Interview: “Moment in Time” on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast
The Gothard Sisters were featured on Episode #737 of Marc Gunn’s Irish and Celtic Music podcast. Greta appeared in an interview to discuss the band’s new album, “Moment in Time,” along with stories about the songs and the recording.
Listen here! Interview begins at the 0:39 mark.
Interview Transcription Below:
October 17th, 2025.
Marc Gunn (Irish and Celtic Music Podcast): “Alright, I am so excited to talk with Greta of The Gothard Sisters! The Gothard Sisters have been on the podcast forever, and they’ve even hosted an episode, they’ve done stories - but I realized I never have actually interviewed y’all. Welcome, Greta! How are you doing?”
Greta Gothard (The Gothard Sisters): “Thank you so much! I’m doing wonderfully. And it’s so good to be on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast, finally.”
Marc: “Yeah! Finally, she says. But you did your own episode. [laughter]. I have loved watching how you all have developed over the past, what is it, fifteen, sixteen years since you started on the show? Did we ever figure that out? 2009 or 2010?”
Greta: “Yeah, it’s kind of hard to calculate. Technically we decided we’ve been a band for… next year will be fifteen years. But really it was before that. So that’s when we started gigging professionally together but we’ve been making music together before that. I think Story Girl was the first album that was on the podcast, so that was released in 2011?”
Marc: “I feel like there was one before that. Before Story Girl. Because you all have been an inspiration for me, as a podcaster, and seeing how you all do things as a podcaster, and I’ll tell you why: years ago you all sent an album to me and it was… you know, very nice, lovely music. Then Story Girl came out, and I thought ooh, this is really good! And then I forget what the next album was, but then the next album and then the next one and the next one — and every time, it’s gotten better and better and better music. And I’ve seen you grow from this three-piece fiddle group — or maybe violin, you could say — into these incredible multi-instrumentalists and brilliant performers, performing all around the world. So — let’s step back and find out a little bit about the Gothard Sisters. Can you tell me how it all began?”
Greta: “Yeah! So we are the Gothard Sisters, and we are actually sisters. Some people want to know. But we’re all sisters so we spent a lot of time together growing up and we were all pursuing music separately. We were doing classical violin for many years, and we were also competing in Irish step dancing. We were doing those activities separately. Like Irish dance is different age groups, and we were different levels on the violin. So we were pursuing those things at the same time but we hadn’t really played music together.
So the Gothard Sisters really formed when I was playing a lot of classical music gigs when I had a string quartet in Seattle. We were playing a lot of weddings and different events and then all of my friends left the area to go to university and I didn’t have anybody to play with anymore. So I looked around and I was like “oh wow, Willow and Solana both play violin. Maybe we could do gigs together!” so that’s when we kind of started doing professional things together but before that we have always done little productions and musical things together so it was a very natural thing. But it wasn’t ever really intended to be a career.
We just started playing gigs together and started arranging more Celtic music because we wanted to incorporate the Irish dancing. And then we started getting pretty obsessed with Celtic music at that point and we loved listening to it all the time so we wanted to play it.
And so we sort of fell into Celtic music almost by accident. But we just love it, so much. It ended up being the kind of music we really wanted to play, first, and then eventually start writing it.”
Marc: “So what got you started in Celtic music?”
Greta: “Probably the first exposure to it was Riverdance. Riverdance came out when I was 12 or something and my mom brought home the VHS of Riverdance and put it on and we loved it SO MUCH. And we were dancing around in the living room, copying everything. First of all, it was the inspiration to start Irish dancing. And then from Irish dance we got more and more exposed to the musical side and just loved it. So we all started fiddling and I learned guitar, and we started adding all these other instruments. We were doing a lot of classical music, but unfortunately that took a back seat and we went all in on Celtic music.”
Marc: “Was there a defining moment when all of a sudden you said ‘let’s go Celtic?’”
Greta: “Not really. It was just a sort of natural slide. It was the music that we really enjoyed playing. We all love classical music, but when you get very high up in it and it gets very technical and competitive, sometimes it can stop being as fun and that’s not as connected to what the purpose of music is. That was just me personally. I felt that with Celtic music I really understood what music was about, and what I should be doing with it.”
Marc: “That’s awesome. Let’s hear a track from the new album, Moment in Time. So we’ll start off — this is the title track, is that what we’re gonna start with?”
Greta: “It IS the title track. Moment in Time.”
[ PLAYS MOMENT IN TIME]
Marc: “So Moment in Time is the newest album from the Gothard Sisters and I’m really excited — it just came out in October. What was the inspiration behind the album? Why did this album get made?”
Greta: “Well, so Moment in Time is our third all-original album so this one came about after it had been a certain length of time since Dragonfly. We wanted to do another original album. But the way we put our albums together is very slow and gradual. We come up with one or two songs at a time and the album forms around those songs. “Moment in Time” was not the first song on the album, but it was pretty close. It was the first vocal song on the album.
