Blogs
AmeriCymru: Hi Cynthia and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. What can you tell us about your recent Ukraine appeal?
Cynthia: The auction runs now through March 18. Items will be added daily. There are both jewelry and gift items on the auction page on my website at
www.TCJS.Shop or www.TheCelticJewelryStudio.com
AmeriCymru: What inspired you to launch this appeal?
AmeriCymru: Which of your product lines are included in the auction?
Cynthia : I really threw this all together very quickly. There are 20 some items on the auction page now and I’m adding more daily. But its not just some of my jewelry pieces, I have posted a gift certificate for our website so the winning person can use it on any jewelry on our site. There are non-jewelry items as well like wine goblets from Ireland made by a wonderful potter named Colm de Ris, Belleek China from Northern Ireland, and Whisky glasses by Glencairn of Scotland.
AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about the Celtic Jewelry Studio?
Cynthia: You know I began The Celtic Jewelry Studio when I still had my little shop named Kathleen’s of Dublin in downtown Portland. Some of your readers might remember the shop. Anyway I started playing around with making jewelry for Kathleen's using gemstones, Connemara Marble from Ireland and such and always provided a story card explaining the meaning of the Celtic symbol, story of the legend, or power of the gemstones. The next thing I knew other Irish, Celtic and Scottish shops were asking me to make pieces for them also…and a business was born. My wholesale company is called GPD Designs and The Celtic Jewelry Studio is my retail arm.
AmeriCymru: Where can people donate to the appeal?
Cynthia: There are a lot of great organizations like Doctors Without Borders, the international leg of the Red Cross, and World Central Kitchen Inc. I’m not sure which organization we will send the fund to yet but I’m doing that research now. Donating on their own I would encourage your readers to check out any charity on Charity Navigator to see that charity’s ranking before donating.
AmeriCymru: Any final remarks for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Cynthia: Our Celtic culture and its people is a wonderful group to be a part of, I can’t imaging having that stripped away.
"Partly as a small curtain-raiser for my coming book The Snow Leopard of Moscow & Other Stories and partly in the context of what's happening in Ukraine, I've posted on my website some photos I took at Chekhov's house, with some thoughts thereon.
The book will be out shortly, later this month, all being well. Updates on my site and on Facebook as things hopefully click into place.
With best wishes,
Matthew G. Rees"
www.matthewgrees.com/events-
SKY BARKERS - NEW SINGLE 'BEHOLDEN TO NONE' OUT TODAY ON BUBBLEWRAP COLLECTIVE
By Ceri Shaw, 2022-03-05
Sky Barkers is an indie trio based in coastal West Wales. It is comprised of Joanna MacGregor Messore, Dan Messore and Matt Brown. They make groove based, hook heavy, vocal laden music - lyrically connective and energy driven, rooted in song-writing but with a wonky edge.
‘Beholden to None’ is their first single as a trio and speaks to the new sound that is emerging. “This is a song that invites you into one of my regular day dreams – what would life be like if I was a wanderer, a rover, a free soul flitting from town to countryside, sleeping in nooks of the earth and following old paths? Of course, it’s is a romanticised version of what it would actually be like to live that way – its more about that deep, simple urge to just get up and walk off. To be answerable to no one, leave no forwarding address - to know that no governing body or co-orperate nonsense can find you. To be elusive, beholden to none but the night sky”.
'Gorgeous' - Deb Grant BBC 6 Music
"t his is music for late-night beach campfires …blissful escapism" - Folk Radio
A Message from Gwenno Dafydd: AmeriCymru St David's Day Ambassador to the World.
Buy or listen to Cenwch y Clychau I Dewi (Anthem Dydd Gwyl Dewi / St David's Day Anthem), Links below
Link to parade video: https://fb.watch/bwOO5T_sq4/
Link to parade video: https://fb.watch/bwOO5T_sq4/
King Goon Announce long awaited debut LP - "Admit Nothing! Deny Everything! Lie! Lie! Lie!" Out 25.03.22
By Ceri Shaw, 2022-03-02
“Admit Nothing! Deny Everything! Lie! Lie! Lie!” is the long-awaited debut album from Swansea Ska-Punk band KING GOON , released on the 25th March 2022
Still buzzing from their recent Swansea Arena show 'King Goon' release their debut album to the world. Described as "11 tracks of high energy, genre-hopping melodic noise that mixes upbeat ska with alternative rock and dance" the band are keen to get their album heard, with feature track 'Gambling Fool' being the feature track of the mission.
King Goon were formed in Swansea in 2011. The original concept was for different groups of musicians to re-record the demos that guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Joel Morgan was making, hidden away in his bedroom with his beloved 8-track.
This idea, however utopian, proved impractical, and soon a band emerged, comprising of still-standing members Keith Robertson on guitar, James Mitchell (Galanastra / Doris Karloff) on bouzouki/keys/violin and James Morgan (The Afterglow / Salvador Sanchez) on bass/vocals - as well as a drummer, a percussionist, a lead singer and two backing singers.
In 2013 they recruited Hywel Griffiths (Judge Tuxedo/Greenmailer) to take over on drums,and released their first single, "The Playing Fields of Eton". An album was begun in 2015,and then abandoned after the engineer absconded with all the recordings. Several years and many mad gigs passed: the band headlined stages at the Swansea Fringe Festival, played for the BBC and made a name for themselves as an exciting and unpredictable live act. Then, in 2019, Elaine Forde joined on saxophone and the band
started work on their debut album proper, which was delayed massively by the pandemic,and is now due for release in March 25th 2022.
Released on 25th March 2022, the 11 track album will be available on all the usual digital streaming platforms, with physical copies available for order (CD’s) and pre-order 12” 180gm Vinyl from http://kinggoon.bandcamp.com .
The album was recorded over a 2 year period at Creature Studios in Swansea, and produced, engineered and mixed by Allen Chambers and King Goon. The release was heavily delayed due to a mixture of line-up changes, interpersonal chaos and...well, a global plague. The band describe the album as “11 tracks of high energy, genre-hopping melodic noise that mixes upbeat ska with alternative rock and dance, with a smidge of folk-punk swirled in for filthy measure.”
King Goon played the biggest gig of their inception on February 26th, at a‘mini-festival’ of Swansea-based bands playing at the newly-built Swansea Arena, following that up by supporting the mighty Afrocluster at The Garage Music Venue, Swansea on March 11th.
Welsh psych-rock band 'Holy Coves' are poised to release new 'The Hurt Within' single 25th March
By Ceri Shaw, 2022-02-28
North Wales Psychedelic rock band 'Holy Coves' are poised to release their brand new single 'The Hurt Within' on Friday 25th of March via 'Yr Wyddfa Records' .
Lead by Welsh Singer-Songwriter Scott Marsden , 'Holy Coves' find themselves crossing an unseen threshold on a fantastical new journey where new psych-hazed material spells an exciting new era for the collective.
Through long time friend and Producer David Wrench , 'Holy Coves' were put in touch with Texan Producer Erik Wofford (The Black Angels / Explosions In The Sky) and have built quite a magical working relationship, one where Wofford found himself on Mixing and Mastering duties for the material and certainly contributes to their new sound.
Scaffolding around an old church
in scant countryside
a skeleton encasing lungs and a heart
that pulsate more weakly now
at the wrong end of a millennium
of belief and taxation
birdsong and evensong
are rarities nowadays
so a disembodied choir
of barbed wire
and its round hollow metal posts
murmurs low
to a congregation of livestock
a crew of crows guffaws
for they know all about
worms that abound
the marvellous underground
its secrets to keep
kiss me quick
kiss me dead
