On The Album - 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, Simon Phillips and Sarah Gill.
Live - Either Aaron McMullan solo or joined by various friends and prodigies.
Influences
Lisa. Ballymoney. London. Dublin. 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 goon-shack. The Duelling Christs. The colours of Kirsten Dunst. The music of Billy Bragg, Woody Guthrie, The Dead Kennedys, Bright Eyes, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, The Pogues, Shane MacGowan And The Popes, Bjork, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, The Libertines, Cursive, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt, Ryan Adams, Randy Newman, Gillian Welch... 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. Benylin. Pulmo Bailly.
"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
"Blackmill Rd." Live In Newcastle, June 2008, with the Lodge Road Players.
"Song Just For Tonight" Live In Newcastle, June 2008, with the Lodge Road Players and the wonderful Rebecca Jones
"Sundogs" Live In Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, June 2008, with the Lodge Road Players
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
A couple demo-quality, reverb-soaked, hiss-laden pre-Yonder! Calliope? net-released albums are available for free download from aaronmcmullan.com and are as follows -
196 0r So... being some songs about songs and some other songs about Dublin, Ballymoney, Jesus and so on.
75mg being a collection of tunes of similar stock, with additional musical assistance from Darren Worth.
Hi there! How are you? Hope all is going well for you. I have a new song called BRING THE SUN. It would absolutely knock my socks off if you had a listen and let me know what you think of it with a comment!
CALLING ALL OPEN MIC ARTISTS... NEWS...LAUNCH PARTY!!!
A BRAND NEW WEEKLY "OPEN MIC NIGHT" LAUNCHES THURSDAY 22ND OCTOBER AT THE GREEN ROOM / PORTMAN
HOSTED BY "NACHO JASE"
HOUSE GUITARS & INSTRUMENTS AVAILABLE TO PLAY RECORD YOUR LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TO A CD*
FREE NACHO'S @ LAUNCH PARTY
FREE ENTRY 8PM Please arrive early to get your name down on the chalkboard
It's my Birthday too so please bring expensive gifts & cakes...
Hope to see you...Keep It Sweet & Keep music live! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget "REVOLVING DOORS" Open Mic Night Every Tuesday @ O'Neill's, Bournemouth from 9pm : Free Entry
hi aaron! hows things? long time no hear from. any exciting news? im back in the swing of uni, tryin to gather my thoughts into some sensible order...aaaaagh thesis!
Hey friend remember us we would like to think you because wit out you we couldn't of gotten so far, we started this account 3years ago and we never would expect to go so far wit the band
1 000 000 play on youtube & myspace
50 000 friend
myspace top 20 Canadian band
and now our first distribution deal Soul Kiss Entertainment Inc/Universal Music Group Artist SPY NATION single on radio please ,please subscribe to our myspace blog and youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/spynation10
My New Book: Butterfly Tai Chi: Health, Energy and Tranquility in 10 Minutes a Day
Description
The author was inspired by observing butterflies to develop a system of Tai Chi that could be performed in a limited space and within a relatively short time. He designed Tai Chi movements that naturally enhance the Qi flow in the order directed by Chinese medicine and whilst it can be used to treat a wide variety of illnesses, its real power is in preventing illness. Succinct and effective the reader can learn this form of Tai Chi within a day and can be performed anywhere -no matter how little space available.
About the Author
Martin Faulks has been a student of the oriental martial arts since he was five years old. He has a black belt in the Korean martial art, Kuk Sool Won and is proficient in the mystical disciplines of China including Tai Chi, Meditation, Qi Gong and the legendary form of Yi Jin Jing.
Netshows Stage
is not a lonely hearts club but a growing community of musicians
and music lovers. It's purpose is to promote and showcase through
profiles and features.
As ever if this is your kind of thing, or indeed even if it is not, please give it a listen: the free and easy quick download is there for your use and abuse! The full track listing is available within my profile blog!
Hey Aaron, how are you?just a quick comment, 5 new tracks up on the myspace, check 'em out
when u get a chance!!Leave some nice comments, tell your
mates, all the regular hoola!Just started producing all my own stuff,
total new musical sound!!Hope you are well!!Sarah-Louise x Add Sarah-Louise on Facebook!