The Mickey Finns

Shane MacGowan once said that “….there’s no point in Ireland getting the six counties back, if Irish culture has been totally forgotten and destroyed. That will have meant that they’ve won in the end.” ( “A Drink With Shane MacGowan, Victoria Mary Clarke, 2001, Grove Press)





And bands like the Mickey Finns always remind us, of how much of an important part of Irish culture, the music really is.

With their third CD release, “Prayers and Idle Chatter”, The Mickey Finns are proof positive that no matter how much you drink,there’s not the slightest chance of Irish music being forgotten.

Beginning this new Mickey Finns bout with “Return of the Prodigal Son”; you can feel that whiskey-inspired Ceili-Country rhythm that brought so many fans to Paddy Reillys, night after night, to sing and dance to that rowdy Urban Cowboy sound that is the Mickey Finns. If Lucinda Williams and Christy Moore ever got together, The Mickey Finns would be their bastard child. Bastard, in a positive sense of the word, perhaps like a Culchie troubadour, who, while he may be without a father, due to lack of family ties, he has the freedom to wander, busking on street corners, traveling the way of the Hobo musician, giving Boxcar Willie a few lessons on the way, with only a banjo and a coonskin cap to keep him company. Okay, maybe not. Maybe Boxcar Willie would get him drunk, pick his pockets and get him involved in a late night poker game, where he would lose his coonskin cap and his banjo. And didn’t we all learn about the evils of drinking and gambling in Sunday school ? So maybe this bastard child isn’t a saint, and has many musical parents, but who cares who the father is when the son is rocking the roof right off that roadhouse? Its that something special, that Irish Rogue-gypsy-hobo-culchie sound that will pack dance halls, pubs and roadhouses every night with an infectious Irish Rock n’ Reel mass appeal, that is 100% Mickey Finns. And bandmates Ray Kelly, and Brian Tracey, formerly of NY’s legenadary, The Prodigals, have a proud family tradition that transcends blood and lineage. Believe it.

Afterwards, “Sweet Clare Girl” keeps us wandering these County Clare moors and beyond, in search of a musical sweetheart.

Just be careful with that “Sweet Clare Girl”, ladies and gentlemen, because she’s bound to break your heart :

“Said that love was only for the fools,
But you were never playing by the rules…..”

Despite the subject matter, this is really an upbeat tune that tells you to take it easy and not take things so seriously. A tune that would make Johnny Cash proud, whether or not the song makes you reminisce about unrequited love, or just a holiday romp with a beautiful Colleen, this tune is bound to become a crowd-pleaser.

Next, “McGuinness’ Mass” allows us to contemplate on the mysteries of life while totally banjaxed, or as they say in the States, “shit-faced”. This mighty pub sing-along is probably one of the best drinkers anthems ever written and is really about the existential nature of Alcohol & Religion. Like a Priest drunk on his own sacramental wine, we delve deep into the heart of intoxicating Ceilidh rhythms, libations, and toasts to friends, fiends, winos, langers, and family :

“Some men fought in wars and some tasted defeat
While others chased girls on their cold blistered feet,
But this was their haven, a safe place from harm
A place filled with song and with chatter and charm……”

A rocking and rolling pub sing along song of cheer and warmth that might even cause some to reschedule their Sunday afternoons. And while I wouldn’t recommend this tune to recovering alcoholics, I couldn’t recommend it enough to everybody else. Unless you’re a Jesus Freak. In that case, just stick to your Christian Rock and Gospel.

If that wasn’t enough of an alcoholic reverie for your tattered soul, than “Absinthe (Makes The Heart Grow Fonder)” shall give Hank III, Waylon Jennings and Luke Kelly (R.I.P.) a run for their money. From the hallowed halls of musical legends (driven to drink), comes the spirit of true “don’t cry in your beer, just guzzle it and smile”, reminding us, yet again, that life and love can be but a joke, even in the darkest of times. Hallellujah buddy ! This got to be one of the best drunkards prayers, this side of the Mississippi.
But probably one of the best tragic Irish love songs tackling the dark subject of sectarianism, is the Mickey Finns, “Tanks and Barbed Wire”, a mighty tune that will tug at your heart strings, and cause you to hope that people on both sides of the religious divide will wake up and reject the British propaganda of the “old divide and rule”, and put the religious hatred----- behind them. This song always moves me, in a way that only a deeply stirring and emotional song can. Beautiful and tragic, like Ulster.
Next, “The Jester”, is a happy tune that reunites us with our old chums in the drinking schools of McLean Avenue or the Quays. And with every - Radio Rebel Gael

Shane MacGowan once said that “….there’s no point in Ireland getting the six counties back, if Irish culture has been totally forgotten and destroyed. That will have meant that they’ve won in the end.” ( “A Drink With Shane MacGowan, Victoria Mary Clarke, 2001, Grove Press)





And bands like the Mickey Finns always remind us, of how much of an important part of Irish culture, the music really is.

