Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a
professional fiddler born in Creignish,
Nova Scotia, Canada.
While MacIsaac's fiddle-playing is entirely traditional, he often sets it in contemporary rock songs with hip hop and dance
elements. He has, however, also released several albums of more traditional folk music.
His greatest mainstream success in Canada was his 1995 album Hi™ How Are You
Today?, featuring the hit single "Sleepy Maggie," with vocals in Gaelic by
Mary Jane Lamond.
Controversy
MacIsaac has been a highly controversial figure, who has often used shock tactics to gain attention. In 1999, he told a journalist for The New Yorker that his goal was to
become "weirder than Michael Jackson". [1]
He elicited a considerable amount of controversy in 1996, after being interviewed by
Maclean's for their best of the year section. He told the Maclean's interviewer
that he had previously discussed his sexual life, including his significantly younger boyfriend and his enjoyment of kinky sex
acts including watersports, in an interview with the LGBT
newsmagazine The Advocate. For its part, The Advocate did not print any of
the controversial assertions, but Maclean's nonetheless dropped him from its year-end honours list and instead wrote a
disparaging article on him, considered by many to be homophobic on their part.[1]
Also the same year, MacIsaac toured the United States as an opening act for
The Chieftains. Another opener, folk singer Nanci
Griffith, dropped out of the tour. While it was widely reported in the media that Griffith objected to MacIsaac's musical
style, Griffith indicated in a 1998 interview with Rolling Stone that her primary
conflict was not with MacIsaac himself, but with the tour organizers over how much time was actually available for her to perform
after MacIsaac was added to the bill.[2]
In 1997, MacIsaac appeared on Late Night with
Conan O'Brien, in a controversial performance during which one of his kick steps lifted his kilt high enough that his
genitals were clearly visible to both the studio audience and the television cameras. MacIsaac stated that this was
unintentional.[3]
In 1998, he reportedly gave a lewd performance, which is how the press portrayed the event, for
including the "F" word once while he rapped a hip hop track-which included hip hop gestures, at an all-ages venue in
Fort Erie. Shortly thereafter, MacIsaac fought successfully to be independent of his
record label and was dropped from Universal Music.[4]
He subsequently signed with the independent label Loggerhead Records for his 1999 album Helter's Celtic. During the promotional tour for that album, he indicated to the press that he
had previously battled an addiction to crack cocaine.[5]
On December 31, 1999, MacIsaac again gave a controversial
performance at a show in Halifax, in which his entire performance consisted of a
20-minute rant containing numerous expletives and, allegedly, several racist statements, which
turned out to be actually verbal irony. A few days later, MacIsaac got into a media spat with Loggerhead after the label sent out
a press release distancing itself from his actions.[6]
Later in 2000, MacIsaac left a stage in Chatham, Ontario, after a patron approached him with a beer bottle, ready to throw it
at the performer. Also the same year, MacIsaac told the Halifax
Chronicle-Herald that he was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy, retracted the
statement within a few days, and then actually filed for bankruptcy several months later.[6]
In 2003, MacIsaac was again alleged to have made racist statements on stage, at a show where he
reportedly accused an Asian woman in the audience of spreading SARS. He subsequently stated that the comment was intended as an ironic of racism, and sued the Ottawa Citizen for misrepresenting
the statement as racist when in fact he was speaking out against racial profiling happening in Canada at the time.[7]
New directions
In 2005, MacIsaac pursued a new direction, after signing on with Linus Entertainment (home to
Gordon Lightfoot and Ron Sexsmith) forming a rock
band with himself on lead vocals and guitar. He has declared an interest in politics and has stated, in a letter to the
National Post, that he is studying constitutional law so as to pursue an entry into
Canadian federal politics.
In the March 20, 2006, edition of the Halifax Daily News, MacIsaac declared himself a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal
Party of Canada. Some Canadian journalists, including Mike Duffy, characterized
MacIsaac's campaign as a publicity stunt to promote his new CD Pride which was
released just a day after declaring himself a candidate.[citation needed] MacIsaac told the Canadian Press
that he fully intended to mount a serious campaign, but on June 21, 2006, MacIsaac decided to no longer take part in the
leadership race. However, he has not ruled out future attempts. His stated reasons for withdrawing from the race were a lack of
French language skills, and his concern for other leading candidates' intentions on foreign policy.[citation needed]
In a comment to national press, another fiddler turned politician, Rodney MacDonald,
Premier of Nova Scotia, praised MacIsaac by stating it would be a nice thing to see him in federal politics. Both MacIsaac and
MacDonald played in a group together in the late eighties called The Next Generation and have been friends for many years,
starting out as the only two well known young male step dancers from Cape Breton. MacDonald, however, is a Conservative while
MacIsaac is a "life-long" Liberal.
Marriage
On February 17, 2007, MacIsaac was scheduled to perform in
a showcase of Cape Breton talent at the Imperial Room of the Lord Nelson Hotel, in
Halifax, NS. Rumours spread amongst the people of a potential wedding. At the end of his set, MacIsaac, dressed in a black
tailored suit with a pink tie and hankerchief, announced to those attending the sold-out gala that the rumours were true and that
they would all be present to his marriage to his boyfriend, Andrew Stokes. The two were married at approximately 12:45am on
February 18, 2007. The newly married couple played a jig
together following a toast from long-time friend, Stuart Cameron, and a warm reception from those in attendance.
Filmography
Discography
- Close to the Floor (1992)
- A Cape Breton Christmas (credited to Ashley MacIsaac and Friends, 1993)
- Hi™ How Are You Today? (1995)
- Fine®, Thank You Very Much (1996)
- Helter's Celtic (1999)
- capebretonfiddlemusicNOTCALM (with Howie MacDonald, 2001)
- Ashley MacIsaac (2003)
- Live at the Savoy (2004)
- Fiddle Music 101 (with Dave MacIsaac, 2005)
- Pride (2006)
MacIsaac has also published an autobiography, Fiddling with
Disaster in 2003.
Trivia
- Ashley's sister, Lisa is also a touring fiddler and appears on his album Helter's Celtic. His cousins Alexis MacIsaac,
Wendy MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster are also touring
fiddlers.
- In the manga series Bleach, the author
Tite Kubo gives main characters theme songs based on their personality, and MacIsaac's
"Wingstock" is the theme of character Rukia Kuchiki.
- Ashley MacIsaac is a distant cousin of The White Stripes guitarist and lead
vocalist Jack White. The two met and MacIsaac opened for The White Stripes concert in
Glace Bay.[8]
Notes
External links
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