Post by Joe on Jun 30, 2006 21:18:48 GMT -5
A review of 'Made In Cape Breton' from 2002...new and interesting info in bold.
By Chris Connors
Cape Breton Post
What's in a name? Quite a bit according to Ciaran and Fiona MacGillivray, two members of hot new traditional act The Cottars. Since forming in the summer of 2000, the young quartet, which also consists of Baddeck siblings Jimmy and Roseanne MacKenzie, has been fast-tracked for stardom.
Their recently-released debut album, Made in Cape Breton, is being praised by critics while the all-sibling group continues to win over audiences across North America.
But despite the group's growing popularity, many fans are confused by the name, assuming The Cottars are the latest reincarnation of family acts like The Rankins and the Barra MacNeils.
"People often wonder how we're related," says Fiona, 12, the group's lead vocalist. She also plays the tin whistle and bodhran. "They think we're all part of the Cottar family, but they ask if we're brothers and sisters, or cousins."
"It's kind of funny," adds brother Ciara?n, 13, who plays piano for the band and contributes on the tin whistle, bodhran and vocals.
Jimmy, 14, plays guitar and bodhran, while Roseanne, 11, is the band's fiddler and adds harmony vocals.
"A lot of the bands people associate with our music are family names, like the Barra MacNeils. But The Cottars has nothing to do with our name, it's our ancestors."
Coming up with a name that reflected the group's Scottish roots was one of the first challenges the four musicians faced after meeting at a Highland Village Day concert in Iona a couple of years ago.
An early favorite was mac-talla, the Gaelic word for echo. However, a Scottish newspaper already had dibs on the name, so the search continued. Fiona stumbled across cottar while researching a Grade 6 history project.
The term refers to Scottish settlers who were ousted from their homes during Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries. Nova Scotians called the new arrivals cots, likely because of the small cottages they lived in or the small beds they slept in, although the etymology of the word is unclear.
Any confusion about the band's name - or extraordinary talent - should soon fade. The group is the subject of an upcoming CBC television special, Meet the Cottars, which is set to air May 22, 2002.
They launched Made in Cape Breton last week in Cape Breton with a public concert Friday at Highland Heights Inn in Iona, where fate brought the Mira and Baddeck brothers and sisters together.
"It was almost destiny," Ciar?n says of how he and Fiona were wowed by the MacKenzies two years ago in Iona. "We thought it would be kind of symbolic to have our launch party there."
Somewhere in between, they hope to visit superfan Sen. Ted Kennedy, who has been smitten with the band since catching them during a March Break show in his home state, Massachusetts. He has since lured them back to Boston to play a political convention and has invited the youngsters to go sailing with him this summer. Last week he sent them a note asking them to perform at a family birthday party.
"Ted likes to think he helped discover the kids for America," jokes Allister MacGillivray, Fiona and Ciaran's father and a renowned songwriter and traditional music historian.
Much of their material was drawn from Allister's endless catalog of music; wax cylinders, 78s, 45s, LPs and reel-to-reels occupy every corner of the family's Mira home.
Such exposure to the music was a big influence, says Ciaran, who has been playing piano since he was five years old. Fiona can't remember a time when she wasn't singing along to an ever-present tune. Regular houseguests like Jack O'Donnell, Buddy MacMaster, the Barra clan, Fergus O'Brien and Dougie MacDonald encouraged the children and were always willing to offer a few helpful tips.
Allister says perhaps he was trying to recreate his own childhood of kitchen concerts and good times.
"It was such a happy time in my life as I look back on it," he says. "I wanted my children to enjoy the same thing. I suppose just hearing this music so much it was a natural thing that they wanted to learn to play it. I don't know that I willed the children to go into show business, but now that they are doing that, I expect I can be some help."
Fiona and Ciaran say they love what they're doing.
"There's no doubt in my mind - there's been no doubt for a long time - that I want to be a traditional musician," Ciara?n says when asked what he'd like to do when he gets older.
