Whiskey Galore e-interview part one: Adding Bass Player Rich Spencer

While I was in Vegas, I had a nice email conversation with Whiskey Galore frontman Kevin Briley, clearly one of the most talented musicians Bakersfield has ever had to offer. Whiskey Galore as a band will easily fool you into thinking they hail from the dark cobblestone streets of Dublin itself. You will never see a better bagpiper, and you absolutely have to hear Kevin play the the bagpipes and how they can be utilized in a band. Although I will post part two tomorrow, stay tuned for Kevin's take on Whiskey Galore's St. Patrick's Day gig at the Fitzgerald Casino in downtown Las Vegas. I was just at my old stomping grounds this weekend and will tell all in a post later today...

Here's what Kevin had to say in Part One: Adding Bass Player Rich Spencer

"As you can see, the set list is mammoth. I think we played so much cause i was really, really mad at myself. I was so pissed at how sick i was and that i had to spend the week on the couch sick all week, drugged up and half-awake, sleeping all day and completely unable to breath... and watching south park....over and over again.... I just LOVE cartman! I felt i really had to tear it up on saturday night. At the show, Rich Spencer was invited in as a part of the band. This is a permanent position. No one joins this band part time; it's life or nothing. We're that serious. I did the invite and we had champagne and played more sets and the crowd hollered. This was extra cool for me cause rich is actually the first friend i made when my family moved here from detroit in 1983.

Our manager, Bill Macauley, couldn't make the gig, and that was a bit of a downer. Most bands don't dig their manager like we do. Bill's the best and we couldn't possibly have accomplished what we have without him. Believe it or not, just having him around is a comfort before a show. He keeps us calm and focused, usually cause he's getting us pints!"

The massive Whiskey Galore set list:

hour 1
parting glass instrumental
pig
4/4's scotland
wild rover
wild mountain thyme
lark
gypsy
maggie and sliabh luachra
peter st./drunken sailor
process man
county down
pumpkin
dirty lough
molly and the cops
cork hill
atholl
5 drunken nights

hour 2
black velvet
thunder
thunder II
mason's
4/4's wedding set
derry
donnybrook
sports of multy
brian boru-hag at the churn
mamoth dance jig set
JAZZ set
McPherson's lament
galican-grumpy
cork hill

encore:
belfast mill
cork hill
atholl

second encore:
parting glass

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Tuesday, March 15, 2005. You can leave your response.