Pat McCullough of Celtic Events and Entertainment Presents is familiar with the phenomenon. Every March, his phone is jammed with calls from Denver folks experiencing a renewed and desperate interest in the Green Isle. "They call and ask me, 'How do you make an Irish brown bread?' 'How do you dance a jig?' 'Where's the parade?'" McCullough says, laughing. "You try to be nice and accommodate them. By now, I could teach a jig to anyone, I've done it so many times. If people look at us a resource, then we'll be one. But really, what I do is put on music."
Unlike many of the folks who call him in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, McCullough's interest in Irish/Celtic culture is not a seasonal one. Since beginning Celtic Events in 1993 (he booked his first show at the Paramount after accepting the task of bringing Irish singer/ composer Phil Coulter to town even though he had no experience as a promoter), McCullough has built up the independent company to a level where it can hold its own against more established promotional players like Bill Graham Presents/Chuck Morris Presents and House of Blues. McCullough books more than twenty shows annually into the same halls and theaters as those promoters, and the draws haven't been bad, either, especially since Lord of the Dance and Riverdance leapt -- shiny tights, headbands and all -- into the awareness of mainstream America. And though it might seem like toiling in a very limited genre would complicate matters, McCullough contends that there's a diversity of Irish-inspired music that actually simplifies his job.
"We're not an Irish club or a Celtic club," he says. "We bring in a lot of different music from different areas. With our name, we're not trying to describe a certain kind of music; rather, it's music that shares a basic tradition of love for music, and passion, and excellence. A lot of these bands treat the music as a living, growing music instead of as a museum piece. I don't mean that to be disrespectful to people who are purists and really into the tradition of the music, because I think that's needed, too. But when you look back historically, a lot of the changes in Irish music were when people brought in instrumentation from other parts of the world."
A glance at some of McCullough's most recent productions certainly supports this premise. Irish folk artist Luka Bloom, the acoustic five-piece Lúnasa and the piano-tinkling Coulter are all among a class of Celtic-inspired artists who use traditionalism as a tool, not a template, for their sound. That's nothing new to those who make Irish music or have regional exposure to it, but American audiences might perceive it as spurred by the virtual Irish explosion of a couple of years ago or the current climate of interest in world music as a whole.
"You absolutely have to give a great deal of credit to those touring Irish dance troupes," says McCullough, whose familial tie to Ireland traces back to his great-grandparents, who made the move to the States two generations ago. "That whole scene had so much coverage, it was unheard of, really. And it turned a lot of people on to Celtic music and dance. But it's not something that just happened -- it's not a fad at all. This music has been around for a long, long time, and it will stay."
If McCullough continues to promote the music locally, it will probably stay around here for a long time, too. He's an indie promoter in a fairly saturated market, so McCullough's approach to hyping events and the Celtic scene is a relentless one. He publishes his own monthly newspaper, The Celtic Connection (which runs stories and concert calendars as well as ads for all things Irish, including Celtic plumbing and heating services and wedding rings), and he does his best to plaster every public space he can with notices of upcoming events. Just doing his bit to maintain interest, even when the promise of green beer and corned beef isn't looming -- and, of course, to stay afloat.
"There are no guarantees as a promoter," he says. "Sometimes you'll fill maybe 70 percent of a hall and it looks like a full house. Meanwhile, there's tears on your calculator. Some people say, 'Oh, you must be doing really well,' but I'm still driving the beat-up Honda that I had in 1993. We do promote very aggressively, and we're on the cutting edge of what's happening in that genre, but generally, it's being propelled by a lot of people who have more passion in their pockets than money."
Surprisingly, McCullough and Celtic Events don't have anything extravagant planned for St. Patrick's Day (the best bets for Friday night seem to be the Indulgers show at the Gothic, Fergal Hayes and the Reals at Fadó or the "Blarney Blowout" at the Denver Turnverein Hall). The Scottish-bred Old Blind Dogs, a rootsy five-piece that emphasizes harmonica as heavily as the fiddle and other more traditional instruments, headlines the production company's next big show, slated for Saturday, March 25, at the Mercury Cafe.
A slew of news: Local Elvis impersonator Charles King has used his rather creepy resemblance to the King himself to great personal gain, ever since the day he called Graceland to inquire as to where he could buy authentic jumpsuits and discovered that he and the singer had exactly the same measurements. It's landed him on stages in front of Bill "Love Me Tender" Clinton, in the pages of Family Circle magazine, and on the retirement-home fave, Diagnosis: Murder. This weekend, King brings his impression to The 4 Whatevers and Arnold, a play to be performed at Littleton High School on Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The show is a benefit for organizations that help kids with mental and physical disabilities and will feature the music of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, the Platters and other '50s-era artists, performed by local group Magic Moments as well as some of the folks the producers hope to help with their efforts. Whop-bop-a-loo-bop!
Open Road Bluegrass Band has finished recording a CD in Boulder's Rancho DeVille studio, and the disc should see release in the early spring. In the meantime, the tunes of the traditionalist, exacting bluegrass outfit can be found online at openroadbluegrass.com, or in concert at Nederland's Wolf Tongue Brewery on Saturday, March 18.
Also on Saturday, Dear Marsha will perform at the 15th Anniversary Party of the Denver Detour, a wonderful Colfax restaurant and watering hole that caters to the gay community and boasts some of the finest guac in town. The band is doing some celebrating of its own following the recent addition of Bulgarian-born percussionist Emilia Shopova.
The next meeting of the Colorado Music Association will feature a talk from and question-and-answer period with Mark Bliesner, a former publicity director for Feyline Presents and a manager of acts as high-profile and varied as Lyle Lovett, Leo Kottke and Big Head Todd and the Monsters. COMA members and regular ol' folks are invited to attend the gathering at the Soiled Dove on Sunday, March 19. -- Laura Bond
Send local music news to Backwash at Laura_Bond @westword.com.
