Rossa Ó Snodaigh of the mighty Kíla writes for Culture ahead of the band's forthcoming 30th anniversary concert at Dublin's National Stadium on December 23rd.
"So what are you gonna do for your 30th anniversary" I was asked.
"Well....how about launch a live Kíla Documentary (Pota Óir) in film festivals, release it later on DVD; then make a video from our 1995 Irish tour to go along with the release of a double album vinyl of our album Tóg É go Bog É to celebrate its 21 year anniversary; then after touring the festivals from March to October release the DVD Cúl An Tí with songs in Irish by some of Éire's best singers and animated by Cartoon Saloon on DVD; and finish the year off by throwing a big Christmas party called Féile Kíla in the National Stadium?"
"But you can't do that! that's just too much! A band can only tell one story in one year!"
"Well, just watch us!"
"Isn't it amazing what you can do when you don't know you can't do it" said Garfield to Odie as he sat there beside him on a tree branch. This is how it has been with Kíla since we started in school a generation ago; We would do stuff, only to be told that for some reason we weren't able to.
"You can't have a bass in a trad band" said one purist. "You can't call a tune 'Traditional' if it's recently composed," said a competition adjudicator, even though all the older trad tunes we'd also played were 'composed'. "Neither the Didgereedoo or Djembe are traditional Irish instruments" said a flute player whose instrument was introduced to Ireland from England in the mid 19th century. "You should sing in English" or "You'll never go anywhere singing in Irish", said any amount of musicians and punters despite us having toured in perhaps our 5th country that year.
Had we only listened to them...
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Watch: Kíla's first appearance on The Late Late Show, circa 1997
"So what's it all about, this music thing?"
"F**ed if I know, we're still writing the script, but it's more rewarding than anything else, and when you're on it, the band is on it and the audience, whether twenty or twenty thousand are right on it with you, a moment outside of time and gravity is created where each and all are suspended in this magnetic pocket of jubilance..."
And the year's nearly out, we've done all we'd set out to do, we're in the final furlong for our féile, we've got all the best sound gear with Tom Skerritt on the faders, we've Myles O Reilly, Megan O Doherty and our own Dee Armstrong sorting out the visuals, lighting and stage set, we've got Máca, winners of TG4's Réalta is Gaolta competiton and a bad-ass hip-hop group from the hardcore Béal Feriste Gaeltacht called KneeCap supporting us, we've got backing from O'Hara's Beers, Raidió Na Life, Blian na Gaeilge, Foras Na Gaeilge, with a host of special guests and performers (the President will be there, for starters) and we'll play all the best of the new and old songs to celebrate this big party that will continue long after, with Billy Ó hAnluain on the decks...
"Jaysus, I'd better book me ticket before they run out!"
"Yea, do that."
Féile Kíla is at The National Stadium on December 23rd - find out more here.
