The Narrowbacks
New York, NY, USA | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | SELF
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By Colleen Taylor
Last week, a New York band treated one of Boston’s best Irish music venues to an array of Big Apple songs. The Narrowbacks, a burgeoning Irish-American band with proud New York roots, rocked the Burren in Sommerville, Mass. They were so well liked there that—despite longstanding intercity rivalries—the Burren invited them back. I chatted with the band before the show about how they transformed from two friends joking about playing music into a full-scale band with an original album, an EP, and another record on the way.
The Narrowbacks don’t take themselves very seriously, which is fitting, because their music is meant to inspire mirth. Laughing, bandleaders Seamus Keane and Barry Walsh told me they decided to form the group on a whim after a few too many pints. They never expected it to take off, let alone to extend beyond local venues in New York. After practicing for a couple years, adding a few more instruments to their repertoire, and including other band members, Patrick Keane, Fionn McElligott, Chris Moran and Anthony Chen, the Narrowbacks were suddenly, to use Barry Walsh’s words, “a proper band.” All of a sudden, to their ostensible astonishment, the joke had become reality.
Roots are important for the Narrowbacks. Keane and Walsh’s parents hail from Ireland, and the Irish character of New York neighborhoods like Woodlawn, Rockaway, Pearl River and Bambridge inflects their original songs, such as “Paddy’s Field” (off their album, “Fire It Up”). I see them as the next generation of a group like Black 47: a punk/rock infusion of place and tradition. The lads seemed to be chuffed by the comparison: Black 47, Flogging Molly, the Dropkick Murphys, the Pogues and the Dubliners are their idols and musical inspirations. They also have their own diverse musical interests outside the Irish-American genres. Drummer Chris Moran, for instance, works his blues and Southern rock interests into the band’s sound from time to time as well.
The Narrowbacks aren’t exactly breaking new musical ground, but they know how to fill a venue with energy. Their music is literally and figuratively electric, and it sounds best live. That said, their EP “After Hours” is a noticeable progression from their debut “Fire It Up.” With the help of traditional musicians, the Narrowbacks recorded this short EP as a teaser for their album, which will be out in April: “We wanted a more full, better sounding CD,” Keane said. The title deliberately evokes the cultural feel of the album—those late-night hours at the pub when everyone starts singing their favorite traditional tunes. Across all the albums, the band rocks trad tunes like “Whiskey in the Jar” and “the Fields of Athenry,” making them relevant and youthful again for the next generation of Irish and Irish-Americans. History and tradition seem fun and edgy when the Narrowbacks take the stage.
Things are starting to come full circle for this group of New Yorkers who first gathered under the ruse of a joke. They will soon be opening for a band they used to admire from afar: the one and only Dropkick Murphys. Once again, Keane and the lads seem unaccustomed to their success: “I was shocked when [Ken Casey] asked us to open, but of course I said yes!” The Narrowbacks will open for Dropkick on March 16 at the House of Blues in Boston. The sounds the two Irish-American cities will fuse once again—you might even want to mark your calendars now.
What’s next for the Narrowbacks? My wager is a lot more. Their aspirations know now limits: Keane says the ultimate goal is simply “to get their music heard by as many people out there.” The Narrowbacks want to carry their sounds and beats all over the States, even across the Atlantic. They strike me as a group that has barely begun. I know many fans are still missing Black 47 since their retirement. Well, the Narrowbacks fill the need for an Irish-America that knows how to rock.
