The Irish Brothers

Artist Information

Biography

Musicians often talk about their band mates being like brothers, but you can drop the “like” if you’re talking about the Irish Brothers. Unlike the Ramones or the White Stripes, the Irish brothers are actually three brothers- last name Irish. The music they make is anything but traditional Irish pub music, however, informed by the band’s eclectic musical taste – everything from Harry Partch to The Stooges.

As a three-piece, The Irish Brothers emit a sound larger than the sum of their individual instruments. Three part harmonies worthy of the Everly Brothers are gently layered over the raucous sounds of Keith’s driving bass lines and David’s fierce drumming. Karl’s rough-and- tumble vocals go head-to-head with his Merle Travis-inspired finger-picking on a signature silver Gretsch guitar. The band stands firmly at the intersection of roots music, garage punk, and folk. Just so you don’t get too confused, they describe themselves as a “roots band whose aware punk happened.”

Although their sound is hard to describe, the band has been embraced nationwide. Punks, rockabillies and rockers, from Montana to Salt Lake to Texans on their wanderings across the United States, have embraced them. The pure and original sounds of the Irish Brothers appeal to a wide audience that crossed musical and spatial boundaries.

The Brothers have been playing together almost as long as they’ve been brothers. They went public in the late 90’s, when brothers Karl and Keith recruited David for a last minute show. The band quickly became a feature on the Orange County club scene. Freedom is a Lonely Thing, their full-length debut CD, will be available January 23, 2007. The Irish Brothers also have a split 7” with the Scotchgreens (Split 7 2003), and have been featured on several compilations, including Split 7’s Attack of the Hot Rod Zombies (2003) and the follow-up Return of the Hot Rod Zombies (2005), Baseline Music’s Stray Cats Tribute (2006) and the OC Weekly local bands compilation of 1998.

Instrumentation

Karl Irish (lead vocals, guitar)
Keith Irish (vocals, bass)
David Irish (vocals, drums)

Discography

Freedom is a Lonely Thing (2007)

Audio

• Freedom is a Lonely Thing
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• I Will Never Marry
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• Zombie Boys
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• Psycho Pompadour
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• Blue Tiger Mask
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• My Lullaby
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Lyrics

• I Will Never Marry
• Freedom is A Lonely Thing

Video

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Press

• Freedom is a Lonely Thing review [+ Show ]
  

  Irish Bros. release their Freedom is a Lonely Thing CD: longtime readers may know that the Irish Bro...Irish Bros. release their Freedom is a Lonely Thing CD: longtime readers may know that the Irish Bros. are actual bros. from the Irish family and though this new CD is sounding more rocked up than I thought these guys liked, there is some weird kind of thing they do here and always that very few other people even know to take a poke at. The Wray Bros. chopped out what they call "rural rock" in stabs in 1971 and although the rurality-ROOR-RAL-UH-TEE-of Orange, California, is a little wishful there's the same awesome honest spirit to this new record. "I Will Never Marry" is pretty quick here but still a great song: "I will never marry/never father children/do you doubt what I am saying/solitude will suit me/til the day I'm dead..."Like a Wray said: I'm so glad, I'm so proud. Congratulations, guys.

• Freedom is a Lonely Thing review [+ Show ]
  

  It's a pitiful thing that I don't run into bands like The Irish Brothers more often, but then again,...It's a pitiful thing that I don't run into bands like The Irish Brothers more often, but then again, that's probably one of the main reasons I like these guys as much as I do. The Irish Brothers (who truly are 3 brothers whose last name is Irish) have an interesting musical style and a wide array of influences. Some bands that came to mind are early Social Distortion, The Dead Boys (who funny enough are covered on this album), The Stray Cats and numerous root-based bands.
  What I find so refreshing about The Irish Brothers is that they CAN combine punk, rockabilly, surfabilly, and roots and make it work. They make it sound like this is a genre that you hear on a daily basis because it's put together so well. Let me just clarify and say that their sound is rustic and somewhat organic, but it's got muscle behind it.
  
  Even though "Zombie Boys" is one of my favorite offerings off FREEDOM IS A LONELY THING, it's not until "How We Are" that I really get excited! It's a deep surfabilly track that makes me want to run and get my surfboard but also take in the scenery and take in the life in which I live. The self-titled track "Freedom is a Lonely Thing" follows the same steps and is a knock out punch on the album. A nice surprise on here is a cover of the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer". It still has the edge as far as the vocals are concerned but is a little more anchored. Regardless, it still kicks ass!
  
  If you're a looking for an album that brings a warm yet energetic and abrasive yet massively addicting sound, The Irish Brothers' debut album FREEDOM IS A LONELY THING is where it's at.
  
  

• John Wayne Meets the OC [+ Show ]
  

  While the Orange County power-trio The Irish Brothers are about as Irish as, well any American with ...While the Orange County power-trio The Irish Brothers are about as Irish as, well any American with an Irish surname, that doesn't mean they have a disadvantage against the aforementioned Celtic challengers. Any band that can write a surf-rock riff with serious horsepower like the one in The Irish Brothers' "How We Are" deserves a slot in our faux competition. With gasoline-soaked vocals and a sound that is equal parts Social D and Johnny Cash, The Irish Brothers seem poised to set the Los Angeles punkabilly scene ablaze.

• The Irish Brothers freight train sound rolling through [+ Show ]
  

  Southern California's Irish Brothers--brothers by blood, Irish in moniker--will be in Livingston at ...Southern California's Irish Brothers--brothers by blood, Irish in moniker--will be in Livingston at the Owl Lounge on Nov 11, at 10pm. not playing traditional Irish pub music.
  
