DIY around the house 2

The water dripping down my body and gathering in a pool around my feet is dark blue, not clear or sparkling like you see on the adverts for holidays abroad, but a dark, navy, blue with a tinge of grey in it and no, I am not on some Caribbean island swimming with dolphins or other such nonsense.  I’m at home in my bathroom under the lockdown. I have been standing under this shower for 20 minutes now, my skin is gone all wrinkly from being in the water too long, its dark blue in most places and red raw in other places from the vigorous scrubbing with a large nail brush. I look like a children’s party clown who was very, very drunk when he applied his makeup or a bank robber who opened the bag of money when the dye used as a security measure exploded all over him. That’s not the worst part, my daughter and herself are trying to clean up our once normal, tidy kitchen. God help me, there is no escape this time.

DIY around the house 1

Ok here's the thing, I'm not the most dexterous when it comes to doing DIY around the house. Everyone in my family knows this, hence a pretty easy time of it, our local tradesmen, friends nephews and neighbours are all aware of this as well, from the countless times herself has asked them to do this or that small job around the place as "he is completely useless around the house" her words or as they say a direct quote......

Anyway as things stand in the current climate we, like many others are more or less housebound and I am lucky to be able to work from home. After 3 years of asking me to hang a picture in our sitting room, she thought it was about time I hang it. After all I was home every day and my excuse of I cant right now, I have to get ready for a meeting etc didnt hold water. She looked me straight in the eye and said I want that picture hung today. I tried the old "my drill is busted" to which she replied it's ok, I bought you one and handed me a brand new drill. Exhibit 1 in the gallery attached.I had no choice but to agree.

Shane A Supple Facebook page is with Dee Farrell Supple at Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria. September 13, 2019 · Mogán, Spain

Day 1

Day one of holiday and it would have to fall on Fri 13th, but we took a chance, everyone said you will be grand.

Yea right...however we got through 15 hours travelling, flight delayed by 4 hours left us sitting in Cork Airport which had the knock on effect when we arrived in Las Palmas airport our transfer to hotel had closed up and gone home so waited for the oldest bus on the island to take us all on a tour.

As is our luck we were the last stop so we got our appt at 11.30pm everything shut so were heading out to see if we can find a cow to milk for the cup of tea scavenge few eggs and mushrooms for breakfast if we can find a hen house.

Will report in later right now we have started our trek in the hotel bar so we will see how it goes.

Shane A Supple Facebook page with Dee Farrell Supple at Vilamoura in Portugal September 25, 2018

Shane A Supple Facebook page with Dee Farrell Supple at Vilamoura in Portugal September 25, 2018 ·

Day 1
First cup of Barry’s tea to get us started for a week of R&R for the wedding of our good friends Sean & Niamh............25 degrees here at 8.45am going to be a scorcher.

Day 2
And so, the story continues., more wine. (Seemingly it’s a requirement) anyway, the sun seems as bright as ever a, little on the hot side as they say "you could fry an egg on a stone, if you had an egg" but we shall push on through regardless .......

Day 3 of our adventure. Supplies running low, the hot sun continues to bake us and those around us with unrelenting vigour. Ran out of eggs to fry since yesterday hence a long trek to replenish our food stocks with the necessities. A local staple is the "Pinocalada" by all accounts several good meals in one glass (so Dee tells me). We will continue despite the heat and report in again soon.

Shane opening for Max T Barnes in Cork Opera House

Well it is my own blog so might as well advertise my good news this week.

On March 19th I get to open for the legendary country songwriters Max T Barnes & Craig Curtis on the Cork Opera House stage. Max T, who has written countless hits for many of my idols,(Collin Raye,George Jones,Gene Watson,Randy Travis,Diamond Rio,Joe Diffee, Jodee Messina,Trace Atkins & so many others) has had nine number 1's in the USA.

Max has been a staff writer and producer in Nashville for nearly thirty  years. Working under contract for Sony, Warner Brothers, Polygram, MCA, Island Bound, Curb And Ray Stevens. Early on however he also played lead guitar. Touring with Bobby Bare,  Shelly West,  Joe Sun, Linda Davis and Tanya Tucker to name a few. He did tours with Reba, Garth Brooks, The Judds, Merle Haggard, George Jones and too many more to mention.

