Four to the Bar

Four to the Bar
Four to the Bar
Origin New York, NY, USA
Genres Celtic
Folk rock
Celtic fusion
Folk
Years active 1991–1996
Labels Independent

Four to the Bar was an Irish band in New York City during the early to mid 1990s.

From its beginnings as one more hard-drinking pub band from the boroughs, it ventured into a neotraditional fusion of pop, rock, and Irish and American folk.

Contents

Band history

The Early Days: 1991–1992

Four to the Bar was formed in the working-class/immigrant Irish community of Woodside, NY, in 1991. The initial lineup was Martin Kelleher (from Cork) on bass guitar, David Yeates (from Dunboyne, Co. Meath) on vocals and flute, David Livingstone (from Co. Monaghan) on mandolin, and a fourth member (name unknown) on guitar.

That August, Kelleher switched to guitar and the band placed a classified ad for a bass player in the Irish Voice newspaper. Patrick Clifford (from New York City) answered the ad, was hired, and completed the Kelleher-Yeates-Clifford nucleus that would hold for the remainder of the band's existence.

Four to the Bar immediately began to tour regionally. It was during this time that the band gave an opening act for then-rising star Sharon Shannon at the Bog in Jamaica Plain, MA, which brought attention.

In 1992, Livingstone abruptly left the band and returned to Ireland. For a number of months, the lead-instrument slot was filled by various fiddlers and mandolin players, most notably Chris Murphy and John Farrell (later of the Prodigals and Fathom).

The Heydays: 1993–1994

In early 1993, Four to the Bar found and retained Keith O'Neill (from New York City), the 1985 All-Ireland fiddle champion[citation needed].

Soon after this, the band completed its first commercial recording, a four-song EP and titled simply Four to the Bar (1993). This was available only on cassette.

During the next 12 months, the band would begin to build its name on the New York scene, sharing the marquee with acts as diverse as Frank Patterson and Susan McKeown's Chanting House, and begin to test the bounds of the trad repertoire with such covers as Phil Ochs' "I Ain't Marching Anymore." Four to the Bar headlined regularly at Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion and Paddy Reilly's Music Bar, and on one occasion served as Pete Seeger's backing band.

Sometime between February and April 1994, Four to the Bar spent time in a Manhattan studio working with a number of fellow musicians, including Seamus Egan, Joannie Madden, Trevor Hutchinson, Eileen Ivers, Larry Campbell, Matt Keating, Steve Holly, and Rufus Cappadocia.

This project was never commercially released; rough mixes from these sessions apparently circulated as bootlegs through the community, but little else is known about the project.

Around the same time, Four to the Bar was experimenting with its sound—by adding to the lineup, together and separately, accordionist Tony McQuillan and percussionist Seamus Casey actor. While neither would prove permanent, they both appear on Craic on the Road, the band's first CD release (1994).

The Final Days: 1995–1996

In early 1995, Four to the Bar bought and borrowed recording equipment, called in engineer Tim Hatfield, and converted a rented dancehall into a recording studio. The five men worked in isolation for three weeks recording, mixing, and mastering, and emerged with Another Son (1995).

On the strength of the recording, the band was chosen to perform at the 1995 International Music Festival in Daytona, FL, sharing the bill with Trisha Yearwood and the London Symphony Orchestra. The subsequent promotional tour carried the band from Vermont to Key West to St. Louis to Chicago.

Improbably, at some point later that same year, O'Neill resigned; his spot was filled by a series of local freelancers, including Monty Monaghan, Tony DeMarco, John Reynolds, and Joyce Andersen. Classically trained, Andersen brought a cultured sound, but was focused on a solo career and her tenure was brief.

On New Year's Eve, December 31, 1995, Four to the Bar had just started its first set in Dillon's Pub in hometown Woodside, NY, when a fire broke out in an adjoining diner. Each musician managed to save his instrument, but everything else was destroyed. Four to the Bar never fully recovered from the disaster, and despite playing a handful of shows in early 1996, this setback effectively signalled the band's demise.

Discography

Members

  • David Yeates: Vocals, bodhran, flute, tin whistle, percussion, guitar
  • Martin Kelleher: Lead and backing vocals, guitar, bouzouki, five-string banjo, mandolin
  • Patrick Clifford: Bass guitar, piano, electric guitar, accordion
  • Keith O'Neill: Fiddle, tenor banjo

Transitional Members

  • Joyce Andersen
  • Seamus Casey
  • John Farrell
  • David Livingstone
  • Tony McQuillan
  • Monty Monaghan
  • Chris Murphy
  • John Reynolds

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Four to the Bar (EP) — Infobox Album Name = Four to the Bar Type = EP Artist = Four to the Bar Background = green Released = March 1993 Recorded = January 1993 Genre = Celtic Folk Length = Label = Independent Producer = Henry Gorman Reviews = Last album = This album =… …   Wikipedia

  • Four Seasons The Ritz Hotel Lisbon (Lisbon) — Four Seasons The Ritz Hotel Lisbon country: Portugal, city: Lisbon (City Centre) Four Seasons The Ritz Hotel Lisbon Location Situated within walking distance of the historic old town of Lisbon, Four Seasons The Ritz is a landmark hotel enhanced… …   International hotels

  • Weight over the bar — The Weight Over the Bar competition is a test of strength featured at Scottish Highland games. The weight is a steel or lead weight (with a bell, spherical or cylindrical shape) attached to a metal circular handle. The weight is thrown one handed …   Wikipedia

  • Admission to the bar in the United States — For information on individual state bars, see state bar association. Legal education in the United States …   Wikipedia

  • Crossing the Bar — is an 1889 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson that is traditionally the last poem in collections of his work. It is thought that Tennyson wrote it as his own elegy, as the poem has a tone of finality about it. The narrator uses an extended metaphor to …   Wikipedia

  • Article Four of the United States Constitution — relates to the states. It provides for the responsibilities states have to each other, and the responsibilities the federal government has to the states. Furthermore, it provides for the admission of new states and the changing of state… …   Wikipedia

  • Inside the Bar — ”Inside the Bar is a song written in 1917 by the English composer Edward Elgar, with words by Sir Gilbert Parker.It was published by Enoch Sons in 1917.In its original version it is an unaccompanied part song for four baritones with a piano part… …   Wikipedia

  • To call to the bar — Call Call (k[add]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Called} (k[add]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Calling}] [OE. callen, AS. ceallian; akin to Icel. & Sw. kalla, Dan. kalde, D. kallen to talk, prate, OHG. kall[=o]n to call; cf. Gr. ghry ein to speak, sing, Skr. gar …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • The Wild Rover — (Roud 1173) is a popular folk song whose origins are contested.According to Professor T.M. Devine in his book The Scottish Nation 1700 2000 (Penguin, 2001) the song was written as a temperance song. [… …   Wikipedia

  • The Black Velvet Band — (Roud number 2146) is a traditional Irish folk song describing transportation to Australia, a common punishment in 19th century Britain and Ireland. The song tells the story of a tradesman who meets a young woman who has stolen an item and passed …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”