Big thoughts and little thoughts

april 17th, 2012: Getting fit and ready to play next week...have managed to complete 4 songs that have been in the making for, well, at least 15 years...ideas loitering in the corners of my room, scribbled on backs of train tickets. Will attempt a few in West Cork!

march 27th, 2012: Have been getting almost as riled up as Bruce Springstein about the way our world is being run....I won't make a list as i'd probably break down in the middle and throw myself out the window! Suffice to say that i do sincerely believe that small actions add up to big deeds so seize the moment, history goes in circles and it's important to be the ones keeping this world safe for all it's creatures. So, that's me then.....a tree hugger out of the closet....which reminds me, i must put a link to greenpeace and amnesty on the site...sorry if this puts off any of my right leaning fans (do i have any?) but nailing the colours to the mast is better than the loss of ....well, those you disagree with what i'm rambling on about here.

Keep writing letters, sending e-mails, free ranging chickens, eating less meat, less fish...smiling more ( i wish i could take my own good advice!) ....judging less you be judged....i could go on and on.....and on...but i won't...if anyone is reading this, i'm looking for someone to make a few videos....anything that can be seen of me is from a shaky mobile phone with the sound quality of a ....well, mobile phone so it would be gratifying to have some film footage to put up on youtube.

That's it...take a deep breath and .....relax

pt

march 12th 2012: breaking out of the cocoon, sun shining and showing off all that sap rising and spring springing. 2 gigs coming up end of April, one with the irrepresible Marja and the other with Interference....can't wait to be honest, i'm done resting and recuperating, time to stride out or forth and start playing again. Summer is full of what I call 'my summer work', a very busy time down here in southwest france playing with my comrades in arms ....and then a return to Ireland in september and finally to germany and switzerland with john lester. For any Bill Withers fans, there's a lovely hour long capturing of the man's wisdom and charm...I think it's called 'Still Bill' ....shown on BBC 4. A good one to watch for musicians who feel they've passed there 'sell by date' .....in fact even better for those few who are riding the wave which of course must eventually crash down on the beach of post fame (sorry, that really is a dreaful analogy but i couldn't help myself....)

pt

february 2nd 2012: Trying to make a wee video for 'belle' as a lot of people have been asking why i don't have something half decent on youtube....and i guess they're right. So..it's as cold as a witches teat and i'm going to build myself a video out of what i have...which is a pocket camera a room and a bucketful of imagination....and no technical expertise to speak of...:)

january 17th 2012: trapped in a fog pocket putting together the jigsaw pieces of my music room...the canal has been drained to fix leaks and i'm doing the same to my room...haven't even taken out a guitar to see how it sounds in here..below zero outside and keeping warm is the main challenge, bringing logs in, taking boxes out...enough activity to avoid hibernation....happy new year!

december 8th: that's it....played my last gig of the year and now hanging up my boots 'till 2012 comes around....bliss! myself and interference had some amazing moments over the past few weeks, truly a pleasure.....thanks again to all of youse who came along. unburdened myself of a barrel load of new cds, glad to hear that people like it, despite the tendency the songs have to send listeners into a deep sleep! happy new year and looking forward to more of the same.......and maybe something different, marja and myself are going to see whether we can come up with a cross between baroque and flamenco...mmmmm

october 27th: obviously totally crap at keeping this blog thing going....will try harder. Marja and myself hardly got going before we had to stp....thanks to all the small but perfectly formed audiences who came along and listened intently..there is a you tube link to some of our shows which i will post next. Speaking of next, next month I'm playing a bunch of gigs with interference (in ireland) which as ever will be a moveable and ever changing feast....in other words we will make it up as we go along....

september 22nd: just moved into a new house after spending 6 months in caravans, people's houses, the back of people's houses...the joy of finding all that stuff of mine that i got along just fine without. Marja coming over from ireland today and us off to Germany to try out all the new songs...a fine thing to be looking forward to.

Already a few words back from those who did the righteous thing and now have the first copies of 'painkillers' fresh out of the oven.....**** brilliant says Dave from Dublin....I'm soaking it all up before the real critics (well, the paid ones) start sharpening their knives and make their pronouncements.

See you on the road!