Skelpin

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Skelpin' is an Irish folk music group based in San Diego, California. They perform a fusion of Irish Music and Spanish Flamenco, with Middle-Eastern percussion. Skelpin' is also associated with the "Greening of the Gaslamp", a movement of increased Irish culture in the San Diego area. In 2003, 2004,2005, 2008 and 2009, they were nominated for the San Diego Music Awards in the category of World Music, and have toured with this Irish Fusion globally.

In 2005 Skelpin performed for 3 months (2005/07/01 - 2005/08/31) at Tokyo DisneySea, and returned to Tokyo in 2007 for the annual Irish Music Festival.

Tim Foley also wrote music and played uilleann pipes for the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Skelpin' performs each year at the World Music Festival on Catalina Island, held near the end of each October.

Aside from their venue performances, Skelpin' can be seen in local pubs and bars throughout San Diego County, including Hensley's Flying Elephant Pub in Carlsbad, The Blarney Stone in Clairemont, Gallagher's in Ocean Beach, and Hennessey's in Pacific Beach.

Skelpin's latest album "Trip to Skye" was released in October 2009, with the band playing several CD release shows around their hometown of San Diego. They are also planning several shows around the country to promote the new album, which features many tried and true favorites as well as guest musicians including Matt Hensley of Flogging Molly

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[edit] Stolen pipes

On September 6, 2008, Tim Foley reported that his set of uilleann pipes were stolen from his car while he was house-sitting in La Jolla, California. Foley had kept them in his car overnight due to a late-night return from a show, which is something he never does. He reported his car window being smashed, and a guitar amp was stolen along with the pipes, which were kept in a hard-shell-guitar-like case. Foley assumed that the thieves thought they were stealing an electric guitar, and upon discovering that it wasn't, tossed the instrument.

Being a devastating loss and an extremely difficult replacement-although not hard to notice since there are very few of them in southern California, Foley urges fellow musicians and fans to keep their eyes open at shows, pawnshops, local classifieds, and even a shady person's garage. A full replacement of such pipes costs a lot of money (at least $5000) since they are hand-made, and can take months or even years to produce a replacement.

Foley currently borrows pipes from fellow uilleann pipers around southern California, while he awaits a replacement set from designer Martin Preshaw.

[edit] Current members

  • Tim Foley: vocals, guitar, uilleann pipes, reed and wind instruments
  • Patric Petrie: vocals, fiddle
  • Enrique Platas: drums, percussion
  • Wesley Forsberg: bass, electric guitar
  • Jimmy Patton: flamenco guitar

[edit] Friends, Former Members, and Guests

  • Matt Hensley: accordion
  • Rowshan Dowtlabadi: accordion, middle-eastern percussion
  • David Maldonado: bass, flamenco guitar, mandolin, banjo
  • Hector Maldonado: guitars, bass, vocals
  • John Martin: percussion

[edit] Discography

  • Whiskey Before Breakfast (2002)
  • Rua Rojo (2005)
  • Trip to Skye (2009)

[edit] External links

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