| Peter's profilepushing and pullingPhotosBlogLists | Help |
|
October 14 The act you've known for all these yearsSo the Beatles remasters have come and gone. My verdict ? 'About bloody time'. Of all the hoo-haa surround the release of these Mono and Stereo discs the BBC produced some excellent radio programmes. The best of which was the continuing series 'The Record Producers' You can hear the multitrack deconstruction of some songs which reveal individual parts and instruments. Never mind what I think.... take a listen (follow the link and download the MP3 file, no password required). October 09 At The Mike StandThanks to social networking and a long lost cousin I find myself interviewed in this week's Irish Examiner (USA, Art Section) Isn't that bizarre ? Read the online edition by clicking this link here and jump to page 13 or you can grab a .pdf in this link here. I really am a chancer.... a little exaggeration goes a long way in print. September 21 Sometimes you only have to askA few weeks ago I dropped a note to Graham Holland regarding his Podcast "It's a Frog's Life". The podcast features acoustic music from around the British Isles. I guess I snuck in through the back door :-) There's a real sense of validation when someone you've never met listens to and responds to a song you've written. I was delighted when Graham contacted me and asked if he could include one of my songs in an upcoming podcast. I also sent in a track to another podcast but really didn't do myself any favours: there's no point in sending in a folk track if the podcast features indie rock music ... is there ? Even if the people running the podcast are predisposed to giving you a listen. So click on the link and grab the latest edition of the "It's a Frog's Life" podcast. ![]() Or better still: subscribe to it on iTunes and give the podcast a good rating. July 05 Maybe I think too much for my own goodThe dust has settled and the audience has moved on. Meanwhile I'm coming to terms with a little achievement. I should be pleased. I am. But shouldn't I be more pleased ? Last Thursday so many people turned up to the gig I organized. More than I expected. Flattered and touched. Genuinely. However I'm a little pissed off with the venue because the PA system was inadequate. Nobody complained though a couple of people who would know these things did agree with me that it wasn't good enough. I have to let this go. So many things went well: I didn't fuck up, I'm guessing some folk liked my songs, the video thing was interesting. Most of all: I Did It !! Next gig there'll be something else I'm not 100% happy with. Is it always going to be this way ? Probably. Better get used to it. The 'folktronica' thing isn't really happening. I write concise songs and they don't lend themselves to un-natural extension. That's not to say I won't try again with 1 or 2 songs in the future. By the autumn/winter/spring I'll have more gig-ready songs. I think that's the reason why I went for the extended versions this time around: to fill out the gig. I wonder what people think when they see me play this stuff. Do they really like it or are they being polite ? If they're being polite it's bloody expensive and time consuming for them so I can only guess they really do like what I'm doing. My other fear is that this is not sustainable: will the novelty wear off ? Next spring when I'm trying to get people to go see me in Whelans (large well known Dublin venue) will they show up again or will I be playing to a handful of die-hards ? I'm still going to do it though. Until someone says I'm biting off more than I can chew I will keep going. I can't not do this. I heard second hand that one of my songs (Bed For Sale) was praised by another songwriter I admire. So that's two: Dan & Thomas Walsh. Good enough for me. My hunch that there's a rich vein to mine there is right. I should trust myself an little more and use my own voice. To that end I dug out a song I had been working on titled 'Turning Blue'. It's not a million miles away in tempo and feel from McCartney's "Young Boy" and the colour imagery in the song is probably a bit simple but screw it. While goofing around with the song this evening another song came out. Having had too many glasses of wine to be disciplined about finishing it I might have a bit of a slog to get 2 more verses and a middle 8. Maybe not. Perhaps when I start demo'ing these two songs with drums & bass & electric guitars the sounds will inspire me to finish the songs. Maybe they're not meant to be finished yet. Reflecting back on the set I played last Thursday I know what I'm doing right: - picking a couple of cover versions and making them my own - keeping the songs concise - engaging with the audience - keeping the show going no matter what is happening Some of the songs just aren't going to be keepers and that's ok. At least I know they're not and as soon as I have better material I'll replace the songs one-by-one. Next time around I want to open with 'Bed For Sale' So to close, here's a video clip from the gig with that