Molly's Revenge

Artist Information

Biography

Molly's Revenge is a dynamic, acoustic Celtic band known for its unique and infectious enthusiasm. The classic combination of bagpipes, whistle, fiddle, and song, with a backdrop of guitar, bouzouki, bodhran, and mandola, guarantees an enjoyable experience for all fans of Scottish and Irish music. Molly's Revenge has performed at many of the top folk festivals and performing arts events in the USA, and prestigious events in Australia and China. Their arrangements of traditional Celtic jigs and reels bring these dance tunes up to date with a driving, hard-edged accent that always leaves audiences shouting for more.

Aaaron Jones, bouzouki player with Scottish Folk Band Of The Year Old Blind Dogs, produced the band's tenth recording, Aged 10 Years, released in March 2011. Guest performers on this record include Aaron Jones (Old Blind Dogs) on bouzouki, Brian Rice on percussion, and vocalist Moira Smiley (VOCO), who has done extensive vocal work for folk, new, early and pop music projects for film, television, and recordings worldwide.

"... a beautifully varied and colourful album with a little something for everyone, fast to slow, sad to happy and all brilliantly performed by the band and Moira." --Aaron Jones, Old Blind Dogs

"There is an engaging freshness and yet an impressive maturity in their playing. There is also a lovely balance of repertoire, alternating a familiar with a most arcane selection of tunes and songs." --Mick Moloney, National Heritage Award recipient.

"The instruments are traditional... but the wild passion they exhibit is thoroughly modern." --MetroSantaCruz (CA)

"Revered in California as one of its most energetic, exciting and innovative bands, Molly's Revenge has a produced an album that is a total joy." --Shay Black, of the legendary Black family.

"They bring to the music a vital and joyous creativity that excites even the hardest of hearts." --John Doyle, founding member of Solas.

Instrumentation

Stuart Mason - Guitar, mandola
John Weed - Fiddle
David Brewer - bodhran, Whistle, Uilleann Pipes, Highland bagpipes
Pete Haworth - Vocals, Irish bouzouki

Discography

Aged 10 Years - March 2011
Winterdance - May 2010
Evolution - December 2008
The Western Shore - September 2008
Yuledance - December 2006
Raise The Rafters - April 2006
Molly's Revenge Four - August 2004
Live At Espresso Garden - August 2003
Revenge Is Sweet - December 2001
Siege of Delhi - March 2001

Individual tracks are available for purchase at many online music stores, including iTunes. Radio airplay on many folk and world music programs.

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace

Audio

• The Western Shore
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• Weave My Love A Garland
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• The Long Drive
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• The Air Tune
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• The Mickey Dam
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• Bart's Rant
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Video

Aussie Stevie (with guest Andy Zenczak on bass)

Photo Gallery

Press

• A beautifully varied and colourful album [+ Show ]
  

  "I think the boys have a fantastic album on their hands. It was a pleasure working with them and An... "I think the boys have a fantastic album on their hands. It was a pleasure working with them and Andy. It's a beautifully varied and colourful album with a little something for everyone, fast to slow, sad to happy and all brilliantly performed by the band and Moira."

• Dynamic, Acoustic, Celtic [+ Show ]
  

  "Dynamic, acoustic, Celtic." is how the California-based band Molly's Revenge bills itself and that'..."Dynamic, acoustic, Celtic." is how the California-based band Molly's Revenge bills itself and that's a fair description of what it offers on its seventh release.
  
  The four men of the band have expanded their range somewhat, bringing in the contributions of singer Moira Smiley and percussionist Fraser Stone, as well as enlisting John Doyle, well known for his work in Solas and with the Alison Brown Quartet, to produce.
  
  The sound of the band is based in the uillean pipes and highland pipes of David Brewer, John Weed's fiddle and singing, Pete Haworth's bouzouki playing, and Stuart Mason's guitar and mandolin.
  
  The title track, a fiery instrumental that could evoke the western shore of several countries, gets things started. "Youth Inclined to Ramble" is an Irish song showcasing Smiley's voice, while "Air Tune," written by Liz Caroll, is a fine version of a slower tune.
  
  Interesting music, well played and creatively arranged.

• Fine Collection of Material [+ Show ]
  

  Santa Cruz, California is a long way from Ireland and Scotland. One would think it unusual that the...Santa Cruz, California is a long way from Ireland and Scotland. One would think it unusual that there would be such a strong community of celtic music in Northern California but there is and Molly's Revenge is at the heart of it.
  
