Youghal Radio Interviews - Guests of Shane Supple

Diarmuid De Guide

2011-12-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

Diarmuid De Guide interview Thursday 22nd Dec 2011
On Thursday last I had the pleasure of Diarmuid De Guide from Blarney in County Cork as my guest. We were joined in studio by his manager Carol Rice who also manages Stephen Leeson, Jimmy Crowley and Irish Folk Group Shebeen. Also in the studio on the day was guest presenter Linda Carroll who presents another program on Youghal Radio. So with a bigger then normal crew of people all gathered around the mic it was going to be an interesting if not fun afternoon. And fun it was with some great tunes thrown in for the listeners. I spoke with Carol about how she came across Diarmuid and I also spoke with Diarmuid about how he came across Carroll, but I am getting ahead of myself again as normal. I guess I should tell you a little about Diarmuid.

He is quite the acclaimed musician with the ability to play Guitar, Harmonica, Banjo, Whistles, Mandolin, Accordion, Bodhran, the list is endless but he has a big soft spot for the Banjo and the Whistles and recently gaves the well renowned Sharon Shannon a loan of his Tin Whistles on a recent trip to Lanzarote because she had forgotten hers. His musical influences ranges from Christy Moore, The Clancy Brother, Dubliners, Wolfe Tones to The Fureys and Davey Arthur.

Diarmuid has a natural ability to play by ear and he soon realised this at the very young age of 7 when he began to play the Tin Whistle in School and picked it up instantly. He claims that music is in his blood because even thought his brothers and sisters tried their hand at it, they unfortunately don’t have a note between them and he is the only musician in his family but he was inspired by his uncle who played the banjo and this is where his love of the banjo comes from. One of his biggest musical influences would have to be Finbar Furey who also plays the banjo. It wasn’t until he was 15 years old that he started playing the Guitar, with the mandolin to follow, then the harmonica which was quickly followed by the banjo.Even though his parents encouraged to get a trade under his belt after leaving school, Diarmuid did his apprenticeship as a Carpenter but his heart wasn’t in the job it was in the music and with such a passion and love of music he completed his trade and then put his full focus into music which he has been doing since.

Diarmuid has travelled all around the world with his music and played all over Europe in Scotland, England, Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, Jersey Island, Gran Canaries, Lanazarote before moving onto Asia and Canada. He firmly believes that by travelling away tightens up a musicians’ performance especially for young people who are learning the trade and working hard as a solo act in these countries it gave him confidence and an appreciation of the work involved with playing solo or with a band. He played with many a band growing up one of them being “The Hairy Bousies” which were known as the kiddy band in Blarney. They unfortunately split up and Diarmuid finally went onto create his own band which are called “The Ferrymen”. He also plays from time to time with Cork “Finnegans Wake” and is a resident musician in The Bailey Bar with the band “The Rogues” every Sunday night. One of Diarmuid’s great passion in life and is what he sees as his daily job is busking, and he is well known in Cork City where he performs on a regular basis.

On talking to Diarmuid you can see how passionate and hungry he is to succeed in this harsh business and next year will see him collaborate with other great musicians in the folk industry, one of them being Stephen Leeson. Earlier this year Diarmuid and his band mate Phil Cahill were special guests at Stephen Leeson’s gig in Glens Theatre, Banteer. It was there first experience of such an intimate gig but they went down a storm before Stephen Leeson took to the stage and joined Stephen Leeson for his final performance on the night as they sang “Go Lassie Go”. I am therefore hoping that by then end of 2012 they will be doing gigs in Theatres by themselves.

At present Diarmuid is working on his new album and is hoping to put pen to paper and start working on his own material. He hopes that 2012 will see him work with experienced artist who have the same goals and ambitions as him and he would love to support artists like The Furey’s, as to gain such experience would be real beneficial for him and it would be great to be pointed in the right direction from some of the best acts within the industry. He also hopes to get his music out there and travel Ireland more performing in all 32 counties.

On a final note Diarmuid is now under the guidance of a new manager by the name of Carol Rice who has also the privilege of managing Stephen Leeson, Jimmy Crowley and Irish Folk Group Shebeen, so 2012 will see some collaboration and new ventures for Diarmuid De Guide.

Shane Supple interviews Diarmuid De Guide by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

To contact Diarmuid you can contact Carol Rice, M.Sc., B.Comm.

(Diarmuid De Guide Management)

Phone: 089 4384175

International: 00353 89 4384175

Ger Thompson 2nd interview

2011-12-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

Ger Thompson 2nd Interview Friday 16th Dec 2011

Well this week we had a chance to catch up with singer songwriter Ger Thompson. Ger who was on the show last March has been working away writing songs and getting himself out there so to speak. Since his last visit much has happened to Ger, today spent the time talking about these new events and how his songwriting was progressing. Ger, as always sang during the interview two of his great new songs. Now I know I am going a little off topic here so bear with me because I feel its important and needs to be said. I find that a second interview can tell a lot about a person, the first interview people are always well behaved, a little guarded and keeping an eye on everything they say, and this is normal after all who wants to sit down and discuss a life story live on air with people they don't know. However with Ger I found the opposite, a relaxed, outgoing, guy who loves his music and loves to talk about music in general. There was no hint of suspicion or any of the things I listed above. Ger from day one when we met in March is still the same guy, still as passionate about music, still as gentle and soft spoken, still as humble and most of all is a gifted songwriter with a lot to offer. The reason I even mention this is to try show you a little of the man rather then the public persona so to speak. I met a guy who, in the music world is a genuine, down to earth, honest hardworking guy. Now having gotten that out of the way read on.

For those that dont know Ger Thompson he is originally from Dublin but now living in locally. He moved to Cork with his wife Eileen whom he met while studying at Drama Collage. He spent most of his working life as an actor even after he got married. About a year and a half ago he was laid off from his job, like so many others in this current climate and he found it hard to adjust from working every day to not working. But while one door closes as they say another will open and he found that he had time to finish some projects he had always wanted to do but never had the time, one of those was songwriting.

Today he told me that he had the privilege of playing live in Vicar street recently and for anyone that knows anything about music this is one of the most important venues in Ireland, Ger sang some of his own songs and managed to fulfill with many singer songwriters in Ireland and abroad would kill for, the chance to sing in Vicar Street. This goes to show that his talent is coming to the fore and that its only a matter of time before his songs and songwriting become a household name, tunes that other bands will record and preform on stage.

Already he has had radio play on our national radio station RTE 1 with Alf McCarthy playing some of his songs, and this only came to light after our interview when I met a friend ont he street on the way home, "Here Shane" he said to me "do you know that fella you had on today, Ger Thompson, sure wasn't I only listening to him on radio during the week and I said to myself didn't Shane Supple interview him during the year." I asked him on what station and who was the presenter and he told me it was RTE 1 and it was Alf McCarthy who played it. Its great to know that talent will always rise to the top. Its even better to know that we have that talent here in our midst and we can hear him song locally,

All I can say is listen to the interview, I am sure you will enjoy it after all talent is always enjoyable. And dont forget to check out his own webpage on www.gerthompson.com or youtube

Shane Supple interviews Ger Thompson 2nd interview by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

A song taken from Ger's own website www.gerthompson.com which he sang at the interview in March.

Sinead McNally

2011-12-09T06:55:00.000-08:00

Sinead McNally Interview Dec 1st 2011

This week I spoke with the very talented Sinead McNally a singer/songwriter and pianist from Dundalk. I am a lazy person as many of my listeners will tell you so a lot of the information below is from Sinead's own website or Myspace page. So forgive me for copying the text. However the interview is my own and you can listen into that below. Sinead spent her early years studying piano at the College of Music in Dublin and alongside that developed her love for Irish traditional music by learning the fiddle through Comhaltas. When she was 14 she won ‘The Macardle Award’ after being auditioned by renowned Irish conductor Proinnsias O’Duinn on behalf of Louth County Council. She was awarded a scholarship to pursue her classical music studies. She went on to study a degree in music at Canterbury Christchurch University.

Following that she trained as a primary school teacher. In 2004, a song she submitted to RTE for the Eurovision Song Competition came runner up in the ‘You’re A Star’ TV programme, just narrowly missing out on representing Ireland in the Eurovision that year.She has also been a finalist in the Glinsk Song Contest and the Kerry Ballad competition in the last two years and received very positive feedback from high profile judges in both competitions.

Sinead’s burning ambition to be a full-time singer/songwriter got the better of her and last September she decided to give up the day job as a primary school teacher to do what I do best. I am quite a chatterbox and a great believer that with the right attitude you can achieve everything you want in life. "Sometimes I need to check my roots to make sure Im not actually blonde...!! I am a little ditzy when it comes to life in general and am known for saying some crazy things! I am short, gullible, chatty, mad for dancing, hate wet feet, zero tolerance for wine but most importantly of all I am a dreamer and know that in life there are no impossibilities...

Sinead thrives on interaction with her audience and on the sharing of experiences and thoughts through the words and her music. She recently supported Eleanor McEvoy who was promoting her new album. Prior to this she supported up and coming Edenderry based band ‘Frantic Jack’ in Whelans among many other bands and artists since leaving full time work in September. In December last she supported the fantastic Monaghan singer/songwriter Ryan Sheridan on the first night of his tour. Sinead has a packed diary of gigs, both support and as headline act over the coming months and her first single is being prepared for release in February. Sinead’s very impressive piano skills mixed with her wide range of musical styles and songs that move and delight make up a very enjoyable entertainer.

Each week my radio show allows me chat with many talented singer songwriters and this week again proved that point, I have the best job/hobby/pastime in the world that allows me talk to people like Sinead, Click on the link below to listen into our interview.

Shane Supple interviews Sinead McNally by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Website http://www.myspace.com/sineadmcnally

Facebook http://facebook.com/sinead.mcnally

email: mcnallysinead@hotmail.com

Aine Duffy

2011-12-03T08:47:00.000-08:00

Aine Duffy interview Friday December 2nd 2011

Well are days when all goes well, nothing can go wrong life is wonderful and nothing can get you down, but sadly there are days when your not feeling on top of the world and everything goes wrong its dark, gloomy, boring and your simply fed up. Well there is a cure and its not medical. That cure quite simply is Aine Duffy. Now I dont normally dispense medical advice in this blog, but on this occasion what can I say. I can only talk about this miracle cure from personal experience I had on Friday last, I was tired, it had been a long night, I was having a bad day, things were not going to plan and life looked awful. Then at about ten past one, I was cured. This cure came in the form of the energetic, talented, happy, carefree, wild ball of fun known as Aine Duffy who arrived at the studio for our interview.

Despite the opening paragraph waxing a little lyrical Aine Duffy is a very serious singer songwriter who treats life as it should, she looks it straight in the eyes and say "give it your best" she is without doubt one of the most upbeat, energetic, lively people I have ever met. She makes no apologies for who she is, what she sings, or how she sings it. Its very much "This is me and this is my music, I like what I do and am not afraid to enjoy it." her personality invites you to join her as she tells her tales of life, love, fun, drama and experiences through music. As she sings you can see she is immersed in her music, she lets it wash over her, it take her on a trip that most of us can only ever dream about. Its happy, its sad, its fun, but most of all, its music as it should be un-apologetic . Don't get me wrong I love what this lady does, I am in awe of her ability to write good songs, I am amazed at how structured her songs are, even though they have a flow that's not regarded as the normal, verse chorus verse type of song. Tempo changes, rhythm changes, the mood changes in each song that has been crafted over time. This lady is a jewel in the crown of Irish music. For all intense and purpose she is the equivalent of a modern day Seanachi, she tells you a story, but embellishes, not only the lyrics but the sounds you hear, the vocals, her guitar playing all form an integral part of each masterpiece.

And again I find myself waxing lyrical. But I have to be honest here, when I even think of our chat, I still get carried away with the essence that is Aine Duffy Singer Songwriter extraordinaire............
Ok got to try focus here and make this readable and in plain English.

Aine Duffy as a songwriter is unique.
Aine Duffy as a singer has an incredible range.
Aine Duffy as a person is fantastic.
Aine Duffy as a voice for this generation is perfect.
Aine Duffy in concert is a night you should not pass up.

Look, as always I read back to what I wrote before I click on the submit button and to be honest even though it reads like I had magic mushrooms the simple truth is I cant write about Aine in any other way. I am hooked on Aine Duffy and while I do hope the world and its brother will all come to love her music, I don't think there are enough open minded people in the world who will get it. Music is strange, its why we see X Factor and the like along with record company manufactured bands on top of the charts, but as long as there are songwriters like Aine Duffy around I think the world has a chance and is all the better for it. I will conclude my ramblings now and ask that you listen to the interview and make up your own mind, for me it was made up long ago but chatting to Aine and listening to her sing live only reinforced that. It was, I have to say a great experience meeting Aine in person and I loved every minute of it. Up coming songwriters can all take a leaf out of the book that is Aine Duffy.

Shane Supple interviews Aine Duffy - singer / songwriter by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

http://www.aineduffy.ie

Stephen Leeson 3rd Interview

2011-12-01T06:15:00.000-08:00

Stephen Leeson Interview Dec 1st 2011

Well this week we caught up with singer songwriter, Stephen Leeson. The last time we spoke with Stephen was march of this year (follow this link to hear that interview). We spoke about his album The Isle of Hope which has received rave reviews around the country from radio presenters to fans alike. Stephen who was once singer with the renowned group The Dublin City ramblers has for the last number of years been working hard recording, promoting and getting his new album out their and available to everyone. As he says himself its hard work promoting a new album, almost as hard as putting it together, recording it and releasing it. I spoke with Stephen on the phone rather then in person today because he was busy on the set of Titanic, a new TV seris being shot in Ireland and Stephen is on set as an extra.

He says its great fun meeting people from different walks of life on set and is giving him a great insight into the world of film making as he will be starting production of his own videos in the coming months. The good news is that Stephen's new album will soon be available on his own website click here or follow the links) below to download as well as available in shops around the country and of course on all good online music stores.
Listen in to our chat here>

Shane Supple interviews Stephen Leeson (3) by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Stephen is a rare talent nowadays he is the modern bard/balladeer traveling around from town to town singing his songs and telling his stories through music. Whilst Stephen is kept busy playing various gigs across Ireland with venues booking him left, right and centre, Stephen is also due to feature in numerous festivals throughout the year across the water. Earlier in the year he was specifically requested to play in this year’s Jazz Festival in Kirkcudbright in Scotland and is just back from the Marymass Festival in Irvine, Scotland, where he played his own set and accompanied Dublin Folk Group “Whiskey Still” during their set. September will see Stephen specially flown over to Holland with Whiskey Still for the “De Tambler Irish Festival” will which also features other Irish Folk Groups like The Kilkennys. Interviewed on numerous radio stations over the last few months, with regards his big decision to move back to Ireland during these hard economic times, his music career and his new album, Stephen has also been participating in numerous theatre gigs around Ireland with the latest one being in the beautiful St. John’s Theatre, Listowel, Co. Kerry.

