Story by Mary Dansak
On Wednesday nights for the past 20 years, musicians have gathered in local pubs in and around Opelika, Alabama to play traditional Irish music. Surely some barroom philosophy, late-night romance, and beer-fueled legends have been born of these sessions, but the most exciting thing to emerge from this scene is the Southeast’s most eclectic new band, The Gaulway Ramblers.
Five musicians and their seven instruments make up this merry group. You might want to stop and give them a listen on Spotify or your preferred music streaming platform, as their music is difficult to describe.
It’s traditional Irish. No, traditional French. Is that a banjo you’re hearing? And pipes? A viola? What on earth is that buzzing thing that sounds like a box of bees?
The Gaulway Ramblers’ music is indeed an amalgamation of traditional Irish and French music with a twist. Maybe “twist” is too mild. Make it a whirlwind. Instruments include a flute, a set of uilleann pipes, a tenor banjo, a guitar, a viola, a cajón, and the one that sounds like a buzzing cicada? That’s the hurdy-gurdy. These instruments and the musicians who play them come together in an unlikely matrix to create their trademark sound. Children dance, dogs bark, and the Gaulway Ramblers play on.
Perhaps the fans can describe it best. “Medieval festival; hobbit pub.” “Everyone is drinking wine and celebrating the good crop.” “Makes me want to twirl around in a field.” “Music to build a cob house to.” “Makes the soul feel good!”
I asked band members Scott Miller, Nathan Glazier, Fred Holweck, Emma Dansak, and CJ Alexander how they would describe their music. Each band member summed up their style with one word: energy. “It’s all about getting people moving,” said CJ.
“Let’s talk about the name,” I said, settling in to speak with members of the Gaulway Ramblers. “Is it spelled wrong?”
“Gaulway is a geographic portmanteau of the Irish city Galway and ‘Gaul,’ the name of France before and during the Roman occupation, when it was a Celtic land,” explained Scott Miller. “And there’s a famous Irish tune, The Galway Rambler.”
This explained everything and nothing. Why were they smashing up Ireland and France to begin with?
“Well, there’s Fred,” Emma explained. “He brought in all this music from the French tradition.” This brings us to the origin story of The Gaulway Ramblers.
Fred, a Frenchman and a visiting professor at Auburn University, was on the lookout for local musicians when someone suggested he visit the Irish session at Red Clay Brewing Company in Opelika. He arrived with his hurdy-gurdy and some trepidation. The hurdy-gurdy is not always well received. In fact, there used to be a Facebook group entitled, “Don’t Bring Your Hurdy-Gurdy to the Irish Session,” now vanished into obscurity.
“I brought my hurdy-gurdy to America to play for myself,” Fred said. “It was a good surprise to find the Irish session, but I was a bit unclear if they liked my music. The hurdy-gurdy is not an instrument played in traditional Irish music.”
The musicians at the session were far from put-off by the hurdy-gurdy. Nathan, in fact, had played with a hurdy-gurdy player in the past, though he was surprised that fate would put him in the path of another in this lifetime - there are precious few hurdy-gurdy players in America.
When Fred returned the following week, he was happy to discover that Scott and Nathan had learned his tunes. A trio, the first iteration of The Gaulway Ramblers, was born.
This trio, along with their permanent guest Douglas Coutts, began rehearsing outside of the session. With Scott providing melodies via his wooden flute and uilleann pipes, Nathan bringing rhythm and harmony with guitar and tenor banjo, and Fred’s mesmerizing drone of the hurdy-gurdy, they realized they needed some bass notes, some warmth to round out their tone. They reached out to two friends and frequent attendees of the session. Enter Emma with the dark richness of the viola, and CJ pinning it all down with percussion from the cajón. “We helped to strengthen the architecture of the sound,” CJ explained.
In a remarkably short period of time which surprised even the members of the band themselves, the Gaulway Ramblers were off to music festivals, performances, public and private concerts including a “tipi raising,” and even the International Viola Congress. They soon made their way to the studio to record their first album, self-titled “The Gaulway Ramblers,” which they recorded in two days. That same night they played before a live audience.
