The Penguin Rocks logo
The Penguin Rocks Menu


Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Streets of Dublin" by James Deely


By Bob Makin

originally published: 03/15/2024

Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Streets of Dublin" by James Deely

“Streets of Dublin” off longtime Jersey Shore rocker James Deely’s latest album, “This Train Is Running Out of Track,” is Makin Waves Song of the Week. ARTWORK BY BOB NICHOL

With a video literally shot on the streets of Dublin, veteran rocker James Deely’s “Streets of Dublin” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.

The clip for one of several singles from J.D.’s latest album, “This Train Is Running Out of Track,” also was shot in Waterford, Ireland, the home of Waterford Crystal.

As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “Streets of Dublin” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on March 15 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin and Mixcloud.

For years, J.D. fronted a great Long Beach Island-based band called James Deely & the Valiants, who frequently shared bills with the SBK recording act The Red House at The Green Parrot in Neptune and The Stone Pony in Asbury Park.



 
Advertise with The Penguin Rocks for $50-$100 per month, click here for info



Well, “Streets of Dublin” served as a reunion. The Red House singer-songwriter-guitarist Bruce Tunkel once again produced J.D., while Red House drummer Bob Nichol served as graphic designer for the single. As for the Valiants, original drummer James Michael Deveney, laid down the skins.

“So cool to be doing things with them,” J.D. said. “I also did a song with Tony Stives, The Red House’s guitar player, so we are rocking like  1989!“

“Bruce produced the whole record,” he continued. “Anybody who can make this ol’ Irish drunkard sound this good, is a genius! God Bless Ol’ Ireland!“

Family reunions also were involved with “Streets of Dublin.” J.D.‘s cousin Chris Bergen served as the video’s director.

The song and its vid were inspired by a trip to the Emerald Isle J.D. took a few years back with his mom and sister.

“I found myself on the Southern Coast of Ireland in a small port city named Cobh,” he said. “I was on a Bus Coach tour with my Mom and my Sister Mary. In the old days, the town was known as Queenstown, famous for being the last port call for the Belfast-made Titantic before it headed out into the mighty North Atlantic.

“So Me, me Mum and my Sister are there in Cobh, and they have a ship all decked out the way the ships looked back in the day,” J.D. continued. “And my Mom is going around waving this boat manifest, a passenger list she had from when my Great GrandFather, Thomas Deely, boarded one of them ‘Coffin Ships’ bound for America in 1895. Thomas would make his grand entrance into Philadelphia! He, like so many other Irish during that time, headed for distant shores after the Gorta Mor, The Great Hunger.



 
Advertise with The Penguin Rocks for $50-$100 per month, click here for info



“So here we are on the tour, and the tour guide is telling us that the people travelling on these ships would have to come to town two days before the ship left so they could confirm that the passengers were there for the voyage ahead. And I got to thinking, my God, here I am walking the same Irish streets that my Great GrandFather walked so many years ago.”

J.D. already has recorded a follow up to “This Train Is Running Out of Track.” A country song, "Nashville’s Finest," was produced at Sony Studios Nashville by Doc Holiday, whose extensive resume includes work with Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, and Loretta Lynn. The track features E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent.

J.D. heads back to Nashville next month to record another song, then will return to Ireland for more live dates. In September, he will play the Americana Festival in Nashville, whose WMOT radio station has been giving him a lot of airplay.

For more about J.D., visit him on Instagram.

Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at makinwaves64@yahoo.com


 

COLUMNS


Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...3/14/24

"This is a solo show and now that the post COVID touring world is back, I'm basically on a kind of perpetual tour. I take breaks from it but I'm doing a lot of shows now. I'm doing The Lizzie Rose, I might have a couple of other shows on the East Coast in the same vicinity and we're trying to route it so it's not crazy; I prefer driving to flying but yeah, I'm busy," stated guitarist Stanley Jordan as he talked about his two upcoming March 16 shows at The Lizzie Rose Music Room in Tuckerton, NJ, his upcoming new release, influences and more.  




This Week in Music: Previews for Concerts Taking Place from March 12-19, 2024




BlowUpRadio.com's New & Notable NJ Music 3/11/24




Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Digital Carnival" by Jason Didner






 

MORE NEWS

(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Johnny Cash's status as a pillar of American popular culture continues long after his death. What do we know about the man behind the music? Scott Moreau will offer a 50-year panorama of his life and perform the songs that made him famous in "Ultimate Johnny Cash: Late & Alone" at four Ocean County Library branches.


North to Shore Festival presents Keyshia Cole, Trey Songz, K. Michelle, and Jaheim in Atlantic City




+LIVE+, Stone Temple Pilots, and Soul Asylum to Perform in Holmdel




Centenary Stage Company presents Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. and the Legendary Il Sont Partis Band






 

UPCOMING SHOWS


Bruce Springsteen Archives presents "Music America: Iconic Objects from America's Music History" at LBJ Presidential Library

(AUSTIN, TX) - Since the nation's inception nearly two and a half centuries ago, music has informed, interpreted, and inspired our national identity. To celebrate and explore this remarkable heritage, the LBJ Presidential Library and the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University announce the premiere of the exhibition Music America: Iconic Objects from America's Music History. Opening at the LBJ Presidential Library on Saturday, February 17, during Presidents' Day weekend, the exhibition will be on display through August 11, 2024.


Arts Council of Princeton partnering with Stibol Music to provide Music Lessons and Programming




Westminster Conservatory Noontime Recitals presents music for viola and piano




Danny DeVito to narrate Matilda in Concert with the New Jersey Symphony






Advertise with The Penguin Rocks for $50-$100 per month, click here for info


The Penguin Rocks

© 2024 by Wine Time Media, LLC
PO Box 811, Belmar, NJ 07719
info@newjerseystage.com

Presented by New Jersey Stage

Images used on this site have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and PR firms. If there is a problem with the rights to any image, please contact us and we will look into the matter.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and our NJ Stage accounts on Instagram, and Threads


News | Features | Radio Shows | Penguin's Hall of Fame | Song of the Week | BlowUpRadio column

Contact Us | About Us | Submit Music | Ad Rates