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Barleyjuice
From:
Five yanks dedicated to the preservation of the fine drinkin', fightin', courtin', dyin' and sailin' songs of Ireland and Scotland.
Kyf Brewer
vocals, guitar, accordion, harmonica, congas, bodhran, tinwhistle, bagpipes, haggis, jam butties
Because he is the Pipe Sergeant of the Loch Rannoch Pipe... Learn More »
Five yanks dedicated to the preservation of the fine drinkin', fightin', courtin', dyin' and sailin' songs of Ireland and Scotland.
Kyf Brewer
vocals, guitar, accordion, harmonica, congas, bodhran, tinwhistle, bagpipes, haggis, jam butties
Because he is the Pipe Sergeant of the Loch Rannoch Pipe Band, Brewer's not shy when discussing sheep he has known and loved. He is the singer/songwriter for himself on Ryf Records, and was previously singer/songwriter for Company of Wolves, 1989-91 on Mercury/Polygram, and before that, the singer/songwriter for The Ravyns, 1980-86 on MCA. He was marching proudly along in 1995 when a director from VH1 tapped him to be narrative host for over 40 episodes of Before They Were Rock Stars. And boy did he then march ever so proudly in the Millenium Pipes March, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2000. Kyf doesn't much care for pretzels. His favorite colour is plaid.
Keith Swanson
vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, tinwhistle,
bagpipes, bass, mutton kebobs
Though spurned at birth and subsequently raised by squirrels, Swanny has shown great adaptive skills. After leaving the security of his treetop home to rejoin the human world, he eschewed acorns in favor of guitars and bagpipes, and earned the rank of Pipe Major of the Loch Rannoch Pipe Band in 1997. He and they marched in the Millenium March in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2000. Swanny founded Barleyjuice with Kyf and others in 1998. His uncanny ability to pick an apropos jig is the stuff of celtic-rodent legend.
Greg Schroeder
drums, percussion, vocals, gas receipts
This is the first plunge into trad music for Greg the drummer of Barleyjuice. Along with Dennis, Greg also plays, sings and writes for Starbelly, who have released two albums - Lemon Fresh, and Everyday and Then Some for the NotLame label. Known intimately as "the Shredder", he's usually the first band member asked to turn down on any given occasion. Greg obliges by standing up behind his kit and exposing his ill-fitting kilt, which immediately deters most cranky venue managers into requesting that he please "sit down" as opposed to "turn down".
Dennis Shocket
guitar, bass, ciggies, vocals
Dennis Shocket is half Irish. Hey, it's the good half, the half that sings, the half that plays guitar and the half that makes sweet love! Alright, three halves Irish, then. Dennis has toured the U.S. with his band Starbelly and the likes of Pat DiNizio (Smithereens) and Warren Zanes (Del Fuegos) as well as the U.K. and Spain while a member of Myracle Brah. Dennis loves a good pint of Bass Ale if you're buyin' (he does after all play bass) and enjoys Kyf's living room amenities.
Billy Dominick
fiddle, violin, vocals
Billy started playing violin in the womb through a groundbreaking technology developed by The Suzuki Foundation and Boeing called "Strings in Utero". The program was stopped however because of the discomfort many expectant mothers experienced during insertion of the tiny violins through the birth canal.
Once born, Billy began his music studies in earnest by running around the house at full speed to the soundtrack of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This quickly progressed to actually playing an instrument. Billy's first instrument was glockenspiel. Because of this he was despised by the folk music community. His second instrument was violin. Unsatisfied, however, with the traditional styles of playing, a protesting young Billy would paint himself purple during concerts and throw doorknobs at the audience, which resulted in being banned from most stages both at home and abroad. After a long stint in rehab and many years of "re-education", Billy joined Barleyjuice as part of his work-release program. If crowd response is any indication, it looks as if Billy may have finally found a home. He has stopped painting himself primary colors and has progressed to pastels. And he no longer throws hardware at his fans.
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