Waterford Festival of Food 2012

It was so short notice, I barely had any time to tell anyone about it.  I enjoyed playing at the food festival last year, but didn't expect to get the chance to do it again this year.

After a couple of turbulent days, I was thinking of giving it a miss.  I'm glad I changed my mind.  It's such a buzz to play on a big stage.  The crowd seemed much bigger this year - and a lot of them were listening, which was even better.

The doubts disappeared with the first line "I don't care if I get arrested, I'm coming into town all the same!"  of Rory Gallagher's  "Barley and Grape Rag".  People gathered and stayed to listen.  It was also the first time I played "All On Me" to a live audience.  There were friendly faces in the crowd and people came up afterwards to say how much they had enjoyed the music. 

A few days later the person in charge rang me to say that they'd had quite a bit of positive feedback, and that there may be another festival gig for me during the summer.  I'll keep ye posted.

All On Me

Considering how much I love and play the blues, it's surprising I've never recorded a blues of my own.  Well here it is.

I came up with the main riff a few days ago, played with it a while, and then decided it was crying out for some words.  So last night, I sat down with a few beers and got stuck in.

The last few tunes I've recorded with my Fender amp plugged into the laptop via USB, but for this one I did something different.  We recently got a voice recorder, so I hijacked that and recorded this first take.  I decided not to mess with it at all.  I like the rawness of the recording, and I think it suits the song.  Also, it's a lot handier than dragging out all the gear and setting up.

Enjoy, and do stick on some decent headphones :)
It's top of the list in the reverbnation player in the top right corner of the blog.

The Playschool Overlooking the Cemetery

The Playschool Overlooking the Cemetery

All things living, and all things dead,
Somethings better and some nothings,
Waiting for mini-births and mini-deaths,
Mini-joy and mini-grief.

Slow down and walk, you'll see it all,
Everything seems a little unreal.

M.T 06.02.12

New Song Recordings

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I've updated this blog.  Although I've not been out there doing gigs lately, I have been playing away at home. 

Thanks to a lovely new Fender Acoustasonic amplifier (with USB out) I've been recording some stuff at home.  I've polished a some old songs, and written some new ones.  Check them out in the Reverbnation player in the top right corner of this blog.  "Prison TV" and "Not That Far Away" are the first of my own material that i've recorded and posted.  Please share the links for them if you like what you hear. 

I will be getting out there to do some gigs soon, and I'll be taking part in a singer/songwriter competition in Waterford city sometime this month. 

That's all for now.
Matt

Upcoming Gigs!

Put these dates in you diaries folks...

Mike Hannon's bar in Ballyduff - Saturday 16th July
Battle of the Bands - The Toddle Bar, Waterford - Saturday 23rd July
Murphy's Bar (support for The Good Will Out), The Quay, Waterford - Thursday 28th July

See you there!

28th of July, Murphy's Bar, Waterford City

A foot in the door...

I've been trying to get a gig in Waterford City for a while. 

At a battle of the bands competition a couple of weeks ago, I met some friendly gentlemen who really dig the blues.  As it turns out these guys are "The Good Will Out" - and they offered me a spot to play support at a gig of theirs at Murphy's bar on the quay in Waterford on the 28th of July - so be there!

Battle of the Bands - Waterford City



Fuzzy pic, but the best I got.

Well I've got through the heat and weekly final of the Battle of the Bands competition, run by OxyLung in the Toddle Bar in Waterford. 

I'm glad I entered this competion.  It was quite a last minute thing - and I was quite torn.  Sometimes these competitions are just an excuse to get music in bars without paying the acts.  But the guys running it are really into their music and take it quite seriously. 

I wasn't expecting much - after all, i'm not a band - so I was delighted to get through to the grand final.  A lot of people were really into the blues I was playing, and the Rory Gallagher material went down well as usual.  I also made friends with some interesting, like-minded musical people.  So - a good time. 

The grand final is more than likely on the 23rd of July down in Waterford.  I'll post it when I know for sure.