New Album

Available Now

For more information on Stephen Leeson:
Please contact Carol Rice @ 089 4384175 or 00353 89 4384175
c.ricemanagement@gmail.com
www.stephenleeson.com

Paradox

2011-11-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

Paradox interview Friday 18th Nov 2011

Well I know I often say I dont know where to start and on this occasion I really dont know where to start. There is so much history and so much going on with this band that its not easy to find a starting point for this page. Is it where I first met them in person at the radio station?, is it where we first came across them online?, or is it a the start of their own story which to say the least is your typical "Rock and Roll story", I will insert bullet points here to give you an idea of what were talking about - Band, Cork, Friends, Brothers, Music, Record, First Album, LA America, Record Deal, Tour, Ireland, Album, Second Tour America , Second album, Canada, Berlin, Ireland, Mexico, Cuba, Third Album, Time off between albums, Broken contracts, Touring, Music, Band, Cork etc . Or do we listen to the interview and try make sense of it all. Tell you what I will start writing and we will take it from there.

Two brothers Mike and Pete McCarthy from Blarney decided to get a band together and all I have bullet pointed above came to pass. However now several years later and a lot wiser I had a chance to speak to these two guys on air in Youghal. On first meeting these lads you are struck by the almost shy, modest but mannerely handshake and greeting. Not something one would expect having listened to a few songs before meeting them. The second thing that struck you was how quite and laid back these guys were, I dont know is it me but a lot of my guests of late all have a confident silent way about them, anyway these two lads are no different in that regard, nothing showy or in your face here.

I guess you gotta see them live on stage to witness that side of things but in person away from the stage and lights they are what one would term "Very Nice boys" the sort of guys your parents always wished you were friends with. But behind it all you will find a steely reserve, there has to be if you take into account their brief but colorful history as a band you will uderstand what I am talking about. Now we all know I am lazy so I simply went to their website and cropped all the info below so if you want to read more on this group fire away, I have also included a video again taken from their webpage, but the audio is all mine Well its the radios but I did sit and talk to the guys for almost an hour, So I feel that I have completed my mission , however..............And this is a big however I am sitting here wondering how it is that the world has not heard of this band before. I am sitting here wondering how it is that they have not been in the charts, how it is that everyone around me is saying ah yea Paradox sure everyone knows them.

At first listen the music was not my cup of tea so to speak but as you listen to the songs you can understand more about this band, the lyrics, the sound, the drive, the expert musicianship, the highs and lows in every song all different but at the same time consistent with greatness. I know waxing a little lyrical here but feck it I don't know how else to describe this group. Its simple Shane , - They are dam good, they work hard and they can play, the music is worth a second if not third listen. The lads themselves are as nice and easy to talk to, nothing underhanded no attitude, no big head, no "We been to America" in fact these guys laugh at the experience they have had.

Let me ask you this how many people reading this have been to Las Vegas never mind how many of you have consistently Played Las Vegas and lived to tell the tale so to speak. This band has a lot of history under their belt and yet they don have the cynicism that most would have after going through what they have gone through. They still have a desire to play, to record, to write, to preform and most of all seem to really and I mean really enjoy it. Look I will shut up now just listen to the interview and if, like me you find your enjoying it remember its almost 45 mins long but will only seem like 10 mins.

Shane Supple interviews Paradox by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Website
http://www.paradoxrock.com/
http://www.myspace.com/paradoxrock
http://www.youtube.com/paradoxrock
Press Contact

paradoxband@rock.com

Paradox were formed in 1996 by brothers Pete Mac and Mike Mac in Cork, Ireland. Mike the older brother grew up listening to Guns n’ Roses, Metallica, the whole 80’s metal phase and started playing guitar at an early age before switching to drums a few years before the band formed. 'Appetite for Destruction' was the album that turned Mike onto Music and Rock n 'Roll at the age of 8 and opened the doors to many more bands of that era. By the time Pete discovered music it was 1991 and the whole Alternative scene just started to take off. Pete describes his early years "I was a 10 year old kid when I first heard ‘Teen Spirit’. I can honestly say it changed my life. After my cassette copy of Nirvana’s Nevermind had worn thin from being over played I discovered other Seattle bands like Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam to Mudhoney and Screaming Trees." Pete started playing guitar in 1994, that same year Kurt Cobain died and the whole Grunge scene seemed to disappear as fast as it had appeared. The early Paradox years were heavily influenced by everything musically coming out of Seattle.
Even though both Mike and Pete have somewhat different musical tastes they both seem to combine their influences. The band shaped much of their music around many vocal harmonies layered on top of power chord riffs heavily influenced by the likes of Alice in Chains. That band was their musical compromise and possibly their biggest influence. As for the third Paradox member the band has gone through many bass players. 8 in total and that number keeps growing. The bands longest playing bass player from 2000 to 2002 was Bjorn the Bass who's a huge Punk Rocker and he brought that into the bands music especially when playing live.

Debut album - 'Circle of Growth' - (2000/2002)

After a few years of playing the local circuit, recording many demos and fine tuning their sound Paradox headed to the US and secured a record deal with an independent label based in Los Angeles California. Pete and Mike flew out to LA for 2 weeks and recorded their debut album 'Circle of Growth' in December 2000 @ Master Groove Studios in the Valley. They both played all instruments on the album as well as producing the album themselves. 'Circle of Growth' defines the bands earlier sound, a raw mix of Grunge, Punk and Garage Rock. Reviews of the album compared it to Nirvana's Bleach and to bands like Local H and Mudhoney. The albums most prominent track 'Infinite' was nominated to be the albums single. An independent video was shot and the song ended up receiving a lot of airplay on many college radio stations and main Irish radio stations such as Redfm and the Green Room on Corks 96fm. The band continued to tour all over Ireland, including playing the historic Sir Henrys in Cork as well as headlining the IMRO showcase in 2001 and returned to the US in 2002 for more touring, playing the BOB Music Festival in Las Vegas among other shows. As a result of the publicity in the US Paradox were featured in many newspapers and magazines in Ireland including Hotpress among others. Although the band received mostly positive reviews their relationship with their US label would prove to be short lived.

'Sacred' the album - (2004)
When the band returned from the US the second time they parted ways with their label and decided that the only way to go is DIY. Paradox hit BPM Studios in Cork, Ireland in January 2003 and recorded 6 new songs that were initially to be released as an EP. Among these tracks was the song 'Lame and Languid' which portrayed a completely new sound for Paradox. In January 2004 Paradox returned yet again to the same studio and recorded another 6 songs including tracks 'Downward Spiral' and 'Pretend Friend'. These 12 songs became 'Sacred' the album.
Pete and Mike Mac yet again played all instruments on Sacred. Pete done Vocals, Guitars and Bass while Mike played Drums, Vocal Harmonies with the addition of Keyboards and Piano on this album.
'Sacred' is a major progression from the bands debut album 'Circle of Growth', veering away from their previous Punk Rock/Grunge sound to a more Melodic Alternative Sound that the band has been thriving to achieve since their creation. 'Sacred' was released May 11th 2004 and distributed mostly online through the likes of CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes and all the main online retailers. That year Pete moved to London and Mike moved to Canada which proved hard in terms of touring for the album. Despite the lack of gigs 'Sacred' received rave reviews online from fans to online fanzines and radio stations. One review quoted 'The core of Paradox's sound is driven with passion and is reminiscent of the grunge/hard rock styles prevalent in middle America. The lyrics are quite insightful and are obviously something these gentleman put a lot of their heart and soul into. "Pretend Friend", one of my favourites displays their appreciation for the musical content of a song with their use of harmonies and a meaningful topic.' Another review added 'Driven by melody and pure adrenaline, these guys are a commanding force in the new music arena'. Track 'Lame and Languid' was the song that got the most attention and went viral online. While the album was proving to be a DIY success Paradox found themselves yet again without a bass player.
By 2005 Pete and Mike returned to Ireland and some shows were booked starting with a show for Pulse Radio UK in Dublin. New bass player Jon Finn jumped in and the band continued to play more shows back in Cork and Dublin. In that time Pete moved to Berlin, Germany and it wasn't long before shows were booked. Their debut German show took place on Dec 28th 2006 to a packed house @ Rock at Sage in Sage Club, Berlin. The show was widely advertised and was considered to be one of the bands best live shows to date. The following year Paradox played a few outdoor music festivals in Germany and 'Sacred' continued to sell and gain momentum. But the fact that Pete and Mike lived in different countries and the lack of touring began to take it's toll.

Pete Mac - In Limbo (2009)
By 2008 many new songs had been written over the past few years and were just waiting to be recorded. A few acoustic demos had been recorded back in 2005 on an analoge old school 4 track in Ireland. At the time Pete was listening to a lot of Jeff Buckley, PJ Harvey, Elliott Smith, Eddie Vedders solo album and the idea came to put out an acoustic album. Instead of going to a traditional recording studio Pete recorded at home using a 4-track, 2 microphones, an acoustic guitar, bass, tambourine and a little imagination. Half of the album was recorded in his apartment in Berlin while other songs were recorded in a bathroom and 3 of the tracks were the demos that were recorded analoge in Ireland in 2005. The album did however take a long time to complete, 6 months in total. The album was called 'In Limbo'.
'In Limbo' is an album of many moods, emotions, each song bringing across a different vibe. From the political outbursts of 'Corporate Pollution' to the atmospheric ambience of 'In Limbo', followed by the melodic waves of 'No Words' to the dischordent chops of 'Bury the World', 'In Limbo' takes a different musical direction from any previous Paradox sound.
'In Limbo' was released February 2009 again mostly online through CD Baby, Amazon and Apple iTunes. Two videos were also shot by Pete for the songs 'No Words' and 'Pretend Friend' with various art like images and video clips shot all over Berlin.
The new acoustic sound was well received by Paradox fans as well as attracting many new fans that might not have listened to Paradox before and the album received mostly positive reviews. The Grunge fanzine Minerva Corner in Portugal summed up the album as follows - "In Limbo" is a simple/ acoustic and direct album with some twists of electric guitar, nothing more added. Its natural and emotional as an intimite album should be... Nothing artificial, no masks, simply true! Other reviews added "The common thread across the diverse songs on the album seems to be the melodic smoothing of sharp edges (biting lyrics) by your spot-on harmonies between lead vocals, guitar chords, and backing vocals."
Pete started playing solo acoustic shows all over Berlin throughout 2009. At a lot of shows Pete would play covers including Eddie Vedders 'Society' and acoustic versions of a few Paradox songs. Although for the most part the shows went well Pete found it hard to fit the traditional singer songwriter role. A lot of the new songs lacked that sound that only a band could create.

'Corporate Pollution' - (2010)
By 2010 Pete and Mike were back jamming together, rehearsing lots of new material written over the past 5 years. A plan was made to record a new album, the bands first since 'Sacred' in 2004. The first Paradox UK tour was also planned for July with 16 dates initially booked. After much confusion with the booking agency the plug got pulled on the whole tour just 3 weeks before it was meant to start. The band continued to pursue the tour themselves and managed to salvage 8 dates. New bass player Jet jumped in and the band hit the road in Mikes blue tour van playing dates all over the UK all the way up to Scotland. On their return it was straight back rehearsing for the new album and then off to a secluded recording studio in County Kerry. Some tracks had been recorded at a different studio a few months before but the band were unhappy with the results so they decided to re-record everything from scratch at the new studio in Kerry.
'Corporate Pollution' is the third Paradox studio album displaying the bands most powerful sound to date. 11 songs were recorded and mixed in 9 days @ Data Recording Studios in County Kerry, Ireland. Just like the previous two Paradox albums brothers Pete and Mike Mac play all instruments. Pete plays all guitars, bass, vocals while Mike plays all drums, piano and vocal harmonies. They also co/produce the album. A few of the songs appeared as acoustic tracks on the Pete Mac solo album 'In Limbo' in 2009 (Emptiness, Bury the World, Serenity) but were re-recorded with drums and a full band sound for this album.
'Corporate Pollution' is the bands biggest loudest sound yet. On average 6 electric guitars were recorded along with triple vocal harmonies, 2 acoustic guitars, lots of bass, piano for certain tracks, a female vocal for one track and two days of drumming. 'Corporate Pollution' captures the frustration, emotion, anger, sadness, happiness and confusion towards todays superficial society in the form of expression through music. From the opening track 'Corporate Pollution' with it's churning guitar riffs and political sneers to the melodic melancholic melodies of 'Repress Excess' or the distorted confusion that is 'Mind Mud' the albums diverse mix and ever changing pace create an interesting and unique sound. The albums stand out track 'Mr. Bureaucracy' was chosen to be the first single with it's fast pulsing riffs and melodic vocals. 'Mr. Bureaucracy' is aimed towards any corporate or political establishment designed to keep society dumb, confused and poor. While the riffs are fast and grungy the melody and lyrics almost seem sarcastic. The line "Mr. Bureaucracy can you control the air I breathe" opens the track to a sudden burst of energy. The chorus refrains of "Freedom of choice not good for me" ring through to an old school grunge sounding riff that takes the song in a somewhat different direction yet repeats itself as the song ends.

Community Radio Awards Night

2011-11-18T03:49:00.000-08:00

2011 Community Radio Awards night organisers interview Friday 18th Nov

Well this week we had two ladies in studio who are well known to the listeners of Community Radio Youghal, Margaret Carey and Maura Joyce, two of the ladies involved in putting together the annual Country Music Awards here at Youghal Radio. Both ladies present their own music shows on CRY each week and have been involved in putting on the awards night since it restarted 3 years ago. In our conversation they explained why they decided to start the awards night, We spoke about the success of it for the last three years and how popular it has become in the annual country music calendar here in Cork.
This year the winners were picked for the following categories for the 3rd Annual Country Music awards held on on Monday 21st November 2011 in the local GAA center. Another local presenter from Community radio Youghal Tommy Collins acted as MC on the night, and anyone who knows Tommy knows he did a fantastic job as always. Tommy has been MC for many events in and around Youghal town, but has been Master of Ceremonies for the awards night for the last 3 years. Well done to all involved for a hard nights work and to all at CRY for providing us with a great service in our local area.

Award
Up And Coming Star: Simon Peters
Most Popular Solo Artist on the Social Dancing Scene: Declan Aungier
Most Requested Artist: Paddy O’Brien
Most Popular Social Dancing Group: Checkers
Most Popular Irish Male Singer: Damien Bowe
Most Popular Album : Thomas & Fhiona
Favourite Irish Female Singer: Pam Jackson
Most Popular Duo: Michael Cleary & Breege Kelly
Best Songwriter: P.J. Murrihy
Most Requested Song: Jim Lane

There was a fantastic crowd on the night with people traveling from all over to see there favourite stars of Country Music on stage. There was not much time wasted between acts and dancing was in full flow throughout the evening. The beautiful glass plaque awards were designed by Yewcraft based in Ballymacoda and were presented by presenters from the Radio Station to each of the winners. The ladies and everyone at Youghal Radio should be congratulated for all their hard work in planning, organising and making sure the night went off without a hitch and we look forward to next years awards.

