blog! a rhythm?

I was reading the newspapers that built up over the weekend and I stumbled across a feature on Gerry Anderson. Not to be confused with the talented tv producer and writer, Gerry Anderson, the one I'm talking about is the not quite as talented bloke who always turns up on BBC Northern Ireland or BBC Radio 4. He's apparently courting controversy these days by claiming that Gary Glitter is a decent old skin.

The picture of Gerry served to remind me of a time about 15 years ago when the trad/folk band I was in entered the Opportunity Knocks talent contest held in Ballyshannon. I considered us a supergroup of sorts. We had a singer who went on to voice the character of Shadow in Bear in the Big Blue House. We had an accordion player from Cavan who was the only person I ever heard make that particular instrument sound good (Welcome to Hell! Here's your accordion!). We had a wonderful guitarist from Rossnowlagh and another talented bloke from Clondalkin and then there was yours truly on percussion. If my memory serves me correctly we won and collected a grand in prize money. Our win came courtesy of three independent judges: the aforementioned Gerry Anderson, the then Late Late Show in-house pianist Frank McNamara and someone else I can't remember. Needless to say we went on the batter with all the judges and other contestants afterwards and ended up in a boozer called Eoin Roe O'Neills I believe. The gargle flowed all night (probably at our expense) and Frank kept banging out tunes on the piano until the small hours of the morning. As the sun started to rise I realised that we had to get to Sligo to make a train back to Dublin. I distinctly remember the scornful look on my mates's mother as she collected us to bring us to the airport. Three drunk smelly blokes sitting in a car at about 7.30 in the morning pretending to be sober. I had some kind of lucid moment around Ben Bulben as that's the only part of the journey I remember. I think I kept calling it Ben's Bulb. That kind of stuff counts as funny when you've been drinking all night. What wasn't funny was the trip home on the train when we were collectively blanked by a clearly hungover Frank McNamara. That's stars for you. They're your best buddy one night and then your yesterdays news.

What the fuck all of that has to do with the rest of this post is beyond me. I'm banging on about that kind of nonsense when ther's things happening on the music and blogging scene all around me. In Dublin news a couple of new places have opened in the city. The first is actually new. It's some boozer called Le Cirk on Dame Street and it has some notions about being a jazz lounge. It appeared from behind hoardings some weeks ago and is trying to find its feet. I sent my wife and her mates to it the other night but they were having none of it and left after one drink. Maybe jazz isn't their thing. Apparently the music bookings are being taken care of by ex-Jazz FM boss, Ollie Dowling. The former pirate radio mogul will hope that this return to jazz promotion is more successful than his efforts with the Bleu Note on Capel St. The other new, but actually not new, venue is The Twisted Pepper on Middle Abbey Street. This was previously Traffic and for some reason I managed to never go there when it open. As such I've no idea if Twisted Pepper is any different. The Wobble Crew were promoting a night downstairs and it featured my old junglist muckers Don Rosco and Naphta. I only hung around for a while to check out Don Rosco and T-Woc weave some dubstep madness and missed Naphta as a result. The lure of my slippers and a hot cup of Ovaltine was too much for me. I legged it.

The DEAF weekender draws ever closer and I'll remind you again that the only place to be this Thursday evening is in The Sugar Club for the Sweettalk with Steinski, Maser and Alan Gilsenan. I'll be there. Carrying a copy of the FT under my left oxter and with a pink carnation in the lapel of my sports jacket. Another event worth checking is the White Noise gig being promoted by Mici Durnin and his cohort Darren of Maximum Joy promotions. I only met Mici at the tail-end of the summer. We had some oldschool football kickabouts with a motley crew of participants from the likes of The Jimmy Cake, Dave from Road Records and Claude from PIAS distribution. It harked back to those football games on the local green that would go on until it got pitch black. If someone had arrived with an empty glass milk-bottle full of water it would have completed the picture. Anyhow White Noise play The Sugar Club at 8pm on the 26th October. A DJ Set from Broadcast will follow.

