Hello all.  As you can obviously tell, I haven’t had as much time to post on this thing as I would have liked.  Manys a brilliant gig have been and gone, and not so much as a exclamation mark on this blog to note its success.

Then tonight, after watching Glor Tire on TG4, the Irish country talent show where a friend of mine is a contestant this year (Tracey McGilligan), I took note of where the show is being filmed, and was reminded of my gig in the very same venue: The Quays, Galway.

Sitting now and reminising, I thought, hold on, I make the rules on this blog.  It’s not too late for me to write about a gig which took place in July.  I’m not given a deadline to write about a gig.  So, I thought, “feck it”, I’ll write a wee bit on wordpress about my experience of The Quays in Galway.

It was the 30th of July 2010, and I was playing with “Sunshine”.  This would be my first, and not my last, gig with the Belfast based band.  The band consisted of David Wright (lead vocals and lead guitar), Carlo the drummer (can’t remember which instrument he played, Danny McCormack (bass and backing vocals), and of course myself, on keyboards and backing vocals.

I had never played, or even been to the venue before, but had heard great things about its character, acoustics and atmosphere.  When I arrived, I immediately recognised the iconic stage (with the backdrop of a real full sized pipe organ) from photographs and videos I had seen.  However, what these aforementioned videos and picture did not depict, was the Health and Safety NIGHTMARE which was that stage.

The stage is raised around 8ft off the ground in parts I’d say (I was never a good judge of distances), and is split into four separate “podiums” if you like, at different heights to the others.  There is no form of barriers to stop instruments, amps and of course musicians falling into the abyss of drunken punters, several feet below and when you are on the stage, it feels as though it will give way at any moment, probably due to the spilt-beer-induced-wood-rot.  And to top it off, there were no steps between the podiums, so musicians have to find a creative way to get to where they are playing.

So I was only in the door, and I couldn’t even fathom a plausible route, to getting onto the stage, never mind actually attempting it.  Naturally, I had to set up on one of the two highest podiums: why? Because I think there’s something about my personality which invites any situation to never be straight forward.  So, after much deliberation, napkin diagrams and a few minor injuries, my boards were set up and ready to go.

All of this into consideration, I fell in love with the venue straight away.

The normal pre gig apprehensions set in, as always hoping for a good turnout, for there not to be too many mistakes by anyone, and for the music to be received well by the audience.  However, these worries were very quickly replaced with that of, “Oh my God, this place is going to be STUFFED!”

It was the week of the Galway races, and the streets were packed with drunken jockeys, wannabe jockeys, racing enthusiasts, rich gamblers, fine looking women and of course people who just wanted to get drunk.  Every pub, restaurant and cafe along that area of Galway, was packed.  And as the Quays is an extremely popular venue, we knew straight away that the night would be brilliant.

After getting to know the lads over chicken and chips from McDonagh’s (amazing) we headed back to the Quays for a quick bit of dutch courage, and then we took  to the stage.  Oh no wait! – Firstly, Danny and I had to run back through the crowded streets to find Mr McDonagh (I’ll assume) locking up the chippy for the night, where my wallet sat nestled in the dark corner of  where the table met the wall where we were sitting.  After receiving said wallet, and a few insults in Irish by Mr McDonagh, we ran back to the Quays for a quick argument with the doorman to explain that we were’nt paying in since, ya know, we were the band and all, and THEN we took to the stage.

The set consisted of tunes from the usual Sweet Home Alabama (Skynyrd), Sweet Caroline (Diamond), Summer of 69 (Brian Adams), and Walk of Life (Dire Straits) to Purple Rain (Prince), and Angels (Robbie Williams).  Every single moment of the gig was enjoyable.  The place was absolutely stuffed with a crowd that had probably been on the “rip” all day, which made them great ones for dancing, singing and having a good time!  After talking to the most “chilled out” soundman I have ever met before the gig, he had said that he loves doing the sound for cover bands as he knows the music so well, he can pretty much set the sound and mess about with the lights.  And I must say, he did a fantastic job.  The lighting movements were synchronised with prominent chord changes, etc which really added to the atmosphere, and he ALWAYS kept his eye on the stage so the moment I put my hand to my ear, I would instantly hear the keyboards louder through my monitor.

