View Full Version : Famous celtic players instruments
Ajvessey
Mar-03-2004, 12:27am
I know the guy from Shooglenifty plays a Gilchrist and some other builder's mandos, but what about the Jem Finer from the pogues, or the guy from Flogging Molly? Anyone know what kind of instruments these guys or any other famous guys play?
I think Jem was the banjo player? Terry Woods played a Sobell OM in the Pogues. He also has a very early Stephen Owsley Smith mandolin, but I have no idea if it was ever recorded or used on stage. Mick Maloney had or has an early Gibson A model. If I recall correctly, Claudine from Touchstone played a Flatiron clone of an old Gibson "Alrite" (the flat-top or "Army-Navy" mando). I believe Dave Richardson of Boys of the Lough has a Sobell mandolin, as does Andy Irvine. In Dervish, Michael Holmes plays Crump bouzoukis, Brian McDonagh plays a couple of Gibson mandolas, and Seamus Dowd (normally 12-str guitar) has a nice old Gibson A-model.
Kevin MacLeod has an early Sobell.. Dagger Gordon has an early 10-string Sobell.. I recorded with a Gibson A, and a Stephen Owsley Smith mandolin on my first disk, probably some heavy artillery F-models on my next one, and quite probaby the National resonator one as well.
Mostly you'll see oval-hole mandos, a lot of old Gibsons etc.
mad dawg
Mar-03-2004, 9:30am
Dagger Gordon has an early 10-string Sobell..
...as does Kevin MacLeod, formerly of Shooglenifty (I understand he also has a solid-body electric Flying V for fun).
Jim M.
Mar-03-2004, 11:15am
Simon Mayor plays a Vanden, Paul Kotapish plays a Gil now, I think, Tim O'Brien has his famous Nugget.
dawg -
Are you talking about Kevin or Iain?
kmmando
Mar-04-2004, 5:06am
he means Iain - I'm far too uncool to be confused with IM. Luke Plumb continues in the Shoogles mandolin slot, and is a cracking good player. He plays Daffy mandolins with the band, but also owns a superb F5 Gilchrist. He can be heard on a new duet cd with Simon Bradley entitled "Wintering Home" which is very fine indeed. See the shooglenifty website for details I think.
My Sobell is a small bodied Indian rosewood spruce top mando.
Kevin
http://mysite.freeserve.com/kevinmacleod
http://mysite.freeserve.com/theoccasionals
mad dawg
Mar-04-2004, 9:25am
Dane & Kevin -- you are both quite right about my typo, but it is interesting that both MacLeods in my CD collection play Sobell mandolins. (Although if I recall, Kevin's Sobell is but one of many instruments in his stable.)
Ajvessey
Mar-05-2004, 1:17am
Well I'm confused I guess. Phil Chevron, Terry Woods and James Fearnley are listed as playing the mando, while Jem Finer plays the mandola. Phil and Jem both play the banjo. My knowledge of each member stops there, and I couldn't tell you who primarily played what.
Has anyone seen the video for Dirty Old Town? Someone, probably Terry, is playing a cool looking double pointed mando, could that have been the Steven Owsley smith?
Thanks for the info guys, definitely interesting! The shoogles are coming here in about a week and I can hardly control myself I'm so excited.
Hmm, I haven't seen that video but I'd sure like to now. I've never really heard if Terry used that mando in gigs etc, but it's a pretty important one IMO. Steve showed up at a Pogues gig many years ago with that mandolin to show Terry (this was his early "marketing program".. politely amble backstage and hand instruments to people!). Terry bought it on the spot.. and said "you should try making bouzoukis"..
I think that from what I saw on many stage shows, Terry is the one playing OM/bououzki/mandola/mandolin, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if other members of the band did so on occasion too.
jmcgann
Mar-05-2004, 12:05pm
I don't know about famous, but I play a Zeidler mandolin and a Sobell Octave mandolin. I am recording a duo CD with Joe Derrane and a trio CD with Seamus Connolly and Joe in the spring. It'll be on the Mapleshade label, which is an audiophile label out of the Washington DC area. They should be out by year's end...
