Shillaly Brothers - Too Drunk To Fight

I became friends with Shillaly Brothers lead singer, John Duffy, back when we played with Jeff Dahl for a while in the early-to-med '00's (with great drummer, Dave Nazworthy). John had been an LA stalwart for many a years by then and had plenty of r'n'r tales of everything from seeing Mott the Hoople to drug-addled debauchery with Dahl's Powertrip. These days he has toned down his act a bit and the Shillaly Brothers perform a terrific take on traditional Irish music (Duffy was always proud of his heritage).

The group uses acoustic instruments - mandolin, bouzouki, tin whistle, ukulele, acordian, banjo, etc - to create an atmosphere of an Irish pub, regardless of where you are when you hear it! Duffy has an excellently gruff, Shawn MacGowan-esque voice, which is complimented by harmonies from the rest of the combo (Chad Carter, Rex Bailey and Fred Studler - all multi-instrumentalists) and Bailey has a sweet tone to his singing when he takes the lead on "Orders".

This takes me back to times that I spent drinking in pubs in the 80's when Irish friends of mine would perform with one eye out for immigration. Really great stuff! The Shillaly Brothers are up for a much deserved Academy Award for their song "Pop" from the film, White Irish Drinkers - wish them luck and check out their Facebook page!