Pitt alums raise a pint

St. Patrick’s Day tip No. 1 – if you see someone not wearing green, pinch them and take a… St. Patrick’s Day tip No. 1 – if you see someone not wearing green, pinch them and take a drink.

St. Patrick’s Day tip No. 2 – catch Irish-American rock-comedy band Ceann (formerly Ceann na caca, Gaelic roughly meaning “poo-poo head”) at the Hard Rock Cafe in Station Square tonight and celebrate your Irish heritage with them, however real or surrogate.

Ceann Tonight 8 p.m. Hard Rock Cafe Pittsburgh 230 W. Station Square Drive $10 advance tickets, $12 at the door

This rock-comedy group prides itself in its humor, ranging from its sophomoric name to “The Worst Pirate Song” and the Pittsburgh favorite “Pittsburgh Makes Me Drunk.” “Pretty on the Inside” was nominated for comedy song of the year by the International Songwriter’s Association.

And it all started with a quest for free beer, according to co-founder and Pitt alum Marc Wisnosky.

“I remember going to Ireland in ’98 and bought books with Irish songs we learned for fun,” he said. “Then we learned that we could translate it for free beer.”

“It was St. Patrick’s Day in 2000 or a week before,” said Patrick Halloran, the other co-founder and Pitt alum. “We wanted to play traditional Irish songs. People said ‘You should play a show.’ So we went to open mic.”

The two would attend open mic nights regularly, parody Metallica’s “Whiskey in the Jar,” and top it off by founding their own Major League Beer Pong Tournament of Pittsburgh.

“We started playing more in Pittsburgh because people wanted to hear our stupid songs,” said Wisnosky.

“When it was just Marc and me, we were really bad but because it was silly people reacted better,” said Halloran. “They loved it even beyond our comprehension.”

“The first six years, it was all about fun,” said Wisnosky.

Then, in 2005, Halloran said they wrote original Irish-themed tunes. The result was “Almost Irish,” which contained many of the songs that make them loved by those who enjoy a laugh with their pint.

Nowadays, their success is apparent in their 240 shows a year and additional band members. So much so that, according to Wisnosky, they have a home-base bar called Murphy’s Irish Pub in Virginia Beach, 102.5 WDVE plays “Pittsburgh Makes Me Drunk” every time it rains and people at the bars ask them when the next show is.

Hard to believe that Wisnosky can keep up this busy rocker’s style while studying for his Ph.D. in higher education management at Pitt.

“I’m a bit of a nerd,” he said. “I may not do music forever, but I can do it now. What I’ve done is not go to pub shows during the week and do shows during weekends.” However, he will be at the aforementioned Irish Festival.

Before that, he received his master’s in linguistics in 2003, writing a masters thesis titled “Pittsburghese in Pittsburgh Humor.”

He figured that Pittsburghers would be offended by how they were portrayed in media, citing that southerners are often offended by their portrayal.

“It defied the norm. [Pittsburghers] thought it was funny,” said Wisnosky. “Pittsburgh really embraces the dialogue as a badge of honor.”

Halloran used to live in New York as a graphic artist but quit that to do music videos and documentaries. But then he had to quit again to pursue music full time in 2005 after the release of “Almost Irish.” But he doesn’t look back and looks forward to the Irish Festival at Pittsburgh.

“I love Pittsburgh. I feel comfortable here. Sure, we pull in bigger crowds in other cities and festivals elsewhere, but Pittsburgh knows us here. And I love getting drunk for only $3.”