User:Dontreader/sandbox/The Gothard Sisters (draft)

Using information from different sources to improve the Gothard Sisters article. In the article itself, the information will be rewritten to avoid copyvio. This is just a draft, not a live article, and will never go live. The sources for all quoted material are clearly provided here...

http://irvingblog.dallasnews.com/2014/04/gothard-sisters-to-perform-april-24-at-irving-arts-center.html/

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3kaum21

The Dallas Morning News

"Greta, Willow and Solana Gothard began classical violin training and competitive Irish dancing at a young age leading them to leadership positions in their local youth symphony and to the Irish Dancing World Championships where they competed in the solo category three years in a row. In 2007, the sisters were on a Seattle-based Irish dance team that placed second at the World Championships in Scotland. The Gothard Sisters have also developed talents on guitar, bodhran and voice. Their love for music, dance and storytelling is their inspiration for performing and recording. They also have recorded six albums; their most recent, Story Girl, was awarded Album of the Year. (Celtic Radio, 2011)."



http://patch.com/washington/edmonds/family-matters-a-trio-of-singing-sisters-releases-the572160133c

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3lybPAY

Patch Media

"They’ve had to work hard to get where they are in their careers, traveling across the country to festivals and fairs, recording six albums, learning various instruments and doing all their own promotion.

“It’s been a lot of work,” said Greta, “but totally worth it. Music’s always been a big part of our lives, and we always knew we wanted to do something with music.”

The Gothard girls grew up in Edmonds, the daughters of two visual artists who homeschooled their children. All three started playing classical violin while young, influenced by the music their parents played around the house every day.

“They played music all the time,” Greta said. “And we used to sing and dance and perform in the living room. Then one day my mom saw Riverdance, and she brought home a video and put it on, and we loved it so much we started taking Irish dancing.”

Greta and Willow have been Irish dancing for about 15 years, Solana for 13. And they are accomplished. All three have qualified for the world championships of Irish dancing, and in 2006 Solana was the youngest dancer from the Pacific Northwest to ever qualify. She was 11.

It was during this time that the girls began performing at festivals in order to raise money to travel to the World Championships, which were usually held in the United Kingdom.

“My mom booked this little show in Port Townsend, and we decided to do some dancing, then play some music, then do some dancing, then play some music,” Greta said. “It was really bad, but there was an agent there from Nashville.”

“She actually really liked our performance,” Willow cut in. “After the show she came up and was like, ‘Give me a call if you’re interested in getting an agent.’ We’ve worked with her since 2007.”

Armed with an agent, the girls began traveling around the country to various fairs and festivals, about 100 a year, and developing their live performance to include music and choreographed accompanying dance. They describe themselves as “three sisters performing high-energy Celtic song and dance.”

All three play the violin. Solana is the lead singer, Willow plays the Bodran (pronounced bow-ran), which is a traditional Irish drum, as well as the mandolin. Greta plays the guitar. Willow and Greta also serve as backup singers, but all three make it very clear that it is a group effort. There is no single “star” in the group. The girls recently released their sixth album, Story Girl.

“It’s our sixth album, but it’s our first original album,” Greta said. “The first three (albums) were violin trios and then covers or arrangements of traditional stuff. And Story Girl was the first one where we wrote more than half of the songs on there. A lot of them are traditional songs that we redid.”

“We played every instrument except the drums a little bit of bass on one song,” Willow said. “It was a little difficult to work it all out. We also wanted each song to sound different; each song has a different mood, and even if it doesn’t have lyrics it can still tell a story.”

The recording process took seven months, and the girls commuted to Sammamish for the project."



http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20140731/ENT/140809974

http://www.webcitation.org/6XEdwv0kn

The Herald (Everett)

"The Gothard sisters grew up in Edmonds, where they were home-schooled and studied classical violin with the late Lawrence Fisher. Their mother, Lark Gothard, is of Irish descent and got her daughters interested in Irish step dance and traditional Celtic musical instruments. Greta Gothard, 27, and her sisters Willow, 25, and Solana, 19, all sing, play violin and are championship dancers. Greta also plays guitar and keyboards, Willow has mastered the mandolin and Solana plays the various percussion instruments and the pennywhistle. They count among their influences Mary Black, Enya, Natalie MacMaster, Edgar Meyer, Nickel Creek and Loreena McKennitt."



http://magicvalley.com/entertainment/gothard-sisters-bring-a-bit-of-irish-to-burley/article_0ea068c2-ab0e-11e3-84d1-001a4bcf887a.html

http://www.webcitation.org/6XEfIlgIg

Times-News (Idaho)

"The Gothard Sisters, award-winning Irish dancers and musicians, will perform at the King Fine Arts Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Greta, Willow and Solana Gothard have been studying music and dance since early childhood and are trained in the Suzuki violin method. They began performing in 2005 at a farmer’s market. They spent five hours each weekend drawing crowds. Soon they moved up to county fairs and competitions.

Over the past few years, they have won awards at the World Championships Region Oireachtas (gatherings) and North American National Championships. They placed second at the World Championships in Scotland. On Jan. 25, they were awarded Best New Irish Artist from the Irish Music Awards, and they’ve been nominated for this year’s competition.

They will dance, play and sing to old Irish and English melodies, playing violin, guitar, bodhran and penny whistle, among other instruments. They will even present some Western storytelling, including the Charlie Daniels Band classic, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.”

“We try to keep a balance,” Greta said with a chuckle. “We call it ‘Washington music.’ There’s a lot in there that can get lost if you only listen to pop music.”

The sisters, who are from Washington state, have recorded eight albums. Most will be on sale in the lobby at intermission. The sisters also have 93 music videos available on YouTube."



http://www.king5.com/media/cinematic/video/19790687/the-gothard-sisters-video/

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3pvTBYQ

http://www.king5.com/story/entertainment/television/programs/new-day-northwest/2014/12/02/the-gothard-sisters-new-album-christmas-violins/19776223/

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3qsLOqc

Video not available any more:

http://www.king5.com/story/entertainment/television/programs/new-day-northwest/2014/08/03/13186030/

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3sKtRD8

KING-TV



http://www.komonews.com/communities/edmonds/197124881.html

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3oW4JyS

KOMO-TV

"Don't miss our very own Irish song and dance trio, The Gothard Sisters on KOMO TV today during the 4pm newscast.

These girls are getting some serious recognition, they are now on the latest Putumayo World Music compilation album. "Celtic Christmas" was released on this album on October 25th around the world."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cxl9s5166s



https://www.putumayo.com/celtic-christmas-121514-122114/

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3p6zT27

Putumayo World Music



http://www.lodinews.com/news/article_a91f4e88-c146-11e3-ab90-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.webcitation.org/6XwHNg1W2

Lodi News-Sentinel

"The sisters said they were drawn to Celtic music and Irish dancing after listening to it as children and seeing the show “Riverdance.”



http://www.dailyrecordnews.com/weekendlife/cwu-welcomes-back-the-gothard-sisters/article_61cdf3a4-7bcc-11e4-983a-43819c4661e1.html

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y2j37oPQ

Daily Record (Washington)

"The recent Best New Artist at the Irish Music Awards and Celtic Radio Album of the Year winners will perform at 7 p.m. The dynamic trio of sisters, Greta, Willow and Solana, will bring their world-class Irish dance and traditional Irish folk music together with Christmas tunes for this holiday show

Oldest sister Greta Gothard said that she and her sisters all began their musical careers around the age of 4 with the violin, and have since progressed to playing a variety of other instruments including electric guitar, bodhran, mandolin, cajon and pennywhistle.

“We were all playing the violin originally, when we stumbled across Celtic rock, which is basically traditional Irish and Scottish music, but played by rock bands,” Greta said. “We’re all classically trained, but we’re more Celtic and Irish rock oriented.”

The Gothard Sisters have released eight albums, which combine their original compositions with Irish classics, and have performed nationally at Celtic and folk music festivals, community concerts, state and county fairs, halftime shows, concert series and colleges.

Alongside their musical talent, the three sisters are also champion Irish step dancers, having all competed internationally in Ireland and the U.K. multiple times at the World Championships of Irish Dance. In 2006 at age 11, youngest sister Solana was the youngest dancer from the Pacific Northwest ever to qualify for the World Championships of Irish Dancing.

The sisters are all invested in the group beyond performing dance and recording music, as Greta films and edits the trio’s music videos and Willow sews the performance costumes.

The Gothard Sisters’ shows are much more than just musical performances. With traditional Irish instruments and dance incorporated with modern tunes and excellent showmanship, The Gothard Sisters provide an experience that’s sure to thrill all attendees.



http://www.irishmusicassociation.com/irishmusicawards/archive.php?year=2013

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3tmPKJZ



http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/12/23/1762563_the-gothard-sisters-to-perform.html?rh=1

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3u4zfGJ

Tri-City Herald

"Our music definitely has a Celtic flair to it, while using many techniques and styles we learned from our classical violin training," Willow Gothard, the middle sister, said via email. "We released a new CD in November called Story Girl

The blond-haired, blue-eyed siblings, who are 24, 22 and 16, grew up performing throughout the Northwest. Their musical savvy includes violin, guitar and bodhrán, as well as a talent for kicking up their heels. The sisters are members of a Seattle-based Irish dance team that took second place at the 2007 World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

"We started performing together about eight years ago, although we've been playing since we were little," Willow said. "It's been a huge learning experience because we first started playing at farmers markets. Then we provided classical background music for wedding ceremonies before learning Celtic fiddle and combining it with Irish dancing to create our current show.

"We play at county and state fairs all across the country, as well as festivals, school assemblies and small theaters."

Greta, the oldest, was first to pick up a violin at age 5.

"I wanted to be just like her, so I started violin when I turned 5," Willow said. "Solana then copied me when she was old enough, and we've all been playing violin ever since."

A few years ago, Willow discovered the bodhrán -- an Irish hand drum -- and became obsessed with it, she admits.

"It sounded great as a rhythmic accompaniment to Irish fiddle and dance taps," she said. "It's a traditional drum made out of goat skin and a wooden frame that you hear very often in Irish music. After playing the bodhrán for a few years, I gave Solana some lessons and now we both play bodhrán s in the show."

"We have so much fun at our shows," Willow said. "I think it's important to keep a show upbeat and interesting with lots of variety."

But their performances aren't just about the music or the dance, she added.

"We like to throw in surprises by switching instruments in the middle of numbers and adding choreography and visual elements to the songs," she said.



http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20121215/NEWS/312159999

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y3v3obZh

Peninsula Daily News

"The Gothard Sisters, it turns out, are also returning to the Peninsula. Greta, Willow and Solana Gothard, who still live in their home town of Edmonds, were discovered by talent agent Liz Gregory six years ago at the Jefferson County Fair in Port Townsend.

“That was our first stage show that we ever did,” said Willow. Gregory, who's based in Nashville, gave the sisters her card. “We've been with her ever since,” Willow said.

They have also traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Glasgow, Scotland, where in 2007 they won second place overall in the World Irish Dancing Championships.

The sisters began taking dance lessons back when they were preschoolers. They went to West Seattle for classes and enrolled in the Tony Comerford School, known around the West Coast for its Irish dancing instruction.

In addition to their “Riverdance”-style stepping, all three sing and play fiddles; Solana plays the Irish bodhran drum while Greta plays guitar.

More links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p97pw

http://www.webcitation.org/6Y4k2n0H5