Shane Supple interviews 2011 CRY Country Music Award organisers by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Photos courtsy of www.YoughalOnline.com

Polly Barrett

2011-11-11T09:54:00.000-08:00

Polly Barrett interview Friday 11th Nov 2011

Well here we go again, another interview with another amazing singer songwriter, I guess what ever I write here will only pale in comparison to what will be written over the next few years for this talented rising star. Take it from me you have not heard the last of this fine singer, Polly Barrett a native from Kinsale in County Cork spent most of her young adult life in Cork City learning her craft and writing songs. Today I had the pleasure of chatting with Polly and of course started off with the usual where did it all start for you. "well I remember doing piano classes at a very young age but it never really was my thing and as I grew older I started to write more I got myself a guitar and from then on things changed for me. With the guitar I found I was able to compose and write songs easier with my pen ,notepad and guitar I was able to put songs together.

I asked Polly what was her secret or formula to writing songs. As we know every songwriter has their own technique to writing songs and Polly said that she liked to gather the information over time , file it away in her brain or even on paper and when it came to writing the song she had loads of information to pull from for the song lyrics and from that point on was able to put a structure around the song.

At this point in the interview I asked her to sing a song for us so the listeners tuning in could understand what we were talking about. She introduced the song Sundays Well and started playing gently on the guitar before she started singing, To say I was distracted is an understatement. Now I have to say its not often the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, normally when I hear see something that just gives that feeling of something new, otherworldly mmmmm, ah look Its something I cant describe,( my style of writing does not allow for imagination) but anyone who has experienced the hairs standing on your arms etc know's exactly what I am talking about. I sat and listened to what I was hearing.

To say that I have the best job in the world is often an understatement. The chance to sit in a room with headphones on and listen to songwriters sing to just me is a feeling I will never miss no matter how long I do a radio show. She has such a gentle yet clear style, tuneful and melodic, your taken on a journey against your wishes. In my case I had things I need to do, mix sound, take the usual photo, get tracks and adverts ready for the next break, guess what on this occasion I simply forgot to do any of the above. I was transfixed and lost in the story Polly was telling. I noticed how effortless she does this without thinking.

Sometimes singers close their eyes and get lost in their own story, however Polly was completely aware of where she was. She would glance across at me from time to time but at all time never got lost or drifted away. She has the gift that many companies, salesmen, politicians all desire, the ability to communicate clearly and precisely without missing whats going on around you. Anyway I am drifting off here and getting lost in what exactly I am trying to write. Its simple really and does not require a higher education to say Polly can sing, Polly can write and she does both very very well.

Polly's first public preform ace was on the streets of Cork where she used to busk from time to time , from there she has worked hard, and has finally started to get noticed. She will be providing support to a lot of artists who will be touring Ireland over the next few months so keep an eye out for this girl. Tell you what listen in to the interview and judge this rare, young, unique talent for yourself.
Click on the link below to her the interview and you can check Out Polly's own website and pages on the links below that to find out where she is touring and who she is touring with..

Shane Supple interviews Polly Barrett by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

http://www.myspace.com/pollybarrett
http://www.reverbnation.com/pollybarrett
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Polly-Barrett-Music/108088589256392?ref=ts&sk=app_2405167945

Sophie O Keeffe

2011-11-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

Sophie O Keeffe interview Friday 4th Nov 2011

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with a new up and coming songwriter Sophie O Keeffe from Ballycotton. I had met Sophie before when she was about 7 or 8 years old, she was with her parents Niall and Aine O Keeffe who were heading a band called Sonic Icons and were in studio for a chat and with them was Sophie. However this time round I got to speak to Sophie and talk to her about her own music. I had a chance to listen to her sing a few songs mostly her own and to say that this young ladies star is shinning brightly is an understatement.

We started off talking about the usual things, and this 15year old was quite capable of answering all the questions I threw at her, some of the questions made sense others, well even I didnt know where they were taking me or what line of questioning I was following, but through it all she remained calm and collected and quitely confident. Bearing in mind it was her first time as a singer songwriter on any radio show, she was being filmed, taped and photographed and questioned by myself, never an easy thing to undertake , she was amazing through it all.

We spoke about how she always wanted to play music how she never thought she would do anything else, about growing up in a house full of music, how her brothers and sisters are also into music as are her parents. She plays guitar and Piano is studying music in school and spends a lot of time writing songs which in her own words comes easy to her. We spoke about what she would like to do in the future, we spoke about her interests in sport as she plays hockey and soccer, we covered her favorite music the books she reads and many more bits and pieces in between.

This quite unassuming lady has got talent in abundance, she sang without the usual nerves associated with some singers live on radio, she played along on her guitar with out a worry in the world. But what impressed me most about this rare talent was the quality of her songs, The last time I heard songs with such quality from a young person was when I first heard Sinead Lohan being interviewed and Sophie has the same qualities Sinead had, Not that I am comparing either of them to each other, No Sinead had her qualities but Sophie has hers too and I think they outweigh Sineads on many levels. The songs are well constructed, well written and thoughtfull, they convey a story from someone years older, they have a wisdom and a sense of truth that only Sophie will ever really know. They are not as simplistic as most teenage songs. Add in the vocals which weave through the lyrics in unison and perfect harmony, She sings each song with a feeling for the song, an understanding of what each word is about and what each song is trying to say and she does this all without batting an eyelid. I suggest you listen to the interview to hear the songs from someone so young but yet so wise.

In a business where it is tough to make it or even to see a rare and new talent, its easy to see where the talent came from in this case, Sophies mother Aine is an amazing singer and her father Niall is also a very accomplished musician and songwriter both having reached a level of success with their own music projects down through the years most notably Temple Door reaching No 1 in the Irish charts in 1995 with the song Roll on the Weekend and further success with Sonic Icons a group they formed later on around 2004, combine their talents and you have a truly remarkable lady waiting to take the world by storm. Well all I can say about this fine singer songwriter is keep an eye out for her, because if today was anything to go by you will be hearing a lot more from this new and upcoming star from East Cork, Sophie O Keeffe, and hey, you cant say you havnt been warned.

Click below to hear the full interview.

Shane Supple interviews Sophie O Keeffe by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Shane Supple Video hits 60,000 views

2011-11-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight my new video I want you to want me hit 60,000 views on Youtube. thanks to everyone for passing it around and sharing it, please feel free to keep on sharing it with your family friends and anyone else you can think of. Thanks to everyone.

<a href="http://www.linkedtube.com/hVERypwMjno22c454e831a364c77696e56e79f513c5.htm">LinkedTube</a>

Crystal Swing - Derek Burke

2011-11-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Crystal Swing - Derek Burke Interview Friday Oct 28th 2011

This is the first of several interviews I hope to conduct with Crystal swing over the next few months when our schedules will allow it. I will be talking to the three members of Crystal swing. This week I spoke with Derek Burke lead singer and front man for Crystal Swing.

Where to start, Crystal Swing comprises of the Burke family from East Cork, Mary a fine musician and overall brains behind the outfit as well as being mother to, Derek on vocals and Dervla, who in my mind is one of the finest singers ever to come out of Cork. When she sings country you really have to listen, an accomplished singer with a great voice. Anyway I guess I better go back to the first time I came across Crystal Swing. "He drinks Tequila" was their first video I saw from Crystal Swing on the well known SKY TV Program Hot Country, My own video (Lifetime Guarantee was also on the same show) within weeks it was put on youtube and from there it went viral, getting roughly 100,000 hits in the first few days alone, within two weeks it had hit over the half a million mark. Currently on youtube the combined footage and video clips of Crystal Swing surpass the 3 million views mark & thats not including the millions of TV viewers across the globe.

Now there are companies, film makers, bands, movie stars all hoping to acheive what Crystal Swing have managed to do, go viral on the internet. The rewards for this are amazing, in this case Ellen DeGeneres saw the band, loved the band and had them on her tv program - the result millions of viewers, The Late Late Show followed suite and before you knew it they were on every newspaper, radio show, tv program in Ireland, all because of the video "He Drinks Tequila". I remember talking to the producer of Hot Country at the time as he knew I was involved in web design and had done many videos for YouTube and he asked my advice on the video and the reaction it was getting at the time. I pointed out that many people would pay a fortune to go viral and that it was all positive for Crystal Swing. I told him to let it roll, leave it online and make the most of the publicity and if the band handled it right it would be huge for them, little did I know how huge it was going to be.

To be honest at the time there was a very mixed reaction to the video with many people looking at it to see what all the fuss was about some loved it, others wanted to have a laugh, but lets face it "Who has the last laugh now" Crystal Swing, took it all on board and rolled with it, they didnt pander to the naysayers, they didn't get caught up in negative reaction, they pushed onwards, they used it as a launchpad to show that Crystal Swing were not just a one hit wonder, a one track pony, they are behind it all, very genuine, honest, very hard working & nice people. The music business is not all about talent, its about hard graft, its about drive, ambition, luck, work ethic, and the ability to entertain. All you have to do is watch any of the X factor programs, Britain's got talent etc to see the judges don't always pick the best singer but they pick someone who has all the above attributes that are needed to make it in this business. How many times do you think you have to pick yourself up, listen to the critics, dust yourself off and go on stage again and face the same problems and backlash from some one who has had a bad day at the office or just does not like your shirt , its common in the music business to go on stage and please 99% of the audience but the 1% will complain, give out and be twice as loud as the other 99% and are never afraid to tell you what they think. Crystal Swing have huge support from rural Ireland. they are on a roll and have not looked back since the day they decided to appear on Hot Country.

I knew that I wanted to invite them on my radio show for an interview, after all they have put Cork on the musical map of the world. So I got in touch with Derek and without hesitation he agreed to chat with me. Because of his busy schedule we decided to do this interview over the phone and some time in the future get the band into the studio and have a more informal chat.

I have interviewed many singers down through the years and I have gotten used to listening to the self promotion which sometimes goes with these interviews, speaking with Derek there was none of that, we could have been sitting in a pub talking about the match, motor racing or any other subject. Derek has a great sense of humor and a great sense of the locality. He knows where he comes from and is very proud of all they have achieved as a family and as a group, and rightly so in my own opinion. There are no big egos involved here, no big attitudes about music or how big they have become, just a chat with a very honest, humorous guy.

I started off by asking Derek how things were going for the group in the last year, bearing in mind its just over a year since they hit the world music headlines. Derek replied that its been a crazy year things were flying and they were busy touring and playing. He spoke at length about how things are going and how they have taken it all on board and are going from strength to strength. I brought up the subject of the white suit and the reasons he wore it, we spoke about travelling as a family and how everyone gets on, we spoke about his plans if Crystal Swing had not taken the world by storm. He spoke about the new single which will be out just before Christmas an original song written by John Waters and Tommy Moran who have had big hits with songs in the past and have written for the Eurovision.

He also spoke about several shows they had coming up and mentioned that they would be appearing in The Cork Opera House in the new year on Sunday 8th January, 2012 with guests Louise Morrissey, Art Supple, Dave Lawlor and Simon Casey. www.corkoperahouse.ie
I look forward to talking to Mary and Dervla sometime in the near future. To hear the interview click on the link below.

Some upcoming dates

Saturday 19th November, 2011
Crystal Swing play The Moat Theatre, Naas, Co. Kildare with special guest Dave Lawlor
Friday 25th November, 2011
Crystal Swing play The Limerick Strand Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick - 'Lets Help Glenn Walk' Fundraiser
Monday 28th November, 2011
Dervla will appear as a special guest with Barry Winters and Spider Web at The Clayton Hotel, Galway in aid of Galway Parkinsons Association.
Saturday 10th December, 2011
Crystal Swing All Stars Christmas Party at The Solstice Theatre, Navan, Co. Meath with with Special Guests, Louise Morrrissey and Art Supple.
Friday 16th December, 2011
Crystal Swing Christmas Party Night at The Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.
Saturday 17th December, 2011
Crystal Swing play the Christmas Party Night at Springfort Hall Hotel, Mallow, Co. Cork.
Friday 30th December, 2011
Crystal Swing play Glencastle Lounge, Gleinsk, Co. Galway

Sunday 8th January, 2012
Crystal Swing All Stars Show at The Cork Opera House with Very Special Guests Louise Morrissey, Art Supple, Dave Lawlor and Simon Casey.
Saturday 14th January, 2012
Crystal Swing play The Woodlands Hotel, Adare, Co. Limerick
Saturday 28th January, 2012
Crystal Swing play The Glen Theatre, Banteer, Co. Cork

I suggest you listen to the interview follow this link below to hear the full story

Shane Supple interviews Crystal Swing's Derek Burke (1st interview) by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Kevin Glavin

2011-10-21T10:01:00.001-07:00

Kevin Glavin Interview Friday 21st Oct 2011

Today I had the pleasure of chatting with 21 year old singer/songwriter Kevin Glavin from Cork. Kevin who has been singing and writing since the age of 17 would be known for being the recent winner of Corks got talent 2010. With influences which can be heard heavily in both his style of writing and playing, from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Tom Waits Kevin is on the right track. So it was with great expectations I started talking to Kevin about his music.

I asked Kevin about his time in music since winning Cork's Got Talent 2010, Kevin says he has been gigging extensively around the city and he told me he has released a single "Pour It Out" a song he wrote himself. He recorded it as part of the prize he won. The single 'Pour it Out' is available from iTunes Store for just 99 cent with a limited numbers of CD produced for the radio stations. Kevin said he would hope to make a worthwhile contribution to Cork Simon Community so with that in mind all proceeds from this single are going to his chosen charity Cork Simon Community. So by purchasing the song, people will be doing two things, supporting a young Cork musician and supporting the Cork Simon Community.

Kevin has become a well-established singer/songwriter on the Cork music scene. He plays regularly in Bourbon St. and other venues in the city. He has guested on stage with other local singersongariters and at the moment Kevin is currently at work recording his first E.P. which should be out over the next year. He is working on this Ep with another friend and legend in the music world.

Today during our chat Keven sang two songs the first was called "Lightboat" a song Kevin wrote himself. With just his guitar to accompany himself it was easy to sit back close the eyes and listen to his voice which I found to be more mature and older then a man of only 21, We spoke some more about music and where he saw it going before he sang a second song. This song had a little more bite in it a strong message and he sang it with more feeling , traces of anger coming through every now and then followed by a feeling of regret and calm, this song also self penned was called "Yesterdays War" For more on the interview have a listen to the cloudcast below.

Shane Supple interviews Kevin Glavin by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Kevin live in the radio station with Shane Supple on CRY 104 Fm

Kym Kelly

2011-10-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

Kym Kelly interview Thursday 20th Oct 2011

This week I had the chance to catch up with Kym Kelly from Kildare town. She is well known around the pubs and clubs in Leinster, having played as part of a two piece band with her father for seventeen years. It was only last year that Kym began to look further afield, and started to promote her music on a national and international scale. She has recorded her first album "A new road to travel" and has had a great year winning most popular local artist in the Leinster entertainment awards 2011 Country Singer - Best Breakthrough Artist 2011, Most Popular Local Artist -Leinster Entertainment Awards, Runner up in Country Bulletin Best Newcomer Award.

