Hair of the Dog celebrates 18 years of Celtic music

At a time when the bottom of the music business has fallen out even faster than many other industries, the Delmar-based Celtic band Hair of the Dog is thriving and flourishing -- and about to celebrate 18 years as an ensemble.

The music business isn't like a regular job, so that length of time is sort of like dog years, if you will, and it would be like 30 years at a regular job.

Yes, 18," he jokes, "legal to get married, and drink in some states, I think in the South.

Along with Bedrosian on bass and vocals, the band also features Mike DeAngelis on acoustic guitar, bodhran and vocals; John Haggerty on banjo, acoustic guitar, accordion and vocals; Larry Packer on fiddle; Eric Finn on electric guitar, mandolin and violin; and Scott Apicelli on drums.

Bedrosian is well known to be fairly obsessed with the Beatles, so how did he ever end up leading a Celtic band? "I always wanted to be a full-time musician," he says "and did whatever it took to do that."

[...] he says, "it was my association with Johnny Rabb, and through Rabb, my association with the Fabulous Newports with Bert (Sommer) Rabb, Kevin and Carla (McKrell), and then my association with Kevin (McKrell), which got me into the Celtic side of things, and I realized I really liked it.

"There have been so many times in my career where I was not the leader of the band, and I think I've been subconsciously acquiring skills to be a bandleader my whole life without even realizing it," he said.