The Galway Hooker Band

December 10, 2009|By Michael Miller
Jason Stout has no intention to be a rock star. The Huntington Beach resident works during the day for a fire sprinkler company, and he insists that his group, the Galway Hooker Band, is just a group of friends playing for fun.

If online voters have their say, though, Stout may feel like a rock star in a few months. His group is a finalist in the Battle of the Bands competition sponsored by Strangford Lough Brewing Co., an Irish beer brand, and the first-place prize is a gig at an upscale restaurant in Las Vegas on St. Patrick’s Day.

It would be a lofty achievement for a band that started a year ago through a Craigslist ad. In November 2007, Stout replied to a posting seeking players for an Irish-style rock band, and the group quickly grew to seven members who play the fiddle, tin whistle and mandolin along with electric guitar and drums. - The Huntington Beach Indiependent

December 10, 2009|By Michael Miller
Jason Stout has no intention to be a rock star. The Huntington Beach resident works during the day for a fire sprinkler company, and he insists that his group, the Galway Hooker Band, is just a group of friends playing for fun.

If online voters have their say, though, Stout may feel like a rock star in a few months. His group is a finalist in the Battle of the Bands competition sponsored by Strangford Lough Brewing Co., an Irish beer brand, and the first-place prize is a gig at an upscale restaurant in Las Vegas on St. Patrick’s Day.

It would be a lofty achievement for a band that started a year ago through a Craigslist ad. In November 2007, Stout replied to a posting seeking players for an Irish-style rock band, and the group quickly grew to seven members who play the fiddle, tin whistle and mandolin along with electric guitar and drums. - The Huntington Beach Indiependent

Where to find Battle of the Bands 1 Runner Ups ‘The Galway Hooker Band’

‘The Galway Hooker Band’ came second in the nail biting finish of Strangford Lough Brewing Company’s online Battle of the Bands, closing 2009 on a high. After 10,400 votes were placed from all over the world for the 62 competition entries, this Californian band quickly became one of the favourite entrants as voters pushed them firmly into the final and a very close second place.

Here is a list of locations where ‘The Galway Hooker Band’ will be performing in the early part of 2010. To get a taster of what you will be in for visit the BOTB1 YouTube channel and view ‘The Galway Hooker Band’ competition entry (http://www.youtube.com/IRISHBOTB). - Strangford Lough Brewing Company

Where to find Battle of the Bands 1 Runner Ups ‘The Galway Hooker Band’

‘The Galway Hooker Band’ came second in the nail biting finish of Strangford Lough Brewing Company’s online Battle of the Bands, closing 2009 on a high. After 10,400 votes were placed from all over the world for the 62 competition entries, this Californian band quickly became one of the favourite entrants as voters pushed them firmly into the final and a very close second place.

Here is a list of locations where ‘The Galway Hooker Band’ will be performing in the early part of 2010. To get a taster of what you will be in for visit the BOTB1 YouTube channel and view ‘The Galway Hooker Band’ competition entry (http://www.youtube.com/IRISHBOTB). - Strangford Lough Brewing Company

The Galway Hooker Band is named after a traditional Irish fishing boat—of course … and shame on you for assuming otherwise. Also? Thank you very much, says bassist Paul Wilson. “That’s what makes the name perfect.”

Wilson founded the Galway Hooker Band in 2007, basically by posting an ad seeking the kind of punky-metally-indie-rocky musicians who were into bands like The Pogues, The Chieftains, Flogging Molly and The Fenians and wanted to play gigs in places with names like The Auld Dubliner, Gallagher’s, Liam’s—and for purposes of this story, Nadine’s Irish Mist in Huntington Beach this Sunday at 4 p.m.

“In the spring, a fiddle player answered my ad,” recalled Wilson. “In June, a drummer and guitarist called. We had a little meeting and a band was born.”

Irish rock is a pretty established circuit within Southern California music, but like similarly standardized musical forms—the blues, country, rock ‘n’ roll, even rap—its outward predictability is also its inner artistic challenge. The difference between a good and bad band is in the authenticity, which often boils down to nuance.

“It takes a certain kind of person to do this kind of music,” says Wilson. “You have to have a passion for it. I get it from my roots—my father is Irish, my mother is Scottish and I was born in England.”

But Wilson is quick to point out that lots of other people probably get it from their roots, too.

“Celtic music has roots in every culture in Europe,” he says. “That large roots system makes for a large audience across a broad age range—from two to toothless.”

When Wilson posted his ad, he told prospective bandmates that he wanted to put together a non-traditional Irish rock band with influences of traditional artists—like the Dubliners, the Clancy Brothers, Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys—for the purpose of playing some shows, drink a lot of beer and having fun.

“I’ve been playing music awhile, and I could car less about demos, limos and record deals, anymore,” he says. “I’m over the drama.” - Greater Long Beach

The Galway Hooker Band is named after a traditional Irish fishing boat—of course … and shame on you for assuming otherwise. Also? Thank you very much, says bassist Paul Wilson. “That’s what makes the name perfect.”

Wilson founded the Galway Hooker Band in 2007, basically by posting an ad seeking the kind of punky-metally-indie-rocky musicians who were into bands like The Pogues, The Chieftains, Flogging Molly and The Fenians and wanted to play gigs in places with names like The Auld Dubliner, Gallagher’s, Liam’s—and for purposes of this story, Nadine’s Irish Mist in Huntington Beach this Sunday at 4 p.m.

“In the spring, a fiddle player answered my ad,” recalled Wilson. “In June, a drummer and guitarist called. We had a little meeting and a band was born.”

Irish rock is a pretty established circuit within Southern California music, but like similarly standardized musical forms—the blues, country, rock ‘n’ roll, even rap—its outward predictability is also its inner artistic challenge. The difference between a good and bad band is in the authenticity, which often boils down to nuance.

“It takes a certain kind of person to do this kind of music,” says Wilson. “You have to have a passion for it. I get it from my roots—my father is Irish, my mother is Scottish and I was born in England.”

But Wilson is quick to point out that lots of other people probably get it from their roots, too.

“Celtic music has roots in every culture in Europe,” he says. “That large roots system makes for a large audience across a broad age range—from two to toothless.”

When Wilson posted his ad, he told prospective bandmates that he wanted to put together a non-traditional Irish rock band with influences of traditional artists—like the Dubliners, the Clancy Brothers, Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys—for the purpose of playing some shows, drink a lot of beer and having fun.

“I’ve been playing music awhile, and I could car less about demos, limos and record deals, anymore,” he says. “I’m over the drama.” - Greater Long Beach