As she says herself "This year has been the fastest moving year of my life. From recording one song "Every little thing" my life has changed and have met so many wonderful people in this musical family we all share, to shooting a video in my home village of Robertstown, Over the last nine months, Kym strong, agile voice combined with her vibrant, dynamic energy and stage presence have given her profound recognition across Ireland. Her new radio single 'Troubadour' taken from her debut album, should bring continued success to this versatile performer.With Influences from Mary Chapin Carpenter, Philomena Begley, Susan McCann, Gloria, Trisha Yearwood, Patsy Cline, Steve Holy, Tammy Wynette, Tanya Tucker, Johnny Cash and of course Georgette Jones with whom she shared the stage with on Georgettes recent tour of Ireland.

Kym's interpretation of the Carlene Carter favourite, 'Every Little Thing', was released as a single earlier in the year, and struck a chord on many radio stations. The song put across Kym's exuberant, bubbly persona, and this was reflected further in her debut video, which recently aired on the Phil Mack Country Show. Kym also recently appeared at Country Fest in Letterkenny, Co.Donegal, where she launched her debut album,'A New Road To Travel'. The album features old favourites such as 'Blanket On The Ground', 'One Day At A Time' and 'Love Me', as well as original songs including Banbridge singer songwriter Tracey Grant's 'Big Big Noise'.

She also released a second single taken from the album, 'Troubadour'. Since its release, 'Troubadour' has touched many in the music business, telling the story of a country singer when the night comes to an end, and the thoughts, feelings, dreams and sentiments that come with that. It talks about a passion for country music and the drive that keeps artists on the road despite adversity.

Shane Supple interviews Kym Kelly by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

For further information or booking enquiries, contact Kym on (+353) 085 839 6055 or email kymkellymusic@gmail.com.

Eva Porter 2011

2011-10-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

Eva Porter interview Friday Oct 14th 2011

Well after a long spell I decided it was time to invite Eva back into the studio once again to see how she is getting on since we last spoke.First and foremost I must stress I am a big Eva Porter fan, so this report may be biased but hey its my blog. now the wonderful Eva Porter for those that might not know is a very talented singer songwriter from Carrigtwohill in County Cork. What made this lady so special in the first instance was her desire to write some songs, record an album, sing on it and release it to the world. Nothing special in that you may say well you would be wrong, the reason it was so significant is simple, She had never sang in public, she had never recorded before, and in the music world she had left it a lot later then many other singer songwriters to start her musical journey.
With 3 children at home and a full time job this working mother used her spare time to write the songs, record the album and release it and only then did she sing in the public domain. Her first public performance would have been the night she launched her CD. That takes a special person to have the confidence to do such a thing. The album in question has since gone on to be played on many radio stations, She has stood on stage along side many famous and not so famous singers and songwriters, in short she has been living her dream, not just thinking about it but following it and at times pushing it ahead of her.

In our interview today it was great to see the change in Eva, more confident about her music, not so shy as when we first spoke about her music. I guess sharing the stage with John Spillane, Nicole Maguire, Jack L among others kinda brings out the best in you and in this case there is a lot to bring out. Her songs are well crafted and in our chat she spoke about how her writing was personal, they were based on stories in which she was able to understand having lived through those stories herself. Her writing is honest and I guess thats what sets her apart from many songwriters, its the honest en-devour, the opening your heart and putting it into song and sharing with the world how you feel, your thoughts, sharing your emotions basically sharing yourself through well crafted words and music. Each song is a story that takes you by the hand and guides you through from start to finish and on this short journey you don't notice much but can feel the music carrying you along. A modern day Seanachi, instead of the old Irish brogue we have the music, the stories are there and told as before, all you have to do is listen.

She is currently working on a new album with a new style of song. She has had an incredible 2 years since we first spoke and it shows that its never too late to do what you want. She still works and juggles her job music and caring for her family but manages to do it all with a smile.

You can check out our conversation here

Shane Supple interviews Eva Porter -2 on Oct 2011 by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

You can follow Eva here at her site http://evaporter.com/

check out her youtube page

Eva's album Heart on my sleeve is available
on her website or just click here to follow the link
http://www.evaporter.com/store.html

Eva and her proud mother in the studio during the Shane Supple interview

David Blaize

2011-09-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

David Blaize interview Friday 23rd Sept 2011

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with David Blaize singer songwriter from Cork. David who hails from Tralee in Co Kerry but now living in Cork has been playing music for aseveral years now but its only in the last year or two that he has decided to branch out a little more as a singer songwriter. I first came across David on Myspace and while listening to some of his tunes decided I would contact him and see would he do an interview, I sent off an email and the following day I got a reply from David musch to my surprise he agreed to an interview so we set it up and he arrived at the studio on time and in great form.

In talking to David I was surprised at how laid back and easy going he was, It was easy to see David loved writing songs and being involved in music, What I also noticed was his ability to underplay his achievements, about half way through the interview he mentioned in passing that one song was being used for a film, I let it slide but then a few minutes later he mentioned that another song was being used in a new TV series. I had to stop David and ask him to repeat himself now this was all happening while we were listening to one of his songs so its not captured on the audio recording but I brought it up later on in the interview. Its not often you interview someone who is as humble and laid back as David, for me it was great not having to listen to the usual pop star drivel but rather have a nice conversation with a laid back musician / songwriter.

David is a talented and unique songwriter whose romantic melodies and gentle harmonies engage the listener's ear immediately. With memorable songs and poetic lyricism, this young musician evokes emotion and sincerity throughout his eclectic repertoire. He is a huge fan of The Beatles and is an avid admirer of Rock 'n' Roll music from the 50's and 60's. David writes in a variety of different styles and genres, from romantic ballads to witty rock 'n' rollers.

He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays piano and is a self-taught guitar player. David has been writing and recording original songs for the past few years in his home recording studio. He has managed and fronted several bands over the years, gaining invaluable experience and support from live audiences around Ireland.

Recently some songs from David's Debut Album have gotten him a Song Licencing Deal with MPL Communications (Paul McCartney's Music Publishing Company)Which he signed in 2010. Now this little fact escaped me until I got home and had a look at his website to do some background info for this blog. (David I could kill you, your too laid back dude)

Listen to the interview here

Shane Supple interviews David Blaize by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Something completely different from David

David Blaize's self titled Debut Album is available now to download from these sites;

http://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/david-blaize/id414492618

www.myspace.com/davidblaize

www.cdbaby.com/cd/davidblaize

www.davidblaize1.bandcamp.com

www.reverbnation.com/davidblaize

www.soundclick.com/davidblaize

Cormac O Caoimh

2011-08-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

Cormac O Caoimh interview Aug 25th 2011.
There are weeks when all around you do great interviews, a friend of mine interviewed Jeremy Irons another interviewed several stars at Cork Opera House, but me, I think I topped them all off. One of the reasons I decided to do this radio show and continue to do it was it gave me a chance to interview singer songwriters, the real deal of the music world, the unsung hero so to speak who normally go unnoticed. The first time I came across Cormac O Caoimh he was on the bill with The 4 of Us in Cypres Avenue in Cork, we got chatting after his set and I invited him down to have a chat on radio. I got home and put on his CD "Start a Spark" and was blown away with the strength of his songs, I decided that I would have to follow up on the interview idea and email him to be sure. The following day I emailed and got an immediate response it was all set. Today was that day and as it turned out a special day. Cormac O Caoimh singer songwriter from Cork arrived in studio, complete with guitar and on time.
I know I am deviating from the normal blog report here but hey bear with me. The first thing you notice about Cormac is his quite, laid back and relaxed, unassuming approach to the interview, we got a cup of coffee and sat down in the studio. I started off by asking Cormac where it all started ( a typical question) Cormac explained that he was introduced to music at a young age when he enrolled in music lessons by his parents. All his siblings had done classes and his father was involved in music so it seemed natural for him to follow on, however it didnt work out like that Cormac did not like it so he decided to give it a skip and concentrate on other things. All I can say is, thank god he decided to return to music even if it was in his late teens, as he says himself "it just happened that the instruments were in the house and with no pressure from anyone he decided to delve back into the world of music, cords, songs and all that entailed".

Around this point I asked Cormac to sing a song, and he duly obliged. He picked up his guitar sat back and started singing, accompanying himself on guitar. I adjusted the levels on his microphone sat back and listened on my headphones. It was melodic, tuneful, easy to listen to and a real strong but gentle song called "A new season for love" from his next album. It always amazes me that a good singer songwriter can capture all that is required to let you hear a song, many new singers bands and performers sometimes make the mistake of going into a studio and adding every effect instrument they can think of which can sound great, but the song, gets lost in the midst of the mix, today there was none of that, Cormac's song was there for all to hear and in my case admire. Tell you what, if you wish to hear the full interview just click on the link below.

Meantime I strongly suggest you go to his website, go to his gig or log onto youtube and see more of this rare talent http://www.facebook.com/cormacmusic

Shane Supple interviews Cormac O Caoimh Aug 2011 by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Tango Extremo

2011-08-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Tango Extremo interview August 18th 2011

Ah What a week its been this week I had the pleasure of meeting and chating with the group Tango Extremo from The Netherlands who were on tour here in Ireland. Tanya Schaap who plays violin and is the artistic director was accompanied in studio by the rest of the group. Ben van den Dungeon who plays soprano saxophone, Rob van Kreeveld the pianist of the group, Matias Pedrana from Argintina on accordion and Bandoneon and Stefan Lievestro on the double bass.

In talking to this group I noticed how passionate they all were about their music and the style they play in. Tango Extremo brings a distinctive flavour to the passion and persuasion of the Argentine Tango. Since the groups inception in 2003, the ensemble has made remarkable development.

Since then, its five musicians have become synonymous with the group’s familiar sound in the Netherlands and abroad Incidentally, the group has performed in countries across the world, such as Argentina, China, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, as well as in Europe in countries such as Spain, Italy, Ireland and the UK. During the Buenos Aires Tango Festival in August 2009,Tango Extremo was the only non-Argentine ensemble at one of the most prestigious tango festivals in the world.

With four albums under their belt, Quinteto Extremo are one of the most original and fascinating ensembles of the Netherlands. The quintet’s members (prestigious teachers of the conservatories of Rotterdam and The Hague and renowned musicians of the European jazz scene) have adopted tango as a language from a personal perspective, and in order to do so, numerous composers of that country write and arrange specially for them. The deep technical command of their instruments, the creative freedom and the natural balance between improvisation and written music are some of the hallmarks of their music.

We were lucky enough in the town of Youghal that this group had decided to include Youghal as part of this tour. Fromhere they were going to cork and then on to Dublin to play International Tango Festival and the National Concert Hall Dublin before returning to their homeland to continue their work and get ready for their next tour.

Check then out on their own website here
http://www.tangoextremo.com/
Listen to the interview here

Shane Supple interviews Tango Extremo by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Pat Short

2011-08-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Interview on Thursday 28th July 2011.

Where does one start this write up. Ever since I played a song "Sit Down for the raffle",by Pat Shortt and Jon Kenny, I wanted to have Pat on this show as a guest. When my sister working as assistant director on the film "Man about Dog" told me all about this fella called Pat Shortt, I knew we would one day cross paths. Then, one of the greatest hours on radio ever with Joe Rooney, who now appears in Killinaskully, followed by the legend Mike Hanrahan from Stocktons Wing who is The Chef, the main man and leading light in the kitchen in Pat Shortts bar in Castlemyrter. guested on my radio show. The signs were there, it was only a matter of getting the timing right.

I guess I should introduce Pat first with some facts taken from his own website. Pat Shortt started on stage when he left Art College. An accomplished musician he started touring with Jon Kenny as sound engineer and progressed rapidly to becoming part of the show, from acting, backing musician, sound engineer, lighting rigger and all that went with it. This madness ensued for a while and then the lads created 'D'Unbelievables', Ireland's most popular comedy duo. Together they performed their unique brand of comedy in theatres ,halls, and even on TV all over Ireland, Great Britain and The United States as well as various countries across Europe. They produced four critically acclaimed and sell-out shows as well as writing and producing chart-topping Videos/DVD's. But it was more then comedy it was a whole new way of looking at Irish life with larger then life characters with whom everyone could identify with no matter what part of the country you came from. These two lads brought about a change in Irish comedy from the once standard TV routines to live in your face comedy that you could understand no matter how much you pretended you couldnt.

This continued for several years when Pat had to branch out on his own. As a solo artist Pat's first show was a sell-out. Called simply Pat Shortt Live it played more than 250 dates around Ireland. It began at the Cats Laughs Festival in Kilkenny, where it sold out before the festival even opened, the first act ever to achieve this landmark. The undoubted hit of the Festival, Pat's work was hailed as "comic genius" by the Irish Times.His second show "You Won't Get Away With That Here" has achieved equal success selling out shows all over the country.

During his time with Jon the lads would do other projects from time to time, for Pat one of these projects was to open a whole new world from him, a slightly deranged character in the cult series Fr Ted. from this humble begining on our tv screens Pat went on to appear with the Druid Theatre Company in their production of Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West, followed by roles in movies which included Angela Mooney Dies Again (with Mia Farrow), This Is My Father (with Brendan Gleeson, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rae and James Caan) ,The Closer It Gets (with Ian Harte, Niamh Cusack and Sean McGinley), Man About Dog written by Belfast-born Pearse Eliot, and Wheeler McCoy in the movie "Strength & Honour". Most recently Pat played the lead role of "Josie" in the film Garage.

Garage was a huge success, and is the second feature film from director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Mark O'Halloran. It picked up the CICAE Art and Essai Cinema Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and Pat also won awards from IFTA (Best Actor), Evening Standard (Best Actor) and the Monte Carlo Festival (Best Actor). 'Garage' screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight sidebar at the prestigious French festival. Pat has also recently completed two films, 'Soulboy', directed by Shimmy Marcus and 'Guard', with Brendan Gleeson and directed by Ned Kelly.

Television credits include Tom the Character in Fr. Ted, (Channel 4) and Bobby in The Fitz (BBC). Killinaskully is a hit series created by Pat for RTE , and ran for five series, the last of which was screened on RTE during 2008. Killinaskully was nominated three times by IFTA for best Entertainment programme and was also nominated in the Best Entertainment category at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. 2009 was a busy year for Pat with two pilot programmes for RTE ('Mattie' and 'Inside the Crystal Ball'), filmed in the latter part of the year and screened over the Christmas period. Pat also starred at the National Concert Hall as Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar in October and is currently touring with his latest Live Show 'Pat Shortt in The Hall'

An accomplished musician Pat has recorded with many bands and toured extensively in the U.S. with the brass section of The Saw Doctors. In 2006, he scored the big hit in Ireland with the song "The Jumbo Breakfast Roll" under the guise of Showband singer Dicksie Walsh. The song was a number one hit in Ireland for six weeks with sales going 4 times platinum. This track was followed in 2008 by a further single 'Where Did My Money Go', a recession busting sony by Dixie Walsh (aka Pat Shortt).

Back to our interview I could sit here all day trying to find the right words to tell you what was said why dont you have a listen and enjoy it, Thanks to Pat for joining me on the show and for helping promote the local Kilta Trad festival now heading into its third year here in Castlemyrter.

