You can listen to traditional Irish music anywhere, anytime. But the very best place is sitting in the west of Ireland, downing your third pint of Guinness and knowing its great to be Irish.

If you know their corporate culture, if you know their bright spots, if you know their problems, then you can speak about more specifics. And if you know the names of your audience, use those names whenever possible.

Irish music has been great to me. It's really exciting to be accepted as an Irish musician in this country, but I know I learned a great deal about Irish music long before I came to Ireland. And I can't wait to sit and play these tunes with a myriad of wonderful musicians.

We'll sing certain programs of music, such as an Irish one or holiday tunes.

A lot of my fondness for music came from them, and no doubt from their Welsh and Irish ancestry, too. When I reached 12, I finally knew I wanted to be a singer.

In order to stay with the roots of Irish music -- it's kind of like classical music -- you need to study it in its pure form. What we try to do is keep it to its original roots.