So the last few months of 2008 we quite exciting: we got some new photos, and in the process, Chris broke his leg (which is now completely healed, in case you were wondering.)

In late September/early October we made it to the Grass Valley Celtic Festival again (KVMR Festival), and had a fabulous time!! We got to hear Solas (INCREDIBLE, as always!) We got to play some tunes with the guys from Molly's Revenge, among others, and met all kinds of great people, heard all kinds of great music! We're waiting to hear when the Compilation CD will be available, which will put us on the same recording as those groups named earlier: Solas, Molly's Revenge, Enter the Haggis, Cathie Ryan and more. We'll definitely be posting info about that when we get it!!

In 2009, we are already off to a great start!! On January 17th we are playing in Reno, Nevada (our first out-of-state gig!) at Ceol Irish Pub (website http://www.ceolirishpub.com ).

On the 21st we'll be lending our talents to the "Grand Opening for a Grand Cause" event, which is actually a Benefit for the UC Davis Cancer Center....this event is taking place at the new pub of which we've talked for quite a while: DeVere's Pub in downtown Sacramento, at 16th & L Streets in the old Firestone Building. Tickets for this event can be purchased here: http://www.mixdowntown.net/
DeVere's was originally slated to open back in September, but things took much longer than expected, and they are just now getting close. As of yesterday, Jan.13, they were still installing equipment, finishing the floors, etc. So Wednesday Jan.21 will be a "soft" opening, but the Grand Opening to the public will be on Friday, January 30th. Nine-8ths Irish will be on hand for that as well, with tunes starting around 7:30pm. Then on February 8th, Sunday, we'll be having the first DeVere's Pub Irish Session. This session promises to be a fun one - it will take place the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month, from 4pm until 7:30 or so. We'll be advertising this as an Advanced Fast Session, so newbies beware.
DeVere's imported the bar from Ireland, and will serve a wide variety of beers (including two specially brewed for DeVere's, an Irish lager and Irish ale), as well as an impressive list of whiskeys, including Scotch and Irish whiskey. They will also have an extensive menu of food items, pub grub and such. Check out their website for all the information: address, map, drink list, menu, etc: http://www.deverespub.com

More excitement for N8i in 2009 comes in the form of a couple of festivals to which we have been invited. First in mid-March is the Sonora Celtic Faire, which puts us on the same bill as Wicked Tinkers, Tempest, and some old friends from Texas: Needfire!! Check the Festival website for directions, schedule and other details: http://www.sonoracelticfaire.com

Next is a bit further into the year - we've been invited to travel to Dayton, Ohio for the July 4th weekend to be a part of their CityFolk Festival, three days of concerts, workshops, fireworks, and the like! If you happen to be in the area and want to drop by, check their website for details: http://www.cityfolk.org/festival/

We're planning on getting back into the studio some time this spring, perhaps after the Big Day for anyone who plays Irish music: March 17th, St. Patrick's Day.....we'll add details on what we're doing that day as soon as we have it all worked out, but for now, there are plenty of opportunities to come and see us, even if you're in Ohio!! We are really looking forward to even better things as the year goes by!

Cheers for now.....
Linda, Chris, Bo & Kathy
Nine-8ths Irish
www.nine8thsirish.com

Join Nine-8ths Irish for a Contra Dance on Saturday, November 29th, sponsored by the Sacramento Country Dance Society.

The Contra Dance takes place at the Coloma Community Center, located at 4623 T Street, Sacramento, CA (just off Hwy.50 and east of Stockton Blvd). The dance is scheduled for 8:00 to 11:00pm, with a beginner's workshop at 7:30pm.

LIVE Music will be provided by Nine-8ths Irish (Kathy Barwick, Bo Bowen, Christopher Dunlap, and Linda Relph), one of the Sacramento area's best traditional Irish bands. The dance will be called by Warren Blier. This is a great way to meet people or a wonderful family activity, and good exercise at the same time!!

We request a $10 donation at the door ($5 students, $25 maximum for families).
Beginners attending the 7:30pm workshop will receive a half-off coupon for the next dance.

For additional information on this and other SCDS contra dances, call John or Laura at 916-739-6014 or email SactoCDS@yahoo.com, or visit the Sacramento Area Contradance website at http://www.scds.ca.

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Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, and we'll see you on Saturday with your dancing shoes, ready to enjoy some great people, nice music and dancing!!

Bo, Chris, Kathy & Linda
Nine-8ths Irish
www.nine8thsirish.com
www.myspace.com/nine8thsirish

So the KVMR Grass Valley Celtic Festival is over (9/27-28), where we had a great time, met the members of Solas, and became completed enamored of their new album "For Love and Laughter". And time continues to fly....Linda's birthday has come and gone (10/24, and if you're curious, she's 29 AGAIN!!), Halloween is over (we succeeded in avoiding most of the candy), and we are now heading into a new era with the first African-American president! I'm not sure if that's gonna make any difference, but we'll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, N8i have a few cool gigs coming up. We're entertaining Firemen at the Fireman's Ball in Chico, CA, which is taking place at the famous Big Room at the Sierra Nevada Brewery. It is not a public event, but if you are a firefighter in Butte County, and you see us there, come say hello! We'll be the ones cruising the buffet table, drinking Sierra Nevada beer and acting silly...wait, that could be just about anyone!! OK we'll be the ones with the musical instruments...drinking Sierra Nevada beer and acting silly!!

