bands

The Narrowbacks:A Hot Surprise This Winter

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nar·row·back /ˈnæroʊˌbæk/ [nar-oh-bak]
–noun Slang.
1. Disparaging. an Irish-American.
2. a person of slight build who is unfit for hard labor.

The brain child of a future banker and a drop out bartender, The Narrowbacks are a fresh voice for songs and stories old and new. After some late night sing songs, a couple whiskeys and a few lost jobs we came up with a young punk attitude that found itself running through the veins of an old time folk band.

If Joe Strummer, Shane MacGowan and Bruce Springsteen survived a drinking session through the 5 boroughs, the hangover would be called The Narrowbacks.

If you have devoted your life supporting Celtic music then you’ll know that the world never runs out of great talents. There will always be amazing bands from any time, any place. They just need a good channel to get exposed to enthusiasts.

Such is the case of The Narrowbacks from New York. For those who are not aware New York has offered us great bands since the 90s like the October Project and Black 47. There are more though they escape my fingertips as of the moment but yes, New York is an amazing place when it comes to unique bands. And the musical energy of the place is a big influenced to these musicians behind the band. They have their own eclectic styles and influences and they all bring it to the band. So what you get is music that seems to come from many sources yet so distinct and so exclusive to the Irish musical culture.

They are adept in performing old a new tunes but they have a knack for great arrangements that the old and new songs can sound as if they all came from the same era. When it comes to energy well, they have it all as all bands celebrating the spirit of Irish rock. Fans of Barleyjuice and Dropkick Murphy’s will love their style of music.

I really enjoyed listening to their songs especially the crowd rouser Paddy’s Field.

Check out the press release:

Releasing new single ‘Shannon’ Friday February 19th prior to album release in April!

If Joe Strummer, Shane MacGowan and Bruce Springsteen survived a drinking session through the five boroughs of New York City, the hangover would be called The Narrowbacks. The brainchild of a future banker and a bartender, The Narrowbacks are a fresh voice for songs and stories old and new.  The band is currently winning over audiences with their high energy set of tunes and over the top performances.  They have played gigs at notable venues such as The Stone Pony, Webster Hall and the Bowery Bal1room.  They have shared the stage with Flogging Molly, Black 47 and The Dropkick Murphys.  But maybe their most note worthy shows have been in support of The Ice Bucket Challenge, performing at many charity events to raise money for the cure of ALS and their dedication to the cause has helped fuel their notoriety and is taking them nationwide.

The band has been brewing on the East coast and developing their own unique style of ‘Celtic Rock’.  Not to be stuck in that genre the band can rock out with any of the best players out there.  Music writer Colleen Taylor of The Irish Echo says of the group, “Their music is literally and figuratively electric and it sounds best live… The Narrowbacks fill the need for a young Irish-America that knows how to rock.”   They receive constant rotation on radio stations such as WFUV in NYC and Sirius XM on Larry Kirwan’s ‘Celtic Crush.’

After a few years recording their own versions of traditional Irish and folk songs and anthems, the band will be releasing an album of all original tunes in April. To get a taste of the music they will be premiering a single called ‘Shannon’ on February 19th on iTunes.  Disc Jockey Bruce Swan of WPKN radio says, “The new single ‘Shannon’ from The Narrowbacks is classic storytelling, genre-bending and non-stop great.  If this is the start of what is yet to come, the new cd from The Narrowbacks will kill it.”

The band is gearing up for the St Patrick’s Day season with a March tour and show dates include March 16th at The House of Blues in Boston opening up for The Dropkick Murphys and March 17th at Webster Hall NYC.

The new single, ‘Shannon’, will be out on iTunes on Friday February 19th. We can send on an MP3 if you are interested for review and airplay.

For more information and full tour dates go to:  http://www.narrowbacks.com/

MEDIA CONTACT: Anita Daly / Daly Communications / 212 772 0852 / anitadaly@yahoo.com

 

Na Fianna: Leaving your comfort zone makes you better.

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Na Fianna: Celtic Rock, powerful  and contemporary take on songs old and new!

