THE STORY
Few modern artists have bridged the musical divide between Ireland and Australia as seamlessly as Marcia Howard.
Burning it up - Irish Echo
By TJ Cranley - December 2004
If anyone can somehow unite the Anglo/Australian, Irish and Aboriginal clans, it will be the Howards.
Burning In The Rain, Marcia Howard's second solo CD, has an earthy sensibility which speaks from deep within the soft core of sensitive hearts.
Barfly Magazine Cairns
BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME - The Age
By Martin Flanagan
The first music Marcia Howard remembers is her mother singing her to sleep - cradle songs, lullabies. ....Beautiful," she says. Later her mother played the big pipe organ at the local church and she, her five brothers and sister sang. She says that's where she learnt to harmonise. ....It was the only way you could hear your own voice."
The Howards were known as the Von Trapp Family of western Victoria. They sang at the opening of BTV6 in Ballarat. They sang at Irish nights in the Shamrock Theatre in Koroit - Irish-American songs like When Irish Eyes Are Smiling. Since getting to know Irish singer Mary Black, it has intrigued Marcia to learn that Irish-American music predominated in Black's home rather than traditional Irish music.
Beat Magazine Melbourne - Review
David Dawson, June 2004
'Burning in the Rain is one of the best female albums of the decade'
In 1982, the anthem "Solid Rock" from the album "Spirit of Place", (recorded with the legendary band "Goanna" which Marcia was apart of ) , reverberated across the airwaves and still does today.
It was one of the first songs of its idiom to broach the subject of Aboriginal rights in Australia and impacted powerfully on a whole new generation of writers and musicians that followed. The album was released in 35 territories, worldwide. It was produced by the late Trevor Lucas, (Fairport Convention).The song was written by the founder of Goanna , Shane Howard , Marcia's Brother.
The band's first recording Spirit of Place, won the three ARIA music industry awards in 1983. After releasing their second Album in 1985, Oceania, produced by Little Feat's Billy Payne, and recorded in Australia and the US by John French & George Massenburg. Goanna toured the Country and were joined by Coloured Stone, with Buna Lawrie, Bart Willoughby and Selwyn Burns , Nunga musicians whose ancestors hailed from Ceduna. Marcia has spent many years working, writing, performing, recording and touring with Australian musicians, many of them Aboriginal artists, as well as journeying frequently to her own ancestral homelands in Ireland. She has helped strengthen Irish-Australian connections, through her musical friendships with Mary Black, Liam O'Maonlai, (Hothouse Flowers) Stephen Cooney, Maria Doyle Kennedy ,Laoise Kelly and Luka Bloom amongst others.
Marcia cares about environmental issues adding her voice to the song 'Let The Franklin Flow', written in 1983, by Shane Howard and recorded by Gordon Franklin and the Wilderness Ensemble protesting the building of a dam on the Franklin River in Tasmania's wild South-West. After Goanna disbanded in 1986 Marcia continued to work with Shane Howard in his band , as a keyboard player and singer and recorded and toured with Shane on his 8 solo albums . In 1987 Marcia was commissioned by Handspan Theatre to write the soundtrack for the play 'Waves of Change', written by Tony Rickards and performed at the Castlemaine Festival in 1988 .In the late 80's Marcia worked with the wonderful Murri musician Joe Geia with Rose Bygrave as Justus Three. They recorded Joes anthemic song Yil Lull on his album of the same name. In 1992 Marcia opened a bed and breakfast 'Hanley House' in Port Fairy, the area where her Great Grandparents had settled after the famine of the 1850's in Ireland. Archie Roache recorded his album ,â€Looking for Butter Boy ', at Hanley house in 1994.
In 1998 Marcia was apart of a renewed Goanna for a new album ,†Spirit Returns “ and a series of concerts as part of the Melbourne Festival of the Arts. These events were a showcase of the songlines that Marcia , Shane Howard and Rose Bygrave (original members from Goanna) and friends had travelled over the past decade and a half.
The song 'Angel full of Grace' (Spirit Returns - Goanna & Best of Sea Change - Various Artists, ABC/EMI) features twice on the highly acclaimed and much loved series Seachange. The song was engineered and produced by Shane Howard and Australian singer songwriter Kerryn Tolhurst in New York. Marcia's song 'Sorry', from this album also, is a heartfelt lament for the 'stolen' generations and is based upon Margaret Tuckers story , a Cummeragunja woman taken from her family as a young girl .The song was influenced by the documentary ''Lousy little sixpence". Shane Howard produced the song with Australian Stephen Cooney who has lived in Ireland for many years. Stephen added his brilliant musicianship to the song along with Ireland's Liam O'Maonlai ,(Hot House Flowers).
Marcia and Goanna were asked to perform the song at the first National Sorry Day at Parliament House in Canberra in 1998, the same morning the 'Bringing them Home ' report was released.
The song Sorry was released by Goanna both on C.D and as a resource book and video that was purchased by many schools as a Sorry day resource , (Fraynework Multi media)
The Video included live footage of Marcia and Goanna performing the song at the Port Fairy Folk festival intercut with footage kindly permitted by the documentary maker of 'Lousy little sixpence.' (Ronin Films 1982)
Marcia was asked to perform the song subsequently at many schools and it was at this time while she was lecturing Music for Primary school Teachers at Ike Deakin Uni Waurn Ponds that she began singing with Korrie Elder Patricia Clarke , a friend of Marcia's from Warrnambool, who was also a lecturer there.
