Chieftans still getting jiggy

By ADAM BENNETT

The energy that has sustained Paddy Moloney, leader of Ireland's the Chieftains, through the band's 42 years and as many albums is still apparent.

The thousands of performances the band has given since they formed in Dublin in 1962 do not appear to have dulled Moloney's appetite for work any more than recent surgery to fix an ulcer.

"I was told to take it easier, but here I am in Paris and I'm in the process of putting together another album," the amiably intense Moloney, 66, says.

"To be honest, I could be laying off a little bit. I'd be telling you a lie if I was saying I was jumping over the moon.

"But I don't have time to slow down. There's so much going on. We've had some great performances recently, some great recordings and I'm very happy the way things are happening."

Moloney said the band, which tours New Zealand this month, had played some great concerts during the Northern Hemisphere summer, but had decided to slow down.

"But then all of a sudden we go to a concert in the likes of Belgium and there's 25,000 people and you see these hands flying in the air like you see at rock concerts. Halfway through I was thinking to myself, 'This is not what I was planning to do!' Our popularity is back up there and bigger and better than ever."

Moloney says the band's Paris visit was for a show at the Olympia Theatre, "which we did in 1976 for the first time and sold it out.

"To sell it out again was a great joy - we had many of our old friends and pals there."

Talking to Moloney, it becomes clear that he and the Chieftains have been sustained over their career not only by their love for traditional Irish music and dance, but also by the friendships they have formed along the way. That includes some of the music world's biggest names.

While talking about some of the musicians and dancers accompanying the Chieftains to New Zealand this month, Moloney is especially enthusiastic about Canadian brothers John and Nathan Polaski. The pair often perform an Ottowan dance which "raised such a stir" at a private function last year.

"I shall show off a little bit - we played at Elvis Costello and Diana Krall's wedding before Christmas, which was in the house of Elton John.

"We attended and had great fun telling jokes, some of them I can't repeat, and Mr Elton John was joining in twice as much as anybody.

"When we went up to do our little stint, these guys [the Polaski brothers] got up and started to do their dance.

"Mr McCartney, Sir Paul himself, just couldn't hold back and he got up and started to do the same kind of dancing, which was hilarious."

Sir Paul, for his part, is on record as saying the band is one of the world's greatest.

In their four decades, the Chieftains have found common ground and collaborated with musicians from all over the world, including Nashville, China and Galicia in Spain.

They've racked up six Grammy awards and an Oscar for their work on Stanley Kubrick's film, Barry Lyndon.

The vast list of the talented and famous they have performed or recorded with includes Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, Sting, Joni Mitchell, the Corrs and Sinead O'Connor.

Despite the band's breathtaking career, you don't have to be a star to share a stage with the Chieftains. In fact, Moloney is keen to extend a warm, open invitation to local performers to appear with them at their New Zealand shows.

"Something we've always done is invite dancers and musicians who play Irish music to join us, usually for the encore. We can sort out the music with them at the soundcheck two hours before the show."

This trip to New Zealand will be the Chieftains' first in eight years. The band used to come here every couple of years from the early 70s onwards, but the US now takes an increasing amount of their time.

As well as core members Kevin Conneff, Seane Keane and Matt Molloy, the Chieftains are bringing some fresh talent to New Zealand in a 10-person show. That includes the Polaski brothers, bluegrass guitarist and singer Jeff White and dancers Tera Butler and Maureen Fahey.

Dance has always been a central part of the band's shows and the Chieftains can take credit for kicking off the Riverdance phenomenon, with the show's Jean Butler, Michael Flatley and Bill Wheelan all having danced with the band.

"It's not just like a band," Moloney says. "We're like an institution."

Their enduring popularity means the Chieftains will be performing and touring for another year before taking a well-earned four- or five-month break next August, something the rest of the band will appreciate.

"They're all after me, these young guys of mine in the band," Moloney says.

"You have the likes of Matt who's 10 years younger than me saying 'For God's sake Moloney, will you slow down and give us a chance'!".

- NZPA

* Christchurch Town Hall, Fri Nov 12; Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington Sun Nov 14; Aotea Centre, Auckland Mon Nov 15.