Gaelic Storm 'Bring Yer Wellies' album

Since its inception nearly ten years ago, Gaelic Storm continue to broaden the musical horizons of the Celtic music genre by creating compelling originals and fresh arrangements steeped in Irish traditional melody and acoustic instrumentation combined with their unique blend of world rhythms. Released on July 25, 2006, the band’s latest album Bring Yer Wellies (Lost Again Records) debuted at #2 on the Billboard World Chart, #16 on the Internet Sales Chart and #31 on the Independent Album Chart. The 14 new tracks capture the contagious energy of Gaelic Storm’s renowned live performances. Channeling the rowdy communal feel of an Irish pub on raucous sing-alongs, driving pipe sets and spirited fiddle tunes, the band’s sixth studio album was recorded in a one-month fury in April 2006 at The Zone recording studio in Austin Texas.

The new album comes on the heels of the band’s first concert DVD, Live In Chicago, released in January this year. The Hi-Def DVD was taped on September 14, 2005 before a packed audience at the House of Blues Chicago. The 2-hour video showcases the trademark energetic performance and enthusiastic audience interaction that make the band a front-runner in the Celtic music genre today.

Touring aggressively and playing over 125 dates a year, Gaelic Storm routinely breaks attendance and merchandise sales records, pushing their popularity beyond the World music genre and into the mainstream music consciousness. Gaelic Storm performed on The Rock Boat 2004 along with mainstream rock bands such as Cowboy Mouth, Tonic, Sister Hazel and Gavin Degraw and set the Rock Boat CD sales record. The band was invited back to The Rock Boat in 2006 alongside acts such as Better Than Ezra and Marc Broussard. Gaelic Storm broke the attendance record previously held by Alan Jackson at the Albuquerque, NM Bio-Park and they continue to headline some of the largest Celtic and Folk festivals in the world including Festival Interceltique in Lorient, Brittany, the Pittsburgh Irish Festival, and Dublin Irish Festival. Remarkably, the band has headlined the largest U.S. Irish Festival, Milwaukee Irish Fest, for 4 straight years, and has become an exception to the festival’s usual policy of not inviting artists to perform in consecutive years.

Gaelic Storm released their fifth album "How Are We Getting Home?" in August 2004 (Lost Again Records) which debuted at #3 on the Billboard World Music Charts and #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and re-entered the September 2005 World Albums Chart at #3. Their previous four albums (Higher Octave Records/Virgin-EMI) have all charted high on the Billboard World Music Chart, including reaching the #2 position on three different occasions. Since their self-titled first album (#5 on Billboard's World Music Chart) and their appearance in the film Titanic, Gaelic Storm continues to thunder onto stages around the world.

On St. Patrick's Day, 1996, co-founders Patrick Murphy of Cork City, Ireland (vocals, piano, accordion, spoons, harmonica) and New Yorker Steve Wehmeyer (bodhran, vocals, didgeridoo) officially joined forces with Steve Twigger of Coventry, England (vocals, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki), at O'Brien's pub in Santa Monica, California. Their first performance was such a hit that the crowd refused to let them off the stage for the next act. In 1997, Gaelic Storm was catapulted out of their formative pub haunts by an appearance in the blockbuster film Titanic. Cast as the "party band" in the steerage scene, they landed the part while still drinking pints and playing weekly at O'Brien's. After the film’s release, the band was met by huge crowds on their first tour. However, they still pride themselves on remaining as accessible as ever and sharing “a pint” with fans whenever possible.

A mini-documentary about Gaelic Storm airs regularly on Cinemax, and the band has appeared numerous times on national and international TV. Perhaps the best indication of Gaelic Storm's newfound international success came when Michael Flatley (of Lord of the Dance fame) met Gaelic Storm vocalist and songwriter Patrick Murphy in Murphy's hometown, Cork City, Ireland. "I told him he did a superb job of advancing Irish culture throughout the world, like the Chieftains have for years," Murphy says, "and he said, 'In fairness to you, you've probably introduced Irish music to five minutes of fame with that little film clip.'"

Gaelic Storm also includes: Ryan Lacey on drums and world percussion (graduated twice from the Los Angeles Music Academy, once for hands and once for sticks), Ellery Klein on fiddle (who holds a MA degree in Traditional Irish Music from the University of Limerick) and Pete Purvis of Merrickville, Ontario on uillean pipes, tin whistle, daeger pipes and highland pipes (a Grade 1 piper who toured with award winning pipe bands including the Braemar Pipe Band and played at 2000 Sydney Olympics).

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Gaelic Storm - Bring Yer Wellies