One of my favourite parts of the night was our “attempt” to play a request from a particularly fine looking woman for “Roxanne” by The Police – I mean, who were we to ignore such a stunner, and one with such good taste in music?……Needless to say it was a shambles, but ourselves and the crowd laughed it off, and we fired into “You shook me all night long” by ACDC, to the eruption of the crowd!

So there you have it: a fantastic gig in a fantastic venue.  Not even the louts that wouldn’t move their drunken arses out of the road during the “carry” could have ruined it.  And after being thrown in at the deep end last minute, and having not ever played a lot of the tunes before, I must have done something right, as since then I have filled in for Sunshine on about 4 or 5 separate occasions.  Well, maybe the sound wasn’t as good as I thought that night, maybe they couldn’t hear me at all!   Anyway, here’s to more of the same quality of gig, and looking forward to the next time I play the Keys at the Quays!

Hello out there to all in Blogland!

Have kinda been neglecting this old thing, only signing in to update the “gigs” page, but thats all about to change!….Starting Now….

SO….

For the past number of weeks, I’ve been looking at prospective gear purchases.  Not the craziest thing is the world I know, as all musicians do this on a regular basis, although there is usually is no substance behind it.  However, with me, there is!

I’ve been looking a new synth, to play alongside my KORG SP-200 stage Piano, replacing my Yamaha PSR 550 – A fantastic soundcard, and a great wee workstation, but small and dated and generally designed as a introduction board.

Top of the list, so far, is the Korg M50 – The 73 keyed, would be preferable (as the 61 is too small, and the 88 is weighted keys).

For Korg’s Official write-up on the product, Click here

Below is a short Korg M50 Introduction video, showing some of what this bad boy can do…

Any movements on this, or any other gear purchase, shall be duely noted on this blog.

Until then,

Caolan

Last Saturday night was my first gig with “The Hoochie Coochie Band”, a band made up of some of Omagh’s best known musicians.

On Monday night (in the pub of course), I was approached by Johnny Houston (lead guitar and vocals) about a gig, that coming Saturday, in the heart of Omagh town’s nightlife – Main Street.  I have known Johnny for a few years and have played with him on many different occasions in various jamming sessions around the town, so of course, I was only too happy to oblige.

“The Hoochie Coochie Band” are a 6 piece band (including myself last Saturday) that play tunes from “Johnny B. Goode” (Chuck Berry) and Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison) to Past the Point of Rescue (Hal Ketchum) and “All My Loving” (The Beatles).  That, alongside numerous 12-bar blues tunes and classics like “Sweet Home Alabama” (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and “Don’t Stop” (Fleetwood Mac), make the genres covered by the band, possibly described as “the stuff everyone wants to hear”.  If in any way, it sounds as if I am trying to make this sound negative, I must add that it is the stuff “everyone” including MYSELF wants to hear.  I thoroughly enjoy going to see bands playing all the classics and the country numbers that everyone loves.

The band is made up of – Liam Moore – vocals, Gerry McCaul – acoutstic guitar and vocals, Johnny Houston – lead guitar and vocals, Aidan McGuigan – bass and vocals, Freddy Armstrong – drums and vocals, and of course, my good self on the keys.

Main Street is an entertainment complex in the centre of Omagh town, which, along with 3 large bars (Rue, The Ostlers Arms and Bar10), boasts a large outdoor stage, sound system and dancing area, all sheltered with a large glass roof.  Since its inception, it has been one of the most popular venues in the town, and certainly the venue which caters BEST for all age groups.  From watching live music there nearly every Saturday night, there is always a great atmosphere about the place, with a large crowd of people whose ages range from 18, to a man who was celebrating his 100th birthday in Rue one Saturday night!  These attributes, had made it a venue I had always wanted to play.

We practised in The CKS Community Centre on the Wednesday before the gig.  I must admit, I was a bit apprehensive before hand.  I think this is natural enough for any musician going into a new band scenario, especially one that has played together for so long with a different keyboard player altogether!  However, I must say, the apprehension was as pointless as the pope with a packet of condoms!  From the moment I arrived at the practise, I was made to feel very welcome.  I was introduced to and shook hands with the muso’s I hadn’t met before (well, just Gerry McCaul), and was welcomed warmly by the rest of the band who I already knew.  We ran through the set (and by “ran through” I mean – one verse, first line of Chorus – “Aye, thatll do boys, What’s next there?..”), and although the sound in the hall was TERRIBLE with a capital T, I could sense from the off that these guys were such well experienced musicians.  As we say in Ireland, “they just knew the craic!”

