What is a Plobreacht
orChaos Theory for Fun and Profit
An Introduction to this Collection
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It started innocently enough. First there was Clan na Gael, the first celtic rock music to make it into my collection. Then there was Rare Air, and Whisky Before Breakfast, and the Peatbog Faeries, and more and more bands and CDs until I was plaguing my friends with bagpipes beyond all reasonable limits. And it came to pass, in those days, that the Brewmaster, Skyewalker, Elizabeth, and I did one of those "Adopt-a-Road" deals. I decided to be clever, having just learned the word Piobaireacht, and called us, for road-adoption sign purposes, The Hampstead Piobaireacht Society. The signmakers for our town had other ideas. Or maybe they just lost their gaelic dictionary. Be that as it may, as a result of their efforts, soon after we became The Hampstead Piobaireacht Society, we became The Hampstead Plobreacht Society - a disorganized organization bearing a name which made no sense. It seemed to fit.
We went on our merry way, seeing, listening to, meeting (and occasionally annoying), a steady stream of celtic-type musicians who all had something going on. Many of them were offering CDs they'd made independently and sold independently, CDs whose only "distribution" was from the back of the van/trailer/cardboard box on the floor of the car.
We thought it would be nice if all those small, independent releases could be collected into one retail space, where an enthusiastic retailer (that would be me) could write nice things, thereby encouraging purchase. So we assembled a bunch of them, and put them into a box on the floor of our own car, from whence we drove them around to festivals and sold them to anyone who'd listen to our sales pitch. Now, we've boldly stepped up to the plate and entered the world of e-commerce. Welcome to the digitized Hampstead Plobreacht Society. I stand by the spirit and the intent of each of the CDs for sale here. I have tried (within the limits of my vast musical ignorance) to provide some feeling of the qualities each selection offers. Not everything here is "Grammy" quality, but I feel that each CD has something to make it worth owning. If you buy a CD, listen to it 3 times, and still really loathe it, you may return it. More than I want to take your money, I want to help these artists, in my own tiny way, get the listeners they deserve. And I want you, the listener, to get acquainted with music I believe you'll enjoy. If you are a musician who has produced a CD you think would fit into our rag-tag collection (or if you know such a musician) contact us and maybe we can work together. |
