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!

Saints and Sinners... great work by the Young Dubliners

Very impressed by this record our colleagues from LA put out this summer... Saints and Sinners by the Young Dubliners. Always a sucker for well played, well written Ceili-pop... this is state of the art, and as colorful as the slick CD cover featuring a shifty young boy with the brightest red hair you've ever seen.

There are a lot of influences on this that I hear... DMB, Duran Duran, ELO, Madness, Modern English to name a few. Add great Uillean pipes, whistle and fiddle and you have their sound.

Not one bad track on this. Some very catchy lyric writing here... Backseat Driver & Rosie are standout tracks for me. Love these lyrics from the chorus of Rosie...

Rosie, sweet rosie

money dont grow on trees

if I thought for just one second it did

i'd be down on my bended knee...

Oh can't you hear Larry Kirwan from Black 47 singing that...

Another standout for me is (Dont Think I'll) Love Anymore, a well done duet with Dead Rock West lead singer Cindy Wasserman. There were two additional tracks on the iTunes download version... and one called Unreel... a bonus live instrumental featuring nifty edgy guitar trad work.

But my favorite track is the last track entitled Chance... with a DMB/Stefan Lessard bass line bringing in a very hip dance tune that Afro-Celt fans will love. A great piece of studio production... love love love it...

Not sure there are too many better records put out in our scene this year... I am torn between Saints and Sinners and the sure to be classic Gutter Anthems from Enter The Haggis as my favorite Celtic rock release in 2009. I play them both constantly...

Anyway, I missed the Young Dubs recent NYC show... we had a studio session unfortunately that night. I will not let them get by us here again on the east coast without catching them live...

So in the meantime, pick it up, download it, order it... totally totally worth it.

Note: Been meaning to write this for a few months now, this record has been out since February, but better late than never...

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