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May 28, 2006 - 4th Street Lilac Festival It's been six years since we last played this festival. In that time the band has been almost completely transformed. I guess that's life. The weather was fine: not too hot, not too cold. All the band members were there, snagged from hither and yon. Colin had just completed a triathlon event and Brad came from a fiddle orchestra concert. We played on the CKUA stage and closed off the afternoon. Thanks to all our fans that came to see us. You know we love you! March 17, 2006 - St. Patty's Day A fun time was had by all and sundry as Tir Na N'og held forth at the Joyce on 4th Irish Pub in Calgary. My most favourite memory was when with amazement and delight I saw our whistle player, Christie Simmons leap into the audience to dance a few jigs and reels with them. Everyone played their hearts out: Brad, Colin, Christie, Rob and I. The audience seemed to go for both the fast rowdy numbers and the slower ballads. The craic was ninety! February 20, 2006: Here are a few snippets of "Home Again - news" to share with everyone. Yesterday I was told that the CBC had played "Annie Byfield" during one of their programs . It's nice to know that our album is still "out there" and people in the media like it enough to play it. Also, I received an email from another person who said that "Home Again" is his favourite album and his wife gets on his case for playing it too often. February 11, 2006: The Cat'n Fiddle Pub was rocking to the sounds of Tir Na N'og and Tirnanoggins all having a good time. "Tirnanoggins" of course is our pet name for fans of the band. This night marked the debut of Christie Simmons on vocals, whistles and guitar. We had a lot of fun and will do our utmost to make sure the fun continues. We would like to thank the Cat'n Fiddle for having us, and all our friends (Mary, Linda, Trista, Kelsey, Donette, Brenda, Jason, Rob, Shelagh, Des, Sonia, Donna, Jim, etc.) for coming out to see us. Our next gig, so we are told, is going to be on St. Patrick's Day at the Joyce on 4th. Come on out and see us. January 3, 2006: In case you've been wondering where we've been for the last few months, suffice to say we've been hibernating, enjoying the Christmas holidays, eating turkey, things like that. We've begun working with a new band member, Christie Simmons. Christie sings, plays guitar and penny whistles. It's been a long time since we've had someone in the band who played whistles. We're looking forward to her contribution. Watch for us in the new year. June 1, 2005: Egad! Seven months since the last update! After an all-to-brief stay in Calgary, Rich has recently moved back to Ontario. Look out for him in the Pubs along that Main Drag known as the 401 as he hauls his accordian from Chatham to Kitchener and Beyond. Along with Rich, the band has, alas, lost the beutiful website he set up. Oh well, we'll pick the mothballs out of this one and start using it again. November 4, 2004: Long time between updates, and this will be the last one put on this page!! Mr. Richard Hyrtzak has demonstrated that his skills on a keyboard extend beyond the ebony & ivory of his accordian. The new website should be ready very soon! September 20, 2004: We were very sad last week to learn that Terry Smith passed away unexpectedly. Terry played with the band for a while in 2001-2002. He was a excellent musician, a cheerful companion and a good friend who shall be missed by all who knew him. August 17, 2004: Anyone who was at Saturday's show probably noticed a couple of newer faces.... Nathan has been playing bodrhan with us on a regular basis now for a couple of months now. The new guy with the accordian is Rich Hrytzak, who, like the rest of the band, has arrived in Calgary from the Not-Quite-Farthest East (Kitchiner-Waterloo, in his case). August 11, 2004: Not a lot of news, summers are always slow for us... The bands lineup is undergoing a few alterations, which as may be seen on the biography page. We played a great show the other week (our 100th show since we started counting!) with a convention of square dancers & cloggers in attendance. Mixed in with a few British troops, it made for a lively night at the old pub to be sure! March 25, 2004: Radio update! We now know we've had airplay in such far flung places as Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Taos, New Mexico. If you would like to hear more Tir na N'og on the radio, please contact your local Top 40 station! March 18, 2004: While the band put in the long haul on St. Paddy's day yesterday entertaining the thirsty patrons at at the Joyce, Jeff (or rather his lovely wife Graes) put in an even longer haul giving birth to little Liam! The nurses wouldn't let us give him any Guinness, though (poor fella). March 12, 2004: Been a while since we updated the news! We have a fresh slate of gigs lined up for the spring! Sorry about the cancelled show the other week in Banff! Half the band fell ill on Friday and we were forced to cancel at the last minute. Also, Jeff will be absent for the next few weeks - he'll be busy changing nappies and so on with his first born! Watch for the dexterous Colin Peters as Jeff's replacement. Also, watch out for guest appearances from Nathan McCavana (bodhran) in the next little while. Febuary 2, 2004: Had a great time playing to a great bunch of people this weekend in Banff - 'specially the Saturday night Newfies and the big group of dentists from Nanaimo. Big thanks to Sean and all his staff at St. James' gate - we'll be back on March 5th & 6th! We've heard rumours that Karma is now open again! Great news - hopefully we'll be able to play there again soon. January 28, 2004: Happy New Year! Gong huy fat choy to our Chinese friends (who will please excuse my spelling)! We're now officially booked in for a LONG St. Patrick's day at the James Joyce. We start with the lunch crowd at 12:30 and will be playing on & off until midnight. See you on March 17th! December 17, 2003: We now have the Finished Product in our hot little hands! It's really quite gratifiying to see all those weeks of work & waiting finally there as a shrink-wrapped square of plastic. See you all on the 19th! December 5, 2003: The date for the official release of HOME AGAIN is now set for Friday, December 19th at the James Joyce. See the gigs page for details! November 15, 2003: Sad news this time. Karma Local Arts House has closed its doors forever. It was one of the top folk music venues in the country at its peak, boasting performances by Eric Bogle, the Paperboys, Garnet Rogers, Oscar Lopez and so many others. We've played a dozen or more gigs there since the inception of Tir na N'og as a duo in 1998. Karma, you shall be missed. November 13, 2003: No news for a while! I've been too lazy... We now have the proofs for the CD cover, etc.... The album is entitled "Home Again" and it looks quite swanky. Hopefully mass-production shall commence shortly and we'll be on the market by Christmas! Look for a CD release party coming up in December. August 12, 2003: Today was the final day of recording for our as-yet-nameless debut album. We've laid 12 tracks down: a mix of traditionals and originals including a tasty morsel or two yet to be be unleashed on the listening public in our live set. It was a great experience with young Dave Alcock driving the boat at Sundae Sound. We'll try to get a sample or two posted on the website, possibly even before the final mixing is complete.... Hopefully, we should have CDs for sale before Christmas (just the thing for your dear Aunt Petunia's present...) August 1, 2003: Brian has recently been in touch with our old friends at Karma's in Madra Loop. We've been booked in for three shows over the next three months: Aug. 16, Sept. 26 and Oct. 17. July 27, 2003: This past weekend's pair of gigs at the Joyce may be the last you here from us for a little while - we're going in to record at Sundae sound at the beginning of August and most of us are taking some much-needed vacation later on in the month - watch the gigs page for any changes, though! |