Redhill Rats : iSOUND.COM™

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Plays: 29317 Views: 20107
Members: Kuisma Korhonen [Vocals, guitar, accordeon] Hannu Kylkisalo [Vocals, bass] Aku Lappalainen [Whistles, banjo] Petro Loukimo [Drums] Ilkka Ranta-aho [Vocals, guitar, banjo] Matti Viirimäki [el. guitar, mandolin] Formed: 2000 iSound Site: www.isound.com/redhill_rats

Biography

Friends / Fans

Burning Sage Band	Uresh
Whitedingo	pinksunglasses
ELTON COSTELLO	pompettizigzag
Total: 43

Sounds Like

Artists:
Horslips
Oysterband
Saw Doctors
Young Dubliners
Pogues
Flogging Molly

Genres:
Folk-Rock
Alternative Rock

Blog

Monday, January 11th, 2010
Almost there
Hello, boys and girls

tracking for the next album is almost complete. Fiddle parts are to be added to a couple of songs, then we're done.

It might be a little demeaning to call that instrument a fiddle, because the player, a friend of ours, is playing violin in a major Finnish symphony orchestra. Anyway, she loves folk music as well and is anxious to contribute. Which is nice.

Kuisma has done some preliminary mixes with his D3200 and they are beginning to sound so good that we might end up using those mixes instead of sending the files to a commercial studio. We'll see.

Then will be the task of designing the artwork. And coming up with the title.

The last time we were in this situation a few years back, we had come up with a decent title. We nicked it from Charlie Chaplin and felt no worse for it. The album was to be called Modern Times. It portrayed the music and the themes of the songs reasonably well.

Then, a couple of weeks after that decision (luckily before we had gone to print) Bob Dylan announced that his new album will be coming out next month. It will be called Modern Times. Bugger.

So in reverence to His Bobness we withdrew our proposition and re-christened the album Some Heroes (don't even start about the Stones, of course we were aware of Some Girls).

This time we let Dylan come up good with his new album before we committed to anything. As it turned out, Christmas In The Heart would probably not have been our first choice anyway :)

So here we go. We'll keep you posted, as always.

Cheers,

The Rat Pack

Featured Video

Featured Album

	Some HeroesNot Rated Released: 2007

Biography

Buy the Some Heroes cd at CdBaby. Click the image.

Redhill Rats was formed, many years ago, as a traditional Irish music band. Other influences, however, crept in gradually.

When the musical form was liberated from excessive Irishness, original material began to emerge. Our years in Paddyland have left their mark in the new songs, of course, but so have other musical styles like British folk, Americana, Bluegrass and various forms of pop and rock.

We suppose we can call this folkrock, as there are quite a few acoustic instruments involved.

Blog

Monday, January 11th, 2010 Almost there Hello, boys and girls tracking for the next album is almost complete. Fiddle parts are to be added to a couple of songs, then we're done. It might be a little demeaning to call that instrument a fiddle, because the player, a friend of ours, is playing violin in a major Finnish symphony orchestra. Anyway, she loves folk music as well and is anxious to contribute. Which is nice. Kuisma has done some preliminary mixes with his D3200 and they are beginning to sound so good that we might end up using those mixes instead of sending the files to a commercial studio. We'll see. Then will be the task of designing the artwork. And coming up with the title. The last time we were in this situation a few years back, we had come up with a decent title. We nicked it from Charlie Chaplin and felt no worse for it. The album was to be called Modern Times. It portrayed the music and the themes of the songs reasonably well. Then, a couple of weeks after that decision (luckily before we had gone to print) Bob Dylan announced that his new album will be coming out next month. It will be called Modern Times. Bugger. So in reverence to His Bobness we withdrew our proposition and re-christened the album Some Heroes (don't even start about the Stones, of course we were aware of Some Girls). This time we let Dylan come up good with his new album before we committed to anything. As it turned out, Christmas In The Heart would probably not have been our first choice anyway :) So here we go. We'll keep you posted, as always. Cheers, The Rat Pack Posted By Redhill Rats @ 5:32 AM