Find out more at: the narrowbacks.com. - Irish Echo
New York’s The Narrowbacks have been turning some heads in the Celtic Rock world since the release of their first full length ‘Fire It Up’. Those in the New York area are far too familiar with the fun and exciting shows these boys have been putting together over the years, however most of us here in the rest of the USA and world-wide Paddy Rockin’ community were taken by surprise by how good this pub-rockin’ band is with ‘Fire It Up’. The Narrowbacks are made up of a five-piece of some really killer musicians with Seamus Keane (Vocals/Harmonica), Barry Walsh (Banjo/Mandolin), Patrick Keane (Accordion), Fionn McElligott (Guitar), and Chris Moran (Drums and Percussion). I have been playing the hell out of this release from it’s traditional tunes “Leaving of Liverpool”, “Tell Me Ma”, “Muirsheen Durkin”, and “Whiskey in the Jar”, and let alone their originals like “The Temperance”, “Doubt It” and more which will have you dancing, stomping your foot, swaying with glass in hand, and singing along. This is great music for any pub, festival, and for this being their first full length… one hell of a debut. The Narrowbacks are the real deal and the sky is the limit for this young group of paddy rockers… hope to see them performing in Chicago soon. - PaddyRock.com
Nar·row·back [nar-oh-bak], noun, slang -- a person of slight build who is unfit for hard labor.
Who among us Irish Americans hasn’t been called that at one time or another? The Narrowbacks, a band lead singer Seamus Keane says was “born in a slummy Iona College dorm after some late night sing songs, a couple whiskeys,” is a boozy, fun soundtrack to the experience of being a narrowback!
Indeed, The Narrowbacks: Fire it Up doesn’t seem born out of hard labor. It is a loose, labor of love that combines tried and true traditional ditties with fun originals.
Keane explains that the New York Irish American music scene is of the highest quality, with the Veseys of Celtic Cross and the McCarthy brothers from Jameson’s Revenge and Shilelagh Law playing their instruments at a level where they win All-Ireland awards everywhere they turn.
It was intimidating at first to a band like the Narrowbacks, who had no such experience with playing. Typical of this music scene, however, the Vesey and McCarthy clans took the lads under their wing, giving them music lessons when needed and inviting them to share the stage at crucial gigs.
“We don’t have that professional background,” Keane says with a laugh. “I mean, Denny McCarthy does Hendrix on fiddle -- that’s the level that you have out there. Meanwhile, we’re in the apartment looking up banjo tags.”
Yet the do-it-yourself ethos (or DIY for short) is the axis that rock and punk spin on, isn’t it? That joy of discovery and unpolished riffing is all part of the Narrowbacks’ charm.
“The original song ‘Doubt It’ was the first song we ever wrote,” Keane says. “I didn’t even know how to play an instrument. So it was fun to experiment.”
A highlight of the disc is “The Confessional,” a sunny, mandolin-driven ditty about tumbling into a confession box to unburden your soul while nursing a wicked hangover.
“I walked in late to Mass, bloodshot eyes and everybody knew/if they didn’t then they found out when I passed out in the pew/I waited till after Mass and screamed, please excuse me father/can you hear confession now?” Keane sings.
The Narrowbacks include lead singer Keane, Barry Walsh on tenor banjo and mandolin, Mike Moran on bass, his brother Patrick Keane on button accordion, Fionn McElligott on guitar and Chris Moran on drums and percussion. They run through “Leaving of Liverpool,” “Tell Me Ma,” and “Whiskey in the Jar” with the frothy fun of a great bar band, which they are. They clearly know every speck of dirt that lines their Irish roots!
“My father is one of 11 from Connemara, from the Irish speaking section,” Keane says. “My mom was born in Queens and moved back to Clare. They met in the Bronx, moved up to Pearl River, and had six kids, including my brother Pat on the button accordion. Chris Moran on drums and Mike Moran on bass are Irish American brothers as well.”
Keane and the band are children of the nineties, cutting their teeth on Nirvana and Soundgarden. The traditional Irish songs of their parents were the furthest thing from their minds but, as is the case for so many, the Pogues changed all that.
“Obviously, we come from the tradition of the Pogues,” he says. “So many of us hated Irish music growing up until you hear Shane, and it creates this gateway to Irish music. Then you reach back into things like The Clancy Brothers and Luke Kelly to see what influenced Shane.”
That musical journey from honoring the traditional influences to finding your own narrowback voice is on full display on Fire it Up.
