RAMBLINGS                                          

Hello,

Thanks for stopping by I do appreciate it.

Hey, I just finished watching that tribute to George Strait, Artist of the Decade on CBS. I recorded it because I was playing when it aired last week and only had the opportunity to see it tonight.  It was great. My wife Traci is a big George Strait fan and therefore so am I…by proxy.

Seriously I do love country music, it’s very similar to Irish folk…some say that’s where country came from…whatever, that’s like splitting hairs.

Country music has become its own art form, and very successful too I might add.

Sprawled on the couch I was, drinking some Red Guitar wine…have you tried it? It is, as the aficionados say, ‘very drinkable’. It’s a red Spanish Navarra and although I normally partake of the white grape, our favourite being Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve, this is a lovely substitute…especially when one is too lazy to get in the car and go to the wine store to purchase a white.

But I digress…country music, ah yes…I was moved on occasion during the show and I certainly could identify with the songs and the singers…not that I will ever get to bask in that kind of spotlight, mind…but on a different level I’m out there doing the same thing…selling stories, real and imagined through song and story night after night and so I can be forgiven for thinking “but for fortune there go I”…huh??

George looks good in a cowboy hat, so does Alan Jackson, but with some of the others I’m not sure. You have to have certain features. It’s an all American look and I think cowboy hats, like thongs, when being sold should have an abundance of mirrors in the store . You know…a thong looks great on the dummy (and I use the word loosely) and so does a cowboy hat…but if you don’t have the shape neither looks good at top or bottom so to speak ! 

gain I’m off point, must be the wine.

What I want to say is that I am extremely happy to be allowed to perform for folks who like the music. Nothing is better than a night singing for an attentive and interactive audience and later on to the few who stay on to listen to seldom sung material that’s so meaningful and emotional.

Last week I was graced by the company of Michael Franti of Spearhead, an accomplished American poet, musician, and activist, on the night before he performed in Forsyth Park here in Savannah. I had no clue who he was until after he and his bass player left but on reflection it was engaging to see him clapping along to Irish songs and enjoying the jokes and toasts. The same applies to some members of the Celtic Woman show who stopped by last evening. The sound engineers were great guys indeed and so was Chloe and some of the choir singers. There was a time when I would have been intimidated by all of these people but now I understand that we’re all doing the same thing…me, Celtic Woman, George Strait ‘n all…just singing for a living…and even though it can be hard sometimes I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I do want to say again how thankful I am for all I’ve been given and one of the best parts is sitting and chatting with you when you come to see me. I know it can sometimes get in the way of the show and I know I can’t get to talk with everybody and I know I might forget you if I haven’t seen you in a while…but I can’t thank you enough for coming out to see me…but please don’t keep pointing to your wrists and gesticulating at me to take the stage…here’s the thing…when the Lord made time He made plenty of it…don’t be rushing through life. And an Irishman does like to talk.

I’m off to Ireland in a few days and even though I’m looking forward to the tours I have a knot in my stomach about going to see my mothers grave in between the two tours.

God, how I hate this stuff and how I wish she could be there just one more time. It breaks my heart still…thank you all for your kind words…my mother Bryda will always be…I don’t know I can’t even form the words…

OK, moving past the emotion I want to tell you that Seamus Kennedy invited me to perform on an Irish Cruise in January 2010. I gladly accepted.

It’s an Isle Inn Cruise, in conjunction with Carnival Cruise Lines and they are calling it Ireland at Sea. The flyer is here on the website but briefly to cut through the verbiage, here’s the deal:

Jan 24 -30, 2010

From Ft Lauderdale to Cayman Islands, Jamaica and home by Key West.

Cost: The brochure says $839.00*

God how I hate that *

With port taxes and stuff here we go:

Inside cabin:………………………………... $1,124.00
Ocean View cabin…………………………...$1,214.00
Balcony Cabin……………………………….$1,324.00
Upper deck balcony Cabin………………....$1,344.00.

 All the cruise lines do this…actually all vacation packages, airlines, car rentals and just about everybody else does it…they give you a price and then when you go to confirm the reservation all of these surcharges show up.

I don’t subscribe to this practice. When I give you a price for one of my tours or in this case a cruise I will tell you what it’s going to cost. No hidden costs. Whether you can afford it or not is your call but at least there will be no surprises.

That being said I am looking forward to meeting and performing with Fiona Molloy and the group Guaranteed Irish. Seamus Kennedy is another story…a man with no off button and talented in the extreme…come along and watch me try to keep pace with him.  It will be a blast and …January in the Caribbean…hello mama!!

Call Isle Inn Tours for more information, but what more info do you need…January in the Caribbean…hello mama !

Here’s the number:  1-800-237-9376 ext 17.

Tell them I sent you, it won’t cost a penny more, I promise.

Look at the Cruise page for the full itinerary.

My schedule has been updated on the relevant page here on the site and I am still taking booking for private functions, conferences, concerts, singer/songwriter showcases, festivals and clubs. Let me know if you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Irish music and would want a journeyman like me to show up and perform for their special event. You can find my contact numbers elsewhere here on the website.

I have been asked about new and favourite music and I have the following suggestions:

Delores Keane
Pauline Scanlon
Kate Rusby
Mary Black
Kieran Goss
Cathie Ryan

And in the group category:

Girsa…produced by Gabriel Donahue
An Lar…Irish trad from Sweden
David Hyams…Irish Trad from Australia
Flook…Irish trad from Ireland.
All of the above can be found via Google or Yahoo and most are available for download on iTunes.

The Green Island Radio Show rocks on. Thanks for listening and if you don’t listen yet…please do.  It’s on www.gpb.org every Saturday evening at nine EST and it’s time for a grass roots campaign to have the show re-broadcast…each Sunday afternoon perhaps…email the powers that be at Georgia Public Broadcasting and let’s do this.

Now to end this aptly named Ramblings…we all have loved ones who have died, or are dying, or are seriously ill, and it’s painful and it hurts and yes we all die but it’s still hard to watch. We have one another, we have love, we have companionship, we have a God…don’t be alone.

We live in a good time in a good place and surrounded by good people.

We have heroes…people we look up to and admire.

I have my own growing list with some new names:

Maureen Mooney.
My mothers first cousin and a lovely lady in every sense of the word. She led a beautiful life and her family is a living testimony to what love can accomplish. It was my great honour to have been afforded time with her and her family. She is now with those who went before into the New Light.

I can’t finish this writing without mentioning my friend Ron Smith. His battle has been courageous and difficult and he is an inspiration. We shared many a night in many a location, we laughed, we drank and we sang. He continues his fight in private but I look forward to my next visit to his home in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the definition of a great man.

I am in essence a smart ass from Ireland but as I grow older I view life through a wiser and more focused lens and I will continue to try to make my own life better and share that betterment with others.

Thank you for your support, God Bless those who find themselves in far off lands enforcing the idea of freedom for all, God forgive those who have sacrificed their morals for personal enrichment, God Bless our children as they tip toe their way through their perilous years and God Bless us one and all as we walk daily through our own lives.

See you out there,