Not as much influences, but favourite bands/artists are Flook, Lunasa, Old Blind Dogs, Calum Stewart, Michael McGoldrick, Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham, Gary Innes, John McCusker, Chris Stout, Dougie MacLean, John McSherry amongst others.
Ian McDonagh hails from Glasgow but is currently living in Aberdeen.
He has recently taken up Folk/Celtic/Tradition music in the past few years and plays mainly the Low/High D whistle, Irish keyless flute & Bodhran at sessions in and around Aberdeen. He has also been known to make a racket with both a Djembe Drum and used to own a Cajon. He did try his hand at a practise set of bagpipes, but with too much smoking and drinking, he decided that he didn't the felling of near fainting when trying to get a note....so stopped :-)
After doing a crash Higher in Music, Ian reached a grade 7 on the trumpet and went on to play professionally in a jazz/swing/big band for a few years before he discovered (loose) women and (cheap) drink.
After a year at the local Scottish Culture & Traditions evening classes doing whistle and flute classes, he decided to try his hand at a band and started one one from mainly fellow students from SCaT. Ian steared them to being asked to be the resident band in a local pub before leaving the band due to too many chiefs in the band and is now doing his own thing.
As of June 09, he is now the proud owner, after many years of wishing, of both a Overton Low & High D, which I'm told (he he) he is over the moon with.
The recordings you hear are some from the band that Ian created from a practise session with the above band, but they are pretty crap (my words) and were taken from a practise/mess around sesson. He would like to replace these with some of his own stuff one day, but for now, here's some tunes.
Thanks very much indeed Ian, glad you like them and good to hear from you!
Picking up my fiddle playing pal off the train tonight and have booked into a wee recording studio in Stirling tomorrow night to properly record some tunes. I was in recording for a couple of hours myself last night, makes a big difference.
Got my girlfriend to sing on the new tune. Will put the studio recordings up on here over the weekend and will get a copy of the finished C.D off to you if you want?
Giving the liver a break after a week of partying. Managed to meet up with my fiddle playing pal and got a rough recording of "drink up while you're here done." Was a good laugh and think the fiddle makes the song.
Thanks very much for giving the tunes a listen and the kind comments!
I'm hoping to get a bit of proper recording done in elgin when i go back for christmas from uni. I've got a fiddle playing friend but will keep you in updated for sure to add some lovely whistle, bodhran or flute. You must be pretty talented to play so many.
Oh, just read your message. That sounds excellent about the recording equipment. I just bought a line6 usb thing but can't get it working yet. Thanks for the positive words Ian and very kind of you wanting to help out.
I'll be in touch, I've got more of my own songs that sound a bit more folky/scottish. Will get them added when i've got the time. Back to uni work, pish!
Thanks for the add Ian Randomly came across your page, thanks for introducing me too fienlds of athenry. like your covers of wild mountain and caledonia. Sounds like you had great fun recording the tunes, hope you like a couple of mine.
