back with a Bang!!

I am back to the blogoshpere and this time I have a new album coming out.......

Barry Peak....Genius

Barry Peak is a mate of mine. I first met him in Belfast when he played for a band called BACKWATER but he has since played solo and for a band called
TORGAS VALLEY REDS



If any of you saw Sonovagun play at Beautiful Days in 2006, he was the guy on lead guitar. Anyway in 2004 or so he came on holiday to New York and came to visit me one afternoon. We were both in a similar state of mind and predicament at the time so decided to make some music as a form of collective therapy. He laid down some songs that he had written recently and I concocted backing tracks with Reason on the computer. This is the only one that survived my computer crashing.
GENIUS

It's a rough and ready demo but I love it!!

Barry has his own Blog that heavily features veggieburgers, it's in my mates sites section.

Barry's Burger Blog

Yearning A Living

Live in NYC

Last week I did a live show in Rockwood Music Hall in New York. It's a tiny little place that only holds about 30 people but has grand piano. So Roy came down and tinkled the Ivories with me. He also bought along an accordion for good measure and we knocked out a bunch of tunes.


A fellow blogger was there, his name is Wes and I have known him ever since rescued him from my Dad at a bluegrass Jam some time ago. Any way he has included a pretty slapdash version of Diamonds in the Road with a gypsy ending on his blog.......thanks Wes!!

Wes's Blog

A gig from my bedroom

When I usually record my stuff for release on CD I add bells and whistles, drums and bass, kitchen and sink e.t.c. Yet I only gig with my band once a month at most here in New York and we very rarely travel. Mainly due to the cost of these musical outings. So what most people hear on CD rarely matches what most people see when they see me play solo. So I thought I'd set up a guitar and mic in my bedroom and play a few tunes that are yours to download for free here!!
(oh and sorry about the mess in my room....it's the maids day off!!)

HERE'S THE SET LIST!!!

CLICK HERE FOR CIGARETTE

CLICK HERE FOR LONELY STILL

CLICK HERE FOR BROOKLYN SONG

CLICK HERE FOR SHINE

break up song

This is a break up song I wrote years ago when I had my hands on a piano. It pretty much depicts the end of a relationship. Quite a departure from my usual optimistic self. It was a B side on the Fallen e.p. in 2003. See the link below.


IF YER BROKEN HEARTED CLICK HERE

Song For George

As I mentioned before I have just played a tour with
THE OYSTERBAND

As part of the tour we played in ST. GEORGE'S HALL in LIVERPOOL. It was a beautiful old building with ornate columns, statues and marble all over the place which meant the acoustics were amazing!!! Given the name of the building and the fact that we were in Liverpool I decided to play a little thing I wrote the night George Harrison died. It's not really even a full song just something that came out in the bar SOLAS in New York when I heard the news. Chopper from the Oysters got up and joined me on cello and I was really glad not just because it makes the song but also because my loop pedal died the night before. Thanks Chop!!
Heres the tune!!!
SONG FOR GEORGE

Lazy Love

In the 90's, before I moved to New York, I had a bit of space! I lived in an old farmhouse outside Poratferry on Strangford Lough. There was a music room with a piano, drums, trumpets, trombones and many many other musical instruments that myself and my housemate Ursula owned ( she's a great harpist, pianist and accordion player). Anyway I used to tool around in there and write musical doodles when I was bored or drunk or both. This is one of them. It's called "Lazy Love" and its basically about sex. It was never good enough to release proper but I found a copy of it the other day and thought I'd share it with the blogging world
LAZY LOVE

Remember Watercess?

Last night I dreamed of my old band Watercress. In the dream we reformed and were playing a tour and were really broke just like in the old days. I woke up and was really happy I can now actually make money by playing my music. Then lo and behold I had 2 messages from people that had seen our old vids on you tube asking what we were up to these days.
There is one for CANDLEMAKER

And one for TRIPPED UP

If any of you remember our live shows we used to do this big stoned dub jam with loads of didge and double bass called TROUBLE. Well here's a version that we recorded way back then in 811 studios with our mate GLOVER who has since gone on to record THE KOOKS and THE ORDINARY BOYS. The quality is not great but you will get the idea.
TROUBLE
And if you like that kinda thing here's and even more dubbed out version where Glover strapped on his mad professor headphones!!! Enjoy.

CRESS Vs GLOVER DEEP TROUBLE

another chance

Well I guess we all lived through another year. This means we have another spin of the wheel in 2008 and for that I am really thankful. I have another album in the pipeline that I will hopefully record this year but I warn you....it's kinda country!!
I had a lot of fun touring last year and it was great to meet so many of y'all and have a few pints and sing for you in person.

In a world where music is so readily pinched turning up and singing the songs is the one area where we the artists who can really sing and play can stick it to the monopolizing music industry that is slowly losing its grip on what we do!!
Speaking of which....heres some free music!! have a great '08!!
Cigarette (alternative version)

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