O’Keefe: WHAT'S NEWS?

How I Spent My Summer, by Gregory O'Keefe-Hoffman

Do you remember when you returned to school after summer break and the teacher asked you how you spent your summer? It may have been a few years since I had to sit in class and squirm as I tried to adjust to school after a lazy summer, but it is still fun to take a minute to reflect on the past couple of months...so...

Well, the missus and I had a brilliant summer. We spent most of it in our little cottage near the ocean down on Cape Cod...lot's of time spent reading at the beach...some crabbing followed by a delicious "crab boil"...on one of the very few rainy days, we had a "Lobsterpaloosa!" event with good friends in Orleans...should we get "Lobstahpalooza 2011" T-shirts for next year's event?...attended some great music events; met some fellow Celtic music fans in Alan and Lois as we listened to Stanly and Grimm (aka Sean Brennan) on the green in Harwich...got in a little saltwater fishing...did a bit of gardening, both vegetable and flower...did you know that rosemary grows so much better in the sandy soil of Cape Cod than the rocky soil of northwestern Connecticut?...We met some very nice folks on the Cape as we became more and more "indoctrinated" into the seasonal resident culture of the Cape. Thanks for great days in the orchard picking blueberries, Richard...looking forward to the Blueberry Cookbook!

Musically, I wasn't a complete slacker...I managed to pen a few new tunes. They're getting a little polishing and will be heard as part of our revised set list at our upcoming gigs...we look forward to sharing them with you! And, finally, we hope to add the finishing back-tracks to our long awaited second CD and have it available this fall...should be good, we're working with a great young recording engineer, Joe Harris. The working title of the CD is "In His Shoes", the title song being a tribute to my Dad, who passed away this last winter.

So, keep an eye on the calendar page for upcoming events. And remember, get out and support live music! Slainte!

Here we are at the beginning of a new year. As you may have seen from the new and improved site design, we have renamed our "Calendar Dates" nav bar to "Catch Us Live!" - So navigate your way on over to see where we'll be playing. Our calendar is becoming fairly active as I return from shoulder surgery this past Spetember. We're very excited about adding a few new venues to our stable of standards. This January, we'll be at the newly opened Swingin' Parrot Cafe at Ledgebrook Plaza in Winsted, CT. In March, we'll be at Flatbread in Canton, CT (Finally!!) as well as Chatterly's in New Hartford, CT. They're all close to our base here in Riverton...so all you local fans, come on out to support live music by singing along, maybe doing a little spirited Irish dancing in the aisles and have a good time with like-minded Irish music lovers! Here's hoping for a safe, peaceful and prosperous new year...I'll leave ya for now with a well known and well worn (but still very appropriate and timely!) little Irish toast to send you on your way for the new year -

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back,
The sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall softly upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Slainte!

Each year, we lose another great voice of Irish music. In August of 2007 we lost Tommy Makem. In August of 2008 we lost Ronnie Drew (founder and gravely-voiced lead of the Dubliners). This month, we lost one of the greatest of all Irish-American whiskey-tenors. Growing up, I listened to his renditions of "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen", "Londonderry Aire" and his favorite, "The Rose of Tralee". He always sung with a wonderful lilt and a heartfelt voice. To my knowledge, there are no recordings of his songs, but they will forever live in my heart and will always be fondly recalled. I owe him so much, yet he asked so little of me. My father, Francis H. [O'Keefe] Hoffman, passed away December 1st. Rest in peace, pop. I love you.

Our first musician's jam was held last night and, while lightly attended, it set the stage for future events of a similar nature. As Nate remarked while we set the beverages on the front porch so they wouldn't get wet in the rain (hey, better rain than snow at this time of year in New England!), "This porch is big enough that we could hold a jam out here!" - hint...look for a spring porch jam in 2010. - You don't have to be a musician to attend...just enjoy live music and the scene...oh, and there's always some good food to be had! (Like Carm's lasagna!) A bonus this time was an impromtu whiskey tasting after the instruments were all packed up...thanks to our "roadies" Nilsy and Tamryn!

