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Feature - Giving Dervish Another Whirl - Band has worldwide acclaim
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Daytona Beach News - Journal, Feature - Giving Dervish Another Whirl - Band has worldwide acclaim >>
By: RICK de YAMPERT
ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
rick.deyampert@news-jrnl.com
Irish accordion player Shane Mitchell isn't rock star, but he some times gets treated like one - replete with armed body guards.
The Irish folk band Dervish, which Mitchell co-founded in Sligo, Ireland, in 1989, has been acclaimed far, far away from Emerald Isle.
"We played in the National Theater in Bogata, Colombia -- "I felt like one of the Beatles," Mitchell said by phone last week from his home outside Sligo Town.
"The reaction was just incredible. I remember going to a nightclub afterward with the band. We were like something from a different planet landed there. I felt very different but very welcome."
But the trip also was "quite scary," Mitchell said, his brogue revealing his Irish roots. Dervish saw ample evidence of Colombia's long-running conflict involving rebel guerilla groups, paramilitaries and drug trafficking.
"Armed men were everywhere," Mitchell says. "I remember leaving a restaurant surrounded by armed men. The people were lovely, and it was a lovely experience. But very dangerous place."
Dervish, acclaimed by fans and critics as one of the top Irish folk bands, may get a rock star's reception (without the guns) this weekend. The band's North American tour brings them on Saturday to the News-Journal Center in Daytona Beach. Yes, that's St. Patrick's Day. Dervish will perform during a gala to benefit the Florida International Festival. The band was here in 2005 as part of the festival.
Dervish also includes Cathy Jordan on vocals and bodhran (Irish hand drum), Brian McDonagh on mandola, Liam Kelly on flute and whistles, Tom Morrow on fiddle and Michael Holmes on bouzouki. The band plays the decades-old reels, jigs and airs of their native land, as well as the occasional cover of, say, a Bob Dylan song.
Dervish have performed in Europe, South America, the United States and even China. So, what's the appeal of traditional Irish folk music among people who aren't Irish?
"I think there's happiness in it there's fun in it," Mitchell said. "There's character in it, energy in it. Something that's raw, organic.
"People get a buzz off it. One woman years ago wrote to us and we were very moved by it -- she reckoned our music cured her cancer. It was when I lost both my parents from cancer within 2 1/2 years. It was a very moving letter for me personally."
Along with exporting Irish folk music worldwide, Mitchell hopes the Irish can export something else: the path to peace. Witnessing the armed conflict in Columbia prompted Mitchell to reflect how Northern Ireland has forged peace over the last 10 years after decades of "the Troubles" the deadly sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants.
"I really think the Irish model for peace should be looked at by the rest of the world," Mitchell said. "We all are inclined to criticize politicians, but this job that has been going on for the last 10 years has been incredible. It was seen as impossible...but the most two extremes have met and basically shook hands.
"My wife was working for the BBC in Belfast, and we lived there for a year last year. The people are chatting and asking 'How are you?' It was just beautiful experience. There's true harmony there now. There's peace in Ireland at the moment and that's the way it's going to stay." 03/16/07
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