Mike Farragher's Irish Voice Note about Always Believe

Read Mike Farragher's nice note in the Irish Voice & IrishCentral.com about our new Christmas tune Always Believe...

Hear it on our Facebook fan page, and streaming on CelticCross.com.

Or download from a secret MP3 download page as a special gift from Santa... shhshh!!  

Merry Merry, Happy Happy....

P

"Always Believe"

"You have to believe to receive," was all I ever heard when asking about Santa. Christmas Eve was the big night in our house. The fancy china, Waterford crystal and long stemmed red candles would appear on the table, for our special family dinner. After dinner, our house would fill-up with music, friends and family. Inevitably, the dinner table would clear and the cards would come out, for a game of 25.

I have only seen the card game, "25" played in Irish households. Growing up, we learned how to play and it has been a family tradition ever since. It has also been the cause of many an argument, especially between my Dad and Uncles, over "poor card playing!"

For more information on how to play the card game 25, click here.

Christmas Eve would not be complete without a trip to the Bronx. We would load up a car or two and the "Jersey gang" would head into Sam Maguires! I can recall many great Christmas Eves there, singing and dancing the night away. There may have even been a few Santa sightings leaving Sams...or maybe it was an over indulgence in holiday cheer!

All these memories and thoughts were put down on paper as Patrick and I started writing, "Always Believe." It was late September and on a whim, we decided to write a Christmas song. One of our goals was to write the song without saying "Christmas." Once we had the lyrics and a melody, it seemed like the parts just fell into place. Frankie came up with the opening hook and John and Ken played just the right parts to make it sound like Celtic Cross. Within a month, we were in the studio recording.

While in the recording studio, we thought a tin whistle would really add to the song. Ken's 10-year-old son, Kenny Vesey, was more than willing to take a 1/2 day off school to come in and play the tin whistle part for us. He is an amazing talent and was able to record his part in one take. The same week he made is recording debut with Celtic Cross, Kenny was asked to share the stage with Eileen Ivers during her upcoming Christmas concert in Ramsey, NJ, this December. Wow...what a week.

You can hear the new song at CelticCross.com.   Stay tuned for more infomation about how to buy it on iTunes and CD Baby.   

Merry Christmas to you!

Cheers-Kathleen

Is Irish Music on the Decline? Wow... Not In My Circles...

Read this...

http://ramblinghouse.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/downbeat-trend-for-irish-music/

This is an interesting blog post I came accross... suggesting a "downbeat trend" in interest in Irish music over the last few years based on Google web searches on "Irish Music."

I would not have guessed this at all based on the ever expanding number of and attendance at Irish Music festivals and the increasing attendance at Irish music classes and arts groups that I have seen over the last few years.

While the data don't lie... maybe people aren't searching for it cause they have already found it?

P

  

A Song I Wish I Wrote...

Check these guys out... currently overplaying them on my ipod...

Biblecode Sundays, Bottle Slammin London Irish Rock... fun and good. Ronan MacManus, Elvis Costello's brother is in the band... how can you not like an Irish Rock act with Elvis in the family?

The song is Boys of Queens... written by Andy Nolen, the band's accordion player. Won't top the charts, but it made me smile with all the mentions of the neighborhoods I grew up around... Woodside, Rockaway, Breezy... and it is the 9/11 song that perfectly fits the New York Borough.

All you Queensies... give it a listen...

Just one final look around this bar lie a million broken dreams
But I ask this time will I ever get to come back home to Queens

New CDs From Two of Our Favorites... Solas & The Duhks

Two very cool groups... favorites of several of us in Celtic Cross... have recently released new CDs that are must listens for folks who love Celtic/Irish music.

The Duhks are a cool folk funk Celtic playing group from Manitoba that have put out several great records over the last year. Awesome songwriting is their hallmark... especially in "Dance Hall Girls" & "You and I" from a previous release... both of which remain in my iPod most played tracks.

