The Troubles are on a mission to promote their original songs. The band has recently began putting together some new grass roots videos of their original music. In honor of this, we have joined Reverb Nation's extensive network of artists. We're a small independent band looking for opportunities to play live as well as establish ourselves in the recording industry. We play a lot of traditional and contemporary Irish tunes - everything from the old favorites (like Risin' of the Moon, Four Green Fields)to contemporary Irish covers like the Saw Doctors (To Win Just Once), Floggin' Molly (Factory Girls), and Steve Earls (Galway Girl). But it's our original Irish/Celtic music we really want to get out there to the public. It's a unique mix of Irish, blues, bluegrass, rock, and traditional sounds. Tentatively, we call our first collection of originals, Gone Batty Castle - the mythical band home we one day hope to have in Ireland so we can share our music over there.
Let me introduce the band. Paul Noon, on guitar, bass, and vocals, is a seasoned musician with tastes ranging from The Grateful Dead to Dylan. He's played in rock and folk bands but his talents have taken him into Barbershop Quartets and Broadway show Pit Bands. His Irish tenor is a force to be reckoned with on stage but hear him rock out on our original "The New Grange Blues" right here on our Reverb Nation site. Paul has been a driving force in the formation of the band and in developing our original music and lyrics into the sounds you'll listen to here.
Patrick Miggins is an accomplished guitarist and musician who has graced stages performing every style of music from touring rock bands to bluegrass festivals. Pat's talents on the strings include guitar, 12 string, tenor banjo, mandolin, bass, and fiddle. His down home vocals will give you a chill - click on "Listen to the Ghosts" - one of the originals on our Reverb Nation site. You might say Patrick is "instrumental" in arranging our originals as well as our trad and contemporary Irish music. He has also written a few songs himself. The fiddle is his newest passion. He's got more string instruments sitting around his abode than most music shops.
Loretta Murphy is a singer-songwriter who went out to listen to Irish music one St. Patrick's Day night four years ago and couldn't find any. She swore that by the following year, she'd make sure there was at least one band out there spreading the Irish word - her own. Seting out to find a guitar player to accompany her - she came across her old friend, Mr. Noon, and hence The Troubles were born. A year or so later, Patrick joined the band. Since then, she has written lyrics and music for not only the 13 original songs you can hear on our music player but many more, including "At What Price" - a tribute to the peace organization, Corrymeela, in Northern Ireland where she and her 25 year old daughter volunteered for peace the Summer of 2011. Loretta also plays the tin whistle and the bodhran. Her mission to bring Irish music into the mainstream prompted her to turn many of her poems from her poetry book, Irish Roads, into song lyrics. With the help of Paul and Patrick, her simple melodies have become the band's songs. Loretta is a writer, actress, and novelist in her spare time - unlike her retired band mates she still works a day job - but her heart belongs to Ireland - and The Troubles.
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The Troubles / Blog
We're #99 on the US Celtic Chart for ReverbNation!
Thanks to all our supporters and fans, The Troubles just broke into the top #100 Celtic bands in the US. We're just a little band, but all of you listening and sharing our music have made a big difference for us. Our new song, "No Chains", dedicated to Marian Price and the Irish POW's is now circulating sites and we will bring it to a Facebook campaign in a few days. Please note the campaign's trademark, the pen and ink drawing of the Bird on a Wire, which I cherish. It came to me several years ago as part of my involvement in the Christmas Card Campaign for the Irish prisoners. "No Chains" and the message it carries means a lot to the band. I hope if you haven't listened to it, you will. Let us know what you think. In this Christmas season, remember those who cannot be home with their loved ones, and cherish yours. Slainte.
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Can we hit 200 "Likes" on Facebook??
Thanks to all our supporters for news "likes" and for fanning us on Facebook and ReverbNation. Can we make 200 "Likes" this weekend? C'mon, help us out! Only a few more to go!
And listen to our promo for our original Christmas song "Take Me Home, Father Christmas" and our new song "No Chains", written for Marian Price and the Irish POWs. You get a free download on our Christmas song.
We are proud of our original music and for all the positive feedback. One of my buddies, Shawn, messaged me last night and told me when he listened to our song, "Take Me Home, Father Christmas", he could picture walking on the streets of Galway during the holiday season. Me too...
Listen next week...hopefully another new original song to follow called "Dublin City". We think you'll like it! Patrick had to play around with the tracks after we recorded it. It was written about beautiful Dublin and some of my memories of my visits there.
Please leave us a post here on Facebook or our ReverbNation site, if you like our music and what you think about our songs. Your support and feedback are so appreciated. It's tough be a little Indie band. Our listeners - and spreading the Irish music - make it all worthwhile...
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Along the Road to Donegal
We're just added a new song to our play list on our Reverb Nation site! This is one of our favorite original tunes, written during a solo sojourn to Ireland several years ago. The Irish love journey songs and we hope you'll love this one.
Donegal is one of the most beautiful - and remote - counties in Ireland. Surely, if faeries exist - and I know they must - they exist in the wilds of Donegal. Travel along the road with The Troubles as we take you to the Western shores of Ireland and explore the magic of Donegal...
