Archive: 2004
 Dog
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February
Hey everybody. We hope that this new Dog Tales
finds you healthy and happy.
A number of years ago, we played a wedding reception for TJ and
Cathy. I wish that I could spell or pronounce their last name
but I can't. It's one of those Polish names with 57 consonants and
one vowel. Like my last name is a day at the beach. Anyway, TJ
has since been sent to Iraq with his Army Reserve Unit. It turns out
that a fellow in his outfit is the brother
of none other than Bill Moseman, longtime
bar manager at The Parting Glass. Bill's mom
recently sent a few of the guys Hair Of The Dog t-shirts. The
soldiers sent home photos of themselves sitting on a
captured tank wearing the HOTD shirts. How cool is that? These are
America's finest and bravest. Thanks guys!!!! We owe you all a pint
when you get home.
Photo: TJ
and Cathy's wedding
Photo: Soldiers in HOTD shirts
Hair Of The Dog recently played a benefit for Albany, NY police Lt.
John Finn. Lt. Finn was critically
injured a few days before Christmas while
pursuing an armed criminal. Along with The Albany Police Pipe Band and
many generous local businesses, we were able
to raise over $15,000. Sadly, Lt. Finn
passed away several days after the benefit. He leaves behind a wife
and two daughters. A brave man who was well
liked by all who knew him. The next time you
are tempted to complain about a cop giving you a ticket, remember
that like soldiers, they risk their lives to protect us.
Sometimes they pay the ultimate price.
Project Children is a non-profit organization that raises money
to benefit needy children in Northern Ireland. Last year, Project Children's
Mary Beth McDonough approached me about donating one of our songs to be
used on a Celtic compilation CD. I said yes. All of the profits from the CD
will go directly to Project Children. The response from other musicians was
tremendous. The other artists include: Mary Black, U2, James Taylor,
The Chieftains, Altan, Carly Simon, Janis Ian and Mindy Jostyn. The disc
will be available at all Hair Of The Dog shows.
At a recent Eamonn's show, I heard an interesting story from a
fellow named Tom Flynn. Tom (whose two beautiful daughters work part
time at Eamonn's) told me about a friend of his who recently took a
coach tour of Ireland. Early in the week, the Irish bus
driver/guide played an Irish music CD that
the passengers really liked. Tom's friend asked the driver what the
name of this great group was. After being
informed that it was Hair Of The Dog, she
set out to find this "exotic new Celtic sound" throughout her travels.
After scouring the Irish countryside for the
rest of the week, she pleaded with the
driver to sell her the CD. It seems that not one store in all of
Ireland had any Hair Of The Dog CDs. How
could this be? (Actually they are available
at Blarney Woolen Mills.) The driver would not part with the disc
(something about it being one of his
favorites), but he told her that the group was in
fact American. His exact words were "They are from Delmar, New
York." To which she replied "So am I!" She
could have walked several blocks from her
house and gotten our CD at Coconuts.
Many people have complained that my movie reviews
are now hard to find because there are so many of them clumped together.
I stopped writing new reviews in May of 2003. The page now consists of
every review in alphabetical order. It was a great outlet
for me and I miss it. I hope to review films
again but for now I'm just too busy with Hair Of The Dog and
The McKrells. As much as I like to buy my favorite DVDs and
watch them at home, there's still nothing
like seeing a new release (or a classic for that
matter) on a huge theater screen. We are very lucky to have so
many screens in this area. God bless The
Spectrum Theater for bringing countless quality
non-mainstream films to the Albany area. And their popcorn
rocks my world. Plus they actually have
competent, friendly employees. What a concept.
Work on the Mike DeAngelis solo CD continues. Stay
tuned...................
Hair Of The Dog recently lost two dear friends. Bill Dooley was
a big teddy bear of a guy. A cop with a
heart of gold. I will never forget listening
to him sing with us last year in Killarney. Kevin Shea was the
athletic all-American high school heartthrob who became the
Elsmere Fire Department Chief. I can still see him with that oversized
spatula in his hand flipping the best Italian sausage you've ever had. We
loved you guys. We'll never forget you.
