The Guggenheim Grotto

Last updated

The Guggenheim Grotto
Guggenheim Grotto at The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ, July 6, 2012 2.jpg
Mick Lynch of Guggenheim Grotto
Background information
Origin County Mayo, Ireland
Genres Folk-pop
Years active2003–2013
LabelsUnited For Opportunity
MembersKevin May, Mick Lynch
Past membersShane Power

The Guggenheim Grotto is a folk-pop band from, County Mayo, Ireland. [1] The members of The Guggenheim Grotto are Kevin May from Ballinrobe, and Mick Lynch from Westport. Guggenheim Grotto has a unique sound, characterized by an emphasis on piano instrumentals supporting their harmonies. [2] Partridge of the Hartford Courant described their style as "folk-influenced indie-pop" and said it fit well with other music popular on college and public radio, such as Rufus Wainwright, Crowded House, and Kings of Convenience. [3] The music varies from rock, to pop, folk, and even soul. [4] Their influences include Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits, although that is not immediately apparent from their sound. [4]

Contents

History

Kevin May of Guggenheim Grotto performing at The Saint in Asbury Park, NJ, US on 6 July 2012. Guggenheim Grotto performing at The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ, July 6, 2012 pic2.jpg
Kevin May of Guggenheim Grotto performing at The Saint in Asbury Park, NJ, US on 6 July 2012.

Kevin May, Shane Power and Mick Lynch all participated in the Dublin music scene that produced musicians like Glen Hansard. [4] [5] May and Lynch have been playing as a duo since 2003. In 2004 they approached Power, a musician and producer with a successful studio, about editing their self-recorded A Lifetime in Heat EP. Power was impressed with their work, and later joined the group as their drummer and also produced their next album. [5] All three play multiple instruments. [4]

The Guggenheim Grotto was well received when they came to the United States in 2006. [3] In 2006, and again in 2009, the band performed at SXSW. The band's debut album ...Waltzing Alone was self-released to immediate critical acclaim in Ireland on 9 September 2005, and their first promotional single Told You So rapidly climbed to No. 12 on the Irish National Airplay Chart. They released ...Waltzing Alone in the U.S. on New York-based new model indie label United For Opportunity on 26 September 2006, and in November of that year embarked on their first U.S. national tour. The band has since completed four U.S. tours.

Early in 2007, The Guggenheim Grotto's A Lifetime in Heat won The 6th Annual Independent Music Award for Best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song. [6] Songs from their first album have been used in major network prime-time TV shows like One Tree Hill and Brothers And Sisters, [7] and the album received positive reviews from U.S. national publications like Paste Magazine, as well as regional press like The Boston Globe and The Washington Post. [5]

The band's second album, Happy the Man , was released digitally for a limited time in the U.S. and Ireland on 7 October 2008. Former member Shane Power's studio experience has been credited with giving the album its more expansive, experimental sound. [3] On Happy The Guggenheim Grotto's sound is more akin to Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, and Leonard Cohen. Intricate acoustic guitar work is the centerpiece for most tracks. The sound is more like Crowded House than Jack Johnson, with electronic influences reminiscent of Radiohead. [8] The album reached No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes Folk Chart. The CD was released to stores 27 January 2009, and the band toured nationally to support it.

The Universe Is Laughing, which Lynch and May recorded themselves, was released in 2010. [3] As of early 2012, the duo was working on a new album that will have a bigger, more band-oriented sound than Universe, with money they raised from fans through the website PledgeMusic.com. [3]

In September 2013, the band announced that they had signed to Ingrid Michaelson's record label Cabin 24 and Secret Road Music Services [9] and changed their name to Storyman. [10]

Line-up

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pogues</span> Celtic punk band founded in London in 1982

The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, as Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation by James Joyce of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse". Fusing punk influences with instruments such as the tin whistle, banjo, cittern, mandolin and accordion, the Pogues were initially poorly received in traditional Irish music circles—the noted musician Tommy Makem called them "the greatest disaster ever to hit Irish music"—but were subsequently credited with reinvigorating the genre. The band later incorporated influences from other musical traditions, including jazz, flamenco, and Middle Eastern music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clannad</span> Irish folk band

