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March 2008

Trip to Moscow

"Russia Today" television coverage 

STORY:   http://www.russiatoday.ru/entertainment/news/22521
VIDEO:   http://www.russiatoday.ru/entertainment/news/22521/video

Photos from Moscow concert, session, sightseeing trips:
http://itsnein.moskva.com
http://faranor.livejournal.com/268273.html
http://8bars.wordpress.com/2008/03/25
http://photofile.name/users/madmash/3520466
http://www.flickr.com/photos/obrienourceausproule
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25180099@N02

YouTube videos:

Concert @ Club B2 - Jig set: Wellington's Advance / The Gander at the Pratie Hole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPQrUhWxo_s

Daithi singing "The Riddle of the Rum"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmhxGrz2Ee0

Daithi singing "Casadh an tSugain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtNlTvplsxo

Paddy playing for pupil Andrey Rubtsov, at Dublin Pub, Moscow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5wnp-GQILk

Article about Paddy from Russian website, The Irish Volunteer
Translation from Russian

January 2008

Chulrua tee shirts and other great swag!

• Tee shirts
• Baseball caps
• Coffee mugs
• Tile coasters
• Other items available

Check out the new Chulrua online shop

October 2007

Chulrua Newsletter - October 2007

• Reviews of our new CD
• Tour dates for our next Midwest tour
• Listen to samples from the new CD, "The Singing Kettle" -- and order online

Check out the October 2007 newsletter here

August 2007

Chulrua on YouTube!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejvh75CB_tU

Irish traditional trio Chulrua

(Paddy O'Brien, button accordion; Patrick Ourceau, fiddle; and Pat Egan, guitar) playing a bit of "Jimmy Ward's Jig" at Matt Molloy's Bar in Westport, Co Mayo on August 22, 2007.

We always have a great time playing for the crowd in Westport, and this will give you a tiny taste of the atmosphere in the back room that evening!

August 2007

Catch up with Chulrua on the Irish tour blog

Julie Ourceau has been posting news and photos on a wonderful blog about Chulrua's tour in Ireland. Check it out here!

Julie has some great snaps from gigs at Bantry House, the Cobblestone in Dublin, Matt Molloy's in Westport, Joe Lee's Bar in Tullamore, and lots more.

June 2007

New Chulrua CD, "The Singing Kettle" now available!!!

Chulrua has been stirring up audiences across the U.S. and Ireland with their own energetic brand of Irish traditional music at festivals, folk clubs, and intimate house concerts.

The band has just released a long-awaited CD, "The Singing Kettle" (Shanachie 23002), which is the culmination of three years' rehearsal and recording. "Our approach to the music," says accordion player Paddy O'Brien, "has always been driven by a shared appreciation for the styles of East Clare, East Galway, and West Clare. Most of the tunes come from older musicians we've known and learned from over the years."

The title track, "The Singing Kettle," was composed by Tipperary fiddler Sean Ryan, and is played as the first reel in a solo selection by Patrick Ourceau. Asked why the band chose that particular tune for the CD title, O'Brien says, "We hope the music on this recording conjures up the simple comforts of an old Irish house, with a kettle simmering on the open fire, and the prospect of uninterrupted musical pleasure when a day's work is done."

Sixteen other tracks feature compositions from Sean Ryan and Tommy Coen, and music from the repertoire of great solo players like Bobby Casey, Mrs. Crotty, Jack Coen, and Jimmy McGettrick, and outstanding ensembles like the Kilfenora Ceili Band. The album's four songs are from the pens of Dubliner Mick Fitzgerald, and Scotland's Archie Fisher, among others.

Look at the full track listing here.

"The Singing Kettle" is now available at our Recordings/Marketplace page, from online retailers like CD Baby, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Ossian, and at Chulrua performances.

Grants available for Chulrua performances in Midwest states 

Arts Midwest has funds available through its Performing Arts Fund for organizations within Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

This means that nonprofit presenters—venues like performing arts centers, festivals, arts councils, colleges and universities—may apply for a portion of the artist fee when they book Chulrua for a concert or residency program. Funds are distributed on a first-come/first served basis, so it's best to get applications in early.

Presenters may receive up to to 30% of the artist contract fee for a Chulrua performance. Because Chulrua is based in Minnesota, however, this touring program will not support performances that take place in Minnesota.

Organizations must be legally incorporated as a non-profit organization with IRS 501(c)(3) status or a unit of state, local, or tribal government. Eligible organizations must submit an online eGRANT application, and applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Open date for applications is March 1, 2007 for engagements taking place between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008.

If your presenting organization is based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, or Wisconsin, you can find 2008 application guidelines and information and an online application through Arts Midwest.

For more information, go to www.artsmidwest.org, or contact Katherine Haugen at performingartsfund@artsmidwest.org, or (612) 341-0755, ext. 28.