Shane Supple interviews Pat Shortt by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

http://patshorttsbar.com/

http://www.patshortt.com/

Hell for Leather

2011-07-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hell for Leather interview Thursday 14th July 2011

We caught up with the group Hell for Leather once again, after our first interview last year things have moved on since for the band. I asked the lads what was new in the world of this band. Well the band has increased by one bringing the group to four. The inclusion of an accordion player from Dripsey has added an element of lunacy that this group has not seen before. Ritchie is a welcome addition and Pete O Keeffe on guitar from Lisgould. Add in the tow lads who were int he studio today Mike and Ken then you have a bunch of lads who truly love their music and what they do.

The line up consist of Mike Carey, Kenneth Landers, Richard Carey, and Pete O Keeffe If I recall corectly the last time the lads were in the studio the Song Seamus just wants to be famous was the hit of the time going viral on youtube. Now the new song is called Cycling around Ireland with your Mother on a bicycle. I asked Mike how in gods name did his mother put up with him that just brought a laugh and a smile I asked ken was he hard to work with again another burst of a laugh, They launched into song just the two lads without a worry in the world.

The lads finished the song and when I stopped laughing we tried to get into some serious questions , I should have known better these two lads are full of fun and devilment so it was hard to pin down the lads with a straight answer so the easiest thing to do is listen to the interview which I have uploaded here.

Shane Supple interviews Hell for Leather again by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Wall St Thieves

2011-07-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

The Wall St Thieves Interview 7th July

Well we had the lads back in studio today, after their last visit its been mad with the amount of calls from listeners asking "when are they coming back on" to keep everyone happy we got them back into studio again. The band consist of Eric Doherty on Guitar /Vocals, Che Horgan also Guitar /Vocals, Shane Norberg on Bass/Vocals, Dereck O’Shea on Drums. This week we had the pleasure of just two lads Che and Eric Dereck and Shane were unavailable to come into the studio but it was good to be able to relax and talk with familiar faces.

I started off asking the lads how things were going for them since we last spoke and they replied that things were going well, they had been gigging around and were coming to Youghal to play for the forthcoming Queen of the Sea Festival. The lads told me how they started out and who the band members were. I asked the lads to describe what they sounded like and I got so many answers I decided to leave it at that and leave the questions for yet another day.
Because the lads were down half the band I decided to play some tracks from the CD and as always they sound great. With a sound that takes you back in time to the early days of Rock and Roll, Harmonies play an important part of this bands performance and they got that side of things right. With great harmonies and a driving beat to back it up the band have obviously worked hard to get the current sound and style they have and it sounds like a whole new fresh approach to music even though they have incorporated sounds from many of the idols and bands they love to listen to.

We spoke about their last gig in Youghal where I had the pleasure of seeing them play live, I sat back and allowed the sound coming from the stage drift over me and carry me away. the reaction on the night I have to say was amazing with everyone standing after the set to call for an encore from this talanted bunch of lads. During our interview the lads played a song live and to say that this was great is an understatement, I only wish we had the other two lads in studio to give it a full sound but without them it was still good solid, its easy to see that these lads work hard and play a lot together and that they have the basis for their music down pat, with many hours of rehearsal behind them. A band to look out for, if you see them in your area take my advice go along and have a ball.

If you want to listen in to the Interview click on the link below

Wall Street Thieves by Community Radio Youghal on Mixcloud

Roy Buckley

2011-07-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

Roy Buckley interview on 1st July 2011

Cork singer songwriter Roy Buckley joined me today for a chat about music and how things have been going for him so far this year. Roy has been on the show before and at the drop of a hat he would pick up his guitar and sing a song and this time it was no different. Today we spoke about his upcoming shows this weekend where he would have some very special guests on stage
Roy Buckley was born in Cork City, Ireland, on November 6th, 1986. From a very early age he had a great interest in Irish/folk Music. Growing up in a musical family, Roy was constantly surrounded by folk songs and music. Roy's music has been dubbed as passionate and real and he creates an amazing atmosphere with the audience with his own unique sound of modern day folk. Roy is in constant demand getting great acclaim for his live performances.

Having collaberated with some of the best in the business including The Dubliners, The Fureys, Bagatelle, Aslan, George Murphy, Niamh Parsons, Mike Hanrahan, John Spillane, Jimmy Crowley, Finbar Furey and Johnny McEvoy to name a few, Roy has definitely helped to popularize folk music again and introduce it to a new generation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

WEBSITE - www.roybuckleymusic.com

ROY BUCKLEY TV - www.youtube.com/roybuckleytv

MYSPACE - www.myspace.com/roybuckleyfolkmusic

EMAIL - roybuckleymusic@hotmail.com

Shane Supple interviews Roy Buckley by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Fil Campbell

2011-06-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

Interview recorded on Thur 30th June 2011

Well this week I had the pleasure of meeting with musician ,songwriter and great singer Fil Campbell and percussionist Tom McFarland, both who took time out of their busy schedule to come to Youghal and sit in with me for an hour to talk about music,song’s and life’s great mysteries. Fil has to date recorded over five albums mixing many old songs with her own compositions which give the listener a great choice of sounds to listen to and to be carried away on. To top it off she presented her own radio and TV shows in

Ireland

Fil Campbell grew up in Belleek in Co. Fermanagh in the North of Ireland. She was brought up on the folk songs that were popular in Fermanagh and Donegal and spent her childhood immersed in music. With both ceilidh bands and singers in the family, music was all around and performance was part of everyday life, both at home and at school. She started singing semi professionally while still at school, returning to full time performing in the 1990s after a spell working as a music publicist and radio presenter for BBC Northern Ireland

Fil Campbell is an Irish singer from Co. Fermanagh who mixes traditional and contemporary Irish songs with some of her own compositions has appeared on countless radio and television programmes at home and abroad, has toured extensively, and has presented her own radio and TV shows in

Ireland

. She has recorded 5 CDs to date: 3 recordings of original and contemporary material, followed by 2 charming CD collections of popular Irish folk songs from the 30s and 40s. These recordings were the focus of a TV documentary series in

Ireland

in 2006 called Songbirds which profiled the lives and music of women singers from the early 20th century. Fil both performed in and narrated this documentary series which is already being seen as a valuable contribution to Irish traditional music archives

Fil has been working as a full time performer since the late 1980s. She toured extensively throughout Europe, Ireland and the UKin the 90s, building up a strong and loyal following on the folk circuit, mainly across Germany, Holland and Belgium, accompanied by her husband and musical partner, percussionist Tom McFarland.

Shane Supple interviews Fil Campbell by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Bassline

2011-06-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

Bassline interview Friday 24th June 2011

I thought I was in for another normal Friday radio show, start with the weather,play some music interview a new band and go through the papers for the weekend tv listings. Suffice to say I never even got to read the weather. Bassline the band had arrived in the studio and after that it was more like a sit down chat, craic and talk about music in a local bar. At one stage I even forgot we were on air.

Just to introduce to this group Evan Phillips on vocals who sings into a silver microphone ( The Sure SM58 Evan in case you had forgotten), Liam Grainger on Lead Guitar (its a Fender Strat for thoses that want to know) and backing vocals, Daniel Keohane on a white Fender Bass Guitar, (It had to be white!), Declan Maguire Drummer using a normal pearl kit (but there is something in the way he stares at you that makes you wonder until you remember he is after all a drummer) , and finally Alan Riordan on Rhythm Guitar,backing vocals and just about anything that does not involve talking too much.(A man of few words)Oh yea and his guitar is a Fender Tele, Blonde in colour not sunburst or yellow but Blonde. So from the introduction and discussion on their instruments you can imagine the fun trying to get an answer from this group that didnt involve some slagging or fun.

These lads from Cork and are what one would expect from a young band intent on taking over the world, however on this occasion they may just do that. This five piece band have a great passion for music, they play Rock, Pop and Blues from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and more.With influences from Kings of Leon, Rory Gallagher, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, The Strokes, The Killers, Johnny Cash, Elvis to name but a few, shows the diversity this bunch of lads have when it comes to music. If you thought it was finished there then lets not forget the original material the lads write and perform. With songs from Liam and Daniel so far in the set list and more to come from the other members this band have the one thing that should make them stand out, Diversity and good music.

The band was put together over 2 years ago by the drummer and lead guitarist , Declan and Liam. And then Daniel was asked to play bass and the bones of the band was made, it was about a year later that Alan joined he came to hear us practicing a few times and he was then asked to play rhythm, and finally Evan joined the band as the lead singer and that's how Bassline came to be!. I asked them the usual questions starting with equipment Did they own their own PA, They did, Did they own their own instruments, They did, Did the have a manager, They Did, Did they record anything on CD, They Did, Did they write and perform original songs, They Did, you can see a pattern emerging here, From the basics to the more advanced with many bands omiting or passing on some things that are deemed important these lads have it all under control, no stone is left unturned to the band that is Bassline, In order to work and be known as a professional outfit we do take what we are and do very seriously. We have a great fan base and they travel around to support us, we are hoping to incorporate more of our own songs into the program as time goes by.

L-R Shane Supple, Daniel Keohane, Declan Maguire, Alan Riordan,Liam Grainger, Evan Phillips

We spoke about the future and for these lads it looks bright, even if they decided to give up music which would be a waste they are all at advanced stages in college, one of the lads is even taking time out to concentrate more on music but will one day return to his studies. It shows the level of commitment that these lads have, not only will they go far in music they will go far in life.
Before I knew it the hour was up and we had to make way for the next program Keep an eye out for this great band in a venue near you and if you want to book them you can contact their manager and booking agent Jane Clinton who says they are available for all occasions and have the best rates available! from Birthdays, pub gigs, all celebrations, Festivals large and small from Glastonbury to your local field day and any other events you can think of.

Bassline on facebook

Shane Supple interviews the group - Bassline by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Carol Keniry

2011-06-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

Carol Keniry interview 17th June 2011

Well its not often I am impressed by the talents of a singer so young, but this week speaking to singer songwriter guitar player Carol Keniry I have to say I was impressed by so many things. Her attitude, her skill, her voice, her style and her personality. Sitting in a studio being interviewed by yours truly is never an easy thing to have to put up, with but Carol took it all in her stride.

I asked Carol the usual question where and when did it all start?. I was around nine when I got my first guitar from Santa, and we searched for ages in the local papers for guitar teacher till we came across one in our area, I went to my first lesson and came home never wanting to hold or play a guitar again. My mother persuaded me to give it another go and to be honest looking back I am glad I did . I kept playing and learning the guitar and after a while I started to sing along to the songs I was learning.

I am 17 now and in the last 8 years I have had so much fun playing the guitar and singing. Before we went any further I asked her to sing a song for the listeners who were tuned in. She said ok and started to sing Black Velvet by Alanna Myles. I sat back and listened as she started playing the guitar thinking I was going to get the usual strum along, but not on this occasion, With intricate and nimble fingers she went through the intro like a pro adding the notes on top of the cords to sound like a complete band. Then she started to sing. Her voice is hard to describe, its tuneful, solid, clear and very easy on the ear but it also holds a maturity beyond her 17 years. "Confident" is an understatement, as I watched her,she closed her eyes, played guitar and sang.

Now throughout the years I have had the pleasure of listening to many fine singers and songwriters but not all of them would have stunned me into silence, when she finished she calmly put the guitar down smiled and sat back waiting for more questions. I forgot to turn on my mic but recovered to continue the interview.

I asked her who her main influences were and she replied Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac would be on top of her list with Jimmy McCarthy a close second, I just love the way Fleetwood mac can structure a song and Stevie can sing it, as for Jimmy McCarthy well I love so many of his songs but the Contender is a great song. I asked her about her musicial styles and she said it ranged from Stevie Nicks to anything and everything. With her own personal taste slightly different to what she would actually preform, She explained further, I like songs from Cold play but they wouldn't go down too well at the venues I play in so for that reason I dont have them on any playlist but rather keep them to myself and play them at home.

Carol can be seen playing in and around her home town of Youghal and even in the local Quality Hotel over the summer months. either way keep an eye out for this very talented singer.

Shane Supple interviews Carol Keniry by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Billy Cusack

2011-06-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

Billy Cusack interview June 10th 2011

This week we spoke with local singer Billy Cusack. Billy has been playing the local scene for over 25 years. Starting out as a two piece with Tony Moore, who later went on to become owner of “The Meeting place". Tony got very busy so I started doing a few gigs on my own until I meet up with Padraig Parker,
John Donoghue and Waxer Mulcahy and we used to play a lot of gigs locally. I was on bass guitar at that time I remember we used to play Clancy’s from 4 to 6 then from 9 to 11.30 we would play the Clock as it was known and from about 12.30 to 2am we would finish up playing in the Rugby club that night.

I asked Billy about his now famous posters which adorn any of the venues he plays in, they are a hand drawn caricature of him, and some would say flattering others not so. I was playing in Spain and this artist used to draw outside the place I was working in and I decided to get one done for the fun of it. When I got home I started using them as posters. Ahh sure there fine, the one thing I found is that there is a lot of talk over these posters, some say they even frighten children but it’s all in a fun way.

I asked Billy if he had seen many changes over that time in the local music scene. Yes,there have been massive changes, in the last few years things have suffered greatly before that young bands had great opportunities but with the current climate the venues are not as plentiful. There is always a call for music but
it’s down to the groups to make the changes needed to play these venues. Because of this groups are expected to perform a wider range of songs with a better sound which is not always easy, sometimes I get people asking me to sing Abba songs which is fine but I am only one guy on my own not a four piece band with female singers. But we do the best we can, there are songs which I have been singing for a long time now and they will always be on the set list and every night is different so we learn to adapt and change our program for each venue. If you take the song Brown Eyed Girl from Van Morrison, well you can sing that anywhere.

I found that wherever you go music travels well, I spent a few years playing Spain, Portugal etc and the songs would be the common link to any audience. The big change nowdays is that people can access whatever song they want on the internet, there is a wider verity of music on offer. Singers starting off now can record an album at home and even make the CD, in our day we had to use the old tape recorder and then go into the studio to do an album etc.

Speaking of albums I asked Billy had he anything in the pipeline and he answered with a smile "I will be doing one this year, I have had a lot of requests for something on CD so I decided it was about time I actually recorded one. So that will be out this year. You can contact Billy on billyc02@yahoo.co.uk or you can phone on 086 3560477.

Shane Supple interviews Billy Cusack by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

NIcole Maguire

2011-06-08T05:19:00.000-07:00

Nicole Maguire Interview 8th June 2011

Nicole Maguire has been writing music since she was twelve years old Nicole is 24 years old now so in essence she has been writing songs half her life. Having her first original gig at fourteen where she was playing opening slots to anyone who would let her, it wasn't long before Nicole knew that her lifelong journey would be in music.

Some time back I was sitting down opposite this young talented songwriter chatting about music and how her career has gone to date. Surrounded by musical instruments recording equipment and an array of guitars in all shapes and sizes she talked about music and as she spoke one could see that it was a subject which was more then a hobby, a lifestyle, it was her life. As we spoke she would pick up an instrument and play a piece from a song without thinking about it.

