Well here it is already the mid-point of January 2008! We know, we know…we’ve been getting your emails asking…”Where have the boys been?”
Last year (2007) was a terrific year for us as we toured the country promoting our 2006 release-Whatever Makes You Dance. We made some terrific new radio friends (Did you know Ceili Rain had 2 songs in the top 10 on the KBCU (Kansas) Top 100 list?), we added a few more Unity Awards to our shelf, we received some terrific press (including being listed on CMCentral as one of the Top 10 Christian Rockers), and played some memorable concerts (including NCYC and Youth Specialties). Aside from a few shows we played in December…most of the guys took the time off to spend with their families, which is ALWAYS a great idea. Others…had stuff going on…
BURT (piper)-had the opportunity to walk in the prestigious TOURNAMENT OF ROSES Parade with the Virginia Military Institute Regimental and Pipe Band. Capt. Burt is the Director of the VMI Pipe Band based in Lexington, VA. The parade was broadcast nationally on ABC, NBC, Univsion, the Travel Channel, Discovery HD, as well as local channels in Southern California. HGTV offered live, uninterrupted coverage of the parade. In case you missed it…check out this video footage…our boy BURT is in the very beginning at the far right (while watching the screen) just behind the VMI banner. The parade was viewed by over 400million people worldwide and 1 million spectators on site. Way to go Burt!
http://ktla.trb.com/extras/ktla/roseparade2008/lineup/lineup2008-27-virginiamilitary.html
BILL (drums)-used his time off to record drums for multi-award winning independent artist Christopher Ames. Christopher is releasing his new CD-Everyday With You in 2008 and Bill laid the backbeat. You can check out Christopher’s recording blog and see some of the pictures of Bill in the studio. (…and just a bit of info for our closest friends…Bob Halligan Jr co-wrote a song with Christopher Ames for this CD…and there’s A LOT of buzz about it from the industry…hmmmm…more to come on this…shhhhh) http://christopherames.wordpress.com
And of course there is ALWAYS something going on with Bob…and this something is BIG! For the past couple of years Bob has been for Music Director for the Wednesday night MegaYouth program in the Syracuse area. MegaYouth was started by Justin Fatica, “an unordained Catholic evangelist”. Just recently a documentary about Justin and his Hard As Nails Ministries was released. The film made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival and was recently picked up by HBO where it made its premier in December. “Hard As Nails” is hi-energy and “different,” (so the Ceili Boys can RELATE!) Bob performs 3 songs in the film, including his original song, “Lord It’s Me Again.” Although there are mixed opinions on Justin’s “techniques” for evangelism, God is certainly using him in a big way. Check your HBO listings for dates and times and if you don’t get HBO, get a friend to record it for you, it’s worth a gander. For more info on Hard As Nails Ministries click here…www.hanm.org
So…over the next 12 months we look forward to getting back on the road and bringing some CEILI RAIN joy to YOUR community! If you’ve been on the fence about hosting a Ceili Rain concert…jump over that fence and join us! We’ll help you make it a great event your audience will remember forever!
Slainte-
BHJR and Ceili Rain