Gaelic Storm is, arguably, the most well-known Celtic Rock band of this age.
In an interview with singer and guitarist Steve Twigger, he talked about the past of both himself and the band.
Even though the group plays Celtic rock, a few of Twigger's influences come from classic rock, reminiscent of when he was growing up and learning to play the guitar.
"The first song I ever learned on the guitar was a B-side of an old 45 of the [Rolling] Stones that my parents had," Twigger said. "I think it was ‘Little Red Rooster' on one side, and ‘Good Times, Bad Times' on the other."
Twigger and drummer Shep Lonsdale joined forces with singer/accordion player Pat Murphy and bodhrán player Steve Wehmeyer to form Gaelic Storm.
"It was sort of a default," Twigger said on the choice of a band name. "[Murphy and Wehmeyer] had done one coffee shop gig and expected nobody to turn up, but people turned up. They just threw the name down just for the night, and when people turned up, they were like ‘well, we're stuck with it now.' The guys wanted something that represented the nature of the traditional music that influenced us."
Many of the group's songs come from the band members' experiences. The one that sticks out the most to Twigger is the night that Murphy, while working as a bartender, punched actor Russell Crowe in the face.
"Patrick is full of stories," Twigger said. "I've got a ‘Top 10' of Pat stories...I've heard him tell that story so many times, eventually I went ‘You know what? I have to see if I can write this into a song.'"
The event became immortalized in the song "The Night I Punched Russell Crowe."
Gaelic Storm has a grueling touring schedule, so they've played at a lot of venues. Among Twigger's favorites are the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee and the House of Blues in Chicago. But the one that sticks out the most is the annual Irish Fest in Milwaukee.
"That's one of the funnest [sic] things we do all year long," Twigger said. "We look forward to that all year. It's a big party during the daytime, and all through the night. We have so many friends there in other bands that we get to see only a few times a year when we bump into them at festivals. The crowds for us now are out of control, with the songs and the singing along."
When you play as many shows as they do, there are bound to be some things that go wrong. One particular incident that stands out in Twigger's mind happened at a pub in California.
"We were playing on a stage the size of a postage stamp," Twigger said. "But after Pat turned around and threw up his Irish stew, you could have landed a helicopter on that stage. We were pressed against the wall, horrified."
For many people, their first exposure to the band was their appearance in the movie "Titanic," which has had mixed results for the band.
"The ‘Titanic' thing has been sort of a blessing and a bane," Twigger said. "Some people have the perception that we were invented for the movie. But it's really the exact opposite. We were just banging out folk songs out in the back of a pub. It's just what we do."
In his opinion, Twigger believes that the band is so successful because it's not about the money; each of them are in it for the pure enjoyment of music, and that mindset resonates with the fans.
"Honestly, we enjoy ourselves," Twigger said. "That has been our mantra the whole time. Patrick and I promised each other, way back then, that if we stop enjoying ourselves, we stop doing it."
