It’s time to celebrate the wearing of the green in Milwaukee and no one does that better -- from a musical standpoint -- than Celtic rockers Reilly.
The band – something of a Cream City supergroup, with members of Misses Murphy, Beatallica and other bands -- released its second CD, "Saints of the Ocean," last year and plays two gigs on Saturday to help Brew City salute St. Patrick.
"’Saints of the Ocean’ is a tale of my own writing, though it does include many classic Irish themes such as seafaring, dealing with hardship, finding solace after said hardship, and a bit of imbibing," says the band’s Michael "Tinker" Tierney.
"We aimed for the music to mimic the rough waves of an angry Atlantic Ocean. It's a rollicking title track that pushes and pulls with tempo and instrumental runs. We think it's a fun song and definitely not the only foot-stomper on the record."
The local success of the record has helped the band ink a deal with Los Angeles-based Oglio Entertainment, which also signed Tinker’s other band, Beatallica. The band will record a Christmas CD for the label.
"We begin recording in late May and plan for something like a late October release," says Tierney. "It will be great to have a worldwide-distributed product, as it will be through Universal. And rest assured, the material will be Christmas classics deranged by Reilly."
Tierney says that Reilly, unlike a lot of straightforward Irish bands, has a unique approach.
"Reilly is an opinionated band, one that tries to push the envelope, share in tradition as well as alter it, and we do a good job with speaking our minds, I'd say," notes Tierney. "We're a creative band and we all write so there's never a loss for good ideas and direction."
Reilly plays two gigs on Saturday, March 15; one from 3 to 6 in the afternoon at The Monkey Bar on the South Side and one at 8 p.m. at O'Donoghue's in Elm Grove. The band also plays at Turner Hall Ballroom with The Tossers on St. Patrick's Day.
Some other gigs on tap this week:
North Carolina rockers ASG -- who just released their fourth disc, "Win Us Over" -- come to Vnuk's on Packard Avenue in Cudahy on Tuesday, March 11, along with Fu Manchu and Saviours. Tickets for the 8:30 p.m. show are $13.
Some folks are buzzing about Grace Potter and the Nocturnals show at Turner Hall Ballroom on Friday, March 14 at 8 p.m. We're interested, too, but more so in the opener the Benevento/Russo Duo. The pair's new disc, "Play Pause Stop," is an instrumental rock and roll record worthy of attention. It's not shoe-gazey and introspective; instead it's outgoing, vibey, sweeping and even fun. Tickets are $13, get there early to see Benevento and Russo rock out on the drums and organ and drink $3 Pabst tall boys.
If you're more into some advance St. Patrick's Day celebration, head over to the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center, 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave., at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 14, to see Cathie Ryan. In addition to being a former member of the beloved Cherish the Ladies, Ryan was named "Irish Female Singer of the Decade" by the Irish American News. Tickets are $21.
Portland, Ore., musical melangists Pink Martini -- aka singer China Forbes and pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale -- perform at the Pabst Theater on Monday, March 17 - St. Patrick's Day - at 8 p.m. The group will certainly showcase its latest disc, "Hey Eugene!," released in May 2007. Tickets are $32.50 for reserved seats.
If we were fans of reunion tours, one featuring The Slits would be at the top of our to-do list, because Ari Up and company -- who mixed punk spirit with dub bass - were one of the best bands of the era. The latest incarnation of the group plays at the Cactus Club on Tuesday, March 18. Also on the bill is Shellshag, a punky drum and guitar duo that released its latest, "Destroy Me I'm Yours" digitally last week, and The Jetty Boys. Showtime is 9 p.m.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