With their third CD release, “Prayers and Idle Chatter”, The Mickey Finns are proof positive that no matter how much you drink,there’s not the slightest chance of Irish music being forgotten.

Beginning this new Mickey Finns bout with “Return of the Prodigal Son”; you can feel that whiskey-inspired Ceili-Country rhythm that brought so many fans to Paddy Reillys, night after night, to sing and dance to that rowdy Urban Cowboy sound that is the Mickey Finns. If Lucinda Williams and Christy Moore ever got together, The Mickey Finns would be their bastard child. Bastard, in a positive sense of the word, perhaps like a Culchie troubadour, who, while he may be without a father, due to lack of family ties, he has the freedom to wander, busking on street corners, traveling the way of the Hobo musician, giving Boxcar Willie a few lessons on the way, with only a banjo and a coonskin cap to keep him company. Okay, maybe not. Maybe Boxcar Willie would get him drunk, pick his pockets and get him involved in a late night poker game, where he would lose his coonskin cap and his banjo. And didn’t we all learn about the evils of drinking and gambling in Sunday school ? So maybe this bastard child isn’t a saint, and has many musical parents, but who cares who the father is when the son is rocking the roof right off that roadhouse? Its that something special, that Irish Rogue-gypsy-hobo-culchie sound that will pack dance halls, pubs and roadhouses every night with an infectious Irish Rock n’ Reel mass appeal, that is 100% Mickey Finns. And bandmates Ray Kelly, and Brian Tracey, formerly of NY’s legenadary, The Prodigals, have a proud family tradition that transcends blood and lineage. Believe it.

Afterwards, “Sweet Clare Girl” keeps us wandering these County Clare moors and beyond, in search of a musical sweetheart.

Just be careful with that “Sweet Clare Girl”, ladies and gentlemen, because she’s bound to break your heart :

“Said that love was only for the fools,
But you were never playing by the rules…..”

Despite the subject matter, this is really an upbeat tune that tells you to take it easy and not take things so seriously. A tune that would make Johnny Cash proud, whether or not the song makes you reminisce about unrequited love, or just a holiday romp with a beautiful Colleen, this tune is bound to become a crowd-pleaser.

Next, “McGuinness’ Mass” allows us to contemplate on the mysteries of life while totally banjaxed, or as they say in the States, “shit-faced”. This mighty pub sing-along is probably one of the best drinkers anthems ever written and is really about the existential nature of Alcohol & Religion. Like a Priest drunk on his own sacramental wine, we delve deep into the heart of intoxicating Ceilidh rhythms, libations, and toasts to friends, fiends, winos, langers, and family :

“Some men fought in wars and some tasted defeat
While others chased girls on their cold blistered feet,
But this was their haven, a safe place from harm
A place filled with song and with chatter and charm……”

A rocking and rolling pub sing along song of cheer and warmth that might even cause some to reschedule their Sunday afternoons. And while I wouldn’t recommend this tune to recovering alcoholics, I couldn’t recommend it enough to everybody else. Unless you’re a Jesus Freak. In that case, just stick to your Christian Rock and Gospel.

If that wasn’t enough of an alcoholic reverie for your tattered soul, than “Absinthe (Makes The Heart Grow Fonder)” shall give Hank III, Waylon Jennings and Luke Kelly (R.I.P.) a run for their money. From the hallowed halls of musical legends (driven to drink), comes the spirit of true “don’t cry in your beer, just guzzle it and smile”, reminding us, yet again, that life and love can be but a joke, even in the darkest of times. Hallellujah buddy ! This got to be one of the best drunkards prayers, this side of the Mississippi.
But probably one of the best tragic Irish love songs tackling the dark subject of sectarianism, is the Mickey Finns, “Tanks and Barbed Wire”, a mighty tune that will tug at your heart strings, and cause you to hope that people on both sides of the religious divide will wake up and reject the British propaganda of the “old divide and rule”, and put the religious hatred----- behind them. This song always moves me, in a way that only a deeply stirring and emotional song can. Beautiful and tragic, like Ulster.
Next, “The Jester”, is a happy tune that reunites us with our old chums in the drinking schools of McLean Avenue or the Quays. And with every - Radio Rebel Gael

The Mickey Finns have been a staple at Paddy Reilly’s in New York City for the last few years and have expanded into the summer Irish festival circuit as a headliner. The band is set for another massive leap with the release of Prayers and Idle Chatter.

