Drank The Gold Offers The Nourishment of Irish Traditional Music to Upstate New York and More

Q&A by Brad Balfour

By now, it’s a familiar story. Due to the pandemic lockdown, bands and performers found themselves frozen out of live venues and were in danger of being driven out of the business entirely. For upstaters Oona Grady and James Gascoyne — an American Irish music duo who operate as Drank the Gold — they too were so threatened. It wasn’t so much about financial survival. Fortunately, this Irish trad group (based in Saratoga Springs, NY) had a robust enough business teaching music.

But, by not performing live, they were in danger of getting too rusty to further their plans to create and record a new album. Their 2019 debut album, Sipped The Silver, was their most recent and they had planned a return to the studio.

Said James on the phone, “We were afraid of getting rusty; playing live keeps us well-oiled. So we didn’t start recording as we had planned for 2020.”

Though they haven’t yet released another one, they’ve kept busy, and as James declared,  “We’re on our way to a gig (!) so will keep this short for now… you can find Sipped The Silver on our website as well as some videos.”

On their site is their collective biography which is as follows:

Steeped in Irish music for as far back as she can remember, Grady spent many years living in Cork, Ireland, where she honed her skills as a fiddle player and Irish music specialist. Upon moving back to her hometown of Ithaca, NY, Grady immersed herself in the local traditional music scene and incorporated old time and Cajun tunes into her repertoire.

Growing up outside Louisville, KY, Gascoyne was surrounded by music from an early age; radio, vinyl records, church music, and live concerts were a part of daily life. Finding his own musical style as an adult, Gascoyne always keeps his ears open for sounds – new, old, familiar, or strange. By singing — plus playing guitar and banjo — with Drank The Gold, he delves into the traditions of American old time and Irish dance tunes, while keeping true to his borderless, experimental musical roots. Now based in Saratoga Springs, NY, Grady and Gascoyne collaborate as Drank The Gold, bringing new perspectives and innovative arrangements to the music they love. As they say, “Craic agus ceol (good times and music).”

Given such an interest in Irish music and beyond, questions were sent and answers recieved about this duo and the Irish music scene upstate.

Q: When did you individually develop your love for music, Irish music and performing it live?

OG: I grew up in an Irish American music loving family. While my parents aren’t musicians, we were always listening to music on the stereo and they brought me to hear live music from an early age.

I remember seeing Solas, the Irish band founded in the 90s when they were first forming, and looking up to them as if they were rock stars. In addition, growing up in Ithaca, NY, I heard a lot of other types of roots music, especially American old time.

Family friends were musicians and would break out the instruments at house parties, and organized a music festival, called GrassRoots, that featured music from all over the world.

So, growing up, playing and listening to music seemed to be a very natural part of everyday life! I started violin lessons when I was four years old, and Irish fiddle when I was 10 – and was encouraged to perform right away. My parents brought me to play in the local Irish session when I was a teenager, and encouraged me to busk on a family trip to Ireland when I was 12. I made 10 pounds!

JG: Some of my earliest memories are of going to concerts with my father and I think I had decided that I was going to do music long before I actually learned to play or sing! I think I was struck by the seemingly infinite array of possibilities. I heard classical music, pop, and rock on the radio, jazz, bluegrass and classic country and I loved it all.

I understand that music created on acoustic instruments, music that’s handmade, can have a deeper feeling than very produced pop music and heavily amplified rock. I’m more of a newcomer to Irish trad but this music definitely strikes that same nerve.

Until I started working with Oona in 2015, I didn’t really understand the depth and nuance of melody and phrasing in the traditional tunes. Now I’m even trying to learn the melodies on fiddle. Believe me, actually playing the tune melodies is a very different experience to hearing it played or even accompanying it on guitar. Something that’s been very rewarding about performing this music is playing for dancers.
This is music that was made for dancing and we’ve been very fortunate to perform at the Dance Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY, several times for ceili and set dances and for the sean-nos dancing classes.

OG: Yes, I absolutely love playing for dancing, and also I think my motivation to perform this music is to establish a connection with the audience – a synergy – whether they are dancing, or tapping their feet, or just breathing with us. I also love practicing on my own, and rehearsing, and playing informal music with friends. But there is a certain energy that is created when we share our music in a concert-type situation.

Since the pandemic, which curtailed our live performances, I was reminded of this. I really value the opportunity to share our creativity with others on a whole new level, now.

Q: What is the secret to you two working together?

JG: We have to give each other space to be our own musical selves.

OG: Yeah, we each bring really different backgrounds and strengths to our group – I come from more of a traditional music background, where James brings a more broad perspective. I think that when we can meld them together is when we really create something we are excited about.

JG: We also need performance opportunities to really bring our “A Game”. It’s hard to do music in a vacuum. We really need the energy of an audience to take us there.

