Socks in the Frying Pan

Davis: Coming up on "Studio 3 Live," it's Socks in the Frying Pan.

You close your eyes and you go to a place that it doesn't matter if you were playing in the pub or playing in front of 10,000 people, you go to the same place.

That translates out to the crowd, and they seem to be kind of brought to this place as well.

[ Upbeat traditional Irish music playing ] ♪♪ Funding for "Studio 3 Live" is provided by... Woman: Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, where employees from over 20 countries speak over 20 languages, is committed to enriching the lives of all Iowans by funding strong communities and diverse cultural organizations.

Learn more at prairiemeadows.com.

Man: Funding for this program was provided by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation, as well as generations of families and friends who feel passionate about the programs they watch on Iowa PBS.

[ Electricity hums ] [ Cheers and applause ] Good evening, and welcome to "Studio 3 Live."

I'm your host, Mickey Davis.

Tonight we are so excited to welcome Socks in the Frying Pan to the "Studio 3 Live" stage.

Socks in the Frying Pan are an award-winning trio from Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, which is considered the home of Irish traditional music.

Their music weaves virtuosic musicianship with humor and storytelling, establishing the band as one of the most prominent and successful Irish traditional groups today.

Through relentless touring across every continent, 46 U.S.

states and performances at major events, including the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Socks in the Frying Pan continues to preserve and celebrate their musical heritage and find new audiences around the globe.

Please help me welcome to the stage Socks in the Frying Pan.

[ Cheers and applause ] Hello, everybody.

Man: 1, 2, 3, 4.

[ Upbeat traditional Irish music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] [ Audience clapping rhythmically ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you very much.

Hello, Des Moines.

Davis: Thank you all for being here.

Can you first tell me about how the band came together?

Yeah, about 17 years ago now, a long time, I was working in a pub during a summer in college, and the musicians canceled, and the bar man said, "Could you cover the gig?"

And I called everybody on my list at the very, very, very bottom of my list was this guy here who I knew to be a friend of mine, but I didn't know that he was such a great guitarist.

So we ended up playing seven nights a week.

We toured 48 states on every continent and played all over the world at this stage, so... From performing at the bar seven nights a week and having that consistent gig, what -- how did you kind of take that next step to start touring the world?

What kind of happened in between?

Um, we got tighter and tighter, as you would if you were playing seven nights a week, and we were just great friends that just kept playing every night and then recorded a CD more for our own interest.

And it kind of made its way to America.

And all of a sudden, there was interest kind of shown.

And we were totally shocked, wondering, "You want to hear us in America?"

And then, uh, it kind of spiraled from there.

We ended up with a manager and, uh, a couple of agents.

And when they first called, we thought they were joking.

We thought it was just some of our friends wanting to be our agents.

But as it turned out, no.

And here we are.

And I have to ask, where did the name come from?

That, you have to ask, we don't have to say it.

Hey, okay.

We've never actually told anyone.

We tell people, "If we tell you, we have to kill you."

[ Laughs ] Very James Bond type -- type of thing.

Well, happy to keep it a mystery for now.

Yes.

So, yeah, we are Socks in the Frying Pan.

We're from the west coast of Ireland, a little place called County Clare.

And we've been on the road about two weeks now.

Yeah.

Applause for County Clare.

Love it.

Okay.

So we, uh, we started in Idaho.

We flew to San Francisco and then flew back to Idaho.

And then we drove from Idaho via Utah down to Phoenix.

There was an accidental 8-hour, uh, side quest to Vegas.

Uh, whoops.

So we drove from Idaho down to Phoenix, and then we drove from Phoenix, back up to California, and then drove from California through Oregon and from Oregon up to Washington, uh, up to Vancouver, then back to Washington.

So this morning we left Seattle and we flew here.

Tomorrow, we're in Milwaukee.

The next day, we're in New Jersey.

The next day, we're in Cape Cod.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

So...all proceeds from the merch table tonight goes towards buying our agents a map.

Yeah.

[ Laughter ] We'll sing you a song.

This one is about a fella coming across the water and coming over to America and getting in all sorts of trouble.

Uh, because he loves the ladies, and he loves gambling and he loves fighting.

But what he loves most of all is Irish music, the slip jigs and reels.

That's what the name of the song is called.

It's a song by song songwriter called Steve Tilston.

Let's give this a go.

