Where the driving engine of Celtic music hooks up to the long train of American songwriting you'll find Dublin Station. Arriving on the twin rails of rhythmic tunes and smart songs, Dublin Station tell of arrivals and departures, journeys begun or done, and lives unexpectedly intertwined.
Raised in an immigrant family, Lauran sang four part harmony with parents and siblings around dinner tables and in chapels. Lessons on antique pianos led from playing in church, to school and eventually to the barroom. Her skill on flute won her a scholarship to the sought-after Interlochen summer program. Then, at a yard-sale she spied… an accordion….
A love for politics and the gift of gab were the hallmarks of J. Oscar's Scotch Irish heritage, though the family long-settled in the rolling hills of Ohio. On wide family porches and after church suppers he connected to the Celtic ancestry in the bluegrass fiddle tunes played along with country-blues and gospel. Stories told in crayon drawings led to literary studies; but when he discovered the guitar, he found the best way to tell a tale was to carry it on a tune.
In the mid-90's, searching for a place to wed, Lauran and J. Oscar took a long ramble across Ireland. Many evenings were spent by the sweet smoky incense of peat fires in pub and parlor sessiuns trading American songs for Celtic tunes. Drawn in by the lively storytelling, wry humor and shared jars of brown, the hidden connections to favorite songs and tunes began to appear. When they returned home, they dreamed of a way to share the craic (good times), the stories and the feeling of their traveling experience. Perhaps a band, of two…