Their new release is called Fast Paced World is a great listen... grungy and tough and well played, and so well written. The track "You Don't See It" has literally been played dozens of times on my iPod already. Very very cool trad playing on this... groundbreaking stuff in a time when so much new Celtic stuff is so so neopunk influenced. This is much more New Orleans funk meets Seattle grunge meets Nashville folk.

And the masters themselves... Solas also have a brand new record out called "For Love and Laughter." No one plays Celtic or Irish traditional music better in this writer's humble opinion... and Solas is at the top of their game in this new CD. The harmonies played between Winifred Horan's fiddle and Mick McAuley's accordion actually send chills up my back. Interestingly, members of the Duhk's actually played with Solas on several tracks... and you can hear essence of these two groups dovetail elegantly. An awesome pairing of two great styles.

Both are must have records... and both are on iTunes or available through the band websites above. Enjoy...

Shores reviewed on celticmp3s.com...and what a cool review it is!

We really love this one!!

http://www.celticmp3s.com/free/2008/08/review-shores-of-america-by-celtic.shtml

A great review from Catherine Tully... and a great website for celtic music lovers... make sure you check them out.

P

Shores of America reviewed in Shite-n-Onions!

Visit and read....

http://www.shitenonions.com/

Happy Friday...

P

Our Frankie McCormick at Catskills Irish Arts Week

A nice story about the recent Catskills Irish Arts Week which features our mandolin/banjo player Frankie McCormick.

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200808030230/LIFESTYLE01/808030316

Attaboy Frankie...

P

Where To Hear Cool New Celtic Tunes?

I have to admit my increasing boredom with the endless rehashing of the same old same old Irish music that our parents and their parents listened too... not necessarily done any differently or better. Sure there are splashy new over produced groups and gorgeous new singers busting out their take on Red Is The Rose, but I always hunger for something new... something creative. Personally, the next "new" cover version of the Fields of Athenry may put me over the edge...

Interestingly, this is really not so in the traditional arena, where even the most popular and cherished tunes can be played by a new talented player, and given entirely new life, edge and groove.

I really think that the early versions are usually the more interesting renditions. Recently, on Larry Kirwin's Sirius Celtic Crush radio program, I caught an old Clancy Brothers live recording of The Patriot Game from the early 60s... likely one of the initial recordings of that song. The passion in that track was so intense and palpable, clearly driven from the then current historical events that inspired the song. I suggest that there may not be a singer or group alive who will sing that with the same raw passion and purpose the way they did in the 60s.

Oh but I am sure they will try...

But there is hope... courtesy of Internet and satellite radio. If you long for something new like me, there are a number of regular programs of new, different, or obscure Irish and Celtic music recordings available... often just a click away.

In just the last year or two, I have been turned on to a bunch of new and innovative Celtic/Irish groups... including Green Man, Enter The Haggis, The Elders, Peatbog Fairies and Greenwich Meantime to name a few. There are tons more... there is hope folks. Here are a few ideas...

First, you can download and listen to brief shows called podcasts either on your PC or iPod. There are literally thousands of podcasts available on any topic you can think of, including Celtic music. Podcasts are a timely and fresh way of hearing new groups from across the country and the world. Here are my favorites...


www.celticmusicnews.com
Hosted by Aaron Drake.
Subscribe with iTunes.

www.celticmusicpodcast.com
Hosted by Marc Gunn.
Subscribe with iTunes

www.clevelandcelticpodcast.com
Hosted by Wendy Lee Donahue


You can sometimes even hear Celtic Cross on these podcasts... which we are always grateful.

As I mentioned earlier, for those of you who have Sirius Satellite Radio... don't miss the Celtic Crush program, hosted by our friend Larry Kirwin from Black 47. This program on Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings always offers a different perspective on interesting Irish and Celtic music.

So... check these spots out and see if you can find something new. Also... make sure to comment about where you find your new music, spread the word!

P

Celtic Cross on Music Road

We are thrilled to have had our new CD mentioned on a wonderful music blog called Music Road...

