Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
The Current - Arts and Entertainment
Issue: 2/18/02
By Sara Porter
The Irish music group, The Dorians, consists of three men from Carbondale, Ill.: Bryan Kelso Crow,tin and pan whistle; Mike Soltys, fiddle; and Mike Shanahan, guitar. They exhibited the Irish heritage in music at a free concert at the Music Building, on February. 14. The concert presented a wonderful look at the lives of Irish immigrants to this country through the light vocals and energetic music.
The Dorian's informal, relaxed atmosphere was clearly stated at the beginning when they began with reels from County Kerry, Ireland. The band was treated to the sound of the audience tapping their feet to the music. Crow also treated the audience to a crash course in music, by explaining that reels were songs set to a 4-4 beat and jigs were songs set to a 6-8 beat.
The members of the trio accented each other with whistles, guitars and fiddles and proved that their strength lies in their harmonies. UM-St. Louis student Jimmy Faul, accompanied them on the bowhran, a drum-like instrument, on a few songs. One of the songs included the jig "The Cliffs of Modhair."
The Dorians also performed three excellent vocal songs. Each of these songs carried a theme of Irishmen immigrating from Ireland, but missing their homeland. All of them stood out with moving solos by Crow and Shanahan. Two songs in particular, "When the Boys Come Rolling Home," about a man who carries the dream of returning to his beloved homeland to his deathbed, and "The Rocky Road to Dublin," about a young Irishman who runs into trouble with some rough men from Liverpool, display the trio's talents for singing and playing. The trio even inviting the audience to sing along with "When the Boys." The vocal songs were performed so eloquently that one almost wished that they had performed more of them.
Most of the songs that The Dorians performed were in tribute of their musical heroes, such as fiddler Ed Reevey, in the reels, "Shoemaker's Daughter," and "Love at the Endings," but they also played one original composition, "Ozark Boy," which they wrote about a young friend of Crow's. "Ozark Boy," was seamlessly integrated into the concert, so much so that someone said, "The Dorians should do more original music." And they should.
The Dorians performed a nice tribute to Ireland in their words and music. - thecurrentonline.com U. MO. St. Louis
Discography
Discography
The Dorians - self titled album (1998)
new release due in Spring 2007
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The Dorians are a three-member band based in Carbondale, Illinois, specializing in dance music from the Celtic traditions of Ireland and Scotland, and songs from Ireland, Scotland, England, and North America. The current members have been performing together since 1990.
The band's vocal repertoire includes humorous ballads, traditional love songs, songs of Irish and Scottish history and politics, and some old and new American folk songs. Their instrumental repertoire ranges from Scottish and Irish reels and jigs to lovely slower tunes. They have played throughout the midwest as well as Alaska for concert audiences, Highland games, weddings, dances, music and arts festivals, community fundraisers, elementary schools, colleges, historic re-enactments, academic conferences, and on public radio and television.
The band's versatile and talented musicians include:
Bryan Kelso Crow as lead singer and playing flute, whistle and keyboard. He is a native of Tennessee, with Scots-Irish roots, but he never heard traditional Celtic music until he was in college. He learned to play the tin whistle while hiking the roads of Ireland in 1978, and has been playing the traditional wood flute since the mid-1980s. He taught as an exchange professor at the University of Ulster, outside of Belfast, for the 1985-86 school year, and got to know many Irish musicians during that time. He is a guest lecturer in the Irish Studies program at Southern Illinois University, and a member of the Coordinating Committee for the Southern Illinois Festival of Irish Music.
In 1991 He launched "Celtic Connections" as a local radio program featuring Celtic music, and the program moved to national syndication in July 1996 and can now be heard on over 100 public radio stations across the U.S..
Mickey Soltys is an accomplished fiddler and guitarist. He is originally from Wycliffe, Kentucky and has performed extensively in other bands and genres in the region before joining The Dorians. He has studied many of the Irish fiddling styles from both his extensive collection of recordings as well as traveling to Ireland. In addition to his interest in Celtic music he is an expert on old-time Missouri fiddling. He also plays regularly for the local contra dance society, "Friends of Traditional Music and Dance".
Mike Shanahan plays guitar and cittern, and specializes in the singing of immigration and other historical ballads. Mike has been performing folk music since his teens. Originally from Ohio, he has performed with several old-time bands in Ann Arbor, MI and Madison, WI. It was in Madison in the early 1980's that he became involved in promoting and playing Irish music and played in a local band, Bogside (aka Boxty) before moving to Carbondale, Illinois. There he met Bryan Crow and they formed the Dorians. He has studied guitar with Daithe Sproule, Zan McLeod and Jed Foley and performs mainly using the DADGAD guitar tuning. Mike is also the Entertainment Coordinator for the Southern Illinois Irish Festival
In addition to playing guitar he also plays a Stefan Sobell 10-string cittern and 5-string banjo.
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS:
Sheldon Concert Hall Notes From Home series, St. Louis, MO
Southern Illinois Festival of Irish Music & Dance, Carbondale, IL
Springfield Highland Games, Springfield, IL
Western Kentucky Highland Games, Paducah, KY
Alaskan Highland Games, Anchorage, AK
Lake Sommerfest Folk Festival, Davis, IL
St. Louis Irish Arts Festival, St. Louis, MO
Fort Kaskaskia Traditional Music Festival, Chester, IL
Makanda Civil War reenactment, Makanda, IL
St. Louis Arts Festival, Clayton, MO
Arts Education Festival, So. Illinois Univ., Carbondale, IL
Murphysboro St. Patricks Festival, Murphysboro, IL
American Conference for Irish Studies (national), Carbondale, IL
Prairie Grapevine Folk Music Concert Series, Springfield, IL
McGurks Irish Pub, St. Louis, MO
St. Louis Brewery & Tap Room, St. Louis, MO
Dan McGuinness Pub, Memphis, TN
Arts in Celebration Festival, Carbondale, IL
Murphysboro Folk Festival, Murphysboro, IL
Greenville College, Greenville, IL
Lewis & Clark Community College, Godfrey, IL
Lisle Park District Performance Series, Lisle, IL
Illinois Arts Council Retreat, Rend Lake, IL
Cousin Andys Coffeehouse, Carbondale, IL
Maple Leaf Community Concert Series, Monmouth, IL
Arlington Heights Community Concerts, Arlington Heights IL
Saline Celtic Festival, Ann Arbor, MI
Chinquapin Folk Music & Stortelling Festival, Peoria, IL
Spurlock Museum concert series, Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL
Biedenharn Museum & Gardens Concert, Monroe, LA
Celtic Connections (national radio syndication) NPR stations
AWARDS:
Best Acoustic Band, 1997 Southern Illinois Music Awards
Illinois Arts Council ArtsTour Program, 1999-2007, juried roster for statewide venues
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