Clannad are an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal, by siblings Ciarán, Pól and Moya Ui Bhraonáin and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Ó Dúgáin (Duggan). They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history. Beginning as an acoustic folk group mainly performing rearranged traditional Irish songs in Irish, they expanded their sound with original songs in English, vocal harmonies, electronic keyboards, and elements of rock, Celtic, new age, smooth jazz, and Gregorian chant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane MacGowan and The Popes</span> Irish band formed in 1992

The Popes are a band originally formed by Shane MacGowan and Paul "Mad Dog" McGuinness, who play a blend of rock, Irish folk and Americana.

<i>The Long Black Veil</i> (album) 1995 studio album by The Chieftains

The Long Black Veil is an album by the traditional Irish folk band The Chieftains. Released in 1995, it is one of the most popular and best-selling albums by the band. It reached number 17 in the album charts. The band teamed up with well-known musicians such as Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones and Van Morrison. The album went gold in the U.S. and Australia, and Double-Platinum in Ireland. One of the tracks, "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?", sung and written by Van Morrison, won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dónal Lunny</span> Irish folk musician and producer (born 1947)

Dónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozaik, LAPD, and Usher's Island, he has been at the forefront of the renaissance of Irish traditional music for over five decades.

Power of Dreams are a Dublin based rock band, built around the vocals and songwriting of Craig Walker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Flannery</span> Irish singer and songwriter

Mick Flannery is an Irish singer and songwriter.

The Nips are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976 as the Nipple Erectors by punk artist Shanne Bradley. They were Shane MacGowan's first musical group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Shannon</span> Irish musician (born 1968)

Sharon Shannon is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, Sharon Shannon, was the best-selling album of traditional Irish music ever released in Ireland. Beginning with Irish folk music, her work demonstrates a wide-ranging number of musical influences. She won the lifetime achievement award at the 2009 Meteor Awards.

Stump were an Irish-English indie/experimental/rock group consisting of Mick Lynch (vocals), Rob McKahey (drums), Kev Hopper (bass) and Chris Salmon (guitar). Their music has been described as a mixture of Captain Beefheart and The Fall, and they are best known for their influential, critically acclaimed, but poor selling 1988 album, A Fierce Pancake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dervish (band)</span> Trad band from Sligo, Ireland

Dervish is an Irish traditional music group from County Sligo, Ireland which has been described by BBC Radio 3 as "an icon of Irish music". They were formed in 1989 by Liam Kelly, Shane Mitchell, Martin McGinley, Brian McDonagh, and Michael Holmes and have been fronted by singer Cathy Jordan since 1991. They represented Ireland in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, singing a song written by John Waters and Tommy Moran. In 2019 they released an album on the US Rounder Records label called The Great Irish Song Book featuring a selection of classic Irish songs sung by a number of well known singers including Steve Earle, Andrea Corr, Vince Gill, Kate Rusby, Imelda May, Rhiannon Giddens, The Steel Drivers, Brendan Gleeson, Abigail Washburn, and Jamey Johnson. In 2019 they received a lifetime achievement award from the BBC.

The Pale are an Irish band of varying genres including rock, and indie. They have recorded twelve albums and have toured extensively in Ireland and abroad.

<i>...Waltzing Alone</i> 2005 studio album by The Guggenheim Grotto

...Waltzing Alone is the first full-length album from the Dublin, Ireland folk-pop band The Guggenheim Grotto. It was originally released in Ireland on September 9, 2005 by Rykodisc, and then on September 26, 2006 in the US and Canada by United For Opportunity.

<i>Happy the Man</i> (Guggenheim Grotto album) 2008 studio album by The Guggenheim Grotto

Happy the Man is the second full-length album from the Dublin, Ireland folk-pop band The Guggenheim Grotto. It was originally released on October 21, 2008 by the New York-based indie label United For Opportunity.