Thanks for listening. We love you too.
Rick Bedrosian
December
Hi Everyone. Thanks for your support. We
continue to attract large crowds to most all of our shows and we
really do appreciate it. There's a lot of exciting news from the Hair
Of The Dog headquarters. Here goes:
 Hair Of The Dog's new CD is finally available. It is a collection of previously unreleased tracks and the best
recordings from our long out of print albums "Hair Of The Dog", "K9"
and "Dirty Dog". I have to say that this is my favorite of all of our
CDs. "Collection" offers a great mix of live and studio songs that
were recorded between 1995 and 2003. It was a blast to make and I'm
sure that everybody is really going to like it.
We are all very excited about our next Tour Of Ireland. The
tour will take place February 18-24, 2006.
This next road trip will include two private
acoustic unplugged Hair Of The Dog concerts and overnights in Dublin,
Galway and Killarney. You can find out all the
details by going to our Road
Trips page or by calling Hammond Travel at 518-456-3550 (toll
free: 1-866-486-8772). This exciting vacation is open to the public
but space is limited so you should book your trip as soon as possible.
The brand new CD "Peace for Ireland: One Child At A Time" has finally
been released. It features tracks by a variety of recording artists
including
James Taylor, U2, The Chieftains, Mary Black, Gaelic Storm, Altan, The
Corrs, Carly Simon, Janis Ian and Hair Of The Dog! All proceeds
go to benefit Project Children, a Northern Ireland children's relief
organization. Every act contributed one track and we were very honored
to be included. The CDs will be available at all Hair Of The Dog shows
and through Project Children's web site:
www.projectchildren.com.
 And
speaking of brand new CDs: I am so happy to announce that
Mike
DeAngelis' solo album is finally available. "Son Of A Dunigan" is
a great effort featuring twelve tracks, eight of which were penned by
Mr. D. My favorites are "Angel From Antrim", "Bartender Billy" and
Kevin McKrell's classic Celtic anthem, "Donegal". Son Of A Dunigan
will be available at all of our shows and through Amazon.com and CD
Baby. It's awesome.
 He
did it again. Our fiddler Larry
Packer appears in yet another feature motion picture. His latest
was a concert documentary that was filmed in 1970. After principle
shooting was completed, the budget dried up and the film canisters sat
in a warehouse for over 30 years. The film was eventually rescued,
polished and updated with present day interviews from some of the
surviving stars. The result, "Festival Express", is a stunning look at
a Canadian concert tour that features some of that era's biggest names
in the prime of their careers. Besides Larry's group, Sha Na Na, you
can marvel at never before seen footage of The Grateful Dead, Janis
Joplin and The Band. Any fan of rock should pick up a copy.
And speaking of films, I am going to take another stab at
movie reviews. So many people have expressed an interest in them
and I miss writing them. See you at The Spectrum.
Finally, it is with great sadness that I note the passing of two great
Irishmen who really helped Hair Of The Dog get their start. Eamonn
McGirr was a singer and the owner of Eamonn's, a mecca for Irish
music in upstate New York. He was nice enough to let us record our
first CD there and we made more than a few appearances on his radio
show "Proud To Be Irish". Eamonn helped raise thousands of dollars for
handicapped children through his appearances on local telethons and
his nationally recognized Guinness Book Of World Records non-stop
singing marathon. Father Jim Hayes was also a huge supporter of
Celtic music and a great man. He was responsible for bringing The
Wolfe Tones to Albany for many years and put our group on the bill a
few times which really helped legitimize Hair Of The Dog in this
region. He was a brilliant parish priest and a respected New York
State Prison Chaplain. Father Jim had a very gentle yet commanding
presence. Rest in peace gentlemen. You will not be forgotten.
Be well, everyone.
Rick Bedrosian
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