Monday, July 21, 2003
The below article is the from The Scotsman
Dylan in tribute to Scots folk hero
JIM MCBETH ("jmcbeth" AT “scotsman.com”)
IN THE pubs and folk clubs of Glasgow, Matt McGinn's comic musical tales of "Effen", a mythical town he created as a vehicle to attack social injustice, drew huge and appreciative crowds.
Audiences built their own mythology around the musician, who regaled
them with stories of the Effen Bees and the Effen "polis" with their big Effen batons and their big Effen boots.
The humour was a device employed by a thoughtful, socially aware and
deeply caring funnyman, who died in 1977, and was once famously
described as “Billy Connolly with a conscience”.
The passing of 26 years has done little to diminish his stature, but inevitably his genius has often been overlooked. Until now.
A small concert staged in Glasgow last month, effectively a family tribute on what would have been his 75th birthday, has breathed new life into a legend.
Thursday, August 21, 2003
Pasty Watchorn's new CD is now available. Visit Patsy's
website to order your copy.
Track list: Hearts On Fire • Dublin In My Tears • John O' Dreams • Step It Out Mary • Grace • Raglan Road • Galway To Graceland • Only Our Rivers Run Free • Song For Ireland • Joe Hill • The Foggy Dew • Dancing At Whitsun • Ann Devlin • Dublin Town In 1962 •
Friday, November 7, 2003
RYAN'S FANCY Named Recipient of
ECMA's (East Coast
Music Association) Lifetime Achievement Award for 2004
(St. John's, NL) - During a press conference held today (Nov 5th 2003) at the Delta St. John's Hotel and Conference Centre, the East Coast Music Association proudly announced Newfoundland supergroup RYAN'S FANCY as the recipient of the Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award for 2004. This award recognizes an individual or group who has had a profound and lasting effect on the Atlantic Canadian music industry. The Board of Directors of the ECMA determines the recipient of this award.
“Ryan's Fancy has been a bridge connecting generations, musical styles and cultures. They have given the region a rich musical contribution and have created in the process a deserved legacy,” says ECMA Vice-Chair and Newfoundland and Labrador board member Robert Buck. “They adopted the culture they found here, reveled in it and took an active role in uncovering the rich tapestry of poems and music created by the people of Atlantic Canada.”
In addition to recording several successful albums, Ryan's Fancy also hosted regional, national and international television broadcasts that took the music of the East Coast across Canada and around the world. Their on-location shoots took the band to dozens of communities in every province on the East Coast.
Ryan's Fancy will be honoured at the East Coast Music Gala Awards Show on Sunday, February 15, 2004, in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The Gala is broadcast nationally on CBC Television and simulcast on CBC Radio Two. Tickets for the Awards Gala are $39.50 and will go on sale, November 20, 2003 at Mile One Stadium, St. John's.
I'm very happy to see Ryan's Fancy received this well deserved recognition and that they have not been forgotten. I'm also very happy to say that this information was sent to me by Fergus O'Byrne, himself (founding member of Ryan's Fancy), who is still going strong. Check out these other Ryan's Fancy related links.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Walt Conley passes away
DENVER - People in the Denver entertainment scene are mourning the death of a musical giant. Walt Conley was a fixture in Denver music for four decades.
Conley died last Sunday, Nov. 16 at the age of 74. This week, we spent some time with his son and his widow talking about old memories. Conley may not have considered himself a legend. But he was. He loved music…and people.
"He was just an honest person, just a really nice person," said Conley's wife Joan Holden.
It was the early 50s when Conley met Pete Seeger, and got his first guitar lesson. Conley tried throughout his life to achieve stardom. His voice was clear, his music strong, but fame was elusive.
He performed with Judy Collins. As manager of the Satire Club, he gave the Smothers Brothers their Denver start.
He booked or opened for many of the big names of the 60s; the Kingston Trio, Mama Cass Elliot, and the Highwaymen.
Conley owned a small house at 17th and Williams. Starving performers coming through town knew the door was always unlocked. Many of the soon-to-be famous slept there. But according to his wife, Conley once threw out Bob Dylan, after catching the folksinger swiping some records.
Conley was 10 years older than others in the folk music scene and sensitive about his age. When fans asked him to autograph his album, Conley first scratched out his birth date, printed against his will, on the cover. It's a rare Walt Conley album that still has that birth date.
Conley had a few small parts in some Hollywood movies; Six Million Dollar Man, Diehard II, The Longest Yard.
It was Conley's voice on the Indian's Lord's Prayer, when Denver TV signed off at night, that prompted a letter from President Nixon. Still, national fame was just outside Conley's grasp.
Still, if success is measured not in fame, but friends, then Conley achieved it all. Walt Conley's farewell party will be at 3 p.m. on Nov. 28th and 1600 south Pearl Street.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association.
(Copyright 2003 by 9NEWS KUSA-TV. All Rights Reserved)
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Unfortunately, I have more sad news…
The great Scots fiddler, Johnny
Cunningham, passed away on the evening of December 15th 2003. He died at home from a heart attack. Johnny was only 46 years old.
I had the pleasure of seeing Johnny and his brother Phil in the early 80's at a very small venue in Southern California. It was a great night, watching and listening to the brothers in action.
Related link: Silly Wizard
Sunday, December 28, 2003
In belated Matt McGinn news, The Best of Matt McGinn, Volume 2 has been released on CD.
This CD consists of Matt's 2 RCA releases, Take Me Back to the Jungle and Tinny Can on My
Tail, plus a bonus track The Wee Kircudbright Centipede from the Magic Shadow Show EP.
In addition, Shonagh McGinn has started her own Matt McGinn website,
www.mattmcginn.info.