People Near Here; 110; Liam Callaghan: The Water of Life

- Transcript
The the. Hello
and welcome to another edition of people near here. Paul and I are backstage at the Spectrum theater on St. Catherine Street in Montreal. Now we've come here to introduce you to a local fella a musician and singer whose brand of Celtic pop music is attracting quite a bit of attention not just here but all
over Canada. So come with us on stage and meet Liam Callahan and the water of life. The old Celtic music has been around for as long as the Spirit of St. Patrick or the Loch Ness monster or for that matter but Lee in Callahan's fresh approach to Celtic music has managed to introduce new generations to an ageless tradition rooted in the celebration of life. I mean we
sailed away on Monday night. We were bold in singing group flag pole. Every fresh modern take on six hours and sold long run shows don't need to borrow from the show Rod show something you like to watch. Let me read. LOL LOL LOL. There we are
told some of the things we were all saying that I'm not odd. We were all good. Falling down to the hour when Nolan told me don't bother to warm up guy to hold up my solo with the way the screen should run long long gone above. Her
soul rock soul. By this time
we were taken is by us and used by six different ways. We should first drank good hard Jane glass being in case we might never. Me mole let me try to do that the old man let me come along. Roy
Wiley What's that work exactly. And what's that right. What's that. Oh. Yeah education at work. Born into a large Irish family in Montreal 32 years ago Liam began
communicating as an actor in college but fell into singing when he discovered that he liked carrying a note that er than he did carrying a scene. Today Liam still lives in Montreal with his wife Jenny and their kids when she has the time. Jenny pursues a career as a polar researcher as often as he can but less than he'd like. Liam enjoys his family come six nights a week however he packs up his guitar says his goodbyes and heads for work. I start playing music because after I got out of theatre some friends asked me gesturing to you know they sang in the choir and that was the first time anyone ever told me that a choir and the choir leader in Smiths said they have a nice voice and before that I'd always been told to shut up. So I didn't understand so. When he was asked me always seen this sections you know needed the
strength. It kind of freaks me freaks me out. So when I got out other people were new and I knew a few Irish songs because the other stuff I listened to was something else. If you are a song so I sang with a few friends they said hey you should do this so I said OK so learn a few more songs and they want people to really tune into what I was doing you just have to be that Irish music was accessible to me then from my father playing records when I was growing up because when I listened to was like Zappa and all that kind of rebels and although you know in that kind of thing you know. Which didn't translate into sitting with a little guitar and playing you know. Yeah you're right. Because my guys we were going man these are. You really hear that you don't know why I think it was the pubs of Montreal they gave
Liam his first break here along with friends Liam saying traditional tunes and some that he wrote himself and they said you know I didn't really know anything about like 25 30 songs and I didn't play really well and they were very patient and they said hey you want to play so I said playing one night and I got a big crowd that night in my life slowly you know work the kinks out of these same music I don't know I just fell and then it grew and it grew and then I found more musicians and people who wanted to play and so we played together and then and that grew even more. You know so it now it's now it's sort of like steamrolling like and I'm credible right. WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY. But
then we put the band together and the band was like we did a show just for the for the crack as they sang you know means of fun you know want to get expression and it went over so well we said well we try you know let's do another show and we drew a hundred people of the spectrum and they were dancing he said Wow score and then you know people Carson come in and said you know hey we've got a good friendship going here because he put the shows together with me you know any backing you guy he was backseat for all the shows you know because if you can mean what he does he sold beer and I sell music you know and I still got there and I go very well together. Yes but it's better still where you sit. What's it like what are we
going to see. What was said last fall was to take back almost from the beginning. Liam had the good fortune of attracting an appreciative audience and spilled musicians who wanted to play with them. But no meeting was as fortuitous as the one with David Gossage an accomplished musician composer and arranger who had cut his teeth playing rhythm and blues in the bars of Montreal. Well as an accomplished musician and you come from a musical family I mean you're both your brother's room his band your water wife. What did you see Liam Callahan that made you stick with it with him with the concept. Oh I like that I like Liam's songs and I really like Liam's energy and stuff
and I like you know his way of really conveying a song when he plays like he's always very forceful and right up front which which I enjoy especially in this kind of music. And quite frankly I hadn't played in a Celtic music before and they're going to I'm a jazz player. You know he asked Really. Yeah you're a chance. Yeah. And he had asked me like I think seven years ago or six or seven years ago just to always know I've been playing jazz and you know I started playing around town and he I mean he asked me if I wanted to try some of his music you know any past me and my Lord Taylor. Wow that is Matt Malloy the cheaters to this and I was like I want to his idols yet because I'm really associated Celtic with everybody else except you know through a lawyer in the pub to you people to write and I had really heard the real good stuff you know and that was he sort of introduced me to it and when I heard there's a lot I'd like to I've been playing R&B and jazz in bars but turned my living I've been doing mostly sort of R&B loud and it was always I didn't get to play flute you know which really bugged you know because