  When I first heard the band in 2006, I was immediately impressed by their obvious love of the music, the energy of their live performances and their excellent musicianship. They bring to the music a vitality and joyous creativity that excites even the hardest hearts.
  
  This recording showcases the confidence and enthusiasm in their playing and their maturity as a group. Their diligence to the tradition has produced this fine collection of material, old and new, and one which fans of Celtic music are sure to embrace.
  

• Lovely Balance of Repertoire [+ Show ]
  

  Molly’s Revenge has produced an absolutely wonderful new CD aptly titled The Western Shore. Listenin...Molly’s Revenge has produced an absolutely wonderful new CD aptly titled The Western Shore. Listening to this excellent recording, it is hard to believe that this is the product of a group based in Central Coast California, on the periphery of the Irish music scene in America.
  
  There is an engaging freshness and yet also an impressive maturity in their playing. There is also a lovely balance of repertoire, alternating a familiar with a most arcane selection of tunes and songs. All are beautifully and tastefully arranged. The production by John Doyle is predictably first rate. Great vocals by guest singer Moira Smiley complement excellent musicianship by band members Stuart Mason, David Brewer, Pete Haworth and John Weed, along with cameo appearances by Fraser Stone and the irrepressible John Doyle.
  
  This is a thoroughly enjoyable addition to the rich and varied world of Irish music in America. Already looking forward to the next one!
  
  --Mick Moloney, National Heritage Award recipient

• An Especially Lyrical Hand With Ballads [+ Show ]
  

  Listening to the first song on this CD, the title cut, it all of a sudden hit me that Celtic is occi...Listening to the first song on this CD, the title cut, it all of a sudden hit me that Celtic is occidental Carnatic music (India, after all, is in the orient). Don't know why it's taken me so long to recognize that, but it's indeed so. The track is a highly pleasing aggregate of three original sonorities woven together to form a six minute exercise in interlocking lines adopting ancient airs for modern ears, Windham Hill-ish in its integrities and level of musicianship.
  
  Molly's Revenge is a northern California quartet (David Brewer, John Weed, Pete Haworth, Stuart Mason)concentrating on stringed instruments and pipes (and whistles, of course) while re-imbuing time-honored traditions in a way the rebellious Irish, or anyone else, will have absolutely no problems with whatsoever.
  
  For this, their seventh, release, they brought in vocalist-accordionist Moira Smiley to sit in on most of the CD. She has a Sandy Denny-ish voice—a bit gentler, a little more gossamer to it. Her first appearance is on the gorgeous Weave my Love a Garland, and the band certainly knows how to fabricate a robe of shimmering colors around her. The Long Drive, the third selection, returns to the instrumental side, again a flawlessly threaded trio of old and original ditties, once more captivating for its ability to capture and dance with serial, rondo, and "Carnatic" Celtic elements into the 21st century enchantingly.
  
  The Western Shore brings in Solas' (reviewed here) John Doyle for production work, and he puts a glow into the entire affair, overseeing a disc that will have William Ackerman beaming. The ensemble possesses an especially lyrical hand with ballads, and a number of them dot the CD, counterpointing the rest of the dexterous high-energy cuts. Where Clannad left me indifferent, Molly's Revenge conjures up wistful dreams and old country joys…and I'm not the only one: the lads' fan base helped raise $8,000 to secure the release of this marvelous record, thus joining groups like Marillion who have enlisted ecstatically fanatic listeners in a partnership, something that may yet prove to be the salvation of the otherwise moribund music industry.
  
  That impending apotheosis, however, has nothing to do with the magic of this release, which stands well on its own manifold virtues, needing little in the way of business paradigms to argue its more than obvious attractions.
  

• Gorgeous Repertoire Choices [+ Show ]
  

  With the name, Molly's Revenge you might be fooled into lumping this band in with the likes of Flogg...With the name, Molly's Revenge you might be fooled into lumping this band in with the likes of Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphys - dishing out aggressive bar anthems and such- and you would be far from accurate. The revenge to which they refer in their cryptic name is what I tend to think of as "traddiction", or an inability to be temperate with one's desire to play Just One More Set of Tunes Before Going Home. Stu Mason (guitar, vocals, mandola) lays this out in poetic and graphic form on their website, www.mollysrevenge.com so go have a peek , if you wish...but I digress...this band plays traditional Irish and Scottish tunes along with recently composed numbers that fit well into the traditions in question.
  
  With their most recent CD The Western Shore they reveal how much they have matured as a group, and the injection of Moira Smiley on vocals is just what they needed.
  
