Out of Our Minds – Gobs O'PhunA Collection of Originals
Gobs O'Phun has been a fixture at the Wyoming Celtic Festival & Highland Games since our first year. In that time they've moved from being mere performers to crowd favorites to pretty much family. A three man group consisting of two brothers (Denis & Tim) and a brother-in-law,(Marty), Gobs O' Phun play folksongs of Ireland and Scotland, including classic ballads, historic rebel and traditional music.
Marty, Denis and Tim were kind enough to send their new CD in advance of their appearance at the Festival this weekend (June 23-24). With five previous pub/drinking/folk song collections under their belt, Gobs branches out in Out of Our Minds into a collection of original Scottish and Irish tunes – with a twist. While retaining the music of the original song, the band changed, rearranged and mutated the lyrics into something different. The fun songs are a tad left of center, while the serious tunes suck you in with their familiar melody, then force you to listen a little closer to the new words.
Notable songs include: "Velvet Seductive Email" done to the music of "Black Velvet Band" and musing over the various pitfalls of the modern Internet; Rebel classic "The Patriot Game" re-envisioned as "Not The Same Old Patriot Game", which talks about how terrorism has become indiscriminate, targeting anyone and everyone, rather than the guilty parties as it did in the old days; "The Festival Song", a true original that made its debut on Gobs previous album, "Barstools and Bad Habits", and tells us about the one great unifier all Festivals have in common… besides beer; Then we have the "Irish Potato Sermon" done "to the traditional tune of "Irish Washerwoman", and listing in loving detail the various and sundry uses for the humble potato; "Oh No, A Banjo Player!" which uses the music from "What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?" to question A) why in the world anyone would even play a banjo and B) different methods of disposing of said banjo and its player. Tim, the banjo player, takes the good-natured teasing in stride, and I have to grin, because I, too, was a banjo player for about a year of my young life. Until I discovered they were even less popular than accordion players.
A final song that deserves special mention. Song # 14. It's not listed on the album, and you have to wait though a minute of dead air to get to it on CD. I only noticed because I dropped the CD into iTunes, ordinarily when the CD ends I'm poking the forward button to restart the CD. Apparently this 'bonus' track of an extra song included after a long dead space is quite common. Why is that? Someone told me it was like Easter Eggs in DVDs, something for the fans if you knew where to look for it. I wonder how many other albums had this and I never noticed because my ADD brain wanted more music NOW. Of course, ripping everything to iTunes means it's there and I don't notice the discrepancy. Song 14 is an instrumental version of "The Saplings" (Song 9 on the CD). Denis, Tim and Marty are fantastic musicians, a fact that gets lost amidst the play and interactiveness of their normal concert. I would love to see them do an instrumental album one of these days, to showcase their obvious love of the music and respect for Celtic Traditions.
If you have the chance, go see them live. No CD can capture the energy and fun that makes Gobs O'Phun an interactive delight.
Out of Our Minds – Gobs O'Phun
A Collection of Originals
With special guest musicians: Scott Beach (Great Highland Pipes and Small Pipes), Ted Cole (Flute/Wind Synth), Chris Daniels (Banjo/Spoons), Peggy Fasing (Violin), Brian Hunter (Bass), Tracy LaGuardia (Violin), Rich Moore (Guitar), John Toebbe (Dobro & Mandolin) and Jeff Watson (Cello) with Eileen Sullivan Kottenstette and special guest Gob, Jim Sullivan.
1. Happy Hour to Last Call ©2007 Martin Lambuth
2. Tootin' in the Tartan/Bagmonica ©2007 Martin Lambuth
3. Velvet Seductive Email ©2007 Martin Lambuth
4. Sailing Homeward ©2007 Martin Lambuth
5. Iona ©2007 Jim Sullivan
6. Not The Same Old Patriot Game ©2007 Martin Lambuth
7. Waitin' for My Wedding Day ©2007 Martin Lambuth
8. The Festival Song ©2007 Denis Sullivan
9. The Saplings ©2007 Martin Lambuth
10. Tha Shein Ukrosh ©2007 Denis Sullivan (Indeed the Hunger)
11. Irish Potato Sermon ©2007 Martin Lambuth
12. Oh No, A Banjo Player! ©2007 Tim Sullivan
13. Happy Hour to Last Call Reprise
Purchase Out of Our Minds through the musicians at their website, or where ever they play.
6 comments:
You played banjo for a year.....I must have been away...thank God!
You were 16, brother dear. I didn't exist then, remember?? :) And I could comment about your early bass playing days (barney miller ad nauseum) but I won't. *Sticks tongue out*
You DID "exist" back then.....as a target!
At least I was a moving target. Didn't we used to call you "the sloth"?
Get to work. The state isn't paying you to believe in the power of your dreams... or harass your sister.
It's great to see that theres a Celtic Festival and Highland Games in Wyoming!
We've been around since 2001. Gobs has been one of our bands since that first time. :)
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