Seamus Egan (pronounced Shame-mus) is not only a talented musician who plays flute, tenor banjo, mandolin, tin whistle, low whistle, guitars and bodhran. He's both a member and leader of the highly acclaimed Irish band, "Solas".
Born in Hatboro, Pa., and raised for a time in Foxford, Mayo, Seamus has three acclaimed solo albums to his credit and also performed on a soundtrack tied to the Oscar winning movie Dead Man Walking.
These days he devotes most of his time and energy to touring, leading and playing as a member of Solas.
"We’re coming your way," said Seamus during a pre-concert interview. At the time, the band was in its second half of a spring tour across the United States. Solas played first in Santa Fe on April 5 and then headed down to Socorro for a Friday evening performance, April 7, at Macey Center.
Solas played in Santa Fe on April 5. The group then wandered down to Socorro for a Friday night performance on April 7, at Macey Center. A sizeable local audience attended and enjoyed the performance that evening.
We were fortunate to have a brief telephone conversation with Seamus about the band's current tour. Solas is celebrating its 10th year together and awaiting the release of its latest recording, Reunion.
Pengwen: 10 years? That’s a long time. Does it seem long or has it gone by quickly?
Seamus: Sometimes it seems like 20. … In all honesty is sneaks up on you. We spend a lot of time traveling. We’re pretty much doing what we want to be doing so the time passes quickly."
"We’ve been doing an awful lot of traveling. Last year we spent four months in the States, Europe and even Japan and that was after the summer in Europe and the States."
Pengwen: "Irish music does seem to have an international appeal…"
Seamus: "Yes. Regardless of where you come from, your family history, Irish music plays to universal emotions of joy, sorry and loss. It’s readily there on the surface and people can relate to it."
Pengwen: "But much of Irish music has a haunting quality. Why is that?"
Seamus: "It reflects the tragic history of the country and the people. A culture’s music is there to remember the events and the sentiments of the culture….
"Irish music also represents joy, though."
Pengwen: "I’ve been listening to your CD The Edge of Silence. What made you decide to do songs like Bob Dylan’s "Dignity" and Jessie Colin Young’s "Darkness, Darkness"?
Seamus: "Up to that record, we were starting from a point fairly rooted in tradition, with shoot-offs using nontraditional instruments or a nontraditional approach to traditional material. We thought, ‘why not make the starting point different?’ Start with non-traditional material and add traditional. Sort of starting backwards."
Pengwen: "And have you continued in that vein?"
Seamus: "We’ve refined the focus a bit. But we’re continuing down that path. We don’t feel bound by traditional restraints."
Pengwen: "What about your new CD Reunion?"
Seamus: "We were fortunate to reconvene the original line up and all the members of the band through the years for the evening. So we played with the original members and others and everyone played together …. It was a whole pile of fun!
"… The CD won’t be released until later; it will be in stores April 22. But we may have some available for the show."
If you missed the Solas band's New Mexico performances, the good news is they have several CDs of their music available through their website. Although it is their newest recording, Reunion is certainly not the Sola Band's only music CD. Indeed there are eight other CDs of their music available through their website at: www.SolasMusic.com (http://www.solasmusic.com/).
The full list of Solas Music available on CD at just $15 each, includes:
Just One Wish
An Ocean's Breadth
Another Day
Solas
Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers
The Edge of Silence
The Hour Before Dawn
The Words That Remain
And now of course you can add "Reunion" to that list. In addition to their music CDs, the band also offers a complete set of tutorial CDs designed to teach others how to play the instruments they use as well as their music. All of their music and other CDs can be bought at their website.
Solas has now completed it's New Mexico tour and is back in New England. They will be performing in New York City and other New York state venues in the latter part of April. Be sure to catch their performances the next time they are in our state!
For more information on Solas or to purchase their recordings, visit their website at: www.SolasMusic.com (http://www.solasmusic.com/)
© 2006 SONewMex.com - Reprint Permission Granted
Seamus Egan (pronounced Shame-mus) is not only a talented musician who plays flute, tenor banjo, mandolin, tin whistle, low whistle, guitars and bodhran. He's both a member and leader of the highly acclaimed Irish band, "Solas".
http://www.steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/seamus.jpg
Photo Credit: www.SolasMusic.com (http://www.solasmusic.com/)
Born in Hatboro, Pa., and raised for a time in Foxford, Mayo, Seamus has three acclaimed solo albums to his credit and also performed on a soundtrack tied to the Oscar winning movie Dead Man Walking.
