The month of March for Irish Americans is a time of celebration. It’s a month where we celebrate our ancestry by wearing green under our cable knit sweaters while be don scally caps, where we dine on corned beef and soda bread and our lifeblood is Guinness and Jameson.
The music that moves us — whether it be our legs for dancing, our elbows for drinking or our soul for stirring — ranges from the restored catalogs of The Clancy Brothers and The Wolfetones and the punk anthems of The Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. In fact, go on Spotify or any streaming platform and you’ll be inundated with a plethora of music filled with referencing pubs and drinking underscored with accordions and bagpipes is staggering.
Yet, there are few modern musicians who seem to truly grasp the spiritual side of Irish music (yes, that’s an indirect Point Break reference). Jersey Shore musician Sean Tobin, however, does.
Sean Tobin first came into this writer’s purview when his latest single, ‘Saint Patrick’s Day Forever’ popped on my Instagram feed. The song is quite simply — perfect. It’s not only a raise the pint and slam a shot back pub anthem, it’s also a tale of hardship, heartbreak, struggle and Guinness during the pandemic at the Jersey Shore. The song everything good Irish music does — it takes you on an emotional journey that speaks to a realistic human experience.
This is what separates Sean Tobin from the rest of the musicians you might hear only on playlists during Saint Patrick’s Month. Tobin is more than a singer crafting songs to play in pubs during the high holy month. He’s a musician that embodies the spiritual side of Irish music — the storytelling, the connection to real human experience, the wry humor and the balance between hope and heartbreak.
Diving deeper into his catalog (with his band Boardwalk Fire) you’ll discover Tobin is more akin to the sonic and lyrical stylings of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan than The Clancy Brothers and Dropkick Murphys. So while the man may have created an iconic Saint Patrick’s Day anthem, the real soul of this singer lies in the storytelling of his songcraft. And that doesn’t capture the true essence of the music from Ireland than a tin whistle and countless references to whiskey and beer.
We caught up with Sean Tobin to talk about his new EP Saint Patrick’s Day Forever, the lessons he learned busking on the streets of Galway, and his hopes for the future as he prepares for his Saint Patrick’s Day show at Finnegan’s Pub in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Year I Started Performing Live: 2012
The Boardwalk Fire Is (Band Members, Where We’ve Seen Them Before & Instruments They Play):
Jack Breslin – Bass: Jack Breslin Trio; Sylvana Joyce and the Moment; BWQ; The Manimals; SPK; Gerry Rosenthol Trio; James Calleo Trio
David Patiño – Drums: Day at the Fair; Chris Schulz and the Barren Pines
Sean-David Cunningham – Violin: Gerry Rosenthol Trio; Christina Alessi and the Toll Collectors; Sylvana Joyce and the Moment
Jake Garbee – Banjo/Accordion/Mandolin/Guitar: The Bantry Boys; Last Pint
*Year We Formed: 2019 (Jack and David); 2020 (Sean-David and Jake)
*Platforms You Can Buy/Stream Our Music: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music, Deezer, Pandora, BandCamp.
My Sound Has Been Likened To: Gaslight Anthem, Lucero, Flogging Molly, Bruce Springsteen
Famous/Rad Bands We’ve Shared the Stage With: Frank Turner, Rhett Miller (of The Old 97’s)
“Saint Patrick’s Day Forever” is your latest single you dropped and quite frankly, it’s my new jam. I absolutely love it. Can you talk about the inspiration for this song?
The lockdown of 2020 nearly drove me insane, but I kept my composure. I would spend a lot of my time exercising, walking or going for long drives. Anything to get out of my apartment. One spring day near the end of May, I found myself driving down Main Street in Belmar. The avenue was still painted green from the town’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, as we went into quarantine not long after the festivities. Stores were decorated in shamrocks, and the Irish flag was still waving in the air. “It’s St. Patrick’s Day Forever,” I said to myself before driving over the drawbridge. The rest flowed from pen to paper.
