I wanted to add a story as kind of an addition to the John McManus interview I did recently. I was contacted by an individual who approached me on a benefit that was being done through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society called the Light the Night Walk. We posted some information and the walk was done on September 16th of this year. What follows is the story of how she met the guys in Mama's Boys along with a tad bit of information on the material that John McManus is working on at the present. I found it interesting and wanted to add it due to the fact that there are quite a few Mama's Boys and Celtus fans out there that like to check this kind of thing out. Hope you find it enjoyable.

Mama’s Boys then and now….

Back in June of 1985, I was talked into going to a Ratt concert in Rockford, Illinois.  Not being a big Ratt fan I was less than enthusiastic about driving 1-½ hours to the venue. 

On the way down we heard about a band called “Mama’s Boys” on the radio.  They were being advertised as the support act for Ratt that night.  Sounded interesting…not having cable TV in the part of Wisconsin we lived in, basically the middle of the middle of nowhere, we had never seen the MTV heavy rotation of Mama Weer All Crazy Now.

We arrived at the arena, found our seats and waited to see what the excitement was all about.  We soon found out.  Mama’s Boys were the first support act I had ever seen play an encore…very welcome indeed.

During the break between acts we went to the lobby to get a drink and found the boys doing a “meet and greet”.  Hmmmm, that’s interesting, never saw anyone do that before either.  The line was really long so I sat down and waited, just watching for a while.  After about 30 minutes, Tommy came walking over and introduced himself and sat, still signing autographs, talking for the rest of the night.  I never did have to go in and watch Ratt…sorry to any Ratt fans out there…but there was much more laughter happening in the lobby that night. 

A few weeks later I got a phone call reminding me they’d be in Milwaukee and making sure my friends and I were coming.  We went and another night of talking with Tommy ended with lots of laughs and smiles and hugs.

At 17, it was hard to keep convincing my mother it was a good idea to drive 2 and 3 hours to see them. She gave in more than I ever expected her too.  Then they traveled to far away for my friends and I to go and every now and then I’d get a phone call (or my mom did after I left home and she’d pass on the info) with stories about the road and what they were up too.

The phone calls stopped after a few years…people living their lives, etc I guess.  The last time I heard they were living in London.

Skipping ahead.  Last December, 2003, I was watching the VH1 Classic Channel and they played Mama Weer All Crazy Now (and for once it wasn’t the Quiet Riot version!) and I decided I’d get on line, find Tommy and ask him to visit and meet my husband and son, or at the very least meet up with him in England, as that’s where my husband is from and we were planning another trip over.  I guess I figured I’d eventually run into him, John or Pat in London somewhere in some strange place, walking down the street, in a club or something.

I ended up on the Celtus website.  When I read what had happened to Tommy, I was crushed.  We were the same age and I thought about all of the things I’d done in that almost 10 years and cried for him.  I emailed the website and had a response from Lindy the next day.

Discovering the music of Celtus has been an amazing journey.  I remember listening to the Moonchild album with a lump in my throat. 

My son absolutely adores them.  He’s 7 and wants them playing in the car all the time and steals my CDs to play in his room.  Lately he’s walking around the house singing “Wide Awake” from the Portrait album.

It’s music for everyone…even the “headbangers” of the 80’s.

Current music and where are they now....

Since the demise of Celtus, unfortunately for the universe, the boys have been busy.  Pat is playing gigs and working in Ireland again. John has kept himself busy in London working on some amazing stuff.

John is offering a CD of the studio work he’s been doing. You can find the information on this at www.folking.com/celtus on the forum (guest book) page.  Here are some thoughts on the new music.

Rivers of Time is the journey of a strong soul and the emotions of a tender heart.  They are bound together, twisting and winding through even the darkest places of the spirits of its audience.

Each time I listen I hear something different.  Today I played Rivers of Time while working in the garden and found a new perspective yet again.  I noticed the reactions of neighbors and passers by to the “background” music provided.  People were drawn into the yard to ask what I was listening to.  The baby boy next door squealed as his mother danced around the yard with him.  The chores in the garden went by much quicker than normal with the music, pleasant conversation with friends and strangers and the smiles…more and more smiles.

It starts with the feeling of waking up with Heirborne and the sadness and hope of the title track.  There’s the “big screen” romance feel of old movies with Cyber.  You can feel the mystery in Alpha and experience the extraordinary, haunting vocals of Loch Brann.  The album is a timeless soundtrack to a movie that has yet to be made.  It brings to mind the films scored by Thomas Newman.

This collection will capture the imagination of even the most cynical mind.  The moment you start to listen, your own emotions and experiences blend with the music, making it personal to each individual’s life.

John, you wrote, “It takes an audience understanding of the music” to make it special.

Thank you for pouring so much of yourself into Rivers of Time and so much other amazing music and guiding us to that understanding.

Offered by D. Horner 9-2004

My big thanks for the offering on this piece. I haven't heard the current stuff John or Pat have been doing to this point, but will definitely seek it out. Also, If you have the time, be sure to check out the information on what you can do to make someone elses disadvantage a bit easier by clicking here for the benefit page where I posted that.