Irish music – Erik Devaney

“This Land Is Your Land” Reimagined…

Posted on October 29, 2013 by I. E. (IrishMyths.com) in Music

…as an a cappella Celtic crying song performed by a bunch of grumpy Irishmen.

I swear it’s much less of a stretch than it sounds (certainly less of a stretch than playing “Royals” by Lorde on Irish Bouzouki).

“Royals” By Lorde (on Irish Bouzouki)

Posted on October 8, 2013 by I. E. (IrishMyths.com) in Music

Admit it: when you first heard “Royals” by Lorde you thought, “Wow. Catchy tune, BUT I really wish someone would play it on the Irish bouzouki.”

Your dream come true:

An Introduction to Celtic Music [slideshow]

Posted on March 5, 2013September 5, 2013 by I. E. (IrishMyths.com) in Music

With St. Patrick’s Day fast approaching, playlists will soon be filling up with “diddly-i-o’s,” “mush-a ring dum-a do dum-a da’s,” and “no-nay-never no more’s.” And while it’s easy for even the most musically illiterate person to hear a Dubliners’, Clancy Brothers’, Chieftains’, or Pogues’ song and say definitively, “THAT’s Celtic music!” – getting that person to explain WHY it’s Celtic is a totally different story.

About a year ago, I sought to explain those distinctive aspects of Celtic music that make it so…errrr, “Celtic-sounding.” In addition to using several online resources, I found the textbook Focus: Irish Traditional Music by Sean Williams (available in the Kindle Store) incredibly helpful. My research complete, I presented my findings to my office in one of our weekly “Lunch & Learn” presentations.

Embedded below are the slides from that presentation, which was originally titled “An Interactive Introduction to Celtic Music.” The interactive parts included having my coworkers identify different instruments and having them write a Celtic song using a Mad Lib-style approach. I also gave a live demonstration of some of the instruments that are common to Celtic music (namely, guitar, Irish bouzouki, mandolin, and bodhrán).

Sláinte! (Cheers!)

St. Patty’s Day Teaser Tune (on Irish Bouzouki & Guitar)

Posted on February 20, 2013February 20, 2013 by I. E. (IrishMyths.com) in Music

My “Whiskey in the Jar” intro…full-length song coming soon!

“Joy to the World” on Irish Bouzouki

Posted on December 9, 2012 by I. E. (IrishMyths.com) in Music

Coming Out of Musical Retirement (for an Evening)

Posted on November 20, 2012November 20, 2012 by I. E. (IrishMyths.com) in Music

There was a time when I thought I’d have a go at making music my full-time profession. And while playing at pubs in Montreal for a few bucks (and more than a few beers) was fun…probably too much fun, it eventually dawned on me that my career path lied elsewhere. So, I hung up the gig bags, coiled up the cables, and moved my butt back home to Boston.

It had been many-a-month since my last performance when I got the call from my sister. A friend of ours had just graduated from the police academy and his girlfriend was throwing him a party at a local bar in Woburn (our hometown). Live entertainment was needed and I just happened to be both alive and mildly entertaining.

Having “retired” from being a part-time pub musician, I’ve realized now that music for me is all about friends and family. My favorite gigs have always been in living rooms and backyards and front porches. Beer cans scattered lazily about. Your friend named T-Mac doing some strange dance, while the less-initiated (aka non-Woburnites) look on in horror. This coming-out-of-retirement gig felt just like one of those casual, drunken singalongs.

And I loved it.

Below are two songs from the gig. The first is a special rendition of “Dirty Old Town,” which I wrote to celebrate my sister’s recent engagement (Woo hoo!). The second is a cover of “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Enjoy!