It was just something that I’d been thinking about a lot; all the infinite possibilities in a moment, and that you’re never quite the same year to year. Even a month ago, I can think back and think: maybe even a month ago I wasn’t the same person as I am now. I find that kind of fascinating.
But also, the seasons are always changing and we recently did a tour in Japan again, and there’s a phrase there, “Ichigo Ichie,” which is very similar to “Moment in Time,” but it means “one moment, one meeting,” and I really like that idea, that even somebody you know very well, every time you meet them it’s slightly different. Because you’re always changing, and I really liked that idea.
So that was the inspiration behind “Moment in Time,” and then the rest of the album ended up being a little bit about time in most of the songs. So that formed as the theme.”
Marc: “Hmm. It’s interesting that the album starts with a vocal song. I feel like your past few albums have started with instrumentals. From your website, it says you write the songs, right? Can you tell me about who’s singing and about the rest of your sisters?”
Greta: “So I’m Greta, and I’m the oldest sister. I do a lot of the lyric writing and some of the music and compositional side. Willow is the middle sister and she is the lead fiddle player in the band and she also does a lot of our recording. She actually recorded and mixed this album does a lot of work with the arrangement. Then Solana is our youngest sister and she’s the lead vocalist. She also plays bodhran and a bunch of different percussion instruments as well as whistle and fiddle.”
Marc: “Awesome. I love that you all have developed your own special traits — the different things that you do. Can you also actually break down what you all do also outside of the music? You’ve got the instruments and the vocals, but what else do you all do?”
Greta: “We are all Irish step dancers, so occasionally in the live show we’ll do some of that. But we also run a lot of the business side of things as well. Solana does a lot of social media, and I run our email newsletter and the website and all those good things. As I mentioned, Willow does a lot of the audio — the recording side of things, which is very nice. And Solana also helps, so she does some of the engineering as well. It’s nice — it’s really fun. It’s nice to divide up the responsibilities because it’s a lot of work. We enjoy it a lot, but it’s useful to be able to share all of the things.”
Marc: “Alright. So let’s make sure I got this straight: you have three tracks that are instrumental, and nine vocal tracks. Is that the most number of vocals you’ve had compared to instrumentals on an album? Is that that true?”
Greta: “Oh — it actually has five instrumentals, but on three of them are “the characters.” But there are seven vocals, so that’s a little more, because sometimes we would do six and six.”
Marc: “Why more songs versus tunes?”
Greta: “That’s an interesting question. I think as we’re putting the album together we’re listening through… so an interesting thing about this album is that the track list is actually the order that we made the songs up in. So “Moment in Time” was first and then “Adventurer” and it goes down from there — which doesn’t always happen. So as we were coming up with two songs at a time we would be listening through the album and thinking: ‘what could come next?’ ‘what would be a nice mood after this?’ And as we got down to the bottom it was like… I think we need another vocal, instead of another instrumental. We were feeling through it like that. I think that’s how we ended up with more vocals. It was just what the album needed.”
Marc: “How do you go about writing songs?”
Greta: “Hmm. That’s a mysterious process, isn’t it?"
Marc: “Do you have a formula or a method that you’ve developed over time?”
Greta: “Every time, I wonder if I have a method. [laughter]
But it has come together a little more. When I’m trying to come up with a lyric song, usually I will put together a bunch of ideas of words that I like and a feeling that I want it to have, or even colors. Sometimes I’ll look at pictures on Pinterest or something, I’m looking for a mood. I really can’t write anything until I’m solid on what the mood or the feeling is supposed to be. Usually it’s a feeling first and then the words come later. But what I need, usually, is a chorus. So I’ll sit around until I have a chorus, and then the verses will come later. But I really can’t — it’s not solid until there’s a chorus.”
Marc: “What about the instrumentals? Do you all compose those together, or who composes the instrumentals?”
Greta: “The instrumentals are a little more collaborative because all the instruments have different melodies and stuff, but Willow does a lot of the tune writing, so if it’s a tune set she’ll write the tunes. Then we’ll gather the tunes and we’ll add connective parts together. Then usually what we do for instrumentals and vocals is we’ll make a demo of the song on the computer and put the lead instruments on and most of the parts because the order is already put together, and then we’ll take turns arranging it. It’s a fun process, because we’re not working on it at the same time so when I get back to it after Willow and Solana have been working on it for a while, I’m like: “oh wow! This is like a totally different song now!” [laughter] It’s really fun because it’s surprising and the ideas bounce off of each other. So we’ll add different parts. And then we will sit around and listen to it, and take stuff out. That’s a big part of the process, actually, that takes the longest time. We’ll sit there and arrange it together at the end.”
Marc: “Wow.”
