Clandestine (band)
Encyclopedia
Clandestine is a Celtic music
group from Houston, Texas
. Featuring bagpipes
, guitar
, fiddle
, and drum
s (bodhrán
and conga drums), they play traditional Celtic music (both instrumental and vocal) as well as some modern tunes (including some originals) in a Celtic style. Some songs include additional instruments like the flute
, bombarde and various whistles
. They formed in 1991, stabilized as a quartet
in 1996, and dissolved for a time in 2003. In their original incarnation, the band made 4 discs and toured heavily around the US and also performed in Europe
. They were favorites at McGonigel's Mucky Duck Pub in their hometown of Houston, as well as the Cactus Cafe
in nearby Austin
.
The band reformed with a change in membership in late 2006.
, met guitarist and singer Jen Hamel in Pittsburgh, and convinced her to return to Houston to perform as part of Clandestine. In 1995, fiddle player Gregory McQueen joined. The first disc (The Ale is Dear) featured this trio
. In 1996 percussionist and singer Emily Dugas joined, and the remaining 3 discs include all 4 members. Jen Hamel and Emily Dugas both sang. In February 2003 the band performed their last show in that original incarnation.
In 2005, E.J., Emily and Gregory began playing with various other artists as the Emily Dugas Band. In 2006, with Jen's blessing, they officially reformed Clandestine with themselves and a fourth member, Al Cofrin, on Irish cittern
, folk guitar, and medieval bagpipes. The band made their formal debut as Clandestine at the Mucky Duck Pub in Houston on St. Andrew's Day, November 30, 2006.
Apparently Clandestine also appears on 2 discs The Houston Music Council Eclectic Music Showcase and Blarneyfest, according to Celtic Nations World.
Other bands that E.J. is playing in currently:
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
group from Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Featuring bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s (bodhrán
Bodhrán
The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
and conga drums), they play traditional Celtic music (both instrumental and vocal) as well as some modern tunes (including some originals) in a Celtic style. Some songs include additional instruments like the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, bombarde and various whistles
Whistles
Whistles is a clothing brand with 40 stores across Britain. It was founded in the early 1980s by Lucille and Richard Lewin.In January 2008, Jane Shepherdson, former Topshop director, signed a deal to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Whistles and was appointed the job of chief executive.-Style:In the...
. They formed in 1991, stabilized as a quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
in 1996, and dissolved for a time in 2003. In their original incarnation, the band made 4 discs and toured heavily around the US and also performed in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. They were favorites at McGonigel's Mucky Duck Pub in their hometown of Houston, as well as the Cactus Cafe
Cactus Cafe
The Cactus Café is a live music venue and bar on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. Located in Austin, Texas, a city frequently referred to as "the live music capital of the world," a number of well-known artists have played in the Cactus, and Billboard Magazine named it as one of...
in nearby Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.
The band reformed with a change in membership in late 2006.
History
The original Clandestine was a pipe-and-drum quartet in Houston. Original member bagpiper E.J. Jones moved to PittsburghPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, met guitarist and singer Jen Hamel in Pittsburgh, and convinced her to return to Houston to perform as part of Clandestine. In 1995, fiddle player Gregory McQueen joined. The first disc (The Ale is Dear) featured this trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
. In 1996 percussionist and singer Emily Dugas joined, and the remaining 3 discs include all 4 members. Jen Hamel and Emily Dugas both sang. In February 2003 the band performed their last show in that original incarnation.
In 2005, E.J., Emily and Gregory began playing with various other artists as the Emily Dugas Band. In 2006, with Jen's blessing, they officially reformed Clandestine with themselves and a fourth member, Al Cofrin, on Irish cittern
Cittern
The cittern or cither is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is descended from the Medieval Citole, or Cytole. It looks much like the modern-day flat-back mandolin and the modern Irish bouzouki and cittern...
, folk guitar, and medieval bagpipes. The band made their formal debut as Clandestine at the Mucky Duck Pub in Houston on St. Andrew's Day, November 30, 2006.
Discography
- The Ale is DearThe Ale is DearThe Ale Is Dear is a 1996 studio album by the Celtic band Clandestine.-Track listing:# "Atholl Highlanders/Jig of Slurs" - 3:53# "Polka Set" - 3:31# "Ottawa/Frahar's Jig/Donald McKissup" - 4:32...
(1996) - The Haunting (1997)
- To Anybody at AllTo Anybody at AllTo Anybody At All is a 1999 studio album by the Celtic band Clandestine.-Track listing:#"The Bush Reels" - 4:07#"Black Eyed Susan" - 3:36#"Peggy" - 3:39#"The Telfer Jigs" - 5:14#"Babylon" - 4:57#"A World Turned Upside Down" - 2:30...
(1999) - Music from Home (live album, and the band's last) (2001)
- Fine Small Storm (Jen Hamel) (2001)
- The Willow (E.J. Jones) (2002)
- ReDRedRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
(2008)
Apparently Clandestine also appears on 2 discs The Houston Music Council Eclectic Music Showcase and Blarneyfest, according to Celtic Nations World.
External links
- Clandestine
- Kennedy Center performance
- McGonigels Mucky Duck article
- Celtic Nations World article
- E.J. Jones' website (Clandestine CDs can still be purchased through EJ's site.)
- Emily Dugas Band
Other bands that E.J. is playing in currently: