BY CONOR SHARKEY
IT might seem hard to believe, but Monday marks the third anniversary since Strabane's musicians officially went Unplugged.
Devised in late 2004, Strabane Unplugged was the brainchild of Ian McGowan, one of the most respected musicians in the town going back to the Showband era with Strabane act Double Vision and later as an accomplished jazz musician with The Jazz Gazette.
To mark the third anniversary on one of the most successful musical projects ever under taken in Strabane, the Strabane Chronicle caught up with another of Unplugged's main players, Michael Ferry.
Looking back to the beginning, to the present and to the future of Strabane Unplugged, he said: "The wealth of musical talent in Strabane was there for Ian McGowan to see. He thought it would be an idea to provide an outlet for the local musicians that he could see day in, day out. There were and still are venues in the town like Diceys that are really supportive of the young rock bands. But Ian thought it would be interesting to set up a night where the musicians can perform in a more stripped down capacity.
"From there, Ian then got in contact with local entrepreneur Raymond Kirk and with his help, the All Stars Bar was chosen as the venue to host the Unplugged sessions. Next up was the Strabane Unplugged committee, consisting of myself, Maureen Doherty, Joe Clarke, Cozy Logue and Brian Hasson. The premise was simple, basically we would gather up five or six acts who would perform for free. We would charge £2 at the door and give all the money to a different charity each month.
"Every few months we try to organise a special event, where we bring a noted musician to the town. We try to capitalise on the intimacy of the venue by getting musicians you may normally have to pay through the nose to see in other venues. This has also been a huge success as we've had the likes of the legendary Henry McCullough, Pete O'Hanlon and Bap Kennedy. As much as we like to celebrate the wealth of talent in Strabane, we also don't see why Strabane cannot be a place deserving of the musical talent that the cities of this island normally have the monopoly on. Having the event on a Monday has been very successful for us. It's a lot more difficult to get hold of musicians at the weekend and also, we have seen before how things can phase out very quickly if they become too regular. Doing it every week would get too repetitive - there's only so much of my scone a person can take!
"Over the past year Ian and Brian have taken a back seat from the organising of the sessions. The committee has now been joined by Hoot Houston, another noted and well respected musician. Hoot can be seen every Unplugged night with his camera, both filming and photographing all that goes on. He has also set up the website www.strabaneunplugged.co.uk where each night's events can be viewed. The website is getting phenomenal interest, receiving thousands of hits weekly.
"Strabane Unplugged owes a great deal to Ian McGowan, not just for coming up with the idea but for the serious effort he put into making each night special. The same applies to Brian Hasson."
The charity issue is also a very important factor to Strabane Unplugged. All the proceeds from each night have been donated to causes such as Help The Aged, Foyle Hospice and the NSPCC. It's always heartwarming to know that the good people of this town will come out in support for locals too. A special night was organised for a local woman with Huntington's disease whose home was vandalised, while another session was held in aid of a young woman from Sion Mills who was awaiting a bone marrow transplant in Dublin.
"Strabane Unplugged is about local people who enjoy music gathering together. It's that simple. It's that effective. The atmosphere is jovial and relaxed and the entertainment on display is always a clear vindication of the vision Ian McGowan had in 2004. Three years on and it feels like five minutes. Everyone involved has great craic. We appreciate all the support we've had these past three years. The reason it still exists is because of the people of Strabane. It's our mates, playing our music, on our night," Michael explained.
Strabane Unplugged is back on Monday with a special Christmas show. Things kick off at 10pm.
