SageKatt January, 2009

Kiva’s cd “Out of the Corner of the Eye” is their ninth recording since the bands birth in 1990.  The cd is a collaboration of songs based on fey folk and the world they dwell in.    The band, with talented guest and a specialized set of instruments (cello, guitar, flutes, didgeridoo, violin, bass, and mandolin) recreated a world many of us wondered about and wish we were actually living in.  With each song and story being told you can feel yourself being swept into the story as if Alice in Wonderland.

While listening to the music and lyrics I am easily reminded of being back in the Renaissance perhaps of being part of a midnight summer eve.  The title track “Out of the Corner of the Eye” is a story told by a fey.  How they move throughout our life only letting us seeing them through the corner of our eyes. Making us wonder if we are sane are they real?  The song “In Praise of Winter” by Ariana Lightningstorm is one of my favorites as this will be my first winter in years.  I just moved to Colorado and I find this song a fun, look at winter coming along.  Way too many people look at snow and winter as sad instead of cleansing and beautiful.   The wind instruments throughout this cd are awesome and the musicians that play them are to be commended for their talent.

“Fairie Glen,” fairies playing in a field, that is the first thing that will come to your mind when you this song.  “Rise up the Call,” is one song on the cd to stop and make you think about your relationships and maybe think twice about appreciation.  “The Coming and Going of the Fey<” a whimsical little tune of the parading fey going on through out their day, their merry merry day.

On a personal note, I have a fey garden and a fey village in my home.  While listening to this cd, twice, I noticed that my fey had gathered in my living room around me.  Some by my wine glass, some dancing to the music but mostly just enjoying the tunes.  It had been quite a while since I had seen them as I think I had ruffle them since moving from Texas to Colorado.  I love the beat, the rhythms, the collaborations, and the theme of the music and also thank KIVA for bringing my fey back.  This is a great delightful cd with a very talented band from Washington DC.  Be sure to check them out here is their website to see where they are performing.

KIVA Band Members

Ariana Lightningstorm - Band Leader, Lead Vocals, Percussion, Songwriter, Manager
Diana Sunday - Vocals, Guitar, Percussion, Drums
David Landis - Native American Flutes, Whistles, Drums, Vocals
Diana McFadden - Cello, Mandolin, Guitar
Jim Brewster - Guitar, Bass, Mandolin, Banjo, Drums, Flute, Whistles, VOcals
Tim Sauerwein - Didgeridoo, Percussion, Vocals
Tigre Cruz - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Amikaeyla Gaston - Vocals, Drums, Percussion, Songwriter
Eve Jones - Drums, Percussion, Silver Flute
Jaqui MacMillan - Drums

Visit them at:
http://www.earthsearecords.com/index.html

Tags: KIVA, music, review

• Reviews

SageKatt November, 2008

Everywhere I Look by Jack Montgomery - a truly impressionable cd, the 1st song “ Next to You” quickly became my new love song.
http://cdbaby.com/mp3lofi/jackmontgomery2-01.m3u
This collaboration of songs contains every genre from country, Celtic, folk rock, the blues to even a love song.  You can’t help but even do a little toe tapping. I was very impressed with Mr. Montgomery’s Roots of Oak, and his song Reflection will definitely make you stop and think and appreciate what you have in life right now.  For those of you who enjoy folk music with a twist this is a must have.  He has a smooth voice that at first I couldn’t quite place until I heard Little Match Girl and I thought of Neil Diamond.  I know Celtic and Jewish, but the Croon is still there.  What can I say I am showing my age Jack Montgomery has a glorious voice to listen to and the talent to writes the songs to sing with it?

Onward To Avalon by Jack Montgomery -  is a collection of magical and mythical songs with an over whelming passion of telling a spiritual story through a Celtic and folk music.  Jack Montgomery has out done himself with this 1-hour cd.  No matter how many times I listen to it I am swept away by it.  My favorite songs “Isis” and “Sea of Forgetfulness” are amazing, with the rest telling a story each in its own right being worth it weight in gold as well.  This cd is a must for a car trip or maybe for a small house party as background music.
http://cdbaby.com/cd/jackmontgomery

Tags: cds, music

• Reviews

SageKatt October, 2008

Blessed Samhain.
Normally in this section of the magazine you would find a great review of a most terrific book which I had found for your enjoyment.  However this is our Samhain issue and Pagan Pages, as you have noticed, has a new look and some new departments and this month I, also, am creating a new department of reviews which may at times included interviews.

