The Celtic quintet has been together since 1998, and in their short tenure they’ve logged spots at some of the most prestigious Irish festivals in the country, produced five albums in as many years, held regular spots in Denver and Las Vegas and never stopped working for a minute.
March and St. Patrick’s Day are supposed to be busy times for any band even remotely related to Irish tradition, but in their typical over-the-top style, The Indulgers weren’t pleased with a steady string of gigs for March 2004. This month, in addition to playing eight local gigs and another two gigs outside the region, the band will also be releasing their fifth album, “Catch the Ghost,” getting set to play the ESPN Highland Games in Vegas and greasing their wheels for a summer festival season that begins now and won’t end until September. “We know that we won’t come home and take a breather until we die,” said Irish-born lead vocalist and guitarist Damien McCarron. “Our season runs from March to September, and then in those five months ‘off’ we’re playing regular gigs in Vegas.”
The Indulgers’ sound is partially Celtic and partially rock and roll, McCarron explained. “If we get pulled over by the cops though, we say we’re like the Chieftans, sitting on stools,” McCarron joked. But, the fact of the matter is that while The Indulgers use traditional Celtic instruments they blend them so flawlessly with rock and roll instruments that the sound is something all its own — and it’s a sound that’s been garnering the band a lot of attention.
The Indulgers’ first release, “In Like Flynn,” won several awards, including Ethnic CD of the Year 2000, and Celtic Song of the Year for its title track. The CD peaked at number two in Amazon.com’s International Independent chart.
The band’s 2001 release, “Tan and Black,” which featured a celtic version of the jazz tune “What a Wonderful World,” helped the band notch the Denver’s Best Award, and in 2002 “Celtic Tiger” helped them to capture the award of Colorado Independent Band of the Year.
The band’s latest CD, “Catch the Ghost,” features 12 new songs, and McCarron said that it’s successful in bringing an urban, more contemporary feel to their genre. “Everyone says that their latest album is a departure for them, but everybody lies,” he said. Drummer Pat Murphy chimed in, “It’s full of clichés. We used less but more on the record. We tried to break all of the rules without breaking any of them.”
Joking aside, the band did use some different recording techniques than they have used in the past, and McCarron said simply, “We’ve taken the music to somewhere bloody well new. We have to progress or we won’t make any more friggin’ records.”
McCarron admitted that he’s completely obsessed with the business of the band and songwriting, and because of that the band has played some of the biggest Irish Festivals in the country. “We’ve done number two and three and four and five on the list,” McCarron said. “We haven’t done Milwaukee yet and that’s the biggest Irish Festival in the world. It’s the holy grail.”
While McCarron handles the business end and songwriting duties, multi-instrumentalist Mike Nile, according to McCarron, is simply obsessed with the songwriting side, which gives the band the benefit of two songwriters. “I’m obsessed with the business. Mike is only obsessed with songwriting. I don’t think he would care if we ever played a gig again,” McCarron said, adding that in addition to the five albums The Indulgers have put out in five years, he and Nile have worked on two others on their own.
McCarron said that eventually The Indulgers hope to take their sound worldwide, while keeping Colorado as a base. “We like being from here, and we’d like to keep it that way. I’d eventually like to see The Indulgers represent Colorado. It’d be better than a day job,” he said.
The
Indulgers will play a series of eight gigs this month including
their March 11 CD release party at Fado’s Irish Pub, March 13 at
the Coors Pavilion, March 14 at the Running of the Green Festival,
March 15 (on the radio) at 99.5 FM, March 16 at Conor O’Neills in
Boulder, March 17 at the Coors Pavilion, and March 26 and 27 at
the new Conor O’Neills in Fort Collins.
Spectate
if you Gravitate:
•
The Chieftans
• The Smithereens