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.

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.