Rogue Roots

Who knew anything about Irish music?

Not me. I’m in an Irish band only because a pub in Maple Grove needed some music on short notice. They called Dave and asked if he knew any Irish bands.

“Yeah, I have an Irish band.” Of course, “band” was overstating it a little. It wasn’t so much a band exactly, but more a loose collection of people who had once played some sort of instrument.

Why me? He needed a drummer.

So I don’t really have any deep roots in Irish tradition. I heard the Unicorn Song on the radio in the 70’s, and I knew what a Bodhran was (although I didn’t know how to say it yet.)

But once we learned a few songs and started playing for crowds I realized how many people love this stuff. Grown men break into tears when we play “Irish Rover.” Women dance to the jigs – without moving their arms. College crowds start slam dancing to “Mari’s Wedding.” (Well, that might be because of the way we play it.) And everywhere we go, people have requests for their favorite Irish song, typically either Fileds of Athlon or the Unicorn Song.

So although I didn’t get the Irish music thing at the time, a lot of people do. And the more I saw how people responded, the more I had to wonder -- what’s up with that?

Why are people so tied to this music? How do they know all the words? Why would they bring their own instruments to a pub when there is already a band playing there? Would it be legal to kill the person who wrote that frickin’ Unicorn Song?

We’re on a journey for answers. We’re going to Ireland to find the roots that we never knew, the memories we never had. And it’s all because of one important, overlying reason – someone was willing to send us.