With that said, I have taken some time getting to know this artist and it is going to be a blast getting to introduce you to a multi-talented person who is not only a SINGER, but also a SONGWRITER, ACTRESS, and a wonderful STORYTELLER.   The woman’s talents are mesmerizing and her fan base is so fierce that when they know she is in town they will rally together to find a venue to get her to perform for them.  Through her generosity for her friends and fans she arranges her time to do so.

I watched as her last visit to a town in Wisconsin was announced and immediately her fans went to work sending her emails asking if they found a place would she fit them into her schedule.  I thought to myself, “This I want to see”.  Sure enough, they found the place, it was packed and SHE put on the best show just as if they were paying her.  That ladies and gents is a STAR in her own right.

CELIA FARRAN

“CELIA”
To quote a song from her current smash album, “she has alabaster skin, red hair and blue eyes”, and a lusty sultry voice that has been compared to Enya for this day and age and for one of the great female singers that I loved so much MS June Carter.   Celia also has the comic talents often compared to those of Gilda Radner.
For those of you scratching your head and saying to yourself who is this person Celia and why did Sage pick her?  Get a cup of tea, sit back and read on, don’t fret, by the time you have finished this article you will have come to know her and love her music as much I do. I have included all the links at the end of the article for her web pages, myspaces pages, and her yahoo fan groups as well.  I hope you enjoy the review of Celia as well as our new additional department “Music

“I’ve been entangled in your soul
From the moment that we met
I can’t breathe to forgive
I’m suffocated to forget”

Once I heard the above words I kept singing them over and over again back in September of 2003, I can remember as if it were yesterday and for me that is a miracle.    My husband had been deployed for some time by then and the words were so fitting as I was so angry still trying to get over the events of 9/11 and at the fact that he had to be deployed while I was healing and my feelings were just so mix wired.   The name of this song is Trees Breathe.

Once things finally got through my very thick head, and I really took time to listen to the entire song I got back to my roots and grounded with the oak tree outside my house and center and then was able to let go and be free and again breathe and trust in what will be.  That is the magick in Celia’s music.

Celia has a gift and a magical touch with every song she produces.  I have listened to 5 albums, and within that group there is the CD Breathe recorded after the 9/11 disaster and released in August 2003.  This album was completed with lots of love, warmth, energy and spirit.  It is vitalizing and all about re-energizing you life.  Her sultry voice seeps deep into your soul soothing the anguish, the hurt, the pain and encourages the light, the warmth of the moon and energy of your “self” to rise up and breathe once again.

When Celia released this album she did so with all original songs in hopes of touching the world after all the pain it had endured.  I don’t say this often but being one of those that survived 9/11 in NYC the album “Breathe“ does exactly that.  For those of you not familiar with Celia and her music you have truly been missing out on one of most talented performers the Goddess has created.  “Breathe” - enjoy it while on a country ride or just sitting by the fireplace with a glass of wine or great cup of tea on a quiet evening.

Celia’s current CD release Red Alabaster & Blue, is turning heads everywhere she goes and doesn’t go for that matter.  When I first heard the album I cried.  Being a pagan military spouse the first song that yanked at my heart strings, is her song Symbol.

This song was written when Celia heard about the fight with VA Affairs office by SGT. Patrick Stewart (a Wiccan Soldier) who was killed in action while in Iraq being denied his Pentacle as his emblem of belief on his grave marker.  Celia being stunned as the rest of the Pagan world wanted to show her support and thus “Symbol” was born.  It has sense been named the Anthem for the Pentacle Quest by Rev Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary.

This particular verses is my favorite:

“Well he served as any other with his hands and with his heart.
He prayed to Father Sky, bowed Down to Mother Earth.
He honored Air and Water and the Fire he danced around.
But you didn’t honor him before you put him in the Ground.”

