Woodn't It Be Nice?
Shiver our timbers – we’re going teak at the knees! The Chieftains are headlining a concert in Tullamore in support of the international Sound of Wood campaign. Jackie Hayden talks to Paddy Moloney and the concert’s main motivator Tom Roche.
Jackie Hayden, 15 Nov 2010
Tom Roche of the Just Forests organisation is delivering an impromptu lecture. “An estimated 200 different species of trees are used to make musical instruments,” he says. “Ebonies, rosewoods and mahoganies have been valued for centuries for their resonance and beauty, but now at least 80 of these species are threatened with extinction in the wild.”
This has, he emphasises, has serious ramifications for musicians but also for the public at large. Music fans will suffer the loss of the beautiful and irreplaceable sounds lovingly drawn from a variety of instruments – from guitars and pianos to woodwind and uillean pipes – but the planet will suffer too.
“The decline of timber species is not merely a third world issue,” says Roche. “The majestic Sitka Spruce of Alaska could be gone in six years. That is the main source for numerous musical instrument soundboards. The fear that we might lose it forever has prompted Gibson Guitars, Martin Guitars and Baldwin Pianos to join forces with Greenpeace to highlight the issue around the world.”
As part of their support for this campaign in Ireland, Just Forests is organizing the ‘Sound of Wood’ Concert, headlined by The Chieftains, on Wednesday November 24 in the Tullamore Court Hotel with tickets priced at €50. As Roche says: “It’s marvelous that The Chieftains have agreed to support the campaign in such a positive way. This is a really serious issue. We want Irish musicians to reflect this potential tragedy in their music. Maybe we can inspire Irish music-lovers into action to address a problem of global importance. When musicians and songwriters get hold of an idea they can be terrific at creating awareness with the wider community, and that’s what this concert is all about. This is not charity. This is an issue that has serious consequences for everybody if we don’t act now.”
Just Forests have a website www.justmusic.ie, which has a section entitled ‘Friends of Wood’. One of those 'friends' is singer-songwriter Paul Brady. As Brady says: “Enlightened tone freaks understand the core of your guitar sound begins with its most fundamental component: wood. Mother Earth has provided exquisite ‘tonewoods’ for our musical instruments. It’s up to us as musicians to spread the message of conservation and Fair Trade as a means of ensuring these fascinating woods continue to provide beautiful music. So come onboard and get involved in Just Forests.”
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