YouTube series captures local musicians playing

In the 1930s, folklorist John Lomax and his son Alan set off across the southern United States in search of folk and blues songs that may have existed for decades but had never been recorded. The field recordings they made helped to pluck numerous performers and songs from obscurity and ensured their material would be heard for generations to come. That project was among the inspirations for 'Play Your Tune' - a new initiative in Athlone which is producing high-quality video recordings of talented musicians and posting them on the YouTube website. The series is the brainchild of Anthony Doyle from Kiltoom. So far, ten episodes have been uploaded to YouTube, each featuring a different artist. The official launch of 'Play Your Tune' will take place with a gig in the Prince of Wales Hotel on Friday week, August 3. "From playing music in Athlone I know that there are so many talented musicians and great songs in the area," explained Anthony. "I was thinking that if they weren't recorded they would disappear and nobody would ever hear them." Athlone bands and musicians that have been featured on 'Play Your Tune' so far include The Driftwood Manor, The Orphans, Secrecy of State, Shawn Allen, Fergal Milton Aoife Doolan and Bill Sheriff. There have also been performances by Daithi Rua from Offaly, Dave Morrissey from Laois, and Audrey Ryan from Maine in the US. The episodes, which have a very distinctive and artistic visual style, were recorded in locations as diverse as an abandoned church, The Shack pub, and a boat on the River Shannon. "We just want to try and keep it as real as possible. I'm part of the Making Space art group in Athlone and there's a chance in the videos to promote art and sculpture as well as music," said Anthony. The episodes were filmed by Aoife Doolan and Denis McCormack, though Anthony's mother Marian also helped out by manning the camera in one instance. Anthony said the recording process began in February but it has been time-consuming as each episode takes 30 hours to edit. "It does take a long time but I enjoy doing it and it's something I'd like to continue. All of the recordings have been in Athlone so far, but in the future I'd like to record people further afield. I'd also be interested in going down the line of organising gigs and events," he said. Another seven episodes, featuring the likes of Anne Marie Hynes, Denis McCormack and Gavin Ghee, have been recorded and are expected to uploaded on YouTube over the coming weeks. The launch gig for 'Play Your Tune' on August 3 will be headlined by blues-rock band Crow Black Chicken, who were described by Anthony as "serious live performers." Crow Black Chicken made their Glastonbury Debut on the BBC Introducing Stage in 2011 and have been tipped as a band to watch. Support will be by The Orphans, and there will also be DJ set from Shane Tivenan. Tickets priced €10 are on sale from the Prince of Wales Hotel, Athlone Tile Centre, Midland Sound, Sound Factory and The Cosy Kitchen. To watch the 'Play Your Tune' episodes, log on to www.youtube.com and search for 'Play Your Tune Athlone'.