very song. [Yes I know the bloody camera is cutting my head off... I set it up before the gig and didn't have time to deal with the details.] July 03 When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide![]() When I was a teenager I dreamt of doing a gig where it was just me. Just me and a guitar and a drum machine. Maybe a synthesizer if I could borrow one. Tonight I played a gig to launch my first CD. A 4-track EP titled 'Lonely Hearts & Car Parts' A huge crowd turned out. I say 'huge' because I really though maybe 10 people would show up. I was shocked. Shocked & stunned. Theres video (not sure what the quality will be like) and lots of photos. This photo is courtesy Eric Paquin. Tomorrow I'll blog properly. For now I'll put a link to where an interested person could get a copy. June 29 I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver When the switch broke 'cause it's oldSo this evening I did an interview and live performance on a local radio station (PhoenixFM). I don't know if anyone heard it apart from my family and the cat. It was fun. I've been promised a CD of the programme which I'll use to make a podcast. The presenters (Deirdre & Louise) had done their homework. They took my biography from MySpace and used it to ask questions. I guess I made it easy for them because the stories were there to be told - they just cue'd them up and let me run. A lot of spoofing on my part of course but sure isn't that all part of how it works ? Part of me says 'it's only a local radio station, no-one was listening' while another part of me says 'screw that, it's a gig and you start somewhere'. All these bits add up. Don't they ? June 27 Blood and chocolate, I hope you're satisfied what you have doneThank you Dan for driving all the way from Tipperary to Dublin to sit there and listen to me rehearse on Wednesday night. Your input has really helped. So , things I've learned or re-learned this week:
'Be Alright' has a folktronica arrangement which was too heavy but after some editing it's now not over-long and I can remember the arrangement so I don't lose my place with all the bleeps and pings. 'Interference' will work with acoustic but I am seriously thinking about reinstating part of the backing track for the middle 8 where I did an Andy Summers style arpeggio thing in the studio. 'Dive' needed a lot of re-editing but it's there now. This is one of those songs where I think for the recording I'll have to do something in the chorus because it's only 1 word repeated and it feels a little repetitive. 'Break Me' is now being played on guitar. I've decided not to do a keyboard part live because it needed something more. For the gig(s) I'll play acoustic guitar and will let the laptop play my piano part. All-in-all I'm getting closer to material for the second CD and have an eye (just one eye mind) on a third CD. Rehearsal tonight was focused. I didn't bother with the acoustic songs because I can practice those at home and I pretty much know them. I took time over each track that uses the laptop. Next Wednesday (night before the gig) I'll go through the set twice - like a tech rehearsal. Sitting here watching Glastonbury coverage (Friday night) I wonder 'will I ever?'. It's hard doing this on your own. I like the control and I like only needing to keep 'me' happy. But promoting a gig alone is hard work. Bloody hell I hope people turn up for this or it's going to be a bit of a pisser. June 17 Checking In, Checking outI used a rehearsal room/studio for the first time in maybe 20 years this evening.
It seems like an eternity ago.
Me 1 - Circumstance 0.
April 26 If you can't laugh at yourself...Way back in 1991-93 I was in a band called Brainchild. This was when I lived in New York. If you ever meet me I can tell you stories about this band. Meanwhile here is a promo video for one of the tracks off the album : April 15 Good EnoughWhat's good enough ? Four songs 'what I wrote'. Four recordings of me and my guitar. Four things I want to say. April 08 The Open Mic Scene in Dublin, some pointers and some open mic etiquetteI had a couple of emails recently where I was asked to recommend some open mic sessions in Dublin. Since mid-2007 I’ve been playing around Dublin and have picked up a few pointers along the way. I’d like to share them here. If you’re not familiar with the open mic concept in a nutshell it is this:
Some etiquette and basic manners that should be observed:
A few tips:
You’d think all of the above was obvious wouldn’t you ? Here is some information I’ve pieced together on active open mic nights in Dublin as of April 2009. I’m sure there are others out there (I know of at least one other that I haven’t yet checked out).
Monday Night, The International Bar on Wicklow Street
On Monday night there is a nice open mic in Peadar Kearney’s on Dame Street. http://www.myspace.com/musicmediumlive This is about 5-6 doors down from the Olympia Theatre. It’s got a PA and isn’t too big. As you progress they have other gigs in the same venue later in the week where you can do a full set of your own.
