IRISH MUSIC AT HOME ON THE RANGE IN BAND'S NEW VIDEO.

Byline: Mark Kellam Valley News Writer

When most people think of cowboys, they think of men who ride a desolate prairie in Wyoming or Montana. Reseda resident Drewin Young puts a different spin on the cowboy image with a video showcasing his original song ``Irish Cowboy.''

The video will be introduced on St. Patrick's Day - March 17 - at Harper's Sports Bar & Grille in Northridge.

In the video - which Young wrote, directed and stars in - three cowboys are being chased by four bounty hunters in the 1890s. They come across a pub. When they enter, they see three musicians getting ready to play. The three cowboys, who are also musicians, throw the performers offstage, take their instruments and break into the title tune.

Young describes ``Irish Cowboy'' as a mix of bluegrass and Celtic music.

Four young women appear, in relatively contemporary clothing, and begin dancing with the band. A fight ensues, and eventually the dancers' identity is revealed, and so is their relationship with the musical trio.

Young, who sings and plays guitar with the band Red Muffs, is joined by his band mates Jared Miller and Daren Pfeifer in the video. Miller sings and plays bass, and Pfeifer is the drummer. The Red Muffs play every Tuesday at Harper's.

Young has produced one other video, again for a song he wrote. The song, ``Express Lane,'' was used in a video that told the story of a beer deliveryman who goes into a store and falls in love with a check-out clerk. He leaves the store and eventually works up the nerve to ask her out. When he returns to the store, however, it's closed.

The ``Express Lane'' video was named Best Music Video at the International Student Film Festival in North Hollywood two years ago. The accomplishment is especially impressive because it was Young's first video.

He said the judges liked his video because it told a story.

He plans to enter the ``Irish Cowboy'' video in this year's festival.

Young, who has a filmmaking degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, is a 1997 graduate of Chatsworth High School.

His family often gets involved in his musical and filmmaking endeavors. His parents, Bill and Linda Young of Canoga Park, did the set design for the video and made the dancers' costumes. His sisters, K.D. Young and Tarah Sweitzer, portray two of the four dancers in the video. The other dancers are Jacquelin Shaw and Kat Sebastian. The dancers also perform with the band in live appearances, including the upcoming one on St. Patrick's Day.

Rob Harper, owner of Harper's Bar & Grille, paid for the props and rented costumes for the video. He also allowed Young to film in his establishment, which was redone into an 1890s pub.

Harper's Sports Bar & Grille is located at 19333 Business Center Drive in Northridge.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Drewin Young will introduce the video for ``Irish Cowboy'' on March 17 at Harper's Sports Bar & Grille in Northridge.

(2) ``Irish Cowboy'' video dancers - from left, Jacquelin Shaw, K.D. Young, Kat Sebastian and Tarah Sweitzer - will also perform in person in Northridge.