  Do you like Solas? Old Blind Dogs? Then this is more your style of instrumentation and arrangements. The line-up consists of David Brewer on highland and uilleann pipes, whistles, bodhran and bones, John Weed on fiddle, Pete Howarth on bouzouki and vocals, the aforementioned Stu Mason, and special guests Moira Smiley (VOCO) on vocals and accordion, Fraser Stone (Old Blind Dogs) on percussion and John Doyle (ex Solas) on mandola, some arranging, and production.
  
  The arrangements are lovely, full-bodied and well-conceived. They use driving syncopation, dovetailing leads, and flying meter changes all to beautiful advantage. They have made some gorgeous repertoire choices, drawing from as diverse sources as traditional tunes John picked up in Donegal (their Northern Shore set and Miss McGuinness, which is a great find), Stu Mason's inventive The Long Drive and the compositions of Liz Carroll and Old Blind Dog alumnus Rory Campbell.
  
  They open and close with The Western Shore and 11th Street, truly choice tunes by the talented and energetic David Brewer. The clear and sprightly vocals of the multitalented artist Moira Smiley (whose solo CD Rua I recommend highly) are a mutually beneficial addition, and I only wish she'd had one more song on the album.
  

• Breathless Reels and Genial Humor [+ Show ]
  

  It’s no small thing for a traditional Irish band from North America to earn respect from musicians i...It’s no small thing for a traditional Irish band from North America to earn respect from musicians in the mother country. So it was something of a coup when Santa Cruz-based quartet Molly’s Revenge teamed up with John Doyle, the Irish folk artist renowned for his collaborations with Karan Casey, Liz Carroll and Kate Rusby, and, most prominently, co-founding the globally acclaimed ’90s Irish group Solas. Doyle produced Molly’s Revenge’s new album, “The Western Shore,” on which the band shares topline billing with vocalist Moira Smiley. The ensemble makes a rare local appearance this weekend at Caltech.
  
  Smiley, probably best known to local audiences for her work fronting award-winning a cappella group VOCO, sings on only a handful of tracks on “Western Shore,” but her silky soprano and handy accordion playing broaden the sonic palette of an already dynamic set. Highland/uilleann piper and bodhran (drum) player David Brewer, bouzouki player Pete Haworth (who co-founded the band with Brewer), guitarist/mandola player Stuart Mason and classical violinist-turned-Irish fiddler John Weed are notorious for their love of sessions, or seisiúns — off-the-cuff, party-like jams, often fueled by sundry libations, in which musicians, friends, neighbors and grizzled pub regulars grab instruments and swap songs and solos. That free session spirit is channeled through the energy and song structures on “Western Shore.”
  
  Most of the tracks are roiling medleys of traditional ballads, nature-inspired original instrumentals, and waltzes and jigs learned from veteran Irish and Scottish artists; the band repertoire liberally “poaches” melodies and songs from the Celtic and Cape Breton folk canon as well as the contemporary songbooks of Altan, Liz Carroll and Paul Brady. Smiley’s vocal turns are like a soothing between-reels breather. Haworth, Mason and Weed sing a bit too, but crooning takes a backseat to breathless reels and genial humor (which extends to traffic jams and the merits of eating hedgehogs in the wild).
  
  Irish music is defined to an uncommon degree by minor keys and story songs releasing deep emotions of displacement and loss. Molly’s Revenge indulges in little in the way of morose balladry, instead celebrating life, community and the sheer joy of playing. Melancholy threads through even their liveliest dance tunes, but amidst the skirling pipes and thumping bodhrans, it’s that session spirit of gathering that gives the music such a powerful pull.
  
  

• World Class Album [+ Show ]
  

  Revered in California as one of it’s most energetic, exciting and innovative bands, Molly’s Revenge ...Revered in California as one of it’s most energetic, exciting and innovative bands, Molly’s Revenge have a produced an album that is a total joy. The tunes and songs are exciting and incendiary, yet still possess a softness of tone that leaves one breathless. Moira Smiley’s songs are captivating, holding the listener enchanted with their telling, and her rich voice captures the essence of great traditional singing. The deft and skillful hand of John Doyle lends much to the music, giving it precision and drive while emphasizing the band’s innate musicality, undoubtedly making “The Western Shore” a world class album.
  

Setlist

A typical Molly's Revenge concert will consist of two sets of approximately 45 minutes each. The contents of the sets varies but will always consist of tracks from our albums which are mainly traditional Scottish and Irish dance tunes and songs plus an occasional original piece written by a band member.

Basic Requirements

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