♪ He was barely a man in his grandfather's coat ♪ ♪ Sewn into the lining, a ten-shilling note ♪ ♪ Goodbye to the family ♪ ♪ Goodbye to the shore ♪ ♪ When a man tastes his fortune ♪ ♪ You see him no more ♪ ♪♪ ♪ A boat on the ocean that's tossed like a cork ♪ ♪ And then one fine morning, they sighted New York ♪ ♪ So he stood on the gangplank to breathe in the air ♪ ♪ Hello, land of plenty, I've come for my share ♪ ♪ Yes, he did like the ladies, the rise and the fall ♪ ♪ Of their ankles and dresses, down on the dance floor ♪ ♪ Rolling the dice and spinning the wheel ♪ ♪ But he took most delight in the slip jigs and reels ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Now some say a pistol and some say a knife ♪ ♪ But all are agreed there was somebody's wife ♪ ♪ Some kind of commotion, a terrible fight ♪ ♪ He left a man dead and ran into the night ♪ ♪ On a train to St.

Louis, just one jump ahead ♪ ♪ He'd slept one eye open and a six-gun in bed ♪ ♪ And he dreamed of the mountains ♪ ♪ And green fields of home ♪ ♪ While crossing the plains where the buffalo roam ♪ ♪ Yes, he did like the ladies, the rise and the fall ♪ ♪ Of their ankles and dresses, down on the dance floor ♪ ♪ Rolling the dice and spinning the wheel ♪ ♪ But he took most delight in the slip jigs and reels ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Well, they called him the Kid and by 21 ♪ ♪ All that he knew was the power of a gun ♪ ♪ And by 23, he'd shot five men down ♪ ♪ Who got in his way as he rambled around ♪ ♪ Now, a bad reputation's a hard thing to bear ♪ ♪ Your mothers pour scorn and young children they stare ♪ ♪ So he took consolation in flash company ♪ ♪ So life ain't so bad with a girl on each knee ♪ ♪ Yes, he did like the ladies, the rise and the fall ♪ ♪ Of their ankles and dresses, down on the dance floor ♪ ♪ Rolling the dice and spinning the wheel ♪ ♪ But he took most delight in the slip jigs and reels ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ It was wild mescaleros, I heard people say ♪ ♪ In the deadliest ambush near Santa Fe ♪ ♪ A young buck was taken, he was dressed in a coat ♪ ♪ Sewn into the lining, a ten-shilling note ♪ ♪ Yes, he did like the ladies, the rise and the fall ♪ ♪ Of their ankles and dresses, down on the dance floor ♪ ♪ Rolling the dice and spinning the wheel ♪ ♪ But he took most delight in the slip jigs and reels ♪ ♪ Yes, he did like the ladies, the rise and the fall ♪ ♪ Of their ankles and dresses, down on the dance floor ♪ ♪ Rolling the dice and spinning the wheel ♪ ♪ But he took most delight in the slip jigs and reels ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Aodán Coyne on the guitar there.

[ Cheers and applause ] For each of you, what was kind of your -- the beginning of kind of your musical education?

And was Irish traditional music always something you played or did you kind of find your way here?

Coyne: Well, for myself, my family are kind of steeped in Irish music, so growing up, I would have learned first a whistle and then the fiddle.

But I was terrible at them and I picked up the guitar and I just fell into it.

I got more into the kind of rock and singer-songwriter side of things, but when I went to college, I studied music and then came back home and it was Shane that called me for a gig and I just fell back into the Irish music then and haven't looked back since.

So yeah.

The lads here... Yeah.

Hayes: Oh, sorry.

Um, yeah, I mean, I Irish-danced actually for -- for years and years, myself and my brother.

So I suppose we were used to listening to the Irish music and, um, we were very lucky because we were from Ennis, County Clare, which is the Mecca of Irish music.

And, uh, we had a very good teacher who taught us whistle, and he also played the accordion.

And I went home to my very patient parents and I said, "I want to play that."

And they said, "Sure."

So that was how I got here.

I'm from Chicago originally.

Shane's brother used to play the fiddle in the band, and four years ago, um, I joined up and I've been touring with 'em since.

So I kind of have the U.S.

side of the Irish music scene, which is really robust and healthy.

In Chicago, it's a great scene as well.

Um, I think my mom likes to tell the story that she used to bribe me to practice classical music, and she would take me to the pub in exchange, and I would play Irish trad music there.

And then I sort of fell more and more in love with Irish music, and that sort of became the whole -- the whole ball game for me initially.

Now the fun begins.

I should introduce the man on my right, by the way.

This is Mr.

Ian King.

[ Cheers and applause ] So myself and Aodán are from the west of Ireland, a little place called Ennis, County Clare.

Ian is from even more west than we are.

He's from Chicago.

[ Laughter ] And we don't let Ian speak because his American accent devalues the Irish band.

[ Laughter ] So... He seems like the strong, silent type over there.

