Arts and Entertainment Internet 'Police & Thieves' by Andy Wilkinson What was the last crime you committed? A couple of cash jobs left off of your tax return, a couple of tokes of something herbal? Show me the person who says they never break the law, then give me a sniffer dog and overnight access to their hard drive. My latest crime was just last week. I downloaded some songs from the internet using a free file-sharing service. I got some 80's dance mixes, which I burned for my friend Julie. Then I checked out a few tunes off Dublin band The Thrills' debut to see if it's worth buying. Finally, I downloaded the club mix of the new Beyonce single, which as you all know by now, is fantastic. For this interest in their product, for this distribution of it to potential new customers, for this testing of new b(r)ands, the music industry now wants to sue me. As The Irish Herald went to press, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had filed 871 federal subpoenas as they prepare to sue individual music fans. They plan to file more at the rate of 300 per week. It's not me-or you-yet, but it soon will be. This is going to make us buy more CD's, obviously. CD's were the start of their downfall. When this new technology was introduced in 1983, the industry raised the price of an album to 20 percent to 50 percent more than a vinyl LP, despite CD's being cheaper to produce. And as for the packaging.think of the thousands of hours engineers worked into the night to invent and refine the technology of digital music storage. Now think how long they spent on designing the packaging-10 minutes, perhaps. Those of you old enough might remember the thrill of bringing home a new album, the staticky crackle as it emerged from its sleeve, which then needed two hands to hold and admire as the needle plunked down on track 1. The creamy white matt of 'Boy', the technicolor gatefold of 'Live & Dangerous', the parkas of 'The Undertones'. There is no joy in a CD case, only contempt for you, the customer. Apologies if you've only read this far just to find out if The Thrills album is any good. It is actually-lightweight, summery stuff, but that's all right. If I can find it on vinyl and it's got a nice cover I'll probably buy it, and the download will have done its job. The Beyonce track is a whole different story. I had seen it in Virgin, 8 bucks for the 12" single with 5 different mixes on it, and was tempted. But the missus has the album, which has the radio version of the single (I wish we'd done the Thrills-test on that, despite the brilliance of 'Crazy In Love', the rest is a snooze-fest). So I held off and got the new Paul Van Dyk instead (no regrets there). Then I get home and if not that same night but close to it, see the song ('Crazy'), the song of the summer, that the nation is dancing in the streets to, cruising the suburbs to, falling in love to is ALREADY ON A TV COMMERCIAL. And they want to sue me? We should sue them. They have broken the implicit contract that this piece of art means something to our life. It's not the first time, but it seems to be the fastest time. My solution is this-once a song has been whored out like that, you have the moral right to own it without paying for it. It's in the public domain. Hell, it devalues the whole album it comes from, so you have a right to that as well. So go on, download away. They want to sue us? I hate to quote an idiot, but...bring it on. The Latest From Lúnasa by Dave Soyars Although the 1970's is generally thought to be the golden age of Irish music, it would be hard to not consider the present day. Each new generation continues to produce a seemingly endless supply of virtuoso players of flutes, whistles and fiddles. Likewise there seems to be no end to the inventive ways the above instruments can be combined with electric guitars, basses and drums, and influence from rock, jazz, and native music of all corners of the world. The result might not be "traditional" in the strictest sense, but at its best, it's an organic, honest way of creating something magical out of both technology and history. A good example is Lúnasa, who in a mere five years, has forged a unique path and propelled itself to the level of one of the top Irish bands in the world. While they mostly stand out due to the stunning instrumental ability of their fiddle/flute/pipes front line, there are two things that make them unique. For one, they're probably the only major Irish band that has no singer. Also, in addition to world-class players of the above melodic instruments, their basic sound is built around a rhythm section featuring two more top-flight musicians, former Sharon Shannon band members Donogh Hennessy and Trevor Hutchinson on guitar and stand-up bass respectively. Over the phone from Quebec, the beginning spot of their current North American tour, Birmingham-born flute player Kevin Crawford talked a bit about the band's beginnings. "It was actually the brainchild of our fiddler Seán Smyth. He had a solo record called The Blue Fiddle that he was promoting, and he had a bass player and guitarist on the record