still down the irish music rabbit hole..

[mopinko]

Last edited Mon Nov 2, 2020, 11:34 PM - Edit history (1)

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[mitch96]

1. Get ye to Westport, Co Mayo and partake in the crack... grand fun.

Most pubs have great music and the people are "grand"... I went from pub to pub, had a Guinness or two and listened to the great music.. You can't keep your feet still...
m

[mopinko]

2. m' mother was from mayo.

def on my list.
gonna stay at kinnity castle. gonna talk to the haints.

[mopinko]

3. but what is 'the crack'?

heard the term, but dont know what it refers to.

[mitch96]

4. "crack" is an irish term for fun... Like we would say "it's a gas".. First time I heard it I thought

A plumber was bending over, or it was a drug thing but, no...
Too bad Matt Malloy's and all the other pubs in Westport are closed b/c of the virus.. It would be great to hear the Chieftains play. The last time I was there we were sitting in the second room in a corner. Just jabbering away with some nice folk. They then start pulling out a hand drum, a penny whistle and a violin..Turns out they were the entertainment for the nite. We just scootched over a bit and they let rip!!! Can't keep your feet still!
m

[mitch96]

5. BTW I'm not Irish!!! nt

[mopinko]

6. phew. i was worried it was the drug.

working on learning the whistle. i got the drum pretty down.
i have the native american version but talking to an irish cousin about a swap for a proper bodrhan.
and learning the songs, by god. and looking up the ppl mentioned and learning my history looking up the names in the songs.
turns out i am a descendant of one of the sibs of michael dwyer.

went to the dentist today. my long time dentist has his son in his practice now, who i saw today.
but he told me to see his pops, and make sure i was the last of the day, and we could talk irish history. easy sell. had a crush on him forevaaaahhh.
asked if i should bring a flask. ans- well, he's not much of a drinker, but...

[mitch96]

8. "well, he's not much of a drinker, but........ convince him!!

[mopinko]

9. well, american guiness is crap. so, jamesons.

[mitch96]

28. american guiness is crap"

I get the stuff imported from the old sod... I must admit the a fresh drawn pint on top of the
Gravity bar in St James gate is delish...Comes with the price of admission too!! IF you get a chance take the self guided tour, it's great. This is a shot from the bar looking at Trinity College...
m

[mopinko]

13. there is no one i would rather have pull my teeth.

[bottomofthehill]

7. God, I miss the amazing voice of Luke Kelly

[mopinko]

10. man. i am taking voice lessons.

and i watched a doc about him. one of the other dubliners said- ppl used to bet about whether he would blow his voice out.
he said the irish sound comes from the voice in the roof of the mouth, and that luke belted it out his nose. he said bono had it.
well, i sang along w him and can confirm.
he said- blow his voice w drink, yes. but singing? never.

[bottomofthehill]

11. I can't carry a tune

But loved the richness of Luke Kelly’s voice and the emotion he brought to each song he sang.

[mopinko]

12. i never could.

but i cleared up my muscle issues, and now my voice i quite clear.
i did 12 yrs of catholic school, 9 w singing lessons. boy did the nuns make us sing.
i was in the frosh choir. a flat alto. i was invited not to be in the soph choir.
but, yeah, clear as a bell now.
and what a joy.

[bottomofthehill]

14. That is great.

I love to listen, Phil Coulter, Luke Kelly, Sean Fleming in the 80’s and 90’s put on a great fun show. There was a fiddler in DC who was amazing, Brendan the Fiddler.

[mopinko]

15. yeah. the chieftains, the dubliners.

gotta learn all the drinking songs.
gonna try to pass. at least in the pubs.

my ex remarried an irish cop from donnybrook. she says the folk dont take to americans who think they are irish. but i have compared my dna to cousins who live there. and yeah, more irish than most of them.

[bottomofthehill]

16. There is always work for Irish musicians on the east coast

From Boston to about Richmond/ Norfolk va

[mitch96]

29. The inside joke in western Ireland is that Boston and New York are just another two

Countys in Ireland!! I've met a few gents that have "made their fortune" in the states and then moved back to live like gentleman sheep farmers...
m

[mopinko]

32. what? they left out chicago?

how dare they!

[mitch96]

38. A bridge too far I guess.... nt

[bottomofthehill]

43. The joke growing up in Boston was Ireland was just the next county over

[bottomofthehill]

17. Plenty of pubs looking for talent

[mopinko]

18. there is a joint near here.

mrs murphy's. the dream of an irish cop brought to life by his kids.
they have a big patio. connected to a big folkie bar. they have a lot of irish bands.
gonna hang out there when this plague settles down.

i'm reliably informed that in the irish pubs, if you are a regular, you have your song, and when you come it, you are expected to sing it.

i just wanna have fun w it.

