Cheapass Games

The Folkalists: Warning, Irish Humor at Work!

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The Folkalists

The Folkalists

Genre: Irish and contemporary folk, bluegrass and country

Members: Dee McIlroy, Eugene Glenn, Barry Skeff

Hometown: Belfast

It’s hard for me to listen to The Folkalists without giggling. From afar, the music maybe pleasant, warm and even inviting because of the efforts placed in the arrangements.  Up near you get the lyrical wit and sarcasm that’s original. Listen to ” I Used To Hate Someone” with lines like ” I never liked a single hair on his head, I never liked one thing that he said.” My personal favorite is  Friends Must because the melody reminds me of a cross between BJ Thomas and Travis.

These are not your run-of-the-mill  band members. We are talking about musicians who are known in their own respective fields and just decided one day to form a musical project together. It is great to see them exploring another musical style to showcase their versatility.

I know some of them from Clanu which I enjoyed featuring. With The Folkalist, the band incites everyone into the sunny side of life and yes to appreciate humor in every form. This is where music and lyrics come together to draw a reaction. Dee McIlroy’s lyrical talent is really at work in every track on top of his smooth and pleasant vocal delivery.

For the now  the members are still the in the process of putting tracks together and developing a full-length album which will be out before we know it. So enjoy the tracks and also say hi to the band via their facebook site.

https://www.facebook.com/folkalists

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Huzzah!

Gaelic Storm

Gaelic Storm

About Gaelic Storm

This July they’re running “Rag and Bone Workshop,” their own 4-day music camp at the Full Moon Resort in the Catskills, NY.  The week will be filled with classes teaching classes fiddle, percussion, guitar, songwriting, Gaelic swearing and more.  It will be a week of learning, performing, and of course…drinking.
There’s even a possibly running a CD giveaway from the band promoting the camp. I will keep you updated about this Rag and Bone Workshop.
Check out more information on the camp here http://ragandboneworkshop.com/
Thanks to Elliot Fox for contacting me about this info.

The Kilfenora Ceili Band, The Life of the Ceilidh

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Kilfenora.

With five albums released and an amazing collection of tunes, I just feel that the Kilfenora Ceili Band is one of those underrated Ceili bands. Their gig calendar is busy as they have upcoming shows in Clare, Sligo, Limerick and Portmarnock up to May this year. Kilfenora was formed in 2009(the current lineup). It is composed of  ten-piece band that features three fiddles (Anne Rynne, Pat Lynch and Annemarie McCormack), two flutes (Anthony Quigney and Garry Shannon), two sqeezeboxes Tim Collins and his wife, Claire Griffin), banjo and leader (John Lynch), drums (Sean Griffin) and piano (Fintan McMahon).

Kilfenora Ceili Band is under the leadership of John Lynch. Their forte is instrumental music with some harmony and a driving rhythm.  They also have profitably collaborated with vocalists and invariably include a singer or two in concert.

What makes Kilfenora Ceili Band really interesting is the introduction of set dancers in their every performance. It’s like they have everything in one group because Irish music is really complete when it isn’t just about the playing of music but also the dancing.  To be in their presence is an aurally and visually inspiring event!

To learn more about them and to buy the albums, please visit: http://www.kilfenoraceiliband.ie/

You can also get the contact info of band leader John Lynch in case you need to have them booked for a show.

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Huzzah!

Welcome to our Friday edition. Yes our second article under this week’s featured artist Blair Dunlop. Don’t forget to check the links I wrote on the last article which was my interview with the singer/songwriter. This week is very inspiring as a lot of music was brought to my attention. And more to come.

Acoustic/Folk/Celtic artist Peter Daldry

Acoustic/Folk/Celtic artist Peter Daldry

First, I want to tell you about the artist Peter Daldry whom I wrote about before.

He is one of the names in the Independent Music Awards. He is nominated in the A Capella category for best performance of the song ” I Wish I Was in Glasgow ” He mentioned that he is overjoyed at this nomination as it is a world wide awards program which covers six continents! and one of the best online awards program for independent artists.

The judging process is twofold, a panel of industry judges decide on who wins, but there is also a Vox Pop award where the fans get to choose their favorite. It would be great to get the word out to the “Celtic” community to try and get some votes. Information on the awards can be viewed at his web site http://www.peterdaldry.com/ or his Facebook page or going to the Independent Music Awards page which explains how to register and vote.
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This video by Skilda was published October 4 2012. The Celtic influence withing their pop and electronic groves is unmistakeable. They are totally amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGgD2tfbMAM
Check out this site where you can order music. It’s called Veteran Mail Order. It contains  Irish traditional music  and song in  CDs & DVDs. http://www.veteran.ie/ 
There you have it folks. I was not feeling energetic for the past few days due to the busy situation at home. But I am sure I will be able to catch up.