Their songs surge a vibe of thrashing punk and Irish dance music while lyrically intoxicating listeners as they absorb the music and alongside glasses of beer, vodka and whiskey.
The band Amadan uses traditional instruments and a variety of other tools that add flair to their unique Irish music. Amadan’s six members were not born in Ireland, yet still follow the traditional Irish notes and add strong energetic attitude to pump up the volume.
“Its very eclectic,” said lead vocalist and guitarist Eric Tonsfeldt.
Many of the group members, including Tonsfeldt, grew up listening to punk music. He thinks the addition of punk to Irish music gives it a jarring, but traditional percussion.
“You could basically take a traditional Irish tune and add serious energy to it,” said Tonsfeldt. “It’s like Irish music given steroids, dragged out into the street and beaten seven or eight times and basically left to die in the gutter.”
The band laughs over the comments of Tonsfeldt as his descriptions of Irish punk music reverberate head banging and fist raising.
Jeremy Bauer, who plays the whistle, spoons, mouth, snare drum and background vocals, reflects upon this Irish-punk style.
“We play at weddings and see sons lifting their grandmas up out of their wheel chairs because they want to dance,” Bauer laughingly said.
Band member Andy Gross plays the Australian didgeridoo and is also a background vocalist. Gross believes the kinds of instruments the band uses creates a more distinct percussion.
“It’s a bunch of diverse musicians,” Gross said. “We have a mix of different musical instruments and musical backgrounds.”
The band has been playing together for four years but experienced personnel changes in the molding of the group. Tonsfeldt noted that Amadan originally started out as a three piece band that migrated to a six piece band.
“We started out as very much a joke,” Tonsfeldt said. “Sort of a good scam for a college student.” Tonsfeldt noted the personnel changes in the band have been an overall improvement.
“People come and go and we’ve reached the lineup we have now, which we really like,” Tonsfeldt said.
Amadan has released their first professional CD titled Sons of Liberty. Many of the songs mirror traditional Irish music but their additions of different instruments give their CD a unique sound.
Amore de mes Amores/The Gates of Aberdee, the first song on the new album, sets a traditional tone for the Irish band. A history lesson of the battles fought during 1664 tells a story of the Irish men who fought for their freedom. Amadan’s percussion in their first song sounds like a charge into battle as the beat intensifies throughout the song.
The Republic, another song on their CD, implies resistance, desperation, and the promise of things to come. The Republic is a song with historical reference to the battles fought against the English.
Amadan spent 36 hours recording their CD. According to the group, they scrambled to get this CD out so they could have something to present in the upcoming Irish festivals.
“We realized that you can either spend a lot of time being supremely anal and get everything exactly how you want it, or you can just kick out how you play all the time,” Tonsfeldt said.
Most of the band members in Amadan were born in Oregon. The band has performed in Canada, Washington and Oregon.
While Amadan spends much of their time traveling and playing, it’s not their career goals. According to a few members, playing music is just something they enjoy as a hobby or second job.
“We’re not trying to make a living doing music,” said Tonsfeldt.
“I’m just trying to have fun with my friends,” said Gross.
“We can play at a show with no people and still have a good time,” said Bauer.
Simply, they have come together as a band to enjoy the one thing they all love to do, which is playing music.
“It’s very much a passion and definitely a second full-time job,” said Tonsfeldt. “It’s an outlet for the group and it’s easy to spend a lot of time doing this.”
The group stays busy as they continue their education. Tonsfeldt is working on his Ph.D. at Oregon State University. He is studying biomechanics, which is anatomy, physiology and engineering. Bauer graduated from OSU in 2001 with a Bachelor in Entomology, the study of insects. He plans on starting his Ph.D in biomechanics as well. Gross majored in civil engineering and is following his passion for flight instructing. According to the group, education is the driving force but music is something that keeps them busy.
“I always knew I needed to play music,” said Tonsfeldt. “It’s the ultimate relief.”
According to Amadan, some of the traditional Irish music is somewhat slow and morose. To counter this, the group thought incorporating different instruments would allow the traditional Irish music to blend with creative punk sounds. They are not trying to change the traditional sounds but would like people to view Irish music differently.
“I guess I’m trying to change the way punk musicians are seen ,as well as Irish musicians,” said Tonsfeldt.
The combined sounds of traditional Irish music and punk create an interesting perspective of new age music. The band’s rhythmic tone captures the essence of Irish folk and displays a much needed twist to traditional Irish music. Amadan does a respectable job recognizing traditional Irish history while keeping their music fresh with a variety of different instruments. Amadan is a band rooted in punk but its music integrates a soft mixture of ol’ Irish rhythm.
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