Grow old with me
Late nights just kill me nowadays.
There’s always tomorrow.
White Ladder
Whelans has 3 gigs running simultaneously: the ‘main room’ is where Pugwash did their album launch last year and it’s where I saw Thomas Dolby and almost saw Simple Kid. The downstairs bar usually has some free music at the weekends. The room we played is next to the beer garden & smoking area. It’s an L-Shaped room which is usually a pain but it works well here. The bar is at right-angles to the stage and has a sign reminding guests that it is a listening venue (nice one). The fireplace was lit up and the smell of burning logs filled the room.
AnnMarie has a good crowd coming to her gigs. I have a way to go before I can do that (plus I need to work up more songs but that’s another issue…).
They listened and interacted which is the best part of the gig. I needed to be done by 9:20pm so I set my mobile phone alarm to go off at 9:15pm. With my phone on vibrate I thought the alarm would just vibrate the phone in my pocket. Of course that didn’t happen and I got a nice accompaniment to my song in Aminor. The audience thought it was funny. They listened to my songs and were very generous in their applause. I couldn’t have asked for more.
Unfortunately nobody I knew was able to go. I’m always at pains to say to folk that I realise they can’t go to every gig and not to worry – I’ll keep spamming.
So it seems that the room is not too expensive to hire. I might use it to launch my CD (which is looking more like an EP now). That would be a good night out. I reckon if I gave a CD to every person paying in then I’d cover most if not all of the cost. I could get a couple of friends to play and maybe even get a video from the night.
Maybe that’ll be the gig where I’ll try to get everyone to turn up. Now *that* would be quite a night alright.
Something nice to look forward to. It’s been a very stressful week and I’m glad to be finally getting on with my life again.
Rocking Robin
So I decided to create an account http://twitter.com/iMADEtheBBC to see what would happen.
The only person I had heard of who uses Twitter is of course Stephen Fry ( I couldn’t remember Phil Wilding’s twitter ID).
So I’m “following” Mr Fry. He Tweets and I follow. (Not that he’s Tweeted yet but I’m hopeful of activity later this evening).
I’m not quite sure what it is I’m going to get from this Twitter service.
I was reminded of a story that Cilla Black told. When she became
successful in ’63-’64 she was put in a nice hotel in London by Brian
Epstein. She had just appeared on TV and was incredibly excited. When
she got back to her hotel room she spotted a telephone by the bed and
decided she had to share her excitement with someone.
She picked up
the receiver and put her finger to the rotary dial. Then the
remembered….. she didn’t know anyone back in Liverpool who had a
telephone.
Getting Closer
This songwriting and performing lark throws up some surprises every now and again.
Late last night I got a reply to an email I had sent almost a year ago to AnnMarie O’Grady who had promoted a gig in our office through some friends. I asked for a support slot. Unfortunately at the time someone was already lined up.
AnnMarie is playing in a well known Dublin venue this Sunday and I’m playing support.
Back in 2007 I set myself a few goals for my music. One of them was to play Whelans because it’s one of the better gigs in town.
Hopefully this will be the first of many. I like the idea of playing little anonymous gigs for 2-3 years and getting my name around town as a reliable interesting person to open a show. Now and again just playing my own gig would be nice but I’m realistic enough to know that I’m not 19 anymore.
So thank you AnnMarie. I hope your audience like my material.
In other news I did an interview and live performance back in December for a local radio station. Thanks to Dan Prendiville I have an MP3 of the show. You can download it here.
I’m Alright Jack
Last week I intervened to stop some children who had gone into a building site from placing themselves in danger.
For my trouble I’ve had a whole boatload of hassle. My worst nightmare.
So I’ve decided to make a change in my attitude to ‘doing the right thing’. I’m not going to do it anymore because it’s not worth it.
Next time I see some kids putting themselves in danger I will walk on by. Sorry neighbour but if I see them hanging around your house good luck because I’m not getting involved. Fly tipping ? Go for it mate because it’s not my job to report you. Driving like a maniac ? Be my guest, just keep out of my way. Kids throwing crap at cars on the street ? Let someone else deal with it. Not my problem.
This is completely selfish, mean spirited and anti-social.
I know this.
It’s me or it’s them.
It ain’t gonna be me.
and in other news…. life sucks sometimes 🙂
How does it feel to treat me like you do?
Listening to the BBC iPlayer repeat of last night’s BBC 6music Gideon Coe radio show I heard him say that yesterday (January 19th 2009) is the most depressing day of the year.
Well that would explain yesterday’s blogging wouldn’t it ?
Of course let’s not make a drama out of a crisis eh Daily Mail ? The sky is falling !
It’s a good thing I don’t pay attention to the radio (other than to listen to proper music shows after they’ve been broadcast…) or I might not have bothered getting out of bed yesterday.
Last night I picked up “Tunesmith” by Jimmy Webb again and got back into it.
When I tried reading it a few months ago I found it a bit wordy. Now it feels more substantive (is that a word you’ve ever heard me use ? I doubt it).
He writes about the space a writer uses to be creative. I have found that space. The problem is that , like Webb, I can’t share that physical space with anyone else while I’m writing.
(And before you say anything … that’s where the comparison between me and Jimmy Webb ends)
It sent me to sleep with the strains of ‘Galveston’ ringing in my head and dreams of Ivor Novellos.
Could be worse … could’ve been ‘MacArthur Park’ because it was cold last night and the cake would have frozen…
Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream
I feel the need to empty my mind of some clutter.
By and large I have tried to ignore the end of the world as we know it. It’s all out of my control so I can only sit here and deal with whatever happens.
Yesterday I went into the studio and wanted to write something. I re-appeared a couple of hours later with a recording and no lyric.
Frustrated with myself I listened to the track a few times last night and realised I have fallen back into my old ways. I need to finish what I’ve started.
When I produced the songs for NaSoAlMo last November it worked only because I had to finish the song in each session.
Going back to the song doesn’t work for me, there has to be something there to build on lyric-wise. The vibe from yesterday’s session is gone.
I want to write a song about religion and believing in God. I’m having doubts about religion.
As a small child I had an imaginary friend. The years haven’t quite erased the indoctrination but they’re getting there.
There are worried people in every office these days. Mine is no exception. Somewhere in the deepest recess of my mind I wonder ‘what-if’ and think about life-changing events.
It’s difficult to conduct ‘business as usual’ because it’s not.
This is where I am right now.
This is where I’ll be in a few hours.
January, sick and tired, you’ve been hanging on me
Ring out the Old Ring in the New
Yesterday today was tomorrow And tomorrow today will be yesterday So ring out the old ring in the new 2008 was good. Still alive. Still have a wonderful family. Musically I don't think I've ever been so active and creative. Professionally I took a big step up and am enjoying it. See you on the other side
The yellow and red ones… the old and the young
We had a bunch of family over to our house yesterday to exchange gifts and see each other.
It was great to see everyone 
blue eyed dressed for every situation 