There’s an Irish song called “The Craic Was Ninety” (craic being a Gaelic term for fun of any sort – sober or not) that bass player Randy Billings of the Napper Tandies feels accurately describes his band.

“It really sums up the whole tradition of [Irish] music,” said Billings. “These guys are heading out to the Isle of Man, trying to get there in time for a party that’s happening. The song goes through how they have all this trouble getting over there, and end up getting thrown in jail after the party. I think that’s about how we go into our gigs. We can relate to it.”

Billings and the Tandies (banjo player Matt Smith, fiddler Liam Andrews and drummer-percussionist Scott Stitham, as well as outgoing tin whistle player Matt Leighton, who’s moving away next month) will play two sets of traditional and contemporary Irish music at Woodman’s Bar and Grill in Orono, starting at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16.

The Tandies, together since 2003, were born out of another Irish band from the Rockland area, the now-defunct Don’t Step On Shamus. Smith and Stitham already were playing with the group when Smith invited Billings, who was finishing up his tenure as bassist in the Billings Brew Band, to join in on the fun.

“Matt invited me down to start playing with these guys in Rockland,” said Billings. “It was sponsored by the Waterworks Pub and Rocky Bay Brewing, and the guitarist was actually the brew master, so all these people were playing music and drinking free beer. Matt, being a nice, altruistic person, tried to get me in on that. That was really my first entrance into Irish music.”

As Don’t Step On Shamus swelled to include more than eight musicians and it started to become difficult to keep everyone together, Billings and Smith decided to strike out on their own. They recruited original band member Chris Brinn, an Englishman who played accordion and sang, and thus, the Napper Tandies was born (named after James Napper Tandy, an 18th century Irish patriot). Brinn left the group last year, and after some juggling the Tandies re-emerged with the current lineup, Andrews being the most recent addition.

But the basic idea remains the same. The band sticks mostly to the upbeat tunes – their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/thenappertandies) states that they play “songs of ale and rebellion,” with a “traditional sound with punk sensibilities.”

But what of a bunch of Yankees playing Irish music?

“There have been some Irish people that have been to our shows that think we’re doing a smash-up job,” said Billings. “I think what’s important is the energy and fun that we put into it. We aren’t trying to sound angelic or pretty – it’s more along the lines of the pub tradition. We’re young and we’re having fun.”

Unique to most bands in the area, the Napper Tandies is entirely a live act, which only adds to the raucous, freewheeling, beer-soaked spectacle that is a Tandies night at the pub. It’s a true experience, whether you’re drinking or not – and don’t even get me started on the insanity that is their yearly St. Patrick’s Day show at the Bear Brew Pub in Orono.

Though there are no plans yet to start writing or recording their own songs, the Tandies haven’t ruled out trying to add their own songs of ale and rebellion to their repertoire.

“We’re not ready to start writing music,” said Billings. “Right now I’m just absorbing the tradition. I’ve really fallen in love with it. There’s a certain amount of poetry in the music, but it’s real poetry. It’s tangible, about working people, and politics, and the pub. There’s some grit in it. It’s not lofty; it’s about real life.”

The Napper Tandies will play at Woodman’s Bar and Grill in Orono starting at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16. The show is 21+ and there is no cover. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.

Supporting acts

20 years ago, Maine novelist Cathie Pelletier wrote a Christmas song dedicated to her childhood home in the Allagash. This year, Pelletier recruited 12 musicians from Fort Kent to record that song, and now “A Northern Maine Christmas” is available for purchase at www.kcmmckinnon.com, or by calling 444-2808. All proceeds from CD sales will benefit United Way of Aroostook. Joyeux Noel!