Together for Christmas by The Ruffians

Being a favorite at many pubs in the northeast,if there's good music to be heard and fine whiskey to be drunk, Ruffians will be there.

T H E C O R E P L AY E R S

Sean Griffin is front man, singer/songwriter and guitarist. His writing depicts the joys and sorrows

of being human, and his working-class sensibility is relevant to Irish, English and Americans alike. He makes sure the Ruffians' sound is as much rock, pop and punk as it is Irish so the crowd goes home singing Ruffians' tunes.

Dan Griffin's bass playing can only be described as performance art. His energy and enthusiasm can get a crowd going in no time, along with his signature green jumpsuit and "lucky" boxers. Dan also contributes to songwriting, sings back-up and jumps into the crowd to play the bones!

Jerome Morris is a master of drums and percussion. Trained as a jazz musician, his precise articulation and control makes him a driving force in the group. The Derry Journal hailed Jerome as "one of the best drummers in the world."

Kevin Meehan is the band's button accordionist. After years of studying piano accordion under Galway's Peter Kelly, he quickly adapted to the button accordion and soon formed the traditional Irish group Gallowglass and played with Johnny Cuomo. Formerly a competitive bagpiper, he is currently an active piper in the American Celtic Bagpipe band. Also plays piano, whistle and guitar.In addition to these four, some of the area's best traditional players will occasionally sit in to add tin whistle, uileann pipes or fiddle.

www.ruffiansband.com

S O M E R E V I E W S

Chicago Sun Times: review of "Together for Christmas" (3 stars out of 4) by Tim DeGrogatis, Dec. 2002

"Now this is my idea of a rockin' Xmas disc! Irish punk-rockers the Ruffians (think of an American, gen-

Y version of the Pogues)..." "...the music (as well as the sentiments) will still sound fresh in every

sense of that word by mid-Jan..."

NY Daily News: review of "Together for Christmas" (3 and a half stars out of four), Dec. 2002

"Only five songs and 14 minutes, but an entertaining, hard-edged look at the season from these Irish rockers."

Irish Echo: feature by Stephen McKinley, Dec. 2003, "Griffin's a Ruffian Ready for Fame"

"A Ruffians gig is a zany experience of lyrical, sometimes angry songs about the vagaries of the life of

the common man..." Griffin's "...latest ballad [is] a haunting song, called "Be My Girl."

Irish Voice: Off the Record, review of "Naked & Famous" by Mike Farragher, August 2001

"If you are looking for a meatier portion of Irish music than what you'll find cooking in the Corrs'

kitchen, I suggest ordering something from the Ruffians' menu."... "My only complaint about the disc

is they stopped at six songs."

Shite n'Onions: review of "Naked & Famous" by John Murphy/Sean Holland, Dec. 2001

"...imagine the Pogues kidnapping Morrissey, getting him real drunk and making him sing for them."

"A good young band with plenty of potential."

S O M E P L A C E S T H E Y ' V E B E E N :

Boston College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boston, MA

Buckleys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Southhampton,NY

Byrne's Pub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Columbus, OH

CBGB's. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York City

The Downtown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Long Island

Fitzgerald's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clifton, NJ

The Half-door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hartford, CT

Hungry Trout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saranac, NY

Iona College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Rochelle, NY

Kennedy's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stamford CT

Knitting Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York City

Luna Lounge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York City

Manitoba's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York City

Mick O'Shea's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baltimore, MD

Molly Darcy's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Danbury, CT

Molly Malone's . . . . . . . . . Bay Shore, Long Island

Mulcahey's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Long Island

N.E. Brewing Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Norwalk, CT

Paddy Reilly's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York City

Princeton University . . . . . . . . . . . . Princeton, NJ

Revolution Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Troy, NY

Rocky Sullivan's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York City

Sin-e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York City

Toad's Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Haven, CT

And no doubt soon, a college near you!

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