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!

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