News 2006

[Joe]

Some news from musical director Allister MacGillivray:

The new CD "Forerunner" will likely be released in the US alongside the Canadian release date of January 10th. His reason being that Rounder Records is an American company.

The MacGillivray family (Allister, Bev, Fiona and Ciaran) spent Christmas on holiday in Italy. Ciaran celebrated his birthday (the 28th) in Rome and Venice.

Allister is hoping that 2006 will be a break-through year for The Cottars in the US, as that could lead to major TV exposure.

[Joe]

Article in the Boston Herald - Tuesday, January 3, 2006

The BOSTON HERALD names The Cottars one of six folk acts poised for a breakthrough in 2006!

Folk's fresh faces: Six acts poised for an '06 breakthrough
By Daniel Gewertz /Music

Folk music is the ultimate indie genre. It lies so far from the music industry's star-making machinery that predicting future stars is like picking an American League pennant winner based on farm league reports.

Despite the folkie belief in purity, it takes a lot more than talent to make it. Physical appeal, youth and industry connections are far more important than the local folk mafia lets on. Some likely stars have been kicking around for years. Why isn't the stylish, sexy and witty Brian Webb a star?And what about Jake Armerding - will 2006 be the year this rootsy whiz-kid charmer moves from folk club popularity to crossover success?

If it were based on talent alone, Boston's Americana gem the Eilen Jewel Band would be huge along with winsome April Verch, the Canadian fiddler/singer who has a new Rounder CD due in February.

So who - like Peabody's Ryan Montbleau did in 2005 - is ready to go from small club to large? Here are six folk acts to watch in '06.

- The Cottars. Together for five years, these Cape Breton teens will release their first American album on Rounder Records in two weeks and then join The Chieftains for a 23-city tour. The Cottars used to be prepubescent adorable. Now, [ages 16 to 18], they're on the verge of teen [stardom]. Their brilliant Celtic folk has added a hint of pop, and their beseeching vocals offset the instrumental excitement.

- Antje Duvekot. Born in Germany, Duvekot has recently moved from Vermont to Somerville. New manager Ralph Jaccodine has arranged for the personable singer to open a bunch of high-profile shows for his other client, Ellis Paul. Duvekot possesses unique lyrics, melodic flair, a nicely daffy style and — it can't hurt — she's beautiful, too. Maybe her next album will capture her best gifts.

- Girlyman. Just another Asian/Jewish New York City folk-pop trio.They sing beautifully, and their shows are lots of fun. With two CDs on Indigo Girl Amy Ray's Daemon label and a recent tour with Dar Williams, Girlyman's bound to grab more adoring fans in 2006. In March, they openClub Passim's anniversary show at Sanders Theatre.

- The Duhks. How many Canadian fiddle bands get a full-page color photo in Rolling Stone? OK, it was a Chevy ad. But the fact that they were chosen for a 'Year in Rock' car calendar says a lot. The Duhks' merging of haunting Americana vocals, bracing rhythms and folk-stringed finesse is fresh.

- Anais Mitchell. A scratchy, piquant little voice, a strange way with a sentiment, an expressiveness that reflects and goes beyond her youth: Vermont's Mitchell is an original. Perhaps manager Gabriel Unger will have some of the luck he had with Lori McKenna. She appears with another young talent on the rise, Kate Klim, Saturday at Club Passim.

- Meg Hutchinson. After winning or being a finalist in a slew of major songwriting contests, this local gal, with producer Crit Harmon's help, has made a moody CD worthy of her evocative, writerly gifts: 'The Crossing.' She plays Jan. 14 at Club Passim.

[Joe]

January 5, 2006

'FORERUNNER' Reviewed By THE NEW YORK POST

by Dan Aquilante

FORERUNNER
The Cottars
Rounder Records

3 STARS

UP in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the Cottars, two brother-sister pairs, had trouble deciding on their sound, so they took the kitchen-sink approach.

On 'Forerunner,' there's plenty of Celtic stomp, American mountain music and nods to songwriters like Tom Waits. The Cottars' cover of Waits' bad-luck piano ballad 'Georgia Lee' is the most striking piece on this disc.

