Exactly twenty two years ago today, January 4th, 1986 Irish rock legend Phil Lynott, who came to fame as the frontman of Thin Lizzy (perhaps best known stateside for their hit The Boys Are Back In Town) died -  of pneumonia and heart failure - apparently the result of  complications from a heroin drug overdose.

And today  many people around the world are honoring the man. Most notable is the big annual 22nd Vibe For Philo: Johnny the Fox meets Jimmy the Weed celebration tonight in Dublin, Ireland at The Button Factory at Curved Street in the Temple Bar district where numerous artists will perform including Cait O'Riordan (formerly with the Pogues),  the tribute band Tizz Lizzy as well as  Satoshi Shibata  - lead guitarist with Japanese  tribute band  The Lizzy Boys. The late singer's mom, Philomena Lynott, will also be on-stage tonight in Dublin.

 Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy (who in recent years reformed but it aint the same without Phil) are one of those bands whose influence is very great and wide with countless Thin Lizzy tribute bands popping up worldwide over the years, as well as numerous bands who do Thin Lizzy covers/tributes including Europe, Motorhead, and Metallica whose cover of Thin Lizzy's version of the old Irish traditional folk song "Whiskey In The Jar" is perhaps better known with American audiences than the Lizzy's 1972 recording - their first hit single which is below in video form (check out the opening which features the Celtic influenced art of modern Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick who did most of Lizzy's album covers)

Well right now my wife is making homemade preserves, and then canning them … I’m not sure who this person is, but I do recognize her in that pair of Levi’s …

Mixology: well I am an old timer, so whenever I here that word, I think of cocktails. Then again, I often think of cocktails. Do you know that one of the oldest known cocktails was first concocted in New Orleans in the 1850’s? Called a Sazerac, it mixes Cognac with bitters. Just useless information I  picked up along the way, back when I ran a
speakeasy in the old country.

So I was thinking that many adult beverages would benefit by a soundtrack, the right
soundtrack. Humankind’s millenniums-long fascination with booze and music (they go hand in hand) is in many respects the zenith of civilization. I bet early humans invented some kind of alcohol long before they discovered fire or invented the wheel or prostitution or god. Perhaps music existed before the advent of booze. I’m not sure. But then came club owners, and it’s been down hill ever since.

 

It is a widely acknowledged thought that I am a man who enjoys his Irish and Scotch Whiskey. As sinful as it sounds, I often like my whiskey with a couple cubes of ice, and sometimes I even enjoy a whiskey with a splash of seltzer, like my man Sinatra.

Here we go, today’s taste:  Jameson Irish Whiskey. The back of the bottle reads, “John Jameson founded his whiskey distillery in Dublin in the year 1780.  All the craft of the centuries-old tradition of making Irish whiskey is used to produce ‘Jameson.’ From the rich countryside of Ireland comes nature’s finest barley and crystal clear water. These natural ingredients are carefully distilled 3 times, and slowly matured for long years in oak casks to create the natural smooth whiskey that is Jameson.”