An evening of traditional and contemporary Scottish music, augmented by delicious local wines is coming to Lake County. Scottish musician Jim Malcolm is returning for his 25th tour of the United States, and for the first time, Malcom’s wife Susie, an accomplished singer and musician in her own right, is accompanying him on the 18-city national tour.
The show takes place Friday, January 31st at the Fore Family Winery Tasting Room in Kelseyville. It is being presented by KPFZ 88.1 FM. Susan Krones, host of the station’s weekly Celtic Collage broadcast has been hosting Malcolm and coordinating his visits to Lake County for many years.
“I have been doing my Celtic music show for over 15 years,” Krones notes. “I fell in love with Celtic music since my first trip to Scotland in 2000.” Her passion for the music led her first to Susie Malcolm’s CD’s, and later she discovered Jim’s music. Krones invited him to come to Lake County, where he has performed for over a decade.
Acclaimed by Radio Scotland as “The new male voice of Scotland,” Malcolm joined one of the country’s most popular international folk acts, the Old Blind Dogs in 1999. The band toured the UK, Europe and North America for many years. In 2004, Jim received the Scots Traditional Music Awards for Songwriter of the Year, and he has been nominated three times for Scots Singer of the Year.
“I first saw Jim perform with the Old Blind Dogs. He was an outstanding presence in the band,” Krones continues. His solo career continues to take him across the pond and the globe with 20 albums to his name including his recordings with Old Blind Dogs. “Jim and Susie are an amazing, powerful couple keeping Scottish traditional music alive throughout Scotland, America and beyond.”
Jim’s music spans both history and genres. An accomplished songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player and Scottish musical historian, Malcolm’s concerts include his deep knowledge of the history and personages behind the music. He brings a profoundly personal touch to traditional well-known ballads, and inspires equivalent emotions in his original songs. In one piece, Neptune, god of the sea, implores Malcolm and the listener to heed the god’s warnings to protect and preserve the ocean. Both Jim and Susie credit their families with providing them the musical foundation that helped to forge their careers.
“My mom and dad were very interested in music. My mom was a real folkie. She would go to the clubs in the 60s and play LP’s of Scottish folksingers. That’s where I got my brainwashing,” Malcolm smiles.
Malcolm’s original pieces evidence his father’s musical tastes.
“My dad was actually from more of an urban background, so he loved the music of Gershwin and Irving Berlin- both of which I’ve taken to the older I get. My musical tastes formed from my parents- even from when I was just a baby. So many of us listened to wall-to-wall Beatles,” he continues.
A graduate of Edinburgh University, Jim again credits his parents with allowing him the freedom to become a musician.
“My parents are very laid back. They let me find my own path. They now probably think what I’m doing is quite cool, but it was a struggle starting out. At the beginning, it was difficult to get enough work. I was playing in rough bars- anywhere I could find. My decision to be a musician didn’t seem quite so clever at that stage,” he laughs.
Susie Malcolm comes from a unique musical lineage.
“I’m not a songwriter. I am much more a singer of the old songs.”
“My father was a Bothy Ballad singer,” she explains. “It’s a genre of Scottish music that came out of Aberdeenshire and Scotland’s east coast, where single, unmarried men lived in very rustic accommodations called bothies. The men, who were farmworkers, had very little entertainment, so a whole tradition of songs grew. My dad used to sing these songs to me and my siblings. He was a heavyweight athlete, so we’d attend the Highland Games. We’d scrabble in the car, so to pass the time he’d sing Bothy Ballads. I feel lucky to be involved in that tradition.”
Bothy ballads are sometimes compared to cowboy music. Thematically, there are similarities- lost love, bawdy encounters, good and bad horses, satirical paeans to bad bosses and poor working conditions. “If any of those men realized their songs would be sung in front of audiences in California, they’d be astonished,” Susie laughs.
This is Susie’s first-ever professional tour. “I’ve performed at folk clubs and festivals, but I never had the ambition to be a professional singer. I think of myself as a person who sings- but that really fits into Scottish folk music, where having a good song to sing is as important as how you sing it.” Susie’s voice, as well as Jim’s, is clear, honest and exceedingly listenable.
Though she’s visited the states a number of times, Susie enjoys touring. “It’s really good fun. Jim’s been a musician all his professional life. Our joke is that I play the keyboard- the computer keyboard. I’ve been the person organizing the shows and staying home with our children. I was very committed to them having a normal, stable upbringing. Now that they are grown, we’re not needed at home so much, so now I’m meeting people I’ve been corresponding with for years.”
The couple agree performing to American audiences is a treat. “Americans are very much more animated than Scottish audiences. They really smile and clap. Scottish people are very reserved. At the end of a Scottish show, someone might come up afterwards and say it was the best night they’d had for ages,” she laughs.
Generally, audiences for the Malcolm’s shows tend toward an older demographic.
“I’m guessing our average age is around 60, but I’m very comfortable with that. It’s quite hard to make those deep, old songs sexy and attractive to teens. I think that’s asking too much,” Susie laughs. However, one of their two children appears to have been bitten by the music bug.
“I had a dream that the four of us would become the Malcolm Family Singers. My kids trampled on that very hard,” Susie laughs. However, their daughter, who is 22 recently declared she would like to be a folk singer. “She is hoping to combine a teaching career with some sort of performance.”
Jim has had many years to observe life in the United States.
“When I was with Old Blind Dogs, we were always looking for pay phones to call home. Now you’d never find one. A lot of the landscape stays the same. Cars stay the same, which is unknown in Scotland because of so much salt on the roads. California is going into the future. Microbreweries started here. The sushi craze and coffee craze started here. It’s exciting for us to come here and see what’s new, because eventually, it’s going to hit Scotland.”
“One of the things that’s really stayed with me is the warmth, the goodness, hospitality and friendship I’ve received in the States- particularly in California. People are wonderful, particularly those involved in the folk scene,” Jim continues.
On one tour- commemorating the 250th birthday of Scotland’s perpetual poet laureate Robert Burns, Malcolm donned a Burns-era costume and wig for a portion of his shows, bringing Burns’ timeless songs to new audiences. “People still want to listen to Burns because what he wrote about 250 years ago still has relevancy.”
When in Scotland, Jim and Susie offer 10-day tours that feature sightseeing, evening concerts and lots of opportunities to taste the “best-of-the-best” whiskey. The tours are so popular they are booked nearly two years out. “We’re almost at the stage of keeping them a secret,” Susie smiles.
“I’m very keen to continue live concerts,” Jim notes, explaining that the enormous changes in the industry make it increasingly difficult to make a living. “The whole streaming thing is a real blow. I think people don’t realize that artists don’t get any income from streaming.” But beyond that, Jim loves to perform. “If you’ve got music in you, you can’t exorcise it.”
And there’s something else about visiting Lake County. “You have the cuddliest District Attorney I’ve ever met,” Jim laughs.
The show begins at 7:30 pm. The Fore Family Tasting Room is located at 3920 Main Street in Kelseyville. Advance tickets are available at Watershed Books, 350 N. Main Street in Lakeport, or may be reserved by phoning (707) 262-0525.
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An evening of traditional Scottish music - Lake County Record-Bee
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