[mopinko]

19. some faves

i esp love this one, as my ggramps was on of those soldiers.

i love this one for the line- and the natural gas'll burn your ass, and blow ya all to hell.

and this one, as i am a descendant of a sibling of michael dwyer, the chief of wiklow, who ended up on a ship to botany bay.

[mopinko]

20. omg. my 2 fave things- steve earle and irish music.

[The Magistrate]

21. A Sentimental Favorite, Ma'am

[mopinko]

22. oh yeah.

love that one.
i had no idea the ira went back that far.

[The Magistrate]

23. The Original 'Troubles', Ma'am

The detail of the song falls apart on close examination, but it is still a fine song. I believe ity was composed by Brendan Behan's brother.

Here's a more cheerful one....

[mopinko]

25. turns out i am a descendant of a sibling of the chief of wiklow.

michael dwyer.
i visited the grave of my dwyer relatives today. my ggreat grandparents.

[mopinko]

35. i love the clancy bros.

that sibling harmony is a real thing.

[The Magistrate]

24. And Speaking Of Mr. Behan, Ma'am

[mitch96]

31. "i had no idea the ira went back that far."

The history of the oppressed people in Ireland is fascinating. Another story of wealthy people shitting on the poor and down trodden for the sake of profits.
Lots of good movies about it also...
m

[mopinko]

33. yeah. the 'famine' was just genocide.

same ppl did the same shit to the native americans.

i need to figure this one out-
my ggrandpa was in a british unit in the army. was in 20 yrs, left a sgt in the dublin rifles.
somehow he ended up coming here in steerage as a famine refugee 20 yrs later.
i cant wrap my head around that. i just cant.

[The Magistrate]

36. As Mr. Shaw Said, Ma'am

Through a character in 'Man and Superman':


"When a country is full of food and exporting it, there can be no famine."


That is literally what was occurring. Grain and beef were being shipped by contract to England, there was plenty of food in Ireland. It should not have made such a difference that the potato crop was blighted, and it did not have to slay a soul that it did.

[mopinko]

37. and they wouldnt even feed the starving catholic children in the anglican soup kitchens.

i have a foaf that is an irish history expert. she says the land grab goes all the way back to napoleon.

[mitch96]

39. "anglican soup kitchens."

An interesting saying came out of this.... "taking the soup" . The oh so righteous Protestant bible society would stave off your hunger and death if you converted to "their" religion. If not, fuck y'all and die. Their idea of holiness....... So to stay alive the alternative would be "taking the soup" and forgo your religion... grrrrr...
m

[mopinko]

41. yeah. there was an episode of 'victoria'

about a priest who defied the order. got excommunicated.
i would rly love to know the details on my ggramps. he had 3 kids, and worked as a laborer.
i thought he might have been a tenant farmer that got bought off.
not sure if he came here in paper chains or not.

[mitch96]

30. This, THIS is a fighting song nt

[mopinko]

34. i love that song.

gonna have that one in the act, fersher.

[mitch96]

40. The act? nt

[mopinko]

42. sorta jokin.

i just want to sing in the pubs when i get there.
but somebody in this thread was talking about the job market for irish musicians.
it would be fun. i do love singing these songs.
i'll be happy to be paid in pints, tho.

[yonder]

26. I've been down that rabbit hole for 45 years or more.

Thankfully, I haven't found my way out of it yet, nor had the inclination to try. I'm mostly a fiddler but would say the whistle is a good place to start with which you can get some chops.

One of the cool things, is you can go almost anywhere in the world, find a session and be able to share at least a few common tunes. Reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas & slides, some airs and a few waltzes (in about that order) can take you anywhere. There's a website called The Session which is a great place to share tunes, questions, etc.

Welcome to the ITM club, mopinko!

[mopinko]

27. a funny thing about polkas-

there is a band from my hometown, aurora il, about 40 miles from chicago, called montez de durango. now, i live in a very mexicano hood, and live band for big parties are a thing.
a lot of the neighbors hate it, but they never bothered me. caujunto is basically just mexican polka.
in my family there is no such thing as a wedding w/o a couple polkas.
well, these guy play those songs at about double time, and their fans invented a dance they call 'the little step from durango'. it's double time, but it is also up close. very sexy.

when my voice teacher said once- when you are performing- i laughed out loud.
i sing along w ella fitzgerald to practice. i told him- dude, i have to pay you to listen to me sing.
my voice used to be very flat. my kids not only wouldnt let me sing, they wouldnt let me hum.

but it turned out to be neuro issues. i had a bad head injury as a kid that made my vocal chords tight, and gave me other muscle spasms. but thank ja's herb, that all went away.
could never play an instrument either, cuz i was left/right retarded and didnt have independent control of my fingers. also all gone.

so, besides voice, he is also giving me piano lessons.
i am pretty good w my little hand drum, too. it's the native american version of the bodrhan.

and now the idea of singing in irish pubs doesnt seem quite so crazy.

eta- thanks for the welcome and the tip.
post some of your faves, eh?