Monday, March 19, 2012

Lot's of Fingers In Lot's of Pies

I knew I'd been slacking on posting here for a little bit, but has it really been over a month?  Yeesh, well, I've been relatively busy.  Working on music, making wedding plans, looking for a new job.  This bee has been busy.  I've also managed to get out to a few shows, so it hasn't all been running myself ragged.  Add to that the fact that I have nearly 300 days of sobriety under my belt, and things are going really well.  Oh, and I'm almost through season six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so there's been progress on several fronts.

I addition to my own solo stuff (nothing booked yet, still working out my set lists and practicing and such), and the duo Jess and I have been working on (and will be showcasing at Galway Bay pub in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on April 27th, *pluggity plug plug*), I've got a couple other projects in the works.  One is an all original acoustic band called As the Crow Flies with current and former members of the Snipes, Beantown Boozehounds, Taxi Driver, and other Boston area bands.  We've practiced a couple of times, and it feels like it's going to be a lot of fun.  They played a few shows already prior to me joining, but we're really getting everything together now, and will probably start making a serious push towards bigger stages this summer.

The other is an acoustic, traditional Irish trio called the Kilmainham Three, with fellow Gobshite travelers Paddy Putnam and Amanda McCue.    We played our first two gigs this past week at Dunn Gaherins in Newton, which were fairly well received.  We're in need of a small PA system and a few mic stands, but other than that we've got a fairly low-overhead part time job if we can get a few more pubs in our circle.

I've also sat in with the Gobshites a bunch of times in the last few weeks.  I'm not going back full time, but it's nice to see everyone now and again, and the shows have been fun.  My favorite of them has to be the Punks For a Princess benefit at Féte in Providence, with the Mahones, BarRoom Heroes, and Sharks Come Cruisin'.  Just a total blast from start to finish.  If you haven't seen BarRoom Heroes yet, well, you've probably got plenty of time, because they're like fourteen years old.  But you should do so immediately, because they're really really good.  And their mom makes awesome cupcakes.  They also lent us the use of their drum kit that day, so I'm very grateful to them as well as somewhat in awe.  I wish I had my shit together enough at their age.

I'd never heard of Sharks Come Cruisin', but they were a really nice buffer between the loud, snotty punk of BarRoom Heroes and the "Acousticelticore" of the Gobshites.  Normally they have drums and a fiddle and melodica, along with electric guitar, but they went acoustic three piece this time around, and it worked just fine.  I'm definitely going to have to catch one of their shows.

Our set went really well, I thought.  The sound at the club is great anyway, and they really had us mixed well.  And everyone just seemed to lock right in with each other.  I didn't even get my usual leg cramp after three songs.  It was a just a raucous, all out good time for those of us on stage, and it seemed like the crowd fed on that.  One of the best Gobshites shows I've been a part of in recent months.

And the Mahones, well, they were the Mahones.  When they first pulled up to the club, I couldn't figure out who the new girl was, until I realized that Katie (accordion and vocals) has cut off most of her long long hair.  It was really cool to see them again, and they turned in a blistering set that night, dedicating songs to each of the other bands on the bill in turn, as well as to the Solys (Punks For a Princess organizers).  And the benefit had the added...um...benefit of raising a lot of money for a little girl who needs a cochlear implant.  It's good when you can have a great time with some of your favorite bands, and do some good as well.

All in all, it was a really great day, and along with these other new projects, I'm feeling totally energized.  If I can find a new job and a decent venue for the wedding within the next couple weeks, I'll consider myself ahead of the game.