Monday, September 21st, 2009 These things seem to take time I know, we promised to have the new material ready before autumn, but summer came and went so fast the six of us just could not align our schedules. We did some backing vocals in June, but then we all went our separate ways to enjoy the beautiful but short Finnish summer. Now we have agreed to set up the recording gear in early October and track the remaining parts. THEN the material will be sent to a professional engineer for mixing. Mastering may be another thing altogether... Here are some song titles we have laid down: The Perfect Traveller Days Of Pushing Daisies Goblin's Inn Strange People Flowers The Douchebag Song King Lear Of The Serpent's Head Sincerely Yours We Will Always Be Lovers Memo To Self Crazy George Tales Of Broken Shadows Cape Wolf Rag We'll see if all of these make it to the record. Thing is, all but one (Cape Wolf Rag) are original songs. We planned to record some trads as well, but found out soon enough that we had no need for them this time. It would be fun to record some of those to be published only here on iSound... We'll do that if we have some extra time during the October sessions. Meanwhile, take it easy. Cheers, The Rat Pack Posted By Redhill Rats @ 5:27 AM

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 The Cape Wolf Sessions These are exciting times. When making plans for our third album, we decided to ditch the normal route of going to studio, laying down basic tracks, doing massive overdubs, analyzing the material on a computer, correcting the inevitable mistakes with various processors and so on. Instead we packed our gear in a van and headed for Kuisma's spacious loghouse at Susiniemi. That's Cape Wolf in English. How cool is that? We took along some great microphones and preamps and a top-notch recording console. Drums and tinwhistle were set up in makeshift booths in the main parlour. Matti's guitar amps (Vox AC30 and Fender Reverbsomething) were put in the kitchen as the noise they make is earshattering. Matti says those all-tube amps need to be cranked up real loud in order to sound right. Who am I to argue? After a relaxing sauna session and a case of beer we just pushed the big red button and started playing. If a take was not what we wanted, we erased it and played again. Perhaps bass and bass drum did not align perfectly all the time, but the feeling conveyed by those recordings was wonderful. No more sterile studios for us ever again. Each day we worked well into the night. When the eastern sky began to glow with the morning light, we sat on the porch with another case of beer and marveled at the sounds of birds in the woods and over the lake. We took a sensitive condenser microphone outside and recorded some of that racket in order to include it in one of the songs. I'm no expert in bird calls, but I was told we heard oral performances by storks, swans, geese, cuckoos, pheasants, owls, blackbirds and various small critters that to my ear sounded all alike. We have a song called The Perfect Traveller (music by Hannu, lyrics by Ilkka) that will really benefit from a shot of tranquility provided by those birds. We shall conclude the recordings in the near future with backing vocals and some banjo, mandolin and accordeon parts. After that we'll send the tracks to a professional recording engineer for mixing and mastering. New Rats material should be ready for distribution sometime during the summer. We'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, take it easy. Greetings from the Rat Pack. Posted By Redhill Rats @ 6:50 AM

