From The Forest - Album Cover

The Band with Forest Service Friends

The Band with more Forest Service Friends

PRESS RELEASE

The Black Irish Band & United States Forest Service team up to produce music video in celebration of the forest service centennial (100 years of Service)

Sonora, Ca, June 1, 2005

The Black Irish Band, of Sonora, has just completed their new 15 CD album titled “From the Forest’. This new CD features 13 songs that relate to the history of the forest service.  Band songwriter, Patrick Karnahan, composed ten of the selections on the album.  Most of the ballads are in the Folk-Americana Style that has been the trade mark of the 15 year old Black Irish

The album is a musical journey into the lives of those that work in the national forest.  Three original song ballads, Into the Fire, Underneath Montana Skies, and South Canyon 1994, tell of the danger of wild land firefighting. Two song ballads celebrate the very symbol of the forest service, Smokey Bear.  Songwriter, Karnahan, has penned many songs that relate to his employment with the forest service from 1978-1993.

Two song ballads on the album, “The Ballad of John Muir” and Manzanar, were inspired by the history of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Region.   Other feature album ballads include, I’ll see Alaska, Home on the Range, “Boots of a Forester”, and “The last Look” (inspired by a fire tower).

Three of Karnahan’s compositions have been chosen by the Smithsonian Museum to appear on their recording label as part of their forest service celebration CD album.  The museum picked “Into the Fire”, The Ballad of John Muir, and Smokey.

Members of the Black Irish Band have been selected by the Smithsonian Museum to be apart of the two week celebration this summer in Washington D.C.  Starting on June 23 through July 5^th Black Irish members Patrick Karnahan & Jim Nelson will be performing at our nations National Mall in Washington D.C.

A command performance will given by Black Irish members at the Kennedy Center, 8pm, Saturday July 2^nd.  This occasion will mark the Washington D.C screening of the bands first music video of the original song, “Into the Fire”

The video was co-produced by the forest service to honor men & women who fight fires.  Most of the live scenes were shot on location in the Stanislaus National Forest.  In the video over 40 forest service firefighters were featured.