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HOLLAND
COLLEGE • October 22, 2002
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ENTERTAINMENT
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| Tommy
Makem: Singer, Songwriter, Mythologist By Garnet Livingstone Tommy Makem`s banjo, tin whistle and baritone voice entertained over 900 fans at the Confederation Centre of the Arts Oct. 10. Fans gave three standing ovations and given the choice would not have let him leave. Regarded by many as the “godfather” of Celtic music, the “family business” is now in the hands of Makem`s three sons Shane, Conor and Rory who record music as The Makem Brothers under their own record label Red Biddy Records. Makem is more than a singer-songwriter. “There`s a terrible necessity in the modern world to push a uniculture, not good at all,” he said in an interview before the concert. “ There`s nothing wrong with being modern but you have to put in your soul for it to come out, not what someone on Madison Avenue would like.” Makem said young people today listen only to “really bad rock and roll, really bad country.” “ England has given up the ghost, they have allowed media mogul Rupert Murdock to dictate their culture to them, so they have lessened their culture to a young woman with no clothes on on page 3.” He also said, “You have nothing else this is the cause of a uniculture.” Makem has a great passion for Ireland`s mythology and history and published Tommy Makem`s Secret Ireland in 1997. The book is a portal in time taking readers to lesser known areas of Ireland with stories of the first invaders of the Emerald Isle and the area of Newgrange which pre-dates Stonehenge and is older than the Pyramids of Egypt by 1,500 years. “It is the oldest man made building in the world,” Makem said, noting the rich history of Ireland is generally unknown. Pride in homeland is also a family undertaking for the Makems. Tommy`s two nephews John and Eddie Makem erected a five-ton Megalith called the Emigration Stone in Keady, Ireland, to “ commemorate the going from anywhere to anywhere.” Located near the stone is Tossies Hotel, a cottage where visitors go to enjoy song, poems and stories of old, Makem said. For the Emigration Stone dedication last June, Tommy Makem performed songs and a poem written just for the occasion. “We were there to remember the past and our ancestors,” he added. Back at the Confederation Centre, Makem is still making fans. One fan remarked “ Tommy Makem is like a stately grandfather who teaches you of history, myth and song helping us remember who we are and where we came from.” |
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