These days he devotes most of his time and energy to touring, leading and playing as a member of Solas.
"We’re coming your way," said Seamus during a pre-concert interview. At the time, the band was in its second half of a spring tour across the United States. Solas played first in Santa Fe on April 5 and then headed down to Socorro for a Friday evening performance, April 7, at Macey Center.
http://www.steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/oneworld3.jpg
Photo Credit: www.SolasMusic.com (http://www.solasmusic.com/)
Solas played in Santa Fe on April 5. The group then wandered down to Socorro for a Friday night performance on April 7, at Macey Center. A sizeable local audience attended and enjoyed the performance that evening.
We were fortunate to have a brief telephone conversation with Seamus about the band's current tour. Solas is celebrating its 10th year together and awaiting the release of its latest recording, Reunion.
Pengwen: 10 years? That’s a long time. Does it seem long or has it gone by quickly?
Seamus: Sometimes it seems like 20. … In all honesty is sneaks up on you. We spend a lot of time traveling. We’re pretty much doing what we want to be doing so the time passes quickly."
"We’ve been doing an awful lot of traveling. Last year we spent four months in the States, Europe and even Japan and that was after the summer in Europe and the States."
Pengwen: "Irish music does seem to have an international appeal…"
Seamus: "Yes. Regardless of where you come from, your family history, Irish music plays to universal emotions of joy, sorry and loss. It’s readily there on the surface and people can relate to it."
Pengwen: "But much of Irish music has a haunting quality. Why is that?"
Seamus: "It reflects the tragic history of the country and the people. A culture’s music is there to remember the events and the sentiments of the culture….
"Irish music also represents joy, though."
Pengwen: "I’ve been listening to your CD The Edge of Silence. What made you decide to do songs like Bob Dylan’s "Dignity" and Jessie Colin Young’s "Darkness, Darkness"?
Seamus: "Up to that record, we were starting from a point fairly rooted in tradition, with shoot-offs using nontraditional instruments or a nontraditional approach to traditional material. We thought, ‘why not make the starting point different?’ Start with non-traditional material and add traditional. Sort of starting backwards."
http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/solas2.jpg
Photo Credit:www.SolasMusic.com (http://www.solasmusic.com/)
Pengwen: "And have you continued in that vein?"
Seamus: "We’ve refined the focus a bit. But we’re continuing down that path. We don’t feel bound by traditional restraints."
Pengwen: "What about your new CD Reunion?"
Seamus: "We were fortunate to reconvene the original line up and all the members of the band through the years for the evening. So we played with the original members and others and everyone played together …. It was a whole pile of fun!
"… The CD won’t be released until later; it will be in stores April 22. But we may have some available for the show."
If you missed the Solas band's New Mexico performances, the good news is they have several CDs of their music available through their website. Although it is their newest recording, Reunion is certainly not the Sola Band's only music CD. Indeed there are eight other CDs of their music available through their website at: www.SolasMusic.com (http://www.solasmusic.com/).
The full list of Solas Music available on CD at just $15 each, includes:
Just One Wish
An Ocean's Breadth
Another Day
Solas
Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers
The Edge of Silence
The Hour Before Dawn
The Words That Remain
And now of course you can add "Reunion" to that list. In addition to their music CDs, the band also offers a complete set of tutorial CDs designed to teach others how to play the instruments they use as well as their music. All of their music and other CDs can be bought at their website.
http://www.steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/solas1.jpg
Photo Credit:www.SolasMusic.com (http://www.solasmusic.com/)
Solas has now completed it's New Mexico tour and is back in New England. They will be performing in New York City and other New York state venues in the latter part of April. Be sure to catch their performances the next time they are in our state!
For more information on Solas or to purchase their recordings, visit their website at: www.SolasMusic.com (http://www.solasmusic.com/)