that's that's my main instrument and the music was a challenge and I said Sure I'll play real you know I'd love to. We just took off from there. So you turn him on to the perseverance of practice makes perfect. Yes and he turned you on to the pure health exam. Yeah. Push it together. Liam and David took Liam's music to a new level with the generous support of Montreal Brewer Peter McCausland Liam David and the whole then found themselves at a recording studio called Fast forward laying down the tracks to their very first album. The CD features a generous collection of traditional Celtic tunes but what really stands out are the songs written by Liam Callahan. He
really means a touchdown on the Goal to one knee with my football meaning and I like bright stars for PSN a good sport taking time out to learn the game play a lot the song sing song love the poverty set by the light of God to tar his busy schedule to help Johnny all the men began when he gave the country back in the spotlight. I asked the Lord for good here taking
time out on the play in my back lot. Son sing a song on the poverty train run by God. I know he is busy schedule. Hello John the brick you mean the living room front of my TV. Sit with my lot hurry. Hey kid a guy
from my little prayer mode takes some time out with me you know what a lot of the son was taught her he lost. By the time I can show Johnny all the may or may not is 5 billion up in high this planet. Most live a little longer than the Spalding but God's taking time to win people over games will get very very cold the sun tzu being told God love the plumber to
suck the life God. Tom I'm not busy told that Johnny all agree with me. To me almost every day. Some great guys want to give a lift. Is that
hard. Night after night going up and singing doing what you do for a living because that's what you do for a living. I sometimes I find it excruciating really difficult. And I'm on stage and I feel like crying you know I mean that I mean like seriously but I mean there are certain other times it's beautiful. Last night I played a set played like a 40 45 minute said I took all my songs and I brought them down like two or three notches because St. Paddy's had been so banged on the head and I just took everything down to a couple notches and it was magical. And I just hate it and everyone was listening I was playing my own stuff I was playing in stuff playing tunes I played a million times before and I just took everything down a few notches slowed it down and that to me was beautiful. You know it was really felt good and I got off feeling that I had really made a statement in there with what I was doing and that's what I. Those are nice moments and there's moments when you're just seen like that. Everyone you know you're just a wall
mural you know. A little flashing jukebox in the corner of the stage and people really don't have any idea of what it is that you're doing. Is your family supportive of your music. Yes 100 percent me even more. Your mommy still lives in my dad's to my death and for 11 years he never saw me play. Really the last thing you saw me do was play Evans or Scrooge in A Christmas Carol where you can be funny he said. My mother said he turned to me and turned to her after that play and said I didn't know he was sick. And then she said when she first saw me first perform Irish music she said he would turn to me and said the same thing. So it's funny. But you know he never got he was the one that is the music that made me inspired that silly thing. So I have a couple of his hanging in the old Dublin pub that has been Sebring or Callahan that hangs on the rock they have a bunch of pewter pewter mugs and I have it hanging so he's like there I want to you know I'm not really in that kind of like spiritual thing but I put it there is sort of something for me
you know. It was my move. Was
was. Wow. Well that's it that's all the time we have for this edition of people near here. We'd like to thank you for tuning in and we'd like to thank our hand and life for having us up to Montreal.
Thank you it's been a lot of fun. Thank you guys I appreciate you guys telling I will question why don't we understand Callahan part of the title what it's the water of life. I don't quite understand. Oh and in our land the water of life is like a magical spirit like the ghost of Christmas now like us but I don't like this guy. The
You're you're you're you're.
- Series
- People Near Here
- Episode Number
- 110
- Producing Organization
- Mountain Lake PBS
- Contributing Organization
- Mountain Lake PBS (Plattsburgh, New York)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/113-55z61bp9
- NOLA
- PNEH-11
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/113-55z61bp9).
- Description
- Episode Description
- "Liam Callaghan, a second-generation Irishman, keeps his roots alive in Montreal, Quebec, by leading one of Canada's favorite Celtic bands from pub to pub.*(episode number on tape label and/or slate may be incorrect)"
- Series Description
- People Near Here is a documentary series that explores Adirondack history and culture.
- Date
- 1995-00-00
- Genres
- Documentary
- Interview
- Topics
- Local Communities
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Duration
- 00:28:01
- Credits
-
-
Camera Operator: Muirden, Derek
Editor: Frederick, Paul
Producer: Muirden, Derek
Producing Organization: Mountain Lake PBS
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Mountain Lake PBS (WCFE)
Identifier: 0075A (MLPBS)
Format: Betacam: SP
Generation: Master
Duration: 30:00:00
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “People Near Here; 110; Liam Callaghan: The Water of Life,” 1995-00-00, Mountain Lake PBS, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed July 2, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-113-55z61bp9.
- MLA: “People Near Here; 110; Liam Callaghan: The Water of Life.” 1995-00-00. Mountain Lake PBS, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. July 2, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-113-55z61bp9>.
- APA: People Near Here; 110; Liam Callaghan: The Water of Life. Boston, MA: Mountain Lake PBS, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-113-55z61bp9