Music Road: now playing: Celtic Cross: Shores of America

Check it out, comment, and visit it often!

P

Great Canadian Bands Electrify East Durham's Saturday Night

Just getting back from a great couple of days at the East Durham Memorial Day Weekend Irish Festival... IMHO the granddaddy of Irish festivals... simply the most venerable and authentic Irish culture massing you will find. Great weather, great crowds, and fantastic live music.

Our band Celtic Cross appeared twice yesterday in a lineup that we were thrilled to be part of. Our sets alternated with the 17 Grammy Award winning Jimmy Sturr Orchestra... I think more Grammies than Michael Jackson.

But I completely enjoyed the two exceptional groups from Canada that performed after us... Greenwich Meantime and Enter The Haggis.

This festival stage has hosted legend after legend from Irish and Celtic music... the likes of Black 47, Saw Doctors, and Hothouse Flowers in recent years. It was fantastic to see these two Toronto groups that I have been a fan of for a while headline the evening.

Greenwich Meantime were better than ever, with a new lineup and an electrifying tight set. I have loved the songwriting and performance on their two Cd's, but I have to say that their live show last night took my appreciation of these guys to a new level.

Then ETH performed a rock show that was as polished, explosive and fun as any that I have seen in our scene. I really think these guys are the new kings of Celtic music. First of all, they rocked hard. But they are intricate and sophisticated arrangements reminding me of Dave Matthews in spots. Musically, they are intense and impressive.

And both bands could not be cooler to meet and hang out with.

From chatting with folks at the show, it surprisingly seemed that many in the crowd (predominantly NYC/NJ/CT) were seeing GMT and ETH for the first time. I am sure that these great bands have thousands of new fans coming from their fantastic performances last night.

Definitely check out their websites: Greenwich Meantime and Enter The Haggis.

EAST DURHAM!!

As a kid, I can remember counting down the days until Memorial Day weekend...well here I go again! Memorial Day weekend not only kicked off the official start of the summer, it also meant that East Durham was finally opened, alive and awake from its sleepy hibernation of the winter.

Vacations in East Durham were always the highlight of our summers. My parents were always more comfortable in the mountains than the beach...maybe because of our "cheap Irish skin." there were tons of families, like ours, packing into this town and great Irish music ringing out of every resort on Rt. 145.

We would spend weeks, leading up to our vacation, practicing what "act" we were going to shop around to the Amateur Hours in order to bring home the prized 'breasted angel on fake marble' trophy with the coveted 1st, 2nd or 3rd place engraved on it. My parents still have shelves of these dusty souvenirs in their basement.

Celtic Cross started playing in Erin's Melody, back in 1990. Erin's was the place to be and it was always packed in with the "young crowd." Hundreds of Irish and Irish Americans would squeeze into the Martin's bar to spend countless nights, drinking and dancing 'til the wee hours.

After 4 am, and well into our 2nd wind, we would head to the secret "shale pits" to sing around a bonfire and drink until the sun came up. Only then, like vampires, would we scatter back to the various mediocre accommodation to sleep again, until the sun went down.

Although years have gone by since those crazy days, East Durham on Memorial Day weekend is still the place to be. The Irish festival has a tremendous line-up and this Saturday, we will be hanging there all day and into the night. We have 2 sets-3:30 and 6:00. Come on by and be sure to say hello! Hope to see you there!

Cheers-Kath

The Shores of America Story

It’s still in the back of every New Yorker’s mind. We look like and think we have healed, and we really have on many levels, but so much has changed. The world will never be the same. From the banker, the NYFD retiree, to the immigrant cabby, every denizen of Gotham knows where they were, where their family was, what they did that night… 9-11-01. And it hasn’t been the same since that day.

Shores of America, the new Celtic Cross CD takes an uncommon perspective on the tragic attack that deeply impacted the proud Irish-American community in the city its ancestors built from the ground up. From the tragic stories of the victims that left no neighborhood unmarred, the ensuing changes to immigration that strangled the flow of new Irish blood, to the military families that are still making their sacrifice, the Irish in New York wear 9/11 on their sleeves… no matter what their tough exterior might suggest.

