CONNOLLY'S OF LEAP

Sadly another of my favourite venues in the world is not long for this world and I made a stop there to say hello to PADDY and EILEEN and family and to play some music for them and with them.


This is another venue that you should really try and visit before it gets turned into generic housing for rich foreigners. Damn the Irish for turning anything of cultural value into a building site that eventually becomes apartments or a McDonalds!!
You can take a virtual tour of the place HERE

I have been trawling around Ireland for a bit and playing a few places near and dear to me. Firstly a bar I used to work in called THE ROTTERDAM BAR in Belfast. This gig was great because of the memories it brought me back of my youth and watching bands there.

The place has been ordered to close because in true Irish form they are building some generic block of flats there for yuppies to live in.

It is great to have been able to play there another time before it goes as a lot of my earliest gigs were played there!!

But this gig was extra special fort me as my Dad was there and we played together.

And we rocked!!

Connected Remix

Ever since I moved to NYC I have been working with a good mate of mine
DJ WOOL
Also known as Glen Brady.

He is probably the best DJ in NYC and a great elctro producer and part of the popular NYC duo
THE GLASS
A little while ago we spent a hungover morning working on an idea that I had been kicking around called "CONNECTED" we made a demo of it and consequently it ended up being re recorded for my new album "YEARNING A LIVING".
To further complicate the story Glen has now re-mixed the song into a cool electro version which is FREE for you to download here!!!!
FREE DOWNLOAD OF CONNECTED( DJ WOOL REMIX)

Galway

Last Thursday I played in THE CRANE BAR in GALWAY!!

My main man
NEIL McCARTHY
put show as part of his VOICE AND THE VERSE series. I drank a lot of Guinness and sang a lot of tunes.
Joining me were maveric poet
STEPHEN MURRAY
and local busker
JAMIE McDONALD
There was a great crowd there and they REALLY listened, I could play all my quiet stuff

But ended up rocking out anyway.....as always



If everyone had half the time I did I think they enjoyed themselves!!
The next day a mate of mine DAMIEN DEMPSEY played in the pub around the corner. We all hooked up and had a great drinking a singing session till the early hours of the morning!!

There were so many great musicians there including NIZLOPI (an English band)That added to the enjoyment of the nights music!! Thanks Damien Thanks Neil and Thank you Galway!!

The new album is now available on iTunes
YEARNING A LIVING on iTunes

The tracks are as follows
1 Pretty Vagrant
2 The Truth
3 Brooklyn Song
4 The Beach
5 On Yer Own
6 Diamonds In The Road
7 This Song
8 All In Good Time
9 Connected
10 The Last Broadcast

|I just recently played in the NYC Guinness oyster festival. In Ulysses bar in Lower Manhattan. The line up was myself and Lughnasa and Mr. North. I have been a veggie for 12 years and was dared to eat an oyster onstage. It was quite a bizzarre experience...kinda like drinking sea water with a snot in it. Later on that night I felt kinda ill though!! As Johnathan Swift said, " Twas a brave man that first ate an oyster"






Here's some post oyster rock shots!!!

Rev's NYC Blast

Rev Hammer and his lovely wife Jane came to NYC this week and we had a ball. Firstly we went drinking!

PLEASE SIR CAN I HAVE SOME MORE?
Then we played a couple of gigs together in SWIFT and THE RED LION.

Rev and I rocking his tunes at Swift!!

Rev Doing his thing

There were people that came all the way to NYC from Pittsburgh to see Rev play and the gigs were great fun. But it was just great to hang and go sightseeing and remind myself how great NYC can be when you see it through the eyes of a friend that has come for the first time!!!

REV HAMMER HITS NYC

REV HAMMER will be coming for a visit to New York and will be playing a few gigs with Dan on the 7th of October in
SWIFT

and 8th of October in
THE RED LION
Both gigs will be at 9pm
For a sampler of Rev's music here's one of his tunes


PUT IT ON RED

Beautiful Days

One of the best festivals in the U.K. is BEAUTIFUL DAYS
It is held in Honiton near Exeter in Devon. Many of the best Dan Donnelly shows and Sonovagun shows have been there.
Beautiful Days is run by good friends of dan
LEVELLERS and DMF PRODUCTIONS.
If you live there it is well worth a visit. Kinda like the best bits of Glastonbury without all the commercial nonsense.


SONOVAGUN LIVE AT BEAUTIFUL DAYS 2006


THE CROWD WATCHING SONOVAGUN BDs 2006

Asides from all the great gigs there are lots of impromptu jams around fires personal appearances and a big fancy dress ball on the Sunday every year!!!


DAN DONNELLY AND SIMON FRIEND PLAYING

This gig happened in
The BIMBLE INN


CHECK OUT BEAUTIFUL DAYS 2008

The Band

Sonovagun is the name of Dan Donnelly's band formed with his friends is New York.
The main stays of the band are:
ROY HARTER
GRAHAM FINN
JOSH WHEELER
RAY BURNS
but many, many people have played with the band including
ALI MCMORDIE
MIKE VITTACO, ADRIAN HENKE, JOHNNY PAISANO, COLM YOUNG to name a few.







These were taken at
THE RED LION

Bootleg

"Bootleg" was recorded by Dan at home in 2003/2004 and is currently the only album out by Sonovagun. He played most of the instruments himself and he and his girlfriend took most of the pictures.
It's a 13 track album which lists as such:

1/ LOVE WILL SAVE THE DAY
2/ FALLEN
3/ SPARE CHANGE
4/ TELL ME WHAT TO DO
5/ MY HEART IS MY CLOCK
6/ CIGARETTE
7/ TOWN WITH NO WATER
8/ LONELY STILL
9/ I WANT YOU
10/ A YEAR AND A DAY
11/ DREAMER
12/ SHINE

and the hidden track is
YOU KNOW WHO

FOR LIVE VERSIONS OF A SELECTION FROM THE ALBUM CLICK HERE

TO PURCHASE ALBUM FROM eMUSIC CLICK HERE

TO PURCHASE ALBUM ON iTUNES LINK CLICK HERE