Avi McGourty

Today I had the task of sitting back and chatting with a very talented singer songwriter from Tipperary living in Waterford called Avi McGourty. Now while this in itself was a treat for me it was even more so since this was our first time chatting face to face. I have known Avi with several years now and have been trying to get her into the studio for the chat, However schedules just didn't seem to fit and for some reason its taken this long to get it together where both schedules worked .

Fiddlers Dream

There are days when the sun shines down on you and it almost feels like summer, when all you want to do is sit back have a drink , let it be tea coffee, beer and listen to some nice gentle music while the music fills the air around you. Today was one of those days , Ok, I will admit the sun wasn't shining to bright but it had a summer feel and to it. In Studio today the group Fiddlers Dream from Fermoy took time out of their own busy schedule to join me in the studio for a chat about music and song.

Fiddlers Dream are made up of Lisa Howard on Uillean pipes, John Coughlan on acoustic guitar, Michelle Hurley on fiddle,  Ger Ahern on acoustic guitar and rounded off with Padraig O Brien on banjo. the group got together initially playing sessions in Cheers Bar Fermoy and have been getting new tunes, new members and new gigs since they started.

Andy Dunne

Well today after many years of trying to get local entertainer, singer songwriter Andy Dunne into the studio I finally got my wish at approx 1.15 when Andy walked in with his guitar under his arm. It has to be said the reason for the delay would sometimes be my fault or the schedule just didn't work when Andy was free I would be booked up When I had a free slot Andy was doing something else. Andy sat down and we started chatting about music and songs and then I asked him to sing something for the listeners. Up to then I had almost forgotten why I wanted to interview Andy so much and why I thought this talent should be heard by my listeners. As soon as he started to sing his self penned song "Living Proof" I was reminded of the amazing ability that is simple known as Andy Dunne. Andy will tell you himself that first and foremost he is an entertainer but here I would have to disagree a little, he is a gifted songwriter and a gifted story teller who has the unique ability to tell his story in song format. To me that's what Andy is first and foremost, after that there is no doubt that he will entertain you if you ever take the time out to go see him play live.

Tommy Flemming

Tommy Fleming has many times been described as the “Voice of Ireland” and is one of Ireland’s top entertainers. I was lucky enough to get a chance to talk with Tommy before his up coming concert in Youghal on Saturday April the 13th 2013.

Tommy, who was born in Aclare Co. Sligo, Ireland in 1971 and was the youngest of six children, started singing while still at school. While fronting his own local band, a chance encounter with Phil Coulter at a charity function near his home lead to a big break onto the world stage where Tommy appeared as a guest singer on Phil’s USA tour. This then lead to the singer entering into the music business as a solo artist.

Tanya Louise

This week I had the pleasure of sitting in the studio chatting to local singer songwriter Tanya Louise. It was one of those days where I was feeling lazy and relaxed and Tanya was laid back and relaxed herself so the interview turned into more of a chat then your typical music interview.  She brought into the studio some copies of her new CD "Better in Twos" All tracks on the CD were written and recorded by Tanya and she plays acoustic guitar on it. Tanya Louise was born in Cork City, Ireland and at 18 years of age her composure and song writing style is that of a more mature writer, She has an elegance and innocence in her writing that also contains a steely reserve and adds great depth to each of the songs. .  From Tanya's early childhood she showed a love and passion for music.

Sharon Shannon

Today, I got the chance to interview on of my hero's in the music world, Sharon Shannon, before her forth-coming gig in "The Grainstore" in Ballymaloe on Sunday night March 31st. Sharon best known for her work with the accordion, also plays the tin whistle and melodeon as well as the fiddle. Her 1991 album, Sharon Shannon, is the best selling album of traditional Irish music ever released on Ireland. Beginning with Irish folk music, her work demonstrates a wide-ranging number of musical influences, including reggae, cajun music, Portuguese music, and French Canadian music. She is an avid supporter of animal welfare groups MADRA and Animal Health Animal Rescue. She won the lifetime achievement award at the 2009 Meteor Awards.

