Casey Neill & the Norway Rats

These are songs with stories well told. This is what its all about - STEVE EARLE One of my true faves- JELLO BIAFRA (This band ) can muster some fearsome energy in concert... - OREGONIAN A masterful songwriter... - PUNK PLANET Soul searing songs...- UTNE READERDISCOGRAPHY Memory Against Forgetting (2005) Daemon Records Live on 11th Street (2004) Mock Turtle Music Portland West (2002) Appleseed Records Skree (2000) Appleseed Records Casey Neill (1998) Appleseed RecordsBIO: Casey Neill is a Portland, OR based songwriter and band leader in the American musical tradition. His music fuses modern rock with punk, and Celtic styles. Living in the Northwest for most of the 90's, Casey cut his teeth in the underground music community of the region. Maintaining an international touring and recording career, he has developed a widespread fan-base throughout the US, Canada, Japan, and Britain. His songs have garnered praise from radio and critics, as well as musical luminaries Jello Biafra, Amy Ray, Pete Seeger, and Steve Earle.In 1995, Casey self released his CD Riffraff - 12 folk punk songs with a political focus. Based on the success of his debut, he was signed to the Appleseed imprint of Red House Records in 1997. A track of his was featured on their Grammy nominated tribute to Pete Seeger, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, alongside interpretations of Pete's songs by Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg, and Ani DiFranco. Appleseed then released his self-titled CD in 1998, Skree in 1999, and the live CD Portland West in 2001. These recordings leaned towards the acoustic side of Casey's music and led to the formation of his Trio. Featuring mandolin player Zak Borden, and Irish flute player Hanz Araki, the Casey Neill Trio blended the original material with bluegrass inspired harmony singing and Irish dance instrumentals. Skree was produced by the late Scots fiddler player Johnny Cunningham and led to a musical collaboration that grew from then on.Johnny encouraged Casey to return to a more electric approach to the songs and began 3 years of work on a CD titled Brooklyn Bridge. It will be released in 2006, and includes the vocal contributions of songwriters Erin McKeown, John Wesley Harding, and the instrumental work of Eric "Roscoe" Ambel of Steve Earle and the Dukes, and Chris Funk and Jennie Conlee of the Decemberists. In the meantime, many of the songs are featured on 2004's live CD Live on 11th Street, named for their watering hole of choice in New York's Lower East Side. It was recorded with the east coast incarnation of the Casey Neill band, his primary touring group for the last few years featuring a full compliment of bass, drums, keys, and guitars. Live on 11th Street was the last show they performed with Johnny Cunningham before he passed away on December 15th, 2003.Casey Neill maintains a rigorous tour schedule with the band and solo. He also performs as guitar accompanyist and singer for many of the top traditional Scottish and Irish touring artists. A CD of archival songs titled Memory Against Forgetting was released in 2005 on Indigo Girl Amy Ray's Daemon label, with Brooklyn Bridge to follow.