The Celtic Cross recording, released in December, chronicles the Irish American kids growing up stories on New York City’s streets. With catchy tunes like First Kiss, telling a love story under the 7 train in the Irish crammed streets of Woodside, and Those Were the Days, a world-wind tour of a “narrowback” or second generation Irish child, Shores of America delivers a colorful view of the immigrant households that are the fabric of so many Irish ghettos around town. All delivered with determined singing and an updated pop rock edge that critics call Irish Americana.

But the piece that sets the tempo is the title track Shores of America. An edgy energetic anthem sung by the sassy lead singer Kathleen Fee makes you sit back and listen, and look for the lyrics page. “We didn’t set out to write a 9-11 song, and we certainly never thought to be political,” says Ms. Fee, “but any way you look at things, it has been the key turning point for so much about Irish culture in the US, and nowhere more deeply felt than in the Irish-American stronghold neighborhoods in New York City.”

Shores of America spins three real life vignettes; each verse is a different chapter in Irish Americana over the last seven years. The first and most poignant grips the listener with the notion of a good looking good natured fireman who died in the tragic World Trade Center attack. Specifically, Ms. Fee writes about NYFD’s Tom Foley, a Pearl River friend of the band. A look at the names of 9/11 victims from the New York Fire Department is like the map of Ireland. The memories of funeral after funeral with bagpipes kept the pain of the terrible attack with us for months and years. It would be hard for a New Yorker not to stop in retrospect when Ms. Fee sings:

Tommy was a friend of mine, had a heart so pure and so kind. His big, blue eyes could make your heart sing; being there for everyone was Tommy’s thing. Did his job that fateful day, when our NY skyline was ablaze…

There is a traditional Irish melancholy sing-song of the same title as the Celtic Cross title track that speaks hauntingly of the hope, promise and desire of the famine impoverished Irish as they longed for freedom in the United States. At the moment of this personal reflection on the death of one of 343 New York’s Bravest, the hopes of the world’s emigrants were put on hold and their view of the Shores of this America are forever changed.

The Irish talked about the Flight of the Earls in the eighties as the best and brightest, and a good portion of the rest of Ireland’s youth renewed the levels of immigration to the US not seen since the fifties. The vibrant inflow created venerable Celtic ghettos in neighborhoods like Maclean Avenue in Yonkers, Katonah and Bainbridge Avenues in the Bronx, and Roosevelt Avenue and Queens Boulevard in Queens. Celtic Cross banjo/mandolin player Frankie McCormick, himself an immigrant from County Armagh in Ireland recalls “We could get a gig seven nights a week with all the bars in the Bronx and Queens, and every night packed to the doors.” But things began to change well before 9-11 with the emergence of the “Celtic Tiger” Irish economy in the late nineties. Job growth in Ireland exploded, stymieing the flow of emigrants and reversing the flow back from the US.

The War on Terror’s dramatic crackdown on immigration laws was the final straw. Shores of America’s second verse speaks of the aftermath from the disaffected immigrant perspective. The days of the packed Bronx bars were over. Ms. Fee sings:

“Flight of the Earls now in reverse, leavin like our fathers first. I’ll be back for a holiday, but across the sea is where I’ll stay. Now I’m leavin here, Shores of America”

The once longed for Shores are now out of reach, and may never be the same.

The ramifications of the attacks are further chronicled by Celtic Cross in the eyes of the military mother in the third verse. The band’s fiddle player, Ken Vesey (brother of Kathleen, and John, the band’s accordionist) talks emotionally about his military cousins, “My Aunt Bridie always has a smile on, but I know she cries every time one of them packs their trunk to head out to the base.” Ken, Kathleen and John have four first cousins who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last few years. Kathleen sings about her Aunt and cousins,

A war to fight that’s what they say, Sent Bridie’s boys away. One by one she kissed goodbye, Off to the desert now, they would fly. She lights her candle, in her window at night, says her prayers to safely end this fight. Bridie’s waiting at her door, when they’ll come home and leave no more.

