Patrick Clifford (born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, 1966) is a

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, and producer of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. Best known as a key member of Four to the Bar—a "well loved and well respected" mainstay of the 1990s New York Irish music scene—he has also released two solo albums: ''

American Wake ''American Wake'' is the third album by Kansas City Celtic rock band The Elders. Track listing # "Moore St. Girls" # "Hardline" # "American Wake" # "St. Kevin" # "Men of Erin Erin is a Hiberno-English word for Ireland originating fr ...

'' and ''

Chance of a Start ''Chance of a Start'' is the second studio album by American Irish folk musician Patrick Clifford, released in 2012. It was named by the Irish Voice newspaper as one of the eight best Irish music albums of 2012.Farragher, Mike (25 December 2012) ...

''. Clifford grew up in

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the uppermost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest natural point on Manhattan by Continental Army troops to defen ...

. Like many contemporary New York Irish musicians, he received his earliest training from the renowned Martin Mulvihill, (on

piano accordion A piano accordion is an accordion equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano or organ. Its acoustic mechanism is more that of an organ than a piano, as they are both aerophones, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido Deiro ...

). His primary instrument with Four to the Bar was the bass, but he also added

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, and accordion to the band's sound, on both stage and recordings. As a songwriter, he wrote two tracks for the band's watershed album, ''

Another Son ''Another Son'' was the second full-length album and final recording by Four to the Bar, released in 1995. The album was a radical departure from their first, 1994's ''Craic on the Road''. The band is listed as producing the album. Engineer Tim ...

'': * "The Western Shore" and * "The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water" (music only). He and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Martin Kelleher Four to the Bar was a "well loved and well respected" American band from New York City during the early to mid-1990s. Band history The Early Days: 1991–1992 Four to the Bar was formed in the working-class/immigrant Irish community of Woodsi ...

are generally credited with the production of both of Four to the Bar's full-length albums; ''Another Son'' is notable for its elegance and ''

Craic on the Road ''Craic on the Road: Live at Sam Maguire's'' was the first full-length album by Four to the Bar, released in 1994. Track listing #I'll Tell Me Ma (Traditional) #Waxie's Dargle/The Rare Old Mountain Dew (Traditional) # My Love's in Germany (Tra ...

'' for its energy and atmosphere.
Profile, including characterization of ''

''. In 1993, he produced ''Sky in My Hand'', the first release by New York

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

/songwriter Liz Dacey. This recording was engineered by

Virgil Moorefield Virgil Moorefield (born August 9, 1956) is a composer and intermedia artist based in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. Moorefield's work focuses primarily on live acoustic performance, electronic processing of acoustic signals, and live visual music ("Fi ...

. In 2008, he recorded, mixed, and mastered ''To the Fray'', an album by the band

Hobnail In footwear, a hobnail is a short nail with a thick head used to increase the durability of boot soles. Uses Hobnailed boots (in Scotland "tackety boots") are boots with hobnails (nails inserted into the soles of the boots), usually installe ...

. He also played bass and sang on this release.

Discography

*''Sky in My Hand'' (Producer for Liz Dacey) (1993) *'' Four to the Bar (EP)'' (with Four to the Bar) (1993) *''

'' (with Four to the Bar) (1994) *''

'' (with Four to the Bar) (1995) *''To the Fray'' (with Hobnail) (2008) *''

'' (2010) *''

'' (2012)

References

External links

Official web siteOfficial biographyLiner notes for ''American Wake''Liner notes for ''Chance of a Start''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Patrick 1966 births Living people ASCAP composers and authors American folk musicians American people of Irish descent Musicians from New York City People from Washington Heights, Manhattan