Above: Beoga man the WCSH6 TV newdesk in Portland, Maine (Sept 2008)
8th November 2008
Guten tag! Soggy here bringing you a special Beoga news flash. I’m writing from Bremerhaven, where we’re in full swing on the Irish Folk Festival tour of Germany. Everything’s going very well so far, great gigs and lovely places and people. Eamon is delighted at getting to practice his 3 German phrases at every single gig. Liam is sad, as his keyboard got an almighty smash on the plane on the way over and is un-playable. Damian is concerned with the lack of ‘normal’ tea and chicken wings in the country and 
may have a nervous breakdown before long. And Niamh is just delighted to be out and about!
We’re joined on the IFF tour by some fantastic musicians and people; Griogair, Niamh Ni Charra, Alan Colfer and not forgetting Catherine, Elaine, Valerie, Claire, Deirdre and Sile, aka the fantastic Liadan ladies. The last few weeks has seen the beginning of an intense table tennis craze among all, with fiercely fought tournamounts backstage nightly. In the current pairs championship, the self-proclaimed ‘Dream Team’ of Damian and Catherine are almost unstoppable, however Eamon is determined to shatter their throne with the help of Valerie’s superb forehand. Click on the link for a video of last night’s challenging game between Eamon and Catherine (you’ll notice we’ve had to alter the faces slightly for legal reasons) http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=hxZ-5wELSJM
Aug and Sept in the USA: Thankfully we survived our epic 2 month long visit to the USA through August and September. There were great times, there were bad times, there were wet times and there were some more wet times. We managed to get rained off at several festivals and for those crazy people in the audiences who insanely stuck it out, we take our hats off to you (if we were we
aring hats). Some of the festivals like Butte and Chicago were cancelled with the awful weather, so hopefully we’ll see you guys next time round. One of the highlights was jet-boating up the rapids near Niagara Falls on a day off. And another was spotting our Beoga albums on display in the Virgin megastore in Times Square, New York... we have arrived folks!
The incident: So the big news is Beoga’s third album is finished and we’re over the moon with it. On initial listening by various people with high credentials in the industry (my mother and also Eamon’s mother) it is said to be a contender for album of the century. (Just 92 years to find out if they’re right!) We’ve lotS of new material on the album which we’re excited about playing live, as well as some star guests. The Incident will be released early in 2009 at www.compassrecords.com. And also watch this space if you want to order it directly from this website too.
I’m going to go on now folks and get the dinner. I’m sure I’ve forgotten something as usual. If I have, feel free to annoy me and let me know seanog@beogamusic.com.
Vielen dank und auf wiedersehen,
Soggy
PS. Eamon would also like to congratulate his ‘brother from another mother’, Mr Barack Obama, on his recent victory. Very exciting times...
10th August 2008
Beoga are appearing on Michael Johnathon’s Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour 7pm EST, Monday 18th August. Reservations at the Kentucky Theastre in Lexington at 859-252-8888.
Watch the free web cast at www.woodsongs.com
9th August 2008
Hi everyone. Niamh here, writing from the great mining state of Montana, where the guys and I are settling in for our two month stint in the states. It took three flights and 26 hours travelling to get here, but we all arrived in one piece. Unfortunately, our luggage did not. Always resourcful, we headed out in search of the nearest Walmart where all four of the guys ended up sporting almost identical cowboy shirts. I, on the other hand, made do with the childrens section, where I got a lovely blouse. Luckily we got the bags back the next day, and everyone is looking and smelling beautiful now!
So the third album is well under way by now, and it’s all starting to come together. We spent some time recording in Amberville Studios, Cullybackey, Antrim during July, and hope to add the finishing touches this October. NEWS FLASH!!! We have a new triangle player... neither Soggy or Eamon managed to secure the coveted triangle gig on the album. I’m very excited to announce that Liam managed to get the triangle tracks down while the guys were out getting the sandwiches. Soggy cried a little and Eamon sulked behind his bodhran, but Liam won out on the day. Hopefully the whole album will be ready to hit the shelves early next year. We’ll keep you posted.
Celtic Fusion in County Down proved a great weekend’s craic for all concerned in July. As well as a great gig, a camera crew from RTE worked with us as part of an upcoming TV show, The Reel Deal. They also recorded a music video for our track ‘The Jazzy Wilbur’, where we are all sporting some wild and wacky outfits and acting like complete lunatics; not to be missed! The series will feature some great Irish groups and musicians, and will air in April of next year. We’ll remind you nearer to the date so you can tune in.
