Saturday, March 30, 2013

Dig a Little Deeper recording with Wayne Sheehy



Check out that view!


I spent last weekend in Wayne Sheehy's studio in West Cork with Mick Stuart recording Dig A Little Deeper songs. I love working with Mick, as well as making music I love we also get to have big chats about lyrics, music and performing. We debate over what makes the lyric 'careful his bowtie is really a camera' such a great lyric in the context. If you haven't heard Dig A Little Deeper check us out:





As well as producing, Wayne is an excellent drummer and percussionist. There were loads of photos of Wayne playing with legends of the Irish music industry hung up around the studio. Who's yer man in the glasses:




It was such a beautiful setting to be recording. The house was cozy, lots of instruments and musical toys to play with, great musicians like Paul Dunlea and Roy Kellerher popping in to record and two great local pubs (one that also sold eggs their duck laid and another where you could order scallops from the barman who was also the local fisherman....my kinda pubs!).




Wayne very kindly built me a fort to play in while I was down there guaranteeing I'll be back to play again.




Friday, February 1, 2013

Other Voices Derry 2013


I love a good musical roadtrip!

This Friday I'm going to be playing in Derry as part of the Other Voices festival and anyone who's heard of Other Voices will understand why I'm very excited about it! They have a reputation for showcasing beautiful music and I'm delighted to be a part of it.






Playing with me on the night with be Julien Colarossi, Cormac OBrien and special guest percussionist Cote Calmet. I'm lucky to have been able to pry Julien out of the studio (he's recording his debut album) and all three are also busy member of the band Phisqa who are releasing their debut album on the 22nd in the Twisted Pepper. There'll also be music on the night from lots of other bands including a live stream from Damien Dempsey, Neil Hannon, Savages and Soak!

I've never been to Derry, my only introduction to the city is Connor Kelly who came and performed at The Acoustic Picnic this past summer. He's a pretty cool guy so he's set the bar high, I'm expecting a lot from this city! You can listen to his album Tell Me That We're Human at the link.






Wednesday, August 22, 2012

I know how you all love a good Venn Diagram



(click to enlarge image)








*I've a feeling some math head is gonna tell me that the center should be 'songs I love AND hate' rather than 'songs I love TO hate' but it amounts to the same thing really doesn't it! 




Thursday, August 2, 2012

Good gigs

Here are some upcoming Dublin gigs that I think will be great. Admittedly some of them are my own gigs so I'm not exactly being unbiased here!

Every Wed in August the Concert Hall is presenting a different young jazz musician at a lunchtime concert in The John Field Room. All of them will be excellent but I'm gonna go ahead and show some favouritism to my band members:  Julien Colarossi's quartet are just back from a ridiculously well received performance at the Atina Jazz Festival in Italy and you'd be stupid to miss it. I'll be missing it because I've got a flight to catch that day: I'm stupid!






Bonnie Stewart's group Criss Cross will be playing monk inspired tunes on the 29th with a fekin deadly line up. Both gigs are a tenner.


This Monday I'll playing support for Sami Moukaddem in Whelan's with just myself Bonnie and Julien playing as a trio, which we've never done before. I'll also be singing in Sami's band with a special guest piano player.


Three day free jazz festival in Meeting House Square (free as in you don't pay for your tickets, not as in free-improv...that confuses me sometimes) whos entire premise seems to be that jazz leads to terrible sinful debauched behaviour. Can't argue with that. August 24/25/26th.




And lastly myself and the band will be preforming in The Mermaid Arts Center in Bray on September 1st as part of a double bill with Luan Parle. It'll be the last chance to see the band in it's current line up and The Mermaid is by far one of my favourite places to go see live acoustic music. I've been to so many amazing gigs there (two of my favourite were Julie Feeney and Sarah Buechi's Thali) and I'm anticipating I'll enjoy performing there as much as I've enjoyed being in the audience.














Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Frida Kahlo's Delight...download it and listen to it over and over!









Just choose your price!