Ajvessey
Mar-06-2004, 5:07am
The dirty old town video is great if you're a Pogues fan, and not that impressive if you're not. It's alot of fun for me, because it basically pans from Shane singing to each individual member playing their instruments. I also have the video for Fairytale of New York, and in between Shane singing with Kristy McColl, it flips to the band playing again. Definitely worth trying to find if you're into the Pogues like I am, even though there are a few gratuitous closeups of Shane's teeth, ug.
Interesting. Can you grab a still image? I can ask Steve if that's the one he made..
Ajvessey
Mar-07-2004, 6:04am
I'll keep working on getting you a still Dan, but for some reason using Print Screen to take an image of the windows media video isn't working right now. Since that's failing, here's a description: orange to yellow - outside to inside sunburst double pointed mando. It's very light on the red/orange outside and the yellow inside of the sunburst is very cool. On another note, the stuff You (Dan), Kevin and John recorded in the MP3 section is awesome! I'll see if I can get a pic tomorrow, but no dice at the moment.
amiolito
Mar-07-2004, 3:57pm
Terry Woods used the Sobell OM for both recording and gigs. And also some kind of A-mandolin which both he and James Fearnley (the accordion player) used live.
James Fearnley also play on a very neat A-5 double cutaway mandolin in the Dirty Old town video, Terry wasn't a member back then.
A Korean brand called Iida makes resonable priced copies of those mandolins by the way, if anyone care to know http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Yess.. that's how it is.
And about Flogging Molly, when I saw them the Mandolin player used a 4 (?) string electric of some sort, fender perhaps.
amiolito
Mar-09-2004, 8:45am
Ehemmm, I meant Sobell BOUZOUKI not OM.
Sorry if I confused anyone..
mad dawg
Mar-09-2004, 2:14pm
he's not exactly an actual day-job musician, but I believe director Barry Levinson plays a Freshwater, so it may be a Freshwater you hear on soundtracks for "Everlasting Piece" (about two wig salesmen in Northern Ireland) and in the "Titanic" steerage class jams. (BTW, Matt Groenig, Simpson's creator, also plays a Freshwater.)
amiolito
Mar-09-2004, 4:50pm
The name of the band playing Irish music in Titanic is Gaelic storm, a California based band.
Cheers.
mad dawg
Mar-09-2004, 7:10pm
You are correct, amiolito -- I forgot that was Gaelic Storm; but I think it is still Barry Levinson playing with Hans Zimmer in "Everlasting Piece".
aimee
Mar-10-2004, 10:19am
Gaelic Storm plays in our area pretty regularly, always sold out.
That's pretty cool about famous people playing a Freshwater!
Mandobar
Mar-12-2004, 8:53am
kevin and dan,
i must say, i love your playing. you two could be playing cereal boxes strung with rubber bands and it would sound fantastic.
-mary
The resonators aren't far off from that image.. you forgot "rusty" http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
grsnovi
Mar-12-2004, 10:14pm
Hopefully my Dan and Kevin CD's will arrive from Elderly this week...
Kirby161
Mar-13-2004, 12:24am
i dont know what bob from flogging molley plays, he switches from A to F model depending on how he wishes, so im sure he has more than one.
kmmando
Mar-16-2004, 12:33pm
well, hopefully you 'll enjoy it - fingers crossed and thanks for buying it!
Thanks a lot
Kevin
http://mysite.freeserve.com/kevinmacleod
http://mysite.freeserve.com/theoccasionals
Thanks Gary, your support is appreciated!
Ajvessey: I found out from Terry that this *is* the Stephen Owlsey Smith mandolin in that video. So Steve gets the dubious honor of being one of the first builders of Celtic-style mandolins to be seen on MTV perhaps har har. Now I'll have to track that video down, that's the only image of it I know of!
grsnovi
Mar-22-2004, 6:35pm
As Friday dawned, I said to myself: "if that order from Elderly isn't here soon, I better call them..."
When I went out to do my morning walk, under the door mat was a package.
So, I spent the weekend listening to Dan and Kevin!
Good job guys!
For the past two months I've been in "mando-mode" and have dosed up on a heavy diet of Grisman, Thile, Bush, Marshall. I grabbed one of John Reischman's discs at Wintergrass, but when I just sit and play, it feels more like what you guys are doing.
Maybe I need to dig more into this style of music?
Thanks Gary http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif