The Daily Herald

With St. Patrick's Day come and gone and pinch bruises healed, many still yearn for entertainment that will help capture the essence of the green and warmth of springtime. Lively local band Fiddlesticks is up to the task.

Fiddlesticks is a family project consisting of three sisters -- Rebecca, Kathryn and Elizabeth Davis -- and their father, Mark. Specializing in a style of music Mark calls "Celtic fusion," the band blends traditional folk styles and flavors with strong Irish and Scottish influences.

"Half of what we perform are traditional reels and jigs, standard Celtic tunes," Mark said. "When we were in Ireland, we found some really old books where people had gone up into the mountains and transcribed fiddle tunes. We've resurrected a few of those traditional tunes, but nobody knows them."

The rest is original material written by Kathryn, 18, and Elizabeth, 16.

The Davis family has a mixed heritage, including ancestors from Ireland, Scotland, Denmark and Sweden. However, it was the Irish blood that drew them to Celtic music more than any other style.

"It seems to just speak to us, seems to fit," Mark said.

The passion for this particular genre was something the family evolved into and became something they could do together.

The Davis family formed Fiddlesticks shortly after moving to Utah in 1997. Before coming here, they had been living and performing in Maryland at Renaissance fairs, as well at the Washington, D.C., LDS Temple Visitors' Center. Once in Utah Valley, the family was fellowshipped by other local musical families and inspired to form their own band. They average 50 shows a year and have released five CDs. Davis reported their next project will be a collection of hymns.

Each member of Fiddlesticks has specialty instruments that add to the beauty of the band's sound. Rebecca, 22, plays the pennywhistle, flute and recorder. Kathryn plays viola, mandolin and guitar, and began playing fiddle -- her first love -- at the age of 4. Elizabeth, who also started young, plays cello in all its forms.

Mark contributes rhythm to the mix by playing an Irish drum, called a bodhran, and guitar. He says little, if any, coaxing was needed to have such instrumental diversity in the band, and the fact that each person plays something different is lucky and coincidental.

A typical Fiddlesticks show will include such songs as "Eureka Freaka" and "Jonathan's Reel," which serve to energize crowds into a foot-tapping frenzy. Contrasting the lively songs are tragic ballads like "My Young Love." It is obvious there is a sincere gratitude for and connection with the audience.

"If people are willing to clap and get up and laugh and forgive us (for any mistakes), it makes such a huge difference," Kathryn said.

It is normal during a show for the band to enlist members of the audience to help out on percussion.

"We play off each other. We play off the audience," Mark said.

Because of the nature of the music, there is always experimenting and improvising during a show, which makes each concert a different experience.

"We never play the same show twice," Elizabeth said.

The appeal of a band like Fiddlesticks is that the beautiful, kinetic music is suitable for all ages. Mark's wife, Andi, says the music is especially great for children, and that mothers have approached her just to say their kids will not let them take the band's CDs out of the player.

"Kids love it," Andi said.