About me: This year I moved from the 'hood of Dunluce Avenue to the plush pseudo-suburbs of Bridge End or Lower Short Strand as some of you more cynical types would prefer to call it. This house is a big step up in the world for me. I have a widesdcreen TV, reclining leather chairs and potted plants. Each day I come home from work surprised that Tyler Durden hasn't blown it to pieces in his war against man-breasted Meatloaf and Ikea.
Prior to my move to the big smoke in the year 2000 I lived in rural County Armagh surrounded by green fields, farmyeard smells, bigots, animals and teenage alcoholics. I don't miss this life one little bit!
I'll do almost anything to further my career within the music industry. This career, of course, exists solely in my head at the minute as I'm sure it's impossible to have a career in something thankless and unpaid. I first picked up a guitar and songwriting pad in 1998 after watching Juliet Turner sing on TV and then went for a further few years without playing anything. Jan Carson and Louise McFetridge gave me a chance to play some acoustic gigs supporting the likes of Rick Johnston from Halcyon Days and an up and coming Belfast band called Booley. I formed a band with a few guys from university halls and we gigged around the Christian music scene by day while I played singer songwriter nights in dark bars by night. The band eventually split and I lost confidence in my songwriting abilities and decided to pick up the notepad of music journalism instead.
I began writing for a website called Qube before moving onto Roadhouse Magazine. Neither of these publications exist anymore although I'm relatively confident that this is nothing to do with me. I've been published occasionally on BBC's Across The Line website and also in local music magazine Alternative Ulster, while simultaneously holding the role of NI Editor of Cork based Drop-D Ezine. From now on I shall hopefully be contributing to the new Duke Special fanzine as well.
At the minute it seems that if I'm not writing about gigs I'm running them. Since early in 2008 I have been heading up a new initiative called deadonmusic with my partner in crime from Glasgow. We are music mercenaries and not afraid to admit it. We have the skills to create and produce a whole host of products, services and mindblowing ideas for artists and musicians and aren't afraid to use them! This all came as a sort of indirect consequence of me falling out of the good ship Oxjam as it hit rocky waters in 2007. The idea of getting involved in Oxjam last year came to me at the closing night of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival which I have been volunteering with since 2003 or 2004. I guess some day I'll be found out and may have to resort to paying into gigs like everyone else. Until then I'll enjoy this blossoming musical rennaisance that we're having here...
Who I'd like to meet: For a while this section of my profile contained the lyrics to 'No One Else' by Weezer but now I'm not entirely sure I want to meet a girl of any description or any more people in general really. I like my life as it is quite fine. I don't really have time for myself never mind for anyone else.
Hi Sneaks, sorry don't think I even got a chance when I was leaving to say thanks for asking me & Michelle to yours, great night, but rather fragile on Sunday!! Thanks again, hopefully speak to you soon!!
I'm playing the recordings for my upcoming CD at OhYeah at 3pm on the 19th of October. Everyone gets to air their views on the music and vote for the EP title, tracklisting and the artwork.
2002! I'll have to dig some old photos out....I saw a few that Lucy had a while ago. Me holding a beer bottle in front of my face with Gogs and Darren and giving the camera the fingers. Vintage.
Looking at your event calendar it looks like your not but I might be coming up to The Empire for Lisa Hannigan on the 25th as the Dublin date clashes with a family birthday. Give me The Empire over Whelans any day. I'm just asking around to see if I could bump into familiar faces at the gig?
I quote "If you order a drink you have to finish it. It's the rules!!" Or I had to finish it because of this man and his wise words: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmjal4TTNIU
This just a hypothetical question for now but will you be around Belfast in the next 3 or 4 weeks for a pint? I'm attempting to plan a trip around NI for some time in mid August. I need to sort out my geography knowledge as it's fecking diabolical and find some one to go with oh dear !! xx
