| Q: | Do you remember the first instrument that you recall specifically listening to? |
| A: | I think it was a Pedal Steel guitar. |
| Q: | What was the first instrument you learned to play and at what age |
| A: | Guitar at the age of 12. |
| Q: | Did you have lessons? |
| A: | No, I have never had 'formal' lessons with any instrument, but my dad knew a few chords which he passed onto me. |
| Q: | Did you learn the recorder at school? |
| A: | No I didn't, but I secretly wanted to. Where I grew up 'Recorder Groups' were seen to be the domain of girls and I would have been outcast. |
| Q: | What is your first recollection of hearing the pipes and whistles? |
| A: | Paddy Maloney of the Chieftains was the first Uilleann Piper I heard. I clearly remember being deeply touched and confused as to what could possibly be making that amazing sound. I couldn’t visualise an instrument; I thought it was some kind of "Sheep-like" animal. |
| Q: | What was it that attracted you? |
| A: | It was something wild, expressive and primal. My adolescent mind was blown! |
| Q: | Which did you first start to play? |
| A: | The Tin Whistle at around 17yrs old. |
| Q: | Is there a different technique to playing the whistle as opposed to the recorder? |
| A: | Yes. The recorder is technically quite different as it has more holes for a start. But, the tin whistle is "soulfully" more difficult....a bit of ambiguity there. |
| Q: | How long before you graduated to the next (wind) instrument? |
| A: | It was two years later when I got my first 'Half-Set' of Uilleann Pipes. |
| Q: | Apart from inordinate finger stretching, does the low whistle require a different playing technique to a tin whistle? |
| A: | It doesn’t for a lot of players but it certainly does for me. I tend to use staccato techniques on the tin whistle but NEVER on the Low. Most Low Whistle players play exactly as if it was a big Tin Whistle. To me it is an entirely different beast. |
| Q: | Why do you have so many different size whistles? |
| A: | They are all in different keys. I have ( from drainpipe size upwards) - A, Bb, B, C, C#, D, Eb, E, F, F# and G. They are all deeply splendid. |
| Q: | How similar is the playing of whistles to the uilleann pipes? |
| A: | It's not at all really, but it helps the physical side of things - ornamentation techniques and such. |
| Q: | If you need different whistles to play in different keys, why don’t you need a set of pipes for each key? |
| A: | The set I play are known as 'Concert Pipes' and are pitched in a D major scale, but can play sharps and flats (reluctantly!) with the aid of 'keys' on the chanter. Most pipers don't use keys as the music generally played is within the traditional range of the instrument. However, I being a musical Megalomaniac, have a fully keyed chanter just to make things horribly difficult for myself. So I can, just about, sneak into other key signatures than usual (and genres). |
| Q: | Who or what was the inspiration for leaning the pipes and at what age did you start? |
| A: | I loved Paddy’s playing on Mike Oldfields ‘Ommadawn which was a massive influence on me aged 11. The band "Planxty" was a major influence too. Liam O' Flynn the piper has it. Finbar Furey was also a fire for me. These two in particular caused me to make the leap at the age of 19. As the pipes were pretty obscure at the time, I had the unbelievable luck of meeting a guy called Mike Leighton, the only uilleann piper in Cumbria, and he gave me lots of tips and encouragement. He came to a recent Nightwish show in Dublin which was a lovely feeling, playing with my old mentor present. I had some great times with Mike… |
| Q: | The whistles seem to be simplicity themselves. What maintenance do the pipes require? |
| A: | The pipes are notoriously temperamental and in the early years, when I was a beginner, they were truly nightmarish. You see, there are SEVEN reeds to keep in tune and as reeds are terrible with temperature changes you can imagine....going on stage in Singapore at 11pm, or Scicily with the Scirroco blowing on you? Hideous! |
| Q: | You endorse Overton low Whistles. What makes those instruments special? |
| A: | Well, Overton Low Whistles were invented by Bernard Overton in the midlands of England in the 1960's (a little known fact) but regardless of that, they are just the best sounding instruments. Bernard died some years ago so his whistles, both high and Low, are now legendary and sought after. He made 13 instruments for me and got very offended if I played any other! |
| Q: | What is your technique for recording the whistles and pipes? Do you amplify the pipes or record them acoustically. What effects do you generally apply? |
