Racket In The Parlor

'Ten times better than the Dropkick Murphys!' So shouted a woman of a certain age after Tin Can Hooley finished a set at the Beachcomber in Quincy, Massachusetts, one Sunday afternoon. While we appreciated the compliment, the comparison is one of apples vs. oranges. THE SOUND We hail from Boston and share roots in the local hardcore punk scene, but Tin Can Hooley is not an original rock band that layers traditional instruments atop an electric foundation. For better or worse, we're a folk band that tries our hardest to rock with traditional instruments only: piano, fiddle, button-box accordion, ceilidh-style snare and bass drum, and acoustic 12-string guitar, plus sometimes bouzouki, tin whistle, harmonica, and bagpipes. Not to mention our vocal chords. THE MATERIAL Between various and overlapping past combos, we've been playing the old songs, jigs, and reels of Ireland and it's diaspora in pubs and other venues around the city of Boston for about a decade and a half. Our live repertoire also includes an unhealthy dose of Pogues covers and a smattering of other more contemporary pub favorites (e.g., the Waterboys, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle). For our debut full-length album, 'Racket in the Parlor,' we chose to focus on our core traditional material -- mostly Irish with just a dollop or two of Scottish, Cape Breton, and Appalachian music. (RECOMMENDED: Buy the physical CD -- for just a buck more, you get two bonus tracks, the stories behind the songs, and fantastic original artwork by Amy Toxic.) These time-honored Celtic melodies are just as fresh today as when they were written long ago; they're still full of exuberance and spirit even when sometimes tinged with melancholy. We hope you enjoy listening to this music as much as we do making it!