The album begins, “I left my kin all disappointed and my parents racked with grief/but they never cut the ties that truly bind.” Ray Kelly snarls in a hayseed stomper that would make the Charlie Daniels Band look over their shoulder.

Co. Clare singer/guitarist Kelly’s whiskey-soaked voice should be familiar to fans of Irish music. He was one of the original members of the jig punk band the Prodigals.

His ragged voice, so perfect for the punk idiom, adds a spicy outlaw vibe to the southern-fried Celtic country rock that is the Mickey Finn sound. He is joined by fellow Prodigal Brian Tracey in the band.
Tracey provided the thunder behind the drum kit for the Prodigals and he has since expanded into the role of chief songwriter, co-producer and guitarist for the Mickey Finns.

Fitting that the first song from the new album is “Return of the Prodigal Son,” because Prayers and Idle Chatter marks the first time in over a decade that the full original lineup of the Prodigals can be found on one disc.

“I’m still great friends with those guys,” explains Tracey of Prodigals leader (and killer squeezebox player) Greg Grene and bassist Andrew Harkin, who join the Mickey Finns for a few sessions.

“I didn’t think to ask Greg to play with us because he is so busy, but he heard ‘McGuinness’ Mass’ and he just loved it. I used him sparingly in small flourishes because it would be hard to duplicate it live since we don’t have the accordion.”

Kelly shows a softer side on “The Jetser,” a great pub singalong with a catchy “ba bada ba ba ba” chorus that’s hard to shake from your gray matter. You forget how much you miss hearing a great vocalist nail a song in these airbrushed and processed times in the music business!

Fiddle player extraordinaire Matt Mancuso hails from New York, and he adds a sweet country breeze through the song. As good as Kelly is, perhaps Mancuso is the band’s ace in the hole, bending the bow to change the tone of the music from bluegrass on tracks like “Return of the Prodigal Son” to Irish reeling on the Afro-centric “Two Jigs for Aoife” and back again. The former lead fiddler for Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance, Mancuso has performed with many other acts, including the Cathie Ryan Band and the Prodigals.

Multi-instrumentalist Eric Kaye plays just about everything else left to play -- bass, mandolin, and guitar A sought-after session musician and producer in his own right, he has worked with the likes of Clint Black, Marc Cohn, and Luther Vandross. His top shelf playing is all over this disc, adding crisp bass lines and strings to this high octane hootenanny!

While Tracey says he wrote most of the songs and sketched them out for the band in his home studio, he credits the band for bringing the rough ideas to new heights.

“It was great to see the band dig into these songs,” he says. “There were so many happy surprises that they added to the mix that I never would have considered.

“On ‘Absinthe (Makes the Heart Grow Fonder),” I was convinced that there should be this guitar riff in the mix when I heard the song in my head. Matt did such a great job on the fiddle that we left it in. Ray suggested changes in words that really made a difference.

“Though many of the songs started out as my idea, it’s definitely a band thing.”

“Absinthe” is an album standout, a barn burning track about living the rowdy life. The screeching classic rock guitar solos and a sassy fiddle calls to mind “Hot Dog,” Led Zeppelin’s foray into country music.

“We’re still a democratic band but there was a few times that you’d have to coax the band to try something they may not have wanted to,” Tracey says. “Sometimes, you find yourself negotiating things but overall, there was agreement.”

He describes a frustrating recording session that created the sweet “Ballad of Duffy’s Cut.”

“That was the last song I wrote. I was never pleased at the way Ray sang the track because he wasn’t getting the pathos of it. I went in and recorded it because I wrote it,” says Tracey.

“We gave him one last chance to sing it and in one take, he nailed it. He got everything in that song I wanted to say and as good as I thought I was, it didn’t come close to the job he did. He just has this great barroom vocal that you just can’t beat.”

Apart from their regular Saturday night gigs at Paddy Reilly’s, the band has an exciting few months planned that kicks off with a holiday gig on July 6 at Belmont Park racetrack followed by a proper release party of the CD that will be supported by a whiskey company that shares the band’s name.

If you’ve been looking for a country classic with a decidedly Irish vibe, your prayers have been answered with Mickey Finn - The Irish Voice

The Mickey Finns have been a staple at Paddy Reilly’s in New York City for the last few years and have expanded into the summer Irish festival circuit as a headliner. The band is set for another massive leap with the release of Prayers and Idle Chatter.