But in truth, he actually just can't speak English and also can't defend himself.

Ha ha ha.

[ Guitar strumming ] We'll sing you another song.

This one is called "The Lifeboat Mona," and it's a true story about a boat that was in trouble off the coast of Scotland during a big storm, and they sent out the lifeboat Mona to try and save this other boat.

And tragically, all eight members of that crew passed away that night trying to save that other boat that was in trouble.

So it's a song -- It's an important song, and one that we first heard off the singing of The Dubliners and the singing of Luke Kelly.

So this is our rendition of "The Lifeboat Mona."

Just as we're starting to have fun, you know.

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ ♪ Remember December fifty-nine ♪ ♪ The howling winds and the driving rain ♪ ♪ Remember the gallant men who drowned ♪ ♪ On the lifeboat, Mona was her name ♪ ♪ Well, the wind did blow and the sea rose up ♪ ♪ Beat the land with its mighty waves ♪ ♪ At St.

Andrews Bay, the light ship ♪ ♪ Fought the sea until her moorings gave ♪ ♪ Remember December fifty-nine ♪ ♪ The howling winds and the driving rain ♪ ♪ Remember the gallant men who drowned ♪ ♪ On the lifeboat, Mona was her name ♪ ♪ Well, the captain signaled to the shore ♪ ♪ "We must have help or we'll go down" ♪ ♪ From Broughty Ferry at 2 a.m.

♪ ♪ They sent the lifeboat Mona ♪ ♪ Remember December fifty-nine ♪ ♪ The howling winds and the driving rain ♪ ♪ Remember the gallant men who drowned ♪ ♪ On the lifeboat, Mona was her name ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Oh, eight men formed that gallant crew ♪ ♪ They set their boat against the main ♪ ♪ The wind's so hard, the sea's so rough ♪ ♪ We'll never see land or home again ♪ ♪ Remember December fifty-nine ♪ ♪ The howling winds and the driving rain ♪ ♪ Remember the gallant men who drowned ♪ ♪ On the lifeboat, Mona was her name ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Five went by and the Mona called ♪ ♪ The wind blows hard and the sea runs high ♪ ♪ In the morning on Carnusty Beach ♪ ♪ The Mona and her crew did lie ♪ ♪ Remember December fifty-nine ♪ ♪ The howling winds and the driving rain ♪ ♪ Remember the gallant men who drowned ♪ ♪ On the lifeboat, Mona was her name ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Five lay drowned in the Chalon there ♪ ♪ Two were washed up on the shore ♪ ♪ Eight men drowned when the boat capsized ♪ ♪ And the eighth is lost forevermore ♪ ♪ Remember December fifty-nine ♪ ♪ The howling winds and the driving rain ♪ ♪ Remember the gallant men who drowned ♪ ♪ On the lifeboat, Mona was her name ♪ ♪ Remember December fifty-nine ♪ ♪ The howling winds and the driving rain ♪ ♪ The men who leave the land behind ♪ ♪ And the men who never see the land again ♪ ♪ The men who leave the land behind ♪ ♪ And the men who never see the land again ♪ ♪ The men who leave the land behind ♪ ♪ And the men who never see the land again ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Hayes: Thank you very much.

So, yeah, we've been on the road two weeks.

This is our first -- Uh, first TV one of the tour.

Uh, last night we had a dog on the stage, which was very cool in a different way.

You know?

Kind of every gig kind of brings its own little thing.

Uh, the one in -- The one in Vegas -- Well, we can't talk about that one actually, no.

Let's move back to Ian actually over here.

[ Laughter ] Should I tell your mother on live television what you were doing?

I'm only joking.

[ Upbeat traditional Irish music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Audience clapping rhythmically ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 1, 2, 3!

Hup!

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Mr.

Ian King on the fiddle.

So you talk about a community in Chicago and finding -- finding that music in Chicago.

Something that strikes me is that you are performing this kind of traditional music.

I know you -- you take that traditional music and kind of make it your own in your performance.

But what about Irish music and the music that you play do you think allows you to find audiences not only across the U.S.

but across the world, even with audiences that may not speak the same language?

Um, I guess it's -- There is a common ground.

I mean, everyone watches "Mr.

Bean" in every language.

He doesn't say a word, but everyone thinks it's hilarious, you know?

And there is something about Irish music and music in general if it's played a certain way.

Um, any genre can be very infectious, you know, and I think that Irish music is a real dance music, and there's a real thump in it.

There's a vibe.

So we play very high-energy stuff and we have a nice blend of stuff, I feel.

