recap, Siochain is not Chaka Khan, Szechwan or Shere Khan. The quintet of Rufus Campbell, Claudia Campbell, Cory Carleton, Nathan Klatt and Meyers is a high-energy Celtic rock band that played 115 shows in the Midwest in 2007.
Meyers refers to the husband-and-wife team Rufus and Claudia Campbell as the band's nucleus. An interest in Celtic music was sparked when their daughters studied Irish step dancing more than a decade ago.
Rufus -- who's served on the board of directors of Indy Irish Fest -- sings and plays guitar, bagpipes and penny whistle.
"I think that makes him nearly irreplaceable," Meyers says with a laugh.
Trooper Thorn
When: 8:30 p.m. Monday.
Where: McGinleys' Golden Ace Inn, 2533 E. Washington St.
Admission: Free. For more information, call (317) 632-0696 or visit www.trooperthorn.org.
For Trooper Thorn vocalist-harmonica player J.P. McGinley, Monday's performance at the Golden Ace Inn will be more than a standard holiday gig.
It will be the 75th St. Patrick's Day celebration at the Irish pub his grandparents, John and Ann McGinley, opened in 1934.
The bar has been in operation Monday through Saturday throughout its history, and J.P. recalls Sunday as the day he helped clean up.
"I'd go over as a young boy to mop the floor and do the dishes," he says.
John and Ann grew up in Ireland's County Donegal, but they didn't meet one another until each was a resident of Indianapolis.
"We were always around Irish music," J.P. McGinley says. "It seemed like Irish music was at every celebration we had."
The members of Trooper Thorn -- Mark Caraher, Linda Caraher, Tim Hill, Mick Hayes, Brian McClure and McGinley -- specialize in rousing songs in the style of the Chieftains and Flogging Molly, McGinley says.
"It's an outlet for me," says McGinley, 47. "It just makes me feel happy. It's a stress-reliever at my age."
