The Birchmere hosts a triple threat celebration of Celtic music Tuesday. Old Blind Dogs serves up Scottish traditions, Teada tantalizes with authentic Irish sounds on the cutting edge, and Cara’s Germany-based personnel confirms universal affection for the timeless Scottish and Irish folk tunes.
Old Blind Dogs comprises Aaron Jones on bass, bouzouki and guitar; Jonny Hardie on fiddle, mandolin and guitar; Fraser Stone on drums and percussion; and its newest member, Ali Hutton, on pipes, whistle and guitar.
During a phone call from rain-drenched Edinburgh, OBD spokesman Jones talks about satisfying the worldwide enthusiasm for Celtic music and its mission to develop a repertoire steeped in tradition even as it embraces the future.
“While we’re respectful of the old music, we all experimented with rock in the past and bring a certain twist to the songs that give audiences the urge to get up and have a boogie,” he says. “Over many years, tradition has been allowed to breathe and move on, rather like passing along a story secretly. At the end of the line, it’s been changed.
“Fraser adds African and Middle Eastern percussion sounds, and Ali is so versatile on the border pipes that he may start with a rock number and bring a whole new concept to the table. No matter where we play, our instrumental music transcends the language barrier. Some of our songs are sung in the Doric dialect of Aberdeen, but this is not a problem. After all, you don’t need to understand the Beatles’ ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ to enjoy the song.”
Jones grew up in a musical family surrounded by many instruments. After a typical period of teenage rebellion against tradition, he began playing the bouzouki and is now so deeply involved in promoting traditional music, he is an official accompanist at the BBC Radio Scotland Traditional Music Awards.
The bouzouki did not arrive in Ireland until 1966, following a long journey from pre-Hellenic cultures via Greece. It was immediately embraced by purists who discovered that its vague chord changes better serve Irish jigs and reels than the guitar.
Since 1990, OBD has released 11 recordings. The American tour will feature many songs from “Four on the Floor,” its latest CD, named the 2007 Scottish Album of the Year, along with some old favorites and several surprises.
“ ‘You guys never stop smiling’ is a typical comment we get wherever we play,” Jones says. “Our music is very emotional with little subtlety, so it’s easy to know if we’re singing about love, war or something sad and heart-wrenching. Most of all, we want audiences to discover how much fun Celtic music can be.”