| A: | I always record the pipes acoustically, but they are too quiet to contend with a band so "live" I amplify them. I have a system where a miniature mic-transducer is actually stuck onto the reed with a blu-tac kind of stuff. I then send it through various processors. I usually use a bit of Reverb and Echo but I have been known to use a Wah-wah pedal as well but Greenpeace protested it was upsetting Humpback Whales in the Pacific, so I had to stop. |
| Q: | What qualities do you feel the ‘bodhran' has over a more conventional set of drums? |
| A: | Well they are both great in themselves. I suppose the Bodhran is a more "ethnic" sounding thing? |
| Q: | Presumably you started stringed instruments with an acoustic guitar. Who or what was the inspiration for learning that? |
| A: | My dad. Though he only knew a handful of chords, he inspired me and launched my love of acoustic and electric guitars. I also loved Country and Bluegrass, and all those kind of players. Later, I immersed myself in Traditional British/Irish stuff and there were loads of Hero's there... |
| Q: | And likewise the electric guitar? |
| A: | Apart from Vince White who was my hero guitarist in my dad’s band, it was Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd. The first album I bought was "Dark side of the Moon" when I was 11yrs. I couldnt get enough from then on. I was always attracted to melodic and atmospheric styles of electric guitar. Mike Oldfield had a big effect: he was a serious influence. He was unusual because he didn't play the American style scales of 'the Blues'. He had a distinctly European approach , melodic, a British sound (whatever that may be). Andy Latimer, Steve Hackett, Jeff Beck all make the list too. |
| Q: | How did you go about choosing your guitars? |
| A: | My Acoustic instruments are all made by "Fylde" in Cumbria. They are such beautiful sounding instruments, rich and woody and very much of the landscape they are born in. I first played a Fylde Oberon Guitar in a second-hand shop when I was about 15 and was smitten, but it was impossibly expensive for a schoolboy. The instrument had Romance for me though, and the Oberon is one of the guitars I play now. In fact, it’s out on tour with me at the moment. I am guilty of owning a lot of Fyldes, but not enough! I have various electric guitars, but my favourites are my PRS. They are beautiful instruments. |
| Q: | Which of the more esoteric stringed instruments came next & what was the inspiration behind it? |
| A: | I love the sound and versatility of the Fylde Bouzouki/Cittern so I ended up with a couple of those. It is an 8 striged instrument and I tune the strings in pairs - A , D , A , E. I also have a Portugese Mandola from my dear friend Roger Bucknall (the genius behind ‘Fylde’) and this is weird and wonderful in that it has 10 strings - two pairs of two and two pairs of three tuned C, G, D, E. It is an absolute mystery. He made me an electric Bouzouki for Nightwish live shows, and the wood is from an old 1930s snooker table! |
| Q: | You also have an assortment of keyboards, but they are little-mentioned in your credits! What’s your main reason for having them and how’s your ability to play them?! |
| A: | I am not really an accomplished keyboard player by any stretch of the imagination, but I do love playing and experimenting with them. I use keyboards for arranging and for textural possibilities, but I will tinkle away on pianos whenever I find one wherever I am. |
| Q: | Considering the vast array of sounds available with electronic keyboards, what draws you to owning a harmonium? |
| A: | I was staying in London at my friend Jerry's place and he had a Harmonium sat doing nothing in a room which could do without its presence. Jerry being the splendid man he is said "Do you like Harmoniums and would you want one?" So, I then had a new member of the musical family in the boot of my car. It lived in our living room for a while, but my wife couldn’t take the morbid strains of "Abide with me" any longer and threatened to set fire to it, so it is in my music room now. It has such a clunky, wheezy, ‘old timey’ sound......not something which can be easily synthesised. |
| Q: | Do you use any midi keyboards for composing or notation? |
| A: | Yes I do. I use the notation and publishing program "Sibelius" which is old but truly excellent. No more scribbling string parts at 4 in the morning for me. |
| Q: | What is your most prized instrument? |
| A: | My Uilleann Pipes. They never leave my side. |
| Q: | What would you like to be able to play that you can’t already (if there is anything!) |
| A: | Ice Hockey. |