Tuesday Night: The Bankers Inn , just around the corner from Dame Street/Andrews Lane. http://www.myspace.com/davemurphyandfriends
Wednesday Night: Bruxelles, on Harry Street just off Grafton Street. http://www.myspace.com/thezodiacsessions
Sunday nights in The Bleeding Horse on Camden Street http://www.myspace.com/thebleedinghorsesessions March 31 High And Dry![]() "... don't leave me high... don't leave me dry..." I dropped in to play at an open mic tonight. I knew the folk running the gig and they very kindly gave me a slot to play 4 songs. It's a small town... I also knew all of (bar maybe one) the people who were playing. Dubbel-in Tow-en Is A Very Small Tow-en. I enjoyed the set and the audience were really complimentary. Here's the problem, and I might have blogged this before, how on earth do I come down from the buzz ? Here I am at past midnight having got the bus home and I'm not quite ready for sleep. How do people (musicians, songwriters) come down from gigs ? I know some of the obvious stuff but bloody hell if I'm buzzing after just playing 4 songs how can I balance that with 'real life'. I still have to work tomorrow. Glass half full: people liked my songs and my performance. I liked the flattering words they used. So I'll be back for more next Monday :-) That Was The Week That WasI'm poleaxed ! So on Sunday last (22nd) I played a 30 minute set at the end of the night in the Bleeding Horse (The Apollo Sessions). I wasn't meant to close the gig - it just worked out that way. Unfortunately the act but one before me managed to almost clear the venue with their noise. The folk who remained were really respectful and a great audience. Got some lovely compliments. I tried a new song (Bed For Sale) and a cover version (Shipbuilding). I hadn't expected to be on so late and had had a skinful by the time I got onstage. I have no idea if it affected my performance. Well. Actually. I'll bet it did. I was certainly more daring. The week was taken up with work (office type work). A re-organization and general business stuff kept me busy. I don't usually do long days in the office but this week I ended up doing a couple. This got in the way of getting any writing or recording done. I picked up the guitar on Friday evening and did some more work on Bed For Sale because the lyrics aren't quite there yet (there's not enough death in the 3rd verse) and it needs a bridge/middle8. Saturday I spent the day spring cleaning. eBay is about to get hit with a bunch of stuff that I hope people will buy. Went to see Ireland vs Bulgaria on Saturday evening. Brutal match. When we conceded the own-goal I decided enough was enough and left Croke Park. There was a warm house, warm family and warm glass of red wine waiting for me. Stayed up far too late Saturday night. Watched a movie and then a bunch of music videos. With the clocks going forward it didn't work out well. 6:00am getting to sleep is not what I should be doing 'at my age'. Today (Sunday) was more productive than it should have been given my slight hangover and general shattered state. I did some more work on 'Bed For Sale' and practiced a couple of songs in anticipation of tomorrow night's open-mic. Feel suitably creative I grabbed my guitar and headed into the studio. Over a 2-3 hour session I managed to get 2 acoustic recordings completed. I might be able to use them for my Acoustic EP. This time around I recorded the guitar part first and then overdubbed the vocal. I was listening to a recently released Beatles bootleg (Revolution...Take Your Knickers Off) and spotted that Lennon had used this technique for 'Julia' on the White Album. I also spotted a lot of flubs and mistakes that were obviously fixed by those clever Abbey Road engineers and their razor blades. Good enough for Lennon... more than good enough for me. A very chilled evening. After dinner listening to BBC 6Music and thinking about the week ahead and what it might bring. Monday evening I've got to finish a conference call at 7:00pm and then get myself home and/or into town to play in Peadar Kearney's. The good people at Music Medium Live have moved to this venue. I expect that like most open mics it might be a bit chaotic. The rest of the week looks like it'll be taken up with conference calls and meetings, attempted gym visits and yearning for recording. Brian Cowen is a coward![]() and so are the executives in RTE It started here http://www.tribune.ie/news/article/2009/mar/22/cowen-hung-out-to-dry-in-national-gallery-hijack and it's gone here: http://www.mulley.net/2009/03/25/picturegate-or-whatever-we-call-it-is-not-about-a-facebook-group and here: http://www.caricatures-ireland.com/blog/the-taoiseach-has-no-clothes-and-rte-has-no-balls-the-brian-cowen-nude-caricature/ and here: http://whythatsdelightful.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/coming-late-to-the-party-but-still/ I think there's legs in this hopefully better than the above March 18 I’ve got blisters on my fingersA good weekend. On Sunday I played a short set at the Apollo Sessions (aka The Bleeding Horse Sessions). With Tuesday being a holiday in Ireland (St.Patrick's Day) I took Monday off and decided to leave the car at home and enjoy the gig.
I think Fiach and John have found a great venue (The Bleeding Horse pub on Dublin’s Camden Street). As far as I can tell the pub was an old house and has a myriad of staircases and balconies. In the backroom they setup a small PA and light which was just perfect for the room. In between pre-booked acts (of which I was one) it is an open-mic setup so anyone can wander in and play a couple of songs.