Nicole went on to study Music Management and Sound engineering at Cork's Colaiste Stiofain Naofa when she finished school. All aspects of the music industry were covered and the course created a deep foundation for Nicole's career. By the time Nicole was twenty one, she had already released her debut single 'Lipstick Girl' independently. The song received rave reviews all over Ireland as well as 'best single' in independent magazine 'Backstage Traffic'. The Star newspaper stated that "Maguire will make the rest of the country sit up and take notice". In August 2008, Nicole released her next single 'I'm Gonna Be' and the following March her debut album 'Fight the Score' hit the shelves.

She has over the years developed her own unique style and can sit there and sing with confidence that only comes with constant touring and working. Her earlier work, while talented was aimed at a younger audience but as time has passed she writes with a more mature thoughtful insightful style. One she finds very comfortable.

In February 2010 Nicole toured Ireland with Nanci Griffith which was great. She gained many new followers and in turn was invited across the water to Nashville to write and record some of her songs. In between her trips to Nashville she is constantly touring and to date has toured in Europe and America, worked with renowned producers Karl Odlum The Frames, Gemma Hayes, Ciaran O Shea Cyclefly .When I asked Nicole about her recent tour with Songwriting legend Nanci Griffith she replied that it was a highlight for her and as an experience it was one of the best things she had ever done.

More recently Nicole has begun working on her new album with Thomm Jutz, Nanci Griffith's producer and guitarist. She has also written with award winning songwriters from Ireland, the UK and The USA. To date she has released two singles and an album. She is currently her new album which is due for release over the next few months keep an eye out for Nicole in your local area or check out her dates and latest news on her website www.nicolemaguire.ie

Shane Supple interviews Nicole Maguire by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Steve Whelan

2011-05-30T06:29:00.000-07:00

Steve Whelan 30th May 2011

Singer songwriter Steve Whelan from Youghal has a very down to earth approach to delivering his music with a spirit of honesty presence and grit. His Smokey vocals, married with his simple but poetic and addictive melodies produces a musical honesty and edge possessed by few writer composers. I spoke with Steve this week about his new album.

Steve said that they were currently working on it and were about half way through finishing it, for this album he teemed up with a group of musicians and friends Warren Tivy, Tony Kiely, and Ollie Loughnan also lads that form The Steve Whelan Band to play and record his new material in a new fresh style to tour later this year.

I asked Steve since his first album what was the reaction and how did he feel about it. He said that he wouldn’t change a thing he likes the raw style and sound he can come up with. I asked him where did it all start Steve said that he had always been writing songs but when local artist Bobby Lee was putting an album together he heard Steve singing and asked Steve for a song from there on there was no looking back. I never thought my songs were good or anything special but when I went into the studio the lads all offered to fall in and help record the song. They asked me had I any other songs and when I played them the lads were all of the same opinion, This album has to be recorded and they were all willing to be part of that process. It felt great getting that sort of feedback from friends and musicians. I finished the album and it got a great reaction for awhile I took a break and took some time out but now I am looking forward to putting this new album together.

I asked Steve was songwriting a difficult and what format he uses. Its not a hard process its a natural progression you hear a tune in your head so you just work on it some days you can get a song finished in a few minutes other times it takes a few weeks, for me I write about everything and everything from a film I see or a thing I see in everyday life then I try put words to it which is the hardest part for me in the process, the music always works itself out but the words are what take a little time

Is gigging important and if so does it mean anything to you to be playing your own songs Well to be honest its the best part of it, You get great feedback from an audience that you don’t get in the studio and when people clap at the end of the song its great to know that people like the music. It’s what helps me continue to write songs and music. We are lucky here in Youghal in that we have great musicians and a great facility in Claycastle to record the finished songs.

Steve's influences range from Ben Harper, The Beatles to Gospel and Spiritual music. All this reflects a musical artist with rare aspect sincerity. Speaking to a very quite unassuming guy is a lesson in humility. The album is being recorded at Claycastle Studios in Youghal and will be due for release before the end of the year

Shane Supple interviews Steve Wheelan by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Johnny Bongos Horgan

2011-05-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

Johnny Bongos Horgan May 25th 2011

This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Johnny Bongos Horgan, Johnny from Mallow has become well known in recent time from his television appearances in 2010s All Ireland Talent show in which Johnny represented Cork and Munster with his own unique skill. Johnny would be best known for playing the spoons a tradition of making music using items you find around you in the house.

Now playing the spoons sounds easy but once you see Johnny operating the spoons you begin to realise that its more then just banging two spoons together
.

The speed with which Johnny can move the spoons around his body up along his arms on his leg and against his own hand would lead one to believe that a lot of practice must take place to get that good. Not only does Johnny play the spoons but he also plays the bongos hence the name Johnny Bongos Horgan, He uses a small piece of copper pipe to get different sounds from the bongos, He came across two tea coasters in a restaurant one day he asked the owner could he keep the and with the aid of some cable ties he made another percussion instrument. Now you may ask what playing the spoons has got to do with music and the heady world of rock and roll well let me explain further.

Johnny plays with different groups from time to time and on one occasion when they were playing in Cork during the gig in walked some very famous people. Stewart Copeland drummer from the band the Police he was accompanied by the drummer from Elton John’s band who happened to be playing at the Marque in Cork. they stayed for awhile and noticed Johnny was playing the spoons bongos etc and found this to be intriguing, when the band finished Johnny was approached by our two famous drummers and they asked him
to come to their hotel the following day and give them lessons on playing the spoons etc. Johnny obliged and the following day he headed off to do his percussion clinic for this elite group of students, He spent the day showing the lads how to play the Bodhran, the bongos, the spoons, before he finished up. On completion he was asked how much did the lads owe him to which Johnny replied “Lads it was a good day tell you what make a donation to a charity instead of paying me". To this day Johnny and the lads stay in touch and anytime they visit Ireland they get in touch with him. Now as if it wasn’t enough other stars from Imelda May, Elton John, Damien Dempsey, the Furry Brothers, all have links to Johnny’s Youtube page. I asked Johnny if he was winding me up and he replied "not at all go online check out for yourself".

Johnny has been involved in the music business all his life and not only does he perform with the group Arundo on a regular basis he also gives percussion lessons to various schools and groups that have an interest. It’s important to get out and get involved with everyone. If Johnny has the time he makes the effort to pass on his knowledge and skills to those that wish to learn. You can check Johnny out online at Youtube just type on Johnny Bongos Horgan and you will find him

Shane Supple interviews Johnny Bongos Horhan by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Ely O Keeffe

2011-05-18T04:53:00.001-07:00

Ely O Keeffe Interview 1st May 2011

Shane spoke with Ely O Keeffe singer songwriter from Knocknagree in County Cork has been making waves in recent times on the Irish music circuit. Currently working on launching her new album she is as busy as ever. The Album was two years in the making and was not without interesting times. Ely comes from a musical family and played with her own family band for about 5 years before she branched out on her own.

Her house growing up was a very musical family where her Father who sang encouraged music in the house. Ely then started college and moved to Cork to study music in 2006 at Cork Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa which was when she became known for her own songwriting. She began to recognise and explore her talents not only as a singer, but as an expressive writer. Over the past four years, she has built up an impressive repertoire of songs which feature on the album, and has shown her ability to experiment stylistically in a mature and informed way. Under the guidance of John Fitzgerald, along with the creative contributions from band members Edel Curtin on Piano, Brian Hassett on Bass, Christian Best on Drums, Elaine Kenny on Viola and Aisling Fitzpatrick on Cello, She has emerged with an album that promises to become the soundtrack to 2011. The album which is a delicious fusion of folk, pop, jazz and blues influences, showcases both the immense power of O' Keeffe's unique, raw vocal and her talents as an edgy and relevant female songwriter within the Irish music industry.

Having been in a band with her family it was a whole new world and allowed her write more songs personal to herself. Daniel O Keeffe her younger brother is well known for his version of The Ballad of James Connelly which was widely requested on local radio in Cork. She has become a frequent fixture on the live music scene for the last two years, and has played some of Cork and Kerry's most renowned venues, such as the Crane Lane Theatre, The Savoy, The Pavilion, The Lobby and Killarney's INEC. This has given O' Keeffe the opportunity to perfect her sound and her live show, and she has accumulated an avid following in the process.

Currently Elly is putting a management team around her and getting sorted which always takes time and will be promoting her album over the summer months the one thing Elly says is that she loves playing live and interacting with a live audience is what gives her the most satisfaction. Having received radio play herself from everyone from John Creedon on RTE Radio 1 to local radio she is looking forward to a good year. So keep an eye out in a venue near you for this great singer songwriter or you can check her out on youtube here.

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Shane Supple interviews Elly O Keeffe by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Cherry Jubilee

2011-04-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

Cherry Jubilee Interview 22nd April 2011

Cherry Jubilee the band are Martina Cullinane and Abbie O’Shea who are from Lismore, Lorna Cullen from Cappoquin and Emily Aherne from Tallow. These four girls attend Blackwater Community School in Lismore, Co. Waterford. The average age of the girls is 16 and it all started when the girls used to hang around together during school and over time they developed into a group. Shane Supple interviewed the girls this week and we spoke about where it started and what they have done in such a short time span.
The one thing that struck me was the modesty these girls display while talking but also the fact that each of the girls have a strong personality.
Recent winners of a Dublin digital radio station contest where you had to enter a song either in Irish or a combination of Irish and English. The girl’s music teacher mentioned it to the girls and like everything they do they simply wrote a song put it on CD and sent it off, not thinking too much about it until they were informed that they were in the final. Only then did the girls start promoting the song locally and got all their friends and family to vote. Needles to say once they put their mind to it they won the competition, first prize was to be included in a CD which will be given out next year in the Irish Daily Star country wide. What makes it better is that the girls wrote the song them selves.
So I asked them had they any other news along those lines and again I was informed that they took part in an energy science competition in school. ECO-UNESCO’s Young Environmentalist Awards is an all-Ireland environmental awards programme that recognises and rewards young people who raise environmental awareness and improve the environment. They decided that rather then doing the typical project like building things or even showing how you can save energy they wrote a song and entered it in the competition.
They went to Cork and sang their song and were voted through to the finals which will be held in Dublin on the 18th May and if they win this competition they might get the chance to sing for the President of Ireland. This news was imparted as nonchalantly as one would discuss the weather. These girls have their feet firmly on the ground and to top it all off they are four good friends.
What you will find with these four young ladies is that they compliment each other, they work hard at harmonies, each of them plays an instrument Piano, Violin, Guitar but it’s the way they combine the songs they write with their own unique voice. I asked them do they sing songs from groups like the Corrs etc and was told that they rather take songs from many groups and make them their own, singing songs from the Corrs would only be repeating what the Corrs have done. They will continue to write and perform their own songs for now. Keep your eyes open for this group in your area.

Cherry Jubilee by Community Radio Youghal on Mixcloud

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Shane Supple interviews "Cherry Jubilee" the group by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Juliet Turner

2011-04-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

Juliet turner interview 20th April 2010

Juliet Turner is a singer/songwriter from Tummery, near Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She has been a part of the Dublin music scene since she started recording in 1996. In the course of her career she has opened for such artists as Bob Dylan, U2 and Bryan Adams and toured with Roger McGuinn, Joan Armatrading and Brian Kennedy. Turner also sang on two tracks of Peter Mulvey’s live album Glencree. Her first album “Lets Hear it for Pizza” was released in 1996 on the Scottish label “Sticky Music” followed by “Burn the Black Suit” released on her own “Hear This! Records” label.

This album went double platinum in Ireland, and was voted one of the top 100 Irish albums of all time by HotPress Magazine readers. In 2004, Turner released “Season of the Hurricane” which went gold in Ireland, followed by a live album “Juliet Turner Live from the Spirit Store” in 2006. However, it is the 2008 release “People have Names” which is garnering critical acclaim, described by the Irish Times as “a gloriously taut collection of songs”, by the Belfast Telegraph as “The album of her life”,

In August 1998, Turner sang the song “Broken Things” (originally released by American Julie Miller) to crowded streets at the memorial service for the victims of the Omagh bombing. She ruled out releasing the song as a single, although it did subsequently appear on the compilation “Across The Bridge Of Hope”, due to public demand for a recording of her version of the song.

In autumn 2002 Turner picked up a “Best Newcomer in Music” award from the London based “Irish Post” newspaper and another award for her contribution to music from Tatler Magazine at their Women of the Year ceremony in Dublin – Turner was the first woman to receive this award. In February 2005, Juliet Turner was awarded the Meteor Music Award for best Irish female performer.

Currently Juliet is studying for a degree in Clinical Speech and Language Studies at Trinity College Dublin, but combines this with an on-going schedule of gigs to support the album “People Have Names”. All details can be found at www.julietturner.com [1] and www.myspace.com/burntheblacksuit [2]. Juliet is joined for most of these dates by Nashville performer Gentry Morris [3]

Supporting Juliet on Saturday, April 24th is up-and-coming singer/songwriter and musician Sara Lou from Dungarvan in County Waterford. Sara Lou is quickly becoming regarded as one of the most promising and prolific new talents to emerge from Ireland in recent years, landing herself a nomination for “Best New Artist” at the 2009 Balcony TV Music Awards, and also being short-listed for “Most Promising New Artist for 2010” at this years Meteor Ireland Music Awards. Also supporitng Juliet is Nashville singer Gentry Morris, now living in Ireland and promoting his new album “Awake ‘O’ Sleeper”

Shane Supple interviews Juliet Turner by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Hillary Reynolds

2011-04-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

This week Shane Supple spoke to Hillary Reynolds, Musical Director of the Orpheus Choir which is Only in its 6th year of operation. I asked Hillary about herself and where was she from and she explained that she was born in Venezuela and then moved to England where she spent most of her young life and studied music in London before moving to the Nederland’s where she met her husband. She spent approximately 20 years of her life teaching and performing music around Europe when she was offered a position in UCC. Her husband had a book shop in Rotterdam which specialised in Irish Literature So when the opportunity came they moved to Ireland. When she got to Cork they looked around for a place to live after a search herself and her husband decided to settle in Tallow Co Waterford.

I asked her about the formation of the choir and what made it different to other choirs. She said that she along with twelve enthusiastic singers decided to form the choir in 2005. To date there are approximately 40 members of the choir in mixed sections from Sopranos Altos Tenors and Basses what makes the Choir unique is that currently they have 13 basses and the style of music the perform was decided on first day Hillary said that when she was forming the choir she wanted it to be a little different. If there are any tenors reading this or any one who would be interested they can contact Hillary for more information about joining the choir. The choir is different in the music they perform which is based on secular choral music of the 18th, 19th and 20th century music which would also include some folk song arrangements and Opera pieces.

St. Mary’s Collegiate Church in Youghal on Friday the 15th of April at 8.15pm. The atmospheric interior of this beautiful historic church and its excellent acoustic properties will provide all the inspiration and aid they need not only for an unforgettable musical evening, but also, no less important, for the live recording they wish to make of the concert for The Orpheus Choir’s first CD! They will be joined by the fabulous Dutch pianist, Jeroen Liedorp, who made such an indelible impression at the North Cork Classical Music Festival last year and who will be playing some stunning piano pieces as well as accompanying the choir. The evening’s programme, with its rich variety of songs, ballads, opera favorites and romantic piano solos, will delight and astonish you, entertain and move you, make you laugh and cry, in short – an evening not to be missed! Ticket sales at the door on the night: 10 euro Due to the recent tragic events in Japan, proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Irish Red Cross in aid of the victims of the Japanese tsunami.