But it seems to reach the audiences with the -- They don't necessarily know what they're listening to, but they seem to enjoy it, so... So we catch you in the midst of a U.S.

tour.

Um, what else is on the horizon for you all?

Well, this is a coast-to-coast tour.

We're literally West Coast to East Coast, and we're down from Phoenix all the way up as far as Vancouver.

So it's top to bottom and coast to coast.

Um, we're also -- We're in Europe often kind of sporadically in and out, in and out.

And we've got a lot of bus tours and stuff that, uh, a lot of fan bus tours.

So anyone that hears us here and thinks, "I want to see Ireland, I want to have some locals show us around Ireland," we're the guys to show you around.

So we're kept busy.

Kept busy always.

We'll try something -- Uh, we'll try a nice slow one.

This one is called "Gillian's Waltz.'

And, uh, we might even be joined by a couple of special guests afterwards.

You have no idea what I mean, though.

I mean, there was a big shout there.

It might have been a team of elephants brought on from something.

Please introduce our Siberian tigers.

Yes.

Those of you on the stage, please don't move at all.

They're very, very dangerous.

[ Playing "Gillian's Waltz" ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] 2, 3, 4.

[ Upbeat traditional Irish music playing ] [ Audience clapping rhythmically ] ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you very much.

Give it up for the School of Irish dance.

What do you hope audiences take away from your performance?

Merch.

[ Laughter ] I don't know.

It's all about having a good time, you know, falling into the music.

Um, we like to just -- We kind of feed off the audience.

So if they're into it and they're getting -- We kind of up it a level and then hopefully they can kind of keep up with us.

And, um, you know, if there's dancers in the audience, we get them to come up and dance.

Sure.

It's all about having fun, and it's kind of that communal atmosphere.

Davis: Almost feels like you're trying to re-create that "seven nights a week at the pub" feeling, right, of, like, your hometown pub or your hometown bar, where everyone knows each other and there's, like, a great, great atmosphere to kind of take that and export it out to the world.

You close your eyes and you go to a place that it doesn't matter if you were playing in the pub or playing in front of 10,000 people, you go to the same place, you know, and that translates out to the crowd.

And they seem to be kind of brought to this place as well.

A lot of the sets we play are quite long, and we'll probably string seven or eight reels in a row together.

Um, and the audience doesn't know any of the tunes, but it's the sort of build of the energy and the kind of way it's constructed that, um, I guess we hope lands in the audience, even though they aren't necessarily familiar with the music, um, specifically.

Davis: Yeah.

Yeah.

Socks in the Frying Pan, thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks, everybody, for coming out.

Thanks for having us.

[ Cheers and applause ] Please do give us a like on Facebook and Instagram and follow on the e-mail list.

We're nearly at our -- our goal of a million followers, About 900,000 short, so we're nearly there.

[ Laughter ] [ Upbeat traditional Irish music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Audience clapping rhythmically ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you very much, everybody.

Oh, you'd like one more?

[ Cheers and applause continue ] Thank you so much.

Thanks so much, everybody.

We'll finish with this one.

Thanks to everybody in Iowa.

PBS, thanks for having us.

Thanks for all of you for coming out.

We are Socks in the Frying Pan and we'll see you again.

[ Upbeat traditional Irish music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Audience clapping rhythmically ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

Thanks so much, everybody.

We are Socks in the Frying Pan.

Thank you so much, everybody.

We'll see you again.

1, 2, 3, 4.

[ Upbeat traditional Irish music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Do you think you've got one big cheer left in you for the night?

[ Audience cheers ] Okay, let's coordinate this one.

We'll get it all together.

So... So we go 1, 2, 3, 4.

Yeah?

We can all count that far?

If not, just go to two twice.

Okay, here we go.

1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4.

[ Audience cheers loudly ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Thank you so much, everybody.

See you again.

Davis: "Studio 3 Live" is also available as a podcast.

Get it wherever you get your podcasts.

Funding for "Studio 3 Live" is provided by... Woman: Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, where employees from over 20 countries speak over 20 languages, is committed to enriching the lives of all Iowans by funding strong communities and diverse cultural organizations.

Learn more at prairiemeadows.com.

Man: Funding for this program was provided by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation, as well as generations of families and friends who feel passionate about the programs they watch on Iowa PBS.

Davis: Next time on "Studio 3 Live," it's Socks in the Frying Pan.

You close your eyes and you go to a place that it doesn't matter if you were playing in a pub or playing to 10,000 people, you go to the same place.

That translates out to the crowd, and they seem to be kind of brought to this place as well.

[ Upbeat traditional Irish music playing ] ♪♪ [ Electricity hums ]