Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? Ceilí Moss (Ceilí is Irish Gaelic for a dance party with traditional music, Moss was the nickname of Alain Mossiat, the boss of the pub where we learned to deal with stagefright in the early 90s)

How was the band formed? The band was founded in the autumn of 1994 by Benjamin Delforge (accordion, drums, tin whistle) and Yannick Sterpin (guitar, vocals, harmonica), two schooldays friends from Namur (South of Belgium) who shared a love for Irish folk music. 2 years later, they wanted to expand their sound and invited more friends to join: Laurent Leemans (vocals, guitar, that's me writing btw), Michael Goffioul (piano) and Yves Van Elst (pipes, flutes, vocals). There have been many changes in the line-up over the years and now Ceilí Moss is a sextet. If all goes well, the next recording will see CM release two albums with the same line-up for the first time ;)

Can you tell about your band? It's a fun and friendship affair, above all.

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? All members come from Namur, or lived there when the band started. The members today are Matthieu Collard (fiddle), Stéphane Jalhay (electric guitar), Laurent Leemans (vocals, acoustic guitar), Thibaud Misson (double bass), Jeremy Pinera (drums) and Yves Van Elst (transverse flute, pipes, backing vocals)

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? In the beginning, it was all about having fun, playing entertaining songs we liked from the Irish, Breton and Scottish songbook, some f*** up covers, having a good time and some free pints. I like to think we are more ambitious now but have not discarded that no-nonsense approach that playing music is also playing with music.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? Draw a triangle with The Pogues, Louise Attaque and The Levellers as angles. We drift within that triangle. We play acoustic folk-rock with a biting edge, not as noisy as The Dropkick Murphys, but strength is not only about how many Marshalls you can pile up...

Where was your first gig? It was in the pub "L'éblouissant" in Namur, sometime in the spring of 1993. It was merely the "Drunken Danny Rover of the County Down in the Jar" played with enthusiasm and not enough technique, but we felt prouder than if we had gotten Wembley on its knees!

Where was the latest gig? Last gig was in november 2013 at the Cultural Centre of Eghezée, a small town not far from Namur. Since then, members have been busy with side projects, and we have written new songs.

Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Benjamin Delforge used to write most of the songs, and since he left the ship, I'm the main composer. I also write most of the lyrics. Yves Van Elst also provides more than a fair share in new songs, but it's most often Stéphane Jalhay and Thibaud Misson who transform these sketches into well-crafted arrangements.

Who has the best since of humor in the band? Stéphane is the oldest and the shortest. He can take on a good deal of punishment. Yves has that kind of humor that drops a bomb with a perfectly innocent looking face.

What's good/bad with the band?

Good: we enjoy being together as a gang of lads.

Bad: we enjoy being together and we often don't work hard enough...

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? From the beginning, Benjamin and Yannick wanted to play Celtic music, we of course stayed in the same mood, thoug CM evolved into a more folk-rock territory.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We started with traditional songs but started quite early to write our own material. Today, I'd say there's 75% of original songs, 20% of traditionals, and the remaining 5% are covers.

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We made two demo tapes in the 90s (tape? what the hell is this?) and four albums in total autarcy: "be there & be drunk!" (words of wisdom) in 2001, "glad to find you well" in 2003, "on the shore" in 2006 and "la vie sent quoi?" in 2010. All are autoproduced and available on Bandcamp, CD Baby or the mainstream platforms.

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Some live videos filmed by fans during gigs with their cellphones. We never took the time to plan the shooting of a decent videoclip and we're not that interested. In the age when YouTube is the main provider of music in the world, you may call it suicidal but we really couldn't care less. 

How old are you? Members' ages range from 55 to 28.

Best/worst gig you've played?

Best: Most of the gigs we have played at La Porte Noire, a small venue in Brussel we'll be playing for the eigth time this november. It's always packed, the crowd is the wildest in Belgium and the boss Gaëtan is a condensed of the milk of human kindness!

Worst: A St-Patrick's day gig in a pub in Herentals (near Antwerp) in 2007. From a dead drunk bartender to zombiesque absent audience, awfully dirty place, everything was crap. The gig during the Nuits Celtiques festival in 2008 was not bad either, with almost every instrument breaking down one after the other...

What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Ah, at last we start talking about the future ;)

On the glorious occasion of the 20th anniversary of the band, we'll be playing a tour of Belgium this autumn, with notable gigs in Namur, Brussels, Liege, and Luxembourg.

Witch band is the best you´ve seen? I guess each member will have his own answer to that, but for me, it was a gig by The Mission UK in Mechelen in 2000. 

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? Depends on the viewpoint. In november we'll be playing that good old La Porte Noire and we're really looking forward to it as it's a great time guaranteed. Now that gig we have in Luxembourg seems promising in terms of crowd and media coverage. Might be a good kick.

How big crowds do you usually play for?  This may vary a lot. We often play pubs in front of 50 to 80 people, but we have also played some festivals in Belgium with several thousands in front of us. But that doesn't make the majority of the gigs, I have to admit.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? After the 20th anniversary tour, we'll record the new album. It should be out sometime in 2015.

How do you get psyched up for a gig? As far as I'm concerned, playing music is the greatest physical pleasure I know. So it is enough to get me electrified. A pint or two can do no wrong, though. You know what's really great? To know you've landed in a place where the PA is good, where you won't sound crap, where people respect you and each other, where you're not told you're being done a favour when you're actually treated like a dog.

What are your goals with your music? To have a good time. That's the main thing.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? We haven't, we all got a dayjob from librarian to IT or barman or teacher.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Modern bands are rubbish. In the eighties, folks knew how to make music, and cars, and movies, and the sun shone brighter, and chicks were not either skinny or obese. Anyway, music died with Jim Morrison.  

