– Dubs @ The Wayfarer
By: Judy Shields
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 5/11/17 – “This concert will be the first of the summer tour shows. We are using them as good old fashioned warm up gigs in the small clubs we love to play. A set full of songs from all nine albums as we knock the ‘three weeks’ vacation cobwebs’ off. Wednesday is in Costa Mesa and Thursday is in Paso Robles and then Laytonville. All California shows this week. That doesn’t happen very often for us these days.” Keith Roberts, lead vocalist of the Dubliners told The Hollywood Times today about their upcoming concert in Costa Mesa.
The Venue:
The Wayfarer
843 W 19th St Westside
Costa Mesa
A girlfriend of mine had me go to one of the Dubliners concert in Pasadena and I was hooked from that moment on. We have seen them in several Irish festivals and small venues and have not been disappointed in their performance. There were times that Keith Roberts voice was hoarse for all the singing from previous night, but he still sounded great. Do yourself a favor and get a ticket and go down to Costa Mesa to hear some great rock and roll Irish music.
To Purchase tickets, visit The Wayfarer webpage and click Buy Ticket: http://youngdubliners.com/event/dubs-the-wayfarer/
Date and Time: May 17, 2017 at 08:00 PM
Here is how the interview went:
THT: Any new music you are currently working on?
Keith Roberts: We are starting that process now. We all have new song ideas and the rehearsals to turn them into Young Dubs songs are underway,
THT: What festivals will the band be performing at this year?
Keith Roberts: There are lots of festivals in different genres for us. It always includes a few Irish fests (Colorado, Ohio, Montana) but also plenty off American rock fests (Nevada, Utah, New Jersey, Cali) We would love everyone to check out the tour page as we might be playing very close to you and you don’t even know it yet. Youngdubs.com
THT: What awesome things can we expect on your new website?
Keith Roberts: Well we finally got some new pics haha. Taking pics is probably one of the most disliked jobs for us so it takes a long time to get us all together and do it. It’s a very modern looking site now and easier to navigate. A friend of ours (Ryan Bahl) designed it and we are loving it. As usual with these things getting it live on the web has been a little technically troublesome but I think we are there now. We will be loading it with new content over the coming weeks,
THT: Any information about your 2018 Ireland tour?
Keith Roberts: We will be taking 100 Americans to Ireland in March 2018. It will be our ninth trip and just might be the grand finale of these trips. Please tell interested folks to check it out on our website. We want people from all over the country as that’s what makes it so much fun.
The Young Dubs are the hardest working band in Celtic Rock is about to start another hard touring year. After a packed 2016 that started in Alaska, cruised to the Bahamas, returned to Dublin, Ireland then toured all summer long in the US the band are ready to do it all again in 2017. Once more the year will start in Alaska and cover the entire US. March is the usual multi State mayhem as they celebrate the St Paddy’s day madness that happily unites the whole country in a mutual desire to go nuts.
“We are very appreciative of how the bands fans have continued to support the live shows. Makes for a crazy but enjoyable year despite the hectic travel schedule” says lead singer Keith Roberts.
In recent years they have twice appeared on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, had songs featured in TV shows (Sons Of Anarchy, Human Target) and toured extensively as a headliner and as the opener for such a diverse list of artists as Collective Soul, Jethro Tull, Johnny Lang and many more.
Although the Young Dubliners sound is most commonly called ‘Celtic Rock’, that label, as labels can often be, is misleading. The Irish influence is there, certainly, but it’s not the only influence that rears its head on their albums, or in live shows. After all, several of the band members have no Irish roots of any kind. “That was always the idea”, Keith explains. “The sound was always intended to be a hybrid because we all come from different backgrounds. Even though two of us are from Ireland, a lot of the music we listened to growing up wasn’t Irish at all, but when we got here, we got homesick and developed a new appreciation for Irish Music. In truth the Celtic riffs can just as easily come from the American band members. Everyone writes now so you never know what you’ll end up with when we write”
“Drawing from all nine albums makes for an interesting set list every night and keeps us on our toes. Playing new cities and venues each year gives us another type of boost. The US is such a huge market full of little hidden treasures in the form of festivals and clubs, there is never a dull moment” says Roberts.
