LCP INTERVIEW WITH THE AWARD WINNING PRODUCER AND WALKER ROADER TED HUTT!!

We are incredibly pleased to be able to bring you a interview with a man who has given so much to music but in particular to our wonderful Celtic-Punk scene. Our fella in the States Ray Ball chatted to Ted Hutt just the other day, Grammy Award-winning record producer, musician and songwriter and original guitarist and founding member of Flogging Molly. Ted is currently part of the Walker Roaders alongside The Pogues James Fearnley and Marc Orrell of Dropkick Murphys.

So I got the chance to talk to award winning producer, Flogging Molly founding member, and Walker Roaders guitarist Ted Hutt. Ted has worked with some of the the artists we all know and love and I am so thankful he took the time to talk to me on his approach to music production and working with those groups.

(The Walker Roaders- Smokestack Lightning – 2021)

Here’s the Q&A. I asked him a little bit to introduce himself. Here’s what he had to say-

“I have always loved music. I have always loved collaboration where the sum is bigger than the parts (at least hopefully). I have always been thankful for music as a constant companion through good time and bad, and the constant reinvention to be creative and challenge to be creative. I have always felt stuck in bands, always a bit restricting? I like a lot of things musically and producing gives me a way to dig into different parts of my record collection, to try different things from project to project. It’s interesting as I look through a body of work, that there are common themes and threads that come from the music that we grow up with.”

(Flogging Molly – Drunken Lullabies – 2002)

(Couple of years after Ted left Flogging Molly he returned on the Drunken Lullabies album as producer and mixer and also as co-writer for a few songs including the title track)

I mentioned again that the last person I saw him talk to was KT Tunstall, which I think was a little outside his usual spectrum. Here are his thoughts-

“Well, interestingly KT contacted me because she was working with a guy named Chris Leonard in Dublin, they were looking for someone to produce them. I guess the long story short was the names and artists they wanted to inspired by and the common denominator was me. I also know James Fearnley (Accordion Pogues, Accordion and Vocals Walker Roaders) and Marc Orrell (guitar, piano, a slew of instruments between DKM, Wild Roses, Walker Roaders, and a slew of other projects as well). I wouldn’t work on a project I didn’t think I couldn’t add something to…but there’s this thread of Irish/Scottish music…with the obvious others like Old Crow Medicine Show for example. I was a fan and thought it would be fun to work with them. I called their manager and next thing you know I’m recording with them at the Sound Emporium in Nashville. I asked them why they agreed and the pointed out the Link between the Celtic music I had made with Flogging Molly. Interestingly enough there’s also that story telling element with Gaslight Anthem. Bruce Springsteen loved ‘59 Sound’ and sang in a Dropkick Murphys record (Peg o’ My Heart). Once you start digging, that Celtic thread is everywhere!

(KT Tunstall and Chris Leonard – Run Rudolph Run – 2021

Produced by Ted Hutt)

I actually started working on an outline for a book or movie or something about how much of the music we love today had Celtic roots.”

I asked a little bit about that story telling aspect, it obviously plays a huge role in Celtic tradition, but also in his productions. I pointed out the link in ‘59 Sound using “Great Expectations” “Estella” and “Marley’s chains we forged in life”-pulled directly from 19th British author Charles Dickens.

“I loved that lyric”, he said. “Mary I worried and stalled every night of my life/better safe than making the party”, and so many others on that record. I felt like I unearthed another layer, which is something I’m very interested in. It’s an attempt to draw the listener in immediately, but also layers, texture and subliminal stuff that keeps revealing the more they Listen.

The story, when all told, provides a sort of companionship with the listener and artist, it reminds the listener they’re not alone!”

He concluded-“That someone else has similar experiences, that they had similar feelings! It reminds us “we are not alone in our struggles”. It’s always been important to me as a fan. Maybe we need that more than ever”.

Email: worldsendamerica info@worldsend.com

Instagram: Ted Hutt @tedhutt •Instagram

Facebook: Ted Hutt

Twitter: Ted Hutt (@Ted Hutt)|twitter

Thanks to Ray Ball for the interview. He has already featured on these pages as the driving force behind The Fighting 69th from Buffalo. The review of his 2-volume set of Dropkick Murphys covers was one of the most viewed of the year. One of the most prolific and diverse artists in the Celtic-Punk scene we are proud to have Raymond on board the London Celtic Punks team. Writer, artist, musician he is a credit to the American-Irish community and you can find a wealth of his material available at his Bandcamp site.