Maria Butterley

This week I had the chance to chat on the phone with Maria Butterly, the Irish Songstress, has returned to Ireland from Los Angeles where she has resided for several years. With two independently released albums ‘Its Just Me’ & ‘Nashvillain Days’s, Maria has teamed up with Bill Shanley who has produced her upcoming album, to be released later this year 2013. Her new single ‘Angel’ awaiting release, produced by Bill, speaks volumes of what to expect from this diversified artist. Ireland AM (TV3) cited her as “One of Ireland’s most talented Singer – Songwriters. Multi-instrumentalist, self taught on Guitar, Mandolin & Piano. Her original style of music draws on influences from the Celtic/Irish Folk genre, American Country genre winning her accolade audiences around the country.

Diarmuid De Guide & Carol Rice

This week we caught up with another regular guest to the program and that was the wonderful ballader Diarmuid De Guide. We were also joined in studio by the fantastic  Carol Rice who manages Diarmuid De Guideas well as other top acts in the music scene.  Diarmuid hails from Blarney in County Cork. He is quite the acclaimed musician with the ability to play Guitar, Harmonica, Banjo, Whistles, Mandolin, Accordion, Bodhran, the list is endless. 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.

Ray Lynam

This week I had the chance to chat on the phone with a legend in the Irish Country music scene Mr Ray Lynam. Ray was born in Moate, County Westmeath. Ray Lynam played saxophone with a local group, the Merrymen, while still at school. He was so greatly influenced by the recordings of George Jones and Buck Owens that in his early career, he carefully reproduced their vocal styles in his own singing. In 1969, he became front man for the Hillbillies, a band led by lead guitarist Kevin Sheeran that also included Billy Condon (both later members of Daniel O’Donnell’s band). In 1970, a recording of ‘Busted’ attracted attention, while the follow-ups, ‘Sweet Rosie Jones’ and ‘Gypsy Jo And Me’, firmly established Lynam on the Irish country scene by their chart success. In 1971, 

Lana Gibson

Country Music touches and tugs at the hearts of all and listening to pioneers in Country music such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves are Lana Gibson’s earliest musical memories. Her parents were avid fans of those country greats. Like most singers Lana starting singing at a young age in local talent shows. She then joined a local folk choir and in her late teens and taught herself to play the guitar. Lana married her husband John in 1983. John also plays guitar and has a passion for Country music and introduced Lana to many new singers in the Country genre. That's where her love of country music really began. The couple went on to form a two piece band in early 1992 called “Two of A Kind”. The duo gained moderate success until 2000 playing pubs and small dancehalls around Munster (Southern Ireland).

Ilse de Ziah

Ilse de Ziah was born in Connecticut USA, where she started music theory classes and sat for hours under the piano listening to her mother play Chopin and Bach. From 7 she grew up in Sydney, Australia where over the years she had lessons in Piano, Cello, Pipe Organ, Harpsichord, Recorder and Violin. With sisters and father all musicians too, there was rarely a moment where music was not being played. Ilse’s great-grandmother, a Jewish Hungarian pianist living in Vienna used to sit on Brahms’ knee as a 3yr old, her father being his ear nose and throat specialist and an accomplished violinist. Her Austrian grandfather was a cellist and escaped from Vienna just before WW2 Her Czeck grandmother a pianist with a gypsy background, escaped with him. Her English grandfather was an accomplished violinist and was known to socialize with Jasha Heifez and Fritz Kreizler on their trips to Australia where he moved at 12yrs.

Roy Buckley & Eli O Keeffe

This week we had the double pleasure of two of Corks most talanted musicians joining me in studio. Roy who has been on the show everal times and Eli who we have spoken to over the phone but this was her first live visit to the studio. We started by talking to Roy about his Song writer Sessions and how they are going. We then talked to Eli about her work, her music and how involved she is in the music scene in Cork. She plays along at a lot of live sessions and you can see her backing many other great singer songwriters in the Cork area.

Vincent Lynch

Well its almost 2 years since we spoke with Cork singer songwriter Vincent Lynch. So we caught up with Vincent this week. In a week which saw Vincent release his new song for Suicide awareness in Cork , The song Shine a light is available to buy on I tunes and other online digital stores. Vincent was approached and asked tow rite a song for this worthy cause and he duly obliged with this new song which was recorded in Claycastle Studios in Youghal with the help of John Burke and Warren Tivy.