January 2007

Paddy's poetry about traditional musicians
featured in Irish American News of Ohio

Some of Paddy's poems about traditional musicians were featured in "Éireannach Ceol," Kevin Donleavy's regular column for the Irish American News of Ohio in the January 2007 issue. Here's a short excerpt:

Éireannach Ceol
Immortals in Poetry
 
by Kevin Donleavy
 
Éireannach Ceol fans know there are two legendary box-players named Paddy O’Brien. This article will focus on some of the fine poems that accordion player Paddy O’Brien, from County Offaly, has written about traditional musicians that he has played with over the decades.
 
Most of Paddy’s poems were written from 1989-1991. He writes with sincerity and a cleverness with words, choosing them carefully. His poems give insightful pictures of some dozen or so older traditional musicians back in Ireland. In a fine example, here are some lines from his 56-line poem, John Kelly:
 
He’d settle into his own bastion of relief
And pull out his concertina
And sitting erect with his arms reaching down
He would humour the little bellows into talking
While all the time The double tapping of his foot
Advanced the constant sound
As gusts of wind would rise and fall
In response to his gentle nudging
That gave testimony
To his memories of County Clare.
 
Paddy adds, “John once told me I should never play that tune called The Maids of Mitchelstown without first having a big swallow of minted whiskey.”

You can read the complete article here (on page 12 of the magazine):
http://irishamericannews.com/ianohio/Images/ianohio0107.pdfOctober 2004

October 2004

Chulrua Returns from Successful Irish Tour

Chulrua had a very successful tour in Ireland, playing in venues that included the Clifden Arts Festival in Galway; the Westport Festival in Mayo; the Ionad Culturtha in Ballyvourney, County Cork; and the Armagh Piper's Club, among others. The photo at left is from the gig in the back room at Matt Molloy's Bar in Westport.

In addition, the Chulrua performance at Mother Redcap's in Dublin was recorded for broadcast on RTE Radio, Ireland's national broadcasting system. Paddy was also interviewed by Aine Hensey for her RTE Sunday evening program, THE LATE SESSION:



Sunday, October 3:    Listen to the show

Offaly-born accordeon player Paddy O'Brien is currently on tour in Ireland with his band Chulrua and he will be Áine's guest on tonight's show, which will also feature a special report from the launch of the Arts Council's 'Towards a Policy for the Traditional Arts', which was published earlier this week...

Chulrua Featured in IRISH MUSIC MAGAZINE

Paddy was interviewed by Bill Margeson for a July feature in Irish Music Magazine, talking about the music and the band's new lineup with Patrick Ourceau.

Here's an excerpt from the piece...

THE TUNE'S THE THING
by Bill Margeson, Chicago correspondent for Irish Music Magazine

The music. Button box wizard Paddy O'Brien gets it. Really gets it.  "What I like in a musician now," states Paddy, "is the one who plays the nicest tune, even more than the technical musicianship." In that one sentence the legendary Offaly-born button box player encapsulates a life spent in the center and soul of Irish music. And that center is the music itself. Not the current fashion. Not the current "hot" group. Not "the buzz." The music. Period. Full stop.

FULL TEXT OF THE ARTICLE HERE

November 2003

Chulrua announces exciting new lineup!

  Paddy and Pat are pleased to welcome Patrick Ourceau as a new member of the band, sitting in the chair formerly occupied by pipers Tim Britton and Michael Cooney. Patrick originally hails from France, and is a great interpreter of the old Clare music.

Since moving to America twelve years ago, Patrick has performed with many U.S.-based musicians, including Gearóid ÓhAllmhuráin, a renowned County Clare concertina player now living in Saint Louis. Together with Gearóid, Patrick has performed in concert and at festivals all across Europe and North America. In 1999, they released Tracin', a recording featuring music from Clare.

For the last ten eyars, Patrick has been in great demand as a teacher and regularly teaches out of his home in Brooklyn. He has taught at various festivals in the U.S. and Canada, such as the Chris Langen Weekend in Toronto; the Saint Louis Irish Festival, and the Augusta Irish Week in Elkins, West Virginia. He has been part of the teaching staff for the past several years at the Irish Arts Week in East Durham, New York, and at the Celtic College in Goderich, Canada.

September 2003

Chulrua releases Down the Back Lane, on the Shanachie label

The band will release its long-awaited second CD, Down the Back Lane, in October 2003, to coincide with an east coast/midwest tour. The recording features a mix of driving jigs and reels, songs, slow airs, and stately clan marches. Available from the band at performances, from Shanachie Records, and via mail order.

Chulrua appeared on May 13, 2000 as part of the Kennedy Center festival of Irish arts and letters.

Watch a digital video of the entire one-hour performance from the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage performance archive:

Chulrua at Kennedy Center   (Real audio/video file)

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