Thursday, November 13th, 2008 Story behind Snowy Breasted Pearl Hello y'all! As you propably found out already, we have uploaded a new song on this site. It's a ditty called Snowy Breasted Pearl. We found this song in a book of old Irish tunes. We had never heard a recorded version, but when we plowed through the sheet music, this version presented itself almost by default. We went like: hey, this sounds like a long-lost Crazy Horse classic! When we spent a weekend in retreat, preparing new songs for our upcoming album (no, the studio has not been booked yet), we played Snowy as a warm-up piece. Playing the damn thing felt so good that we pushed the Big Red Button on Kuisma's BR-1600. This is what stuck to the hard drive. The lyrics are quite silly, really. Boy fancies girl, gets no response. Boy agonizes over unfulfilled romance, threatens to "brave the seas" to get to girl (no oceans, mind you, but just over to France, maybe Spain). In the end boy, the pathetic loser, commends girl's looks, saying she has really nice tits. Today that sort of comment would result in a deserved slap on the mugger, but perhaps things were different in the days of yore... Here are the words, in case you're interested: There's a colleen fair as May For a year and for a day I have sought by every way her heart to gain There's no art of tongue or eye Fond youths with maidens try That I've tried with ceaseless sigh, yet tried in vain If to far off France or Spain She crossed the watery main To see her face again the seas I'd brave But if 'tis Heaven's decree That mine she may not be May the Son of Mary me in mercy save But a kiss of welcome bland Or a touch of thy fair hand Are all that I demand would'st thou not spurn But if not mine dear girl Oh, my Snowy Breasted Pearl May I never from the fair with life return Most likely we won't include the song on the next record, it's not really our type of music, but we keep playing it on gigs, it has this wonderful raise-the-roof effect when we occasionally hit the groove big time. So here goes. Hope you like it. Cheers, Redhill Rats Posted By Redhill Rats @ 7:01 AM

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 Song lyrics, part 6 Sailing ´round the world (Ranta-aho) 1. We set off across the Baltic sea aboard a schooner called Debris Our captain he did say to me: We’re sailing ´round the world. The Tallinn girls were mighty nice, the beer they sold was half the price We didn’t drink it once, but twice and afterwards we hurled. Ch: Whoa-ho! Sailing ´round the world! I don’t think you will see us for a while. Whoa-ho! Sailing ´round the world! Before we go just let me see your smile 2. The Visby nights were warm and fair. A fine place for a millionaire They have no Kossuvissy there. An Absolut disgrace I saw this girl down by the sea, her dearest wish was to be free The king of Sweden yelled at me: ”Get off me daughter’s face!” 3. Rostock did not treat us well, the Ossies wished us all to hell We made a blunder trying to sell them well-worn pairs jeans. A lady offered me a kiss, she promised some unworldly bliss More of a mister than a miss, she was the king of all the queens 4. The Channel drove us to the brink We thought our ship would surely sink The captain nearly spilled his drink. It really was that rough. The world’s smaller than it used to be. We’ve seen all there is to see We’re sailing back to Helsinki Having had enough. Posted By Redhill Rats @ 6:49 AM

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 Song lyrics, part 5 Rain from Hell (Korhonen) Raising the toast For their fellows abroad They stagger their words of hate They are dreaming Of the furies and the glory Blinded by the rain from hell The spider is weaving, The shadows are creeping Around the flaming stone They get helmets of belief And the birds of shining steel That bring the rain from hell Through the night And through the hail And through the howling wind They are riding On their stallions of fire They bring the rain from hell Back from their mission They drink and forget Until the night begins And they are gliding, again Over the cities on red fire Bringing the rain from hell The ashes are still warm When the serpent is born The revenge is seeking new flesh And the shadows, they still linger A lonely skeleton’s finger Call for the rain from hell Posted By Redhill Rats @ 6:45 AM

Monday, May 12th, 2008 Song lyrics, part 4 Older (Ranta-aho) 1. Young Dan was blessed with bedroom eyes, a brave lad like his name implies He wanted things and would not be denied. Local girls they screamed his name, he saw and conquered, then he came. And when he left they all broke down and cried He made his mark in the world, and how! Everything was here and now Life was grand and the road ahead was wide Then he got older, and then he died. 2. Patrick was a music man, he was his own greatest fan Some people said he sucked, but they all lied He knew if he just kept at it, someday he'd surely score a hit. Persistence was his best and only guide. Pouring out those words and tunes, dreaming away the afternoons he took his time, cos time was on his side But he got older, and then he died 3. I rose, turned off the TV set, the show not being over yet I'm sure that ending would have made me cry Those boys were heading for a fall, with silly songs, good looks'n'all You can't have it all, no matter how you try I think I'll fix myself a brew, there's really nothing you can do. The devil takes our flesh and then we fry. The devil takes us all and then we fry. Posted By Redhill Rats @ 6:55 AM

