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!

Gavin's Golden Hill House... All Kinds of Tidbits & Memories

On October 17th, we are playing at Gavin's Second Annual Guinness Festival Weekend... which will have a neat linup of great bands (including us of course), a big heated tent, pints of Guinness, and a great place for you and the family to stay right there a brief walk from the tent...

Andy Cooney, Screaming Orphans, Padraig Allen & the Whole Shabang, Dermot Henry, Kitty Kelly, Frank Jaklitsch, and Jimmy Walsh as MC .... all great friends of ours. Our spot is at 8:30 PM before Andy and his gang go on. Check out the details...

I took an opportunity to poll the rest of the band for their memories of Gavins over the years... and found all kinds of interesting tidbits for you...

• Gavins was the first place in East Durham that Celtic Cross played... way back in 1989 (before I joined the band... original lineup including Kieth Sammut, Mike Clarke, and my good buddy Kevin O'Neill)
• In 1982, Dave Barckow, our drummer, won a first place in one of Gavin's weekly Amateur Hours... playing drums to a tape of the Who song You Better You Better You Bet...
• Prior to that, member of Celtic Cross have won dozens of Amateur Hour trophys in the seventies emmceed by our uncle in the business... Frankie Curran. There are arguments whether the Dineen Brothers or the Vesey Trio won more... maybe Gavin's keeps some statistics...
• Member of Celtic Cross have played in at least 7 different bands at Gavins over the years including Tippling Way, Dennis Gallery & Celtic Flavor, Glen Curtin, Tommy Mulvihill Band, Tommy Flynn & Flash, Richie O'Shea, Michael Sheehan... and I am sure we are forgetting a few.
• Gavin's is one of the darkest bars and lowest ceilings of any room any of us have ever played in... making for pretty good acoustics & music setting... providing you ain't playing that loud.
• Me and my brother sipped hundreds of Shirley Temples with my parents and learned about Irish music watching some of the biggest names in our parent's generation... Paddy Noonan, Noel Kingston, Dermot Henry, Richie O'Shea, Al Logan, Noel Henry, and Frankie Curren & The Evergreens.

So, not sure of the point of this blog other than to get a few other memories about Gavins going in anticipation of a great music event... and maybe get a few of you to book a Fall weekend trip to East Durham to see us and our friends... the luminary list of course topped by Arthur... Arthur E. Guinness...

Comments? Any of your own Gavin's music memories?

September... back to playin great shows

This summer just flew by as I write this on Labor Day. We all took some time to be with family and friends, and vacations. We also have spent time writing for the next Celtic Cross record... may even preview some of the new materal this fall.

Our Fall calendar features a number of great shows around the tri-state area, so mark your calendars. Here are the highlights...

This Saturday, September 12th... we are playing with our friends The Cousins Moran in New City, NY at Doyler & Dunny's Half Way To St. Patrick's Party. The outdoor show kicks off at 3PM in a great big festival tent. Bring out the family for a Sunday evening of fun. We played this show in March and it was a great afternoon...

Saturday, September 19th we head down the shore to Sea Girt, NJ for The Irish Festival at the Jersey Shore for an early day spot at 11:30 AM! Will be an early start for us for sure... but make a day of it with your parents and kids down the shore. Also appearing are Gael Force, Seanchai, The Bogside Rouges, The Bare Knuckle Boxers, Round the House, The Patty Furlong Ceili band, Teresa Kane, and Sean Hennessy(Lead vocal of Blackwater) as festival MC.

And Sunday, September 20th we are at the Great Irish Fair of New York in Coney Island. We don't get down to Brooklyn near enough to see our friends down there. Our appearance is at 2PM. Also appearing on that day are The Canny Brothers, Jameson's Revenge, and The Screaming Orphans. Check out the Saturday bill too featuring Andy Cooney, Mac Talla Mor, and Unforgettable Fire.

Perhaps the highlight of the month is a great show at Rory Dolan's in Yonkers on Saturday, September 26th with the fabulous Girsa... the best new young trad act in the US. Nothing like a Saturday night on Maclean and we can't wait to collaborate on a few numbers with the talented ladies from Girsa.

Finally, back up to East Durham NY for Gavin's Second Annual Guiness Festival on Saturday October 17th. A great lineup of our friends will appear including Frank Jaklitsch, The Kitty Kelly Band, Padrig Allen & The Whole Shabang, Dermot Henry, The Andy Cooney Band and Jimmy Walsh as MC. Make your reservations now to stay up for a great fall day and evening under Gavin's outdoor heated festival tent.

Check the calendar on our website www.celticcross.com for more details and additional shows as they are added. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Looking forward to seeing you all this fall...

P

Need to get blogging again...

so... its been a while since our last blogpost, so I will make up with a few tidbits.

• This weekend we played three shows at Gavins in East Durham, NY. Was great to be back there for a whole weekend. It was "reunion weekend" up there, and we got to see a lot of old faces, good friends... and the kids of those good old friends. The weekend culminated with a great outdoor Sunday afternoon show... reminicent of those old Erin's Melody gigs 15 years ago... We will be back at Gavins this fall for their big Guiness Festival...

• My son Connor, played with us all weekend on acoustic guitar and fiddle. Was great to have him up with us... reminded me of when I started playing on stages in East Durham around his age. You will hear more from him as he is getting better everyday...

• New songs... are coming. We sorta debuted one at Gavins on Saturday night... one I wrote entitled 'Whirl Spin Girl'. We are working on lots of new material this summer to followup on last year's Shores of America... gotta get Kathleen to write a blogpost on a few of the other titles in process. Maybe fall in the studio??

• Twitter... got a good Celtic Cross song idea? Tweet it to us @celticcrosstunz.

• Good shows this month... we are headlining this Friday July 10th in New London, CT at Sailfest, the Rockland County Feis on Sunday July 19th (our favorite show of the year), and Hartford Irish Festival on Saturday July 25th.

• Got a new bass... I bought a new bass for myself. A Fender Jazz American Deluxe... black with a gold pickguard, maple unfinished neck... very cool active electronics. It is the four string I have been needing for a while... cuts through the thick Celtic Cross mix really well.

There is a quick catch up... hope you are all having a great summer. Comment on our blog here, visit us on Facebook, and check our website schedule for all our details.

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