The Makem Brothers: Difference between revisions
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Shane left the band in 2011 for unknown reasons, and since that time the band has continued as a quartet. |
Shane left the band in 2011 for unknown reasons, and since that time the band has continued as a quartet. |
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In October 2013, Conor Makem was arrested for allegedly placing a hidden camera in a women's bathroom.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rosenfield|first=Michael|title=Former NH Reporter Accused Of Placing Camera In Bathroom Released On Bail|url=http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/10/18/former-nh-reporter-accused-of-placing-camera-in-bathroom-released-on-bail/|work=Article|publisher=CBS Boston|accessdate=22 October 2013}}</ref> |
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==The band== |
==The band== |
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Revision as of 18:19, 15 November 2013
The Makem Brothers (Makem and Spain Brothers) | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Dover, New Hampshire, USA |
| Genres | Folk |
| Years active | 1989-present |
| Labels | Red Biddy Records |
| Members | Conor Makem Rory Makem Liam Spain Mickey Spain |
| Website | Official website |
The Makem and Spain Brothers are an Irish-American folk music band. The band was founded as "The Makem Brothers" in the early 1990s by Conor, Rory and Shane Makem. the three sons of "The Godfather of Irish Music" Tommy Makem, and grandsons of Irish source singer Sarah Makem. In 2003, Liam and Mickey Spain joined the band, which was renamed "The Makem and Spain Brothers".
Biography
The three Makem brothers were born in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland and grew up in Dover, New Hampshire, where their father lived. Tommy Makem was one of the most famous Irish musicians in the world, first as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem and later as a solo act. Tommy's mother was the singer and traditional song collector Sarah Makem. The Makem Brothers' elder sister Katie Makem is also a performer, although she does not tour professionally.
As a student at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, Rory formed a band with Lisa Gentile, Lisa Lisa and the Country Jam.
Shane and Rory Makem founded the band in 1989, debuting at the now-closed Blackthorne Tavern in Easton, Massachusetts. Guitarist Brian Sullivan joined the duo soon after. The Makem Brothers and Brian Sullivan were set to perform at the Tom Clancy Memorial Concert in New York City in November 1991 but they wanted a bass player. Their father, Tommy Makem, suggested their other brother, Conor Makem. Conor debuted with his brothers and Brian Sullivan at the Tom Clancy memorial concert.
In 1992, the quartet recorded a demo album which was later commercially released for a time. Songs on the demo included Charlie and the MTA and Maid of Fife-O. In 1994 the Makem Brothers and Brian Sullivan released their first full length album, Out Standing in a Field. Also that year, they made their television debut on Tommy Makem's PBS television special, Songs of the Sea. Judy Collins also performed on that special.
Brian Sullivan left the band in 1995 but played backup on the Makem Brothers' (now a trio) second album, On the Rocks. The Makem Brothers continued as a trio for eight more years, releasing two more albums, Who Fears to Speak in 1998 and Stand Together in 2001. In 1997 they filmed a concert for Iowa PBS which was released on videocassette.
In 2003, the New Hampshire-based Irish folk musicians teamed up with The Spain Brothers, Liam and Mickey Spain (both natives of Manchester, New Hampshire), to become The Makem and Spain Brothers. Though they had been informally performing together for several years, their first official concert as a five piece band took place at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, Massachusetts in February 2003. They were billed as the Makem Brothers with Mickey and Liam Spain. Their combined forces preserve and advance folk music from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and New England, as well as whaling songs, fishing songs, mining songs, even Australian Bush songs. Influences include The Clancy Brothers, Ewan MacColl, and The Corries.
The Makem and Spain Brothers released their first album together in 2004, called Like Others Did Before Us. They recorded a live album on Good Friday 2005 and released the album, The Makem and Spain Brothers Live in 2006. They recorded and filmed a live concert in Butte, Montana, releasing both a DVD and a CD of the concert in 2008. Both releases were called The Makem and Spain Brothers Home Away From Home. In January 2011, they released a studio album, titled Up the Stairs.
Shane left the band in 2011 for unknown reasons, and since that time the band has continued as a quartet.
The band
Rory Makem: vocals, six string guitar, twelve string guitar, banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, bodhrán, harmonica (1989-present)
Conor Makem: vocals, bass, flute, concertina, whistles (1991-present)
Liam Spain: vocals, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica (2003-present)
Mickey Spain: vocals, guitar, nylon string guitar, bodhrán (2003-present)
Former members
Shane Makem (1989-2011)
Brian Sullivan (1990-1995)
Partial discography
Note: The footnotes will take you to lyrics but not necessarily to The Makem Brothers' recordings of these songs, many of which are traditional.
The Makem Brothers
Outstanding in a Field, 1992
On The Rocks, 1995
1. The Diamond [1]
2. Mountjoy Prison (Rory Makem)
3. Straw into Gold
4. 23 June [2]
5. Hot Asphalt [3]
6. Bonnie Blue Bonnets
7. White Cockade [4]
8. Bridget O’Shea [5] (Conor Makem)
9. Bound Down for Newfoundland [6]
10. Old Stone Wall
11. Dark Eyed Molly [7]
12. Down the Road
Who Fears to Speak, 1997
1. Memory of the Dead [8]
2. Sean Bhean-Bhocht [9]
3. The Boys of Wexford [10]
4. Bold Robert Emmet [11]
5. Kelly the Boy from Killane [12]
6. Tom McArdle
7. Roddy McCorley [13]
8. General Monroe [14]
9. Bodenstown Churchyard [15]
10. Henry Joy [16]
11. Twenty Men from Dublin Town [17]
12. Rising of the Moon [18]
Stand Together, 2001
1. Farewell to the Rhonda [19]
2. Lean and Unwashed Tiffy [20]
3. Tinker’s Wedding
4. Blackbird (lyrics: Conor Makem)
5. Captain Kidd
6. Stand Together
7. Love, Won’t You Marry Me
8. Come to the Bower [21]
9. Spanish Stars [22] (lyrics: Conor Makem)
10. Fireship [23]
11. I’ll Neither Spin Nor Weave (Lyrics: Conor, Shane Makem)
12. Liberty
13. Kerry Recruit [24]
14. Crabber’s Claw (lyrics: Conor Makem)
The Makem Brothers with Mickey and Liam Spain
Like Others Did Before Us, 2004
1. Road to Gundagai [25]
2. Wild and Restless Foam (Mickey Spain)
3. Leezie Lindsay
4. Sound the Pibroch [26]
5. Fincairn Flax [27]
6. Whiskey Row (Liam Spain, Mickey Spain)
7. Willie’s Gone Awa’ [28]
9. Paddy Kelly [30]
10. Freedom on the Wallaby [31]
11. Slan Abhaile (Conor Makem)
12. Three Drunken Maidens
13. Ha’Penny Bridge
The Makem and Spain Brothers
The Makem and Spain Brothers Live, 2005
1. Highland Paddy [32]
2. MacPherson’s Rant (a/k/a McPherson's Lament) [33]
3. Mingulay Boat Song [34]
4. New South Wales [35]
5. Whiskey Row (Liam Spain, Mickey Spain)
6. The Smuggler [36]
7. Congo River [37]
8. Goodbye to the 30 Foot Trailer [38]
9. Road to Gundagai [39]
10. Liberty
11. Jolly Waggoner [40]
12. Queensland Whalers [41]
13. When We Danced in Donegal/Tombigbee Waltz
14. Calling Me Home