It is great to have an insider’s view of this interesting band that everyone is talking about. The band is Na Fianna from Ireland-which is also my spiritual home. They have several songs out via YouTube, various sites and social media. Better check them out because you don’t know what you are missing. And yes, they have great advice for their fellow musicians as on how to be in top shape, musically!Xd6cd1Ay.jpg

1. Congratulations for releasing the new exciting album called Unearthed. What’s the story behind the album’s title?

Thanks very much, it was hard work but thoroughly enjoyable to record. The title “Unearthed’ was chosen because it was perfect for where we were and what we were doing at the time. We were hidden away with all these musical ideas for a long time and it was time to unearth them to the world.

2. There are four of you : Ciaran, Hugh, James and Peter. Did you invite other artists to the recording sessions?

We had invited a drummer, ‘Binzer’, to collaborate with Peter in the percussion department to elaborate our ideas more in the songs. There also was our producer and musician Bill Shanley who we worked with to bring this sound out even more. He played some bass and guitar in the backline to collaborate with Ciarán in the strings department.

3. This album has a strong impact to many listeners. I noticed you have passionate and supportive fans especially in the social media! Do you have plans of putting up an ‘acoustic’ session and invite fans over, and have it filmed and released in video format?

That’s a good idea, we would love to do that. You know, we already have done an impromptu gig with such a setting in Boston and it was received very well. Nothing is impossible in the future. It reminds me of when Incubus did the Morning View Sessions. A great recording. We’re up for it.

4. The current single off the album is Toora Loora Lay . I noticed the strong rhythm right away, on top of the strong melody. Can you tell us a it about the recording of this song?

We wrote it in Pink Floyd’s Britannia Row Studios in London with friend and super talented songwriter Don Mescall. We sat down with ideas and put our heads together and wrote Toora Loora Lay. So we had a demo done from there, then we brought it to Bill Shanley’s Cauldron Studios. The song flowed so nicely it was quite fun to record but it was also intense as we knew the song had a shot at becoming iconic in the folk world.

5. Any plans to tour? Where’s your first stop?

We’ve had many mini tours and once off gigs in Europe and America so far. We have a great desire to tour a lot, but we want to record a little more material and spread our name throughout the world through social media etc. then we can tour in peace of mind that people will come see us. Saying that, we like to work fast and anything can happen so quickly. This year however, first stop is The Dubliner in Oslo, Norway. Follow our events on for more gigs and tours.

6. Bill Shanley produced this album. Can you tell us how it’s like working with him and his amazing talent?

Bill Shanley is an outrageous talent. We heard he is the best at guitar accompanying….and producing, we can swear wholeheartedly he is up there with the best in the world. Working with him in the studio at close quarters is an amazing experience. He’s always very calm and he has the best ideas to promote our own for the good of the song. His musical ear is phenomenal. If you’re out of tune by a minuscule, he will hear it. The whole process of working with such experience will stand to us forever more. We can’t wait to record with him again this year in Cauldron Studios.

7. Drunken Sailor is my personal favourite. It’s really fast. How do you guys manage to keep in top shape musically?

We keep in top shape musically because we are always playing music. We play small gigs in duets and solos every night and day in Dublin on top of Na Fianna rehearsals. Also we like to challenge ourselves as much as possible in each song. Leaving your comfort zone makes you better.

8. Your message to fans?

Our fans are the greatest in the world, no joke. We have loads more songs to give them this year and many years to come. We love this journey we’re on and they are with us every step of the way. Thank you kindly.

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Moxie: Taking the Heat for Being an Innovative Trad Band?

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As a blogger, I learned to be careful what I write online. Well, it doesn’t matter what I write about myself especially if I do it in a self-deprecating manner. It is part of my humor. But writing about bands is different. Your criticisms appear in search engines. You could be tagged with it forever. And it is quite unfair to do that to a band that is still trying to build their roots or fanbase. Of you do that to stalwarts, most likely they have fans who can defend them. Or they don’t care because nothing you will say will affect their careers. But if you do that to new bands who barely released five albums then there are things that you need to consider.