So the gig itself….

The first half of the set could have gone better.  The sound on stage wasn’t great, however this was expected with Main Street, as it’s very hard to get a good sound in.  So that, from the start, is a very annoying thing indeed.  For one, you can’t actually tell what it sounds like as a band to the audience, let alone if you are playing in the right key!  However, I think the biggest issue was that it was so cold that night.  As I have stated, the Main Street stage is an open air venue, and especially with Irish weather, that can be of great detriment to the band.  When the weather is not in your favour, this obviously is an uncontrollable annoyance.

There were people outside, but not as many as would normally be on a Saturday night.  I can remember seeing groups of people at different stages throughout the night, coming outside from the heat of the indoor bars, and shivering and quite obviously saying that it was FREEZING, and heading back into the heat.

All things considered though, I very much enjoyed playing the first half of the set.  I loved playing tunes that I’ve known for years, and there is a great enjoyment in seeing the crowd dancing and singing along and knowing every word of the songs.  Also, the whole band is so generous with solos.  At some stage during nearly every song, someone would nod over for me to start rockin out.  It was only by the end of the first half (when the drink was in and the wits were out) that some people started to get up and dance.

Still, the 1st half could not have come to an end quick enough for me.  This was not due to the cold, or not enjoying playing the music – far from it!  It was simply because, for the last 20 minutes of the 1^st half, I was in actual AGONY to get to the toilet! lol.  This definitely wrecked my enjoyment of that section of the night, but what a pro, even though his bladder might explode – he won’t walking off stage!

After a well needed “comfort break” and a bit more whiskey to heat the stomach, we took to the stage for the second half of the set.  I enjoyed the second half much more.  This was due to a number of contributing factors.

For one, it being Omagh, a lot of people don’t go out until very late.  I believe that this is generally due to the fact that we’re all cheap skates, and have to get full at the house before hand, to save money.  So by the second half, a lot of my mates, and the usual acquaintances from Main Street, took to the floor.

The biggest factor of why I enjoyed the 2^nd half much more, was because I knew that we actually must have sounded well.  When I am playing live, and people don’t take to the floor (like in the majority of the first half), I’m always afraid that it’s because the sound out front is terrible.  In many gigs, when the sound on stage has been what I can only describe as PERFECT, at the break, I have heard from many people that the sound in the audience is terrible.  So of course, this was a big worry for me during the first half.  However, the second half put these nerves TOTALLY out of my mind – the dance floor was full.

I loved seeing my friends enjoying the music, especially because most of them are musicians also.  And I definitely loved one of them buying me a pint and bringing it up to the stage for me – legend!  However, the highlight of the night, was another one of my good friends, INCREDIBLY drunkenly dancing on his own on the dance floor, with 2 drinks in his hands.  And THEN, the man in question, somehow in that state, getting lucky with a young lady later on in the night!  And how do I know this?…..Because it was in the middle of the dance floor – WHEYYY!!!  He shall however remain anonymous as I don’t think it would be fair on the cub if I told of his inebriated antics on a blog on the world wide web!……However, he is called Danny McCormack.  The Bass Player of “Jason McGilligan and The Big Beat”.  Check out his wordpress, theirs a link on the right ——->

After the gig, the response was terrific.  Even though the drink makes a lot of people a little over emotional and makes them over-state things, people can be so complimentary sometimes.  I mean, I don’t think I should run for President of The World…. But everyone I was talking to were extremely complimentary of my playing.  When complete strangers, make a point of coming over and shaking my hand after a gig, paying me compliments and telling you that they had a great night: this is always such an honour for me.  Its moments like that that make my night, and reinforce my LOVE for playing music.  It makes musicians feel, that the practise they put in every day, and all the money they spend on gear and have spent on lessons when they were younger, wasn’t in vain.  And when people appreciate the little solos and licks that I’ve played during the night, that even I myself are proud of, it really makes me feel great.

So, if you are someone who makes a point of going up to band members at the end of a gig, meeting them and talking to them and telling them that you really enjoyed the music, don’t think for one moment that you are annoying them.  Musicians love hearing that their talent has brought enjoyment to other people.  So if you are usually a person who does this – fair play to ye, and don’t stop!

