Just the Average Gig at a Metal Festival

Coming to Ireland has opened up countless new opportunities for me, and I have tried to take advantage of as many as possible.  So when my course director circulated an email from a previous graduate whose band was looking for a violin player I responded, thinking "What the hell!"  I liked their song on Youtube, but I didn't really think I was cut-out for the gig considering I was a classical violinist...

Well, that was about a month ago and sure enough I recently gave my debut performance with the Celtic rock band, Iron Mountain.  Believe it or not, the gig was this past Sunday at a metal festival in downtown Limerick.  The venue came complete with smoke machine.

Now I wouldn't say that Iron Mountain is a metal band, though at times their music can get heavy.  Nor are they strictly Celtic rock like I've labelled them above.  Their music is a fusion of Celtic, metal, rock and folk, but is somewhat challenging to label (especially now that they have a classical violinist playing for them).  The band's uniqueness is derived from the mixing of traditional Irish instruments and electronic instruments.  Drums, guitar and bass make up the core of the music and above are traditional Irish flute and the Uillean pipes. For the gig this weekend they added a fiddle and keys player.  Check out their tune Opium: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpR8yDcrSX4

The purpose of adding me to the mix was to obtain additional layering of sounds, both melodically and harmonically, before their recording sessions at the end of November.  That's right! I might get the chance to help record an album, AWESOME!  This is a step outside my expertise, but the band has been really encouraging and seem to like what I'm playing.  It may be one of the strangest musical endeavours I have yet undertaken, but I am having a good time regardless and am gaining some invaluable experience.

On a funny tangent to this tale... I am still having the hardest time shaking my classical violin stereotype.  I have yet to break the habit of calling it a 'violin,' when instead it should be called a 'fiddle.'  The Irish can sense my classical training before I've even played a note.  When I was introduced to one of the festival organizers, he asked me what I played and I slipped up saying 'violin.' He gave me a bit of a strange look and said, "Have you ever done something like this before?"  Nope...  But I did get some congratulations after the show so I must have played decently enough!

And just for you disbelievers out there, though I don't really blame you, here is photographic proof that this gig actually happened.

Cheers,
Shannon