Why Venison Jam 2009? It all started when my 2nd cousin twice removed (or whatever its supposed to be) gave me some venison meat. I thought I'd fix some venison chili for Nate on a night when my wife, who doesn't care for venison, whould be away. The plan was hatched...while the missus was going to be at a conference in Philly, we'd have a venison meal and add some music to it...and Venison Jam 2009 was born!

Watch the calendar and news sections of our web site for upcoming music jams and other play dates! - And remember... get out and support live music!

Slainte!

O'Keefe

Well, we did a short guest spot at The Flatbread Company Restaurant on Rt. 44 in Canton, CT the other night and it went well. Thanks to all of you who showed up to cheer us on as we returned to the stage. It is so much fun to watch the little ones dance as we sing and play. It sure makes me happy!

Good news - We got a gig out of that little guest spot. We'll be playing a full night on March 11th, the Thursday before St. Paddy'd Day. (See our calendar section: "Catch us Live!" for more play dates!)

So, with physical therapy doing its wonderous best to get the shoulder back in shape, we are back in business. So keep an eye on our calendar as we gear up for resuming our play dates in local area venues. We will be looking for more/new bookings in the near future. If you know of a place you think O'Keefe's music would appropriate (or inappropriate, but lots o' fun!) send us an email and let us know. And remember....get out there and support live music!!

Slainte!

O'Keefe

O'Keefe will be out of commission for a brief period of time. Rotator cuff surgery has been put off for entirely too long, so we'll be taking a short break from playing to get necessary repairs to the old bod'. O'Keefe will be in the shop for repairs on Wednesday, September 10th. Under the skillful knife of Dr. David Burstein, the left rotator cuff will be surgically repaired. Four to six weeks in a sling with physical therapy starting the week after surgery. Prognostication is a 12 week recovery before any gigs can be scheduled. It will be tough, not playing for a while...but we'll mudle through somehow. Until then, listen to the musical clips here on the site and stay tuned...WE WILL BE BACK!!

Thanks for all your support and for showing up at our gigs! And now, as a number of you have requested, we've put together a little home studio EP/CD. There are 6 songs on it and it will be available starting this Friday, June 19th at our monthly gig at Tucker's Pub. We're kind of proud of our little effort and hope you'll enjoy it. There are 2 new songs on it, written by Greg. Porky's Lament is VERY loosely based on the O'Keefe family history when we ran the Norton House, a boarding house and tavern, in Wayne township, New Jersey in the early 1920's. Walkin' Up The Liffy is a song about the old method of getting a sailing ship up the river when there was no wind. The captain would order the dingy to be lowered with the anchor in it. The dingy would be rowed up river and the anchor dropped. The crew on board the ship would pull on the rode rope and "walk" the ship up the river. Enjoy the music! Pick up our CD. Come out and support live music!
Slainte!
Greg and Nate aka O'Keefe :~)

O'keefe spent St. Patrick's day performing at Tucker's Pub, their official home pub. The food was marvelous...thanks Debbie and Dawn for some wicked good work there! The Guinness flowed and the glasses were never empty...thanks Scott! It was a year ago that Greg [O'Keefe] Hoffman a retired teacher and chef, teamed up with a young singer/songwriter, Nathan Day to began a musical project to capture Greg's memories of growing up in an Irish-American family in the 40's, and 50's and 60's. The stories and music were always present. The craic was always grand when the family got together! There was many a ceili growing up in the O'Keefe-Hoffman house. It is these memories that we have tried to capture when sharing our music with you, the gracious and appreciative listener. Thank you for a great year...and buckle up, boyo!...we're going for another even more active, more musically fun year ahead! Get out and support live music!
Slainte!
Greg O'Keefe-Hoffman

Saturday, February 21st will stay in my mind for some time to come. Nate and I did our first concert, a small venue in Torrington. The very appreciative audience of about 60-70 people (which included a few family members and their significant others!) made us feel like kings! As they say in Ireland, "The craic was grand!" - The musician feeds off the immediate feedback of an audience response to humerous comments, a tight harmony or a sweet sound, and Nate and I were filled to capacity from last night's event. If you were there and you read this, know that you are special to us. It is for you that we do this...well, and a little for ourselves! Seriously, when you support live music, you share a little of yourself with the world...and it is a better place for that! Thanks again, loyal fans and family! Slainte! Greg Oh, and be on the lookout for photos and perhaps some video from the concert coming to a computer near you!