We have several pagan soldiers deployed today who need your support
I applaud Celia for this writing and releasing this song in SGT Patrick’s honor for all the many other ways she supports the pagan military soldiers. You can take every one of Celia songs and in some way it is going to touch some part of your life.

The albums’ title song Red Alabaster & Blue is a perfect example of not only her vocal talent, and writing talent but also reaches out and touches every single American individually with its strength and energy. It is what America is all about and yet it tells you what is also all wrong with America.

Celia is a storyteller and tells a story with each and every song she creates.  With some music you listen to you get a beat and there are words and sometimes you get the opportunity to understand them.  At least I do.  With Celia, she doesn’t leave you asking yourself what the meaning of the song was.  If there is message to be given you’ll get the message.  If there’s a story you hear it and if it is just meant to just put a smile on your face you will have that smile when the song is over.  If you think I am kidding email her and ask her about the Marshmallow Dragon song.  The composition of her work is exquisite, and you feel a kick from her Celtic Roots.

The song Quan Yin tells the story of young children stripped from the only adopted arms they knew since birth to be given back to the birth parents because they changed their mind and decided they wanted to play mommy or daddy again.  Quan Yin is the Goddess that protects all children.
This Celtic ballad We’ll Always Sing

Last month was the 7th mourning year of 9/11.  Being a survivor I feel it only right to honor the song which Celia was inspired to write to help heal the millions affected on that day. All that needs to be said about this song is take the time out of your busy schedule to listen to it enjoy the Lambeg Drums.  Your heart will race with the tempo and for once you will sing and dance and smile. Thank you Celia for making me smile.

My Favorite Fae

While I have been a fan of Celia’s talent for a long while now, I have not had the chance to really sit down and concentrate on just her until the past two months.  Celia has a friend that has been hanging around her for a few years now and she simple “wows” the crowds whenever she decides to make an appearance.  If you ever get the opportunity to meet and catch her act, don’t turn down the chance you will so regret it, this awesome creature is “The Trestle Foote Faerie”.  Every great once in a while she is known to “pop in” on Celia’s shows to say Hello to the fans.

Trestle Foote Faerie is a star in her own right dressed in her pink tutu and her red flowing flocks harmonious singing out tunes as “The Cell Phone Song” where she is addicted to cell phones, aren’t we all? “The Health Care Blues” where middles class citizens die owing the health system everything they never had to begin with and their children trying to pay the system back.  How true how true and  “I’m Not Homophobic”, all about how she fell in love with Curious George, but found out he was Gay.

Trust me when I say, Trestle will always surprise you, make you laugh when the day comes to an end, have you saying, “Yes I would vote for her for President!”  She has announce her  candidacy for President incase you were unaware.  There is even a bumper sticker I am sure you can still purchase announcing there is an alternative to our choices. I am sure we could still talk her into running.

Tags: artist, celia farran, music, review

• Reviews

SageKatt October, 2008

Interview

Hi Celia, thanks for taking the time to visit with me today.  First let me say that I adore your music and so many of your songs move me in ways that I simple can’t explain and for even more reasons they really touch my soul.  I am thrilled to be introducing you to our readers this month as our featured artist in our Music Review section making its debut in this Samhain issue.   So if you’re ready lets get started.

PaganPages (PP): I know you just completed a show in Milwaukee, WI, which I understand was fantastic.  Are you from the area as I hear you frequent the city quiet often?

Celia: Yes, I am from the area.  I was born in Hartland, WI and raised in Big Bend, WI which is very close to Milwaukee.  I try to get back as often as I can.

PP: When did you know you wanted to be a singer/songwriter? And then get involved in performance arts as well.  I understand you were in the Off-Broadway premiere of Connor Macpherson’s “Rum and Vodka.”