With it being that weekend it was no surprise to find plenty of tourists. Transient is how I would describe the audience. The same folk at the start of the night were not there when I did my set. I performed 4 songs ('Holding On', 'What Do I Know?', 'Be Alright' and 'Devil & The Deep Blue Sea'). I guess they went down well - are people just being polite when they applaud? Singer-songwriter insecurities like this do my head in ! I need to name and shame those SSIs whenever they appear. I think that’ll be the trick. To me, these songs are old. Some are almost 2 years old. I have to remind myself that to the audience they are brand new. Not that I am in the same league as Ron Sexsmith but I'm sure he thinks 'Secret Heart' is old as the trees and feels like a cover version when he's performing it. I'd feel short changed if I went to see Ron live and he didn't play songs like 'Secret Heart' and 'Lebanon Tennessee'. Fiach said something very complimentary after my set (along the lines of not being able to get one of my songs out of his head - see I told you it was a compliment !). John asked if I'd be back next week. I'd love to. Of course I would. But will I be overstaying my welcome ? There I go again with the SSI . . . Inspired by the gig on Sunday I took some time on Monday to write a new song. ‘Bed For Sale’ was inspired by something Chris Difford said in the Songbook show. He met his song writing partner Glenn Tilbrook having read a note posted in a shop window “among the beds for sale”. That got me thinking about the story behind a bed for sale. What happened that the bed was for sale – and so on. I’m always looking for a story to build a song on.
Tuesday was a national holiday so of course I spent it in my studio… I’ve decided to pause working on my album for a couple of weeks. I’m going to get 4 acoustic songs onto an EP so that I can have something out there. Since I have the facility to duplicate & print CD-Rs and the cost of printing a simple envelope is not much it leaves me with no excuse ! Today my fingers are sore. No blisters (yet) but damn they’re sore. It’s been a while since I played guitar for so long. At the end of the day two things bugged me: my voice was warmed up but I could barely play guitar (usually it’s the other way around) and secondly I was disappointed at the quality of my performance. I know I can do better. I was trying to do it ‘live’ in the style of a radio session. It sounds like a demo. That’s not what I want. I’m going to have to do it like a recording: get the guitar down and then overdub the vocal. Guess what I’ll be doing for the next couple of evenings ? March 01 Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans
Our son Ben is 10 years old today. He’s a sweet, polite & good natured kid and we’re very proud of him. When Ben was born he was a very sick baby. He spent the first week of his life in an intensive care unit, the first couple of days on a ventilator. Nothing has come easy to him. Ben had to work hard to achieve everything. In the past year we finally got to the bottom of a learning difficulty that has made school more difficult than it should have been. Ben’s non-verbal learning difficulty is being managed really well and we’re seeing him coming on in leaps and bounds. I received some texts for Ben today and he was able to read them aloud himself. That was a big step up for a little man. Parent worry. It’s what we do best. Beats doing anything useful. Something has happened though. 10 years is a lifetime for Ben. It’s been a blink of the eye for us. I remember as a kid being sick on my birthday. It sucks. Ben was running a 40 degree temperature yesterday at 6:00am and I had to bring him to the doctor to get some help with the bug he’s fighting. One of his classmates has ended up in hospital because he started having breathing difficulties. Our crosses are all relative. Despite being wiped out and not feeling 100% he got stuck into the bowling & Qazar games before we headed to TGIF for a birthday meal with his friends. Personally I cannot stand the place but the kids like it. February 24 Song Sung BlueI’m in an email discussion with another Irish singer-songwriter. It seems that many of us hold ourselves back creatively and we were sharing our frustration and experience. Demons & fears are the single thing that holds back so many songwriters and I include myself in that. Some days I'm confident and others I just wonder who I'm trying to kid. I'm even going through it now with my album recording. On MySpace there is a simple guitar+vocal+cello demo of a song called "Holding On". I started recording a master of it last week and have almost completed it. The problem is that I've recorded it with a full band arrangement. Although I like it I'm not sure if I should stick to the original simple arrangement. I'm trying not to sound like a whiny acoustic folksy singer-songwriter stereotype (I'm looking at you Damien Rice!). I've done this with my song 'Be Alright' which on MySpace is a simple acoustic demo but the ‘album’ version has more in the arrangement. I've decided to just get on with it. If I make the wrong decisions on the arrangements and style then so be it. Nobody dies because of it. Fortunately I have my own studio which means I can spend entire evenings working on this stuff. Until last year I hardly used the studio for myself and seemed to be always doing stuff for other people and trying to hire it out. Many of my friends are musicians (regularly mentioned in this blog) and I have to stop comparing myself to them. Sometimes it feels like I'm only 'pretending' to be a songwriter. They're doing it full time so I'm really only pretending to be an artist. That's a hard one to get over - that feeling that they'll come to the gig, hear the CD but will know that it's