Gan Ainm are for life, not just St. Patrick's Day!

Have you all forgotten about us so quickly? Were we just a distraction, a wee fling to be forgotten until you need another fix twelve months later? Well, tough shit - we're still here, we're still making noise, and we're not taking "no" for an answer!

The lads are back, one month later, with a raucous afternoon at Muddy Murphy's this Sunday (April 14th)... and watch out for news in the next month about changes and plans for the band throughout 2013!

See you soon...

One more to go before the big week!

We're just gearing up for our last pre-Paddy's Day gig this afternoon, before taking a short break in preparation for the giant party that is going to be St Patrick's Week at Muddy Murphy's!

Muddy Murphy's is always THE place in Singapore to be for St. Patrick's, and this year is no different... many have tried to imitate it in the past, to bottle the "craic" and sell it on, but there is no St. Pat's festival that comes close to being as real and as fun as Muddy's. Just check out the pics to the left...

We are there from 13th to 17th, playing all your old favourites from last year and a bunch of new stuff you requested.... check the gig page for details of start times, and we will see you there!



Oh, and by the way... if you are quick you can still catch us playing this afternoon from 5.30pm at Muddy's in our final pre-insanity week gig!

See you soon!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

The Lunar New Year approaches, and Gan Ainm are ready to get your long weekend folking with a brace of gigs at two of our favourite haunts!

First up is Friday night at Muddy Murphys - with four days off to follow, what is stopping you! A couple of new numbers and all your old favourites, it will be a riot!

Then, on the eve of the New Year itself, we head back to Little India and get jiggy with it at The Prince of Wales - a Chinese New Year Hogmanay bash, if you will! Expect more bar-top dancing and general shenanigans!!

By the way, do you like the picture? It is part of the new batch photographed by old friend Ross a couple of weeks back. We will post up all the new shots soon, so keep an eye out!

See you at the weekend, and "xin nian kuai le"!

Happy Hogmanay!

Well, Gan Ainm had a rollercoaster 2012, with the band going from an acoustic lineup to full folk-rocking, Julian bowing out after a short stint to be replaced by Iggy, and Paul moving on and leaving the band with none of its original members.... a lot of fun was had along the way, and thanks to all of you for sharing that fun with us!

As for 2013... well, it is official - we will be back at Muddy Murphy's for the week of St Patricks day! But before then we have a few more one-off gigs, a new photoshoot and a short stint in a recording studio (finally!)... we also have Gan Ainm apps coming very soon to Apple and Android products, so you can keep abreast of gigs, recordings and news on the go! And how many of you have asked about Gan Ainm t-shirts...? Your wish will be granted at some point in the new year!

So here's to 2012 - it was fun while it lasted! And raise your glass to 2013 - looking likely to be the biggest year Gan Ainm has ever had!

Sláinte mhath!

Partyin' doon fur St. Andrew's Day - brin' it oan!

(translated below for those who need it...)

Sometimes fowk forgit 'at we arenae jist an Irish bain but a celtic ane an' a', an' as sic' we play a whole heap ay Scots graphite loons tay... we e'en wear kilts oan occasion! Sae it's nae surprise 'at we're playin' a St. Andy's day bash (albeit in an Irish pub!!)...

Muddy Murphy's oan Friday 30th November - expect some ay th' usual mince mixed in wi' a boorichie ay Scots tunes tae sin' alang tae!

(translation.....)
Sometimes folk forget that we are not just an Irish band but a celtic one, and as such we play a whole heap of Scots music too... we even wear kilts on occasion! So it's no surprise that we're playing a St. Andrew's Day bash (albeit in an Irish pub!!)...

Muddy Murphy's on Friday 30th November - expect some of the usual stuff mixed in with a bunch of Scots tunes to sing along to!

...and on the river flows...

Thank you to all who came along to our final gig with Paul last weekend... despite some whopping tech problems during setup we persevered and had an absolute blast. 'Twas a tad emotional, saying farewell to the man who to many people IS Gan Ainm, and we must thank former band members Barry and Emer for their guest appearances.

Still, as we sing so often, "Life goes on, and 'round we go"... we were back in the studio last night re-jigging certain songs to accommodate them being sung by Alex, Miles or Eoin, and we're already raring to get back in the saddle! And that saddle just happens to be on the back of this Saturday night, 24th November, at the Prince of Wales in Little India, from 10pm...

We'll keep folkin' around... see you there!

Once more, with reeling...

It's been a fun couple of weeks getting the band back up and running with Iggy on the bass! Sadly, however, we will be out of action again throughout October - but there is one more chance to see us before that break! This coming Friday (Sept. 28th) we will be back at Muddy Murphys for their Arthur's Day celebrations... we hope you can make it down for a few jars and a good dose of fun!

If you can't make it, look out for our advance Christmas gigs at the end of November and start of December.... see you soon!

Halfway to St. Patricks Day!

Now that Iggy has been blooded and can be considered a seasoned member of the band (and thanks to all of you who came down last night and gave him such a warm welcome) we are getting ready to celebrate the fact that there will soon be fewer days to wait for next St. Patricks Day than days since the last one...

Yep, 17th September will see us take to the stage at Muddy Murphys, and we hope you will join us there... it is a Monday, but with us starting at 8pm you don't have to worry about being out too late on a school night!

