2023-12-07 09:00:00
The Baden Irish folk band “The Mahones”, known far beyond the borders of the spa town, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The troupe will perform on December 7th from 7 p.m. in the “Zum Reichsapfel” inn in Baden (Antonsgasse 5).
The band was founded by Tom Senekovic (Tom Mahone) and Claus Leitner (TMA). In 1993 they had the idea of forming an Irish folk band and began gathering instruments and equipment in the rehearsal room in Rosental (municipality of Heiligenkreuz). Musicians from the circle of friends and acquaintances and those who wanted to become musicians were approached and enthusiastic about the project.
The group, which initially consisted of 13 (!) musicians, was initially called The Mahones, later Na Mahones ó Inis Beag (Gaelic for: “The Mahones from the small island”). The starting ensemble included, among others, John Morrissey, Peter Natterer, Stephan Steiner, sound engineer Christoph Prause, Wolfgang Krismer and Marcus Duller. At the beginning a program of around 50 numbers (a mixture of well-known traditionals and cover versions of relevant bands) was recorded. On June 11, 1993, the first concert took place in Baden in the garden of the legendary former Café Fritz by Fritz Zaun, a Green veteran. In 1994, on the occasion of the Irish national holiday, St. Patrick’s Day, there was an (exhilarating) celebration in the Theater am Steg in the Irish tradition, which took place regularly from then on. The Mahones became a fixture in Irish folk.
Performances preferably in cozy pubs
In the following years things became a little quieter. There were several changes – in 1997, lead singer Tom Senekovic and girlfriend Gundi Wenzl became the proud parents of a baby, and the band also separated from singer Eva Woska. At the end of the 90s, the focus was on developing a new program that would have more of its own character. The preference was to play on a smaller scale, preferably in cozy pubs with direct contact with the audience.
The CD “Not to Tame”, released in 2001, represented a cross-section of the Mahones’ work and contained fresh arrangements of popular songs as well as new material. The CD is out of stock, but can be purchased via download for 8.99 euros on their homepage (https://www.mahones.at/musik.html). TMA (Claus Leitner) left the band in 2002.
Played on traditional instruments in varied arrangements, the Mahones’ repertoire includes popular Irish and Scottish traditionals, dances and ballads as well as many of their own compositions.
The band currently consists of the following musicians: Tom Senekovic (Tom Mahone) – instruments: vocals, mandolin, banjo, tin whistle, harmonica, spoons, guitar; Fabian Seydewitz (Flap Mahone) – Instruments: vocals, mandola, guitar, mandolin, tin whistle; Biggy Losert (Banshee Mahone) – Instruments: flute, tin & low whistle, vocals; Mani Wallmann (El Ninho Mahone) and Klaus Weißenböck (Rusty Red Rat Mahone [Triple R]) – Instruments: violin, vocals.
We put our hearts into it right from the start
Tom Senekovic is the only remaining founding member of the Mahones. What excites him so much about Irish music? “I fundamentally think that music connects people. You can feel the unbroken joy of life in Irish music, and that’s not just due to the instrumental line-up, but to the people themselves. You should put your heart into it.”
After Tom, the active Mahone who has served for the longest time is Fabian Seydewitz. The only one who has studied his craft is Klaus Weißenböck on the fiddle (violin), but sometimes also on the bass ukelele. The youngest of the bunch, the Mahones baby so to speak, is Paddy Ready (Heinz Ruff) on his Knopferl harmonica.
All dates on: www.mahones.at/tour.html
1701940327
#Anniversary #Baden #Mahones #performing #years