JOE GINNANE
HAND-MADE MUSIC with HEART & SOUL
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Joe Ginnane was born in Chicago, of Irish parents. He spent his childhood in the US, and his adolescence in Co. County Clare, on the wild West coast of Ireland. He got his first guitar at the age of 15, and taught himself with the help of a few older lads who showed him his first couple of chords and songs. His main early influences were singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, as well as groups such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones who wrote and performed their own songs. As soon as he was old enough Joe was playing regularly in the pubs of Limerick, Ennis, Galway, and his “local”, Dirty Nelly’s in Bunratty. Long before MTV patented the term “unplugged”, Joe was playing not only Dylan and Young, but also the songs of rock bands like the Stones, Steppenwolf, The Kinks, and T Rex on his acoustic guitar, aided merely by his voice and harmonicas. He’d been writing poetry and short stories since he learned to read, so it was only natural that he would soon begin writing his own songs: he has written meanwhile over 90 songs and is a voting member of the German GEMA. In the late 70’s Joe was involved in the folk scene in Ireland. He regularly did support for bands like the Fury Brothers and Horslips in Galway, where he lived for two years, as well as in Limerick, and also did spots at Carnsore Point and Lisdoonvarna. After several years Gastronomy and Tourism in Paris and Oxford, and extensive travelling in South-East Asia Joe settled in 1990 in the town of Aschaffenburg. From there he has built up a following in most of Western Germany, playing pubs, clubs, Kneipen from Hannover and Bremen down to Garmisch, and Trier to Bamberg, Nürnberg and on to the Leipzig area. In the summer he concentrates more on the many German festivals, such as: Aschaffenburger Stadtfest, Little Woodstock, Irish Castle Festival with Fiddlers Green, Rock im Hinterland, Mainzer Johannisnacht, das Mühlbergfest, KOMMZ, Miltenberger Altstadtfest, Saarbrückener Altstadtfest, Seligenstadt Stadtfest … His wide-ranging repertoire, rhythmic style, and the ability to get even the most difficult of crowds out of their stupor makes him also popular as a support act for bigger bands such as Smokie, Boppin B., Karat, Blues Brothers … Due to the diversity of his style and repertoire and an ever-growing, ever-changing repertoire of over 1000 songs, he is able to handle wild smoky Student Pubs, Oldie Clubs, “serious” Folk Venues, Weddings and Birthdays, as easily as Open Airs and the growling thirsty masses of a German Stadtfest. As well as the more than 90 songs he’s written himself,
Joe has a “cover” repertoire includes songs by artists as diverse as:
Bon Jovi, The Beatles, Green Day, Linkin Park, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan,
Pink, Joe Cocker, Chris de Burgh, Paul Simon, Robbie Williams, James
Blunt, Tom Petty, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, David Bowie, Amy McDonald,
The Who, Midnight Oil, Johnny Cash, AC/DC, Amy McDonald, The Ramones,
The Killers, Oasis, Milo, CCR, Neil Young, The Stones, John Denver,
Mando Diao,The Eagles, Bloodhound Gang, Van Morrison, Avril Lavigne,
Sting, Springsteen, Clapton, REM, Bryan Adams, Travis, U2, Cindi Lauper,
The Pogues … and naturally a generous portion of Irish folk songs! |