not the real deal. I think a songwriter needs to set goals and deadlines. I've set myself a goal of having a launch gig in the small room in Whelan's for a CD. Ideally in the autumn. Given that I will be away for 3 weeks this summer and have a demanding day job it's quite a stretch. There's also the small matter of paying for the duplication and hiring the venue. With the goal in mind it's focusing my mind on getting this album done. The person I’m corresponding with has set themselves a goal : write a good song this year. But I think they’re not giving themselves a fair chance. My message: If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion: set yourself a target to write as many songs as possible this year. If they're all shite then so be it. But I'll bet you a bottle of your favourite drink that there will be more than one gem in there. Now, my point here is that I'm looking back on the songs I wrote and recorded for that project and have decided to keep two of them live on MySpace. I created an 'experimental-me' MySpace at http://myspace.com/iLIVEinAsuitcase . I think I will do something with those 2 songs. Each of them took less than 2 hours from opening a blank page in my notebook to finishing the demo. I found the open mic scene in Dublin to be very supportive (with only 1 exception really). Just getting out and playing your songs is a great learning process. You find out which material works and you also develop confidence. Most people look in awe at anyone who can play music in front of an audience. Even more people admire anyone who writes and performs their own material. My song writing friend mentioned the inner critic: "As songwriters I know a lot of us wrestle with the 'who wants to listen to me & my ****' mentality. Very valid points. They’re not alone in this. All I can say is this: the point is that you can do this and others can't. Nobody can write a ‘Peter Fitzpatrick’ song (not even Ron Sexsmith - he can only write Ron songs). Here endeth the lecture. February 22 His majesty's sarcastic requestI'm in the middle of republishing all of my old blog posts from MSN to blogspot and I get this error: The server reported an error with the following URL: http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4442091455711856893/posts/default 400 Bad Request Blog has exceeded rate limit or otherwise requires word verification for new posts Well isn't that special ? Now that I'm posting directly I can see that it says: If you make a large number of posts in a single day, you will be required to complete word verification. After 24 hours, the word verification will automatically be removed. So, my blog is going to live a double life both here and on blogspot until I decide on one or the other. February 19 Always something there to remind me I dragged myself back to the gym on Monday after work and managed to get back into it. I forgot how much energy I have after I work out and went into the studio on Monday night. I wanted to do something but hadn't really decided just what that something was. So I decided to make a start on a properly recorded version of 'Holding On' (there's a demo here on myspace and a link to a live video here). Originally I thought I'd do a small intimate version with just a guitar, cello or string section and maybe use the harmonica. What came out of the 3 hours was rewardingly creative. The track is , I hope, close to a George Harrison 'All Things Must Pass' vibe. There are some real drums, bass, hammond, acoustic guitar and strings. I slept on the track and on Tuesday night I replaced most of the acoustic guitar with electric guitar and used a roto-vibe type sound (think the guitar sound Harrison used during the Get Back sessions in the 'Let It Be' movie). I layered a second guitar sound and was really pleased with the results. I also edited the drum track to map it closer to the track - making sure the rhythm complimented the track. I'm really happy with the dynamic in the song now and still get a little thrill when it hits the solo. Right now there's just a guide vocal which is pretty much as it is sung on the demo and how I've been singing it live. Listening to the track I know I'm going to have to rethink the vocal line. I will need an evening for that and might end up revisiting it a couple of times. The lyric & vocal is so critical. I'm looking forward to doing the backing vocals. I really enjoy stacking up backing vocals because it can really lift a track. The middle eight section needs some work. The middle8 is the bit in the middle of a song that sounds different to the verse or chorus. Example: Beatles 'Girl' : "she's the kind of girl who puts you down when friends are there you feel a fool, when you say she's looking good she acts as if it's understood..". And that was it. Wednesday night I sat in the sunroom with my laptop, small keyboard and headphones. No matter how much I tried the middle8 didn't progress. I think I need to sit with a guitar in the studio for a bit to develop it. It might need backing vocals too. So I'll keep an open mind. The truth of the matter though was that by Wednesday between the day job, 2 visits to the gym and 2 nights of creativity I was spent. I'd probably have been more frustrated with this in the past but I accept that sometimes it just doesn't happen. Like songwriting you can just hit a wall or a dry spell. I recently had a spell of not writing and over the course of the last 2 weeks I started to eek out some song ideas. It never disappears. Like physical exercise I need to do it regularly to keep it 'happening'. The middle-age spread isn't disappearing but my energy levels are better and I feel healthier. More importantly I see an album on the horizon. A real album. I'm already dreaming about a launch gig. That's got to be good. |
|
|