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.

 

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.

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! 

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.

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

Just choose your price!

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:

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.

.

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:

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 

Feeding the album monster

 

 

 

 

 

Album Monster

 

 

  

 

 

 

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

'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)

Playlist of Laydayz

Does exactly what it says on the tin

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.