Shamrocking the Shore - plentiful harvest of Irish American rock for fall

Birmingham Six

As the lushness of summer dies off and autumnal colors bathe the landscape, Irish music is keeping things green for a little while longer in the Garden State of New Jersey.

It’s a bit weird to see the bar bands that prowl your favorite pubs at night existing in the brilliant sunshine of the last two weekends, but they didn’t seem any worse for wear.

Birmingham Six is a spirited band formed in the fall of 2006. Taking its name from the six men wrongfully convicted of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings, the band mixes traditional, rebel, contemporary and original Irish music to form its sound.

Their energetic live shows have become stuff of legend in the pubs of South Jersey and their native Philadelphia. I caught their sweaty set during the Irish Festival at the Jersey Shore in Sea Girt.
Their set was peppered with spirited instrumentals and chestnuts from the Pogues, Flogging Molly and the Tossers, with a little Clancy Brothers to boot.

Longtime readers of this column know how I hate hearing the same 10 songs at any given Irish festival, yet Birmingham Six managed to avoid that with obscure tracks like Flogging Molly’s “If I Ever Leave This World Alive,” which is a hootenanny and a tear-jerker all at once when played in expert hands like these.

Mandolins and fiddles are played with breakneck speed and by the time their set ended, no one was sitting in their seats. The band can be found on www.birminghamsix.com.

The band was the perfect appetizer for the Snakes, a wickedly fun outfit that, in the words of this columnist some years ago, offer “all the sudsy glory that you’d expect from a great bar band.”

They have made quite a name for themselves over the last 12 months, playing spirited sets in places like Caesar’s Palace in Atlantic City with their irreverent, sloppy takes on tracks like “Dirty Old Town” and “Poor Paddy” from the Irish songbook slipped between cover versions of the Rolling Stones and Johnny Cash.

To see where they’re playing next, log onto www.thesnakesband.com.

I was barely recovered from that festival when I stumbled into the Guinness Oysterfest in Red Bank, New Jersey this past weekend. It was there I encountered Brian Kirk and the Jerks in broad daylight.

The Irish American performer has been sweating it in the clubs for the last two decades, releasing original material and delighting crowds with a wicked sense of Irish humor and a ferocious live band.
They turned up the funk on Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly,” and Kirk got a few laughs when he introduced the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing” as a “homegrown country song.”

The band behind him, complete with a three piece horn section, switched on a dime as they moved from funk to blues to disco and back. You can follow Brian’s antics on www.jirks.com.

While Brian wound things down on the west stage, the legendary Pat Roddy and his band set up shop on the east stage. They have a southern fried vibe to their blend of Irish American rock, slipping in buttermilk battered renditions of the Allman Brothers in their set. On this Indian Summer day, their breezy Eagles-inspired rock was just what the doctor ordered.

Roddy can be found on www.patroddy.com and while you’re there, pick up a copy of his great disc of originals, Shed My Skin.

All of the bands have many upcoming dates on their websites, guaranteeing a plentiful harvest of Irish American rock this autumn! Put down the iPads, get off Twitter, and rock a club this weekend!

Bruce Springsteen wrecks the Meadowlands - 'The Boss' wows ecstatic crowds back home - VIDEO

Bruce Springsteen

No discussion about Irish Americans making music in New Jersey would be complete without mentioning the mack-daddy of them all, Bruce Springsteen.

I took in one of the epic shows he did at the MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands over the weekend, and it was one for the record books!

There’s an interesting dynamic at the Boss’s shows nowadays -- you have a bunch of middle-aged fans tailgating in the parking lot wondering how the heck we were going to keep up with the 63-year-old legend inside the venue.

Rumors of four hour shows and visions of traffic clogs had us all fretting about how much the babysitter was going to cost and how we would manage to get up with the kids the next morning.

With the first power chords of the obscure rocker “Living on the Edge of the World” from Tracks, thoughts of everyday parental dreariness were replaced with dreams of joining the rock and roll circus on E. Street and putting those pesky kids up for adoption!

The set clocked in at a little over three hours and was crammed with the hits and the kind of rare tracks that makes die-hard fans pinch themselves in disbelief.

The slick radio sheen of “Dancing in the Dark” sat alongside the stark beauty of “My City in Ruins” from his 17th and newest album, Wrecking Ball. The title track, written in honor of the old Giants Stadium that once stood here, was played on this night with gusto.

“I was raised outta steel here in the swamps of Jersey/some misty years ago. Through the mud and the beer/the blood and the cheers I’ve seen champions come and go,” he sang defiantly, encouraging the agents of change to “bring on yer wreckin’ ball.”