Pierre Bensusan

Today it was a privilage to chat with world renowned guitarist Pierre Bensusan before his upcoming gig in The grainstore Ballymaloe Co Cork. If “World Music” is music that pays tribute to the spirit of a collection of human beings through distinct rhythms, traditional instruments and harmonic colors,

French-Algerian guitarist, singer and composer Pierre Bensusan can be recognized as one of the most eloquent and diverse world musicians of our time. Born in Oran, French-Algeria, in 1957, when France was decolonizing its Empire, Pierre Bensusan's family moved to Paris when he was 4.

The Mandolas

Today I had the pleasure of chatting with some members of the group The Mandolas, they are a 4-piece folk/pop group based in Cork, Ireland. The band make use of a wide range of acoustic instruments (mandolin, mandola, acoustic guitar, bouzuki, banjo and viola) as well as incorporating lavish 4-part harmonies into their music. The Mandolas perform original material and combine Irish and English folk traditions with a unique blend of contemporary pop.

 The group consists of Michael Grace (Kilkenny), Colm Hayes (Cork), and brothers Paddy & Dorian Kelly (West Cork/ originally hailing from Yorkshire). Drawing inspiration from the likes of Planxty, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Fleet Foxes,

Willie Collins

Well this week in the hot seat in studio was singer songwriter Willie Collins from Fermoy. I have known Willie for a long time now and about 2 years ago he sent me on a CD of some songs he had written himself and recorded in Fiona Studios in Fermoy. Between his busy schedule and mine it took that long to get him into the station. Today was a nice day looking back over previous times, talking music and having a chat about the scene today.

John Blek & The Rats

On this occasion I was joined in studio by members of the John Blek and the Rats band, in the hot seat were John and band member and fellow musician Robin. This week we were talking about their upcoming gig in Coughlans Bar in Cork a new venue for bands songwriters and musicians which Cork musician Edel Curtin has taken on herself to run in association with Coughlans, its for bands to preform in a new warm venue. While in studio the lads preformed a few songs and for those that have not heard from them "John Blek and the Rats are a six-piece folk and country group from Cork City whose infectious brand of Americana influenced balladry has travelled up and down the roads of Ireland, the UK and Europe for the last two years."

Tommy Tiernan

Tommy Tiernan October 2012 World Tour of Cork
Shakespeare once wrote "All the worlds a stage and we are merely players", well in Oct 2011 the county of Cork will be the stage for the peerless Tommy Tiernan as the multi award winning comic embarks on his ‘World Tour Of Cork 2011’.
(Scrol down to bottom of page to listen to interview)

11/10 DOUGLAS Rochestown Park Hotel – SOLD OUT
12/10 YOUGHAL Walter Raleigh Hotel
13/10 MITCHELSTOWN Firgrove Hotel – SOLD OUT
17/10 BALLINCOLLIG Oriel House Hotel – SOLD OUT
18/10 BALLYMALOE The Grainstore – SOLD OUT
20/10 CHARLEVILLE Charleville Park Hotel

Fearless, inspiring and armed with a breath of comic abilities rivalled by no one in stand-up today, Tommy is able to expertly write and perform jokes born from every corner of the mind, politics, sex, family relationships, international observations, religion and drugs, it’s all there.

The Rivets

This week in studio I had two very talented guests who have been in the studio with me before on separate occasions, David Blaize was on talking about his own song writing and Che Horgan was in with the group The Wall St Thieves. The Rivets however are a second project that David and Che work on when not busy working with other bands and writing songs, They are a Dynamic Acoustic Duo who guarantee to give you a show to remember, performing Classic 50's & 60's Rock’n’roll songs you all know & love. With rhythmic guitars and melodic harmonies, this band will have you singing and dancing along to every song.

Rob Carlile

Rob Carlile was the guest this week. I have to say meeting Rob for the second time was great fun, The last time I spoke with Rob he was on the show as part of the group "The Buachaills" In his own time Rob writes songs, and plays with different bands. In his own right Rob Carlile is a talented singer songwriter who is going places.