​​The world might be continuously changing, but the band,  Bumpin’ Uglies, ain't trying to hear anything about all that mess.  The Annapolis DIY Ska/Reggae punk trio sticks to what they do best and they make no apologies about it.  The band is currently on a massive national tour with One Koast Entertainment pals, Pasadena.  After hitting the west coast hard, they’ll swing through Texas on their way home to Baltimore for a tour-closing blowout at the Tin Roof at Power Plant to celebrate their new EP, “Sublime With No One.” For Brandon Hardesty (guitar, vocals), Dave Wolf (bass, vocals), and newest drummer, TJ Haslet, it’s just a part of the game, where things might change but they always stay the same.  With that in mind, let’s take a look at some tunes from two EPs the group has put together in 2015: “Freakout Hell Bus,” and the newly released “Sublime With No One.”       
 
Via the Bumpin’ Uglies’ Bandcamp site, we’re treated to three cuts on the May 2015 EP, “Freakout Hell Bus.”  “Grass is Greener” is an energy pumping, head bobbing romp. Some horns and background vocals help take the song up a notch.  The main chorus line: “You must pardon my demeanor, some say I’m a dreamer, the grass is always greener,” beautifully displays the complex yet straightforward approach the band takes.  The group’s songs deal with a lot of issues that so many people can understand: life could always be different in a lot of ways, possibly for the better or for the worse, but often times it’s better to just stay the course you’re on and stay true to yourself.  The song “Bad Decisions,” is the result of when one might go a little too far in not changing your ways.  Hardesty provides some engaging soul as he sings: “I can’t see why we need to conform to the norm of what we are told to be.”  The song isn’t afraid to be blatant (sometimes maybe a little too much) in bearing such truths, as “a bender isn’t a bender until you quit,” and “The hair of the dog is always worth a shot.”  A strong, steady PRS guitar solo breakdown with accompanying 1710 Percussion gives the song some nice punch to take things back into one final chorus.  “Serving,” continues the no regrets and no apologies approach the band lays out in “Bad Decisions” and “Grass is Greener.”  If anything, the song owns up to the decisions and “life is the way it is” philosophy of so many of their songs.  The heartfelt lyrics and vocals delicately display the struggles of pushing yourself to work to survive and not necessarily getting to enjoy yourself along the way.  It’s an acoustic stripped down piece that shows that the group has plenty to offer.
 
On their October 2015 EP, “Sublime With No One,” the band continues to lay down a strong and steady Ska/Reggae vibe.  The EP also continues the theme of owning up to who you are and life choices, whether good or bad.  On “Warning,” Wolfie's nasty bass breakdown feeds the fast paced hype of the song with Hardesty proclaiming: “You have now been warned!”  “Social Ladder” gets right to the point with lots of reverb as the group details how the music industry (and life) isn’t designed to be fair.  “It ain’t about music, practice your politics.”  It’s a very succinct yet all too true message: “We grow up but high school never ends.  Climb the social ladders and make the right friends.”  “Nostalgia,” pumps up the reverb even more and it makes for one funky, fun and nasty dub reggae jam.   The group is especially locked in on this one as Hardesty sings: “World keeps turning, world keeps turning.” The raw and fuzzy distorted guitar-playing features some nasty licks complimented by Wolf’s thick bass and TJ’s deep in-the-pocket drums, building up to one mind-shifting guitar solo.  It’s a proper, steady, smooth and delicious, reggae groove.   “Maturity” and “Fuck It’ wrap up the EP with both songs equally driving home the Uglies’ ever-present “shit don’t change” theme.  On “Maturity” Hardesty sings, “We’re getting older, but sure as hell ain’t growing up,” perfectly displaying the group’s stance on corporate jobs and becoming an adult.   “Maturity ain’t my priority,” sings Hardesty defiantly in the chorus.  In addition to this double sampling of EPs from 2015, there’s a lot more music on the group’s Bandcamp site including a special treat for any “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” fans.  Bumpin’ Uglies continues to tour and play hard everywhere they go, and even though you won’t hear their songs on politically correct, top-40 radio stations, they’ve got plenty to say and they aren’t holding anything back! 
​

Seamus Kennedy will join Dublin 5 on Friday Night, October 23rd from 8pm! 

