Album Notes

Brian and Eric found that they had a common interest in contemporary folk music in early 1996. They began to piece together and perform folk music by such artists as Martin Sexton, The Indigo Girls, Bob Dylan, Valdy and Greg Brown. Soon they started to write, compose and perform their own songs and style of music. Both Eric and Brian sang and song-wrote. They found a very positive and supporting response from the community of Bemidji, MN. They began performing at a large open mic gathering hosted by the Northwoods Folk Collective every first Friday of every month. They performed at coffee houses, art festivals, music festivals, school talent shows and assemblies. They produced their first CD album as "Brian and Eric" entitled "Friday". The CD earned the boys a good profit and they were invited to perform in New York at the People's Music Network Festival.

Meanwhile the boys had been attending the Winnipeg Folk Festival annually and were being exposed to new and exciting forms of folk music. Brian became fascinated with the Irish and Celtic music that was being performed there and set out to put together a small band of musicians in the Irish tradition. He suggested to Eric that he purchase a bodhran which a man by the name of Pat Ryan, a drummer of a local irish group called "Faire Wind" had for sale. He also asked Karl Espe, a friend and very talented fiddle player to join. Soon the three were playing jigs and reels outside of the local playhouse before play performances as the irish trio, "The Gaels". The Gaels have gone on to play all over the Midwest and down to Colorado, an eight-year venture that has seen the production of many original compositions and three popular albums.

To visit the Gaels' website go to: http://www.thegaels.com