, orchestrated form. It would be imitation rather than a real expression. So the only hope I see is for people to find individual expression in it. Right now most of the traditional music I hear.... seems like a work in progress. There's an evolution taking place, a fast evolution, and of course, certain mistakes and avenues will appear and then be blocked off or will be just not very fertile ground for music. What's happening is that there's a homogenized style of music developing, which is, I think, part of the common language of the music. And I think it's an important part of the process. I know people are very scared, but I think there are two logical conclusions to this: People keep playing it and eventually are bored, and eventually frustrated by not enough individual expression, and so lots of things get tried out - Celtic rock gets tried out, jazz music, they bring in rhythm sections from any part of the world, they're doing all these kinds of things - you hear it on albums all over the place. Because there's that need, that feeling, to do something unique and different. And yet, what happens, you chase that down, and the further and further you chase that, the next thing you're playing jazz music and rock music - you've left the Irish music behind. And so now you start scratching your head and go "I'm in a whole other genre, and that's not what I wanted." Another conclusion is that it'll all become just one traditional music, just become one generic style, and it'll just fade out, or people will get bored and start looking into other areas. It's a wonderful experiment and I've enjoyed a lot of the music that's come out of that whole area, but it's an adjunct, it's not the avenue, it's not the natural course for the music. I think that the natural evolution, now that regional styles are dying off, is for much more individual expression it would then be as rich as there are people and individuality. So the music ultimately has enormous possibilities, because everyone is a unique collection of emotions and feelings.
The only thing that's meaningful is the music, so long as you can make it in a meaningful way. If, for example, you think competitively about music, if you think about it as a business, a financial thing that you're involved in, it you think about it as something you must do, if you feel pressures to perform on stage, if your ego is seated to be appeased in a performance of this music, all is lost in a sense. If pride takes the place of humility in music, it's lost. In order to get to the heart of the music you must have pure expression. Whenever I hear music that's set out to impress me, I'm unimpressed largely. I'm amazed and dazzled at the proficiency and technique and the intelligence of the language and the complexity at times, but if that's what it sets out to achieve, it's absolutely pointless. It's missed the initial point, the core meaning of music. And an awful lot of music does that. You'd almost want to have the childlike simplicity again and just go, "I like that. That's nice." A big thing with a lot of musicians is the fear to play something very simple and delicate, in case somebody would think you weren't a great fiddler or something. In order to get your own individual expression, would you have to become a highly technically proficient musician? The answer really is no, I don't think that that's as important as getting your head straight, and getting your heart in the right place.
After that initial experience, I played with lots of musicians from different musical backgrounds in Chicago, and that had a certain effect. It's like taking something and putting it against a different backdrop to look at it. You begin to see it in many different ways and you get a clearer picture of it. I went through that experience. I played everything from wedding music to planing out and out rock tunes at extreme volume levels. to playing electric fiddle. to playing cocktail hours. all kinds of things, which normally traditional ethnic music isn't exposed to
Since then, I've completely submitted to the notion that I'11 play what's in my heart, I'll play what I feel. and I'll try and not make any commercial judgments I'll try and not make any decisions that would be easy to make in terms of popular choice or whatever. I'll just try and believe in a divine existence in this world that will pull me into doing some things. I'll just do what comes naturally to me while I have the talent to do it, and follow where that leads me, and assume that it will take care of me if I take care of it.
Music is to be shared, it's a sharing experience. It's nice to be able to sit there and get some sublime feeling inside yourself, some sense of ecstasy, and loss, and excitement. and vigor, and translate it out, and let it ripple out and be magnified as it goes through people. And it does get energized by other people feeling it and sensing it - it gets strengthened. And you could do it with one note, if there was enough purity and strength behind it. Micho Russell for me is always a case in point - he's not into any technical frills or anything like that, and I don't think he takes himself seriously in an artistic sense, or ever thinks or talks about it. but what the man has is a lot of natural purity, a lot of natural loveliness as a person. And he goes out and he is himself.
Music to me is a very spiritual and philosophical thing, and it's very much an integrated part of my life, more and more so. It didn't always have to be that way. At one time I would have said to myself "Now hold on a second, Micho Russell, Junior Crehan and Bobby Casey don't need to do that, they don't have to think about that," but then again, you know, I'm not Junior Crehan and I'm not Bobby Casey, and I'm not Micho Russell, so I guess I'll have to do it my way. It is a more complex time these days, there are more complex issues to be thought out, even though you end up coming down to the most fundamental and simple principles in the end. It's a complicated process to weed through all that, it's like a process of unlearning in some ways
Competition doesn't make any sense to me.... especially in music because there is no way of ranking music in any order. There are so many variables.... And there's a lot of ego damaging at competitions. It had two effects on me it had a very encouraging effect, convincing me that I had something that was worthwhile, and that I was good at what I did and that I should continue. That was very useful But it also had the negative effect of inflating the ego. We live in a world that adores competition Competition implies winners, and to imply a winner, implies a loser, so why do we adore systems of anything that imply losing? We seem, as human beings, to have this competitive need, and we make holy and venerate concepts of competition, winning, and being a winner.... it's a pity to see that aspect of life creeping into music. In truth it doesn't make any sense. It's not a good thing.
I don't think too much about the future.... I'm kind of happy enough to make it through the year, you know? This is not the most commercial music around, so I have to be content to have a lot of enjoyment in some areas of my life, and I may have to make some compromises in other areas. You can't have it all. I can't have a big fancy house, and a big fancy car, and play the most pure folk music I know - well, maybe I can some day, I don't know. I don't really care. I can't even afford to think that. Since my life is concerned with playing music, I'll do it, I'll go where I've got to go to play it, and where there are people who want to hear it.‘He’s always got bangers’: How Joel Edmundson became DJ Eddy and a serious candidate for Canadiens captain
The Canadiens walked off the ice after a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre in late February, and that’s when the music in their locker room began to play.
It began with “The Thrill” by Wiz Khalifa, a song where the Pittsburgh rapper delivers bars over a sample of “Walking On A Dream” by indie band Empire of the Sun. Then it was “Praise You”, the classic hit record from British producer and DJ Fatboy Slim.
Some people might not mind the musical choices, but it only made the work of reporters in the media room next door all that much harder. They couldn’t hear a thing when Brendan Gallagher was answering questions, and, at times, he couldn’t hear us.
We now know that the music came from Joel Edmundson’s ‘Win’ playlist. It’s a short playlist that has two other songs: “Too Bad” by Nickelback and “Push the Feeling On” by Nightcrawlers.
The Senators’ visitors room has a 2 1/2 foot tall boombox decorated with lights. Edmundson just couldn’t resist.
“In Ottawa, they got a great speaker there so we always have it full blast,” Edmundson told The Athletic. “Some of these rinks you got to, they have the small little speaker so it doesn’t get you as fired up. So, when