I have it on good account that Twenty Majors forum is the place to be this weather. I went over just after it opened and it asked me to register. I hate to admit it but I'm a lazy auld shite when it comes to registering on websites, so I didn't. In any event, I have it on good account that it's working out nicely.

I'd read about the Casino in Marino way back in school. It featured in our art history studies back in secondary school. Yesterday we went en famille over Donnycarney way and visited the Casino. You can imagine my disappointment when I found there was no blackjack table there. Instead you're treated to an architectural wonder of symmetry, creativity and trickery. It's the bleeding business. We went on the tour with a German mother and daughter and some bloke who looked like he'd been forced there by his mother. We all had to put on slippers before they allowed us walk on the nice parquet floors. Freaky buzz but a top buzz.

Finally, it pains me to say it but the fabulous Blogariddims series has come to an end. Fifty blogariddims later, Droid, Slug and the rest of the weareie cru have called a halt to proceedings. These guys have achieved huge admiration for crafting podcasts for general consumption to anyone with an interweb connection. I for one believe they have covered themselves in glory. Well done chaps. You can check out the hugely convoluted but higly entertaining series of posts by all 10 contributors to the final blogariddims over on weare.ie. And here is the very first post by Droid

jolly japes and jiggerypokery

I meant to post this last night but as usual there's a time delay in my world. The Mullet and I had arranged to meet up at the Jape gig the other night in The Button Factory. Richie and the lads have been touring in Germany and this heralded a welcome return home for them. Matty has finally made his move to Sweden where’s he’s set up home. He’d only been living there two weeks when he had to head off on tour again. Thursday night’s gig was followed by a gig in Belfast last night and Derry tonight I think. No rest for the wicked.

I arrived a little early and whilst waiting outside for the Mullet, I bumped into Orlando from Ugly Megan, a lo-fi electronic folk outfit. I’ve only met Orlando a couple of times but he took pity on me, waiting outside in the cold, and he ushered me into the gig. This was very welcome, as the Mullet didn’t turn up for another 45 minutes or so. Once inside I was surprised by the volumes that had turned up on a Thursday evening to check out Richie and Co. Admittedly it’s not that surprising given the overwhelmingly positive response to his Electric Picnic appearance in September. The demographics of a Jape gig have changed extraordinarily over the last few years. Last night the spectrum ranged from secondary school kids right up to some that might be described as elderly gents. I bumped into a few other heads most notably Barry Redsetta (who it turns out actually reads this shite that I write) and Malcolm (who was supposed to send me some accompanying photos for this post. You can however check his photos of the DEAF 2008 Launch Party here).

Rather than mix it with the hoi polloi we headed upstairs to the balcony seats and sat behind Richie’s mother and father. His dad was engrossed for most of the gig and was wearing an ever so proud look on his face. As a father myself I can only guess that it’s strange to watch your son rock out in front of a room full of admirers. Anyway I’ll be discouraging my children from pursuing such a career; a job in accountancy or in the civil service will do them (and me) nicely. Also up on the balcony was that chap Nick Seymour who played bass with Crowded House and produced Bell X1. He seemed to be digging the buzz. The Jape set was made up of most of the tunes from the Ritual album and my personal highlight was when the audience joined in during ‘Phil Lynott’. There’s something quite strange about hearing a few hundred people sing ‘Look. At. The. Fucking. Moon.’ The band and their vast array of electronic instrumentation make a great sound and they seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves throughout the show. Richie engaged in that agricultural style dance that only he can do with such panache. He's the blinkin' dogs.

There's been little movement on the vinyl front. I'm waiting on a few things in the post from different parts of the globe. I also noticed that there's an upcoming release on Rhino Records of a Smiths Box Set. It includes ten of their singles in their original artwork and two other limited ones. I'll have to buy it even though I already have everytthing except the two limited edition ones. That's the price you pay for being a vinyl addict. Or a stupid sap.

In other news I picked up the handy pocket-sized Deaf 2008 booklet that includes a double CD full of tunes from Irish based electronic artists. Definitely worth a listen, it can be picked up in several record stores around Dublin while the stocks last.

