Promoting the Next Gig

October 13th, INF Omagh, as part of Omagh Art Festival 2005

The Horslips Tribute Band at Bar Mono, Letterkenny in August


"Letterkenny's the place where they say
'Hey baby, take a walk on the wild side."

The History of Horslips Exhibition

Official Horslips Guestbook Back On Line

A weekend of heroic efforts on the part of the rakishly sexy webmaster behind the scenes has brought a new and improved Horslips Guestbook back to the Official Horslips Site. Just in time for the upcoming Exhibition too!

Carr's Cocktail Shack ON AIR NOW

At ChoiceFM Dublin 92.1 on your dial or www.choicefmdublin.com on your browser.

"Oh my! I left my Silk Panty back in the studio!"

(Photo of 'The Smarty Pants' courtesy of
The Devil-Ettes of San Francisco.)

Carr's Cocktail Shack: Part the Fourth

This Sunday at 6:00 p.m. local time: ChoiceFM Dublin at 92.1 on your dial or www.choicefmdublin.com on your browser.

"My mother said Celtic Orgasms were a myth.
But I know better now!"

(Photo of 'The Rebel' courtesy of
The Devil-Ettes of San Francisco.)

Comebackhorslips Guestbook News

This seems to be the day for news about Horslips forums on the 'net.

The Official www.Horslips.ie Guestbook which has a long and tumultuous history -- and will surely be recorded as one of the net's finest pieces of collaborative ad hoc literature -- is down for a siesta it seems. I just learned this myself. So, I dusted off the HTML code for the Comebackhorslips Guestbook and put it back online.

Not less that hour ago, I was looking at a relatively clean desk and happily designing online ads for our company's in-house site. "See!" I said to myself. "If you concentrate on your job when you are AT your job, it can become as fun as the old days when you lurked around those GBs all the time."

It is simply going to have to be a matter of self-control now.

Horslips Message Board

Had some homesteaders for a while: quiet, hardworking types. But perhaps they took a Castle and Cook over to Honolulu or headed up the Oregon Trail. Or maybe even looking for gold up in Alaska! Good fortune will find them where ever they go and their ranch and cattle are still waiting for them here if they come back.

But they left behind a fine Message Board for Horslips fans to chat on though, I see.

Carr's Cocktail Shack

The Wells Fargo Wagon didn't arrive til Wednesday, but after an excellent lunch at John's Grill, I'm listening to a Sunday nite show that Sam Spade and Brigid O'Shaughnessy would both appreciate.

And it was Anita O'Day on Peanut Vendor! Let me off uptown!

"I had time for TWO Quickies
during Carr's Cocktail Shack."

(Photo of 'The Teacher's Pet'courtesy of
the Devil-Ettes of San Francisco)

And don't forget
"You'll 'see' me there!"

Girls! Girls! Girls!

Johnny Fean Video Clip from The Point!

The Point Depot, Dublin for the Philip Lynott Tribute Night, August 2005

At Johnny and Steve's site, you can now download a video file showing Johnny on stage with: Neil Murray, Bob Knight, Danielle Pfiffner, Charmaine Barrett and Jason Swindle. It's the end of "Trouble with a capital T" and the start of "Dearg Doom".

Slide show of Photos from the night here.

Everyone says that this was THE gig!

"Neon spells out my name

But I enter from the alley outside"

The second piece of Horslips-related good news is not mine to spill. But Danny of the Horslips Tribute Band drops a few hints over at the www.horslips.tk Guestbook.

"Is there anything I can offer to learn more?"

