| Blood or Whiskey | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Leixlip, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland |
| Genres | Punk rock / Irish Folk / Celtic Punk |
| Years active | 1994–2006, 2006–present |
| Labels | Punkcore Records |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| Dugs Mulhooly Chris O'Meara Peter Mullan Sean Fallen Beano Heenan |
|
| Past members | |
| Alan Confrey - Whistle (Died March 2006, heart attack) Barney Murray Colm Gallagher Paul Walshe Tomas Touhy Rizz O'Meara |
|
Blood or Whiskey is an Irish punk/folk band from Leixlip, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. The band was formed in September 1993 taking strong influence from Shane MacGowan, as well as The Pogues and The Clash. The band originally had problems with their non-traditional music style among native Irish fans and released their first album Blood or Whiskey in 1996. Several years of touring followed before the release of No Time to Explain which was followed by a tour of the US.
After the leaving of their original lead singer, Barney Murray, in 2003, guitarist Dugs Mulhooly took over the reins as the band's frontman, Blood or Whiskey's lineup underwent many changes and in 2005 released Cashed Out on Culture, which is highly regarded as their most punk oriented of their albums, although it maintains the driving traditional melodies that are trademarks of the band's sound. In 2006, whistle player Alan Confrey died from a heart attack after the band returned home to Dublin after a UK tour with Stiff Little Fingers.
The band is currently looking for a new tin whistle player and were due to release their new album on Punkcore Records sometime in late 2007, however, this was pushed back to a non-specified date. They have also recently recruited a new bass player, Peter Mullan, and toured Europe in September 2006, supporting The Misfits on some shows. The tour has been entitled "Back from the Brink" by the band. The band also supported The Pogues at their annual Christmas gig in the RDS, Dublin on the 23rd of December, 2007.
The general sound of the band is a manic mix of aggressive lyrics, punk beats and Celtic melodies.