<i>The Universe Is Laughing</i> 2010 studio album by The Guggenheim Grotto

The Universe Is Laughing is the third full-length album from County Mayo/Wexford, Ireland folk-pop band The Guggenheim Grotto. It was originally released on June 15, 2010, by the New York-based indie label United For Opportunity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screaming Orphans</span> Irish pop and folk band

Screaming Orphans are a Pop and folk band from Bundoran, County Donegal, Ireland. The band consists of the four Diver sisters – Joan, Angela, Gráinne and Marie Thérèse. The group combines their own original melodic old-school pop songs with a modern take on traditional Irish music and song, inherited from their family roots.

Storyman is the songwriting partnership of Kevin May and Mick Lynch. Both hail from Ireland and first achieved success as members of the band The Guggenheim Grotto. After raising funds for a new album through PledgeMusic, the duo worked with producer Chris Kuffner on new material. The resulting album was different enough from their previous work as The Guggenheim Grotto that they decided to change their name to reflect the new project. They released their first album as Storyman, entitled This Time Round, on November 12, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edge of Paradise</span> American rock band from Los Angeles, United States

Edge of Paradise is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 2011. The band currently consists of Margarita Monet (vocals/keys), Dave Bates (guitars), David Ruiz (guitars), Jamie Moreno (drums) and Kenny Lockwood (bass). The band is known for its heavy guitars complemented by industrial and classical influences, as well as Monet's large vocal range. In 2012, Monet was featured in Metalholic’s "Top 25 Women in Hard Rock and Metal."

<i>Quirk Out</i> 1986 studio album by Stump

Quirk Out is the debut mini album by Anglo-Irish experimental rock band Stump. After building up a following with their unique sound and live performances, Stump recorded Quirk Out as their second release with producer Hugh Jones at Rockfield Studios in July 1986, following the release of the Mud on a Colon EP earlier in the year. The band's aim for Quirk Out was to capture the band's energy as a live band on studio recordings. The record blends genres such as avant-garde, funk rock with indie rock sensibilities. The best known song from the album, "Buffalo", had already been released on the NME compilation C86, an influential cassette compilation containing newly recorded music from different bands of the British independent music scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Five Go Down to the Sea?</span> Irish band

Five Go Down to the Sea? were an Irish post-punk band from Cork, active between 1978 and 1989. Vocalist and lyricist Finbarr Donnelly, guitarist Ricky Dineen and brothers Philip (bass) and Keith "Smelly" O'Connell (drums) formed the band as Nun Attax while teenagers. They became known for Donnelly's absurdist, surreal lyrics and stage presence, Dineen's angular guitar and their Captain Beefheart-style rhythm section. The group changed their name to Five Go Down to the Sea? after moving to London in 1983. Their line-up has at times included guitarists Mick Finnegan, Giordaí Ua Laoghaire, Mick Stack, and the cellist Úna Ní Chanainn.

References

  1. ↑ Tammy La Gorce (8 April 2011). "Justice by Day, Folk Songs by Night". The New York Times. Jersey City, NJ. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  2. ↑ Becky Cook (1 June 2010). "The Guggenheim Grotto: Who's Laughing?". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Kenneth Partridge (16 February 2012). "Guggenheim Grotto to play Windsor". The Hartford Courant.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Regis Behe (2 August 2007). "Guggenheim Grotto defies musical labels". Pittsburgh Tribune.
  5. 1 2 3 Maryann Meyer (1 February 2007). "Live!; Who: The Guggenheim Grotto When: Wednesday, 8 p.m. Where: Jammin' Java, Vienna". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. T22.
  6. ↑ Independent Music Awards – 6th Annual Winners Archived 1 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Jeff Miers (13 August 2010). "Disc". Buffalo News [Buffalo, N.Y]. p. g22.
  8. ↑ Chad Berndtson (6 January 2009). "'Happy' days: Guggenheim Grotto drops anchor at Lizard Lounge". The Patriot Ledger. p. 19.
  9. ↑ "Storyman sign with Cabin 24 / Secret Road". Storyman. 26 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "About". Storyman.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.