The Herald-Palladium, Feature Article, April 2012
Tempest tries something new
The Celtic rock band, playing Sunday at The Acorn, takes a slightly different direction on album
By TOM CONWAY - H-P Correspondent
Published: Thursday, April 12, 2012 1:16 PM EDT

THREE OAKS - It has been a venerable tradition in folk music for songs to be passed down through generations, with each successive musician offering their own interpretation of the original song. 
Think of a song like "Stagger Lee," which was written at the beginning of the 20th century and has been recorded by everyone from Mississippi John Hurt and Lloyd Price - who had a hit single with 
it in 1959 - to Bob Dylan and Nick Cave.

In a sense, Celtic rock band Tempest, which performs Sunday at The Acorn Theater in Three Oaks, has followed this folk music tradition by recording the classic 1967 Grass Roots hit, "Let's Live for Today." 
The song even had a history before the Grass Roots turned it into a Top 10 hit.

"There was an Italian band that first did that song," Tempest founder, singer and mandolin player Lief Sorbye says by telephone from Oakland, Calif. "They stole it from a Motown song. That song 
has got quite a history."

Growing up in Oslo, Norway, Sorbye says that he was not that familiar with the song when he was approached about recording it by the head of Magna Carta Records, Tempest's label since 1996.

"That is our 'hit single,' even if we didn't make it a hit to begin with," Sorbye says. "That is the only time we had our record company assign us a song. We have always had free hands in the studio. 
They have let us do our own thing."

Not having any awareness or attachment to the song probably worked in Tempest's favor. They were able to start with a blank slate.

"I just sat down with it and came up with this little Celtic riff to add a little instrumental hook to make it our own and to give it that folk/Celtic thing," Sorbye says. "Then, we have the 
psychedelic thing going on, so it was very Celtodelic. I think that suits that song. People like it."

Tempest's modus operandi over their nearly 24-year musical career is - alongside their original compositions - to take traditional folk and Celtic songs, some centuries old, and give them a 
rock music treatment. "Let's Live for Today," available on their latest album, "Another Dawn," reverses that trend.

One constant for Tempest has been the comings and goings of band members. Fans of Tempest who have attended any of the band's annual appearances at The Acorn Theater over the past five years 
will see another new lineup with only Sorbye and drummer Adolf Lazo remaining.

"The last lineup we had lasted a good five years," Sorbye says. "Babies are born and wives are complaining. It is the same story. Juggling a music career as a touring musician with the domestic 
scene is hard for people. It works for awhile maybe, but not extensively for everybody. I'm always accommodating people when it comes to change in the lineup. As long as the people onstage are 
enjoying themselves, I'm happy."

Sorbye says that Tempest has always had an open-door policy, and says that there are positives and negatives to shaking up the lineup.

"We have enjoyed playing with so many talented musicians," he says. "Right now, there is a lot of new inspiration as a result of that. It's times of change and at the same time, as much as you
 miss people that you've played with for awhile, it's always inspiring to play with new people that bring new ideas to the table. I don't have to come up with all of the new ideas year in and year out. I get input from the outside, which is really healthy."

The new members of Tempest are Kathy Buys on fiddle, Greg Jones on guitar and Brian Fox on bass. Fox is also the editor-in-chief of Bass Player magazine, and Sorbye has wanted him in the band 
for some time, but the timing wasn't right.

"He had looked up Tempest five years ago, the last time we were looking for a bass player," Sorbye says. "At that point in time, he couldn't join the band because he had to clock in all the 
office hours for the magazine."

Rather than having any past regrets over past members leaving, Sorbye is living for today with the new version of Tempest.

"It's wonderful," he says. "I feel privileged that we can say we're busy. The music industry is not as flourishing as it was a decade or two ago. The economy has taken its toll, but luckily, 
Tempest, we have our own place in the world. We still go out touring. We see old friends. We can't complain. We're doing pretty well."

-- WHAT: Tempest with Hard Soul opening

-- WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday

-- WHERE: The Acorn Theater, 107 Generations Drive, Three Oaks

-- HOW MUCH: $15

-- CONTACT: 756-3879 or www.acorntheater.com