| Ceann | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Genres | Irish rock Celtic rock American rock Yankee-Irish Drinking Music |
| Years active | 2005-present |
| Labels | CD Baby and Independent (2005-present) |
| Website | Official site |
| Members | |
| The Late Patrick Halloran Jeff Hoag Brian Halloran Scott Taylor Tom Snodgrass Patrick Mannion Greg Sloan Dan Rusnak Marc Wisnosky |
|
| Past members | |
| James G. Telfer, IV John Shea James Gleason |
|
Ceann is an American Rock Irish Drinking Music band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
Most commonly known for their song Pittsburgh Makes Me Drunk.. Their influences include Pat McCurdy, The Kingston Trio, Great Big Sea, Cake, The Pogues, Johnny Cash, Flogging Molly, Ween, They Might Be Giants, The Town Pants, Barenaked Ladies, Willie Nelson[2]
Contents |
Patrick Halloran and Marc Wisnosky started the band in college. They wanted to play some Irish songs at a party on St. Patrick’s Day, so they learned a few of the classic Irish pub tunes and wrote a couple of original Pittsburgh-themed Irish songs. They started off by playing at an open mic event. The bar they played at was very impressed—with the crowd, certainly not with their playing, but invited them back for a show. They struggled in the beginning, but crowds found them great to be around. They began to play about fifteen to twenty Irish songs and then would eventually switch to songs by 'N Sync, Hanson, Snoop Dogg, NWA.
Ceann formed as an Irish Rock Band in Pittsburgh in 2005 with the release of their first album of all-original material "Almost Irish." Before that, Ceann was an acoustic trio that played Irish pub music across the northeast. Ceann continue to mix fun Irish music with their popular originals. While some of Ceann's songs revolve around the culture of being Irish Americans many of Ceann's most popular songs have distinctively more contemporary themes. Their songs appeal far beyond the normal reach of Irish music and have given them access to unprecedented markets for an Irish band. As one of the only Irish bands to find success on commercial radio, Ceann's fan base has grown as quickly outside of Irish music circles as quickly as it's grown within them. Their cross market appeal has allowed them to be featured at Irish festivals and at non-Irish music festivals to equal success. Ceann have also become one of the most sought after college music acts in the country.
In two years Ceann have become one of the most successful independent bands in the country. Over the last two years Ceann have played more shows than any other national touring Irish band in the country. They've sold more CDs and have appeared on, or have had their music played on, more radio stations than 80% of all bands releasing CDs on music labels over the same two-year period. They've been singled out by music industry executives as one of the most successful business models for independent music artists.[3] On February 1, 2011 lead singer Patrick Halloran was killed in a car accident in Vermont.
Ceann is pronounced "Key-Anne". It means head. The original name was Ceann na Caca, which is Gaelic for “Head of Poop.” It wasn’t supposed to be funny or clever. Ceann was only going to play one show to parody The Pogues’ original name, Pogue Mahone, which means "kiss my ass". They realized that some people became hesitant to book them because of the name, so they shortened it to Ceann.[3]
Five to six guys of ambiguous descent playing something that may or may not sound like Irish music. Some people say we sound like or may be influenced by the following bands: Cake_(band), Stephen Lynch, Johnny Cash, Flogging Molly, Ween, Great Big Sea, They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies, Black 47, The Pogues."[2]