Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers plays in Pasadena on 5 November
October 30th, 2010 12:30 pm PT
Eileen Ivers is a Celtic fiddler who has won the All-Ireland fiddle championship nine times. (Oh, and by the way, she is from the Bronx.) Via phone, she discussed her style, what she considers the greatest honor of her career, and what she would be doing if she weren't making music.
What does it mean to you when someone calls you the Jimi Hendrix of the violin?
It's slightly humbling. It's funny. You just play what you play. It's very flattering if someone sees something in your playing that reminds them of who I think is one of the greatest musicians. There are some interesting parallels. He loved roots music and R&B, and got into the roots of so much stuff. The guitar was an extension of his personality and his body. I feel like that sometimes, that it's an extension of me. The music that I play is from very old tunes with a lot of emotion that I love to bring out. Sometimes a play the electric fiddle through a Crybaby, so that gets the distorted sounds.
Explain your style for someone who has never heard your music, and how your childhood influenced your style.
My style is steeped in Irish traditional music. I learned from a traditional player from Limerick, Martin Mulvehill. My style is influenced by where I grew up and my upbringing of being an Irish-American in the Bronx. It's a great melting pot and neighborhood. I heard a lot of different sounds through the years. I would play in these competitions from my young years to my late teenage years, when I won the senior championship in Ireland. I was steeped in the Irish tradition, but I wanted to learn more about this amazing instrument, which can do so much and is in so many different styles of music. I've had a great time learning and collaborating with many different musicians in different styles of music. That's how my style got formed and is constantly adjusting.
Of all the honors that you've won, which one means the most to you?
I'm not a big person on honors. A music competition is sort of an oxymoron. It's so subjective. Winning the seniors and being from outside of Ireland, that was great. It helps legitimize and says you don't have to be born in Ireland to play the music and pass it on. Not to sound cheesy, but the honor of playing and performing and to have people want to hear what you do and how you represent the tradition. I know the band feels the same way. It's a privilege and an honor to perform and be blessed with a career that takes you to a lot of places and opens you up to new audiences all the time. I'm just very thankful for that.
You've played for and with a lot of people. Have you had any "Wow!" moments where you can't believe who you're playing for or playing with?
It's constantly a lot of "Wow!" moments and a lot of joy. I was part of this group Fiddlers 3 with Regina Carter from the jazz world and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg from the classical world. Believe me, I was in a wow moment playing with these two gals that are incredible violinists. To represent my side was fantastic. It is great to see great musicians who are great people. No egos, they just want to share the music. I guess recently too I played with Sting on some of his tour dates. I was a huge Police fan and still am. Just a wonderful person, he cares so much about the music. He gave me the freedom to play what I felt to be a part of the song, to make the song come alive.
What artist would you most like to perform with?
That's a tough one. A few come to mind. One that I'd love to do something with is Bela Fleck, of course a great banjo player and instrumentalist. He has great respect for where the music came from, but he's such an innovator on his instrument. I think that would be a fun collaboration.
What would you be doing if you weren't making music?
That's actually easy. I never dreamt I'd have a career in music. My dream of dreams was to work for NASA. In college, I studied mat. I went on to future studies after that toward a Masters. I love math and science. It was always a dream to work for something in that capacity. I think I'd have my head in the stars.
What would be your dream job at NASA?
If they'd let me go up, I'd go up. These guys are unbelievable geniuses. How they've done so much in our lifetime is phenomenal. Just to work with science, and to help so many people with what they've done. I'd be happy to be any part of that. But I'm happy with fiddling.
Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul perform at Beckman Auditorium in Pasadena at 8 PM on 5 November. If you are unable to make that show, the band will also perform a Christmas show with dancers and a choir at Disney Concert Hall on 23 December.