​
​By J P Brady

​​ 
With a tip o’ the hat to our Kelly ancestors and a long-held love for Irish tunes, we were incredibly excited to get our hands on an advance copy of Dublin 5’s new self-titled album of eleven songs. We were in attendance when the band wowed crowds recently at the Maryland Seafood Festival and Annapolis Sail Boat Show, debuting select new songs and giving us a tease of what was to come – and we can’t wait to see them again on Friday night at Union Jack’s Annapolis for their formal CD Release Party!

     Please forgive our momentary digression, but for some reason lately, we’ve found ourselves embroiled in lively discussions about covers and original music. It’s funny to hear sometimes that folks can staunchly argue 100% for one or for the other. With this new album, you’ll be pleased to know that we get both: Folk/Traditional Irish classics and brand new original songs. But mind you, when we say “classics,” we don’t mean sappy 18th century ballads.  This is the genius of Dublin 5 – that the band can take a beautiful tearjerker like Song 1, The Pride of Petravore (originally Eileen Oge – The Pride of Petravore by prolific songwriter, Percy French, 1854-1920), pair it with hard-driving percussion, guitars, fiddle and vocals, and come up with something entirely fresh and feisty. It’s like a grand Sousa march, but footloose and free. This is the Dublin 5 “brand,” bringing modern rock to traditional Irish folklore, and we absolutely love it.  On top of all that goodness, the band mates are incredibly professional and charismatic when performing live – they have fun and it conveys in their latest release. You can authentically hear it in recordings like Jenn Belle Garman's Song 8, There’s no eff in Irish.  It’s a light song and nice to have in contrast with some of the more serious themes of war and romance.
 
     So, what exactly is it about Irish music that drives fans into frenzy and causes them to travel long distances for festivals? What is it that brings folks together every March 17th (or thereabouts) to dress funny  (yes, so there, I said it!) and latch onto any scant claim of Irish ancestry? Well, if you answered beer, you might have a valid point, and several of the songs reference the pint (check out lyrics for Song 10, Sure It's All The Same, by Glenn Simmons of The Fables here) – but truly, it’s ever so much more. 
 
     Perhaps it’s a respect for Irish resilience in the face of adversity, or that mischievous humor and wink of an eye that Americans love – or even the rebellious nature and craving for independence that mirrors our own. Several of these chosen songs relate directly to the Irish struggle, including Song 4, All Around My Hat, of 19th C. English Origin, about transportation to Australia for theft, which Peadar Kearney (1883-1942), an Irish Republican, adapted to relate to a lass whose lover has died in the Easter Rising.  Song 7, Follow Me Up To Carlow, is an Irish folk song, celebrating the victory of 1580 of the Irish mountainpeople of Wicklow who faced an army of 3,000 English Soldiers in the battle of Glenmalure. 
 
     Of Song 9, Grace (a brilliant tune by Sean & Frank O’Meara), Ray Murphy (lead  vocals and guitar of Dublin 5) recounts, “the GPO (mentioned in the song) is the General Post Office in Dublin where the main battle for Irish independence from the English took place in 1916. Grace is based on the story of Joseph Plunkett and his love, Grace Gifford, and his part in the rising and subsequent execution.” They were married only seven hours before his execution by firing squad, at the tender age of 28. This bittersweet history is all reflected in the indomitable and spirited passion of the music.
 
     Another of our favorites is Song 6, So Here We Are, with lyrics by our very own local singer/songwriter, Tom Bowman (“Cowboy Tom”).  This beautiful and patriotic song is a bridge (or lucky rainbow, if you prefer) that arcs from the Ireland of yore to our modern age, with a fitting and apt “So here we are, those days of war...long, long gone.”  It’s a beautiful tribute, but also, a fine way to say, “Enough now – let’s make peace, move forward and have some fun!“ 
 
     In conclusion, perhaps it’s the sense of camaraderie that is the irresistible and magical component that we all love so dearly, what we long for.  When together, we are all part of something bigger and better. Certainly this will be the case on Friday night at Union Jack’s of Annapolis. To this, we toast Slainte!