Are you writing that to help them improve? Most likely they don’t need your suggestion. Because they are professional musicians and they have a clear vision of what they want to happen with their music. They are just starting to tap into that musical segment that appreciate the kind of music they do-and not what you would like them to do.

It’s a big musical world. There are styles that you like and there are those that you don’t. If you don’t like the music then you move along. There is no need to write scathing reviews. There is no need to kill another creative spirit just because you you think you know what is right for everyone. I read a post from Irish band Moxie a couple of days ago. And this is what it says:

We would like to say something about this talk of the tradition being broken as we have been a heavily mentioned part of the topic. We are playing music that we create ourselves. The root of our music came from playing both ‘Traditional’ and ‘Modern’ Irish Music while bringing in influences of Jazz, Hip Hop, funk, bluegrass, Classical and other world music. There are a lot of people saying we are bastardising ‘Traditional Music’ but that is not true. The pure traditional music is safe in the hands of many bands, solo performers and hard working people behind the scenes who dedicate their careers to the Tradition and play the music they WANT. What we are doing is creating a new wave of fusion music which we have labeled MOXAGE. We are proud to say that we are all rooted deep in traditional Irish music and that we will love it forever. With Moxie we play something that is NOT ‘Traditional’, however it is ‘Irish’. Regardless of the fact that we are pushing boundaries, working hard to enhance our career and playing the music we WANT to play, we are also providing audiences all over the world a taste of something new and fresh. Regardless of the people who dislike our music we are proud to represent a new form of ‘Irish Music’. We live in a multi-cultural society. With the growth of technology and the melting pots of mixed cultures in cities all over the world, music is bound to evolve and we believe in evolution!
If everything stays the same then we will live everyday just like the last. We are changing the way that WE play Irish Music, not the way traditional music is played. At the end of the day Music is Music and people enjoy what we are doing, young and old. That is why we will continue to do so. 

Thank you everyone for the support,

MOXIE

I think what Moxie is doing is great. It is refreshing. It is adventurous. I love how they introduce something new to traditional-inspired music. They are not a traditional band. They are musicians making beautiful music. There is always a place for any type of music. I love traditional music as it is played which is in a traditional way. But if artists start exploring other avenues then let them be. It is time to move on. But love music. And never create discord because of it. We should support one another because hey, independent music is a small community.

I love what Fiach Moriarty posted in defense of them:

Fair play lads. You can’t be a heavyweight without taking a few slugs to the chin. Seolaigí ar aghaidh!!

If everything stays the same then we will live everyday just like the last. We are changing the way that WE play Irish Music, not the way traditional music is played. At the end of the day Music is Music and people enjoy what we are doing, young and old. That is why we will continue to do so.

Thank you everyone for the support,

MOXIE

I love Skipinnish!

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image

Randomness is beautiful. I stumbled upon this group while looking for a Science documentary on YouTube mobile. They appeared on my feed. The name itself is interesting. Skipinnish. I was sure it’s Scottish. I watched Walking in Waves featuring a woman with red hair throwing bottles in the ocean. These bottles contain messages. With a great surprise at the end of the video. Ok, I was impressed

Then I watched December which is their latest single. And that’s it. I became a fan. The music is haunting, beautiful and unforgettable.

Current line-up consists of:
Angus MacPhail: Accordion, Vocals
Andrew Stevenson: Highland Bagpipes, Small Pipes, Whistles, Fiddle.
Robert Robertson: Lead Singer, Guitar
Ross Wilson: Piano, Bass
Alasdair Murray: Drums, Highland Bagpipes

Regular Guest Musicians Also Include:
Archie McAllister: Fiddle
Duncan Nicholson: Small Pipes, Bagpipes, Whistles

Trine: They are now playing

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 4 Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPNmQWurZLU&feature=youtu.be

You think Celtic music is rare in Asia? That may change soon as Filipino group Trine play music that could only come from Ireland, Scotland and Bretagne. They are playing music all over the Philippines and of you are a tourist in need of some Jazz spliced with Traditional music then look for them.

Now, all they need are regular YouTube video posts, a blog page and music site where fans can hear and share music!