Sing along to an Irish song

The Irish love telling stories of their people, and one of their favorite ways to do it is through song. The exploits of Irish heroes are forever heard wafting out of pubs from Belfast to Beijing. From ancient Celts like Cuchulain down through the men who died in the Easter Rising, their tales are preserved in music.

Irish folk music gained an American audience in the early 1960s as part of a larger roots-music movement. Groups like the Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners brought the United States stories of Ireland through song.

Those songs inspired some Huntington Beach musicians to transplant the music from the Emerald Isle to Surf City.

Chuck Daniher, Howard Knott and his son Mike Knott make up The Rovers Three, A Kind Of Irish Band, which plays a mix of traditional Irish tunes, folk originals and a sprinkling of other styles by the likes of Johnny Cash.

But those are just some of the ingredients that give the music that Rovers flavor. The most important element is that it be utterly singable.

“We play songs people like to sing along with,” said Howard Knott.

The Rovers Three practice at the elder Knott’s house, where a sign on the living room wall reads “Authentic Irishman for hire; storytelling, singing, dancing and carrying on. Available all hours.”

That seems to express the ethos of the band, as each member has an apparent passion for merrymaking. Daniher said their audiences get into the spirit, too.

“They sing along, and they tap their feet,” Daniher said. “Everybody likes an Irish song, it seems.”

Daniher, a retired aerospace engineer, is the group’s main guitarist. Mike Knott is a professional musician who switches between guitar and mandolin. Howard Knott, retired from the manufacturing industry, picks up various niche instruments, such as harmonica, bodhran (a handheld Irish drum) and tin whistle. They jokingly call him the band leader.

After learning some traditional songs together, The Rovers Three decided it was time to tackle their own material.

“We challenged ourselves to write something of our own, and that was real fun,” Mike Knott said.

The three have composed a number of originals including a sort of theme song called “The Rovers Three” in which they introduce themselves.

They have even taken to chronicling Ireland’s modern history. The Rovers Three perform one number about the competition to become the first Irish Astronaut.

“It’s so much fun to write these things,” said the younger Knott. “You think of an experience, and you’ve got a song.”