Finally, a couple of dates in November to put in the gig diary could be the return of New Zealand band Fat Freddys Drop or even the TV on the Radio gig. Both are part of the Green Synergy weekend and are respectively playing in the Tripod on the 15th and 16th of November. More details over on Drop-D.

charity begins at home

There's an awful lot going down on the auld sod these days. Only a few posts ago I was banging on about the new David Holmes seven inch and since then I've gone and got the album in its entirety. 'The Holy Pictures' bursts into life with the aforementioned 'I heard wonders' tune but from thereon in its a fairly low key affair. There's a rake of sounds across the album that are reminiscent of other bands and there seems to be a lot of shoegazing stuff right the way through. I'm really liking it.

Another album due out very soon is the latest long player from Messiah J & The Expert 'From the Word Go'. It's getting a release on the 17th October and I believe that they're doing an instore in Tower Records that day. You can also catch them at the album launch proper on the 18th in Andrews Lane Theatre.

I managed to catch a tune by Roots Manuva on Later Live the other night. Not that surprising in itself but it was followed by an appearance by Dublin singer Imelda May. Imelda and her band play rockabilly music. Not something I'm all that crazy about but she did put in a fair turn on TV the other night. You should be able to catch her again this weekend on the extended recorded 'Later'.

Talking of Dublin women on the telly. I was sitting in last Friday evening watching Darjeeling Express with my good lady wife. When it ended it switched over to the TV. I can't describe the shock and revulsion at what I saw next. There was bleeding Twink wearing not much more than a smile. Not so much mutton dressed as lamb but more like tripe dressed as offal. Jaysus wept.

Thankfully there's things like the upcoming Deaf Weekender to take my mind off such horrors. There's a few bits and pieces to look forward to during the course of the festival. One event I'll be attending is the Sweet Talk evening in The Sugar Club. These SweetTalk gigs are always great and this one promises much. It features Dublin graff writer Maser, the legendary producer and sampling pioneer Steinski and the design artist John Gilsenan. Another thing I'd like to get to is the M83 gig in Vicar St on the 24th October. Check here for full details on the line-up. There's literally something for everyone.

Finally, I'd like to bring your attention to the three upcoming releases from the Trensmat label. They're a series of Hawkwind covers by the likes of Acid Mothers Temple, Kinski, Bardo Pond, White Hills & Mugstar. All in all it sounds like a great gas. I've been trying to order them from their site but it was down today when I tried.

my news. today is monday.

I'm trying to keep in the blogging groove with this post. Its easy to lose your way and every now and again you just have to knuckle down and write something. As any regular reader will attest, this blog is very much more about quantity than quality. If there was an ISO audit for this blogging stuff I'm not sure I'd reach the pass mark. Somehow that makes me a little proud inside.

Given my dearth of ideas I'll kick off by poaching news from other sources. Nialler9 brings attention to a new musical effort by my man of the moment Richie Egan aka Jape. It's a cover of the Toto tune 'Africa'. The original tune evokes particular memories for me, mostly centred around MT USA and Jack Palance in Ripleys Believe it or Not. It also brings to mind another classic by the same band, Rosanna. This tune probably holds more significance for my older brother who had a brief dalliance with a yound English girl of that name over the course of a summer in Bettystown. Apologies for the digression, lets get back on song here. I'm not sure what to make of this version, its probably a bit too similar to the original. There's a peculiar karaoke feel to it at times. It also doesn't help that the original singer of the chorus, Bobby Kimball, can sing about two octaves higher than Richie. I mention Bobby Kimball there because the verses of the song are sung by David Paitch. There's one for all you Toto fact fans out there. Anyway, its well worth a listen so go and make your own minds up. Then go and feel the velvet original here. Mind you, the words of the tune have to be the most ridiculous I've heard in ages. They obviously wrote the words first and the tune after because there's loads of instances where they're trying to squeeze the sentence in. Schoolboy songwriting error on Toto's part.