(Photo of the 'It Girl'
courtesy of the Devil-Ettes of San Francisco)

Again, for first-time visitors and the casually curious, the Horslips Tribute Band tell their story in their own words:

The idea of a tribute band to the Celtic Rock supergroup, Horslips, first surfaced in late 2004. Organ player Michael Rafferty, after listening to numerous records by the group, formed the idea of bringing together a group of musicians for one performance in tribute to the band. As the idea began to gather realistic potential, Ryan O’Sullivan was approached and soon recruited as the group’s guitar player. As word spread about the possibility of a tribute band forming, it became apparent that a number of other musicians, who cited Horslips as a main influence, were interested. The group soon recruited John Kelly on vocals, Conor McAloon on lead guitar, Daniel McCormack on bass guitar, and Damien Maguire on drums and percussion. The traditional side of the group consisted of Michael Kielty on flute, Patrick Bogues on fiddle, and Niall Moore on trumpet.

The first Horslips Tribute gig was performed in the CBS Grammar School in Omagh, the school which all of the members of the band attended. With Barry Devlin, bass player of the Horslips, in attendance, it proved to be an extremely successful night as the band performed the entire ‘Book Of Invasions’ album. With this first gig proving a great experience for the band, it was agreed that the group should continue to perform under the Horslips Tribute banner, in homage to the band who inspired the idea in the first place.

Daybreak

First piece of Horslips-related news concerns the publication of a new book from the Cork University Press.

Beautiful Day: Forty Years of Irish Rock

Here's what Dave Fanning has to say in Hot Press:

"An excellent and thorough analysis of the development of Irish rock music over the past four decades. It is astute and erudite in its assessment of the many different strands Irish music has taken during that period, economic and concise in its delivery, and intelligently leavens its more theoretical meditations with witty, humourous and insightful flourishes."

With the concept of picking a signature song and group to represent each of the last forty years, Beautiful Day makes the right choice for 1976.

I've had the opportunity now to read this entry and it bodes well for a book of insights and surprises. I'll also need to add some of the entry's information to the Annotated Horslips lyric page on Trouble (With a Capital T).

From 'Peanut Vendor' to the 'Watermelon Man'...

...the hors d'oeuvres at Carr's Cocktail Shack were delicious tonight!

As befits a Sunday broadcast, the show kicked off with Burt Bacharach saying a little prayer for all of us, then headed down to sunny Mexico. After the aforementioned Peanut Vendor*, Juan Garcia Esquivel returned to the airwaves with the anthemaic "Mucha Muchacha."

Other highlights -- and there were many -- included Julie London telling wives how they can be lovers too; Jackie Wilson doing the song that inspired Van Morrison; The Beatles with "Til There was You" (from Meredith Wilson's Music Man); "Never Tango with an Eskimo;" another Latin beat favorite with "Besame Mucho;" and many, many more. A fantastic close with Dr. John's take on "Perdido."

But the real story is that the show successfully made its first webcast as a live stream. And the first two shows are already archived here.

Still, I was unprepared for the Cocktail Shack this week! I spent most of the show putting my lingerie drawers in order. My stockings are a disgrace! This year's light summer fishnets needed to be stored away and last season's autumnal textures and tones needed to be reviewed for fashion lapses or unrepairable holes. One chemise seems to have lost its satin ribbon drawstring and is now in my sewing basket for repairs. A garter belt has gone missing. Several teddies simply looked too tawdry to ever wear again -- what was I thinking? And in a nod toward the changing weather, the winter flannel gowns are being aired on the clothesline today.

But NEXT week I shall be ready for the Cocktail Shack. All household chores will cease and a bottle of Champagne will be on hand for the Morning Mimosas. If all goes well, the Carr's Cocktail Shack West Coast Brunch will happen as we originally envisioned three weekends ago!

Mucha Muchacha!

*I have Stan Kenton for this one in my collection. Need to know who the vocalist was on the Shack's version. Edie Gorme, perhaps?

Carr's Cocktail Shack now downloadable!

Not only can you listen to the show LIVE on Choice FM Dublin's streaming broadcast, but the last two shows are now available in the Archives here.

"Does this mean I can enjoy a
Celtic Orgasm more than ONCE?"

(Photo of 'Cherry Bomb' courtesy of the
Devil-Ettes of San Francisco.)