We are also going to be at the Fox & Goose a few times in both November and December...11/25 and 12/30 are Irish Session nights (the Last Tuesday of the Month session), while 11/13 and 12/26 are Nine-8ths Irish band performance nights.

We're quite excited about the December dates, as the 26th will be the day after Christmas, so we're thinking it'll be a night for everyone to finally relax after the hectic pre-Christmas shopping, the emotional Christmas eve & morning, the stressful Christmas dinner, etc....so what better way to unwind than a few drinks and some Irish music at your favorite pub downtown??! Come as you are, and we'll be happy to see you!!

So if anyone is wondering what to do on Thursday 11/13, or to unwind before Thanksgiving (11/25), or the day after Christmas 12/26 (a Friday night!!), or 12/30 Tuesday, come on down to join us at the Fox & Goose!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Wow it's already nearly fall - there are lots of dead leaves on the ground already, but the temperatures are still comfortable....just about perfect, actually. We've been leaving the windows open, allowing for the great breeze to blow through, and the dogs to bark at every little noise!

The band has been preparing for the KVMR Celtic Festival in Grass Valley...this will be our second year in a row performing at Grass Valley, and this year we will be on the same stage as Solas!! It's going to be very exciting.....

Another thing that happened, as many of you know, is that Chris broke his leg in early August, during the extreme photo shoot that resulted in the picture we are now using as our profile pic. As you can see from the photo, Chris was a bit elevated....and landed wrong as he was coming down off the ledge. Anyway, he's had a cast on his right leg (just below the knee) for nearly 1-1/2 months, and this Thursday, 9/25, he gets that one off, they'll reevaluate the injury and hopefully put on a walking cast. He says this time he's getting it in black to go with his Utilikilt. (The last one was purple.) So you'll have to come see us in Grass Valley to see what color he ends up with!!

To get more info about the KVMR Celtic Festival, visit their website at www.kvmr.org/celticfestival - you may even be able to listen the festival through the website!! We are scheduled to go on at 1:00pm on Saturday, and 11:30am on Sunday. Last year they broadcast our entire first set - it was exciting for us, and we're expecting this year to be even better!!

We were on the schedule for entertainment at the East Sacramento 54th Street Block Party (the 4th Annual) doing our part to help promote the 25th Annual National Night Out!! It was a great gathering - the street was blocked off, people put tables and chairs in their front yards, there were several long tables covered with lots of food, kids and dogs were enjoying themselves, and we had a great time playing in between the Spillit Quickers and the Hypnotic VI. A fire truck arrived to show their support, demonstrating their skill with hoses. The crowds were milling, kids winding their way in and out of legs, beer being drunk, and after the music was all over (by 10pm, of course), we hung out with Vicki and Kevin, the hosts for the evening. A grand time was had by all, and we're really glad we were asked to be part of it! Same time, next year, eh??!!

We're going to be in downtown Sacramento on Thursday night, playing at the Fox & Goose, at 10th & R streets. We'll be trying out some new sets of tunes, and kicking around some old ones as well. We'd love for everyone to join us if you feel like some Irish tunes and maybe an adult beverage....they have quite a selection of beer.
We're also trying to decide on a design for a t-shirt, so if anyone has any suggestions or requests, just drop us a line anytime....you can always visit our website at www.nine8thsirish.com and sign the Guestbook, or just email us at nine8thsirish@nine8thsirish.com.

Music starts at 8:00pm on Thursday at the Fox & Goose, and we'll meet up with y'all there!!

With much fanfare, we are unveiling our brand-new bouncing baby website!! Check it all out at www.nine8thsirish.com. We’ve got new photos (with more to come later), some music (full tracks you can download!), a Blog (a bit easier than this one) and all the other website content!! We have an Electronic Press Kit all put together on SonicBids (for all those festivals and clubs that will be wanting to hire us), a Stage Plot, and other promotional tools. Keep on the lookout for some new N8i stickers, or even possibly a short run of t-shirts!

Of course the website is infinitely being updated, and your opinions and suggestions are welcome. Visit www.nine8thsirish.com to have a look, and remember to support your local independent musicians!

Cheers!
N8i

We are gearing up for our St. Paddy’s Day gigs this entire weekend, and in the process of preparing some more promo, I came across the link to our CD on CDBaby!! We knew it was going to be there eventually, but did not know when. So if you want, just to look at it up there, check out this web address: www.cdbaby.com/nine8thsirish

We hope to see some of you out this weekend - see our Schedule for specifics, but we’ll be in Sac Friday night, Vallejo Saturday night, Grass Valley Sunday night, Willows Monday afternoon, and Colusa Monday late afternoon/evening!! It’s sure to be an Irish-soaked few days, and we’re very excited about dropping bits of "Irish and a Wee Bit More" everywhere we go!!

As they say in Texas, "Slainte, y’all!!"

Hey all, we are starting work on our new website and will be letting you know more as it happens. We are very excited about it, and are asking our fans and friends to give us some ideas to what you would like to see or have on the new site. Looking forward to your responses. Chris Dunlap Bodhran player and session target :)

Our CD release party was last night at the Fox & Goose here in Sacramento, and we had SUCH a great time!! There were quite a few people (more than we expected, I think), and we sold a few CDs (more than we expected, I think!) We played a bit, drank a bit, schmoozed a bit, hugged a bit, laughed a bit, I know a few photos were taken - even though the lighting in the Fox & Goose is not that great - and all in all a good time was had. We made some new friends, and are very appreciative that so many people came out to help us enjoy and celebrate our first CD!! We'll post some photos when we can....Cheers, y'all!!