Saint Patrick’s Day Forever is not only your latest single, but the title of your four song EP which dropped last month. Can you talk about why you decided to do an Irish themed record, which includes a cover of “Dirty Old Town?”
I’ve always considered the music I play to be folk rock, a kind of middle ground between coffee house and dive bar. A lot of what I play, and write, is influenced by the music I grew up on–which was often Irish folk. After releasing two records’ worth of rock n’ roll, I needed to release something that represented my Irish American upbringing. I was raised on The Wolfe Tones, Springsteen, Merle Haggard and Jimmy Buffett, and I intend to honor each of those influences.
Ireland is a big part of your life as you spent a few years busking in Galway. Can you talk about the experience of performing on the streets of Galway and what that experience taught you as a musician?
I think busking is the best way to bite your teeth into music. Performing for people who by know means are there to hear you– commuters, tourists and other passersby– is a great teacher of humility. Busking taught me the art of projection, which is why I have a hard time playing quietly now, as well as how to entertain folks who didn’t even realize they wanted to be entertained. tt taught me to not care about being ignored, which is most often the case on rainy winter days. It also taught me about the power of community, networking and general communication with other artists; if you want to get a good spot on the street, you better be able to ask for it.
Also, can you regale us with some of the funniest or wildest moments you had during your time busking?
Galway is home to 475 pubs– about one pub per every 500 people. That said, late night busking saw its share of characters. College students asking to join in on a song on the way home from the bars, hecklers tipping me with liquor…the list goes on. One of the most fun moments was a bride-to-be having a hen party (a bachelorette party). Her future-mother-in-law came up to me and asked me to play “something about prison” because of the future marriage. I laughed and played “Folsom Prison Blues” while the women danced in the street, and a few passersby joined in.
How did your time in Ireland (outside of busking) influence your music in regards writing, performing and even approaching/understanding music?
Living in Ireland opened my eyes to the Irish as a people. In the States, a lot of Irish-Americans associate their heritage with idealized revolutionary, freedom-fighting, sad-song-singing ancestors. While much of this is true, most folks I met and became friends with in Ireland– family included– don’t associate so much with the rebel rousers of yesteryear. The protest songs that I was raised on were, in many ways, void, and new writing styles were emerging often tinged with hip-hop and electronic beats. WIth that said, I was infatuated with the dry, tongue and cheek writing styles of the songwriters I’d meet, hear on the radio or listen to in a pub (Roisin Dubh was my go-to listening space). I decided to take some of that humor and use it in my own writing, which is where much of “St. Patrick’s Day Forever” and “Ode to Anna Liffey’s” derived from.
How have you been dealing, as a creative, during this time where live streams and the infrequent socially distanced outdoor show are your only means of performing your music?
I miss people. I love making new friends and talking to strangers at shows, so the pandemic has quite literally taken that from me. But at the same time, the live streams I’ve been doing have allowed me to find audiences across borders and even oceans, which I wasn’t able to do playing circuits on the east coast pre-pandemic. The down time has also allowed me to write…a lot. I have a huge backlog of songs now that I’m dying to put out.
Will we be seeing a new full length coming from the band within the next year?
Possibly, but I think there might be some downtime between now and the next full-length. I don’t want to half-ass anything, but I’d expect 2022 to be a big year.
Obviously, Asbury Park is the heart and soul of the Jersey music scene. What’s one positive change you’d like to see in the scene once it can safely come back to 100% efficacy?
I’d love to see a new venue open west of the tracks. The circuit on the boardwalk is fantastic, but there’s a lot more to Asbury Park than the beach.
If someone wants to check you out for the first time what song would you recommend they check out in order to fully understand what the band is out about either lyrically or sonically — and why?
“Suburbanite.” That track is quintessentially me. It’s about my home, my friends, my life– and it’s influenced by all the bands that made me want to pursue music as a career.
Finally, what are your creative plans for the rest of 2021?
I’m taking things day by day. For now, pen to paper– more creation.
