Ged Foley and John Carty
Thursday, April 1, 2004 7:30 p.m.
The Chez Chandelle Coffeehouse
100 Hitt Street, ColumbiaAcoustic concert
$10 CMCAA members
$12 non-members
Kids 14 & under attend freeJohn Carty - Biography
John Carty is the TG4's Traditional Musician of the Year for 2003. He received a specially-commissioned sculpture by John Coll plus €4000. There have been five other recipients since the awards were instituted: Chieftains flautist Matt Molloy, fiddler Tommy Peoples, whistle-player Mary Bergin, harper Máire Ní Chathasaigh and piper Paddy Keenan—all of whom are considered to be the leading exponents of their instruments within the Irish tradition.
John Carty was born in London, England in 1962. There was music on both sides of his family and it was handed down from generation to generation. John’s own father, John P, is a fine flute player and a multi-instrumentalist. With such a selection of instruments available to the young John it was inevitable that he dabbled with most of them.
John started playing in the early 1970s when Clareman Brendan Mulkere started music lessons in the school John attended. He went on to enter Fleadh competitions over the years securing titles at all levels culminating in wining the Senior All-Ireland banjo title in 1982. During the 1980s John became a mainstay of the flourishing London session scene. In 1982 he spent a year playing and teaching music in Australia.
In 1991 John moved to Ireland settling in Boyle, Co Roscommon. He recorded his first solo album on banjo entitled “The Cat that ate the Candle” in 1994 which was released by Clo Iar Chonnachta (CIC099). The one fiddle track on this led to a three album contract with Shanachie Records and his first fiddle album Last Night’s Fun (Shanachie 79098) was released in 1996. This album has been described as a milestone in recorded fiddle music. The end of 2000 saw the release of his second album with Shanachie Yeh, That’s All It Is (Shanachie 78034) on fiddle and tenor guitar accompanied by Brian McGrath and Arty McGlynn. This CD has been hailed as his best yet. “Carty’s fiddle mastery makes this one of the finest new CDs showcasing the Irish melodic tradition at its best” – Paul Carr, Tower Records. In August 2003 Shanachie Records released Carty's latest fiddle CD At It Again, on this album he is accompanied by Alec Finn, Brian McGrath, Francis Gaffney and Arty McGlynn. “Sheer joy from the get go” –Siobhan Long, Irish Times
In addition John plays with his band AT THE RACKET which includes himself, Brian McGrath, and Seamus O’Donnell. He has also guested with the Chieftains, and De Danaan and has been involved in many other recordings notably Brian Rooney’s acclaimed albums The Godfather and From London to Leitrim which he also produced. John also performed the lead violin on the sound track of the film Mapmaker shot in Co Leitrim.
John is a much sought after tutor for summer schools and workshops. Currently he tours extensively both with the band and as a solo performer and has performed at all major festivals throughout Europe and the North America. Recently he has undertaken a series of concerts with Matt Molloy exploring the North Connaught tradition.
John Carty:
http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/carty.htm
http://mag.irish-music.net/BckIssue/9606Jun/JCarty.htmGed Foley
“Ged Foley plays guitar, and how!” (Chicago Sun Times)
With his powerful tune accompaniments and delicate melody playing, it is easy to see why reviewers and audiences agree that “Foley’s guitar playing is nothing short of extraordinary” (Tulsa World).
Growing up in County Durham in the northeast of England, Ged (Gerard) absorbed the area’s rich tradition of folk song and dance music. It was there that he learned to play mandolin and Northumbrian Smallpipes (the bellows-blown bagpipe native to that part of England) and began to develop his extraordinary guitar style. At first he teamed up with singer-songwriter Jez Lowe and toured the British Folk scene. Then came several years with Scotland’s Battlefield Band. He toured with them throughout Europe and North America before returning home to co-found The House Band with Chris Parkinson. This saw the start of a long period of recording and touring which has taken him all over the globe. Alongside his House Band duties, in 1994, Ged was asked to take over the guitarist’s role in Irish “supergroup” Patrick Street with Kevin Burke, Andy Irvine and Jackie Daly. In 2001 he recorded with The Celtic Fiddle Festival (Kevin Burke, Johnny Cunninham and Christian LeMaitre) and toured with them in 2002. That year saw another significant change in Ged’s career when he became Artistic Director of the Catskills Irish Arts Week based in E. Durham NY. This is a week long teaching festival covering all aspects of Irish traditional music, dance and arts. He held this position for two years.
Apart from his guitar playing, Ged is also a “strong unaffected singer” with “strong social consciousness and impressive” (The Washington Post). His choice of songs is often unorthodox but always successful. “Foley’s vocal gets it just right”(Folk Roots).
When time allows, Ged also plays fiddle in the Midwest based Ceili band Tessera, teaches (Augusta Festival, Swannanoa and Catskills Irish Arts Week etc.), and produces records. He is also in demand as a session musician. He has played and/or recorded with Kevin Burke, Liz Carroll, Paddy Keenan, Kieran O’Hare & Liz Knowles, Andrew McNamara & Patrick Ourceau, Larry Nugent, Mark Roberts, John Skelton and Michael Cooney.
Since 1989 Ged has lived in Athens Ohio, and, has been recognized twice by The Ohio Arts Council, receiving awards under their Master Artists Program.