The gospel flourishes of songs like “Shackled and Drawn” and “Rocky Ground” has brought new cast members to E. Street; the trio of backup singers brought out the innate soul music the Boss created with his old pal Gary US Bonds, who guested on a few songs.

Speaking of old friends, the ghost of Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons was acknowledged with moving video tributes and heartfelt stories in between songs. His nephew Jake Clemons let the horns rip and the band didn’t miss a beat as they looked backward on their fallen comrade.  

You can hear Springsteen’s Irish roots shine through in “Death to My Hometown,” a fiddle-infused ditty about hard economic times from the new album. It has become a set highlight on this tour.

The Boss unleashed the paint-peeling Celtic rock blast of “American Land” to end the show. Violinist Soozie Tyrell flirted with her fiddle as Charles Giordano prowled the drum kit with a squeezebox.

“The McNicholas, the Posalskis, the Smiths, Zerillis, too/the blacks, the Irish, the Germans, and the Jews/come across the water a thousand miles from home/with nothin’ in their bellies but the fire down below/” growled Springsteen. The rafters shook and girls danced the jig in the steep section of nosebleed seats all around me.

New Jersey has gotten a bad rap for its portrayal on reality shows airing on MTV and Bravo lately, but seeing Springsteen whip a crowd into a frenzy in the Meadowlands made you feel kinda sorry for everyone born outside of the Garden State on this magical night.

If you’re not from Jersey that’s okay. We’re willing to share him, and you are advised to see the Boss at his best when he comes to Hartford, Rochester, and State College, Pennsylvania in the coming weeks!

Irish American Writer and Artists sponsor monthly salon

Irish American Writers and Artists

The Irish American Writers and Artists are partnering with the Irish American Cultural institute in Morristown, New Jersey to sponsor a monthly writers and artists salon beginning Thursday, September 27 from 7-9 p.m.

Writers eager to work out new material and/or practice reading in front of groups, Irish or Irish American singers looking to find an audience, poets looking to work out lines of their prose, playwrights eager to put parts of their plays through the paces, and non-writers and artists looking to get a peek into the cutting edge of talent from our culture are all welcome to join us. It’s a great networking opportunity for artists!

Each performer is limited to five-seven minutes and spaces are expected to fill up quickly. Admission is free. Anyone is welcome to bring their CDs or books to sell (bring change!), and a donation for the light refreshments is always appreciated.

The Irish American Cultural Institute is located at 1 Lackawanna Place in Morristown, right across the street from the Jersey Transit rail station (a short 20 minute train ride from New York City). The phone number is 973-605-1991. We will then convene to Hennessy's Washington House afterwards for drinks and tapas.

I have posed the question to readers of this column before -- is there a book you’ve been dying to write? A few lines of poetry yet to be expressed?

If so, I highly encourage you to break through whatever thoughts or confidence breaches that are keeping you from expressing yourself and come meet a group of friendly faces in the same exact boat as you.

New writers get a chance to mingle with experienced ones to get fresh perspectives and of course, someone whips out a flute or a bodhran by the end of the night for some mighty craic!

Clannad embark on their first North American tour in 18 years - VIDEOS

Clannad

Clannad will embark on their first North American tour in 18 years with a series of dates this fall. 

This is all part of Clannad celebrating their 40th anniversary together with a two-CD set, The Essential Clannad, along with a lush public television special called Clannad- Live at Christ Church Cathedral Dublin.

The legendary band is joined on stage in spots by Irish luminaries such as Anuna, Brian Kennedy and Maire Breatnach. Sinead Madden, a singer and violinist from Moya Brennan’s backing band over the years, joins the band as well and harmonizes effortlessly with the Brennan clan.

Clannad weaves an ethereal tapestry of sound through the 19 tracks in the PBS special Theme from Harry’s Game, which is made famous by the Volkswagen commercial.

“That television special is what really spurred us on to get back out there again,” lead singer Moya Brennan explains when asked what made the timing right to reunite the group now. “We were doing the odd thing for the last four or five years. It felt great to do it again when PBS decided to put us on.”

Clannad, the Gaelic word for family, is aptly named. The band consists of siblings Moya, Ciaran and Pol Brennan along with their twin uncles Noel and Padraig Duggan.

In weaving their unique and timeless sound, Clannad drew from the various strands of music which surrounded them as they grew up in the remote north west coast of Ireland. Traditional melodies were mixed with the pop they heard on the radio to create the sound that is ancient and modern at the same time. 

During the seventies they recorded six traditional albums, each of which helped to shape and refine the band's now unmistakable sound.  Their young sister Enya Brennan joined the band on keyboards for two of those albums before leaving to pursue her own highly successful solo career.

