When Ken O'Malley flew from Dublin to Los Angeles over 30 years ago, he arrived at LAX with red and blue platform shoes, his guitar and the idea that he should find a pub and play. Within two weeks, he found himself at Molly Malone's, the legendary Irish venue in the city's Fairfax district: he hasn't stopped playing since. Over the years, he's performed solo and with groups including The Mulligans, Blended Spirits and, currently, The Twilight Lords. He's shared bills with such artists as Mary Black, Johnny Cunningham, Paul Brady and Brian Setzer, The Chieftains, Eric Rigler, Shana Morrison and the Saw Doctors. He's crisscrossed the country so many times that he's stopped counting the miles, performing at clubs, pubs and festivals from New York and Boston to Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco, and while continuing to be an ever-popular and near legendary constant on Southern California's Celtic music circuit. "I love music and I love to play," says O'Malley who, by his own estimate, plays well over 200 dates a year.

But if Ken O'Malley loves music, he also loves people and has a seemingly tireless devotion to nurturing Irish music traditions and Irish culture. Ever willing to share his talent, extensive knowledge and generous spirit, he has earned a reputation as a much-loved mentor and such artists as The Young Dubliners' Keith Roberts, The Fenians' Terry Casey and Garrison White are quick to acknowledge that O'Malley has, indeed, been instrumental in burnishing their talents and in the success of their careers. Most Monday nights, he can be found at North Hollywood’s Celtic Arts Center, sitting in at the weekly seisiún, open to all and a magnet for the tradition's best and brightest. He has directed the Center’s choir, An Cór Ceilteach, taking them to performances at notable venues including the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. In between his exhausting tour schedule he leads tours of his native land for Americans who not only benefit from his extensive knowledge of Ireland’s history but have the opportunity to enjoy several live performances by Ken himself as part of the tour.

One of seven children, Ken O'Malley was born and raised in Dublin City. His grandfather was a band-leader, his father played piano, his mother opted for violin and everyone, of course, sang. Early music memories include a toy xylophone, but when O'Malley was nine years old, his father gave him a ukulele: the first tune he learned was "The Third Man Theme." He was off and running. Attending a Christian Brothers school gave him fluency in the Irish language - and a spot in the accordion band. He taught himself guitar and mandolin, and listened to rock and roll - Elvis Presley, the Beatles. Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Deep Purple forming the basis of his hit parade.

By age 14, he was playing coffeehouses in Dublin's then-burgeoning traditional music scene and at IS, he opened for legendary balladeer Paddy Reilly at the equally Legendary Old Sheiling ("My father dropped me off, and I took the bus home," he laughs). By the time he turned 18, O'Malley was gathering professional credits, among them a stint with Trudy's People, a group he formed with three girls that played on the RTE, Ireland's national radio and television network. He was also polishing his Irish language skills - and adding to his collection of songs and stories - with summer vacations in Ireland's West and the Aran Islands. Back home in Dublin, schooling completed, he performed in clubs and pubs at night and took a day job as a salesman for a wholesale home appliance dealer. "It was," he admits, "a good job." And although it introduced him to his wife, an American, he wasn't destined to stay. Within a year of their first meeting, he followed her to the States and Coldwater Canyon in 1974.

Along the way, he's performed in the film "Patriot Games" and acted in such theatrical productions as "All The Best", "Shadow of The Glen" and "The Man Who Would be King" and continued to hone a talent that holds him in the vanguard of Southern California's Celtic music scene. As a singer, he is equally at ease with the Eighteenth Century "Mo Gile Mear," the Phil Coulter-penned contemporary classic "The Town I Loved So Well" or Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic," one of his most requested songs. As a spinner of tales tall and true, he never fails to amuse and beguile. As a musician, his ways with mandolin and guitar have earned him high peer praise.

"I enjoy playing now more than ever," says O'Malley. "In the last five years, I've matured as an artist. My voice has gotten stronger, my playing better and better. I'm writing more and more and I'm writing better and better." The truth of that statement is clearly evident on The White Seahorse, his first CD with The Twilight Lords - Billy Watts, Tony Zamora, Thom Mooney and David Raven. A mix of such traditional material as "Carrickfergus," "Silver Spear/Maid Behind The Bar" and "Black Is The Color" and original compositions like "The High Wire Waltz," "The Sailor Song" and the title track - a salute to O'Malley's forebear, the Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley - "The White Seahorse" make this a masterful homage to traditional Irish music enhanced with solid rhythm, electric guitar and the powerful vocal energy that is the hallmark of a Ken O’Malley performance.

The second release, Women of Ireland, continues to showcase the group's irresistible blend of Celtic traditional, American roots rock and eclectic world beat, this time before an enthusiastic live audience at the Celtic Arts Center. The band takes traditional favorites such as "The Night Visit" and "Skibbereen" and gives them a tight, solid interpretation. The Lords and their special guest musicians could not have been more in sync with one another as each track is delivered with sheer perfection. There was obviously magic in the air that evening and there can be no doubt that Ken O'Malley, the driving force of the Twilight Lords, has heart and soul deeply rooted in Irish tradition and talent as eclectic and bright as tomorrow.

"If I've made people happy with my performances," says O'Malley, "that's success to me." If the past and present are any indication, Ken O'Malley is, indeed, destined to make many, many more people happy and destined, too, for more and more success.