On the record; Aaron McMullan plus a cast of incredibly talented musicians along the lines of Rebecca Jones, Andrew Gardiner, Andrew Warmington, Luke Page, Brian Magee, Ryan H Fleming, Sarah Gill amongst others. Live, either Aaron McMullan solo or joined by various friends and prodigies, including those aforementioned. Current Line- Up - Myself on yap and strums, Ryan H Fleming on banjo and occasional harp or bass-drum or peeanoh.
Influences
The pule o' the power-lines at half five in the mornin. The sense of something extraordinary goin' on someplace else and the realisation that no, it's goin' on here, just pay more attention. The flare of Savage Purple on O'Connell Street. The screech o' the morning in the eyes. The colours of Kirsten Dunst. The music of Billy Bragg, Woody Guthrie, The Dead Kennedys, Bright Eyes, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Shane MacGowan, Bjork, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, The Libertines, Cursive, Ryan Adams, Randy Newman... The work of Flann O'Brien and James Joyce and The Marquis de Sade and Hunter S Thompson and Lester Bangs and Woody Allen and Ingmar Bergman and William Burroughs and Peter Watkins and William Blake and Bertolt Brecht and Will Self. The King James Bible. The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G Ballard. Insomnia. Nicotine. Caffeine. Lust. 75mg of Effexor XL 'pon waking.
"If Johnny Cash had grown up in Northern Ireland, or if Janis Joplin and Leonard Cohen had created a lovechild in the Chelsea Hotel, the result might very well have been Aaron McMullan." AgentBedhead.com
"There is something about this disc that leaves me awestruck. I've not heard an album that has excited me in this manner since I heard my first Clash album years and years ago." Richard Marcus, Blogcritics.org
"McMullan’s debut album proper, should, if there’s any justice, see him catapulted into the limelight. Packed with wistful ballads, foot-tappingly infectious upbeat pop and at least one near-classic country-gospel fever-dream (the stunning album closer, Don’t Think I’ll Sleep Tonight), Yonder! Calliope? easily marks McMullan out as a different beast altogether from his earnest countrymen being both lyrically sharper and deeper." Greg Smyth, Swing Batter Batter / NARC Magazine
THE LOWER-THAN-LO-FI VIDEO FOR "BLUE FROM BLACK" (WARNING - CONTAINS FLASHING IMAGES)
"She Is Waking" Live In Newcastle, September 2007
"Sinead In Savage Purple" Live In Newcastle, Spetember 2007
THE BIO AND SUCH FROM EX LIBRIS RECORDS
Aaron McMullan has spent much of the past three years building a modest but committed band of blessed supporters and well-wishers via both irregular appearances at local venues and the release of five internet-only free-to-download “net-records”. The success of these lo-fi, hissy, reverb-soused recordings led, in part, to the development of a close relationship between McMullan and Ex Libris Records, a relationship which culminated in the craggy-toothed bugger’s signing to the label in late 2006.
The debut album, Yonder! Calliope? is currently available to purchase as CD or Download from Ex Libris Records and will be distributed from September, 2007 by NDN Distribution
McMullan is joined on the record by a cast of incredibly talented musicians and performers, including Ex Libris alumni Ryan H Fleming, Andy Warmington, Brian Magee, Rebecca Jones, Sarah Gill, Simon Phillips and Andrew Gardiner, who also took care of mixing, producing and arranging duties.
"Artists both famous and obscure have spoken at length about The Muse. Just where does that inspiration come from? Let's face it, we'll never know. To try and narrow in on a supposed "idea diamond" is to waste time that none of us can afford."
"Still, there's one resonant line of thought and that's the concept of a universal song, broadcast continuously to a select few. Those lucky ones who can tune in have no say in the matter. The ideas just flow, relentlessly, and are often the cause of great difficulty. Those raw thoughts have power - they know what they want to become. The artist may have other ideas, and that collision of the mind against the infinite can be a brutal one. When there's success, you can hear it."
"That's exactly what I hear when listening to Aaron McMullan: that he has no choice about making this music and, lucky for us and our ears, those raw thoughts have been harnessed."