Despite that, the Celtic suit remains the band's strongest. If that's not clear from the Irish polkas, jigs and airs, the Chieftains have even chosen them to warm up their upcoming concert tour that concludes at Carnegie Hall on St Paddy's Day.

[roger]

With all dues respect to the Chieftains, I feel the Cottars are likely to steal the show.

Roger

[Joe]

HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD
January 17, 2005

The Road to Carnegie Hall

By ANDREA NEMETZ Entertainment Reporter

THE STARS will align perfectly for The Cottars on Saint Patrick’s Day this year, says band member Ciaran MacGillivray.

On March 17, the talented young Cape Breton folk quartet will play with Irish music legends The Chieftains at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

'It’s the No. 1 Irish group on the No. 1 Irish Day at the No. 1 concert venue in the U.S.,' said the 17-year-old, reached at his home in Albert Bridge, the day before the group was to fly to Louisiana for the start of a 23-date tour with the six-time Grammy winners.

'I’ve wanted to play Carnegie Hall from the beginning of my music career. I remember when I was four or five years old saying I wanted to play there and my parents saying ‘Well if you work, you might end up there.’ I think they said it more to encourage me to work hard. But I never imagined that it would really happen. It will be the show of a lifetime.'

'It’s amazing (to be playing with The Chieftains),' says an exuberant Fiona MacGillivary, 16, who with Roseanne MacKenzie, 15, and her brother, Jimmy, 18, of Baddeck, round out The Cottars.

'They’re like Celtic music gods to us. We’ve been listening to them for as long as I can remember. My parents would play their music to help Ciaran and I get to sleep when we were infants.'

Since they learned they’d be touring with the Celtic kings about six months ago, they’ve been brushing up on The Chieftains’ material. Ciaran was sent a CD by the Chieftains of tunes they wanted him to learn so he could accompany them on piano. 'It’s an interesting compilation of music with six or seven songs, including some old material, some fiddling tunes, some Southern tunes, some bluegrass tunes.'

Besides keyboards, Ciaran plays guitar and flute, while Fiona is the lead vocalist and plays whistles, harp and bodhran. Roseanne plays fiddle and is the stepdance leader and Jimmy plays rhythm guitar.

The group will sing with The Chieftains on the Gaelic tune Jimmy Mo Mhille Stor, which The Chieftains originally did with The Rankins (and recorded on their 1999 CD Tears of Stone). 'It’s a soft flowing song, with a beautiful arrangement and three-part harmony,' says Ciaran.

Forerunner, released in the U.S. on Jan. 10, is the first CD released under the group’s multi-album contract with Rounder Records (home of Bluegrass star Alison Krauss, among others). Featuring 12 tunes, including songs by Ron Hynes, Tom Waits, Scotland’s Karine Polwart and Sinead Lohan, as well as traditional numbers arranged mostly by Allister, it will be in stores in Canada today.

'We stayed with Gordie Sampson and got a real glimpse of how they record in Nashville, which is still the heart and soul of music. We were so excited.'

Fiona says going over records with Sampson in Nashville last fall was like being at a Cape Breton party.

'We’ve jammed with him a lot, but this is the first time we’ve worked with him on a record and he’s amazing.'

Fiona picks Hynes’ soulful Atlantic Blue about the heartache that follows a death at sea as her favourite song on the album. 'I adore the song, it’s very Maritime and addresses a serious issue. As soon as I heard it, I knew we had to do it.'

Ciaran singles out Waits’ aching Georgia Lee, about a troubled, young girl found dead in a small grove of trees, with its haunting chorus 'Why wasn’t God watching, why wasn’t God listening, why wasn’t God there for Georgia Lee' as his favourite to have both recorded and to listen to.

'It’s a heart-wrenching song. I remember a lonely cello and a dark piano in the background and feeling tears in the back of my throat listening to it. I’m really proud of the way it turned out. It reminds me of The Briar and the Rose.'

The Briar and the Rose, another Waits tune, has become a signature of sorts for The Cottars. They stole the 2003 ECMA broadcast with a live performance of the song at Halifax Metro Centre and earned a Gemini nomination in the category of best performance in a variety program or series.

'I’ve always told people I think Tom Waits is one of the most important songwriters of the century. He writes about important issues, things groups would have second thoughts singing about,' says Ciaran.