Monday, July 9, 2012

A song for a rainy grey day

Yes I know the rain is falling but it needn't be seen as such a bad thing. Take a leaf out of Tommy Moore Bands book and see the bright side:









Friday, July 6, 2012

Phew!

A bit of an emotional day today.

I put the first song from the album up online, and then spent all day telling absolutely everyone I could think of to listen to it, scared I'd chicken out and take it all back: 'Haha yeah that, album?! Ha I mean it was meant to be ironic..ha..emm...of course....' cue more nervous laughter.

But I didn't chicken out, it's out there in the world now, too many people have listened to it to take it back, and I wouldn't want to anyway.

There'll be more to come of course, that's just the first of many songs. Hope you all like it and hope to see some of you tomorrow night in The Kevin Barry Room.














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Sunday, June 3, 2012

Secretly Suicidal Love Songs



'I'd die for you': we're so used to hearing the sentiment in pop songs we barely notice it, but when you really pay attention to it it's a wee bit worrying. At best it's manipulative and super melodramatic, at worst it's suicidal and unhinged.

Here are a few common variations on the theme:



'if you leave me I'll die''

Being broken up with is a bitch, ringing the person up and telling them you're gonna kill yourself coz they broke up with you is NOT a healthy response. You hear it so frequently in pop songs you'd think we're all running around making suicide pacts with our loved ones (I really really hope you're not doing that!).



'I can't live if living is without you'

'how do I live without you'

'I would die 4 u' (to be fair if Prince wants to write unhinged lyrics I'd buy it. He commits to it fully and doesn't just throw it in there for effect) 








'You're so great I'd die for you'

It should be pretty obvious but just a reminder: great people don't usually ask, or expect, you to die for them.


'If I could just die in your arms, I wouldn't mind'


Justin Bieber's best chat up line is that he 'WOULDN'T MIND' dying in your arms. When facing his own mortality he's...indifferent. You'd think a young lad like him would have a strong will to live but apparently not.

'I'd die for you'

'I can't live with or without you' (handily enough this one falls into both categories) 

'You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for' 






Now here's a dose of healthy reasoning after all that:










Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Lyrics for the new bridge on Sealegs

New bridge section in bold:


Sea swells, waves fall
When you're near the sky turns grey
Then you sweep me away
In your little pea green boat
You wrap me in romance
I never hear the wind blow when you hold me close


Diving in darkness
Drowning in the pull of your tides
And then you smile
Oh I hear mermaids sing
Oh the bliss of these icy waters I'm drowning in


Sealegs
That look of yours gives me
Sealegs
To and fro stay or go tell me
How this ends
Or your love will always leave me on
These sealegs of uncertainty


I hear sirens from the street
While you sleep
Find me tangled in our sheets
Sleepwalking towards the sea
 
 
So come sweep me away
In your little pea green boat
Come wrap me in romance
Don't wanna hear the wind blow so come near
And hold me close 





Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Hand Holding

New (ish) lyrics:


In moments of ecstasy
Lovers call each others names
One last blessing
It's a blessing
To who they were before they merged
Into this

Find me here
Find me here
Find me here
You won't find me here




Monday, April 16, 2012

'I'm the boss of me. That includes my armpits'


'I'm the boss of me. That includes my armpits'



'I will not be a prisoner of my own sweat'


Apparently this is how 'strong women' feel about deodorant. Oh how I love lady-centric advertising, It's like they took the words right out of Amelia Earheart's mouth! If Gertrude Stein wrote ad copy! (the one below has a picture of a pregnant lady next to it but didn't screen grab her in time)












Friday, March 2, 2012

Lyrics in Progress - 'Show Me'

A song for two voices:
First Voice written in italics
Second Voice written in bold
When both voices share the same lyric it's written in underlined, bold italics




                                                               Show me bursting blooming               
You could show me
                                                                 Show me how the moon sings                
You could show me 
                                         Show me what it means 
You could show me
                                             Show me how to feel love

                                                               Show me morning sweetness             
You could show me
                                                                           Show me how the starlight's secrets              
You could show me 
                                          Show me what it means
You could show me
                                             Show me how to feel love


     Show me love
Show me love love love love 
           Show me love...etc.