Shane Supple interviews Hilary Reynolds - Orpheus Choir by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Wall St Thieves

2011-04-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

Wall St Thieves interview 4th April 2011

This week Shane Supple spoke to The Wall St Thieves who are a 4 piece group the lads, ranging in age from early to mid twenties,Eric Doherty on Guitar/Vocals, Che Horgan also Guitar/Vocals, Shane Norberg on Bass/Vocals, Dereck O’Shea on Drums. This week we had the pleasure of their company and to be honest it wasnt easy trying to pin them down on a few questions.
I asked the lads to describe what they sounded like and I got so many answers I decided to leave it at that and leave the questions for another day. The easiest thing I could think of to solve the problem was to get them to sing a song or two which they did. I sat back not knowing what to expect from this four piece band what I got was so much more. With a sound that takes you back in time to the early days of Rock and Roll, Harmonies play an important part of this bands preformance and they got that side of things right. With great harmonies and a driving beat to back it up the band have obviously worked hard to get the current sound and style they have and it sounds like a whole new fresh approach to music even though they have incorporated sounds from many of the idols and bands they love to listen to.
The lads who are currently in Youghal recording a brand new album decided to drop in to the Radio station and say hello and when they arrived they caused a stir indeed, they are a young group of lads who take music seriously but take life with a pinch of salt. They have a firm idea of where they are going and how they are going to get there, They are influenced by many bands but most of the bands they listed off are long since finished, retired, and in many cases dead. Stark sounding I know but they are influenced by sounds they heard growing up music from their parents.
The Wall Street Thieves invoke an era when songwriters had something to say and music had substance. They write and perform their own material but also have an extensive repertoire of covers. They perform the songs of Creedence, The Band, Rory Gallagher, Dylan, The Stones, The Beatles and many others with a command that belies their age and an infectious enthusiasm which reflects it. They have, in the past, played at Cypress Avenue, Slate, Slainte, Charlies, Plato Murphy’s, An Cruiscin Lan, Nancy Spains, The Bru Bar, The Venue Bar and others, and were always well received. Depending on the requirements of the venue, the band are equally adept at playing acoustically or full electric. They also can lay claim to a growing following which will, doubtlessly, attend any gig they are hired for.
The Wall Street Thieves are new but they have each been playing for a while and as a group you will hear more from this young band, and don’t be surprised if its your parents who start singing the songs these guys write as the sounds are retro but in todays world it’s a fresh and exciting sound live music guitar bas and drums with driving beat and well worked harmonies. Chek them out online at www.thewallstthieves.com

Shane Supple interviews The Wall Street Thieves by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Darragh Flemming

2011-03-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

A DJ was traditionally known for standing behind a record player spinning records and making announcements between songs. However times have moved on and so has the brief for the modern DJ no longer does the DJ stand there and just line up the next song with a new style known as mixing he has to blend one track into another without loosing a beat he finds a track that has the same BPM (beats per minute) as the one currently playing and fades from one to the other in a seamless fashion, sometimes even mixing the two tracks together. Another part of this mixing is when a DJ might take two or three tracks and mix and blend them continuously as if they were one song. So basically what the modern DJ does is create a new song using recorded material from other artists.

With this in mind we spoke with Darragh Flemming from Youghal who is a new style DJ. Darragh started out DJ’ing at a young age, as he says himself his brothers used to babysit him when his mother was out. Being like all brothers they decided the only way to keep him quite was to let him play at being a DJ with their own equipment which was in the house, two turntables, a mixer and records. He spent hours in the room mixing and practicing his art. Nowadays he has moved on to using two vinyl turntables, two CD decks and a laptop and software which he mixes everything through to come up with his unique sound. He prefers using cd decks. The decks he uses are vinyl compatible which allows him to scratch, spin, speed up, slow down and reverse the CDs just like you would if you decided to scratch the old vinyl records. These days however CD’s which replaced tape and vinyl are now being replaced by Digital media from MP3′s to WAV files all stored on your IPod, laptop, phone or your personal MP3 Player.
Currently Darragh is one of the DJ’s involved in running gigs in the area where everything is a little different to what you would expect at a disco. If you think of the typical disco which has lots of bright lights etc in this case it’s called the UV disco, UV standing for Ultra Violet light. The kind of light which makes white shirts shine, your teeth sparkle and in some cases anything white that you would wear under darker clothing. In this case it’s a case of getting ready for the disco by face painting, bright color nail polish, bright clothing, and hair bands wherever you think it would be fun to have the color sparkle all using UV paint it brings out another element of fun at the disco. Under normal light the effect is hardly noticeable but under UV light it’s a whole new world.

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Shane Supple interviews Darragh Flemming DJ and Vincent Collins by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Ger Thompson

2011-03-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

Ger Thompson interview 24th March 2011

This week Shane Supple spoke to singer songwriter Ger Thompson who is originally from Dublin but now living in locally. He moved to Cork with his wife Eileen whom he met while studying at Drama Collage. He spent most of his working life as an actor even after he got married. About a year and a half ago he was laid off from his job, like so many others in this current climate and he found it hard to adjust from working every day to not working. But while one door closes as they say another will open and he found that he had time to finish some projects he had always wanted to do but never had the time.
His first project was working on a self scripted film Called Flower which he had written. With the help of his friends and Eileen he gathered the crew and cast and made the film which took several months but once that was over he found that he needed a new outlet, he had written some songs for the film and always wanted to pursue that line of artistic endeavour.
He started writing songs, putting pen to paper, adding music and creating songs which he is now in the middle of recording. Now Ger is not your typical young teenager just out of school who wants to conquer the world, He is married with two children and always worked hard to provide for his family and was a very busy person who now finds he has the time to follow one of his dreams with the support of his wife Eileen one of his biggest supporters and critic. While we were talking, I asked Ger to sing one of his songs. The first song he sang was one he had written about his wife called ”Closer now”, the song is about taking stock of things and looking at the things you have around you. Ger started singing, eyes closed, had back, totally relaxed, his soft gentle voice filled the studio and Alan Reid a friend and guitar player who was with Ger just played along. I found myself drifting off just listening.
The reason I am even mentioning it is that I have interviewed a lot of singer songwriters in the last 17 years and not many of them have brought as calm and peaceful feeling of serenity that Ger brought into the studio that day. I don’t know what, even listening back to the recording of the interview , what exactly it was that carried me away. I don’t like waxing lyrical or offering an opinion with guests I rather tell the story based on facts but on this occasion, the feeling I got while sitting there was just that little bit different to the normal reaction, one which leads me to believe that Ger is very much an undiscovered talent.
We continued talking and chatting about music with Ger playing two more songs One called Meet me under the Clock Gate a song written about the clock Gate in Youghal and he sang a song dedicated to his sister called “Its for ourselves we cry” and before I knew it an hour had passed and it was time to wrap up the interview when I got a text message from a friend of mine who was passing through Youghal on the way home from a gig in Bantry the evening before. He wanted Ger’s number he wanted to book him for a festival he was organising. While this in itself is not enough to warrant special mention add to it other text messages that came in. One was from a lady who was listening in and found herself crying as Ger sang “Its for ourselves we cry”. She said the song was amazing and reminded her of a relation she too had lost. This un assuming, gentle, quite man was able to express himself in a soft warm way and over the airwaves was able to get his message across and touch the people who were listening in.
Ger Thompson is a name to watch out for and keep an eye on because he will in time be a songwriter who no doubt has a wonderful bright future ahead of him in the world of songwriting and performing.

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Shane Supple interviews Ger Thompson by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Stephen Leeson

2011-03-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

Stephen Leeson interview 20th March 2011

This week Shane Supple had the honor of chatting with Stephen Leeson, Stephen who has decided to go solo after a long career working with other bands. Best known for his unique voice, Stephen has toured all over Ireland, Europe, America & parts of Asia. He has been front man and lead singer for bands such as: Porter Black, Dublin Legacy and for 4 years with the ‘Dublin City Ramblers’.

On Meeting Stephen for the first time I was struck by several things, the first being I mustbe after making a mistake because this young man sitting across the table from me didn’t look old enough to have crammed into his musical cv half what it said. The second was how genuine and easy to chat to he was. After a few minutes I discovered I was chatting to the correct Stephen Lynch, he explained that he started touring full time with The Dublin City Ramblers at a very young age hence the youthful looking gentle man sitting across from me.

Stephen is an enchanting young man who sings with great passion, heart and soul. Born and raised in Dublin’s Southside and now almost a city of its own Tallaght, Stephen grew up in a working class family. His family has always been very musical and he was brought up listening to Irish music all his life. As a former member of the band “The Dublin City Ramblers”, whom have a lot of famous tunes to their credit, which includes the classic hit, “The Rare Auld Times” this well renowned Irish folk band were presented with a gold album from “Dolphin Records” for sales of their CD’s and continued to play in many venues throughout the world with Stephen loving every minute of it.

Stephen learnt the craft of his trade at a very young age, as his father is part of the long established Dublin Folk Band “Whiskey Still”. Stating that his father and Paddy Sweeney of the band Barelycorn, are his biggest influences, Stephen has had the privilege of performing with many great artists himself in his young life so far when he was touring with “The Dublin City Ramblers” and it clearly shows in his professionalism, mannerism and his on stage presence. The way he can captivate his audience and carry’s them away with his angelic voice that is deepened with emotion, throughout each and every song he performs.

With an ability to work the stage and engage with his spectators, his performance leaves an impressionable impact that is, not only memorable but special for everyone that has had the opportunity to experience his live gigs, which is leaving him in huge demand at both home and abroad.

Looking forward to life as a solo artist he will perform numerous well loved Irish Ballads ranging from: “The Ferryman, Carrickfergus, The Contender, Freemantle Bay, Hard Times, 19 Arches, Galway Girl” the list is endless. Stephen also plans on incorporating some of his own ballads from his new album on which he is currently working on. He will be launching his solo on Friday the 25th March in the Sirus Arts Centre Cobh. A night not to be missed.

Listen to interview here Stephen Leeson by Community Radio Youghal on Mixcloud

Shane Supple interviews Stephen Leeson by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Interview on the 19th Sept 2011 about his new album launch night in Dublin

Shane Supple interviews Stephen Leeson 19 Sept 2011 by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Art Supple

2011-03-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Art Supple interview 13th March 2011
This week I spoke with Art Supple during the week on Youghal Radio and I know Art and myself are related but when it comes to music and music connections the simple fact that Art is one of our best known musicians in Cork. I asked Art to explain how he became involved with the music business.
I started out singing in school we had a great teacher who always encouraged us to sing and be involved in music, this led us to forming the Barrony Aces, a group of young school children who would put on small plays and performances in our local hall and school. I was like any young person of that time and saw no reason why I wouldn’t become the next Oscar winner or music star. I then got involved with the Patsy Irwin band and we used to play the local halls in and around East Cork. We used to play in Redbarn before the main bands. At that time there was a showband on the scene who for me were the best band on the circuit, They entertained with a group of top class musicians they danced, they sang and had us all enthralled in the show they put on each time they came to Redbarn they were called The Clipper Carlton They were the forerunners for the showband scene as it became known.
I was working out in the field at our farm with my father one day when two gentlemen in suits arrived on the scene they explained that they were putting a band together and needed a singer Local man Murty Lucey from Redbarn had told them to get in touch with me as he had seen me performing in Redbarn Dance Hall. They spoke about many things but the one thing that caught my attention was the mention of an American tour, now this was 1963 and the thought of a tour to the USA was a big deal at that time nowadays people fly over and back to America but back then it was not as easy as it is today. I didn’t need much more convincing I accepted the offer to become the singer with the Victors Showband and we set off from there.
After a short while we had become one of the top ten showbands touring Ireland at the time and we did our American tour, I have to say looking back on it was a great time for showbands. In Ireland around then there were over 850 showbands touring the circuit, not all professional but they were all playing to huge crowds. If you think back there was no TV in a lot of places and we only had the one radio channel so entertainment was a night out to see a band in the local dance hall. It was such a busy time for bands that dances were running seven nights a week with anything from 800 to a few thousand people crammed into these large ballrooms.
I was lucky in that during this time because the scene was so strong many of the top international acts wanted to tour Ireland because the cost of travel etc was large most of the singers would arrive along and work with an established band in our case we were lucky enough to tour with the likes of Roy Orbison, Jim Reeves, Millie, Johnny Cash. We shared the stage with The Beetles, Had tea with the Rolling Stones and met many of these and other famous singers on our travels.
Looking back on it was a great time and things have changed so much, I remember that we were recording a new song and we had all the band, part of the Concert orchestra and a group of backing singers all in one room singing into the one Microphone and because it was all recorded on very expensive tape we only had one take to get it recorded, there was no editing or adding in tracks it was basic and it worked all because of the quality of musicians who worked in these showbands. Nowadays you can get the same sound in our bedroom at your computer but back then it was expensive we had to travel to the only studio in Ireland which was based in Dublin we had to hire all the musicians so it was like getting a small army on the move for one performance which they would have to get right.
Looking back on his career which is now in its 48th year as a professional singer Art has met so many wonderful people from Christy Ring who he had the privilege of playing hurling with to The Irish Soccer team who he entertained. He has sung to presidents from many countries, and met many wonderful people around the world. There was so much more to ask and talk about but like all good tales we will have to leave the rest for another day.

Art Supple by Community Radio Youghal on Mixcloud
Listen in here Art Supple by Community Radio Youghal on Mixcloud

Shane Supple interviews Art Supple by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Will they Run

2011-03-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

Will they run interview 6th March 2011

This week the band Shane spoke with are called Will They Run
This week I spoke with two members of the band “Will They Run” Singer Diarmuid O Leary and drummer Greg Ahern. The lads are currently working on getting new songs sorted and a set list put together, they have been rehearsing for the last several weeks getting themselves ready to launch on an unsuspecting world. I asked them where did it start.
Greg whom I had interviewed before while he was with another band Citizen started off by telling me that he wanted to put a band together and he knew Diarmuid from gigging around Cork. The only problem was Diarmuid was on the solo scene as a singer songwriter. He approached Diarmuid and put the idea of putting a band together. Diarmuid who only started playing guitar at 21 thought about it and agreed it might be worth a try. I asked Diarmuid where did it start fro him and he replied that all through his teens he was more into computers and was concentrating on his studies rather then anything else. The one day walking down the street he saw a guitar in a shop window and decided that he wanted to buy it learn to play it and write songs, that was the start of a whole new era, computers were replaced by music, songs, guitar strings, chords and a keen interest in writing. He then started gigging on the local scene until he was approached by Greg.