Greta: “So, usually our albums are a mix of vocals and instrumentals. And on this one we ended up with three instrumentals that have related names, and they’re all dedicated to different character traits, or different characters, which we started having a lot of fun with. So the first one is “Adventurer,” which is the second track, and it’s about being adventurous. [laughter] The last instrumental is a tune called “Healer,” which is about healing, and people who are helping with healing. And then the third one is called “Storyteller.” So that’s the one we’re going to play now. We really wanted it to capture the vibe of a storyteller, the spirit of a storyteller, and for the whole tune, even though it’s instrumental, to sound like a story. So it goes up and down and has all this drama and tension and release and contrast. So — this is called “Storyteller.”
[ PLAYS STORYTELLER]
Marc: “Alright let’s do some rapid fire questions. And I say rapid fire — take your time. [laughter] Ok — name a Celtic album that inspired you.”
Greta: “Well, there are a lot of them! For me personally, but also for Willow and Solana, we’re very inspired by Dougie MacLean and his writing. It’s hard to pick a favorite album. I like “New Tomorrow,” it has some of my favorite things on it, “Perthshire Amber” is like an orchestral thing that he did that I really like. And of course we love Enya. So — “Watermark,” probably “Day Without Rain.” For tune writing, we love Flook and Brian Finnegan. “Haven” and “Ancora” are great albums, and then Brian Finnegan’s solo album “The Ravishing Genius of Bones,” that one’s really good, too. So all of those — love them.”
Marc: “What about an up-and-coming artist — you all, again, I consider you an inspiration! So there are bound to be some other artists that are up and coming that you’ve heard and that you’ve found as you’ve been out and about. Who are some artists that you really enjoy?”
Greta: “It’s hard to think of just one. There are a bunch of really wonderful artists — it’s hard for me to call them up-and-coming, though, because a lot of them have been working hard for a long time. But we actually get a lot of submissions for our playlists on Spotify. We have some big playlists on Spotify for Celtic music, so a lot of people send us music from around the world, and we get to listen to that. It’s really fun to hear where all this music is coming from and so — I can’t really remember the names — Solana’ that does the playlists, but, yeah.”
Marc: “Do all of you listen to the music for the playlists, as far as picking the artists that are going to be on there? Is it a collaborative effort, or does Solana run that entirely?”
Greta: “Solana is the playlister, so she does a lot of that work. But there are so many great bands that it’s hard for me to name them. But if you listen to the playlists, that’s what we want to do is introduce all of these people to new listeners.”
Marc: “Is there a place that inspires your music?”
Greta: “Hmm.. that’s a great question. Yes, there is. We live outside of Seattle, Washington in Washington state and and Washington has beautiful nature. We’re very inspired by the mountains here and a lot of the music that we write is very inspired by driving up over the pass on I-90, the North Cascades is a beautiful area. Anywhere that’s mountain driving — I like listening to Celtic music while driving in the mountains, and that’s what inspires a lot.”
Marc: “I don’t think we could tell that, considering all your music videos that you have on YouTube [laughter]. Do you have any that are NOT in the mountains?”
Greta: “Hmmm. Well — maybe on the beach.” [laughter]
Marc: “Now I know you’ve been to Japan, have you all been to Ireland or Scotland and if so, is there any place that you loved while you were there and you think others should visit?”
Greta: “We have been to Ireland and Scotland, but it was many many years ago. Ireland — we were there for the Irish dancing World Championships in 2007, 2008. So, unfortunately I haven’t seen as much of Ireland as I would like to. We’ve been to Dublin and Belfast, but that was mostly for competitions so I haven’t really been around too much, but I really would like to see more. We also went to Scotland for Worlds, and we did get to go up to Glencoe, which — I love Glencoe. It was beautiful.”
Marc: “Well, so that raises an interesting — so you’ve made several trips to Japan. What is the most Celtic place in Japan?” [laughter]
Greta: “There’s this huge popularity of Celtic music growing in Japan, which is just really cool. But landscape-wise… there’s an island called Shikoku, that has really beautiful nature and lots of seaside towns, so maybe that is pretty Celtic?” [laughter]
Marc: “Sorry, it just hit me, I was like: let’s check. See if we got something. Ok, so if you make it to Japan, listeners, then make sure you visit what is it, Shikoku?”
Greta: “Shikoku. They’ll be very impressed if you go there because I don’t think very many people make it out to Shikoku. But it’s a beautiful place.”
Marc: “All the better. Alright, well, why don’t you tell us about the final track?”
Greta: “We’ll finish up with a track that is the third track on the album and this one is called “Lavender Moon.” This one kind of came to me while I was napping… so the whole chorus came, and it was just this lovely, comforting feeling — a sense of being by the ocean, with a big moon over the ocean and feeling very connected to timelessness. So this one is called “Lavender Moon.”
Marc: “Alright. Well thank you so much, Greta, it was wonderful chatting with you. We will have you on the podcast again, because we love your music here. Alright, here is “Lavender Moon” from “Moment in Time” by the Gothard Sisters.
[ PLAYS LAVENDER MOON]
