WHEN David Murphy celebrated his fortieth birthday nine years ago, musical magic was made.<\/p>\n
Lachie Murphy said a few of the Dunnstown party guests set up their instruments and jammed the night away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a lot of fun, and so we kept going. My cousin, Sean, brought along a mandolin which really gave an Irish flavour, and with that, we discovered our style,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA year later, we got our first gig at St Patrick\u2019s Day in Bacchus Marsh… and kept playing at pubs, functions, weddings, and footy club dos.\u201d<\/p>\n
The band, Old Melbourne Road, gigged enough to save money to tour Ireland; \u201cthe best experience of our lives,\u201d before taking a break in 2019.<\/p>\n
But in 2020, OMR was \u201craring to go\u201d again, building a studio in Dunnstown and recording an album, which they\u2019ll launch this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a mixture of the old classic covers that we used to play, adding our own flavour to the mix. There\u2019s a lot of traditional Irish and Australian folk songs, with our own folk-rock twang.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been mixed and produced by my brother, Pat Murphy, who plays electric guitar in the band and has been able to add his psychedelic, grungy feel,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a handful of covers we\u2019ve arranged over the last couple of years. We\u2019re really proud and excited to get them out.<\/p>\n
A back-up singer and multi-instrumentalist, Murphy is looking forward to officially celebrating the album with the community on Saturday, 17 April at Warrenheip\u2019s The Cabaret Club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll play the album in full, as well as a few classic songs people have come to know, learn and like.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s feel-good, upbeat Irish music, in a style we love, that can resonate with everyone, and get you up and going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n