All I can say is that Alan Williams, Tim Janis, and Steph Macleod now have some strict competition! I have, through the glorious t-shirt advertising done by my precious Gaelic instructor Jason Bond, discovered the amazingly talented and oh-so-fantastical band "Syr". Syr is a Celtic folk band out of...wait for it, NOT SCOTLAND. They are from South Carolina, USA! No doubt they are actually descendants of Scots, in fact, I've heard them say as much. From the very first line of the very first song on the very first CD, I was hooked! The only three other times this has happened ever in my entire life was first with Tim Janis, then with Alan Williams, and finally with Steph Macleod when he was with Celtic Worship. When I first heard Tim Janis (I don't remember the CD's title, I've since bought them all) I cried. I flat began crying in the middle of the Borders Music Store. Do ya'll remember Borders? https://www.timjanis.com/
With Alan Williams I first heard his Gettysburg CD, I don't recall exactly where I was, I think it was when it first came out and I was a member of some interesting instrumental music club. The CD made its way to me, it sat in my car for months, and I finally popped it into the player. I had to pull over. I was literally unable to continue. I pulled into the Baptist Medical Center parking lot and listened from start to finish just asking myself how this could happen and have been happening for so long, but I didn't know about it, about him. Gettysburg was by NO MEANS his first. I think the man has 50+ CDs now and I own about 20. I am so behind. www.alanwilliams.com for those who just HAVE to have the best music at all times playing in their ears at all times.
Then, there was Steph Macleod. Can words begin to give tribute? Are there words sufficient to describe the journey my soul was suddenly catapulted into when the first words of his voice hit my ears? I don't think I could adequately describe it if I had to, but give me enough time, perhaps eternity, and I could come up with something acceptable. Though he doesn't have a website at this time, you can find him on YouTube, Spotify, and social media platforms. He has solo LPs and singles, but he was with Celtic Worship for their first two LPS as well, and they do have a website. https://celticworship.co.uk
Now? Now, there is SYR. Upfront, bold, blunt, and creatively magical as well as majestic. This band imposes themselves upon your throat with their bass and their big drumming sounds. I am a servant in waiting for drums, flutes, and guitar. I will stand where I am, stop what I'm doing, and refuse to move when I hear them. It's really a good thing I work primarily for myself. I mean, I do have a day job, but my boss understands I do far more work with these guys blasting in my left ear. I'd wear my full headset but then he'd never get my attention. At home, while typing my murder book, I crank this music and I am forever being warned by the app on my phone that I'm damaging my ancient ears. Let my spirit decide what is best for me. I don't think I made it this long being a complete fool. I have a brain. I can determine when I'm self-inflicting and when I'm not. (Most of the time) https://www.syrmusic.com/
Not kidding, when I was a kid my mom would take to standing at the door of my room and staring at me. She couldn't speak because I couldn't hear her. Yes, they made headphones when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. I had a set. I had a PLUTO (Disney) set, thank you, and my dad, the best electrician in the world, jimmied a way for me to hook my headphones into my transistor radio. Don't judge me. I'm old. When I gave birth and those babies' ears weren't blown out I proved to myself that I was capable of determining when and when not to crank the volume. Viva la Bee Gees! My kids know every word to every song every Gibb ever sang. Just sayin'. If I do NOTHING else in this world during the time I have been given, I can say that! Ha!
Now that I'm a full-grown adult and have my own place, I still have a kid (not a mom) standing at the door staring at me. She knows I'm writing, she can hear my fingers tapping and tapping. She assumes I'm attached to the music box, whatever form or device that may be. She assumes, assumes I am hurting my ears if I can't hear her screaming at me. She's usually wrong. I tend to ignore anyone who creates a distraction when I'm writing. SYR helps me find words I hadn't thought of. They create in me a vicious and fiery attitude toward the foe(s) in my book. They create within me a fantasy world that could be explored through words and whim. I am shrouded in cloudy mist, I am running through woodlands on the moor, I am completely lost in a thicket so dense I will need my torch to even see my breath.
Writing helps me to breathe. Breathing helps me to write. It's a thing. It is what it is, and when I heard the line "The lies that swallow you whole don't even know your name", I was struck by the highest temptations to dance; so I did. I danced and then I wrote, and then I wrote while I danced. I danced some more and thought of ways that my characters would play out in the book if they believed this and other lines of lyrics. What would they say? Where would they go? Who would know they were going? Why would it matter? How will I complete this chapter? Will I add another footprint in the marsh? Who is it? This is how this music affects me. "My heart, I heart, I will restore your life from the start". Oh...it is just that good and more.
Find them. Find them all!! LIVE!
POST NOTE: After writing this blog I was introduced to another band, this one a Scottish band from the 1970s and forward. RUNRIG. I ordered two albums, one in English and one in Gaelic. EXCITED.
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