Songwriters Session in Dodd's tonight

Friday, 12th April, 2013

There will be a session in Dodd's (the Crescent Bar, Boyle) tonight.

Line-up:

• Klaus Harder
• Donie O'Connor
• Conor Lawlor
• Malachy Costello

Klaus and Donie will be singing unaccompanied, while Conor and Malachy will be supported by the band.

Kick-off, 9.30 for 10.

Home Fires still burning - but where are all the local song writers?

Apologies for not posting in so long. There were a couple of highlights over the Winter which should be recorded, in particular the night that Johnny McGlynn joined us and gave us a good shaking! It was a fantastic night. Great guitarist, and a fine singer too.

Our night in February was a bit of a howl, with a few off the wall songs from me, including Spudato and Mary's Corduroy Surprise. Well, you had to be there...

Last night, our March session, had Klaus, Malachy, Helen and myself huddled around the fire on a bitter night. 

Klaus opened with Bringing Them All Back Home, based on the bible story of the shepherd who left 99 sheep in order to find one lost lamb. Klaus has a beautiful, deft touch on his guitar - well-practiced, lovely compositions.
He also sang a song about a town in Tajikistan called  Dushanbe (not Drumshanbo!). His friend had traveled there on a trip to China by motorbike. The tune was written for bouzouki, so Klaus tuned down, and gave us a fascinating oriental riff to keep us tapping.
He sang two more songs - Letting Go - another bouzouki song, about childhood memories, and 8 Planets:
 "8 different planets, travelling around the sun
but singing and dancing, you find only on one"

Malachy gave us 4 songs too: Destiny Road, which led to a heated debate as to whether it was more like Dylan or Cohen. 
But I met a man, who paid what he owed
And he held his head high on Destiny Road".
He also sang Life's a Funny Thing, Bad Memory and The First Cold Drops of Rain. A very atmospheric song, about memory and loss (as against memory loss!)
"I dropped slowly to my knees, my fingers traced your name
and as I walked home alone, I felt the first cold drops of rain."

Helen  sang Lotto, a "wry" song about a life of if onlys...
A Thousand Miles which was inspired by an article she read in the Times, which told of Brazilian women who had to travel far from their families in order to earn a living. 
"Goodbye my love, I have to go"
She really knows how to tug at the heart strings...
But Helen was determined not to bring us down last night, so she sang a song she wrote called The Man about a local man who was a genius, in ways, but his genius went pretty much unrecognised. She told a couple of good stories about the same fella. (You had to be there...)
Her last song was called Johno, about a common thief who went to jail for his troubles while politicians and bankers never had to pay. Well, she wrote that in 2004. Some things never change.

Conor also sang a song called Johnno, coincidentally, also about a criminal - a murderer this time. (Are there any Johnnos reading? Apologies :-)
I also sang The Messenger and The Proposal,  and a cover of So Lonely by the Police. (Apologies to Sting - more murder there...)

Crowd Electrified by Round Plug's First Gig

Friday 8th Feb, back room, Dodd's

Round Plug - Photo courtesy Kit O'Connor

Malachy Costello (Guitar), Conor Lawlor (Guitar), Sean Conlon (fiddle), Christ Spoorenberg (piano) and Dave Eglinton (Bass)

A crowd of friends gathered in Dodd's Back Bar on Friday night to be entertained by Round Plug (provisional name...)

A set of 13 songs, all original, the guys knew they were taking a risk having a set without any covers, but the crowd's reaction was terrific. And Denis Dodd was so impressed that he left someone else behind the bar and came out to join the crowd. What a compliment!

Malachy, not worrying about the weather:
Photo Courtesy Kit O'Connor

Donie O'Connor was also very complimentary, saying he would NEVER do a gig without covers, but says we carried it off, with aplomb :-) He was also very impressed with our stagecraft (he had to explain to me what he meant!  - that's the banter, to us mere mortals.)

Highlights of the night were I Never Worry about the Weather, by Malachy, and Going to the Well by Conor. 

Is he dancing, or running?
Photo Courtesy Kit O'Connor

There's talk of another gig in Dodds in six weeks time, so put it in yer diary! Email me if you want to be informed of the exact date.

Malachy and Conor have been writing music for a couple of years now, and have gathered a group of musical friends around them. Rehearsing pretty much every Friday since they got together, they now have up to 30 self-penned songs in their repertoire. 

Friday's playlist :

• Waiting at the G (Conor)
• City Streets (Malachy)
• Pretty Perfect You  (Conor)
• I Never Worry About The Weather (Malachy)
• The Magpie (Malachy)
• Maura's Song  (Conor)
• Song for a Friend (Malachy)
• Say My Name  (Conor)
• Bad Memory (Malachy)
• The Messenger  (Conor)
• Its Over to You  (Malachy)
• Going to the Well  (Conor)
• The Pursers Gold  (Conor)

Looking for a Songwriting competition?

For those who like contests, check out Audiocomps. This website has an ongoing list of music contests for artists, bands, songwriters, DJs, music producers and more. You can even win some great cash prizes. The list is constantly updated and current. Go to http://audiocomps.com for details.

Song Contest Entries

Malachy, Helen and myself have all entered songs into the Modlands Simon Song Contest.

Here are the entries:

Where Soldiers Go, 1848, by Helen Grehan. Click here

Beautiful Day, by Conor Lawlor. Click Here

Malachy Costello All Around Me  Click here

A Song For Simon - Song Contest Launched

Hi Everyone,

here's some news about a new song contest, just launched  - A Song For Simon. 

Prize Package includes, 

• One Day Recording in Grouse Lodge Studios
• Mastering of the winning song by RMC Recording Studios
• CD Duplication by MD Online
• Full Music Video Production by Big Idea Films
• A Photo-shoot by RUA Photography
• Graphic Design and Artwork by SNAP Printing Athlone
• Guaranteed Promotion, Airplay and Interviews with Midlands 103

The winner’s song will also be aired on Midlands Simon Community’s Website upon its launch

For more information, Terms and Conditions, and Entry Form, email
t.fallon@midlandssimoncommunity.com

Visit their blog, where you can download the application form and terms and conditions
midlandssimon.wordpress.com

Also see www.facebook.com/asongforsimon and follow us on Twitter at @ASongForSimon



Best of Luck!

Recordings from Charlie McGettigan's Show

We had a great time with Charlie this morning on his radio show. He is a gentleman, and made us feel most comfortable.

Helen sang The Homecoming and Himself. 
Conor sang The Proposal and 
Malachy sang the Magpie.

 You can listen to all the tracks here.