Gregory Grene is bushed, but he cant wait to arrive in Savannah for our fabled St. Patricks Day festivities.
As the principal songwriter, vocalist and accordion player for The Prodigals, Grene has been to Savannah many times, and has played his fair share of gigs here but oddly enough for a group of their persuasion, The Prodigals have never been part of our St. Pats party.
Considering the bands hard-won reputation as the premiere traditional Irish rock band in the U.S. and our citys notoriety for holding one of the largest public celebrations of this most Celtic of holidays, Grene himself finds this anomaly a little hard to fathom.
Ive heard that what you guys do there for the holiday is really amazing, he relates. Like Mardi Gras. I really cant wait. I really, really cant wait!
In fact, in what amounts to one of the stranger itineraries in recent memory, The Prodigals will headline our St. Pats celebration at 1noon on Saturday, and then do the same at 9 p.m. that same evening in Underground Atlanta.
Grene says its not uncommon during this season for The Prodigals to do more playing than sleeping (in the early days of the group they once famously appeared in Chicago, Cleveland and Las Vegas all within a whirlwind 24-hours), but this schedule was dictated solely by their desire to take part in our celebration.
Routing us through Savannah is in a way craziness. But then again, were not really doing it because its logical, or for the money. Were doing it because… Well, hell! Ive always wanted to play Savannah on Pattys Day! (laughs) Thats the truth. Its been a fantasy of ours, he says.
Grene says their ability to maintain their high performance standards are a testament to the sympathetic way in which the current (and relatively new) lineup of the group is gelling onstage.
Thats part of why Im so worn out today, he explains by phone from Florida.
I had all the good intentions of going to bed early, but we were just smokin on stage last night. We were all high on a certain type of amazing energy! Its hard to explain, but if you come down to the show youll see what I mean. Weve had many lineups over the years, but I really feel now like this is the band, with a capital T. You know what I mean?
We simply couldnt do two gigs on the same day in different cities like that unless we were in the middle of this wild experience. Being in the band now is just so intense. Its euphoric, he exclaims.
Lately, the shows have been the kind of experiences most people get maybe twice in their life like on their wedding day and at their own funeral. This band, though, is getting them on a regular basis.
Ironically, the group, which is regularly cited as one of the most innovative bands in their field, has just released a new album titled Momentum, which many critics are calling the best of The Prodigals career.
Its been said that while most of the group grew up in Ireland, their music is based around a pulse and energy that is pure New York. Grene says that might mean different things to different people, but hes sure of what it means to him.
Its something of an Irish melodic backbone with an anarchic spirit. We feel freedom to experiment with our music, and thats pure New York. The city is an odd melting pot. Youve got Little Italy, Little Poland, all these vibrant ethnic communities teetering on top of each other, but coexisting. Not losing their essence.
In our band, there are no rules. If the drummer hears a Samba rhythm or a jazz beat that he thinks would work for the song, he plays it. That might offend some purists, but there are no purists in this band. Were not about gimmicks, but we do try to explore things through music without worrying if anyone will think its proper or not. A little pushing of the envelope is OK. Id rather have the crowd jump a bit than fall asleep! (laughs)
So if thats the spirit of New York, whats his take on the spirit of Savannah?
An intense, amazing city that feels almost like Venice. One of those places thats become a kind of emblem, he says.
Geographically its quite small, but the range of people who come from around the world to imbibe Savannah-ness is quite huge.
The Prodigals play River Streets Arbor Stage noon Saturday.
This article appears in Mar 15-22, 2006.