What are your sources of inspiration? For the music, the influence of the more unorthodox side of Celtic folk is easy to perceive (The Pogues, Fairport Convention or the Belgian MacRahl), but there's also a great influence from the French alternative chanson scene, of bands like Les Ogres De Barback, Debout Sur Le Zinc, Louise Attaque or La Rue Kétanou. You can also count in some people who played rock but had an obvious soft spot for folk, such as Led Zep or The Mission.

For the lyrics, I as the main writer am heavily influenced by Morrissey, Neil Hannon, Suzanne Vega or Patti Smith. 

What's the first step when making a new song? It usually starts with either a riff on the guitar or a melody on the fiddle or flute. From then on, everyone gives ideas and we combine them until we're satisfied. Recently, I've developped my skills as a songwriter through my solo project The Imaginary Suitcase, so I tend to bring more semi-finished songs to the rehearsals, but it's still very important and enriching that every member has a chance to bring ideas that can enhance the initial sketch.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? Internet is both a blessing and a curse. Today, many bands can make, if not a living, at least a significant revenue from music because all the parasites that used to feed on the musicians can be done without and still if you're hardworking and cunning you can achieve an appreciable level of recognition without having to bow to no one. The choice used to be between getting big but having to suck everyone's dick on the way or remaining the local guy who plays his local pub for his local pals. The Net has made it possible to experience all the nuances inbetween. But on the other hand, thanks to the net and the democratisation of recording gear, any halfwit who strums two and a half chords feels he/she's entitled to be a musician and puts his droppings on Soundcloud. The result being that there has never been such a tremendous tantalising amount of music out there, and it is difficult to stand out from the sea of mediocre stuff, they drown you.

What would be your dreams for the band? We have no real career plans. We intend to play, enjoy playing and make the best songs, albums and gigs we are capable of. I'd love to play the Ancienne Belgique, the best and most reputed venue in Belgium once. I saw most of my idols there and to tread the same stage would be an incredible thrill. Or perhaps not. It can be a dangerous thing to fulfill your dreams...

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Some bands are unanimously worhsipped by all of us: Led Zep, Noir Désir, The Pogues, ... now if I am to list all six of us' record collection, it's going to be long and tedious.

What do you hold most dear? My children, no need to think.

What would be your greatest fears for the future? To lose that friendship and good times spirit.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? We used to fear the technical blunders, but we realised you can pull through them.

Have you been in any other bands? I've played in La Vierge du Chancelier Rolin, an arty-new-wave band from 1992 to 1999, I also have a solo project named The Imaginary Suitcase (http://www.theimaginarysuitcase.be/). Thibaud plays in a Balkanbeat band named Tissad (http://www.soundcloud.com//tissad) and in a pagan folk ensemble named Nook (http://www.facebook.com/NookKaravanFolk#!/NookKaravanFolk). Yves plays in a French cabaret chanson band named Bartaba (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bartaba/175723235906119). Stéphane accumulates guests and featurings for an awful lot of Belgian renowned or not so renowned musicians.

What would you do if there was no music? Bore myself to death.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? One of them wanted to have us play in the Liege stadium, for the opening of a match of the Standard de Liège, the football team. He claimed he knew the staff well enough to get us there. Never worked out, but lovely idea!

Where do you rehearse? We rehearse every thursday at Yves' house, in Dhuy, 20 km north of Namur.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? "the river", a new song that has a more than decent hit potential I think. And an old one "back in the house". It's one of the very first CM own compos, but I can't get tired of it.

What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? There are some contenders: The Mission UK, Wovenhand, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, Gavin Friday, Amanda Palmer, Killing Joke, Nine Inch Nails. I can't decide.

What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Sheer lunacy I guess ;p

Do you have any webpages?

Ask and thou shalt be answered:

http://www.ceilimoss.be

http://ceilimoss.bandcamp.com

http://www.facebook.com/ceilimoss

http://www.reverbnation.com/ceilimoss

http://soundcloud.com/ceilimoss

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5wdHl9DCKeKrRKmP3GOlsg/playlists

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? If it sounds too good to be true, chances are it's not true.

Describe your show, visually and musically We are not young, we are not pretty, we are not talented, and we don't even do the full monty.

How do you view the music indurty of today? Ask someone who cares... 

What advice would you like to give other bands? Practice. Connect. Spend less time posting selfies. The telephone is your friend, facetweetnation is a vampire. Never forget that the world has lived for thousands of years without your band. The world doesn't need and wasn't waiting for your music.

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? The band's own vanity. 

What is best/worst with playing the clubs? The direct contact with the audience, the fact you can take your time to tell a stupid joke, say hello to faces you know, comment the local beer, do all the silly things that make a concert a living experience. Big festivals are great, it's an overwhelming sensation to see so many people sway to your music. But you don't have the time to be spontaneous. Some clubs are a nightmare thoug and more often than not, the reputed ones, the ones whose staff is über-patronizing, who say they do you a favour by allowing you to play on their holy boards are the most disappointing.

Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? Because it's going to be great fun, because if you want to see a band that has an enormous and enourmously contagious pleasure to play and no vanity, we're your guys!

How would you describe your sound in one sentence Acoustic folk-rock with the hair in the clouds and the fingers in the plug.

What is your favorite crappy instrument? The kazoo

What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? In 2009, several members, including foudning father Benjamin, left the ship for many reasons. For a few months, it was not certain at all that Ceilí Moss was going to carry on. We luckily made the right encounters at the right moment.

Do you have anything to add? A pinch of salt.