Celia: Hmmmmm….I knew from an early age that I wanted to be on the stage.  I think I got bit by the performance bug when I “starred” in the Kindergarten Christmas show as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  From then on I was in every show I could find my way into from the Girl Scout Play to The Grade School Musical to Community Theatre.  I chose a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Michigan and then headed to NYC to try my luck on the BIG stage.  I didn’t truly begin my singer/songwriter career until  after I left New York although I recorded a solo album of 13 original songs when I was 16 years old.  Don’t even try to find it.  I burned all the copies

PP: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Celia: Hmmmmm I get my inspiration from any given thing in any given moment.  If I only followed every impulse I would be prolific with a capitol P!  My influences have been Irish Folk Music, Musical Theatre, The Muppets, Buggs Bunny, Shakespeare, Gilda Radner, and who hasn’t been influenced by “The Wizard of Oz”!

PP: You have 5 cds on the market and each one making greater headlines than the other.  I felt your Breathe cd was correctly titled as it left me as  the listener with the relaxation and the ability to breathe again after 9/11/01.  Being a survivor of 9/11/01 I suffered from severe panic attacks and each time I listen to that particular cd I find myself in a different world, relaxed, calm and at peace.     Now you have released Alabaster, Red and Blue at a time when the USA is a time of heavy debate over a Presidential election, in disarray against each other regarding their race, religion,  and just plain tolerance for each other.  Your timing seems impeccable with each release.   The 2 songs in this cd Symbol and Alabaster, Red and Blue should make every person stand up and take notice of what is going on today and ask why did that have to happen and what is being done to stop it.   Do you start out planning your cds this way or is this just my way of thinking it”perfect timing”?

Celia: I am so glad to hear that my recordings have found you at the right times.  I have not really planned out many of my recordings so far.  The only one that feels that it was focused in the way of timing is “The Bard of Armagh:  A Tribute to Tommy Makem“.  When I heard that Tommy had passed on I wanted to record this tribute.  I completed it in 10 days.

PP: How was Trestle Foote Fairy born? And does she have any other family members?

Celia: Trestle started out as a disembodied voice.  Her name was inspired by a conversation with my Sister on a car ride.  You can read the story of how it happened on Trestle’s Myspace page: www.myspace.com/thetrestlefootefaerie
I had great fun with Trestle leaving voice mail messages for folks.  She came to life for the
first time in Jan of 2003 when she debuted “How Could I Live Without My Cellphone”.   No other family members for Trestle.  She is one of a kind.

PP: Perhaps soon she will do an interview with me for our PaganPages readers I know she has a lot to say and also has her own cd  as well.

PP: Tell me about your immediately family?  Is there that special someone in your life?  What about furry kids and where you make your home now?

Celia: I am the youngest of 4.  My eldest brother Marty passed over a few years ago.  He was a fantastic banjo player or as he would say it “A Purveyer of Banjosity”.  My Brother Brian lives in Milwaukee and is also a musician with the guitar as his main instrument.  He played all the guitar on “Fire in the Head“.  My Sister Annalise lives in Turkey and is an architect.  Yes, I have a special someone.  His name is Chris and we live together in Santa Fe, NM.  We are currently traveling.  I am responding from China.  No furry friends in my life.  My last pet was an African Spur Thigh Tortoise named Liam.  He now lives in the Phoenix area at an alternative school.

PP: I understand you have just finished touring would you like to tell me about that, I know you visited the Washington State and Wisconsin were there other states on your list as well?

Celia: Yes, on that tour I visited Oregon, Washington and Salt Lake City, UT.   The tour after that was a very quick weekend flight to Milwaukee.  All very fulfilling and enjoyable!

PP: I am sure our readers would like to know how long does it take for you to create your songs?  Are most of your songs your own creations?

Celia: Most of what I perform is original.  It is very rare that I do a “cover tune”.  Each song is different so it is really hard to answer how long it takes to create a song.  Some songs come quickly.  Some I am still working on since High School…or rather they have been shelved until something strikes me to finish them:)

PP: Growing up was there one thing you did that you would not want anyone to know about.  That one funny thing that maybe you tried while playacting?  I only ask because I have seen your act and performances and I can only imagine you as a child and what some of the things you must have pulled while a little girl and your parents still tell that one story that makes you want to crawl under the coffee table?  With your fabulous personality and talents you surely were not the normal every day child to have in the household.   What
would your parents tell us about you if I could ask them what you were like as a young girl?