WOW! It is already 2009! 2008 was a momentous year that saw the launch of O'Keefe...and we continue to grow, both musically and with our fan base...hey, without you guys, there'd be no O'Keefe! Thanks for coming out to suport live music, and in particular, O'Keefe. It may be cold outside, but we're busy inside...Nate has been our technical wizard, putting us up on myspace. You can visit us at http://www.myspace.com/okeefemusiconline - This has afforded us the opportunity to link up with some of the most influential musicians in the area of Irish/Celtic music. Nate has also been busy at the console at Toad Hall, tirelessly recording, editing and mixing the raw beginnings of what should be a decent CD of classic Irish songs and ballads. We hope to have it ready for release in the coming spring...get your credit cards ready!! Kudos, Nate for your hard work! Our 2009 play schedule is shaping up nicely. Check out the calendar section of the site for details. Well, that's about all the news that's fit to print for now. Check back regularly (ok, at least once a month or so) to see what we're up to!
Wishing you and yours a safe and happy 2009!
Slainte!
Greg

Well, we've had a great summer and fall, enjoying the playing, the craic and the wonderful early support of O'Keefe's musical journey! Thanks to all who come out to listen, sing along and offer suggestions and encouragement. We continue to amass a modest following in the greater northwestern CT and southwestern MA area. Pretty much by default, Tucker's Pub in Sandisfield, MA has become our home venue where we can be found at least once a month. From Irish dinners to private parties, Scott and Debbie, the owners of Tuckers have been great fans and promoters of O'Keefe. Heck, they've already booked us for St. Paddy's Day, 2009!

Here's a teaser for those of you who visit the site with any regularity...We're working on our 1st CD, a collection of traditional and O'Keefe written tunes. Keep an eye on our web site for details in the coming weeks.

Enjoy the fall, get the snow shovels ready and make the time to get out and listen to some live music!

Slainte!

Thanks to Nathan's computer skills, we now have a few music clips up. They were from a live session at the Cabin. In October, we will be embarking on a studio created CD of around 5 songs or so - so we can sell it at our gigs and make millions of dollars :~)

August 13, 2008
Fiddler's Green Farm
Afton/Rockfish Gap, Virginia

Wednesday evening, August 13th we held a ceili at Fiddler's Green Farm, the home of my longtime friends Art and Joann Freeman. Ah, what's a ceili you ask? A Ceili [KAY-lee] is Gaelic for party, specifically one with live music, dancing and general merriment. Ceili, or céilidh as it was originally spelled, is a form of the Latin word for heaven. Clearly, if you’ve ever taken part as a player or listener at a ceili, you can understand why it is a little bit of heaven!

After a delicious dinner with sumptuous fruits and veggies from Joann's garden, Art and a few of his friends joined me as we got out our musical instruments for a bit of fun. The craic was grand and a good time was had by all! Jim’s mandolin playing was particularly sweet! Sadly, all good things come to an end. We are now back in Connecticut and getting ready for upcoming gigs at the end of the month and into the coming months. If you've got a minute, check the calendar listing for upcoming dates! Hope to see you there!

And remember, O'Keefe + Guinness = fun! ... Get out and support live music!

Sláinte!
Greg

Well, We've finally hit the big time! We've launched a web site to bring you all things O'Keefe. Watch for news and fun in the upcoming weeks! Thanks to all for your early and continued support.

Slainte!