The album begins, “I left my kin all disappointed and my parents racked with grief/but they never cut the ties that truly bind.” Ray Kelly snarls in a hayseed stomper that would make the Charlie Daniels Band look over their shoulder.

Co. Clare singer/guitarist Kelly’s whiskey-soaked voice should be familiar to fans of Irish music. He was one of the original members of the jig punk band the Prodigals.

His ragged voice, so perfect for the punk idiom, adds a spicy outlaw vibe to the southern-fried Celtic country rock that is the Mickey Finn sound. He is joined by fellow Prodigal Brian Tracey in the band.
Tracey provided the thunder behind the drum kit for the Prodigals and he has since expanded into the role of chief songwriter, co-producer and guitarist for the Mickey Finns.

Fitting that the first song from the new album is “Return of the Prodigal Son,” because Prayers and Idle Chatter marks the first time in over a decade that the full original lineup of the Prodigals can be found on one disc.

“I’m still great friends with those guys,” explains Tracey of Prodigals leader (and killer squeezebox player) Greg Grene and bassist Andrew Harkin, who join the Mickey Finns for a few sessions.

“I didn’t think to ask Greg to play with us because he is so busy, but he heard ‘McGuinness’ Mass’ and he just loved it. I used him sparingly in small flourishes because it would be hard to duplicate it live since we don’t have the accordion.”

Kelly shows a softer side on “The Jetser,” a great pub singalong with a catchy “ba bada ba ba ba” chorus that’s hard to shake from your gray matter. You forget how much you miss hearing a great vocalist nail a song in these airbrushed and processed times in the music business!

Fiddle player extraordinaire Matt Mancuso hails from New York, and he adds a sweet country breeze through the song. As good as Kelly is, perhaps Mancuso is the band’s ace in the hole, bending the bow to change the tone of the music from bluegrass on tracks like “Return of the Prodigal Son” to Irish reeling on the Afro-centric “Two Jigs for Aoife” and back again. The former lead fiddler for Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance, Mancuso has performed with many other acts, including the Cathie Ryan Band and the Prodigals.

Multi-instrumentalist Eric Kaye plays just about everything else left to play -- bass, mandolin, and guitar A sought-after session musician and producer in his own right, he has worked with the likes of Clint Black, Marc Cohn, and Luther Vandross. His top shelf playing is all over this disc, adding crisp bass lines and strings to this high octane hootenanny!

While Tracey says he wrote most of the songs and sketched them out for the band in his home studio, he credits the band for bringing the rough ideas to new heights.

“It was great to see the band dig into these songs,” he says. “There were so many happy surprises that they added to the mix that I never would have considered.

“On ‘Absinthe (Makes the Heart Grow Fonder),” I was convinced that there should be this guitar riff in the mix when I heard the song in my head. Matt did such a great job on the fiddle that we left it in. Ray suggested changes in words that really made a difference.

“Though many of the songs started out as my idea, it’s definitely a band thing.”

“Absinthe” is an album standout, a barn burning track about living the rowdy life. The screeching classic rock guitar solos and a sassy fiddle calls to mind “Hot Dog,” Led Zeppelin’s foray into country music.

“We’re still a democratic band but there was a few times that you’d have to coax the band to try something they may not have wanted to,” Tracey says. “Sometimes, you find yourself negotiating things but overall, there was agreement.”

He describes a frustrating recording session that created the sweet “Ballad of Duffy’s Cut.”

“That was the last song I wrote. I was never pleased at the way Ray sang the track because he wasn’t getting the pathos of it. I went in and recorded it because I wrote it,” says Tracey.

“We gave him one last chance to sing it and in one take, he nailed it. He got everything in that song I wanted to say and as good as I thought I was, it didn’t come close to the job he did. He just has this great barroom vocal that you just can’t beat.”

Apart from their regular Saturday night gigs at Paddy Reilly’s, the band has an exciting few months planned that kicks off with a holiday gig on July 6 at Belmont Park racetrack followed by a proper release party of the CD that will be supported by a whiskey company that shares the band’s name.

If you’ve been looking for a country classic with a decidedly Irish vibe, your prayers have been answered with Mickey Finn - The Irish Voice

I was loving life one morning last week as I cruised down I-87 in the convertible I borrowed from my mom. The sun was shining and I had a new disc in my CD player. It was “Prayers and Idle Chatter,” the latest release from New York City Celtic Rock Band, the Mickey Finns. I’ve seen the band play live at Paddy Reilly’s a couple of times, but this was my first time listening to them recorded. I have to say, the morning commute ain’t bad with their music coming from your speakers.