Speaking about himself (his second favourite topic after The Cinema Of Kirsten Dunst), McMullan says;
"I write songs about what interests me. Me, mostly, but also religion and lassies and laddies and sleeping pills and daydreams and curious combinations of the aforementioned. I’ve been accused of being excessively emo, and maybe I am, but also, there’s a fair dose of country and folk and punk and what not in there, all genres in which a man can get away with not being fit to sing a note nor strum a damn chord, if’n the songs are maybe worth hearing. And I hope maybe they are. Mean, I did get 17 – that’s seventeen - votes on the NME unsigned page a while back. This might not seem like much, but I’ll remind you that it’s 17 more than Led Zeppelin got, and also, it means I’m more than eligible to appear on next year’s Celebrity Big Brother."
AND ALSO, WHILE WE'RE HERE
The five demo-quality, reverb-soaked, hiss-laden pre-Yonder! Calliope? net-released albums are still available for free download from aaronmcmullan.com and are as follows -
196 0r So... being the most recent, and the best, too, as it happens.
75mg being a collection of tunes in the key of whatever key 120 Removed was in, with additional musical assistance from Darren Worth.
120 Removed (April Songs) being a series of musings on sleepin pills an Jesus an Dublin an lasses an filth.
Songs From The Back Room, bein a bit embarrassin to me now, but still, concerns Goth Girls an the horrific death of a lengthy engagement, an also the Kirsten Dunst Tennis Ball.
Stuff I Did 2003-2005, being the best of a buncha bullshit from back in the day, but some of it I kinda dig, that much was made obvious to me when the lass with the orchid on the elbow said If you didnt like it you wouldnt put it on there, so fuck up, thank you please.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE ADD ON YOUR PAGE...I HAVE A NEW SONGS UP .....IF YOU GET TIME TO TAKE A LISTEN AND MAYBE LEAVE A COMMENT...IM NEARLY THERE NOW JUST WAITING ON A COUPLE OF MORE BEFORE ILL HAVE THE ALBUM FOR SALE....
THANKS AGAIN FOR THE ADD.... LOVE N WISHES........FROM CORK CITY ...YOUR FRIEND
Hi Aaron McMullan hope you can make one of the dates below...
Devon Sproule's Ireland Tour 2008
3/06 Groucho’s Music Lounge Richhill 4/06 No Alibis Bookstore Belfast 5/06 Thyme Square Dromore 6/06 The Dufferin Arms Killyleagh 7/06 McDaid’s Ramelton 8/06 Gifted@The Empire Music Hall Belfast w/full band 10/06 Whelan’s Dublin w/full band 11/06 The Strand Bar Strandhill 12/06 Castlereagh Arts Centre Castlereagh
it was goin great, but now im in a rut again :( stuck at 6000, need another 4000 (and make the 10000 into a decent essay to boot). that you home for the summer then? im gonna be workin fulltime all summer, get some dough on the go!
Woah dude, thats a compliment and a half alright! i was checking out your stuff earlier today, ode to innocence is as sweet as condy floss on a good day! your voice is fantastic it reminds me of tom waits on blue valentines though you dont sound like him, you get me? think i might pop along to your next gig like, and if you ever want an extra guitar i'd be happy to offer myself!
Hey! How's the weather over there? I just want to let you know that i'm coming to London in late May/early June to play bass with Kevin Montgomery and Tommy Allsup. Tommy played guitar with Buddy Holly, and is THE guy that flipped the coin with Ritchie Valens.....would love to see you at a show? I figured with you being a musician you could appreciate this show. We play the Half Moon Putney. I hope you can come down?
Take care!
DW
Aaron McMullan! Just stopping by to let you know we've put some new tunes up since you last said hi, so come and let us know what you think! Also, there's going to be a brilliant night on at the Purple Turtle in Camden this Saturday (26th April). So if you happen to be in London, or you know anyone who wants a fantastic night out - We'll be supporting the fantastic Lancashire Hotpots who are heading down for a rare trip south - they're like nothing you've ever heard this side of watford. Check them out at myspace. com/thelancashirehotpots, don't forget your phone wallet keys and come and have a good chuckle while you dance!
Plus for our set we've got some exciting guests playing with us including Clem on funky guitar solos, Olly on trombone and Chlo on Cello. It's the biggest incarnatioon yet!
All we have left to do is buy 50 pounds of sugar for the beefood; test the R2D2 smoker; put up the 'caution' sign; finish painting the feederboards; haul the hives out to the bee-yard; rehearse putting the package bees in the hive including the tricky cork/marshmellow procedure; go get the package bees and plan the First Annual Bee-In and Music Festival.
Fittingly, Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" was first song I heard on the radio this morning.