Patricia and Marcia had much in common , both being from the same country, South West Victoria, Gunditjmara land and both coming from a musical background and being educators.
Patricia and Marcia went into schools together and performed on Sorry days, Patricia singing her native song ' Vulla Vun Nah Nah ' in Koorie English as she says and spoke about how they were not allowed to speak in their own native tongue on the Framlingham mission, when they were growing up. This song survived though and when Marcia recorded her first solo C.D 'Butterfly' in 2000 she invited Patricia to come and record 'Vulla Vun Nah Nah with her'. Marcia felt it was historically important to document a local language song.
Patricia and Marcia continue to perform together at festivals all over Australia and host visiting groups in Killarney at 'Welcome to Country ' gatherings and at the wonderful local festival started by Patricia together with Shane Howard the 'Tarerer Festival 'which has been running for 10 years and is a great Cultural event in Killarney in the South West.
Patricia 's father the late , great, 'Wisdom Man' for our area Uncle Banjo Clarke was a patron of the festival.
Patricia then went on to record her own C.D , 'Keep the fires Burning'.
Marcia sang on the C.D and a lot of the songs are in Korrie/English.
Patricia's relative I found out after I had written the song 'Sorry' was Margaret Tucker herself a singer and author of the book , 'If everyone cared'.
Other local collaborations include working with Andy Alberts on his anthemic song ‘Gunditjmara land’ and singing on Kutcha Edwards new C.D 'Hope' on a song produced by Marcia's brother Damian Howard who co wrote the song with Kutcha, 'Silence'. Marcia sang with Amy Saunders and Brett Clarke on the Tarerer ,Welcome to country C.D .She is currently recording vocals on Goongatha/Gunditjmara songman David Arden’s new CD, and recording with Bart Willoughby.
Four trips to Ireland from 2002-2004 have served to establish Marcia's musical connectedness to Ireland.
In May 2002, Marcia was invited by Mary Black to open her
shows at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin over five nights. Steve Cooney was in Mary's band and performed Sorry with Marcia at the shows along with Pat Crowley. Steve then organized a recording session in Dublin with some great players ,including the Irish American Tim O'Brien and Kevin Burke. Marcia had began recording her next C.D 'Burning in the Rain', produced by Steve Cooney.
The following September Mary Black asked Marcia to come back to Dublin to record Marcia's musical adaptation of a William Blake poem, 'Poison Tree ' for the prestigious all female compilation
'A Woman's Heart - A Decade On' featuring some great artists including The Corrs, The Chieftains, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton.
Marcia also features on Mary Black's live DVD /CD recorded at the Olympia Theatre in May 2002, singing Bob Dylan's song 'Forever Young ' with Mary and her band.
In 2004 Marcia Launched her second C.D 'Burning in the Rain', at the Port Fairy Folk Festival.The C.D featured many Irish artists and was recorded in Dublin and Donegal.
In 2005, Marcia was invited by an old comrade, John Schumann, (Redgum), along with a team of Australian musical icons, to contribute to the Lawson album that John was recording, under the watchful production of Kerryn Tolhurst.
In 2005 Marcia recorded vocals with her brothers Shane and Damian Howard on Mary Black's album, 'Full Tide'.
In 2006-2007 she has been touring with the Ploughboys and Rose Bygrave and Tiffany Eckhardt and Dave Steel doing a combined show (known as the Dryland band ) in drought affected areas of Regional Victoria. She also recorded vocals on DAMIAN HOWARDS recently released C.D ,’ONE’,and performed as part of his band ,The Gentle Souls playing keyboards and singing at many festivals. She also performed in her own right at festivals this past year with her band and at the Port Fairy Folk festival this year played with Shane and Damain Howard as part of the HOWARD FAMILY.
Marcia is currently working on her Third C.D in her home studio in South West Victoria. She will be touring Europe this July doing gigs and festivals with her brother DAMIAN HOWARD and his band THE PLOUGHBOYS.
For details see www.marciahoward.com.au.
Supports Tom Paxton, Bruce Cockburn, Brian Kennedy,
John Mayall, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, John Farnham, The Chieftains, Sarah Mc Loughlan, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Hothouse Flowers, Mary Black, Shane Howard, The Ploughboys, Lunasa, Sharon Shannon, Martin Hayes, Steve Cooney, Laoise Kelly , Luka Bloom, Archie Roache,The Ploughboys
'Marcia is one of our most cherished performers. Marcia attracts the ears and eyes of the audience .She has an exceptional voice ,full of emotion ,but unforced and untainted. She has a natural grace on stage ,with a personality and charm that embraces fellow performers and audiences alike. Her original music encompasses the social issues of our country,in particular the treatment of our indigenous people, the Ireland of her ancestors, love ,life and humour. Marcia is also a great inspiration and support to other musicians finding their feet in the business and seems to have an uncanny ability to slip into the wings ; she does not covet centre stage. We always welcome her to Maldon with open arms and we strongly recommend you do the same.'
Michael Ruggles
Music Director
Maldon Folk Festival
For Bookings Contact
www.marciahoward.com.au