The Young Dubliners (sometimes shortened to the Young Dubs) is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1988. Their style of music has come to be called Celtic Rock, for the fusion of Irish traditional instruments and music with modern rock. They have released ten albums, starting with Rocky Road in 1993, and most recently 9 in 2013. They have toured the United States and Europe since 1994, and have supported Jethro Tull, John Hiatt, Chris Isaak, Jonny Lang, Great Big Sea, and Collective Soul. All Music.com states, “Their live shows (have) a jam-like appeal, similar to the vibes of Phish and the Dave Matthews Band.”[1] Members include lead vocalist and guitarist Keith Roberts, bassist Brendan Holmes, violinist Chas Waltz, guitarist Bob Boulding, and drummer David Ingraham. Their repertoire consists largely of original rock compositions and Irish folk songs with a rock twist. Their influences include Thin Lizzy, The Pogues, The Waterboys and U2. (Wikipedia)
Discography
Rocky Road (1993)
Breathe (1995)
Alive Alive’O (1998, live)
Red (2000)
Absolutely (2002)
Home Movies (2003, DVD)
Real World (2005)
With All Due Respect – The Irish Sessions (2007)
Saints and Sinners (2009)
9 (2013)
Tour Dates: http://youngdubliners.com/2017-tour-dates-released/
Social Media:
website: http://youngdubliners.com/ & http://youngdubliners.com/new-dubs-website/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YoungDubliners
Twitter: https://twitter.com/YoungDubliners
Instagram: http://10.199.67.64:15871/cgi-bin/blockpage.cgi?ws-session=369960579
Meet the Band:
Keith Roberts – Acoustic Guitar
Well, where do I start. I was born in Dublin to Ann and Charlie. Both in the entertainment biz during the exciting sixties. Dublin was experiencing the civil rights revolution as America was and the just started TV station was the place to be. My Dad was one of the first stage managers at RTE and my Mum became one of the first female singers to perform on the station. I was born in 1965 and apparently created great excitement for them as I was the “first son” (my sister Jocelyn had been born five years earlier). The times they were a changin’ and Ireland was jumpin on board.
I have great memories of actors, singers, writers, comedians, all sorts hanging out at my house for parties. My Mum was also acting in many musicals throughout my youth so I got to see both TV and Theatre in action. It was great fun, my Dad was a head case (some of you will not be surprised by this fact), a very funny man. I would sit and listen to him entertain everyone for hours, never saying a word (also hard for some of you believe). He was a huge influence on me as was my Mum. I have a good split of both their personalities thank God!!
After school, college and a brief stint on the dole, I emigrated to America to pan for gold in Deadwood, OK, just kidding! It wasn’t that long ago. I came here to pursue a career in journalism, but realizing that I couldn’t even write a letter home, I was dragged into the movie biz. Set dressing to be exact. Quite a pain in the arse for me but it was good moolah.
After about five years, I opened “Fair City, a Dublin Pub” with a friend of mine. My brother (Carl Roberts, known to all of you who have seen us at the LA House of Blues as the lead singer in New Breed Orchestra). Was also there along with many other pals. It was a great scene, loads of other Irish musicians and many visitors from other places and bands. We played every Saturday night to sold out crowds until we got the first record deal. We released an EP “Rocky Road to Dublin” and we were off and running. The rest as they say, is history!!!!!
Brendan Holmes – Bass – Vocals
Brendan is from Dublin and came to the United States with Keith Roberts
Bob Boulding – Guitar – Vocals
I’m from Long Beach, California, and grew up in a home with a lot of music in it. My dad was a jazz violinist; I’m sure he was my earliest influence as a musician. My siblings played in school band, too, and my brother started playing guitar and blues harmonica, which I thought was just the coolest.
My big break came when my mom decided to steer me away from my first interest – drums – by enrolling me in guitar lessons. That was when I was 9.
Since then, I played with dozens of projects, on stage and in the studio. During the ‘90’s, I called the Cram Brothers Band my musical home. We released one album, “SuperCaliberOfEcstacyAsAliceDosedUs”, in 1995.
In 1999, I found a message on the answering machine from my old friend Jon Mattox (the first drummer in the Young Dubliners), saying, “call me Bob, I have a business proposition for you…” When I returned his call, he told me that the Young Dub’s guitarist, Randy Wolford, had just announced his plans to leave the group, and asked if I might be interested in auditioning…
Well, I woodsheded like a mo-fo, auditioned, and got the gig.
In the years hence, I’ve been on six CD’s and COUNTLESS tours with the boys
Dave Ingraham – Drums – Percussion
A time long ago, in a land far away (Eugene Oregon) I tumbled from my mother’s cozy womb into this beautifully idiotic world. I’ve yet to fully recover. But as fate would have it, I simply wasn’t meant to be an Oregonian, and within three months, my family and I had piled into our clunky ol’ VW van, and began to make our way across this vast continent to mid-Michigan, where I would spend the first twenty-three years of my life.
Although my first love was drawing –doodling endlessly since the age of three– I eventually discovered the joys of banging on the drums, and after seeing my first concert in seventh grade (KISS), I became hopelessly obsessed with the idea of playing in a band and getting paid to do so. Now, if only I owned a drum set.
