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The act you've known for all these years

39 days ago

So the Beatles remasters have come and gone. My verdict ? 'About bloody time'. Of all the hoo-haa surround the release of these Mono and Stereo discs the BBC produced some excellent radio programmes. The best of which was the continuing series 'The Record Producers' You can hear the multitrack deconstruction of some songs which reveal individual parts and instruments. Never mind what I think.... take a listen (follow the link and download the MP3 file, no password required).

At The Mike Stand

39 days ago

Thanks to social networking and a long lost cousin I find myself interviewed in this week's Irish Examiner (USA, Art Section) Isn't that bizarre ? Read the online edition by clicking this link here and jump to page 13 or you can grab a .pdf in this link here. I really am a chancer.... a little exaggeration goes a long way in print.

Sometimes you only have to ask

63 days ago

A few weeks ago I dropped a note to Graham Holland regarding his Podcast "It's a Frog's Life". The podcast features acoustic music from around the British Isles. I guess I snuck in through the back door :-) There's a real sense of validation when someone you've never met listens to and responds to a song you've written. I was delighted when Graham contacted me and asked if he could include one of my songs in an upcoming podcast. I also sent in a track to another podcast but really didn't do myself any favours: there's no point in sending in a folk track if the podcast features indie rock music ... is there ? Even if the people running the podcast are predisposed to giving you a listen. So click on the link and grab the latest edition of the "It's a Frog's Life" podcast. Or better still: subscribe to it on iTunes and give the podcast a good rating.

Maybe I think too much for my own good

139 days ago

The dust has settled and the audience has moved on. Meanwhile I'm coming to terms with a little achievement. I should be pleased. I am. But shouldn't I be more pleased ? Last Thursday so many people turned up to the gig I organized. More than I expected. Flattered and touched. Genuinely. However I'm a little pissed off with the venue because the PA system was inadequate. Nobody complained though a couple of people who would know these things did agree with me that it wasn't good enough. I have to let this go. So many things went well: I didn't fuck up, I'm guessing some folk liked my songs, the video thing was interesting. Most of all: I Did It !! Next gig there'll be something else I'm not 100% happy with. Is it always going to be this way ? Probably. Better get used to it. The 'folktronica' thing isn't really happening. I write concise songs and they don't lend themselves to un-natural extension. That's not to say I won't try again with 1 or 2 songs in the future. By the ...

When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide

139 days ago

When I was a teenager I dreamt of doing a gig where it was just me. Just me and a guitar and a drum machine. Maybe a synthesizer if I could borrow one. Tonight I played a gig to launch my first CD. A 4-track EP titled 'Lonely Hearts & Car Parts' A huge crowd turned out. I say 'huge' because I really though maybe 10 people would show up. I was shocked. Shocked & stunned. Theres video (not sure what the quality will be like) and lots of photos. This photo is courtesy Eric Paquin. Tomorrow I'll blog properly. For now I'll put a link to where an interested person could get a copy.