I asked the lads to describe themselves what genre would they fit in musically, the two lads spent several minutes debating with each other words like Afro Funk, Folk, Classic rock, Blues, Rock, all mentioned but no agreement was forthcoming, we decided to pass on it and I would listen to the CD myself later on. I asked Diarmuid to sing something and straight away I could understand the problem the lads had in describing what style they were. A very tuneful voice, good song composition easy style with gentle music all from one guy. It was nice and easy to listen to. I asked Diarmuid did he write songs for the band or did he write songs and bring them to the band, He replied that he wrote songs and then the band would add there own bits and pieces. All the songs are original and vary from song to song. When you add in Drums, Bass, Guitar one can only imagine the sound that can be created. For me it was like listening to REM with soul, Coldplay with heart,

I asked the lads about the plans for touring, going on the road and all that goes with it. Each of the lads has worked with bands before so are all seasoned performers. When it comes to gigging they are hoping to start playing the venues that have in house PA systems or they will rent PA for the night as its too expensive to try buy a complete PA system at present, they want to spend the money on developing the bands sound recording and promotion etc rather then blow all their cash on gear.

My advice is if you see this band in your area go see them. Meanwhile you can check them out on myspace or facebook just type in Will They Run.

Shane Supple interviews Will The Run by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Vincent Lynch

2011-02-27T07:51:00.000-08:00

Vincent Lynch interview 27th Feb 2011
This week Shane talked to singer songwriter Vincent Lynch from Cork. Vincent arrived for the interview accompanied by Pascale Lutz his bass guitar player and guitarist Hugh Dillon who also works quite a lot with another Cork Legend Mick Flannery. Also in the party was Aisling O Leary from Topline Management who are the management company for Vincent.
Oh, don’t let anyone tell you that there are no earthquakes in Cork! The rebel city’s Vincent Lynch packs a seismic punch with enough magnitude to knock any rock fan off their feet! With fierce guitars and full throttle rhythm, Vincent Lynch is a definite force of nature.
You’ll be equally impressed with his spirited melodies and insightful lyrics that ride atop the bands aural attack like a Harley gliding on the open road. Vincent Lynch first & foremost is a bad-ass rocker, but that’s only half his story. Listen to the tracks, and you will be equally impressed with his superb song writing skills. Vincent writes songs that you want to sing along with and raise your fist in the air. The true test of any rock band is the ability to leave the crowd clambering for more, and Vincent Lynch never leaves a room in silence! The screams are deafening until the last breath is drawn

Vincent Lynch the singer, songwriter musician, has exploded onto the Irish music scene in the past 6 months. Bearing in mind Vincent has only been writing original material since February 2008, his catalogue has risen to over 350 original pieces, and has had his work showcased to some of the biggest names in the recording industry. He is currently in negotiations with a publishing company to manage his back cataloged His unique vocals and astounding chord work has gained him notoriety amongst his peers, and will be undertaking a huge collaboration deal in the new year, having heard him perform some of these songs all I can say is each one is different and they all have a unique identity.

I asked Vincent what was his secret to writing so many new songs and he replied that it Was down to the amount of work he does each day in songwriting, Sometimes a song canTake 5 mins to write others 5 months but Vincent keeps track of everything from lyrics melodies to the song idea itselfbut you must devote time each day to songwriting.
Currently the only news in the Vincent Lynch camp at the moment is they are currently getting their heads together to iron out details for his upcoming debut album. Set to be recorded this summer 2011, its set to be an acoustic album with a little bit of something for every music lover. From acoustic Rock, to blues, to a nice blend of jazz! All original material written by Vincent. If you get a chance to see him in action you should do so

Shane Supple interviews Vincent Lynch by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Claire Regan

2011-02-21T07:51:00.000-08:00

Claire Regan from Local Group the Birds interview 21st Feb 2011

This week Shane had the pleasure of chatting with local singer songwriter Claire Regan. Currently you can hear The Birds on local CD the Marine Sessions with a recording called Wildflower from The Birds. as Claire herself says this was a great song by All about Eve so we rearranged the guitar added vocals and bass and hey presto our version of this song. I asked Claire to take us back to where it all started

it all started wen I went to college Stiofan Naoife in Cork and I was always listening to music and taking my poetry and adding music to it for my course work, However I wouldn’t consider myself a very strong lyric writer rather do the arranging and add music to a song. currently we have just started writing all three of us so it’s great fun at the moment when we sit down and go over new stuff, Sinead writes great lyrics I rather write the music she is so strong at putting lyrics together it works for us well. Ken then adds music ,he is really amazing it’s one of the reason we don’t have a drummer the three of us seem to gel together we have control of the music and sounds as well as the speed of each song the tempo and rhythm of the music.

I get a buzz out of working with other musicians but I love writing the cords music and arraangements to the lyrics. I am looking forward to the next few months. I asked Claire what sort of guitar she uses she replied I have an acoustic Honer guitar and I have one that is set up so well but I don’t know who made it as the name is worn off but for my favourite guitar is the fender Jaguar guitar it’s electric and my hero Johnny Marr uses one so I went to my local credit union took out a loan and bought it I just had to have it. I started playing guitar when I was 16 I used to busk around the city with my sister but then I moved to Dublin and gave it up for a few years and then a band I knew we looking for a bass plaster so I fell in with them for two years then I moved back to Youghal and went to collage and started back at guitar at 32.

when I was in college I was more into electronic and digital music using garage band tracks and a little guitar and put them online and got a great response from that so it kinda moved on from there. I started playing live by accident really I used to visit Sinead and we would mess around with lyrics etc and I would play guitar, and from there we just got invites to play at local sessions from the musicians christmass session to other local open nights. once I got my head around using a PA we ewre on a roll. then we added a bass player and Ken arrived on the scene. ken from Cobh is so talented playing different instruments but really adds to the whole sound with his great bass lines so gentle smooth but important to the overall sound. So since then The Marine sessions have been wonderful. Giving us a chance to play live in the local area.

I asked her if her style of songwriting had changed over time and she said since the birth of her daughter Molly she had changed a lot up till then it was a sad melodic stark songs but since then it’s all uplifting bright happy type songs, the odd sad song still escapes but for the most part it’s all positive, I think it has something to do with looking at Molly sitting there so full of life my own outlook to life has changed dramatically since she came along. We spoke at length about many things from Bill Bailey to Jedword but through it all her love of music shines through. So keep an eye out for this new three piece band in your local area. The Birds Claire,Sinead and Ken. You can also check them out on Facebook

Shane Supple interviews Claire Regan - The Byrds by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Warren Tivy

2011-02-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

Claycastle on top of the Mountain 14th Feb 2011

This week I spoke with Warren Tivy who during the year undertook a charity climb to one of the world’s best known mountains Kilimanjaro in Africa which is 12,000 meters above sea level. Warren musican, producer, sound engineer and owner of Claycastle Studios in Youghal decided to do some work for charity and he was doing work for different bands and acts who were all raising funds for the Charity Africa Direct so it did this seemed like a good idea at the time.
He had to raise €6,000 to go to Nairobi where he spent two days visiting the projects that the funds were being used for. Warren said he had never seen anything like it; Nairobi is like any other city it’s busy and bustling But driving out to the slums where over 2 million people live in abject poverty he got a sense of what this was all for. What prompted him to do this I asked and he said one of the things he found interesting about this charity was that every penny and cent raised was handed over to the charity who were working in the slums providing care health basic needs to the people living in these slums.
After spending two days there they headed across the Serengeti by bus it took over a day to travel to Mushy on the other side of Kenya to base camp for the climbing. Warren had already spent the year working out getting fit and working in the gym as well as doing lots of running. He met with many other climbers who were treating it a little more serious then Warren and his fellow climbers from Ireland. It was a rough trek where you worked your way up through the rain forest first before hitting the volcanic rock of the mountain. It took seven days to climb and each night you would sleep over at that point you reached that day, It was tough going as the higher you climbed the altitude started taking its toll, for the last two days Warren says he felt sick constantly headaches and tired, sick feeling in your stomach. It was awkward as the higher they climbed the chances of illness increased the problem with that was because of the altitude there were no helicopters able to fly at that altitude due to lack of air so it was going to be tough on anyone who had to turn back down the mountain.
On the sixth day they arrived at Kabuki Huts where they spent several hours just getting used to the altitude and at 1am they set off to reach the peak in order to be there for dawn. It took six hours and it was only a small distance but with ice and lack of oxygen it was tough going. At around 7am they reached the summit and managed to see the dawn break. On the way to the summit they met many other climbers who had to turn back because of illness but the Irish group continued on.
I asked Warren what went through his head when he was standing on the summit. He said it was an emotional time the first thought that went through his head was oh my god I now have to climb down this mountain again. But it was beautiful standing there looking around at the world below you. As time was short they only got to spend a few minutes at the summit when they had to make there way back down. The hardest part of it was the sweat that had built up under his protective clothing had turned to ice and as he descended it started to melt, within a short time he was soaked through and had to continue climbing down. By the time he got back down the mountain he was down to wearing a t shirt because of the morning sun and the heat it was difficult climbing down and they had to stop several times on the way down to acclimatise and get used to the altitude. I asked him would he do it again and he replied that he would do it all again, he is raising money all the time for the charity Africa Direct.
It’s good to see a local musican taking on such a large task all to raise funds for charity.Currently Warren and the crew at Claycastle are working on different projects but one that sticks out is the Marine session Live CD vol 2. After the success of the first CD they decided that so many musicians responded that they had enough material to start a second album so that’s what they are working at now, if you see Warren or any of the bands he works with playing in an area near you go along and support them.

Shane Supple interviews Warren Tivy - Claycastle Recording Studio by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Mike Hanrahan

2011-02-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

Mike Hanrahan interview 7th Feb 2011

Mike Hanrahan would be best known for his work with Irish band Stockton’s Wing, He also spent 10 wonderful years working alongside Legend Ronnie Drew, spent some time as Chairman of IMRO and decided in later years to change career to that of Chef, nothing too strange in that except its a brave man who would decide at the age of 48 to change direction from a very successful career as a songwriter singer guitar player musican.

As a child in Ennis he had eight brothers and sisters and they were part of a family ceili band playing the local halls for social events before Mike discovered the guitar, from there he started singing and playing and his first major gig was working alongside another star of the Irish music scene Maura O Connell, whom he knew from home and had gone to school with and was good friends. It was around this time he discovered American Country music while working with the band Tumbleweed, they had the distinction of playing the first Lisdoonvarna Festival Mike was with Tumbleweed for 2 years before he joined his brother in a band called Stockton’s Wing whom he knew well and had spent a lot of time playing sessions with.
He and Maura were both offered places in the band Maura decided to give it a miss and within six months she had joined De Dannan. Mike joined Stockton’s wing in 1980 and left in 1984 but not before he had written many great songs for the band among them Beautiful Affair which became synonymous with Stockton’s wing. It was a great time for the band in Ireland at that time because the music scene was going well Radio were starting to play Irish acts, bringing the band to a wider audience which included America, and Europe.
After a great 14 years with Stockton’s wing Mike decided to go it alone for a bit and toured with many great bands and acts including Finbar Furey as well as becoming very active in IMRO, the Irish Music Rights Organization. In his 12 years involvement with IMRO starting as a songwriter on the board of IMRO he worked tirelessly for songwriters and eventually ended up as chairman of the board of IMRO for a little over 6 years.
It was during this time that Ronnie Drew contacted Mike asking him to join his touring show at that time. Mike didn’t need asking twice and became part of that show touring all over the world. This lasted for roughly 10 years before sadly Ronnie passed away. Mike had lost a good friend in Ronnie and decided to take some time out from the Irish music scene
It was during this time out he decided to try his hand at cooking and signed up for a 3 month cookery course in Ballymaloe Cookery school with Darina Allen, It was something Mike had a passion for and discovered how much he liked cooking and decided to go back to Dublin and continue working as a chef. After a spell working in Dublin he returned to Ballymaloe to continue working on his new found craft in Ballymaloe as a teacher. He was approached by a local publican and comedian Pat Short who had a pub in Castlemartyr and he wanted to start providing good food in his pub, Mike took a look at what Pat had and he then went about sourcing produce from the local area, from fresh fish to local meat, vegetables which means that on any given day the menu can contain fresh food rather then a set menu its all about what’s available on the day.
Mike has not abandoned music by any means but he spends more time in the kitchen nowadays, and in Pat Shorts bar he is able to combine his passions, music and cookery. You never know you could go in for a dinner and get a song at the same. You can catch Mike performing live in Shorts bar either in the kitchen or singing a few songs on stage at the sessions on Sunday evenings.

Shane Supple interviews Mike Hanrahan by Shane Supple on Mixcloud

Annette Buckley

2011-01-29T07:48:00.000-08:00

Annette Buckley interview 29th Jan 2011

I spoke with singer songwriter Annette Buckley from Cork this week while she was in the studio recording her new songs. Annette Buckley, who is no stranger to the Cork live scene, received rave reviews after releasing her debut album “The ever changing colors of the sea” in Hotpress Magazine. The future was bright for this up and coming rising star.
Her song “whirlwind” featured on HMV’s playlist album as well as other acts such as Duke Special, Altan and The Walls. She has collaborated with many Cork bands including Rest, Green Monitor, Stanley Super 800, Singer/Songwriter Ger Wolfe and Eoin Coughlan. She has also opened for Ryan Adams, Maria Mckee, Duke Special, Damien Dempsey, Declan O’ Rourke, The 4 of us, Juliet Turner, John Spillane, Erin Mckweon, Ben Taylor and the legendary Soft Boys.
On the back of the success of her debut album she returned to the studio last year and in the midlle of recording a song called Smile she suffered a brain hemmorage in the studio. After the rush to hospital, several weeks in intensive care, an operation on her brain she has put it all behind her and has arrived back on the scene and is now back in the same studio to record her new songs she had written in the interm.
As she says herself its great to be able to get back onto the stage and to be able to go back to the same studio and continue on from where I left off. Going back to the studio was important to me I wanted to put it behind me and face the demons and move on with things. Currently I am working with Cormac O Connor who is the engineer in the studio called Ringabella Cormac is a composer, producer, musician, sound designer and sound engineer and has won awards for his sound design for theatre in Ireland and Britain. He has worked as a live sound engineer in the Cork Opera House, The Triskel Arts Centre and The Everyman Palace Theatre Cork.
Currently she is busy working on her new album and has also been very involved in many different projects from acting to working with different bands all things she had put on hold for a while during her recovery in the last year. I asked her what formula she uses in songwriting and she says she starts at the piano works around that till she comes up with a melody line and then working on it till she has a finished musical piece then she adds lyrics to the music sometimes taking time out to write some poetry which in turn ends up sometimes as part of the lyrics,
She says there’s such a wide range of music out there that’s available to everyone now through the internet that it helps young singer songwriters develop a style by listening to other sounds which were not available from before so it does make it easier in one way for songwriting using the modern facilities to enhance your own songwriting, Annette is hoping to finish the album and is currently hoping to put one song a month on Youtube for her fans to see and listen to so that by the end of the year she will have all her new songs live online in video format. You can check out Annette online at her own website www.anettebuckley.com

Shane Supple interviews Annette Buckley by Shane Supple on Mixcloud