New Dee-lites at Carr's Cocktail Shack

Carr's Cocktail Shack on Choice FM Dublin has been busy!

Home Page

About Eamon Carr

Archive and Playlists (Coming Up!)

"We can't wait to have our first
Celtic Orgasm at the Cocktail Shack!"

(Photo courtesy of the
Devil-Ettes of San Francisco)

Remember: this Sunday nite! 6:00 p.m. Dublin time.

Johnny Fean at the Cobblestone!

Excellent! New September gig for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers.

Thursday, September 29!

Smithfield, Dublin

I also recommend the Sunday afternoon session there. It has been good the times I've been able to see it.

Emm Gryner and Dearg Doom

Out Here Listening reviews Emm's New Album

When www.comebackhorslips.com posted a snip of Emm Gryner's cover of the Horslips anthem "Dearg Doom," the webmistress had to hear about it. A lot. For several months. Until she tired of it.

But consistently on the web, Emm's Dearg Doom, described here as "genuinely weird" and "very nearly...the world’s creepiest dance song,*" manages to put information about the original version of the song in front of a whole new audience. (Check the comments on this post as well.)

Good job, Emm!

*Positive traits in the context used.

Carr's Cocktail Shack: Part the Third

Set your Sunday Nite dial for 92.1 FM or your browser to http://www.choicefmdublin.com/

"Do I really have to wait til Sunday
to have a Celtic Orgasm?"

(Photo courtesy of the
San Francisco Devil-Ettes)

New Photos on Fean and Travers Site

There's great photos added over at Johnny Fean's and Steve Traver's site:

Everything from backstage shots from the Horslips era to 22 images of the latest from The Point.

I'll bet Concrete Diaper Farm and Soulfish Stew would be interested in some of this action!

Carr's Cocktail Shack now on the Net

Listen to tonite's show with a LIVE FEED on Choice FM Dublin

"I'll have a Virgin Margarita, please."

(Photo courtesy of the
San Francisco Devil-Ettes)

Carr's Cocktail Shack Serves the Next Round

THIS SUNDAY on Dublin's Choice FM

"Two more Mai Tais please!"

(Photo courtesy of the
San Francisco Devil-Ettes)

Viva Las Vegas!

Bono script edits new film

hotpress.com can reveal that Bono is the Script Editor on a film called The Virgin Of Las Vegas that’s been written long-time U2 collaborator and Horslips man Barry Devlin.

“It’s slightly early, but the thing will have more legs at the end of August when Bono can concentrate his attentions fully on it,” Devlin tells us. “It’s about the last days of a showband in Las Vegas, and it’s also a father-and-son movie. It’s really a two-hander.”

Asked to tease out the storyline, he proffers: “Basically, it’s a piece about a guy whose father ran out on him when he was seven, and now he’s 21 and wants to see what his dad was like. And the cause for the son’s arrival in Las Vegas is the death of one of the band while playing onstage – a true pro, he played till the end of the number before going to his eternal reward.

More at the link!

I quit my job as a dancer
At the Lido des Girls
Dealing blackjack until one or two
Such a muddly line between
The things you want
And the things you have to do

Carr's Cocktail Shack: Part the Second

THIS Sunday, on Dublin's Choice FM 92.1, at 6:00 p.m. local time.

"How can I tempt you to listen?"

(Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Devil-Ettes)

Carr's Cocktail Shack with Eamon Carr now listed on schedule!

Last week's surprise artist: Esquivel!

Comebackhorslips Back in Business Tonight

Our main page, which is still accessible through the Home button on the splash page will be back in business later tonight. The New Orleans page will now be a part of the site, with ongoing links to relief efforts in the global musical community. I should say that it was Barry McCabe who first inspired this with his announcement of the CD Baby efforts.