Sooooo, all in all, a very enjoyable gig.  A venue I always wanted to play, with a line-up of musicians I am always honoured to play with.  Who knows if any other gigs will come along in the future with “The Hoochie Coochie Band”, if not, I enjoyed playing last Saturday and it will all go down to experience.  If so, no doubt, you will hear about it on this very site

Till the next ramble,

Good luck!

So it’s a Wednesday night/early morning, and I still haven’t come down from last Friday night.  Last Friday, the country showband I am a member of, “Jason McGilligan and The Big Beat” took to the stage in The Mellon Country Hotel in Omagh.  After an extremely successful outing not even 2 months previous, by popular demand, we returned on the 30th April.

The main man, Jason McGilligan, is a very talented young 20-something from Limavady, County Derry.  His ever popular cousin Keiran is very well known and loved in the Irish Country Music Scene, and if the few gigs we have had already are anything to go by, Jason is definitely set to follow in his footsteps.  A star of the All Ireland Talent show, Glor Tire, on TG4, Jason had already built up a fan base before he assembled his backing band last October.

I, of course, play keyboards in the band.  I also sing backing vocals.  I am delighted to share the stage with 3 other very talented young musicians in Danny McCormack (Bass and Backing Vocals), Gary McAleer (lead guitar) and Chris Bradley (drums).  All 3 bring their own style of playing into the equation, along with their natural talent, and the fact that we genuinely all get on famously, the show we create, if I do say so myself, is magic.

So it was about our 7th gig with the band last Friday, and admittedly I was setting up with a nagging doubt in my head that just wouldn’t go away.  The doubt being that we mightn’t pull anywhere near the crowd of the last time we played The Mellon (12 March 2010).   After all, it was very soon after, the novelty may have worn off? However,  I tried to put it out of my mind and be positive about the situation.  The PR had be done (and might I add, very well, by Ruth Heaney, head of PR at JMG music), the songs had been perfected, we had done all we could so there was no point worrying at that stage of the game.  And indeed, there was no need to worry at all.

From the moment we got onto the stage, despite a few initial sound issues, everything went brilliantly.  From the first song, the crowd took to the floor and started jiving the night away.  After the intro, Danny (bass) introduced Jason onto the stage as always, and from the cheer Jason got as he was crossed the dance floor, welcoming him onto the stage, I KNEW it would be a great night.

The crowd absolutely lapped up what we were giving them.  Gary (lead guitar) had the wireless set up, so he was crossing over to the keys from the other side of the stage, rockin out with me as we took it turn about to add our own bluesy fills at the ends of the lines.  Danny, as usual, was swinging his bass from side to and singing away, even when he wasn’t using the mike.  During “Workin’ Man’s Blues” (Merle Haggard), the song I sing solo, he must have covered a good half mile dancing round the stage, he even knocked over his mike stand TWICE with the head of hiss bass lol.  And Chris took it all in his stride as usual, nothing but concentration, the tongue fully out and the head down as always, the man NEVER misses a beat.

The crowd couldn’t get enough.  By the end of the night, an impromptu conga line even started right the way around the whole dance hall lol.  If I could see the stupid grins that Gary and myself had at that moment.  The atmosphere was electric.  And the moment Jason sang the first lines of the encore, “Lord Almighty, I feel my temperature risin’!…” the crowd went mad!

I remember looking out to the crowd during the last few sets of the night, and seeing people of all ages, from different walks of life and up bringings, dancing to their hearts content at the music WE were creating and I thought, “this is what its all about”.  Just to see so many of my friends (who admittedly, would not describe themselves as country fans by any means) having a fantastic night alongside strangers who would wave up or wink as they danced past the keys, really made me appreciate how much I enjoy being in the band.

As if one encore wasn’t enough, the crowd looked as if they were going to lynch us if we didn’t play another.  So after Burning Love (Travis Tritt cover), we played one from earlier in the night to finish, at the drunken ‘request’ of someone from the back of the dance hall.  “Eastbound and Down”, from the film, “Smokey and The Bandit”.  What a terrific end to a terrific night.

After the gig, I was on such a high.  It was only when the adrenaline started to wear off, that I started feeling an intense pain in my back.  This is because I had had such a long day’s work, and that along with sitting upright at the keyboards for 2 hours straight, definitely took its toll.  But, if it weren’t as great a gig as it was, I might have been in a bad mood, I might have even went straight home with the pain.  Not on Friday.  I met people from the crowd, joked with friends, and generally drank in the various showers of praise that were coming in from every direction – I mean, take it while you can get it!