  The Irish Brothers remind the audience that roots rock, garage rock, punk rock and folk all have a place in American music-- and on the same stage. "Freedom is a Lonely Thing," their newest CD, is a perfect representation of their live show. Blending raspy growling vocals and three part harmonies with Merle Travis-inspired finger picking, driving bass lines and fierce drumming is how the Irish Brothers interpret America as they hear it.
  Having played together almost as long as they've been brothers, The Irish Brothers have become a prominent feature on the Orange County music scene.

• Raucous, rowdy rock will be on tap this weekend at Ventura's Red Cove [+ Show ]
  

  Like a pickup with two flat tires sliding into the parking lot with a twister a heartbeat behind, Tr...Like a pickup with two flat tires sliding into the parking lot with a twister a heartbeat behind, Trailer Daze 2 wobbles into Ventura's best dive bar, the Red Cove, for an elbow-bending weekend of rude and raucous rock as a zillion bands entertain the tattooed greasers with their cuffs rolled up and hair combed back.
  
  Expect a surge in Brylcreem stock along with the decibels as midtown tries to steal some of the fire from downtown, where herds of bewildered yuppies stagger back and forth between Rookees, Winchester's, Dargan's and Sans Souci seeking that meaningful one-night stand
  Long before any of that, the Red Cove had its own thing going. The joint features a nice staff, cheap drinks, cheap date opportunities, even cheaper pool and live music several nights a week. Even better, there's never a cover at the Red Cove. It's clearly a lowbrow cultural landslide, especially Friday and Saturday when five bands each night play a lot of punk, cowpunk, psychobilly and country rock.
  
  The Irish Brothers (not what you might think) out of Orange will headline Friday night. Other bands with big beats and funnier names providing the soundtracks for Trailer Daze include the Stellar Corpses, Graveside Rockers and aptly named Tornado Bait. Red state, redneck, Red Cove? Ready?
  
  David Irish, the drummer for the Irish Brothers, was clearly ready for his band's third appearance at the Cove as he spoke about the latest during a recent phoner.
  
  Q: Are the Irish Brothers rich rock stars yet?
  
  A: No. No. No. Nothing like that, we're just workin'.
  
  Q: What's the story on your new album, "Freedom Is a Lonely Thing"?
  
  A: We created our own record label to do it all properly, and it's doing pretty good right now. It came out at the end of January — the party was at the Juke Joint in Anaheim. We just got back from a two-week tour of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
  
  Q: Where does this album fit in with what came before?
  
  A: The first couple were just glorified demos, I guess. Our sound has more cohesion to it now and this one is our debut — our grand entrance, if you will.
  
  Q: When people hear the name Irish Brothers, are they expecting some rowdy, drunken Irish music like Flogging Molly, the Young Dubliners or Dropkick Murphys?
  
  A: No, we're more like Gene Vincent meets the Stooges or Johnny Cash meets the Ramones or whatnot. Our last name is Irish and we are all brothers.
  
  Q: And evidently, three brothers that get along? No fights on stage like so many other rock 'n' roll battling brothers?
  
  A: Yes, we do get along well. We've never fought on stage — we're always having a good time. We're not exactly rockabilly. We're not exactly psychobilly. We're not emo and we're not scream-o or any of that stuff — we're just good ol' punk rock 'n' roll.
  
  Q: All ages or bar shows?
  
  A: We usually play 21-and-up shows. That's how we started, so it's kind of hard to go in reverse and play the all-ages stuff. But on our last tour, four of the 11 shows were all-ages stuff; a couple of them were hard-core punk shows, and those went over really well.
  
  Q: Which brother uttered those immortal lines, "Hey, let's start a band!"?
  
  A: Karl's been playing guitar since he was 14. He's 34 now, so about 20 years. Keith has been playing the bass since 1992 or '93, and they ran through a series of drummers. I've always wanted to learn how to play drums, so they looked at me one day after their drummer quit for his girlfriend and said, "Hey, you're playing drums!" I had recorded that particular project — recorded them — for my senior project at Loyola Marymount University. I have a sound-recording degree. That was back in '98 right when we changed the name of the band.
  
  Q: How did you guys find the Red Cove? It's pretty far from Orange.
  
  A: We had played there a couple of years ago with the Deadbillys — actually, I recorded some tracks for their album that came out a few years ago. Then Howie from Tornado Bait came down to see us at the Doll Hut (in Anaheim) and another time in L.A., so he booked us last September and we were up there again in December. The gig in December was crazy. Even though we didn't come on until something like 1:15 in the morning, it was still really packed and the crowd was really into it and a lot of them knew our songs from MySpace. We haven't gotten a reaction like that before.
  
  Q: So the do-it-yourself thing works for you guys?
  
  A: We book our own tours and actually record our own music. I have a recording studio. We do almost all originals, although there's one cover on our album, "Sonic Reducer," by the Dead Boys. In our set, if we play 45 minutes, we might play two or three covers, maybe a Johnny Thunders song or a Murder City Devils song.
  
  Q: This thing is all about Trailer Daze. No trailers left in Orange County?
  
  A: Yeah, there still are trailers, maybe not in south Orange County, but in Santa Ana and north Orange County.
  
  Q: But no oranges?
  
  A: Pretty much. But they've preserved small stands of orange groves with these little plaques.
  
  Q: Does it say, "This is an orange tree. You traded these for the traffic you're stuck in right now"?
  
  A: Yeah, this is what the place used to look like — kinda funny.
  
  
  
  

Setlist

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