They created music for popular television series Robin of Sherwood and had their music featured in movies such as Last of the Mohicans and Patriot Games.   In 1999, Clannad was honored with a Grammy for Best New Age Album.

More importantly, their influence on Irish culture is incalculable. The big acts like Riverdance, Celtic Woman and Celtic Thunder all borrow liberally from Clannad’s ethereal vibes, while young singers as diverse as Ashley Davis and Orla Fallon have bowed to Moya, the rightful first lady of Celtic music.

Though the band hasn’t graced the stage as a touring unit in almost two decades, Moya says the family ties have always bound them. Tourists that make their way through the door of Leo’s Pub in Co. Donegal (the watering hole owned by patriarch Leo Brennan) have been treated to spontaneous reunions with some or all the band members over the years. This tour is for the rest of us!

The 40th anniversary of the band is not just about looking back.  There is a plethora of songs written and recorded that will be edited down to a proper album in the next few months.

“It’s great,” Moya says when asked what it’s like to return to the studio after all these years.  “A change is as good as a rest, that’s for sure. It’s so great to be onstage with my brothers and uncles and then record this new stuff that will build our history.

“We could have done the same old thing all the time but we decided to give it a rest and rejuvenate, and I’m glad we did.”

I’m glad they’re back and I know I’m not alone!  I spoke with Moya about getting the band back together and the many festivities planned to mark the band’s milestone. Here’s how it went.

How does it feel to be back onstage with the family?

The gigs have been amazing. Friends and fans shouting out songs, the odd banjo player coming up – I love the spontaneity of it all! The boys haven’t been touring as much as I have, so it’s new to them again after 19 years or so.

We thought the new album was finished but it’s not yet due to some commitments. But we figure there’s 17 albums there and tons of new material, and we thought people would want to hear the old stuff.

I guess it’s a blessing in disguise -- you’ve been away so long that people may want to hear the hits they haven’t heard you play for so long.

You have a point. You want the new music to be heard. You have to give a good concert with a good mixture. It is a blessing in disguise. We’ll stamp the ground first and then next year, hit everything with something new.

What does the new music sound like? 

I think the nice thing about it is that it isn’t a dated sound -- it’s timeless. “Am I Brave Enough” and “Hand in Hand” are some of the new songs I just love.  There’s a lot of body in it and there doesn’t seem like any filler exists in these songs.

Ciaran, Pol, and myself are the core harmonies in the group and that magic is back together like we never left it. Full blooded Clannad sound. The Gaelic stuff, the harp, and all the flavors we brought to the table are there.

Are there any drawbacks in reuniting after running your own show for so long?

Drawbacks in the sense I am not doing as much.  Ciaran and Pol are the main writers. Working together on songs of theirs versus working on my original stuff is also a relief in a way because there’s less pressure. You can have your say without the pressure of writing the song from scratch.

The world has changed so much since Clannad left the world stage...social media, the Internet.

I’m not a Twitter or Facebook fan at all, simply because I don’t have the time to do it. You can get into deep water with Twitter. People tweet without thinking of the consequences. But it is amazing the reach of it all and if it helps you find an audience, so be it.

I’m wondering if you assume this mystical character in Clannad versus your solo stuff, where you seem lighter.

When I started with Clannad I was so shy and so in awe of being onstage and getting paid, and so in awe of going to Europe and getting paid, I suppose it came across of being ethereal. It was just a shy girleen from Donegal not knowing how to handle it all.

So, over the 40 years or whatever, I am more comfortable in my skin. I see myself as who I am and as a solo artist, I was more open. I’m talking more at Clannad shows because this is who I have become.

For a full list of U.S. tour dates, visit www.Clannad.ie.

Clannad - Teidhir Abhaile Riú



Clannad & Bono (U2) - In A Lifetime:

The return of the Mighty Stef to New York City for Wee Craic

The Mighty Stef

You've read in these pages about the Wee Craic, which returns on Friday September 21 with short films at Arlene’s Grocery (95 Stanton Street in New York). It’s a great way to tune into the minds of the best and brightest filmmakers of our culture.

The big news for us is the after party with the Mighty Stef at R BAR, at 218 The Bowery.

The after party and music at R Bar brings film and music lovers together with an open bar from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.

The Mighty Stef is one of the most riveting performers working the Emerald Isle today. His shaggy-haired swagger and the raw sexuality in his voice creates a cocktail of sixties soul and Jim Morrison sensuality. His music employs dirty riffs, cabaret drama and that gravelly voice for a vibe that is described in the rock and roll business as “the real deal.”

His albums are littered with songs about New York City, and Stef says he’s stoked for the showcase on our shores.

“Usually I get a lot of Irish at my shows in New York City, so it’s always a special night playing in New York, and a special day that leads up to the show,” he says.