Q: How do you choose the traditional songs you play?

JG: I tend to go for songs that are familiar but hopefully not too over played. I really like to have some kind of unique arrangement idea or twist to make it different from other peoples’ versions. For example, many folks have done “Raglan Road” but our version with the clawhammer banjo is a fresh perspective I think.

OG: I grew up playing Irish tunes on the fiddle, so I tend to draw on that really deep well of repertoire. But I also grew up listening to music from other fiddle playing traditions, including American old time. I find myself drawn to all different types of tunes and songs from a variety of traditions – I suppose that the through-line is that they tend to have a phrase or melody that catches my ear first.

When I sing and play, I try, on the one hand, to honor my source, while, on the other hand, finding a way to bring in my own expression and interpretation. Like James said, we look for a way to bring ourselves into this music, whether it be using an unusual instrumentation or a new arrangement, and so on.

JG: Exactly! Another example of our process is our version of the song, “Red Rocking Chair,” where we combine an old time arrangement that we heard from Bruce Molsky and others with elements of a very unique version by Doc Watson. I really like the idea of making a novel combination of different sources I’ve heard rather than drawing from a single recording.

Q: How do you two work together in writing originals?

JG: We actually have yet to collaborate on composing. I typically come up with a tune on banjo or fiddle, and then bring it to Oona to see what she thinks.

OG: I learn the new tune from James by ear and sometimes offer suggestions such as changing a note to make the melody flow better or make it easier to play. I see my role as sort of that of an editor or proof reader rather than the creator.
JG: Oona really is the expert when it comes to interpreting fiddle tunes. Often they don’t sound very Irish or old time-y until Oona takes them there.

OG: Actually, one of the tunes we are working on for the new record — a duel fiddle piece — I am writing a harmony part, so I guess we are collaborating on that one!

Q: Obviously you are a synthesis of influences — can you chart your evolution?

JG: We actually met at a cajun music camp and festival in Lafayette, LA, called Blackpot. I was playing bass with a band that was performing at the festival and my bandmates were teaching at the camp.

OG: I had heard from friends what a good time Blackpot was, so went for the week with one of my cousins. I met James in cajun band class when he let me borrow his bass for one song and then we found ourselves chatting around the campfire later that night

JG: Since we were both based in upstate NY, we stayed in touch. Our first collaboration was when I played with Oona’s family band, The Grady Girls, at the GrassRoots Festival.  But, of course, I had to learn how to accompany Irish tunes first!  Fortunately Oona gave me some incredible guidance as well as an extensive listening list.

OG: When we first started playing music together, we played mainly Irish dance tunes and gradually started incorporating songs. James got a clawhammer banjo a couple of years ago, and we started exploring old time music together.  He also started writing tune melodies on banjo, which has become a significant part of our set.

JG: I think the new record will have even more original tunes and maybe even some original songs as well, although we’ll always incorporate some traditional material.

OG: It’s been so fun to develop our sound around both James’ new compositions, which are in the style of traditional tunes, and also finding traditional material that we are inspired to reinterpret.

Q: And why the name?

OG: We considered a long list of terrible band names, and were practically ready to abandon the whole project, when in desperation we decided to look in an Irish children’s book for inspiration.

The book, The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea, has been passed around my family since my aunt got it during a trip to Ireland when I was small. Of course, we found what we were looking for right in the first paragraph of the prologue, which goes like this:
“At times, they dived into the track of the moon in the dark sea water and opened their mouths to swallow the silver.  At times, they plunged into the path of the sun in the green-blue ocean and opened their mouths and drank the gold.”

Q: What’s it like working in the upstate music scene, the best venues, and festivals?

JG: It’s been a real privilege to work with Caffe Lena. It’s really amazing to have a renowned spot for folk music right down the street. I had been going there since I moved to Saratoga in 2001 and they’ve always had incredible touring bands as well as supporting local talent. Since their renovation in 2017 they’ve stepped up their game even more.

OG: Growing up in Ithaca, one of the highlights of the summer music season was (and is) the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival. I used to perform there with my family band, The Grady Girls, and James and I released our album the weekend of the festival two years ago. It was a real hometown party for me!

JG: Before the pandemic we had a couple long standing weekly gigs on Mondays and Tuesdays. These were great for developing our sound by getting to perform at least twice a week.

Also out of that we started our own Irish sessun at The Inn at Saratoga, a historic hotel downtown. We were really happy that local musicians came out of the woodwork to participate and we were fortunate to get a couple people to travel to play.

Q: Besides this album, what others are planned?

OG: Sipped The Silver is our only official release so far. We’ve been working on lots of new material and are currently planning to release our second record this fall.

Q: What do you see for the future?

JG: We are just so excited to be working and performing again. We’ve got a lot of new material, we’re recording it ourselves, and we hope to release it this fall.

www.drankthegold.com