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New Gigs Added
Check out The Troubles' Reverb Nation website for some new gigs. We'll be at Elizabethtown College's International Education Day's Global Village on Monday, November 12th from 11am-2pm. A show in Ashland is in the works for Thursday, November 15th - more to follow as details are finalized. On Saturday, December 15th, we'll be at the Berwick Brewing Company with Irish music and a few Christmas tunes for good measure - including our original, Take Me Home, Father Christmas. Looking ahead to St. Patrick's Day, we will be hosting a concert benefiting the children at St. Joseph's Center for Special Needs in Pottsville on Saturday, March 9th. The Troubles are pleased to announce that joining us will be the fabulous McCormick School of Irish Dance, featuring champion Irish stepdancer, Caitlin McCormick and her dancers. You won't want to miss this show. It will definitely put you in the Irish spirit.
The Troubles will be in the Girardville St. Patrick's Day Parade again, as we have for the past several years. Come out to the most Irish town in the Coal Region for the best St. Pat's Parade this side of the Atlantic.
The band will also be at one of our favorite festivals in June, Walkin' for St. Kierans and Irish Heritage Day in the Valley, held at the Clover Fire Department hall in Heckscherville, Pa.
We're adding shows all the time and hope you can catch us at one of them. We love seeing you there! Thank you for all your support!
-The Troubles Loretta, Pat, & Paul
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The Troubles Are Everywhere!
Got a call from our band mate, Noonie (the one that looks like Jerry Garcia's twin brother) - he said The Troubles promotion is everywhere on the internet! Well, maybe not everywhere but in a lot of places. On YouTube, on Billboard, on Philly.com! So Reverb Nation's promo really works! If you see us out there, click on the link and come visit us here on Reverb Nation. We'd love to have you become a fan and help boost our ratings. If you love Irish music, we've got new originals for you to listen to - and Molly Maguire music too. That's coal region Irish mining history for those of you who aren't familiar with the saga of the Mollies in America. Take a listen to The Ballad of the O'Donnell house. It was in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania that one of the first fights for fair labor practices was held between the owners of the coal and railroad companies and the Irish labors who were being unfairly treated. Visit our website at www.thetroubles55.webs.com for more and for even more history, www.wigganspatch.com
The history of Ireland is best learned though the music of its people. The Troubles are on a mission to bring Irish music to everyone. Give our unique sound a listen...we'd love to have you as a fan.
Thank all everybody who supports us and live music!
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Half Way to Patrick's Day!
We're half way there and our goal as always is to bring our Irish music to folks far and wide but on St. Patrick's Day, it is our passion! The Troubles must play on St. Pat's Day. It is tradition. Spent the evening getting out dozens of our new digital press kits to pubs and festivals and venues within a 300 miles radius! Check your email. Did you get one???
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The Troubles: Gone Batty Castle
The Troubles are on a mission to promote their original songs. The band has recently began putting together some new grass roots videos of their original music. In honor of this, we have joined Reverb Nation's extensive network of artists. We're a small independent band looking for opportunities to play live as well as establish ourselves in the recording industry. We play a lot of traditional and contemporary Irish tunes - everything from the old favorites (like Risin' of the Moon, Four Green Fields)to contemporary Irish covers like the Saw Doctors (To Win Just Once), Floggin' Molly (Factory Girls), and Steve Earls (Galway Girl). But it's our original Irish/Celtic music we really want to get out there to the public. It's a unique mix of Irish, blues, bluegrass, rock, and traditional sounds. Tentatively, we call our first collection of originals, Gone Batty Castle - the mythical band home we one day hope to have in Ireland so we can share our music over there.
Let me introduce the band. Paul Noon, on guitar, bass, and vocals, is a seasoned musician with tastes ranging from The Grateful Dead to Dylan. He's played in rock and folk bands but his talents have taken him into Barbershop Quartets and Broadway show Pit Bands. His Irish tenor is a force to be reckoned with on stage but hear him rock out on our original "The New Grange Blues" right here on our Reverb Nation site. Paul has been a driving force in the formation of the band and in developing our original music and lyrics into the sounds you'll listen to here.
Patrick Miggins is an accomplished guitarist and musician who has graced stages performing every style of music from touring rock bands to bluegrass festivals. Pat's talents on the strings include guitar, 12 string, tenor banjo, mandolin, bass, and fiddle. His down home vocals will give you a chill - click on "Listen to the Ghosts" - one of the originals on our Reverb Nation site. You might say Patrick is "instrumental" in arranging our originals as well as our trad and contemporary Irish music. He has also written a few songs himself. The fiddle is his newest passion. He's got more string instruments sitting around his abode than most music shops.
Loretta Murphy is a singer-songwriter who went out to listen to Irish music one St. Patrick's Day night four years ago and couldn't find any. She swore that by the following year, she'd make sure there was at least one band out there spreading the Irish word - her own. Seting out to find a guitar player to accompany her - she came across her old friend, Mr. Noon, and hence The Troubles were born. A year or so later, Patrick joined the band. Since then, she has written lyrics and music for not only the 13 original songs you can hear on our music player but many more, including "At What Price" - a tribute to the peace organization, Corrymeela, in Northern Ireland where she and her 25 year old daughter volunteered for peace the Summer of 2011. Loretta also plays the tin whistle and the bodhran. Her mission to bring Irish music into the mainstream prompted her to turn many of her poems from her poetry book, Irish Roads, into song lyrics. With the help of Paul and Patrick, her simple melodies have become the band's songs. Loretta is a writer, actress, and novelist in her spare time - unlike her retired band mates she still works a day job - but her heart belongs to Ireland - and The Troubles.
Reply