Retrospective Episode 3: Kylie Brock and The Gael
07/18/24 • 37 min
Kylie Brock has been singing for as long as she can remember. She first started singing with her mother in church, even though she jokes that they turned off her microphone until she got older. Along with her mother, her brothers were also musically inclined, so she had a family of musical influences to inspire her. She also cites many Motown and Soul influences throughout her life, including Stevie Wonder, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin. Brock currently performs mostly covers with a few of her original songs scattered throughout. She’s currently starting to test the waters when it comes to her original material, even though she’s been writing her own material since she was around eight years old when she started dabbling in piano for the first time.
The Gael, which is Gaelic for “Forest Dwellers,” originally started as part of a bluegrass jam in the early 2010s, and their original name was Live Music. The group evolved from playing old-timey music and bluegrass to focusing primarily on Celtic music, and they describe their music as Celtic/Eclectic. The four original members – Bill Ikler, Laura Fisher, Debbie Smiley, and Phylleri Ball – started performing together in 2016, with vocalist Arwen Ek joining shortly after. However, The Gael isn’t the only experience that the members have had with Celtic music. Ball played piano in a Celtic group in Pennsylvania for seventeen years before moving to Colorado. She now plays both keyboard and button accordions and the bodhran (Irish drum) which greatly enhances the Celtic tunes. Fisher brought a repertoire of music from hammered dulcimer players across Colorado to the group. Ikler previously played guitar in the band Tryptych with a similar Celtic/eclectic vibe, and Smiley played violin when she was younger before dropping it and picking it up again 25 years later. Fisher primarily played the piano and flute as a child and learned the hammered dulcimer much later on. Ek played in a Led Zeppelin cover band and had a stint as a singer-songwriter before joining The Gael.
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Kylie Brock has been singing for as long as she can remember. She first started singing with her mother in church, even though she jokes that they turned off her microphone until she got older. Along with her mother, her brothers were also musically inclined, so she had a family of musical influences to inspire her. She also cites many Motown and Soul influences throughout her life, including Stevie Wonder, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin. Brock currently performs mostly covers with a few of her original songs scattered throughout. She’s currently starting to test the waters when it comes to her original material, even though she’s been writing her own material since she was around eight years old when she started dabbling in piano for the first time.
The Gael, which is Gaelic for “Forest Dwellers,” originally started as part of a bluegrass jam in the early 2010s, and their original name was Live Music. The group evolved from playing old-timey music and bluegrass to focusing primarily on Celtic music, and they describe their music as Celtic/Eclectic. The four original members – Bill Ikler, Laura Fisher, Debbie Smiley, and Phylleri Ball – started performing together in 2016, with vocalist Arwen Ek joining shortly after. However, The Gael isn’t the only experience that the members have had with Celtic music. Ball played piano in a Celtic group in Pennsylvania for seventeen years before moving to Colorado. She now plays both keyboard and button accordions and the bodhran (Irish drum) which greatly enhances the Celtic tunes. Fisher brought a repertoire of music from hammered dulcimer players across Colorado to the group. Ikler previously played guitar in the band Tryptych with a similar Celtic/eclectic vibe, and Smiley played violin when she was younger before dropping it and picking it up again 25 years later. Fisher primarily played the piano and flute as a child and learned the hammered dulcimer much later on. Ek played in a Led Zeppelin cover band and had a stint as a singer-songwriter before joining The Gael.
Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below!
If you want to be involved in the podcast or paper, contact our editor at [email protected] or our podcast host at [email protected]!
Head to our website for all of the latest news from peak to peak!
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE and use the coupon code PODCAST for A 10% DISCOUNT for ALL NEW SUBSCRIBERS!
Find us on Facebook @mtnear and on Instagram @mtn.ear!
Listen and watch on YouTube today!
Share this podcast around! Scroll near the bottom of our website's homepage or visit the podcast's main hub on Buzzsprout!
Thank you for listening!
Previous Episode
Community Spotlight: Stephen LeFavier on Childcare Center Vote and Michael Estes on Blackhawk Pizza
From a Letter to the Editor by Stephen LeFavier,
"Dear Nederland Residents,
As you may know, TEENS, Inc. is proposing to build an early childhood education/care center (ECE) in Nederland on town-owned property (750 W. 5th St.). This vacant lot, located in the Dyer’s neighborhood 150 feet from the fire station, is known as the Old Town Shop Site because up until the mid-2000’s it served as the shop for the public works department. This site is build-ready and offers the most affordable and efficient way to complete this project and enable TEENS, Inc. to offer subsidized care and competitive wages for staff.
On February 20, the Nederland Board of Trustees will be voting on whether or not to approve the special review use application from TEENS, Inc. If approved, TEENS, Inc. and the town will work to solidify a lease for 99 years at a $1 / year allowing TEENS, Inc. to build a facility that will triple the amount of year-round care for children under the age of 5 in our community. Today, year-round care options are limited to 20 slots for children 2.5 to 5 years old, with no licensed infant care. While childcare is a pressing issue for families with children, this is not a parent problem. Lack of childcare affects the workforce, k-12 school enrollment, the demographic makeup of the community, and the local economy more broadly. This is a big decision for our elected officials to make and I hope that you will lend your voice to help inform their decisions by submitting letters expressing your opinion to the Board of Trustees."
Located just outside the city limits of Black Hawk, at 5320 Highway 119, Blackhawk Pizza is making a name for itself as a delightful dining destination. Next to the Coyote Motel West, in a small plaza that also houses a dispensary and a liquor store, this new pizzeria is already generating buzz among locals and tourists alike.
Recently verified on Google and boasting a new, permanent sign, Blackhawk Pizza hopes to attract more tourist traffic. The business has so far thrived on local interest and word-of-mouth recommendations.
Samantha Waite, the granddaughter of owner Mike Estes, and her partner, Tyler Smith, run the establishment, creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below!
If you want to be involved in the podcast or paper, contact our editor at [email protected] or our podcast host at [email protected]!
Head to our website for all of the latest news from peak to peak!
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Next Episode
Music of the Mountains: Where to be and what to see -- Eli Lev
Eli Lev promotes the vibe of his music and shows as sounding like “if Johnny Cash and Fleetwood Mac were on a road trip in the redwood forest with Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson in the back.”
He’s been writing “silly songs” for as long as he can remember, joining bands in middle school and high school and even joining a cover band while living in the European country of Andorra (he’s also lived in Israel). In 2017, he received his master’s degree in Indiana for English education (he once took a job as an eighth-grade teacher in Arizona), and then moved back home to Maryland to reset.
During this time, he took music more seriously as he started playing shows. These shows eventually spiraled into fans who asked about his next shows, which spiraled into recordings, which spiraled into more shows, which resulted in Lev’s decision to play fulltime. He loves to travel, as evidenced by the many places he’s lived in and traveled to (including Australia and New Zealand).
Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below!
If you want to be involved in the podcast or paper, contact our editor at [email protected] or our podcast host at [email protected]!
Head to our website for all of the latest news from peak to peak!
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE and use the coupon code PODCAST for A 10% DISCOUNT for ALL NEW SUBSCRIBERS!
Find us on Facebook @mtnear and on Instagram @mtn.ear!
Listen and watch on YouTube today!
Share this podcast around! Scroll near the bottom of our website's homepage or visit the podcast's main hub on Buzzsprout!
Thank you for listening!
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