They are gigging all over the area this summer, including Sunday, July 14 and Sunday, August 11 at Rory Dolan’s in Yonkers, and Saturday, July 20 at Arlene's Grocery in New York before joining Celtic Cross on Friday, July 26 at Mulcahy's in Wantagh, Long Island. To find out more about the Narrowbacks, check them out at www.Narrowbacks.com or www.facebook.com/thenarrowbacks.
- Irish Voice
he Narrowbacks's 3rd album, “By Hook or By Crook,” showcases the band's songwriting talent.
Music Notes / By Colleen Taylor
Legend says that when Oliver Cromwell descended upon Ireland in the 17th century, he vowed to take the nation “by hook or by crook”—by any means necessary. Whether the alleged utterance is myth or embellished history, there is some bona fide irony in the fact that a group of Irish Catholic guys from the Bronx have claimed the term “by hook or by crook” for their own ambitions. The Narrowbacks, based in Woodlawn, are a band on the up. The next Shilelagh Law or Black 47, these young men provide the soundtrack for a new generation of New York Irish Americans—and they’re doing it, quite literally, “By Hook or By Crook,” the title of their recently-released album.
I first met the Narrowbacks in 2015 in the basement of Boston’s well-known Irish music pub, the Burren. I instantly liked their friendly demeanor and their historically-aware, irreverent name. Originally a slight against Irish-American women lacking the broad shoulders to carry baskets of wet seaweed, “narrowback” gains new satiric self-awareness with this all-male American band playing Irish tunes. The Narrowbacks told me back at the Burren that their group began as a drunken joke—a joke that just happened to evolve into a real band. But despite their self-effacing humor, the Narrowbacks quickly legitimized themselves with two album releases, “Fire it Up” in 2013 and “Arrogance and Ignorance” in 2016, plus large-scale gigs opening for the likes of Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly.
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Since that meeting in Boston, and over the past four years, the six (now seven) New Yorkers have surprised and impressed me with their steady improvement and creative output. “By Hook or By Crook,” released in October, however, is the true apotheosis of their progress and my corresponding affect. Songs on their previous albums might be classified as nostalgic covers of rebel folk songs, interspersed with original tracks about, as the band once put it, “guys between the ages of 23 and 30 living in New York.” Before this October, I saw the Narrowbacks as a bunch of nice guys playing some great renditions of Irish songs in honor of their heritage. With “By Hook or By Crook,” however, they have become musicians first, showcasing a distinct cultural and creative perspective and some excellent songwriting. They also happen to be (thankfully, still) really nice guys.
I spoke with lead singer Seamus Keane about the band’s progress and their new album. New Yorkers might know Keane by his business on Katonah Avenue in Woodlawn. Keane’s Bar & Restaurant is known in the Irish music scene for giving air time to up-and-coming Irish and Irish-American musicians, regularly hosting gigs by young bands visiting from Ireland. For Seamus Keane, it’s about paying it forward. He explains that his own success as a musician with the Narrowbacks is owing to mentors like Joanie Madden, Sharon Shannon, and Derek Warfield. The support of the Woodlawn community is invaluable for this business owner: “Everyone knows it can be tough putting on live music every night of the weekend [so people] try their best to support me because of it.” In fact, Keane sees his restaurant as an expression of Woodlawn’s Irish music and dance family: “I would say the community here in Woodlawn fosters Keane’s Bar & Restaurant, not the other way around, and I’m grateful.”
But now it’s time for Keane and his bandmates to shine through their own music. Keane has noticed the Narrowbacks maturing in sound with “By Hook or by Crook,” but he laughingly jokes that the guys—Keane (vocals), his brother Patrick Keane (accordion), Barry Walsh (banjo, mandolin), Fionn McElligott (guitar), Chris Moran (drums), and Anthony Chen (bass)—are “still very much the same” when it comes to their humor and antics. One point of change, however, has been the addition of fiddler Reilley Vegh, giving the Narrowbacks a more holistic Irish sound that you can hear from the first moment on the album, in the opening title track. And what a difference Vegh makes: he has helped the Narrowbacks’ Irish sound take flight with impressive rapid-fire fiddling. At the same time, there is a heavy electric guitar influence with Fionn McElligott’s added input: his rock arrangements give the band’s style a notable edge.
