Nightnerds
Self-produced Celtica
by Celtonerd Steve Winick

Well, readers, it's 3:00 a.m. as I finish this column. Why so late, you ask? Because I'm a nightnerd. Consider this: Musicians, by and large, are nocturnal creatures, beginning their workdays in the evening, sometimes playing away until, well, 3:00 AM. Since I hunt for wily Celtic music to present to you, I have to keep those hours, too. Unfortunately, like many Celtic musicians, I also have a day job. Which explains why I'm such a jerk all the time: Lack of sleep makes me grumpy.
Anyway, enough chitchat. I'll begin with a CD I picked up from producer Jim Fidler; it's by uillean piper Eamonn Dillon. Dillon, whether he's playing pipes or whistle, is a master musician who can move from the pure melodic flow of an air through the sprightly bounce of a set of breezy jigs and into the steely edge of reels he picked up from the Bothy Band. On Storm the Kettle [Bunnygee Music], Dillon plays it all, with varied backing that runs the sonic gamut from folk-revival acoustic ("Trim the Velvet," first time through) to ethno-world percussive ("Trim the Velvet," second time through, "Pull the Knife and Stick it Again"), to Afro-Celt groove ("Jim Hodder's," "Mick Hand's"). There's even a flirtation with new age on the album's opener, a slow air on the whistle backed by lush synthesizer chords. But just listen to the first tune in track nine; it'll tell you he doesn't need the bells and whistles (well, maybe the whistles…), because he can go it alone, too. The backing players are some of the best musicians from Northern Ireland (where Dillon is from) and Newfoundland (where he recorded the album). They include Fidler on percussion, drums, guitar, keyboards and bass; Roisin Dillon on fiddle; and John Schreiber on tenor banjo, and they always put together an engaging, listenable arrangement that brings out the energy in Dillon's playing. This album ranks up there with the best modern-style uillean piping available—if you don't mind the exotic backing! [Eamonn Dillon/ P.O. Box 16653/ Plantation, FL 33318]
There are six more recordings discussed in this article. To read the entire article, see Dirty Linen #86 or subscribe.