Guest Host for WFUV, Sunday July 25th

Performing live in the WFUV studio has always been a thrill, but when Liz Noonan, the producer of Ceol na nGael, asked me to come up this Sunday, July 25th, and be their guest host and have Celtic Cross perform live, I was beyond excited! What an honor to be their first guest host and put together the program's play list of all my favorite Irish songs and artists. August 8th, Eileen Ivers will also be hosting the program and hopefully play something live in the studio with her awesome band, Immigrant Soul!

If your house was like mine, WFUV would be blaring from the kitchen radio every Sunday morning as breakfast was being made! My Mom would take it upon herself to give "dance lessons" around the kitchen as one of her favorite songs would be played! I have often wondered how I learned the words of so many Irish songs and it had to be from hearing them every week on Ceol na nGael. I can also remember the first time Celtic Cross was played on the radio. My phone rang off the hook with friends and family calling to let us know we were on. I remember turning up the volume and standing around the radio with my brothers, John and Kenny, listening, as if we had never heard the song before! :)

So this Sunday, July 25th, be sure to keep the tradition alive and tune into 90.7 fm, from 12 noon-4 pm. Celtic Cross will be performing live around 2:00.

WFUV Press Release...

Kathleen Fee and Eileen Ivers Guest Host WFUV's Ceol na nGael

New York, NY-Kathleen Fee and Eileen Ivers will co-host WFUV's Irish music and news show Ceol na nGael this summer, covering for Ireland-bound host Colleen Taylor. As guest hosts, the two celebrated Irish musicians will join host Kerri Gallagher to treat listeners to the songs they like to listen to at home and talk about all their favorite artists. Celtic Cross lead vocalist Kathleen Fee will guest host on Sunday, July 25^th, while fiddler Eileen Ivers fills in on Sunday, August 8^th. As a special bonus, Celtic Cross will perform live on the July 25th show, as will fiddler Martin Hayes.

"Who better to have guest host than Kathleen and Eileen?" said Ceol na nGaelproducer Liz Noonan. "Their love of Irish music is palpable and I'm looking forward to being turned on to some music I've never heard before."

Ceol na nGael began as the brainchild of Fordham University students Gerry Murphy and Mary McGuire in 1974. The program quickly evolved into a radio haven for New York's Irish music lovers, many of whom regularly dedicate songs to one another and keep abreast of Irish community events through Ceol na nGael's "bulletin boards." Other program highlights include weekly news and sports reports from Ireland.

WFUV is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station, licensed to Fordham University for over 60 years. Serving the New York area as well as an international audience on the web, and a leader in contemporary music radio, WFUV is Rock & Roots Radio, offering an eclectic mix of rock, singer-songwriters, blues, world and other music, plus headlines from National Public Radio and local news.

Thirteen Irish Songs That Need To Be Retired

Don't take this too seriously folks...

As we head into the high-holy season of March... Paddy's Month, I dare a controversial topic that will almost certainly draw hate-blogmail. But I need to get this off my chest...

I specifically reach out to all my fellow Irish music players and singers out there. I know many of you have these thoughts too...

As an Irish musicianer for years and years now, I have played every conceivable Irish song... you name it, and me and my band mates have played it 100s of times. Different places, different crowds, they always seem to love all of them unquestioningly.

And I too have loved them all to some degree at some point... but I confess there are several that all the love is gone. Really gone. And now I cringe at the thought of the requests that will come over the next few weeks, the puzzled looks on the stage as we make the inevitable uncomfortable concession.

It is time we all dare to change...

So I offer a list of songs to all musicianers everywhere this Paddy's season. I plead with my brothers and sisters to resist the urge to further drive these into the ground. It is time to put them away on the shelf for a few years, several years. There are hundreds of better songs to replace them... learn them and let these go. I dare you to say no to the requests, the pleading, and the $20 tips...

Thirteen Irish Songs That Need To Be Retired

1. Fields of Athenrye... fast or slow, it doesn't matter. Just let that damn ship sail and never come back.

2. Dirty Old Town... unless Shane is singing it... it is like a paper cut.

3. Wild Rover... I don't buy the story to begin with, do you?

4. 5. Danny Boy & Galway Bay (tie)... death songs are downers... save them for the funerals.

6. Whiskey In The Jar... let Metallica just have it OK?

7. The Unicorn... its wrong on so many levels. It should be limited to Sesame Street on Paddy's Day (is that show still on?).

8. Celtic Symphony... it is the equivalent of a Kesha song for Irish drunk guys...

9. Galway Girl... this one got on the list in record time... but does every man, woman, band, etc. have to sing it three times in every set? I am sure Steve Earle would be mortified about how his song is getting trashed in Irish ginmills everywhere.

10. Streets of New York... great great song, perfectly done by the Wolfetones, and one I am sure I will love again. We all try to do it justice, and everyone knows every word... but I don't think people listen to the real story in there anymore.. Maybe after a few years of absence they might.

11. Black Velvet Band... songs about hot chicks that steal should be eternal hits... but I don't think anyone really listens to the words on this one either anymore.

These two are particular to Celtic Cross...

12. Celtic Bob... was before my time with CC and not necessarily ever popular, nor do we ever ever play it... but is here on principle and to tweak my current and preceding band mates.

13. All Around My Hat... I know many of you CC fans love it & it may come off my retirement list one day... but not this year.

I feel so much better now that I have gotten this out in the public. I will say no to the requests now with more dignity, and avoid the lies about being out of time, or no one knows the words.

So, what are the Irish songs that you think should be retired? Please click on the comments button below and add your thoughts to get them off your chest. You too will feel better...

Slainte...

Making Music with Black 47

I've been meaning to write about recording with Larry Kirwan since December, and finally after receiving so many nice emails, I'm happy to congratulate Larry and Black 47 on their new CD, Bankers and Gangsters! Although I do not fall into the category of a banker or a gangster, I was flattered that, over a pint of Guinness, at Blackthorn in East Durham, Larry asked me to sing a duet with him on their new CD!

"I'm looking for a sultry, sassy performance, with lots of attitude," Larry said, as we chatted away in the beer garden! Well, he knew I could pull off the sassy part, but I'm not so sure about the rest! So, after the weekend, we got together to work on "Wedding Reel" and were in the recording studio in Connecticut a few weeks later!

"Wedding Reel" is not your typical Irish love ballad, but more of a real life song about a couple who have been together for many years and the romance has gone a bit stale, to say the least! "I'll find myself a young fella to keep me occupied, someone I can turn to in the middle of the night," she threatens in some of the spicy exchange between the pair! Her man is clearly more interested in watching the Late, Late Show and sippin' on his pint, and hasn't even noticed the new highlights in her hair! Can you imagine the nerve of the fella?! HA!

We had a lot of fun with the ending of the track where we ad libbed the "banter" between us! There were many laughs and it was a great experience working with Larry in the recording studio!! It is a day I will always cherish! Thanks Larry!

Thanks also to JGats, FSullivan and Bill Murphy for your emails about hearing "Wedding Reel" on Larry's Celtic Crush show on Sirius Radio, last week. I haven't had a chance to listen to Bankers and Gangsters yet, but it is available in stores on March 2nd and online through www.black47.com! So be sure to download it!! I'm looking forward to hearing all of the new CD and as always, wish my friend Larry Kirwan and Black 47 much success!