I’d wager to say that with this latest album, the Narrowbacks are close to equaling, if not surpassing, the likes of Shilelagh Law with their local flavor of New York Irish rock. I was convinced with tracks like “Streets of Woodlawn” and “On the Radio.” The energy is absolutely infectious, and even if you don’t like heavy rock, the fiddle strings and chorus lyrics will pull you right in. Plus, what New Yorker or honorary New Yorker (or Connecticut imposter like myself) doesn’t love belting a refrain like “In the streets of Woodlawn” or “the boys are back in the Bronx tonight”?
“By Hook or By Crook” is a love letter to Woodlawn and Irish New York. It maps the streets of the boroughs, two centuries of Irish history that invisibly line the city streets, and the unique American melting pot crossover of Irish folk and hardcore rock. The album took this Dublin expat right back to Katonah Avenue, placed me squarely in the Bronx, the Woodlawn pubs, and New York music venues—which is evidence in and of itself of effective music. The Narrowbacks have impressed me to the point of being rather astonished: their arrangements are tight, their lyrics catchy, and their energy second to none.
In short, the Narrowback’s “By Hook or By Crook” is the sound of Irish-America. It’s vindication that Irish-American is a real, distinct cultural identity, despite what some Irish nay-sayers might claim. Seamus Keane says that “Irish America” is something the band discusses often, thinking of it as a spectrum or continuum where the two national identities meet and mix to varying degrees. Four of the band members are sons of Irish parents, and yet they have watched their younger siblings become more Americanized as they themselves stay more Irish. In the context of this column, I often analyze Irish America myself, but I have yet to see anyone capture its paradoxes quite as well as Seamus Keane, which is why I must reiterate his Wildean humor here. “Irish America in 2019,” Keane says, “is its own thing altogether. One part Donald Trump, two parts Civil Service, construction and pubs, mix in equal parts GAA and AOH, finish with three parts Wolfe Tones. A contradictory recipe for a terrible conversation at Thanksgiving Dinner.”
As Keane’s words indicate, the music and mission of the Narrowbacks is about having fun, having a laugh, and yet still paying respect to your cultural history and heritage. The Narrowbacks have achieved the perfect balance of amusement and tradition with “By Hook or By Crook.” Final verdict says if you’d rather not talk politics over Thanksgiving dinner, you’re much better off playing “By Hook or By Crook” on the stereo.
Find out more about the Narrowbacks, catch them live, and most importantly, check out “By Hook or By Crook” at narrowbacks.com. You can also follow the band on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Spotify, where you’ll find their forthcoming music videos. - Irish Echo - Colleen Taylor
Discography
Fire It Up. (2013)
The After Hours EP (2015)
Arrogance & Ignorance (2016)
By Hook or By Crook (2019)
The After Hours EP II (2021)
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Bio
narrowback
[nar-oh-bak]
noun, Slang.
1.
a person of slight build who is unfit for hard labor.
2.
Disparaging. a contemptuous term used to refer to an Irish-American.
The brain child of a future banker and a drop out bartender; The Narrowbacks are a fresh voice for songs old and new. The sons of Immigrants these are the stories of first generation Americans in New York City.
If Joe Strummer, Shane MacGowan and Bruce Springsteen survived a drinking session through the 5 boroughs of New York City, the hangover would be called, The Narrowbacks. Sharing the stage with such bands as Gogol Bordello, Flogging Molly and Black 47, the band is winning over audiences across the country with their high energy set of tunes and over the top performances. The Narrowbacks are touring in support of their new EP, putting the finishing touches on their full length sophomore album, and getting ready to share the stage this March with the Dropkick Murphys - FIRE IT UP!!!
The Narrowbacks are actively booking national music festivals and music venues.
Our album is available on Amazon, iTunes and Spotify
You can also listen to it here on Soundcloud: http://tinyurl.com/keqmjey
ENJOY!
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