The Donegal X-Press www.dxplive.com he Donegal X-Press (pronounced 'dä-ne-gäl) has emerged as one of the premiere Irish-American “Mixing traditional Irish instruments, roots rock groups in the country. This high-energy, melodies and themes with good old fashioned T American rock music, the X-Press have risen six-piece outfit has gained praise and fans from New York above being merely a ‘bar band’ and have to Ireland, Baltimore to Nashville and beyond. The Donegal proven themselves to be true artists with a X-Press (DXP) blends unique combinations of traditional unique vision.” Irish music with American country and blues, folk and rock, rhythm and funk, which John O’Regan of Roots Magazine — Music Monthly calls, “...creative ferocity not seen since The Clash’s London Calling period.” “The Donegal X-Press is the latest example Brad Dunnells (guitar and vocals) and Jason Tinney of a band infusing a well developed musical sound with Irish traditional music creating (harmonica and vocals) began collaborating and writing something superior.” songs in the late 1990s with the hope of rejuvenating Irish-American music. With this partnership, the Donegal — Dirty Linen Magazine X-Press was formed and it wasn’t long before the band’s popularity and musical dimensions began to grow. Build- Black 47, Gaelic Storm, Solas, The Wolfe Tones and Liam ing on a core of traditional Irish pub songs, the Donegal Clancy. DXP has also written and produced six albums of X-Press added original songs and popular covers to their original music: Whiskey, Bars, A-Go-Go; Quinn’s Diaries; live set, creating a stage performance that can be enjoyed Translations; Stand Alone; Father O’Leary’s Memorial Boys by a wide variety of audiences. Club; and Paid Off the Boom. In the years since its formation, the group has gone from In 2000, the Irish Voice (NYC) named the group among boozy bar crowds to sharing the stage with artists such as their “Best of 2001” and eventually dubbed them “Artist of The Saw Doctors, The Young Dubliners, The Prodigals, the Year.” In that same year, Brad Dunnells was the first American to the win the National Song for Peace Contest held in Cork, Ireland. The first place winner, “Omagh,” is featured on Quinn’s Diaries. In 2001, Donegal X-Press was named “Best Band” in the Baltimore City Paper’s Readers’ Poll. The band continues to tour regularly, bringing their high- energy live shows to pubs, music festivals, and concert halls up and down the east coast. Some of the more high-profile Irish festivals in which the band has performed include the Dublin Ohio Irish Festival, The Syracuse Irish Festival, the New York Guinness Fleadh, the Springfield Massachusetts Irish Festival, the Hartford Connecticut Irish Festival, and the Baltimore Irish Festival. Live shows always include a healthy mix of traditional Irish standards mixed with Celtic Rock and American Roots Rock covers. A typical DXP set features a diverse array of styles ranging from the Pogues to the Allman Brothers, U2 to jigs and reels. The band’s recorded material, which also encompasses a wide variety of musical influences, can be sampled and purchased on iTunes as well as the band’s website. CONTACT:B. Dunnells, Production Manager dxplive entertainment 752 Bon Haven Drive • Annapolis, MD 21401 photo courtesy of Heather Coburn 410.262.1965 • [email protected] QUICK FACTS The Donegal X-Press www.dxplive.com Band Members Brad Dunnells – guitar and vocals Jason Tinney – harmonica and vocals Laura Hein – keyboard and vocals Jeff Malcom – bass Skye Sadowski – fiddle and vocals Jeff Trueman – drums Albums Whiskey, Bars, A-Go-Go (1995) Quinn’s Diaries (2000) Rosemary Nelson (single, 2000) Translations (2001) Stand Alone (2004) Father O’Leary’s Memorial Boys Club EP (2007) Paid Off the Boom (2012) Festivals Baltimore Irish Festival Celebrate Fairfax (VA) DC Shamrock Festival Dublin (OH) Irish Festival Hartford Irish Festival New York City Guinness Fleadh Springfield (MA) Irish Festival Syracuse Irish Festival Airplay WTMD (Baltimore) WRNR (Annapolis) WFUV (New York) Celtic Lounge Radio (celticlounge.com) all photos courtesy of Heather Coburn The Donegal X-Press www.dxplive.com Take a Ride With BY TIFFANY ARNOLD, REPRINTED FROM the Donegal X-Press THE HERALD MAIL, SEPTEMBER 25, 2008 onegal X-Press makes along Carroll Creek. Two of the tainment value. In the late music that straddles the band’s members, fiddler Skye 1990s, Donegal built a following Atlantic, with one foot Malcom and