Monday, May 12th, 2008 Song lyrics, part 3 Your love has served me well (Ranta-aho) A1. Your love has served me well in a crazy kinda way Now that things have calmed down and the fat lady has sung I find it quite easy to say A2. The pirate's flag we flew was red right from the start No prisoners be taken, no mercy be shown: a shot straight thru the heart B1. As our city blew fuses we danced in the street, oh the stories that we could tell I found the reason to live in your smile. Yes, your love has served me well A3. Now you walk a tired mile along the lonely shore shaking your fist at the wide open sea that grants you passage no more A4. And our pictures fade away in the lover's Hall of Fame Approved by history's frozen truth, untouched by its passionate flame B2. You forget all the big things, remember the small. Like those nights in that fancy hotel With some effort there's only one thing I recall: your love has served me well C1. I never bought flowers, their splendour's so vain. Kind words never suited the strong I thought it was all about pleasure and pain. I'm beginning to suspect I was wrong A5. This is what I feared the most: my dreams have all come true I would give away everything I ever owned to be able to dream about you Posted By Redhill Rats @ 6:52 AM

Monday, May 12th, 2008 Song lyrics, part 2 Heroes of the Modern Times (Korhonen) We bluff our way at school We bluff our way at home We bluff our way in business We bluff our way, like fools There is nothing in the world we won’t try There is no real reason to cry There is nothing we really care about There is never enough stout We are not afraid of tomorrow There will always be something to buy We are not afraid of facing the truth We know it’s just another lie ‘Cause we are the heroes, oh, we are the heroes, we are the heroes of the modern times We’re ready to face the Nature And eat all we can find We’re ready to steal the Power And leave our shit behind We are not afraid of leaving Our bills for others to pay We are not afraid of stealing We know we are not gonna stay Chorus We bluff our way in IT We bluff our way in Media We bluff our way in University We bluff our way in Irish Bars We are not afraid of Guinness Or inhaling some heavy fumes We are not afraid of singing along And faking some Celtic tunes ‘Cause we’re the heroes, oh we are the heroes, We are the heroes of the modern times Posted By Redhill Rats @ 6:51 AM

Monday, May 12th, 2008 Song lyrics, part 1 My Father Was A Werewolf (Ranta-aho) 1. My father was a werewolf and he roamed the countryside His fangs were long and sharp, his territory was wide Along the way he sang his songs and sang them out of tune He left a trail of tears and grief beneath the yellow moon 2. In a far-off village I heard he broke some hearts I guess young hearts break easily in those foreign parts Drunken frenzy has no fear, no shame and no remorse There were burning bridges left behind and a hundred broken doors Ch: Come all ye wankers, hear the story of the beast that stunk Buy me a whiskey and a beer, I'm not completely drunk If you have loose change about you, ring those service bells, and if this story spooks your wits, I'll tell you something else. 3. On a night-time rampage he encountered some old friends and left them lying in a pool of blood, this is where that story ends When he came home next morning, he was all smile and charm By the dirt under his fingernails I knew he'd done some harm. 4. My playground was a field of thorns behind a sandy hill Grown-ups could not come there against the childrens' will A haunted house stood in that field, all derelict and torn I played there with the bones of the damned and the ghosts of the forlorn Chorus- 5. I believe that I'm in love right now, a feeling that remains is a twisting pulse inside my head and a bloodrush in my veins. That girl is sweet beyond compare, she is my only one But my father was a werewolf and I am a werewolf's son Yes, my father was a werewolf, that makes me a werewolf's son. Outro (Galician tune) Posted By Redhill Rats @ 6:50 AM