Gaelic Storm is a Celtic band formed in 1996 when Patrick Murphy and Steve Wehmeyer joined Steve Twigger and Brian Walsh to perform at O'Brien's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Santa Monica, California. They subsequently appeared in the movie Titanic (1997) as the steerage band, performing "An Irish Party in Third Class". This gained them a lot of popularity, and the band has been touring around the world since, playing over 120 shows a year. They have released nine studio albums and two compilation albums, which have consistently ranked high on the Billboard World Music Charts.
The group infuses traditional Irish and Scottish music with modern influences like rock, country and folk. Their signature style incorporates a wide variety of traditional instruments, and their songs contain playful and easy-going lyrics. Current band members are founding members and Vocal Tag Team Patrick Murphy (accordion, various other instruments) and Steve Twigger (guitar, various other instruments), Ryan Lacey (percussion, various other instruments), Peter Purvis (pipes and whistle) and Katie Grennan (fiddle, vocals).
Tropes applying to Gaelic Storm or their music:
- Audience Participation Song: "Me and the Moon". During concerts, the audience is encouraged to shout the lines "I brought the whiskey!" and "I brought the light!" Those on the "whiskey" side hold up shot glasses while those on the "light" side hold up their cell phones to produce light.
- Call-Back: Though song "Don't Let the Truth Get in the Way (of a Good Story)" is a long string of completely implausible fish tales, there's a noticeable Beat after the line "I was in some blockbuster movie and I didn't make a dime."
- Car Meets House: "What's the Rumpus?" has the line "Something running in the kitchen and it might have been my car!" Given that everyone was drunk, Car most likely Met House.
- Celebrity Song: "The Night I Punched Russell Crowe"
- Chronological Album Title: Tree (as in, three-in-an-Irish-accent)
- Concept Album: Every song on The Boathouse is about sailing and the sailor's life.
- "Days of the Week" Song: "Hello Monday" mentions Thursday, Sunday, and Monday.
- Drunken Song: Too many to list.
- Familiar Soundtrack, Foreign Lyrics: In the The Sims 2 expansion pack "Bon Voyage", the "World" radio channel features a Simlish version
of "Scalliwag". - Feghoot: The entire plot of "Darcy's Donkey" seems to be an excuse to toast to Darcy's ass.
- Gargle Blaster: "Johnny Jump Up".
- Homesickness Hymn: "I Miss My Home" is a lighthearted variation on the theme, where the narrator travels to Dublin, Paris, and New York City. Despite getting his fill of drink, women, and merriment at each new place, he constantly dreams about returning home.
- Self-Titled Album: Their debut album in 1998.
- The One That Got Away: "Lover's Wreck"
-
Throw It In!: Patrick Murphy started laughing when singing the last line of the song "Kelly's Wellies". He can be heard apologizing for messing up the take, but in fact the laughter just makes the ending that much better, and was left in. - Tomato Surprise: A very mild example in "Go Home Girl", in that it doesn't really change the narrative any, but it does lend a slightly humorous new layer to it. Having spent the song trying to gently turn down a girl who's become infatuated with him, the gypsy narrator reveals in the last line that the girl is eight years old.
- Revolving Door Band: Except for founding members Patrick Murphy and Steve Twigger.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: "Green Eyes, Red Hair" is all about this. The woman in question overlaps with Fiery Redhead too.
- Unreliable Narrator: The chorus of "Johnny Tarr" invokes this by warning the listener not to trust the singer.
- Went to the Great X in the Sky: The song "Never Drink Em Dry (Johnny Tarr's Funeral)" mentions that Johnny has gone to "the pub way up in the sky."
