THE TRUE HISTORY OF BLOOD OR WHISKEY
· June 1993 - In Tramore, Co Waterford, Barney sees Shane Magowan among the crowd after a Pope's gig and tries to sell him some songs. Excuse me Picasso, would you like to buy a painting? Shane says no thanks. What a surprise!
· September 1993 - The original three band members, Barney, Kevin Murray and Colm Gallagher begin practising the bands three songs in a bedroom.
· December 1993 - Pat Gallagher joins the band on Mandolin, he suggests the name, Blood Or Whiskey. Everyone agrees to it.
· March 1994- Barney meets Dugs and Damien Bowden and they come and play their songs at the next practice. They join the band.
· May 1994- Chris O' Meara joins on drums.
· Sept 1994 - Bands first gig in a local pub. No amps, only three vocal mikes. The set list only has ten songs so the band play the same set three times. Nobody seems to notice.
· Sept 1994 - Pat Gallagher leaves the band.
· Oct 1994 - Niall Bowden joins the band on bass.
· March 1995 - Blood Or Whiskey start playing acoustic sessions in The White Horse pub in Dublin every Thursday night.
· September - 1995 Kim Fowley, former manager of The Runaways and general international music guru wanders into The White Horse pub and asks the band to do some demos with him.
· October 1995 - First BOW album is recorded in three gruelling days in Sun Studios, Dublin. Kim Fowley and Pat Dunne produce it.
· January 1996 - Blood Or Whiskey get signed to Sound Records, Sligo.
· June 1996 - First Blood Or Whiskey CD is finally released! The press ignores it! The radio stations won't play it cos Dugs swore on some songs and venues refuse to book them due to Barneys voice which they claim is " too harsh " for the public!
· July 1996 - Damien Bowden (banjo) leaves BOW (Now in Switzerland)
· August 1996 - Paul Walshe joins on Banjo.
· Sept 1996 - Band go to Sweden, Germany and Denmark on tour but all the Irish Bar owners want is cover versions of standard Irish folk songs. Barney looses two stone and gets pneumonia. Everyone else has a great time.
· March 1997 - Niall Bowden leaves (Now living in Australia)
· May 1997 - Sean O' Neill joins on bass.
· July 1997 - BOW headline huge festival in St Nazaire with Ronnie Drew, The Wolfetones and Stocktons Wing.
· August 1997 - Following the bands refusal to record an album of cover versions of standard Irish folk songs, BOW finally split from Sound Records.
· Sept 1997- March 1999 - Band embark on never ending (or getting anywhere) tour of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They want to bring the music to the people. The people are not impressed, they want "Whiskey In The Jar" and "Fields Of Athenry". The band starts to hate the people. The people respond with "you can't be any good or you wouldn't be playing in our home town". The tour ends. Sean O' Neill leaves the band.
· April 1999 - Tom Touhy joins on bass. Third time lucky?
· Sept 1999 - BOW play their first US gig in Lowell, Massachusetts thanks to Frank Morey and others.
· November 1999 - BOW get signed to Rejected Records in Dublin.
· February 2000 - Band takes time off to write and record that " difficult " second album. · March 2000 - Band discovers that Tom Touhy can actually sing.
· June 2000 - Recording begins, Dennis Buckley is the producer.
· July 2000 - Colm Gallagher (tin whistle) leaves.
· June 2001 - Second album " No Time To Explain " is launched in Eamonn Dorans, Dublin.
· August 2001 - BOW begin first US tour, it is a great success and no one asks for "Whiskey In The Jar"!