"Yeah," adds Fiona, "There's no business like show business."
By Chris Connors
Cape Breton Post
What's in a name? Quite a bit according to Ciaran and Fiona MacGillivray, two members of hot new traditional act The Cottars. Since forming in the summer of 2000, the young quartet, which also consists of Baddeck siblings Jimmy and Roseanne MacKenzie, has been fast-tracked for stardom.
Their recently-released debut album, Made in Cape Breton, is being praised by critics while the all-sibling group continues to win over audiences across North America.
But despite the group's growing popularity, many fans are confused by the name, assuming The Cottars are the latest reincarnation of family acts like The Rankins and the Barra MacNeils.
"People often wonder how we're related," says Fiona, 12, the group's lead vocalist. She also plays the tin whistle and bodhran. "They think we're all part of the Cottar family, but they ask if we're brothers and sisters, or cousins."
"It's kind of funny," adds brother Ciara?n, 13, who plays piano for the band and contributes on the tin whistle, bodhran and vocals.
Jimmy, 14, plays guitar and bodhran, while Roseanne, 11, is the band's fiddler and adds harmony vocals.
"A lot of the bands people associate with our music are family names, like the Barra MacNeils. But The Cottars has nothing to do with our name, it's our ancestors."
Coming up with a name that reflected the group's Scottish roots was one of the first challenges the four musicians faced after meeting at a Highland Village Day concert in Iona a couple of years ago.
An early favorite was mac-talla, the Gaelic word for echo. However, a Scottish newspaper already had dibs on the name, so the search continued. Fiona stumbled across cottar while researching a Grade 6 history project.
The term refers to Scottish settlers who were ousted from their homes during Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries. Nova Scotians called the new arrivals cots, likely because of the small cottages they lived in or the small beds they slept in, although the etymology of the word is unclear.
Any confusion about the band's name - or extraordinary talent - should soon fade. The group is the subject of an upcoming CBC television special, Meet the Cottars, which is set to air May 22, 2002.
They launched Made in Cape Breton last week in Cape Breton with a public concert Friday at Highland Heights Inn in Iona, where fate brought the Mira and Baddeck brothers and sisters together.
"It was almost destiny," Ciar?n says of how he and Fiona were wowed by the MacKenzies two years ago in Iona. "We thought it would be kind of symbolic to have our launch party there."
Somewhere in between, they hope to visit superfan Sen. Ted Kennedy, who has been smitten with the band since catching them during a March Break show in his home state, Massachusetts. He has since lured them back to Boston to play a political convention and has invited the youngsters to go sailing with him this summer. Last week he sent them a note asking them to perform at a family birthday party.
"Ted likes to think he helped discover the kids for America," jokes Allister MacGillivray, Fiona and Ciaran's father and a renowned songwriter and traditional music historian.
Much of their material was drawn from Allister's endless catalog of music; wax cylinders, 78s, 45s, LPs and reel-to-reels occupy every corner of the family's Mira home.
Such exposure to the music was a big influence, says Ciaran, who has been playing piano since he was five years old. Fiona can't remember a time when she wasn't singing along to an ever-present tune. Regular houseguests like Jack O'Donnell, Buddy MacMaster, the Barra clan, Fergus O'Brien and Dougie MacDonald encouraged the children and were always willing to offer a few helpful tips.
Allister says perhaps he was trying to recreate his own childhood of kitchen concerts and good times.
"It was such a happy time in my life as I look back on it," he says. "I wanted my children to enjoy the same thing. I suppose just hearing this music so much it was a natural thing that they wanted to learn to play it. I don't know that I willed the children to go into show business, but now that they are doing that, I expect I can be some help."
Fiona and Ciaran say they love what they're doing.
"There's no doubt in my mind - there's been no doubt for a long time - that I want to be a traditional musician," Ciara?n says when asked what he'd like to do when he gets older.
"Yeah," adds Fiona, "There's no business like show business."