Vincey Keehan
Along with Paddy, Vincey is co-producer of the whole project. He comes from the parish of Beagh, and left the area to head for America in the early 1980's. He has lived in San Francisco since that time, and is well-known on the Irish music scene out there.
The Gas Men are a group of Irish musicians out in San Francisco, who have been going for decades. Vince is a founding member of the band, and they regularly play around the Bay Area. Their two albums, "Minding Mice at the Crossroads", and "Clement Street", showcase the many talents from the Irish music scene on the west coast. You can hear singing, lilting, music, live tracks and many original compositions on these albums.
It is clear how natural this third album is for Vincey to work on. He brings many talents to all aspects of the production. You will hear mandolin, singing, guitar and lilting among other things throughout the album. Aside from these talents, he shows a great commitment when getting people together, organising who performs and when they perform, and the greatest of all, giving everyone a chance. It is not always that we get to experience those qualities in a world of hustle, bustle and competition!
Below are a few samples of his performances. Of note here is the song, "Going Down the Road". This song was inspired by a photo that was took of himself, his brother Séamus and some neighbours on a horse and trap on the way into Gort when he was a 5 year old boy. The great energy and gusto in this performance reflects how he feels about who he is, and where he comes from. Alongside him here is some backing on the concertina by Paddy. Also of note is the song "Argentina", a composition that he also wrote himself after a trip that he had with the Gas Men to Argentina some years ago. So inspired he had been by the great hospitality they had shown, and how they held on to their Irish culture, that he wrote this song about the experience.
(Vincey is known also to be a good man for the GAA and having the "Wahee of the Shiroe". Among hundreds of other stories that he regularly comes up with!)
Vincey Keehan performs on the following CD tracks: Rodney's Glory, Argentina, Sean Nós Dancing, Going Down the Road, Cooley's Set.
On the vinyl and digital downloads, he performs on: Cailleach an Airgid, Oklahoma Hills, The Earl's Chair / The Bucks of Oranmore, Working on the Railroad, Cooley's.