that were not available at the time, so he asked Donogh and Trevor. He was also the one that thought of adding more melody instruments to add variety. The first tour we did as Lúnasa was in January 1997. From the moment we started rehearsing for that tour, the notion of incorporating the rhythm section as an equal became apparent". That approach is the key to the uniqueness of their sound. "Sometimes we'll even start from the rhythm section. They might come up with a groove or musical ideas, and then we'll either write a piece to fit over the top of it, or else find a traditional tune, whether it be Irish, French-Canadian, Breton or Scottish. There are no rules as such, we've always found it quite exciting, quite innovative to sort of start from the back line out." Part of what makes it work is how well the rhythm section works together. Crawford even jokes "We even tend to think of them as one unit. Sometimes we have a hard time thinking of them as individuals." The lack of singing was also part of the plan. "We did think about it initially, but it boiled down to the fact that we really wanted to explore the possibilities of instrumental tunes. We have worked with singers in the past, but as far as doing it as Lúnasa, I don't see that happening, at least any time soon". It also contributes to their uniqueness. "A lot of the Irish bands tend to have a format that's pre-set-you have a few tunes and then a song and then back to the tunes-we thought 'let's just try to make it interesting without resorting to what all these other bands do.'" Instead, says Crawford, "it forces us to find melodies that can take the place of songs, where you have an intro, a middle eight, a structure like you would with a song. We try to do that with melody. When we find tunes that work that way, we tend to think of it as the 'song' on an album. We try to avoid just doing jig-reel-jig-reel, try to vary tempos." Their new album, Redwood (Green Linnet) is another solid example of how they do it. While there's plenty of fast, intense tunes (the opener, Cregg's Pipes, is a set of up tempo reels that segues directly into a set of up tempo jigs, Welcome Home) there's also several French-Canadian tunes, airs, and even a stray polka or two. There are several tunes that do seem to have a song-like structure, best typified by Christian LeMaitre's Tana, which leads into an original reel by Sean Smyth. While the combination of Crawford's flute, Smyth's fiddle, and the pipes and whistles of Armagh piper Cillian Vallely is a melodic powerhouse, the support of Hennessy and Hutchinson plays a vital role. Airs might well be where they truly shine, as Hennessy's sensitive finger picking and Hutchinson's bowed notes provide a rich structure for the melodies to dance (and indeed, sing) over. According to Crawford, the band is already thinking ahead to the next record. "We're going in to record some material we've been working on in September. We're hoping to have a new record by the end of the year or the beginning of 2004." As for the basic sound, "We have no real plans to change it. We still feel there's loads of things for us to do with the traditional music and our own compositions. We haven't exhausted all the options available to us." Lúnasa will be at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley on August 14. Call (510) 548-1761 for more information, and check www.lunasa.ie or www.greenlinnet.com for news and updates. Raised On Songs And Stories - Heroes Of Renown by Shay Clarke Finbar Furey's new album Chasing Moonlight has already risen to the number one spot in Ireland and was released in the USA and in England last month. It is a mixture of old and new, with half of the songs written by the "Lonesome Boatman" himself. Produced by Nick Patrick and joined by Michael Nesbitt (ex-Foreigner) on guitar, it is a gem. I spoke to Finbar by phone the other day from his home in Rathfarnham, County Dublin and he filled me in on what's been happening. Finbar has just completed a tour of England and Ireland, finishing up at the Olympia in Dublin and was joined on stage by Jimmy Faulkner and Gerry O'Brien. Later this year, there will be an American tour to promote the album. Chasing Moonlight includes some great songs like "Carrickfergus", "Nora", "The Isle of Innisfree" and his own "Sweet Sixteen." Don't miss this album or concert. The Furey Brothers and Davy Arthur were part of my Dublin. I used to see them play at The Wexford Inn. Finbar played the uileann pipes and sang his beautiful songs like, "The Lonesome Boatman" and "Sweet Sixteen"...they were indeed, the rare auld times. George and Eddie Furey, along with Davy Arthur are still playing as The Furey's. Paul-God rest his soul-died last year and Finbar left the band to write and perform on his own. He tells me it's his new style of folk music and that he has two more albums ready for release later this year. One features Finbar on the pipes and flute and the other is all original songs. Apart from the writing and performing, Finbar has been having a lot of fun. He was the Grand Marshal at the first St Patrick's Day