Chicago Pioneer Press
Thursday, April 15, 1999
Storm Warning: Durty Nellie's prepares for Tempest to roar through
by Martin A. Bartels
Diversions editor - Northwest Group


For Lief Sorbye, leader of the Celtic rock band Tempest, the fusion of different kinds of music has always come naturally.
  
For fans of he group, however, that fusion comes as an addictive kind of surprise.
  
Tempest will perform Saturday night at Durty Nellie' in Palatine.

At least part of Tempest's unique sound comes from the widely varied make-up of the band,ranging from Sorbye's Scandinavian background to Cuban drummer Adolfo Lazo, from fiddle virtuoso Michael Mullen to New Mexican guitarist Dave Parnall. Bass is provided by American John Land.
  
"What has happened is that the musical policy hasn't changed, but we are always going to be colored by who's in the band," Sorbye said. "It's a group effort as far as writing goes, but we've also experimented through the decade we've been working
together."
  
The band celebrated their ten years together with a new album, "10th Anniversary," released in October. While band members themselves have changed through the years, the common goal has been maintained by Sorbye.
  
"We labeled ourselves as Celtic rock 10 years ago, when nobody knew what we were talking about," Sorbye said. "Now people are more comfortable with it."
  
Tempest's long history and tireless touring schedule has created a substantial fan base - one that has made the band's seven earlier releases more and more difficult to find. While the latest recording recaps many of the "best of" songs, 
Sorbye said, the songs were first selected by the fans, and then rearranged and re-recorded to capture the band's maturity and intensity. 

"We've always taken one step on the ladder at a time," he said. "But recently, over the past couple of years, the popularity of the music has just been snowballing. It's threatening to become a fad, and the thing about fads is that they don't               always stick around. But then you look at country music here, and how it has evolved into what it is now.
                
"Celtic rock is upbeat, infectious music that appeals to all age groups."
                
The music on "10th Anniversary" is at once a confounding and brilliant blend of traditions and energy. From the first track, "You Jacobites By Name," the music starts out sizzling and continues to roll, with frenzied fiddle, guitar and bass licks backing up appealing vocals and lyrics.
                
It is a fresh and vibrant voice - even considering the staying power of the band - whether you look at their music as Celtic folk, folk rock, or just plain old-fashioned good music.
                
"My true folk music was really growing up with rock `n' roll, and then I got into the folk revival in the early "70s," Sorbye said. "I played in rock bands as a teen and became interested in folk later. For a while I was busking (playing in the streets) to support myself, and then joined a traditional Celtic folk band - this was a true acoustic experience. Then              I formed Tempest.
                
"Basically for me, it has always been a natural thing for me to fuse traditional folk with rock `n' roll forms. Folk music lends itself to that, and I just hear it in the music. If they had electric guitars 200 years ago, I think they would have played their jigs and reels with them."

While Sorbye said the band's fan base is substantial and quite enthusiastic - he admitted that the real work ahead lies in expanding that base, often without the help of radio stations.
   
"The main source of exposure for us has just been getting out there and trying to perform for people," Sorbye said. "The real appeal of this music is in the live performance, rather than the recorded format.

"The minute you get people exposed to this, they're hooked."