The Dallas Morning News
The Killdares revel in unique sound

Mario Tarradell | March 17, 2007

Local Celtic rock band the Killdares poses for pictures behind the Belmont Hotel while perched atop a hill that overlooks downtown Dallas' signature skyline.

The sight of the group's five members (drummer and founder Tim Smith, 36; bassist Jim Dawson, 43; fiddle virtuoso Roberta Rast, 30; bagpipes specialist Matt Willis, 28; and electric guitarist Brek Lancaster, 41) towering over the bustle of the Big D makes them seem larger than life. They resemble royalty guarding their kingdom below.

Since its inception a decade ago, the Killdares has staked its territory as the only Celtic rockers in the local scene, perhaps even all of Texas. The quintet plays an energized fusion of driving rock 'n' roll and traditional Celtic textures, namely Mr. Willis' regal bagpipes and Ms. Rast's versatile fiddle. Think the Alarm and Big Country filtered through Black 47 and Ireland's majestic traditionalism.

After the photos, the band sits by the pool and bungalow area to perform an acoustic version of "Daylight (Come and Go)," which was originally heard on its latest studio CD, 2005's Any Given Element. Even though this rendition of the song lacks the muscle of Mr. Smith's drums or the beat of Mr. Dawson's bass, seeing Mr. Willis working the bagpipes while Ms. Rast gently strums the fiddle immediately tells you this is a band like no other around here.

"For the most part that's a positive thing for us," Mr. Smith says about the Killdares' unique place in the regional music scene. "That puts us out for more criticism and more focused critiques, but it's also a blessing, 'cause when it comes to that style of music in the Southwest region, we are pretty much it. In today's industry you gotta be good and different. We're different and good." And if the Killdares are the sole Celtic rock unit on an island, surrounded by an ocean of Texas country, modern rock, hip-hop and neo-soul R&B, so be it. They aren't about to change. "The five of us shoot for the same goal, but we come from such diverse backgrounds, hard rock and folk, straight-up traditional music," says Mr. Smith.

"My idea of creating a Celtic rock band was a rock band with Celtic influences in mind. The way it comes out is the way it comes out. There is no stressing for a certain sound. It is all written in a diverse fashion, and the main thing is that rock delivery that pushes us into a different realm. There is no conscious decision to be a rock band or a Celtic band. The music speaks for itself, and we have so far been successful for 10 years."

Back in March 1996, Mr. Smith, a native Texan who calls Irving his hometown, had an idea to take his love of rock music — inspired by Kiss, the Alarm, the Waterboys and the Clash, to name a few — and fuse it with Celtic instruments. At first the Killdares sound emerged more like traditional folk, he admits. But through 10 years of personnel changes it has morphed into exactly what he envisioned.

"The nature of the music industry can be a strange beast," he says. "Players come and go as they may, and that essentially happened with us. My intention was always to welcome all that wanted to go through this journey with me. Every album has improved, the personnel have improved, the bagpiping has improved, the fiddling has improved, the songwriting has improved. And it's all because of the players that are in this band. We are tighter, more professional and just better."

Still, the clincher for this group lies in the hands of Mr. Willis and Ms. Rast. Mr. Willis, a native of California who moved to Austin when he was 14, plays the Highland bagpipes as well as the Scottish small pipes and the Uilleann pipes (pronounced "illen"). He's an award-winning bagpipe instructor in his spare time and has competed internationally at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

Joining the Killdares more than two years ago, Mr. Willis found his vehicle for casting the pipes in a different light.

"Playing bagpipes in a rock band is a way of challenging myself to adapting a folk instrument that was never intended to be played with other instruments, to take that challenge head on and broaden the use of the bagpipes," says Mr. Willis. "So I have this opportunity with this rock band to have people thinking about the bagpipes that would never think of the bagpipes. I hear all the time 'I really don't like the bagpipes, but I like what you do.' I take this rather obscure instrument and open people's eyes about how it is used and how it's incorporated."

As for Ms. Rast, a fiddle champion from Boise, Idaho, who now lives in North Texas, the Killdares was her outlet for escaping the rigidity of growing up classically trained on the instrument. "I am very open-minded with music," says Ms. Rast, who joined the Killdares five years ago. "I was raised with traditional fiddle music, and I was taught that there were rules and it was all black and white. I had to break away from that. I needed to figure out what else I could do with this instrument. It was either country music or the classical route. This is perfect for me. I love rock music, and I didn't want to be in a country band. I want to make people aware of fiddle music and the different styles. It's not all about Celtic music and the competitions. This instrument has so many things it could do, so many styles it can accomplish."

That could be a mantra for the Killdares. As the band continues to work the festival circuit — bashes from Kansas City and Bethlehem, Pa., to Tulsa and Dallas — and as it further cements its reputation as a primo club act at local venues such as Poor David's Pub, Emerald Mist Irish Pub, Gypsy Tea Room and Tipperary Inn, it won't alter a note of its music or a thread of its kilts.

"We never have changed our music or our show to cater to anybody, any venue or any event," says Mr. Smith. "Our music is so universal that it speaks for itself. It has allowed us to remain who we are."