Woodn't It Be Nice?

Tom Roche of the Just Forests organisation is delivering an impromptu lecture. “An estimated 200 different species of trees are used to make musical instruments,” he says. “Ebonies, rosewoods and mahoganies have been valued for centuries for their resonance and beauty, but now at least 80 of these species are threatened with extinction in the wild.”

This has, he emphasises, has serious ramifications for musicians but also for the public at large. Music fans will suffer the loss of the beautiful and irreplaceable sounds lovingly drawn from a variety of instruments – from guitars and pianos to woodwind and uillean pipes – but the planet will suffer too.
“The decline of timber species is not merely a third world issue,” says Roche. “The majestic Sitka Spruce of Alaska could be gone in six years. That is the main source for numerous musical instrument soundboards. The fear that we might lose it forever has prompted Gibson Guitars, Martin Guitars and Baldwin Pianos to join forces with Greenpeace to highlight the issue around the world.”  
As part of their support for this campaign in Ireland, Just Forests is organizing the ‘Sound of Wood’ Concert, headlined by The Chieftains, on Wednesday November 24 in the Tullamore Court Hotel with tickets priced at €50. As Roche says: “It’s marvelous that The Chieftains have agreed to support the campaign in such a positive way. This is a really serious issue. We want Irish musicians to reflect this potential tragedy in their music. Maybe we can inspire Irish music-lovers into action to address a problem of global importance. When musicians and songwriters get hold of an idea they can be terrific at creating awareness with the wider community, and that’s what this concert is all about. This is not charity. This is an issue that has serious consequences for everybody if we don’t act now.”
Just Forests have a website www.justmusic.ie, which has a section entitled ‘Friends of Wood’. One of those 'friends' is singer-songwriter Paul Brady. As Brady says: “Enlightened tone freaks understand the core of your guitar sound begins with its most fundamental component: wood. Mother Earth has provided exquisite ‘tonewoods’ for our musical instruments. It’s up to us as musicians to spread the message of conservation and Fair Trade as a means of ensuring these fascinating woods continue to provide beautiful music. So come onboard and get involved in Just Forests.”
Another Friend of Wood is Chieftain-in-Chief Paddy Moloney. “I hadn’t really thought of doing an Irish tour at all until Tom Roche asked us to do this one in Tullamore as part of his campaign. So now we’re doing three other concerts in Bray, Limerick and Cappoquin in County Waterford. The Tullamore concert for Just Forests is a marvelous idea because even musicians forget how many of our instruments are dependent on wood, not just any old wood but those special woods from all over the world that make better instruments and help the musician make better music. I still treasure the first set of pipes I got all those years ago from Liam Rowsome, the beautiful black ebony from Africa and the chanters made from rosewoods from different countries. So we play these marvelous instruments and it’s not until somebody like Tom Roche comes along that you realize that we are so dependent on these forests in far-flung places.”
In fact Paddy and his team are so enthusiastic about Tom’s campaign that the show will feature all the bells and (tin) whistles we expect from a vintage Chieftain’s extravaganza. Apart from Moloney, himself, the band’s line-up will include the core unit of Sean Keane, Matt Molloy and Kevin Conneff. Comments Moloney: “We’re pulling out all the stops on this one! We’re bringing over the Pilatzke brothers Nathan and Jon. They’re incredible dancers from Canada. We’ll also have Jean Butler’s sister Cara who’s been dancing with us for 17 years. There’s the eight-string guitarist Redmond O’Toole and harpist Triona Marshall. She’s coming back from Paraguay to join us. She’s been with us for 11 years. I can’t help thinking that our late good friend Derek (Bell) was up there looking after us the day we discovered Triona. He’s still looking after our harp department! And then there’s singer Yvonne McMahon, who’s married to Tommy Tiernan. She has the voice of an angel and maybe she’ll tell a few jokes as well! Yvonne has sung with us all over the world. So it’s not just the four boys up there bashing away. It’s a big show we’ll be putting on.”
And there’s more: for apart from the multiple Grammy-award winners, the Tullamore bill will also include the Tullamore Pipers Band who will perform two tracks with The Chieftains from the latter’s album San Patricio. The show will also include some dancers from Offaly, making for a tantalizing mix of local, national and international talent. It could make all the difference to the future of music too.

The Chieftains Just Forests concert takes place at the Tullamore Court Hotel on Wednesday November 24 at 8 pm. For further information go to www.justmusic.ie