Times Record News, Wichita Falls TX – July 24, 2009
By Richard Carter
 
Celtic rock band The Killdares left a little more behind them than fond memories of their music after an appearance a year ago at the Iron Horse Pub.   Above the bar, alongside framed pictures of famous guests, hangs band member Roberta Rast’s electric fiddle.  A Pub regular liked the group’s Celtic-inspired music so much that he bought her fiddle.Rast will reunite with that fiddle when the five-piece outfit plays the pub 10 p.m. today.
 
The Killdares have performed at the Iron Horse often over the past eight years.
 
Singer and drummer Tim Smith began the band about 12 years ago, shortly after college in Dallas. The lineup includes guitarist Brek Lancaster, Matt Willis on bagpipes and bassist Troy Gallaher, who joined the group in January.
 
“We all have heritage from Ireland and Scotland, for sure,” Smith said. Smith’s father’s side is descended from Scotland and his mother from Ireland. He grew up listening to traditional Irish music but never envisioned himself the strictly traditional sort. So he combined that sound with rock, independent and alternative music. “It was only natural to combine the two,” he said. “Those styles work together on paper and sonically.”
 
A lot of people don’t understand what Celtic rock is when they first hear the term, he added. “They usually think, ‘Cool, we will see you at St. Patrick’s Day.’ They think we are a once-a-year band or a green-beer band. We really have nothing to do with that.”
 
The Killdares is a rock ‘n’ roll band with Celtic tinges, he said.
 
The band’s influences range from REM to progressive rock bands like Yes to bluegrass musician Alison Krauss to The Chieftans, The Clash and The Pogues. Add ’80s bands like Big Country and The Alarm and filter everything through a modern blender and that sort of describes the group’s sound.
 
The Killdares’ set includes original material and traditional numbers the band has modernized and revved up.
 
Beyond doling out its eclectic sound at the Pub, the Dallas band has performed from New York to Arizona. The group has played clubs and national festivals with headliners like Hoobastank, Gin Blossoms and Black Crowes.
 
The Killdares also play clubs like the House of Blues in Dallas, community art centers and, of course, Irish pubs. “It sounds crazy, but we really can play any venue in any market.”
 
The band is named after County Kildare, Ireland, which shares a name with a small town in Texas. “I added another ‘l’ for more power,” Smith said.
 
The group is pretty busy these days playing more shows at this same point than in previous years. And the group is beginning to write for the next CD.
 
Besides this weekend’s show, The Killdares will return to Wichita Falls in August to headline the Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred concert (the band performed at the HHH in 2007), and they’ll return for the 10th year to the State Fair of Texas in September.
 
Smith said, “We are very fortunate in this industry to still operate in the DIY principle and have a successful career.”
 
Link to Interview