This final verse brings the 9-11 Irish America story to date with a hopeful prayer for the safe return of her military children (and ours) from the dessert from the perspective of an Irish mother in New York. Something of an end to a story that doesn’t have one yet.

The Celtic Cross record Shores of America weaves a view of Irish New York that is forever changed, yet ever-charming. The music is updated, yet mindful of the great Irish music tradition. The stories are for all of us in New York, and all of our Irish friends and their families.

What a Jam... What Great Friends

On Saturday night in Yonkers, Celtic Cross played a fun show for our great friends, the Blackthorn Pipe Band. It was a pleasure to play at their exceptional ball. We can't thank this cool group of people and musicans enough for showing up at literally every Celtic Cross show.

The highlight of the show was when we got a number of guests up on the stage with us. Dennis McCarthy from Jameson's Revenge & Shilelgh Law on fiddle, Jerry O'Sullivan on uilleann pipes, and Joe from the Blackthorn band on djimbe. Still trying to track down the tune names from what turned out to be a 25 minute Siege of Ennis... but Wow what fun. The last tune in particular was right off that Stockton's Wing live album I just wrote about last week... it was cool to recall and play that funky bass line with these very talented players.

I know some of the folks had video cameras going for the session. Please put them on Youtube so we can hear and see it all again.

P

Kathleen's First Blog...A Little Celtic Cross History!

So this is my first blog, and I figured I should introduce myself and tell you a little about me and the band. My name is Kathleen Fee and I have been singing since I could talk and been with Celtic Cross from the beginning.

My two older brothers, John (accordion) and Kenny (fiddle) are in Celtic Cross, as well as Frankie McCormick (banjo/mandolin), Pat Dineen (bass), Walter Ensor (guitars) and Dave Barckow (drums.) These guys are my best friends and we really have a blast together!!

My Dad, Sean Vesey, comes from Charlestown, Mayo and my Mom, Kathy Ross is from Drumlish, Longford. When I was 8, my family moved back to Ireland and we lived in Dromod, Leitrim. My two brothers, John and Kenny, and I attended Annaduff Primary School, in Leitrim, for 2 years.

During the 2 years that we lived there, we had a difficult time settling into Irish living. When we were in America we were Irish and when we were in Ireland we were American. The kids we went to school with loved to tease us and call us "Narrowback Yankees." Finally, one day on the school playground, my brother John exploded and beat the sh*t out of 3 boys who were tormenting him. Well that was the end of the "Narrowback Yankee" name calling. After that, they just called him the "Incredible Hulk!"

My best childhood memories are of the time we spent in Ireland. My Grandparents lived on farms and although they didn't have much, they did know how to laugh and make the most out of life. When we moved back to the States, they were heartbroken, but we did return every August for a few weeks.

In the song Who I Am, there is a reference to saying good bye to my Grandma. She hated when the Summer was over, and were were leaving. She would always say, "I might never see you again. Sure I might die over the winter." All the while she would be shoving a few pound into our pockets for some "sweets." Every August there she would be, waiting at the gate for us when we returned. Spending that time in Ireland, really solidified the strong Irish connection that John, Ken and I have.

My parents would always say that were were so lucky to have the opportunity to learn an instrument, something they never had. They especially loved to throw that out to us as were were whining about having to practice. I started singing when I was about 5. John has been playing the accordion since he was around 10. Ken has been playing the violin since he was 8 and is also an All-Ireland champion.

When we came back to the States, my brothers and I started playing at small parties and Irish ceilis. Our first real gig was at a bar, across from Van Cortland Park, in the Bronx. I was 16 at the time and we played there every Sunday. Some of our friends would come down and jam with us, and that is eventually how Celtic Cross got started. The song, Those Were The Days is a lot about those times in the Bronx.