Also in July, in between recording, we were in Germany and Switzerland for a few gigs, as well as a few fantastic days in Asturias, Spain. Everyone was glad to see a bit of sunshine, especially Damian (always delighted to work on the tan), and we were fed and watered especially well. Cambridge, and the renowned Folk Festival was the next stop for the Beoga bus. Great gigs, lots of brilliant music, and an opportunity to hang out with some good friends - it was a weekend to remember.
And it seems things are staying pretty busy for us for the next while. We stay out here in the states until the end of September, a couple of Irish dates and then it’s time to get ready for the 4 week Irish Folk Festival tour in Germany, where we’re all looking forward to working with the lovely Liadan girls, Niamh Ni Charra and Griogar. And hopefully we’ll squeeze enough time in to finish off the new album in time for the Christmas dinner!
Take care everyone!
Niamhy
28th April 2008
Hi folks, Liam here with all the latest from the band...
We’re back in Ireland, hard at work preparing for our third album. The lads and Niamh have been hanging out at my house for a few days and we’ve been trying out all sorts of new stuff. We’re all very excited about it, but I’ll be glad when it’s all over - I’m finding various items of Soggy’s clothing in weird places, Damian has emptied the fridge, and my computer may never recover from Eamon’s internet activities! But we’re all looking forward to recording the new music in July.
Eamon is determined that this album will outsell Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album as opposed to ‘Mischief’ which barely outsold 'History'. Soggy has been hinting strongly that Eamon’s triangle playing on the last album was too loud and generally unacceptable, so expect to hear Soggy back in the coveted triangle slot for this album - great news for all fans of good triangle playing! If any of you folks have any good suggestions for the album title drop us an email.
We spent most of late Feb/March in the USA where we had a blast! We kicked off with almost 2 weeks around sunny California and stopped off for a few fun-filled days in Las Vegas. Following our recent good fortune at a casino in Switzerland, confidence was riding very high.
Unfortunately our winning streak just wasn’t happening this time round and we even had to consider selling Niamh to pay for our hotel. But nobody would buy her, so we finished off the tour in the freezing temperatures of Ohio and Michigan. Amazing scenery, fantastic people and a great time... marred only by a nasty bout of food poisoning for poor Niamh on St. Paddy’s day.
Then it was off to a very wet Portugal for a couple of nights, beginning with a crazy gig in Oporto. It was chaos - an extremely lively audience! The rain didn’t prevent us from taking a dip in the River Douro after, which turned out to be a bit too slimey and slippy round the edges. There were a couple of badly bruised limbs as a result.
Anyhow, all has been very good to date. Things are looking busy for the rest of the year and we’re hoping to launch the new album in early 2009. Next stop.. the World bodhrán championships in Kerry... hundreds of bodhrán players all in one place... say no more!!!
Talk soon.
Liam
19th February 2008
Hey folks. Eamon here, filling you in with some news from the Beoga camp! Before i forget... check out BBC2 Northern Ireland this tuesday (26th February) at 10pm to see Beoga performing a few sets on the 'Blackstaff Sessions'.
Anyhow, we've been busy bees of late playing here and there, including University College Cork tradfest and the University of Limerick tradfest respectively - we had a blast! Why are students so mental? Seriously though...during our encore I saw a guy dancing around with 2 girls, holding one by the hand and the other by the leg...like it was the most normal thing in the world! That gives you some indication of sanity level.
Beoga have scooped up a load of awards for 'Mischief' in the past few weeks... an Oscar, a Bafta, A Brit Award and a TGI Fridays ‘All you can eat’ Award - Go team! Nah, really the album did great for us in 2007 and here’s a few of the end of year honours we received -
Live Ireland Music Awards 2008: Instrumental Cut of the Year
German Music Awards: 3rd place in folk category
Irish Echo Top Albums No.4: (Earle Hitchner)
Boston Globe Best cd’s of 2007
Folk Alley: Best of 2007
WVIA-FM ‘Mixed Bag': Best of 2007 Albums (selected by George Graham)
Philadelphia City Paper: Top 10 Roots Albums of 2007 (selected by Mary Armstrong)
WNCW FM: Top 10 Celtic Albums of 2007
Dirty Linen Magazine: Top 10 2007 releases (selected by Tom Nelligan)
Hot Press Magazine: Top Albums of 2007
Well done the beogas, I am currently patting myself on the back and when i see the rest of the bunch they will get an equally big pat. We are all getting packed and ready to head back to the U.S of A this week. We start in San Fran, make our way round California and finish up in Michigan for St. Patricks day!
We have loads coming up in 2008 (including a new album to plan!) so keep an eye on the website for updates.
Talk soon,
Eamon.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
2008
