Name Seán Griffin
Best known for I’m best known for being the lead singer of the Ruffians and also that guy with a pile of kids.
Current city Kingston, NY.
Really want to be in I’m pretty happy here in the Hudson Valley, but I wouldn’t mind being in Galway city, and since we are dreaming I’d be turning blue eyes brown all while drinking pints of cider. (Off the sauce, and happily married.)
Excited about I’m really excited about my upcoming solo debut produced by Kenny Siegal. It was great getting to work with amazing people on this and I’m super excited to get it out, and to be playing shows in support of it including a tour of Ireland where I’m bringing 40 lucky fans with me in April 2026.
My current music collection has a lot of Fontaines DC, Loser’s Party by the Restless Age, “Hope Machine” by Johnny Society, The Cardinals, Wet Leg, and the new Pulp Album as well as some Mountain Goats, and Frank Turner thrown in for good measure.
And a little bit of Classical especially on Sunday mornings.
Preferred format I enjoy satellite radio (XMU, Outlaw Country) in the car or playing CDs in my older car. I enjoy streaming in my kitchen and vinyl in my living room. I still get excited when I find old cassettes in my house. All the mediums are great. Radio is great for being on the go, streaming is nice for hearing anything with ease especially while cooking, but CDs and vinyl will always be my favorite!
5 Albums I Can’t Live Without:
1
Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes
It is a fantastic album. It is the most fun I ever had discovering something. I loved the whole folk punk vibe and the way teenage insecurities and rage were captured in the most perfect way. The combination of instruments and sounds was like nothing I had heard up to that point. I will always love this album and be grateful for all it gave me. I have bought this album so many times over the years, because it always got nicked. (Honorable mention Flood, TMBG.)
2
Leave Home, The Ramones
This album changed my life. I remember hearing this as a young kid and something just clicked. I grew up hearing lots of ‘50s songs because of my dad, and this seemed familiar, but also different in the most amazing way. I will be forever grateful to my friend Henry Fury (Soundman to the Stars) for turning me on to this. (Honorable mention: Never mind the Bollocks, The Sex Pistols.)
3
Workers Playtime, Billy Bragg
This was the first vinyl I ever bought. It was in a discount bin at Trash American Style in Danbury, CT where I grew up. It was the first record I ever wore out. I learned so much about ballad writing and subtle humor from this record. It was a minimalistic masterpiece in songwriting. I have also purchased this album many times. (Honorable mentions: Mule Variations, Tom Waits, Rum Sodomy & the Lash, The Pogues, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, Sinead O’Connor.)
4
Strangeways, Here We Come, The Smiths
My friend copied this onto a cassette tape for me and I literally just absorbed everything about this album. It taught me how to sing in a new way and the sounds that Johnny Marr and the band created were just amazing. I loved this record! My poor father let me listen to this album for months in the car back and forth every day to school. God bless him. (Honorable mention: Your Arsenal, Morrissey, actually all of The Smith’s records.)
5
Definitely Maybe, Oasis
It isn’t because of the reunion tour, it is because this album consolidated so many things I loved with swagger, and a new kind of excitement. Singing this in the pub with a pint of Guinness was magic. “Morning Glory” as well; two sides of the same coin. It was nice to have some positivity, and hope at that time. (Honorable mentions: Different Classes, Pulp, Park Life, Blur, Dog Man Star, Suede.)
Leave a comment