Celia: Um….okay….After a bath I loved nothing more than dancing naked on the furniture.  I thought nothing of it until for my 5th birthday cake my mother made a little frosting figure that was supposed to be me dancing naked.  Some comments from the adults made me realize that this was taboo…so I never did it again.  Hmmmm me thinks I should make a night of it and heal that old wound.  I feel a bath coming on

PP: It is so nice at that age to be so innocent and carefree.  I remember being in Hawaii (Oahu North Shore) where they had the nude beach and being able to swin in the ocean nude when I was 21 and thinking of how free I was.  Maybe I need to find an ocean again LOL

PP: I read an email from one of your fans, Lori, of a show you did in Milwaukee, WI at Linneman’s Bar.  In this email she had to let the rest of us know what we sadly missed out on.  With Lori’s permission I want to share part of the email with our PP readers and would also like to get  your reaction for their love for you:

“In all the years I have known Celia, in all the concerts I have heard her perform, all of which were outstanding, tonight’s concert was THE BEST I have ever attended. The best! It’s 2:00 am, I just got
home. Celia played until midnight. Yup started at 8:00, ended at midnight, 4 Hours!!! 4 Unbelievable Hours of sounds coming from this woman that I would not have thought possible from a human voice. it. I’m speechless!!! Celia literally had people sitting there with their mouths open is disbelief. One of her fellow performers may have said it best when she, while dancing to the music and with a huge smile on her face grabbed my shoulders and shook me while shouting a long excited explitive that could only be interpreted as a show of appreciation for what she was hearing. Everyone was smiling and loving the music, everyone moving to the sounds. The bar owner wasn’t even mad that he wasn’t making any money, he was busy listening to the music.”

[Copies from an email received for Lori from the thecreativesymphonyofcelia yahoo group with permission from the author.]

When you read a statement such as Lori’s what was your reaction?

Celia: I smile.  You know that inside smile when your Dharma is being truly seen by those you share it with.  Very satisfying.

PP: Besides concerts in cafes, festivals, Pagan Pride Days where else do you perform and when is your next performance schedule?

Celia: All over.  Wherever folks gather I have played.  My next engagements are in Arizona in October and November.  I always love my shows there and I am truly looking forward to them.

PP: What are some of your favorite things in life?

Celia: Music, Sex and Cookies.

PP: A women after my own heart  YEA!!!!  If I get a chance to get to AZ in Oct or Nov I will bring the Cookies!!

PP : Do you a list of things you want to accomplish in life and if so what is left on this list to cross off?

Celia: I would like to attain Enlightenment……Dammit!

PP: Is there anything you want to tell our readers about yourself, that I have not touched on?

Celia: I have never smoked a cigarette, shot a gun, or vomited from drinking too much. I HAVE walked on Fire, worked as a Nanny on a Trip Thru Europe, and accidentally opened up for Melanie (folksinger from the 70’s) when she was late getting to the show.  My father (not a Dr.) delivered me and my birth notice said “Spontaneous Birth”.   It’s been like that ever since.

PP: I know your on your way to China can you tell us a little about your trip?  Is this a pleasure trip  or touring opportunity?

Celia: Not performing.  In fact, they made me sign a piece of paper that made me promise that I wouldn’t…talk about getting your wings clipped!  But I hope to bring The Trestle Foote Faerie out a few
times and grab some video:)

PP: Celia, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to talk to me.   You’re a firecracker; and the energy you put into your work is felt the minute your voice is heard in the air.  Thank you for coming into my life and thank you for coming into the lives of our PaganPages Readers.

Celia: Thanks Faith.   Its been a pleasure spending time with you also.

Links:

Celia Cds
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/celiafarran4

MySpace Links
http://www.myspace.com/celiaonline
http://www.myspace.com/thetrestlefootefaerie
http://www.myspace.com/atributetotommymakem

Celia on YouTube
http://uk.youtube.com/profile?user=CeliaOnlinedotcom

Tags: celia farran, interview, music

• Interviews

Administrator June, 2006