“I have songs about New York City on all my records, and probably will always write songs about it so long as I visit there. It is no secret that it’s the best city on earth. The audiences are always great!”

He says he is working with his band to cook up a new disc and hopes to record it in the U.S. in January, with an eye for a summer release.

“In the handful of solo shows I'll be doing in the U.S. this month I’ll definitely be playing some new stuff,” he says.  “I’m even considering even recording some of the live performances for a live release.”

For fans jonesing for something new right now, log onto his website at www.themightystef.net. It features a cover of a song by Greg Cartwright called “If You Can’t Give Me Everything.”

Cartwright isn’t exactly a household name, and Stef is aiming to fix that. “I have been listening to Greg Cartwright and the various bands that he has been in for the past 10 years,” he explains.

“He is a very soulful rock ‘n’ roll songwriter from Memphis, he writes about heartache in a way that nobody else does and I have always been inspired by his songwriting.

“I don’t know him, but I sent him a version of the song online and he got back to me saying that he loved it and that was good enough for me!”

It should be a night for the record books at the Wee Craic after party on the 21st. See you there!

Share your art with Time Banks NYC - connecting individuals and organizations

Mary Tierney

You run around the artistic circles enough in this town and you run into the most fascinating people.

I first met Mary Tierney at a reading with the Irish American Writer’s and Artists Salon at the Cell in Chelsea recently on one balmy summer night. She had just done a riveting dramatic read of a play that was being workshopped in front of the audience’s eyes.

In getting to know her, I discovered that she was putting time “into a bank” in an effort to help a fellow actor. When she’s not doing that she is giving free acting classes to aspiring thespians.

This is all part of Time Banks NYC, an innovative TimeBanksNYC is a free resource for connecting individuals and organizations that recognize that each person has talents to share, and that the overall community is strengthened when neighbors help one another with a wide range of services.

For every hour that a TimeBanksNYC member provides a service or shares a skill with another member, they earn a time credit for the exchange. This time credit can then be redeemed for a service from someone else, and so on.

“After I finished graduate school in the seventies, I went over to Dublin for two weeks and stayed five years,” Tierney says.

“I got a part at the Peacock and for five years, I was an actor that was paid and that was so much fun.
So I came back here and worked with the Irish Arts Center and then started Lunchtime Theater. Before long, I started my own theater on the East Side because a lot of old ladies wouldn’t go over to 11th Avenue and 51st Street.”

Tierney diverted to work on the Ed Koch campaign for 10 years and got a birds-eye view of the visceral power that courses through the city, and has since returned to her first love. She is committed to making a difference in the lives of aspiring actors and playwrights.

According to the website, the goals of TimeBanksNYC are to identify and build on the assets that neighborhood residents have to offer one another, foster a sense of togetherness within and between New York City neighborhoods, and promote skill sharing as a way of accessing services and support, especially in hard financial times.

So, if you have talent to share or something to teach, you can join the TimeBanksNYC program. Who knows? You might get some loving back your way as you’re trying to write some lyrics to that tune or get an editor to look at that manuscript that’s been rattling around your desk.

To get plugged into Tierney’s acting classes, log onto Theater for the New City (155 First Avenue at 10th Street).  You must be a member in the TimeBanksNYC program to participate. For more information, log onto https://www.timebanksnyc.org.

“The local summer” in full swing with the Jersey Shore Irish Festival in Sea Girt

Amaudaun

Psst! Wanna know a secret?

Once the big crowds pack up their beach chairs and umbrellas on Labor Day, the Jersey Shore begins what is known as “the local summer.” That’s when the year-round residents squeeze a few weekends of uncluttered beach time as September weekends yield the last few chances of fun and sun!

There is also a sham-rocking tradition in this part of the sand known as the Irish Riviera. Celts of all shapes and sizes go to the Jersey Shore Irish Festival on the Sea Girt National Guard Armory (Camp Drive and Sea Girt Avenue) in Sea Girt.

One of my favorite bands (with the wickedest of names) is Amadaun, a rollicking outfit from New Jersey that blends traditional Celtic roots with contemporary rock, bluegrass, Cajun, world music and folk rock influences.

Amadaun provides a fresh and energetic take on Irish music, borrowing liberally from the songbooks of Christy Moore, the Saw Doctors, Great Big Sea and the Pogues.

They will also be joined on the big stage by rebel-rousing of Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones, Birmingham Six and the Snakes, one of my favorite bar bands working the Jersey Shore.

Yours truly will be on the main stage at around 3:30 p.m. reading from my book, This Is Your Brain on Shamrocks. If y’all are nice to me, I might even read a passage or two from the upcoming sequel!
For more information, log onto www.jerseyshoreirishfestival.com.