The Bringers "It's About Time"
(Random Factors) ****

It certainly is about time the Bringers put out a CD, and it is as tuneful, intriguing and exciting as you might imagine.

This is really no surprise. The six-member band, which started as a trio some years ago, and went through more personnel changes than Menudo for a while there, has finally settled into (original members) Michi and Vash, on violin and percussion, respectively; plus didjeridoo player Byron, singers Catherine and Nichelle, and the formidable local string wizard himself, Joe Bethancourt.

That's right, Joe Bethancourt -- the guy who can play almost anything with strings and can certainly choose who he wants to play with. For Bethancourt to join a young group like this, some members of which he has watched grow up at his solo shows over the years, you know they've got to be good. And they do not disappoint. Bethancourt is simply another member of this very accomplished band, who takes his turns in the spotlight along with everyone else.

The Bringers get lumped into the category of "Celtic Music Groups," but they really are much more than that. On the back of this fantastic CD, they describe what they do as "Acoustic Music Without Borders." Indeed, the songs and influences heard on this CD reach from the shores of America to the back streets of Turkey, with a healthy vacation in the Emerald Isle and the UK, of course.

And how can you call a band "Celtic" when the "bottom" of its sound is provided by a didjeridoo? You can't. You should simply call the Bringers "splendid." A splendid band and a splendidly produced (by Bethancourt) CD.

It is indeed about time that the Bringers had a CD. Isn't it about time you went out and bought it?

--Tom Tuerff,
ConNotations Magazine.



The Bringers - "It's About Time"
(Random Factors) ***

To describe the Bringers, the term "eccentric traditional" is only a start. While it is almost impossible to compare the Bringers to any other band, this does not mean that their new CD "It's About Time" is not entertaining. It is well done and quite enjoyable -- if really strange at times.

First I'll give a little background. Michi Regier on the fiddle and Vashon “Vash” Bench on percussion and some vocals have been playing at Renaissance fairs for several years. They added a didjeridoo player named Byron Miller and a veteran folk musician named Joe Bethancourt to play guitar. Later, they added folk singers Catherine Rustenbeck and Nichelle Scott.

Here is where it get strange. Joe Bethancourt is probably the most famous folk musician in Phoenix. He still travels extensively to do performances. He is an accomplished musician and songwriter. However, not only is Joe much more of an Appalachian folk singer than an Irish singer, he brings a background in medieval reenactment and science fiction folk music.

Joe's two vocals are especially unusual. The first, "King Henry" which he performs with Catherine and Nichelle is a mythic tale about the king's confrontation with a frightening creature of the night. His second is the Celtic Circle Dance "calling forth archetypal images of ancient gods, standing stones, and long forgotten rites."

Some of the other pieces such as "Cold Blows the Wind" about a "supernatural love story". When added to more familiar pieces such as "I Am Stretched on Your Grave" and "Johnny I Hardly Knew You", the overall effect is quite chilling.

Not every vocal is chilling. Vash's version of the Scottish song, Geordie, where the wife gets enough money to buy his freedom, is one of the few examples of a Scottish tune with a happy ending and the "Irish Blessing" is quite well done.

Michi's fiddle playing on the instrumental tracks is excellent, even if she inclined to play extremely fast, she has always been a crowd pleaser.

I should mention in closing that their CD cover was shot in front of the Hunger Memorial, next to the Phoenix Irish Cultural Center. The monument looks a little like Stone Henge.
--George O’Brien,
Arizona Irish Music Society (newsletter)
08-21-2001