But just take a moment and imagine a world that never knew New Orleans or the Mississippi Delta. This is a world that would not have rock and roll as we know it, the blues as we know it, rhythm and blues as we know it, cajun or zydeco as we know it, swing music as we know it (No Sing, Sing, Sing from Mr. Prima, for instance), and the myriad inspired forms of reggae and ska as we know it (Jamaican musicians listened to offshore New Orleans radio and remade the beat they heard through the static their own)...and above all, Jazz. The ingredients would be there, and surely something else would have emerged from another set of circumstances, but the sound of New Orleans and the Delta in life, death, joy and grief is unique and irreplaceable. And it will be heard again.

In the spirit of being back in business:

New Orleans bar keeps doors open through catastrophe

...Bourbon Street largely escaped the floods that hit after New Orleans levees were breached. And in the first days, a few stranded tourists also wandered in to sample the warm beer that became the drink of the day after the power went off and the refrigerators stopped working.

"Whatcha need, darling, you're all right?" the gruff bartender called out to a sweaty customer as he squeezed into her line of sight.

"Something cool, like bourbon," he answered.

Johnny White's has been an island of normalcy in a city shattered by hurricane anarchy and the stench of death.

The tiny joint sits squarely on the corner of Bourbon and Orleans where alcoholics and derelicts mix with a steady stream of yuppies and tourists who play at slumming it.

The doors are wide open.

Nearly a week after the disaster there are not many people walking by to notice. Those that do have stories to tell.

Lisa Smith, 41, is slumped on a bar stool, nursing a rum and coke -- and a huge gash on her side.

"I was floating on a couch drinking Budweiser," she told a friend who walked in as she began to tell the tale of how she escaped the floodwaters and made it back to her home away from home in the French Quarter.

Smith's story was interrupted by cheers which broke out when a man walked in with a cooler of ice.

"Don't get too excited, I'm hoarding this for myself," Sprinkel joked as she lit another cigarette and leaned on a stool behind the bar...

More at link.

ALL YOU CATS AND KITTENS in the Dublin Metro Area

Check out tonight's 92.1 FM Choice Radio for a Cocktail Hour like no other!

"We hear it's wickedly good!"

(photo courtesy of the San Francisco Devil-Ettes)

For those of us outside the range: Internet downloads should be available from the official site soon. Show will broadcast weekly.

Sorry this wasn't posted sooner, but the husband was computer gaming most of the morning.

Hey Hey Mirinda

Horslips in the News

We rushed this item out on the local grapevine in advance of the other news we hoped to cover. But here's a story referencing our main infatuation: Horslips!

Fine-tuning the ad man's message: it's a jingle out there

IN the old days, life was so much simpler for marketers: Guinness was 'good for you', Bank of Ireland was 'a friend for life', Smithwicks was 'going for a pint', Irish Permanent was 'the sure, safe way' to invest, Carroll's was a cool relaxing smoke and Silvikrin needed only to ask 'are you the girl with the shining hair?' Procter & Gamble could run 'fighting brands' against each other on the basis that one was 'biological', while the other 'washes whiter'.

...

It's the nature of music that it's associated with memories and emotions of the time you first heard it or listened to it most frequently. This makes it hard to listen to old music with a fresh ear but can trigger a more youthful and naive mood among older, more cynical consumers. Matrons might be targeted with Abba or Bay City Rollers if you want to appeal to their teenage naivety, or Fleetwood Mac if you want to appeal to their pre-maternal freedom.

...

Hardened retail procurement officers are lads again when they hear Thin Lizzy or Horslips. If you are targeting a specific age group, you can be highly focused: Van Morrison has enjoyed a cult following since the 1960s but each vintage appeals to different age groups; his 1968 'Astral Weeks' is remembered by golden years consumers who were young when it was released...

More at link, which does require registration. But that happens to be free.

For the record, no Horslips tunes were licensed for use in advertising. There was a Mirinda ad, but the tune in question was not a Horslips tune. There's also the history of Horslips members who worked for an advertising agency, which can be glimpsed over at Mark Cunningham's history of the band. However, there were public domain jingles that were created to mimic the Horslips sound. This does happen to many artists.

Johnny Fean's Gig List Updated Through December