Wild Colonial Bhoys… They aren’t from Ireland. Nor do they claim to be. But with their impressive musicality, their blistering live shows and their ability to connect with crowds all over the nation, they have forged their own unique sound within contemporary Celtic rock music. Eschewing the straight up punk sound favored by so many within the genre, The Bhoys are an aggressive mix of harder-edged rock and Irish influences. As Paddyrock Radio says, “the best way to describe their sound is to take the Young Dubliners, The Elders, Carbon Leaf and Great Big Sea, mix them up in a blender, and you’d have a Wild Colonial Bhoys smoothie!
Named for three things: their upbeat sound, their roots, and Glasgow Celtic Football Club, the Bhoys have a different take on Irish music. When their WCB careers began, Adam Coolong and Geno Carlson played their shows with just two acoustic guitars and two voices. Their passion and energy created a sound that was surprisingly full (and broke a lot of strings along the way!). Since these humble beginnings they’ve not only become a powerhouse on the Minneapolis/St. Paul Irish music scene, they’ve also expanded the band’s line-up, adding bass guitar, drums and a fiddle to round out a sound that is already forceful, sincere and delivered with all the intensity of a soccer riot.
Their latest album Irish in America (Loud Folk Records) represents the band’s most ambitious undertaking to date. Featuring mostly original material, the album marks the first time the band has written full arrangements. From Celtic rockers like (the opening track) “Hair of the Dog”, “Better Off” and “I Am Ireland”, to soft, understated ballads like the title track, “Grace” and “The Peoples’ Own MP”, Irish in America runs the gamut and shows the Bhoys’ wide variety of musical chops, their diverse roots and their considerable influences.
The songs are about a variety of subjects, but retain an “Irish” feel thanks to the plaintive voices, fiddles, tin whistles and uilleann pipes sprinkled throughout. Says singer Adam Coolong, “there were a lot of things we wanted to sing about, from the Irish diaspora to going away from home for the first time. From waking up in a strange place to living a very different life than what you planned for.” Different topics certainly, but for all that diversity there is definitely an underlying commonality; the album is about life, how you live it and where you came from.
2009 promises to be a banner year in the annals of WCB. They are steadily expanding their fan base, adding more Irish festivals to their already busy schedule, and have spent most of their money on repairs and oil changes for their road-weary 1999 Ford van. They are also hard at work writing new material for their next album, which they hope to release this summer.
The Bhoys have criss-crossed the Midwest, have toured Ireland, have made multiple trips to New York, and average over 200 shows a year. Fixtures at the Irish Fair of Minnesota (the upper Midwest’s largest Irish festival), WCB has played to crowds as large as 30,000 people. See one live show and you’ll understand what all the fuss is about.
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