During my freshman year in high school, I joined my first band. I still didn’t have a drum set (I had to borrow the bass player’s brother’s kit) and, quite frankly, didn’t really know how to play the drums. But I was determined, and fortunately had a modicum of coordination and sense of rhythm. It was with this band that I played my first school assembly, and that was it; there was no turning back: I was hooked.
So after a year or so of being unquestionably the worst page-boy on earth, I finally got my first drum set, and within a short while, had joined another band, grew my hair long, and started doing copious amounts of illegal substances while imagining myself as some sort of rock star (I had a very active imagination). But after eventually losing interest in all-things-academic, wanting to do nothing but play music, I quietly dropped out of high school, spending the next six years of my life playing around town and partying (much more the latter than the former), eventually hitting the “what now?” stage.
Through a local drum teacher with whom I’d begun studying, I was turned on to the idea of enrolling in a music school in Los Angeles. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, an entirely new chapter of my life had begun.
After graduating from music school, I decided to stick it out in LA, settling down in the San Fernando Valley where I’ve been ever since. I immediately started playing the local LA club scene with various bands, playing everything from Blues (Corey Stevens), Latin Rock (Tribe of Gypsies) to Heavy Metal, eventually recording albums and touring the world with Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. But alas, all gigs must come to an end, and eventually I found myself back in LA, waiting tables, wondering, yet again, “what now?”
One morning I was awoken by a phone call from the manager of some Irish Rock band, telling me their drummer had quit and wondering if I’d be interested in auditioning. At that time, I was playing with various bands around town and wasn’t particularly interested. But I thought “Eh, what the hell” and agreed to have him send me the music. After checking out their songs, and going to see the band live, I decided to learn the music and audition, telling myself that, if this was meant to be, I’d get the gig. Well, I was the ninth guy to audition, and before I knew it, I was the new drummer for the Young Dubliners.
Since then, thousands of gigs have been played, and seventeen years have passed. How is that possible? Where did the time go? I guess the ol’ cliché is true: time flies when you’re having fun!
Chas Waltz – Violin, keyboards, mandolin, harmonica, vocals
I was created in Kansas City, Mo. a long, long time ago! I lived in various places in Kansas up until I was 12, then moved to Philadelphia where a whole new music world smacked me in the face. I was in big city mode now, seeing some great live rock n roll shows for the first time and thus figuring out that’s what I want to be…. another rock n roll knucklehead!
I was born into a musical family so singing and playing seemed to come naturally at an early age. Evidently I would stick my ear by the speaker and listen to my parents’ records for hours. I was 2! My mom said I was lost to the music world from then on. I started piano lessons when I was 5, violin lessons at 10, and by age 6, singing along to Beatles records and any other rock n roll my older brothers were turning me on to. Also was really into R&B and the whole Motown thing at a young age. Mom said to me once that I was a black child in disguise or I got switched at the hospital! The music bug bit me early and hard.
So it was my teenage years in Philadelphia that I started performing and integrating the violin into rock/blues bands with my older brother. Still played in the school and community orchestras but just wasn’t fulfilling my performance needs. The R&R format was deep in my blood by now and no turning back.
Moved back to Kansas City when I was 18 and began making music as a career. Joined the band “Shooting Star”, an arena rock type band and got signed to a major label. We ended up releasing five albums for several major record companies, working with prominent producers and recording at famous studios around the country and Europe. We achieved a fair amount of success! A lot of touring also involved. I was becoming a seasoned pro at a relatively early age. Did a good amount of studio sessions during that time also, producing projects as well as performing. Arranging and singing background vocals was my main calling card for studio sessions. I arranged and sung most of the backing vocals on the R&B singer Oleta Adams’ 1st album. She then went on to join “Tears for Fears” for a few years before going back on her own and having a few hits. She also lived in KC.
After Shooting Star ended I hung around KC for about 4 years and starting working harder on songwriting and creating more of a personal development in music. Learning new instruments, still producing and doing studio sessions. Then started my own band and we all got the itch to get outa town and move to Los Angeles. My time in KC included a fair amount of success and notoriety and some failures as well! Actually I’ve determined now that there are no failures, just all part of the journey and learning process. So the music rollercoaster rolls on…
Now in LA. Banged around town with several bands for a few years. Some more near misses, and in doing some session work was introduced to the Irish world in So Cal. Recorded some violin stuff for Dave King from Ireland. I then joined his Irish rock band and played around town for a few years. Really cool fusion of music. Dave is now lead singer and songwriter of “Flogging Molly”. Great band! It was thru Dave that I met and eventually joined the Young Dubliners. Still playing, touring, writing and recording with them to this day!
I’m also now working with a great band “The Automatics”. A Dave Philp (lead singer/songwriter) project that started in the late 70’s as a quite popular punk band from London. High energy pop, punk music! Doing a few gigs here and there and having fun playing with old band mates and friends on my off time. And the roller coaster keeps on chugging…. Thanks for reading!…..