'Both my father and I are huge Tom Waits’ fans, it’s something about the mix between his beautiful lyrics and melodies and gruff voice,' says Fiona, noting a few years ago the group would have been too young to record a song about so serious a subject, but it fits with their growing maturity.

While the teens may be growing up, they still have to take homework on the road.

Fiona is in Grade 11 at Riverview High and Ciaran in Grade 12, while Roseanne is in Grade 10 at Memorial High and Jimmy, who took last year off because of illness, is completing courses by correspondence.

They’ll be back home in February and will do their exams then. And wherever the group tour, members make it a point to take in the sights and visit museums, says Fiona, along with sampling the local delicacies.

'In Louisiana, we had crawdads and fried chicken. In Japan, we had raw liver.'

[Joe]

The Cottars' latest CD Forerunner is to be released in Australia on February 6th.

www.cdonline.com.au/?event=search.viewProduct&cataloguenumber=ROUN7064_1§ion=music

[Joe]

News update from Allister MacGillivray, musical director (and father of 1/2 of The Cottars)...I asked his approval of my message board for The Cottars; if the group appeared in John McDermott's PBS special "A Time To Remember"; and for upcoming bookings.

He confirmed that The Cottars are performing in the 18th Annual Int'l Folk Alliance Conference in Austin Texas next weekend. Allister said the quartet are back in school until they rejoin The Chieftains' tour in March.

Allister had a look at my newlt-created message board for the Cottars and said that Keith would be proud.

The Cottars do a small cameo in the “Time To Remember” video, Allister said. John McDermott had just discovered them and fit them in at the last moment. He sings “Song For The Mira” (written by Allister and was a hit for Anne Murray) in the show and does a very fine job on it.

Allister has been busy booking The Cottars in various folk clubs for late in the year.

Roger, I'll try and persuade The Cottars to visit the UK!

Joe

[portia]

Is there any way to see the video?

[roger]

joe said:

Roger, I'll try and persuade The Cottars to visit the UK!

Joe

Thanks Joe. Tell them I'm free next Monday!

Go Cottars!

Roger

[Joe]

portia said:

Is there any way to see the video?

Hello Portia,

The video that Allister was referring to is the DVD release of John McDermott's "A Time To Remember" PBS special. I did watch it when it was broadcast on several years ago. I only remember the song 'Crazy Mary from Londonderry'. The Cottars would aged 11 to 14 when this concert took place shortly after the terror attacks of September 11th.

I ordered McDermott's DVD and I should have it this week. I'll post about what The Cottars performed.

Best wishes Portia!
From Joe

[roger]

Hi Joe and Portia,

I had previously checked out this DVD at amazon.com. Unfortunately it is encoded for Region 1 which means I'd have to bring it to your place to watch it, Joe!

Roger

[portia]

Roger, try downloading VLC. It's a free region free dvd player that should play anything: www.videolan.org/vlc

[Joe]

roger said:

Hi Joe and Portia,

I had previously checked out this DVD at amazon.com. Unfortunately it is encoded for Region 1 which means I'd have to bring it to your place to watch it, Joe!

Sounds good, Roger!

[Joe]

The Cottars will be in attendance at the East Coast Music Awards on CBC-TV on Feb. 27. Although they won't be performing, they might be presenting an award.

Additional information about the ECMA telecast can be found on my forum dedicated to The Cottars.

[Joe]

joe said:

The Cottars do a small cameo in the “Time To Remember” video, Allister said. John McDermott had just discovered them and fit them in at the last moment. He sings “Song For The Mira” (written by Allister and was a hit for Anne Murray) in the show and does a very fine job on it.

I just got John McDermott's "A Time to Remember" concert DVD. The Cottars, then about 12 to 14 years old, are seen between tracks. They don't perform in the concert performance. There are several beautiful outdoor scenes of them with John McDermott, mainly scenes of them in a rowing boat, fishing from a dock, sitting round the camp-fire. Several scenes feature The Cottars perform on a jetty, such as Fiona singing "Suilean Dubh", the group performing "The High Road to Linton" and a lively stepdance. I spotted Allister also.

I must add that McDermott is brilliant in this concert.