Mary McCaslin's Roundup

Mar 11, 2004

CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK'S DAY WITH WAKE THE DEAD

Wake the Dead was born in 2000 when Danny Carnahan, Paul Kotapish and Maureen Brennan decided to mix Grateful Dead songs in with the Celtic jigs and reels they had played together and seperately for years. Each of these musicians had long been aware of how beautifully Dead and Celtic music blended.

Maureen plays Celtic harp, often for weddings and wedding receptions. Many times she has thrown the Dead's Dark Star into a medly of Celtic tunes causing more than one celebrant to do a double take. Danny had noticed how well China Cat Sunflower's guitar riff dovetailed with the Christmas Eve reel. "It blew my mind how perfectly it fit", he said, speaking by phone from his home in the East Bay. And Paul had played Bertha and Touch of Grey over the years.

Finally, the three musicians decided to work up a repertoire of Grateful Dead and Celtic music and then record their unique arrangements with some other musicians who eventually became band members. "On a whim," says Carnahan, "we trotted a copy of the final mixes over to the Grateful Dead office. 48 hours later Peter McQuaid, the president of the label, called saying 'This is fantastic. We want to put it out!' " Technically, they weren't really a band, just a bunch of musicians who put together one of the most innovative acoustic music recordings heard in recent years. So, the search for a band name began. All kinds of suggestions flew, one of the most memorable being "Uncle Sean's Band". Finally, someone came up with Wake the Dead and the matter was settled.

The other musicians in the group include Joe Craven and Brian Rice on percussion, Kevin Carr (of the Hillbillies from Mars) on Irish pipes and fiddle, Sylvia Herold (of Cats & Jammers and Hot Club of San Francisco) on guitar and vocals and bass player Cindy Browne (of the Quirks and Kaila Flexer's Band). Occasionally fiddler Bobbi Nikles sits in for Kevin Carr.

The first CD, simply called Wake the Dead, was released on Grateful Dead records and distributed by Arista. It stood the Celtic music world on its ear with its seemless segues between Celtic tunes and Dead songs. Changes in the Grateful Dead organization led to their second CD, Buckdancer's Choice, being self released. However, Buckdancer's Choice has recently been picked up by Redwing records and will be distributed by Ryko.

Often an artist or group has one good recording in them and subsequent efforts are a letdown. This is not so in the case of Wake the Dead. Both CDs are Desert Island Classics. It's hard to choose favorite cuts, because each track is superb. This is partly due to the Grateful Dead's wealth of fine material, but it's also due to Wake the Dead's beautiful and thoughtful arrangements.

Wake the Dead has been steadily bringing Celtic music fans into the Deadhead fold and making Dead fans aware of Celtic music. As Carnahan told me, "People come up to us during the breaks and say that they never realized until hearing us that they had always liked Celtic music." They are doing what the Grateful Dead themselves, especially Jerry Garcia, did for folk and blues music. It's a safe bet that many, many Dead fans had never heard traditional songs, such as Jackaroe, Stealin' or Little Sadie before hearing Jerry or the Dead perform them.

Opening for Bob Weir at the Filmore and playing at Grateful Dead tribute shows, might make it seem that Wake the Dead is just another jam or tribute band. However, they are Celtic musicians first and have always mixed material other than the Dead's music in with the Celtic tunes. After George Harrison's death they began including Here Comes the Sun in their performances. They also throw Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London into the middle of a long jam. And Carnahan stresses that each show is different, much in the tradition of Dead shows.

On Wednesday, March 17, Wake the Dead will play at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. Opening the show, to the further delight of St. Patrick's Day revelers will be Molly's Revenge, playing their high energy, foot-stomping Celtic jigs and reels. This band is a local treasure whose following is reaching international proportions. Consisting of Mark Boronkay (guitar), David Brewer (pipes, whistle, bodhran, mandolin and guitar), Peter Haworth (guitar) and John Weed (fiddle), Molly's Revenge has released 3 CDs. Piper David Brewer also plays in the local Celtic band Isle of Light and is known for his fiery solos.

It will be a fine night for the wearin' of the tie-dye and the green.

Email Mary McCaslin at roundup@marymccaslin.com

Wake the Dead and Molly's Revenge

Wednesday, March 17, 7:30 pm

At the Rio Theatre

1205 Soquel Ave., S.C.

Info: (831) 423-8209