Parade in Moscow this year. Imagine Finbar marching down Red Square at the head of the parade, seven thousand Russians and seventy-five Paddy's, in 2 degrees below zero. He said it was awesome. They toasted the shamrock with green vodka and then Finbar played a concert at the Kremlin. Finbar was also in the movie "The Gangs of New York" playing the part of a singer in a bar and his song is on the soundtrack album. With the kids all grown up now, Finbar and his wife spend their time between their Rathfarnham, home and his getaway in Connemara. "How could you leave Dublin, Shay?", he said to me. It was a beautiful day in Dublin and he was sitting in his back garden, "….atin' sandwiches and flickin' butts at wasps." Hailed as Ireland's Prince of Pipers, Finbar has done so much to popularize Irish Music for over thirty years and to bring it to a wide and appreciative audience, firstly with his brother Eddie, then as a member of the celebrated Furey's... and now in his own right: A multitalented instrumentalist, singer and songwriter with a charm and magic all of his own. His site is www.finbarfurey.com Shay Clarke writes regularly for the Irish American News in Chicago. He also owns the 'Blarney-Everything Irish' store in that city (www.blarneyinc.com) and is a popular DJ. Paul Carr reviews 'and Listen to my Song' by Frank Harte agus Dónal Lunny Like the Johnny Doran recording reviewed this month, this is a first-time release on CD of a classic recording from decades past. "And Listen to my Song" was recorded in 1975 by Franke Harte, a key figure in the Irish folk music scene, and Dónal Lunny, who has a long history in Irish music as a producer, musician, and founder of groups like Planxty and the Bothy Band. Some may first have heard Frank Harte during Garrison Keillor's trip to Ireland for the Prairie Home Companion radio show. His personality and clear, strong voice made a great show even more remarkable. This CD is made up entirely of Irish songs in English, something a bit unusual in a world where most Irish folk music CDs have a mixture of songs in Irish and English. Yet these songs are undeniably Irish in their tone and content. The songs include many rarely heard ones. In particular, there is Harte's beautiful a cappella rendering of the rare "The Forger's Farewell Sweet Erin the Green." There's also the dark, pointed "Women are worse than Men," which nobly carries on the great tradition of songs like the classic "I was a young Man," in which the wife is a plague on the hapless husband's life. Of course there are more familiar songs, like the unforgettable, partly historical "Morrissey and Russian Sailor." The CD also includes two spirited songs about lively Dublin street characters of times past. "Biddy Mulligan" and "Dicey Reilly" capture in their lyrics a loving look at the lives of two women, one of them a fine, buxom widow selling her wares every day in her market stall, one of them a cheerful, harmless character whose journeys to and fro in search of a wee drop paint the city with a bit of needed color. This CD is available at Celtic Grooves. http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CGhome.html Paul Carr reviews Johnny Doran,The Master Pipers -Volume 1 Wild, sensual, brilliant, almost free-all these words describe the music of the great uilleann piper Johnny Doran, nach maireann. Whether his playing is a blazing reel like The Fermoy Lasses, or a set dance like The Blackbird, his creative brilliance sets him apart from all other pipers. For example, on the classic The Fermoy Lasses, the "tune" itself is repeated several times, but there is nothing repetitive at all about the exhilarating experience of listening to how Doran brings the tune to life. That's because this tune is probably the best-recorded example of Doran's absolutely astonishing ability to play variations on the basic tune itself, called the urlár in Irish. The music positively pours out of Doran's pipes in an ever-blooming kaleidoscope of vibrant reds and deep blues and every hue your mind can hear. Johnny Doran's life as a traveling piper in the 1930s and 1940s brought him in contact with people all over rural Ireland-including great numbers of musicians. His music inspired the great Willie Clancy, as well as living pipers like Paddy Keenan, Finbar Furey, and Davey Spillane, to name just a few. While Johnny Doran's musical legacy lives on today in the playing of scores of pipers, his only recorded legacy is nine acetate discs made by Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann in 1947. These rare and stunning recordings are now available on CD for the first time ever, thanks to Na Píobairí Uilleann. As befits a recording of this importance, extensive and well-researched liner notes about Johnny and his life accompany the CD. Iontach. This CD is available at Celtic Grooves. http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CGhome.html These are a few sample stories. For more, pick up your free copy of The Irish Herald. Click here to find the Irish Herald vendor nearest you. 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