Curious about these festivals, particularly CelticFest Mississippi and Celtic Bayou Festival in Louisiana, I asked about the connection between Southern music and traditional Celtic tunes. “They share a common ancestor,” Scott explained. Digging deeper, I learned that what we call country music does indeed have roots in Celtic traditions, combined with gospel rhythms and vestiges of minstrel tunes.
Although the music on the album is a collection of traditional Irish and French tunes, the Gaulway Ramblers have created their own style, the likes of which have never been heard before.
“You call these tunes traditional French and traditional Irish, but do you ever cross them over, mix them up?” I asked.
“It’s inevitable,” Emma laughed. “It’s an intercultural tavern music experiment!”
“There are two ways to play traditional music,” Fred added, “respect the tunes or respect the spirit.” While each musician is professional and exacting, the Gaulway Ramblers absolutely respect the spirit of the music.
“This music was written to be the glue for society,”
Nathan went on. “It was the music of the people.” I recalled my experiences square dancing with strangers in my youth. “Very much like that,” Nathan agreed. “It was music for bringing people together to celebrate, dance, and even mourn.”
The musicians themselves are every bit as diverse as their instruments, as illustrated by their musical backgrounds and their “day jobs.”
Scott, Irish by heritage and hailing from Alabama, is a pharmacist. Steeped in Irish traditional music, he learned to adapt and lend his instruments to the French sound. Nathan, a luthier, has experience with an enormous variety of music with an emphasis on Midwestern old-time. Nathan claims his success in the band is due to an “ignorance perspective” of the French traditional sound, bringing fresh perspectives with his contributions. CJ, a graduate of Berklee College of Music who later composed music for projects in Atlanta and Los Angeles, fell in love with Columbus, Georgia where he oversees the operation of a veterinary clinic. CJ’s original instrument was the marimba. He was trained to be versatile, bringing in a background of jazz and gospel to round out the Gaulway Ramblers’ distinct sound.
Quite the opposite of CJ, Emma was trained as a strictly classical musician. Emma is a professional violist and teacher, playing gigs in orchestras, weddings, and churches. She had to break free of a lifetime of rigorous study to embrace these boisterous tunes. And Fred, the intercontinental hurdy-gurdy man, had to learn to incorporate the drone of his hurdy-gurdy into Irish melodies. He has now moved back to his homeland of France where he is a professor of quantum mathematics.
Who would guess that out of this quirky combination of backgrounds, geographical influences, and instruments such a joyous and coherent sound could arise? This is what surprised the band members the most. Asked what their secret is, each band member hesitated, then answers erupted. “Everyone is listening.” “We respect each other and the music and we’re constantly learning.” “We have so much fun.”
What’s next for the Gaulway Ramblers, I asked, concerned that the physical distance of their hurdy-gurdy player might pull the rug out from under their future. Not to worry, it turns out. Fred will return to the states for a visit this spring, and the Gaulway Ramblers have performances and festivals lined up. In June, they’ll make their way to Fred’s part of the world, where they’ve been invited to participate in the Festival International de Musique Universitaire in Belfort, France.
Before ending our interview, I asked each member of the band to tell me which tune they thought best for the uninitiated, the gateway tune to the Gaulway Ramblers.
Emma and CJ suggest, “Old Hag You Have Killed Me,” joyous and optimistic despite the name, which showcases each artist’s instrument in a layered effect. Scott voted for “A Bis,” the first song on their album as a feisty introduction. Both Fred and Nathan suggest “Mystique Mi-Raisin,” with its long, provocative introduction leading to “the most athletic tune on the album.”
As for that hurdy-gurdy, Fred revealed that the trends in sales of hurdy-gurdies point to Americans, and suggested that we may well look back someday and remember that time the Gaulway Ramblers heralded a boom for the hurdy-gurdy in American music.
Meanwhile, you can keep your eye on this jewel of a band by following them on Facebook, Instagram, or Bandcamp.