The Mickey Finns are Ray Kelly, Brian Tracey, Matt Mancuso and Eric Kaye. These guys are no strangers to the New York City Irish music scene. Kelly, the group’s lead singer and guitarist from County Clare, was one of the founding members of the Prodigals. Also a former member of the Prodigals, drummer Brian Tracey hails from New York City and contributes not only to the rhythm of “Prayers and Idle Chatter,” but he also wrote all but one of the songs for the album. New York fiddler and former Lord of The Dance performer, Matt Mancuso has played with Cathie Ryan, Raglan Road and the McCabes. A multi-instrumentalist and producer, Eric Kaye is the latest addition to the Mickey Finns and lends his production skills and musical talents on bass, mandolin, and guitar to the album. Add in a few special guests like the Screaming Orphans, Padraig Allen of the Whole Shabang and McLean Avenue Band, Gregory Greene from the Prodigals and you’ve got a sweet taste of the contemporary New York Irish music scene on “Prayers and Idle Chatter.”

With their rock/country/ Celtic sound, the Mickey Finns feature eight original songs and three grooving sets of tunes on their latest release. It’s the winning combination of great instrumentation, gritty and powerful vocals and beguiling new songs that make the album an obvious addition to my list of the best releases this year. “Prayers and Idle Chatter” has all the elements of a good Irish album – from the intoxicating rhythm of the lively instrumentals, to the band’s ability to weave in and out of party tunes and songs that uncover the sad and serious side of things like “Tanks and Barbed Wire,” their song about the struggles in Northern Ireland and “The Ballad of Duffy’s Cut” which tells the story of the 57 Irish immigrants who died in 1832 and were found buried in a mass grave near a stretch of railroad tracks 30 miles west of Philadelphia. The ballad, along with “Sweet Clare Girl,” are my favorites on the CD, because what would a Celtic album be without a song about a sweet Irish girl? You can pick up your copy of “Prayers and Idle Chatter” at CDBaby.com and catch The Mickey Finns live at Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar in NYC on this Saturday night, July 28.
- The Irish Echo

I was loving life one morning last week as I cruised down I-87 in the convertible I borrowed from my mom. The sun was shining and I had a new disc in my CD player. It was “Prayers and Idle Chatter,” the latest release from New York City Celtic Rock Band, the Mickey Finns. I’ve seen the band play live at Paddy Reilly’s a couple of times, but this was my first time listening to them recorded. I have to say, the morning commute ain’t bad with their music coming from your speakers.

The Mickey Finns are Ray Kelly, Brian Tracey, Matt Mancuso and Eric Kaye. These guys are no strangers to the New York City Irish music scene. Kelly, the group’s lead singer and guitarist from County Clare, was one of the founding members of the Prodigals. Also a former member of the Prodigals, drummer Brian Tracey hails from New York City and contributes not only to the rhythm of “Prayers and Idle Chatter,” but he also wrote all but one of the songs for the album. New York fiddler and former Lord of The Dance performer, Matt Mancuso has played with Cathie Ryan, Raglan Road and the McCabes. A multi-instrumentalist and producer, Eric Kaye is the latest addition to the Mickey Finns and lends his production skills and musical talents on bass, mandolin, and guitar to the album. Add in a few special guests like the Screaming Orphans, Padraig Allen of the Whole Shabang and McLean Avenue Band, Gregory Greene from the Prodigals and you’ve got a sweet taste of the contemporary New York Irish music scene on “Prayers and Idle Chatter.”

With their rock/country/ Celtic sound, the Mickey Finns feature eight original songs and three grooving sets of tunes on their latest release. It’s the winning combination of great instrumentation, gritty and powerful vocals and beguiling new songs that make the album an obvious addition to my list of the best releases this year. “Prayers and Idle Chatter” has all the elements of a good Irish album – from the intoxicating rhythm of the lively instrumentals, to the band’s ability to weave in and out of party tunes and songs that uncover the sad and serious side of things like “Tanks and Barbed Wire,” their song about the struggles in Northern Ireland and “The Ballad of Duffy’s Cut” which tells the story of the 57 Irish immigrants who died in 1832 and were found buried in a mass grave near a stretch of railroad tracks 30 miles west of Philadelphia. The ballad, along with “Sweet Clare Girl,” are my favorites on the CD, because what would a Celtic album be without a song about a sweet Irish girl? You can pick up your copy of “Prayers and Idle Chatter” at CDBaby.com and catch The Mickey Finns live at Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar in NYC on this Saturday night, July 28.
- The Irish Echo