So let me tell you a little about my other "brothers," in the band. Walter Ensor is a Rockaway Beach, Queens native. Walter has been an incredible influence on Celtic Cross. He brings with him a vast knowledge and perspective of many types of music, ranging from the Grateful Dead to bluegrass. What I admire most about Walter is his ability to listen to something, particularly something new we are working on, and know exactly what it needs or what it's missing, to make it complete.

Pat Dineen, has also been an intrinsic part of Celtic Cross and was instrumental in writing and creating our new CD. Like ourselves, Pat has Irish immigrant parents from Cork and Monaghan. He grew up in Queens and was also immersed in Irish music from an early age. Pat is great at throwing out new song ideas and getting us all together to write and help finish each other's work. He is constantly writing and pushes the rest of us to continue working on songs and tune ideas.

Frankie McCormick grew up in Northern Ireland, in the county Tyrone. As you can imagine, he has loads and loads of stories of what it was like growing up when the "troubles" were a very real thing. He is an amazing banjo and mandolin player and has competed and won All-Irelands too many times to count. We love to refer to him as the human metronome because his rhythm is always dead on. Frankie has an incredible sense of humor and brings that with him to every gig.

Dave Barckow is another Queens kid and has a broad musical background. Along with being an amazing drummer and singer, he also plays the guitar. Before Celtic Cross, he toured the US with a signed heavy metal band. Dave also knows when to kick things into high gear. He was also incredibly invaluable in the writing of the song Shores of America.

So if you haven't heard our new CD yet, go to our website, www.celticcross.com, where you can listen to the tracks. When we set out to write the CD, we wanted to tell the story of us, which is uniquely Irish American. We really wanted to create something that spoke about our experiences and what it is like to be an Irish American. Of course you're always a little unsure of how something new will be received. There is no better feeling for all of us, than performing our own material and having an audience into it and singing along. My only misgiving is that we did not do this sooner.

I will do a future blog about what inspired each track and some of the inspiration behind the writing. If you have any specific questions for me, or any other member of Celtic Cross, you can email us directly through our website.

Cheers-Kathleen

The root of fun Irish Music... Stockton's Wing

I thought it might make sense to start this blog with where it all began for me in terms of playing really fun Irish Music...

In the 80's (and to be fair the "Carter" part of the 80's... not yet even the Reagan years...), I started playing Celtic music for money in a band, playing a piano accordion. And from what I recall, I rocked with it (although I can barely play a note now).

... and at some festival somewhere... probably up in East Durham, NY, I bought an LP (vinyl baby) from a cool looking band called Stockton's Wing. The record was the now legendary Live (Take One) which featured hot Fleadh Cheoil winning trad players... and a totally hip 80s rhythm bass/drum combo. Stockton's Wing (which is also a place on the New Jersey shore mentioned in the Bruce Sringsteen song Backstreets) built on and polished the hip ceili music from folks like Steeleye Span, Horslips, Moving Hearts... totally giving it a pop funk flare.

My prayers were answered, I put the accordion away, bought myself a Fender Precision... and freed myself from playing boring 1-3-5 march time chord roots for every irish tune that came along. Stockton's Wing bass player Steve Cooney grooved tunes with lines you might hear from disco bands Chic or KC & The Sunshine Band. Slapping and popping was now cool in Irish music. Still is in my books...

For years, you could not get that cool record on CD. I happen to run into a friend last year who had a copied version on CD, that I promptly uploaded to my iPod. Since then, it has appropriately re-release and added to iTunes. Listening to it now is still cool and relevent, but in my opinion largely unanswered in Irish music in terms of pop funk flare.

In the band I am in, Celtic Cross, we have seven members, and seven die-hard fans of Stockton's Wing. On our new record Shores of America, we went into the studio to craft a funky irish tune set... and arrived at 22 which takes the dark traditional reel Musical Priest, slides a funk & hip-hop groove underneath... and then layers a haunting vocal by our singer (and my future blog-mate) Kathleen Fee. It is our twenty-first century tribute to a formative eighties LP...

P