harmonica player at Mick O’Shea’s Irish Pub, a in Nashville and the other Jason Tinney, are from Charles Street bar in Baltimore, in Ireland. Frederick. and has since recorded several But there’s no identity crisis Two of the band mates trace albums and gained respect from here. their ancestry to Ireland, music critics in Irish and roots- music circles. Donegal stains its American- Dunnells says. roots-rock sound with Irish- Based in Baltimore, the six- Dunnells says the band would style music. The end result, piece band has gone from gig- like more exposure. says founder and frontman ging as a performing arts While the band is getting spins Brad Dunnells, is something spoof—an improv-style, Irish, on college radio and listener- closer to alt-country. vaudeville sketch that evolved supported stations, they’re not Donegal X-Press will perform from band mates’ theater-major getting much love from bigger in Frederick tonight, the last days at Towson University—to commercial stations—one of the show in the city’s Alive @ Five a bona fide band that prioritizes drawbacks of being unsigned, music-and-happy-hour series musical integrity over enter- Dunnells said. WITH BRAD DUNNELLS OF THE DONEGAL X-PRESS How often do you guys get ket your band to a crowd that I know alt-country has a to Ireland? may or may not know about you. home out here in Western I just got back last week. I was Maryland. What’s it like in I’ve heard that Irish fans and Charm City? there about 10 days with my American fans like different wife. We were in the Galway, things. What was your expe- There’s a big love for singer- Connemara, region. We weren’t rience coming from America songwriter stuff. There’s defi- there with the band. The last to Ireland? nitely a body of people who like time the band was there was it here. in 2002 or 2003. We went over They were interested in Ameri- there for a competition to pro- can roots music. They wanted to So what’s next for The mote peace in Northern Ireland. hear Allman Brothers stuff. Donegal X-Press? It was great. We ended up win- There are some obvious We haven’t done an album in ning. We were the first American country influences in your a couple of years. The last one band to win. The Songs for Peace songs, though there are was in 2007, but that was more Contest, was the name of it. points where you seem kind like an EP. I think we’re going to take some time to rebrand What was the reception like? of anti-(country). What’s the deal with that? ourselves, really go more in the Was it different from here in direction of alt-country. the states? I’d say we do alt-country. Not It was very warm. It was kind so much polished Nashville. of a different setting, being a ... You’re pretty much going to festival, so everyone was really hear the meat and potatoes of excited about seeing you. On a American music: blues, rock and tour, you’re really trying to mar- country. The Donegal X-Press www.dxplive.com The Donegal X-Press BY JOANNA K. LUBBES, REPRINTED FROM FIND IT FREDERICK, FALL 2008 o put it simply, Donegal X-Press is Irish-American Roots Rock. But what exactly does that mean? That is harder to explain. For Donegal X-Press, or DXP Tas those familiar with the band might refer to it, the decided genre runs the gamut of traditional Irish songs to upbeat rock to country and blues mixed with fiddles and harmonica. Original members Brad Dunnells and Jason Tinney began playing together in college, testing the waters with time-honored Irish folklore and drinking songs. The Donegal X-Press www.dxplive.com Fish Bowl Blues REPRINTED FROM STYLE, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 hen our Baltimore bar band Donegal X-Press turned 10 this year, we decided to cele- brate the milestone with a party and special afternoon performance at the joint where it all Wstarted, Mick O’Shea’s on Charles Street. We sprung for a nice spread—platters of wings, shrimp and crab dip. Friends, family, and fans who had been coming out since the beginning showed up and listened to us “try to fake it one more time.” ALBUM REVIEW The Donegal X-Press www.dxplive.com Quinn’s Diaries ALBUM REVIEW The Donegal X-Press www.dxplive.com Stand Alone DXP Rewrite Irish American Rock FROM “OFF THE RECORD” BY MIKE FARRAGHER, IRISH VOICE – SEPTEMBER 2004 aryland Irish band DXP won Irish Voice DC of the year in 2001. They return with a great new DC and refuse to be labeled simply as Celtic rock. ALBUM REVIEW The Donegal X-Press www.dxplive.com Translations.