Artist: Celtic Elvis
CD: Hard To Be Real
Home: Contra Costa County, California
Style: Folk
Quote: "Celtic Elvis’ second CD is a collection of eleven
songs that tackle a variety of social issues with all the timidity of a rabid
pit bull".
As Celtic Elvis describes themselves, they are neither Irish nor big fans
of The King. What they are is a folk theater troupe from Contra Costa County,
California.
Celtic Elvis’ second CD, “Hard To Be Real,” is a collection of
eleven songs that tackle a variety of social issues with all the timidity of
a rabid pit bull. Harsher than Dave Letterman on PMS, more fickle than Judge
Judy with a hangover, Celtic Elvis is one socially-conscious band you just don’t
want to piss off.
Opening the album with “America is only as good as your next door neighbor,”
and closing everything with “C’est La Vie,” Celtic Elvis tackles
a number of modern day problems including plastic surgery, societal apathy,
Man’s refusal to get in touch with his emotions, a guy trying to date a
lesbian, three other songs about another guy just trying to get laid, acid rain,
and the post-wedding demise of the American Guy. Of course, no socially conscious
comedy album would be complete without an in-depth examination of a man’s
struggle between his brain and his... other brain, including the obligatory
Fornigate references.
If there’s a theme throughout the entire album, it’s “Men have
serious problems.” Of the eleven songs on the album, eight of them deal,
in whole or in part, with male issues and the problems men face (nine if you
count “She Likes Girls” -- the one about the guy trying to date a
lesbian). My favorite track? Little Head. It should be covered by Mark Russell
during one of his PBS comedy specials, or at least played by all the folk radio
stations around the country.
Although Celtic Elvis calls themselves a comedy folk band, they cast an angry
eye at some of the topics they sing about. Take, for example, their view of
the death of the Modern American Guy after marriage in Help Me Help Me (I Think
I’m Turning Into My Wife):
They were joined at the wallet, they were joined at the heart
They were cemented together, you couldn’t tell them apart
They were a two headed beast, you could tell from the very start
With no clear direction, she could nudge him along
And then he lost his affection, his desire was gone
And then he used his aggression to fertilize the lawn
Celtic Elvis is made up of Jim Ocean, Barbara Griseau, Randy Anger (surprisingly
NOT the writer of “Help Me Help Me” or “Male Pattern Numbness”),
Cecelia Pierotti, Rich Wescott. Between the five of them, there are three guitars,
percussion, a bass, an accordion, and a violin (there’s even a pizza box
listed in the press kit). And of course, all of them sing different parts of
different songs throughout the album.
The music itself is simple and not overpowering, which works in Celtic Elvis’
favor, since their main focus is to showcase the words and ideas behind the
music -- the instruments are just there to provide backup to the message Elvis
is sending (although I really like the folksy, unpretentious violin work of
Cecelia Pierotti, who is also in three symphony orchestras).
If you’re a fan of Arlo Guthrie, Loudon Wainwright III, or even Mark Russell,
or just like sharp, biting criticism of modern social problems, then you’ll
definitely like Celtic Elvis. They’ve been around for years, and given
the veritable cornucopia of dumb things our society does, they’ll be around
for many more.
http://www.wildplum.org/celticelvis