(To be incredibly pedantic, the strict halfway mark between St. Patricks Days is midnight between September 15th and 16th, as at that point it has been 182 days since March 17th and another 182 days until the next one (not including leap years), but we will take the 6 month watershed for its symbolic value...!)

Meet the newbie!

Julian is now settled in Hong Kong, and we wish him well... but how about the rest of the band? Where are we at? And what about you lot? When can you expect to see us play again...?

Well, let's waste no time in introducing the new boy... hailing from Belfast, this young man (yes, the average age of the band just dropped) is a dab hand at playing celtic tunes on the 6-string guitar as well as a solid bassist - which makes him perfect to fit into the shoes of our last Belfast-born, 6-stringer-celtic-playing bass player! And what incredibly appropriate Irish / celtic sounding name does this lad go by? Please welcome... Ignacio Calumarte!

Well, yes... he's half-Spanish, so maybe we'll get some more Mediterranean flavour to a few tunes! For the moment, though, we've all been in the rehearsal studio getting back up to speed on your old favourites - and I can say that Iggy is fitting right in! So you can expect more of the same - but slightly different - next time you see us...

...and when will that be? Well, how about you come down to Prince of Wales, 101 Dunlop Street, to see Iggy in his official band debut on Friday September 14th!

We'll see you soon!

Farewell gig... this coming Saturday!

It is with sadness that we announce the imminent departure of Julian O'Connell, our bass player. His professionalism and level head (not to mention his talent!) played a huge part in getting the full-band up and running earlier this year, and he will be sorely missed. We wish him and the family well in Hong Kong.... and look forward to him booking us a tour there next year!! (hint, hint)

Initially it looked like we would not get an official final gig with Julian as all our dates were incompatible... but fortune favours fools like us and thanks to the last minute cancellation of a band at Prince of Wales, Little India, we now have the perfect opportunity to give Julian a rousing send-off!

We also bid farewell to our official photographer, who is moving to Dubai. Lisa did such a fantastic job of making us all look so good that people often don't even recognise us in the flesh!! You can see her work plastered all over this site, including the one of Julian to the left. We wish her, Barry and the kids all the best, and hope to be playing in Dubai's Irish Village for them sometime soon! (again - hint, hint)

So... we will be back with a new bassist later in the year, but don't miss the opportunity to come down and see this lineup of Gan Ainm - the original full-band lineup - one last time!

Prince of Wales, 101 Dunlop Street, Little India
Saturday 30th June from 10pm
Be there or be an equilateral rectangle.

The Boys Are Back In Town!

Have you missed us? We've missed you! Hard to believe it hasn't even been a full two months since St. Patrick's, yet so much has been going on since then. We may have seen a few of you at gigs by other bands we are variously part of... or maybe at the theatre production Paul recently directed... or maybe just down the pub for a pint! But this will be the first time you will have seen the seven of us back together again, and we are looking forward to having a right old knees up with you all!

This weekend we have two opportunities to folk you up! The first (Saturday 12th, 10pm) is at the Prince of Wales in Little India and is somewhat dangerously sponsored by Jagermusic, so be prepared for many, many Jagerbombs. The second (Sunday 13th, 6pm) is back down at the scene of our big week two months back, Muddy Murphy's. Two fantastic venues, so it should be one hell of a weekend!

We must thank those kind fellas at Jagermeister and PacBev for their support - so please "like" their Facebook page at  http://www.facebook.com/Jagermeister.SG !!!

Cheers all, and see you over the weekend!

Two down, five to go!

Last weekend we had a great time - thanks to all of you who came down and danced, drank, shucked, etc., etc..... let's hope the hangovers have cleared by now!

After two evenings relaxing (or more likely pampering the WAGS as an advance apology for upcoming absenteeism!) the band are raring to go - so if you haven't managed to catch Gan Ainm at Muddy Murphy's for St. Patrick's Week yet you have 5 days left!!

See you soon....

We're ready - are you?!

Well, the band are just about to hit the rehearsal studio for the last time before the craziness that is going to be St. Patrick's week....

We have one final pre-Paddy's gig tomorrow night at The Prince of Wales in Little India, where you'll get to hear some new material for the first time, and then it's off to Muddy Murphy's for twenty-one sets at seven gigs over a nine day period... plenty of opportunity to come down and rock out with Singapore's biggest craic dealers!!!

Check out all the times on our gig list -  Sláinte!

Next gig - Friday 2nd March at PoW Little India

***Gig update - change in start time***

Please note that the 26th February gig at Muddy Murphy's will be starting at the earlier time of 5pm - see you there!

Debut Gig for the New Lads... this Sunday!

So you've seen the photo's, and heard us banging on about the new line-up.... you're probably wondering when you get to actually hear us play!! Well, we have plenty of gigs coming up with St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, but the first opportunity will be this Sunday, 26th February, when we take to the stage at Muddy Murphy's.... We will be playing a couple of sets starting around 6pm, and we would love to see you all there to celebrate our re-birth day!

For other gigs coming up, check out our gig list... or for regular email updates, enter your details in the box to the right of your screen (on smartphones scroll down and click "View web version" first).

See you soon!

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