So there it was, easily the best gig in the band so far, and probably one of the most enjoyable EVER for me in ANY band.  A big thanks to everyone who turned up and danced, or even just drank the night away.   Thanks for making the night as great as it was.  Your support doesn’t go unnoticed.  Here’s to the next gig with “Jason McGilligan and the Big Beat”.  Aughabraic here we come!

KEEP ‘ER COUNTRY!

Yaho, Caolan McCarthy here.  As you can see I have stumbled into blogland like more and more people are these days.  Im also painfully aware that a lot of people who start a wordpress begin with a watery, general blog along the lines of, “Hi bloggers, welcome to the first boring blog in a succession of boring blogs which have no interest to anyone but myself”.   However….. this is not to say that mine is to be any different….Im just stating that I am aware of this scenario.

Anyway, its 02:33 on the Sunday night following Halloween and after a close friend of mine, Danny McCormack, and even my FATHER having one of these, I decided its about time I gave it go (again, painfully aware of the afformentioned first blog scenario).  That, and immense boredom have resulted in what you are reading at this very moment.

I mean, seriously, when your father is more in touch with Cyber Space than you, something has to be done.  Gone are the days on holidays where I would encourage Dad to check his emails in the cyber cafe across the street, elicitting the response, “But my email is back in Ireland, what good is that to me over here!?”

So, I am a 19 year old musician who loves life…..  Sums me up I suppose….. no real need to continue with this whole blogging malarkey…………..but i will…

I have been out of the schooling system for nearly 2 years now, and after another failed attempt at university (however, I must point out that I didnt actually even start the course this year, so technically, im not a dropout!…this year),  I have decided to start in September 2011,  what I really want to do in university: Law.   Now.  Before you summon the remaining strength within your, by now,  lifeless with boredom body to “x” out of this page,  can I just say that Law is a great honest proffession that helps to make the world a better place……im completely joking, Im gonna be loaded.

But seriously, I do want to do Law in Queens hopefully, but until then, up until now, during, and after the degree until the day that I die, I’ll play music.   After all, I whole heartedly believe that Music moves people and expresses the feelings that we cannot explain, or sometimes even knew that we had!   I get a bit miffed with musicians who give off about only getting such and such money for this gig, and having to travel to Ballygobackwards for that gig, etc, etc.  The way I see it is, we musicians make money from our hobbie, which is also for most of us, our passion.  What a GREAT way to make a living! There is NOTHING to be complaining about….as long as the taxman stays away.

So, I play the keyboards and sing.  I also dabble a little on drums and know over 5 chords on the guitar.  I also play the triangle from time to time.  I have worked with, and still do work with, a number of different bands and 2/3 pieces and I enjoy every moment when I’m playing, be it on my own in the front pink room (the sitting room in my house: dont ask) or to a huge crowd of people with a full band.   I enjoy new challenges, and just can’t play enough music either live or in a recording scenario.  I am always looking for new projects to be a part of, and enjoy collaborating with musicians from all over the country, from many different backgrounds and genres.

I also dabble in a bit of amature dramatics, and besides it being one of the most fun and enjoyable things to do, I have met some of the most genuine people in my life through the Hazel Wand Theatre Group of which Im involved with.

I am also a member of The Omagh-Waterford Peace Choir which is a Gospel Choir based in….wait for it…..Omagh and Waterford    Although no money is involved, I enjoy being a member immensely and look forward to either the weekends when the Omagh gang travel to Waterford, or vice versa.  I have met many new people, and am almost floored by the sound that comes from the choir when we are in full swing.

SOooooo, thats enough rambling for now in my opinion.  Especially as probably the only person who will read this will be me!…And do ye know wat? I shall care not a jot   Although to be fair, hopefully someone will enjoy reading the various tripe that I have to share with the world.

In my blog, I will write about different gigs that Ive played – upcoming and past, projects I am invloved in or will be involved in, and I will also share any other various anecdotes, opinions or other incredibly interesting thoughts from my small, yet rather impressive brain.

I hope youl Enjoy

KEEP ‘ER COUNTRY! (Or whatever genre you prefer to keep “er”)

Caolan