You went to Northeast Catholic. You were already interested in singing and playing guitar at that time. What were you listening to in high school? What kind of music did you play?  

As a teenager I played all kinds of folk music ... CSN, Simon and Garfield, Dylan and the Beatles. My family also had Irish music on in the house especially around the holidays and I learned to play those songs for parties as well—songs like "Black Velvet Band," "Wild Rover" and other Irish folk standards from bands like the Dubliners, Clancy Brothers and Irish Rovers.

You spent a year at Trinity College in Dublin, where presumably you encountered many musical influences. Do you think that playing the music in Ireland, alongside Irish musicians, gives you a different sense of how to present the tunes? (Different, that is, from players of Irish music who have never played in Ireland?)

I would say that it has helped me tremendously to have met, listened to and played with The Wolfe Tones, Furey Brothers, Christy Moore and Luka Bloom while living in Dublin. The Rathmines Inn & Wexford Inn also had so many other talented local folk singers that I could not help but be influenced by them. Many of the songs they sang had such heartfelt and meaningful lyrics that I felt you had to sing them with the same passion as they did. I certainly try to.

You seem to have known Paddy’s Well co-founder Joe Hughes before forming the band. How do your musical interests and styles differ, how do they mesh? How do you influence each other?  

I honestly didn't know Joe Hughes all that well before last year. We both had bands going off in different directions. I saw him play on occasion at Brittingham's Pub in Lafayette Hill and was always impressed by his original songs as well as his ability to play three instruments very well. I've come to know him better in the six months or so we've been together and I am influenced by his desire for a united Ireland. Joe coming from the Crumlin Road in North Belfast and me from Bridge & Pratt Streets in Philly might not seem like a good match but somehow it is because we both respect each others accomplishments and sincerity. Joe is very respectful and appreciative of the Irish folk and trad music as well as writing original music, just like I am. I find that to be inspiring too.

After all these years of playing music, do you think that you define success differently now than when you were just starting out? What would success mean to you now?  

It's funny you ask that because I feel like I am in a time warp going back 20 years. I am playing the music I grew up with around the kitchen table as well as the songs I first learned in Ireland all those years ago. A roomful of happy faces and people singing and dancing along to the music I love is the most satisfying thing I can think of. If we can do that four times a month I'll feel like the most successful man in the world.