***BREAKING NEWS***
Songwriter, Niall Toner is delighted to announce that a song of his is featured on the biggest-selling video game of all time, Grand Theft Auto 4, with sales in excess of $7 Million since it's launch on April 29th. last.
Niall's song is called The Real Real, aka. The Dublin 2-Step, and is played during the scene in an Irish Pub in NYC. Niall composed the song in 1990, and recorded it originally as a single for release on the Irish market which never happened. Then through a Publishing deal with Bardis Music in Dublin, and Crucial Music in LA, the song was pitched and accepted for inclusion in GTA4.
When asked what this meant to a songwriter, Niall replied : "THIS IS THE KIND OF BREAK THAT EVERY SONGWRITER DREAMS ABOUT, AND IT'S THE BIGGEST THRILL OF MY WRITING CAREER. IT GOES TO SHOW THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER LOSE FAITH IN A SONG YOU ARE PROUD OF, AND I HOPE IT SERVES AS AN EXAMPLE TO OTHERS WRITERS WHO ARE WAITING FOR A BREAK.
I WOULD ALSO HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION OF TWO VERY DETERMINED PUBLISHERS, PETER BARDON OF BARDIS MUSIC IN DUBLIN, AND TANVI PATEL OF CRUCIAL MUSIC IN LA. THANKS GUYS, LET'S GET WORKING ON ANOTHER ONE"
Niall's new CD with his band, NTB3, which is his third all-original, all-acoustic project, is released on Avalon Records on May the 25th. at Studio One in the RTE Radio Centre in Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
Niall Toner was born in Dublin, and got his introduction to Traditional Country Music from his Dad, who played American-style music on Mandolin and Guitar. By the age of fourteen, Niall was playing for friends and neighbours, and when a school pal of his introduced him to the music of Bill Monroe, The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, he was hooked, and so began his life-long passion for American Bluegrass and Country Music.
The early sixties found Niall living in Cork City, where he became a regular on the local Folk Music scene, and formed the Lee Valley String Band, an acoustic outfit who are still going strong today, forty years on ! www.leevalley.ie
Niall returned to his native Dublin in the late Seventies, and once again, founded a group that were to feature for many years on the Irish Folk Club scene. That was the Sackville String Band, and they played everywhere, including stints at the Dublin Folk Festival, Lisdoonvarna and Ballisodare Festivals, while also featuring on many radio and TV shows, including the Late Late Show, and Live At Three on RTE TV, the national broadcaster.
In the early eighties, Niall did a "Bob Dylan" on it, and went electric. The result was the formation of one of the most influential Country-Rock bands in Irish music History, the uniquely titled Hank Halfhead And The Rambling Turkeys. With the Turkeys, Niall or Hank, as he was then known, went on to break the record for Midnight At The Olympia, playing sixteen straight weeks to full houses. The Rambling Turkeys also worked New York and Boston to similar reactions, and played a now famous Birthday gig for Adam Clayton of U2. They also went to number twelve in the Irish Charts with the release of their first single in 1990, a version of an old Doc Boggs song, Walking Boss.
In 1988, Niall began a residency at the Harcourt Hotel in Dublin, playing Bluegrass Music every Sunday Morning for a record-breaking Nine years and two months, Dublin's longest residency, exceeding that of Paddy Cole’s band at the same venue by four weeks ! Guests during this period included Sally Van Meter, Butch Waller, Kathy Kallick, Downes Thompson,John Prine and more.
For over Fourteen years during the seventies, eighties and early nineties, Niall presented Country Heartland on RTE Radio One, one of the most influential country music radio programmes ever broadcast in Ireland, and the subject of several Hot Press Magazine Award nominations.
In 1999, Niall re-located to Bunclody in County Wexford, where he has concentrated on his career as a songwriter and performer, as well as presenting Country Heartland on RTE Radio One, from the Waterford Studios. Niall also writes with many of Nashville’s most successful songwriters, and spends a month each year working on songs in Music City USA. Niall also sits on the Board of IMRO The Irish Music Rights Organisation, affiliated to ASCAP
Niall now performs mainly original bluegrass and country music, with The Niall Toner Band, and during 2005, Niall and his band featured at The Kilkenny Rhythm 'n' Roots Festival, The Wexford Hooves and Grooves Festival, the Ulster American Bluegrass Festival and the Bluegrass On The Walls Festival in Derry, as well as doing an extensive set of gigs for the Heritage Service in Dublin's Public parks during the Summer months. 2005 saw them booked for the Athy Bluegrass Festival, The Dun Laoghaire Festival Of World Cultures, and the Kilkenny Arts Festival, as well as featuring on the Office Of Public Works Summerfest gigs in Stephen’s Green, Phoenix Park and St.Enda’s.
In January 2003, Niall released his debut CD, There’s A Better Way, on Avalon Records. The album features twelve original songs, written, or co-written by Niall and members of the group, and was awarded nine and a half points out of ten by Sarah McQuaid in her Hot Press review. In 2003, Niall was nominated for a CMA International award for his services to Country Music over the years.
In April 2005, Niall released his second CD, Mood Swing, comprising fifteen new original songs and tunes, and once again, this project has been very favourably reviewed in the Music Press.
Niall’s songs have been recorded by Bill Wyman, Albert Lee, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Special Consensus, Paddy Cole, Eoin O’Riabhaig,Raymond Dolan, John Hogan, The Fleadh Cowboys, The Wilfs and many others.
Niall undertook a solo tour of the USA during September and October 2005, playing to audiences in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama.
Niall was invited to perform his Bill Monroe tribute songs at the Annual Bill Monroe Festival in Rosine, Kentucky, in September, 2005, and also on the European stage at the IBMA Festival in Nashville, TN. In October, 2005.
Niall is currently presenting Root Freeway on Tuesday nights on RTE Radio 1 from 9pm. You can listen live on line on the RTE website, or listen to last weeks show by clicking this link
Niall and the Band recently played at Larry Roddy's club in Ballymore Eustace which is currently located at Mick Murphy's cosy Pub in the Village. It's a small, intimate place which holds about 80-90, and was full for the occasion. There were lots of old fans in the audience, including Tony and Joan O'Brien, who travelled from Athy. Tony is the organiser of the Annual Athy Bluegrass Festival, which takes place there from July 12-15, featuring Red Wine, Woodbine, NTB and loads more. Check their website for more details. The gig in Ballymore was a great sucess, the sound was just excellent, and the crowd were well-pleased. We look forward to returning there before too long, and also to the prospect of performing at the Carman Fair in September.
Niall and the Band are currently working on material for our third CD. It's a long process of trying various new ideas, while trying to remain faithful to the sound and style of our two previous recordings. It looks as though there will be at least two new instrumentals, and at least ten new songs, and once again, we will be working in the Studio with Dave Howard. Release date should be around July-August, 2007.
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