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View Full Version : Ellis Island - Great old Irish music


eire1274
06-26-2007, 03:21 PM
I've had a couple Ellis Island (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=103701553) CDs passed my way. They are a two-man band situated in Omaha, NE... just a couple Irish emigrants who happened to land here.

I finally saw them Friday (Jun. 22nd), as a friend's birthday celebration was centered around a tankard of Guiness and an Ellis Island (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=103701553) show here at the Brazenhead Pub (http://www.brazenheadpub.com/), and I couldn't figure out (at first) why the singer of the band looked so blasted familiar, so I finally asked his name during an intermission... Mick Doyle... and oh crap, he remembered me!

Mick, on top of being a guitar wizard and singer, is the operator of the Emerald Mongosse Gym, a world class Muy Thai (he got the name "Emerald Mongoose" while practicing in Thailand) and kickboxer, and former trainer of my Navy brother-in-law. He knows me because I broke Jamie's foot during a session on the mat there, and one of his seconds asked me politely not to come to the gym anymore (apparently because Gojo Ryu and Juijitsu are not friendly to Muy Thai practitioners?) and I was quite scared of him and didn't... :jawsdown

Anyway, Mick currently has two or three national champion kickboxers, and a couple who are working their way through the UFC ranks as well. Sláinte, Mick! Anyway, a link there, too: Mick Doyle's Kickboxing and Fitness (http://www.mickdoyle.com).

Oh, yeah, the links above to Ellis Island are to MySpace, and MySpace is evil, but that's where Mick chose to put it, and who am I to correct the scariest Irishman in Omaha? :lmao

egarrard
06-27-2007, 07:16 AM
A banjo is an Irish instrument? That's a new one...

"Kevin's Fancy" is very nice. (It could use a re-mix, though. Maybe a high-third acoustic too.)

Bodhrans (http://www.rtgstore.com/gifts/bodhrans.html)!!! Love 'em!

eire1274
06-27-2007, 11:57 AM
A banjo is an Irish instrument? That's a new one...
Consider that a lot of their music is stuff written by people after they crossed the pond, hence the band name "Ellis Island". The Irish are famous for finding an instrument and rolling with it. Heck, look at Bluegrass... Irish music turned country... or country turned Irish, or whatever.

"Kevin's Fancy" refers to Kevin, whose last name I've forgotten, who guests with them from time to time. Kevin is a member of the Omaha Pipe and Drum Corps (http://www.omahapipesanddrums.com), and a heck of a piper.