The Celtic Connection continues our semi-monthly salute to the men and women up and down the Rockies who donate their time as Celtic Music DJs, perpetuating traditions of excellence through their love of music; they bring to you a variety of sounds rooted in traditional to contemporary.This month we Spotlight Shay Dunne who is a DJ on Seolta Gael Celtic music show that airs live every Wednesday 7-8pm. Shay anchors on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, while Maeve Conran, Stevyn Prothero, and show founder Karl Kumli are behind the booth the rest of the month.Tune in to KGNU at: 88.5 FM & 1390 AM (Denver / Boulder) // 93.7 FM (Nederland)Or stream online at www.KGNU.com (If you miss a show, they are archived on line for 2 or 3 weeks). For requests and compliments call Studio line 303-442-4242. For complaints call 303-goaway
The Celtic Connection recently sent Shay a few questions:
CC– So how did you get turned-on to Celtic music? SD– I grew up with it in Ireland but did not realize how cool it was till I left.
CC– Do you play an instrument? SD– I wish I had the patience to learn. CC– Sing or Dance? SD– I can carry the odd tune (especially after a few pints). I like “Dublin in the Rare Auld Times” as a bit of a party piece. Probably because I grew up in Dublin in the “Rare Auld Times” CC–How and when did you get behind the Celtic DJ booth? SD–I have a little side business DJ’ing weddings and parties etc. and Pat McCullough is a good friend so he asked if I wanted to join him on his monthly stint on Seolta Gael. He refers to it as the Mac and Shay’s show. Bit of a play on Mac and Cheese. CC– Musically speaking, how do you design your show? SD– It’s definitely a tandem effort with Pat and I. We do fly by the seat of our pants a lot but we will on occasion try to have a theme or 2 in our show. As an example we recently did a kind of Celtic Christmas theme which was fun, we have tried things like Irish Music in Film and TV (I would like to dig into that a bit more) Pat put together a couple of themes recently such as his New York Set which had musicians and songs that were Celtic but connected to New York. Mostly we have to have fun. We feed off each other a lot and off our mistakes. Occasionally the mike will be mistakenly left on and you might hear laughter or banter in the background but that’s just who we are. We will never take it too serious but we love the music and Celtic culture. We do like to get special guests to call in too. We have had people like Orla Fallon from Celtic Women and our own local Damien McCarron from the Indulgers call in and talk with us on air. We would definitely like to do more of that. CC– Tell us a bit about the time you commit to prepare a show and your motivation. SD– My commitment and motivation comes from my love of my Celtic culture, be it Music, Language or Sport (I am a founding member of the Denver Gaels Football and Hurling Club). Also from how amazed I am at the interest in the U.S. for all things Celtic. It makes me very proud to be Irish and very appreciative of the fact that people here are very interested in who I am and where I come from. Very few cultures have that kind of relationship with another culture. CC– What has been on playing on your CD player of late? SD– Regarding Celtic or Irish, Christy Moore, The Pogues or Luke Kelly. It would take months to listen to the catalogue of music from those three artists. Their music is so deeply rooted in social and life issues and they are all poets. I do also have a very eclectic taste, comes from DJing, everything from Rock to Hip Hop. So my Ipod would freak anyone out with its schizophrenic mix. CC– Is there anything else that you would like to tell our readers? SD– Listen to Community and Public Radio, especially Seolta Gael on KGNU. Not just when Pat and I are on but when our fellow Jockeys present too on Wednesdays from 7pm to 8pm.
(Editors note: If you need a DJ for you special event call Shay at 303-882-5698 or email [email protected])