Momus and the Fomorians - Samhain MMVI

Tim Cole and I were definitely on a roll musically in 2006 and it didn't stop at Beltaine. He had written more songs and we started planning for Pennsic. I hoped we might even be able to enter the music competition at the Chalkman if we could get Ned to come out as well. Nearer to home more folks were starting to get interested in playing with us and we had a steady stream of visitors at our various practice / recording sessions.

By Pennsic we still didn't have a name, but Ned had decided to come out so we dashed up to the Chalkman as soon as we rolled in and they needed to call us something, so we used a mash-up of Tim's moniker, Momus, and the name of an ancient race of giants from Irish mythology and announced ourselves as "Momus and the Fomorians". The story behind that name is kinda funny if you're interested its posted here.

After Pennsic I started to compile recordings for a CD to be given out at the Samhain event (which happens in late October). I had even typed up some liner notes for it which I will include here.

Greetings All! Momus and the Fomorians have not been idle since Pennsic, and enclosed you'll find a CD of some of the things we've been working on since Beltaine. Many more tunes have been posted to the podcast which you can find at the Book of Song (link below), but sometimes you've just got to pick a few! Many of the songs on this CD (as well as on our Beltaine MMVI CD) were written by Tim Cole. Other tunes are old favorites, or songs that we have discovered together over this last year. Lyrics for songs on both CDs can be found at the Book of Song site.
  1. Dig It – written by Momus about taking the head of the boar after the Samhain feast, burying it and digging it up the following year to create a drinking vessel. In honor of the song, we buried the remains of this year's pig roast in anticipation of next Samhain! [Tim, Nate]

  2. Faellon's Cellar – written by Momus. Momus once lived with Faellon and Colin and I assume the song to be semi-autobiographical. [Tim, Nate, Ned]

  3. Whiskey You're the Devil – Irish traditional [Nate]

  4. Dennis Murphy's / The 42 Pound cheque – after the Planxty version of these traditional Irish tunes [Nate, Aonghus]

  5. Where Now – a J.R.R. Tolkien poem I set to music many years ago for use at events [Nate]

  6. Cruiscin Lan – Irish traditional, a song about a little jug [Nate, Tim]

  7. My Maggie / Craeme de Minthy – two traditional Irish fiddle tunes found by Ned. He collects old fiddle tunes [Ned]

  8. Follow Me Up to Carlow – after the Planxty version of this song about a battle in 1588 in which the Irish defeated an English force 3000 strong. The words were written by Patrick Joseph McCall (1861-1919). [Nate]

  9. The Wig – a traditional Irish slip jig in 9/8 found by Ned. I was not able to play this as fast as Ned wanted to play it, it is done here with guitars and synthesizer. [Nate]

  10. The Rose of Tralee – traditional Irish tune. [Nate]

  11. Grace's Mexican Train – an original composition by Ned about a type of dominoes game that his wife likes to play with my dad. They always end up arguing about the rules... Ned decided to put this on a short CD of tunes he composed since Pennsic which might be in this package too. [Ned]

  12. Into the Drink – a double entendre original by Momus. Quickly becoming a favorite, Momus plays the tin whistle on this one, something he has picked up only since Pennsic. [Nate, Tim]

  13. Far Over Yon Hills – a tune I found in “Seventy Scottish Songs" by Helen Hopekirk which is a collection of Scottish songs collected in the late 1800s, some of which are probably much older. This one is a favorite of Aonghus [Nate]

  14. Barrett's Privateers – a 70s tune by Stan Rogers which is entirely fictional, though historically based on early 1800s privateering. I only do the first three verses, I'm not sure why I ended throwing this on there – I think mainly to familiarize you all with the tune because I want to play it at events in the future? [Nate]

  15. The Rocky Road to Dublin – Irish traditional, after the Clancy version. I'm able to do this much faster now, and I can almost breathe correctly now. This version is one of the first. [Nate]

  16. The Sonnatorrek – a poem from Egil's saga that I put to music years ago for use at events. [Nate]

  17. Counterfeit Money – a comedic original by Momus. [Tim, Nate]

  • YouTube and Twitch

    Music videos I've posted on social media
    2019

  • Thus Sang the Bard at Beltaine

    tunes I wanted to bring to Bardic Circle but never got good recordings for with the group
    2013

  • Bardic Circle - Samhain, MMXI

    Sport and Cate Moran help me carry on without Tim
    2011

  • TdB Bardic Circle Podcast

    All that is left of the podcast which I used to run in iTunes where I posted spippets of practice sessions or other funny stuff
    2010

  • Bardic Circle - Samhain, MMVIII

    more musicians and more merry music making in the medieval inspired genre
    2008

  • Momus and the Fomorians - Samhain MMVI

    More originals by Tim rounded out with lots more Irish and English folk
    2006

  • Comyn's Bardic Closet - Beltaine, MMVI

    Irish and medieval inspired folk tunes with several originals by Tim
    2006

  • NRN - Mostly Covers

    Mostly inspired by Rob, we worked up a lot of actual recognizable covers for a couple summers
    2000

  • Looking For Me

    I'm done screaming
    1998

  • Uruk Hai - Angel of Mercy

    An eclectic miscellany
    1993

  • LVC Sessions

    an EP of sorts produced by Todd of a few songs Ned and I had worked up
    1993

  • PREY

    an EP recorded by John in his basement
    1991

  • The Flying Mollusks

    some more original trip-metal meat puppets inspired material
    1991

  • In the daze of Ralph

    Ned, Todd, and I collaborate. Todd was a large influence here as he had been writing longer.
    1991

  • Identity Crisis

    more attempts at writing songs but perhaps a little angrier
    1991

  • Introspection

    My first attempts at writing songs
    1990

  • Chipmunks on Acid

    A very silly set of songs inspired mainly by my friend John
    1989

  • Me, Him, and the Other Ones

    Merry antics and deep lyrics by Morgan, great guitar work by Erik
    1984