For those of you who might depend on this blog for any upcoming musical news I'd advise that you get a good grip of yourself. But in case you haven't heard, the Kraftwerk gig scheduled for Luggala in Wicklow this weekend, has now been moved to the grounds of IMMA in Kilmainham. There are other gigs scheduled by POD for the same place in October that include Seasick Steve and Human League. I just happened to bump into Eamon Doyle (DEAF, D1, Dead Elvis) today and D1 are involved with the gig this weekend. He was also getting very excited about the forthcoming DEAF 08 festival which takes place on the October Bank Holiday weekend. There's some great gigs on the schedule. Check it here. Anyhow this is a very longwinded way of telling you about the Kraftwerk story he told me today. It relates to a time when a mutual friend, Donnacha Costello was over in Berlin in the early nineties. He somehow met Kraftwerk, whether at a gig they were playing or out somewhere else altogether. When they found out he was Irish they spent the whole night wanting to talk about Sean Kelly. Not Stephen Roche or Paul Kimmage. Sean Kelly. Fair play to those Kraftwerk boys, they know the real deal when it comes to cyclists. As it turns out they're just crazzzzy about the cycling. See for yourself.


Jaysus, now I can't stop banging on about stuff once I've started, so I'll keep the rest of this short and tell you about two cultural highlights that I had last weekend. The first involves the confusingly named St Michans Church here in Dublin. Confusing because its the name of two churches within spitting distance of one another. Myself and my current wife got married in the not so well known St Michans on Halston St but my journey at the weekend brought me to the better known St Michans on Church St. The reason for the visit was to see the by now infamous mummified remains that are in the vaults of the church (Have a look here at the Blather article on it). Being a concerned and conscientious parent I thought that the remains of dead bodies would be suitable fare for my eight, six and four year old children. And so it turned out. They loved it. You even get to go in and rub a mummy's finger if that's your thing. The whole occasion reminded me of that Spider Baby episode of Father Ted.

Another cultural highlight was the annual 'Sculpture in Context' exhibition in the Botanic Gardens. Take a load of sculpture. Take a big garden. Put the former in the latter. Hey presto a great way to look at art. This exhibition has been held in the Botanic Gardens for the last seven years and at various locations prior to that. It's always great. Check it out if you get a chance.

can you hear me now?

It's funny who you meet when you're out getting your morning coffee. Firstly, I bumped into Kittser who seemed to be up and about at a fairly unusual hour of the day. It turns out that the workmen were in his gaff, banging about the place, so he upped sticks and was heading for breakfast when I met him. As we stood chatting on the corner of Andrew St and Wicklow St we caught two people waving over. It was Mattie and Emelie from M&E. I ran a few of my ideas over with the assembled but all seemed suitably unimpressed with everything I threw at them. These creative types would do your head in. I guess I'll have to complete my domination of the Dublin music scene without their help. Kittser has started an evening called The Goof-Off every Wednesday evening upstairs in Whelans. Although it's only being going a couple of weeks its already had a guest appearance by Matmos. It should be worth checking out if you're about town on a Wednesday night. It kicks off at 11.30.

On my return to the office I had an e-mail about the upcoming DEAF festival. That's all I know about the contents of it because the bloody message was blocked by my work firewall because of a graphic attachment. The DEAF festival will be on again this coming October and you can read all about it over on Jim's blog. Over on the DEAF site they're looking for heads to help out with the upcoming festival. Give a little, it will help a lot. When I was on their site I managed to find a photo of a piece I wrote in 2005 for the accompanying festival publication (see above). Nice one.

Yesterday the astral radio in my head picked up the tune 'You can call me Al' by Paul Simon. I was singing it all day and again when I woke this morning. The tune entered the UK charts in 1987 and I always enjoyed the accompanying video that featured Chevy Chase and a very bored looking Paul Simon. Today I found the tune in Spindizzy Records on seven inch. Fate dictated that i buy it. I love it.

Finally, I was reading the Cheebah blog today and it mentions a feature by Paul Tarpey in the Copenhagen magazine BitchSlap. The magazine reminds me a lot of the stuff that's being done by Candy Collective and the piece by Paul on DJ Cait is especially good. Check it.