So happy to be back in Chicago after a great trip to Ireland and then on to NYC to start plans for a new album.
We have decided when looking over all the recordings we have made over the past few years to release something online at the end of the summer and i will get details to you soon. BUT we have also decided to go back into the studio to create something a little different this year. Let the rumours begin.....
I need to clarify something. I am getting emails and facebook messages from all over about this and it is about time I set the record straight. I have appeared on websites in Brazil, Spain, Portugal, France and China this year as either lead singer or Creative Director of Celtic Legends. I am neither , nor have I been for a year now. I am not performing with the show nor will I be.
The only shows I am involved with are Celtic Fire or Celtic Fusion
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Ola
Hello from Barcelona.
I love this town. I was here a while ago and loved so I was very excited to get back. The town has this great energy. Separate to the rest of Spain. The Catalans have an amazing culture that cant be beaten. Great food, gorgeous wines and everyone seems annoyingly good looking.
Recommended hotels
Granados 83
Recommended restaurant
La Fonda
Got to walk the city with Mam and Dad....and half of Wexford.
I love this town. I was here a while ago and loved so I was very excited to get back. The town has this great energy. Separate to the rest of Spain. The Catalans have an amazing culture that cant be beaten. Great food, gorgeous wines and everyone seems annoyingly good looking.
Recommended hotels
Granados 83
Recommended restaurant
La Fonda
Got to walk the city with Mam and Dad....and half of Wexford.
Friday, April 23, 2010
APRIL 23
I am going home to Wexford today. I have had a few visa issues ately as I am changing to permanent status but everything eems to have come together and I can finally get to Wexford. My local Society Wexford Light Opera perform in the Wexford Opera House. I rarely get a chance to see their productions so I am very excited. They are one of the premier groups in Ireland and the shows are the best you get. http://www.wlos.org/ Indeed I performed as Charlie in their production of Brigadoon. That wasnt today or yesterday.
So we have been booking some July dates in Iowa. I am excited to get up there. I am amazed at the gorgeous theaters scattered across the country. Go to my facebook page for details of the theaters.
The designs for Celtic Fire are in and they look gorgeous. WE are in no rush as we wont perform as a group till 2011. Got in a lot of bookings but have decided to wait till then. I have too much on my plate. I promise to put up some teaser pics over the year.
Went to see Corinne Bailey Rae and Daniel Merriweather last night. Both stunningly talented artists.
I am going home to Wexford today. I have had a few visa issues ately as I am changing to permanent status but everything eems to have come together and I can finally get to Wexford. My local Society Wexford Light Opera perform in the Wexford Opera House. I rarely get a chance to see their productions so I am very excited. They are one of the premier groups in Ireland and the shows are the best you get. http://www.wlos.org/ Indeed I performed as Charlie in their production of Brigadoon. That wasnt today or yesterday.
So we have been booking some July dates in Iowa. I am excited to get up there. I am amazed at the gorgeous theaters scattered across the country. Go to my facebook page for details of the theaters.
The designs for Celtic Fire are in and they look gorgeous. WE are in no rush as we wont perform as a group till 2011. Got in a lot of bookings but have decided to wait till then. I have too much on my plate. I promise to put up some teaser pics over the year.
Went to see Corinne Bailey Rae and Daniel Merriweather last night. Both stunningly talented artists.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
CALIFORNIA
Helloooooo
I am just back from dates in California. Got to play the California in San Bernardino. 1700 seats, What a gorgeous old hall. I brought along my lovely band and 6 dancers. It was an odd date as it wasnt a solo gig and wasnt a large dance show. We had a laugh as usual and the audience indeed lapped it up.
It is always stunning to me when speaking to audience members after, just how affected they are by our shows. People sob their hearts out and are joyous at the same time. My agent and publicist surprised me which was lovely. I dont enjoy knowing people in the audience so it is best I found out after. I do indeed judge a town by audience reaction and the catering in the theater....i know!......but let me tell you, San Bernardino passes on both fronts. The California is the stage that Will Rogers last performed on and you can feel it in the old place. They dont make em like that anymore.
Headed to LA after the gig for a few days off and a visit to check on my agents. Got in a lot of socialising for a change so at the end of it all I am exhausted.
I celebrated my birthday in town going to http://www.cecconiswesthollywood.com/ where we saw Simon Cowell, Bruno Tonioli and Nigel Lithgow in power play conversation. Loads of celeb spotting . Headed to The Village Idiot http://www.villageidiotla.com/ for birthday drinks with showbiz friends, old and new from Lee Lessack to Amy Weaver to Angela Kinsey to musical theater people like Kathy Dietch I had the best time in LA. It just puts me in a good mood. I was still relieved to be headed back to Chicago where.....funnily enough, it is warmer than in LA.
Heading to Ireland next for some planning for later in the year and to chill with my friends and family in Wexford.
Anyways, it was fun
I am just back from dates in California. Got to play the California in San Bernardino. 1700 seats, What a gorgeous old hall. I brought along my lovely band and 6 dancers. It was an odd date as it wasnt a solo gig and wasnt a large dance show. We had a laugh as usual and the audience indeed lapped it up.
It is always stunning to me when speaking to audience members after, just how affected they are by our shows. People sob their hearts out and are joyous at the same time. My agent and publicist surprised me which was lovely. I dont enjoy knowing people in the audience so it is best I found out after. I do indeed judge a town by audience reaction and the catering in the theater....i know!......but let me tell you, San Bernardino passes on both fronts. The California is the stage that Will Rogers last performed on and you can feel it in the old place. They dont make em like that anymore.
Headed to LA after the gig for a few days off and a visit to check on my agents. Got in a lot of socialising for a change so at the end of it all I am exhausted.
I celebrated my birthday in town going to http://www.cecconiswesthollywood.com/ where we saw Simon Cowell, Bruno Tonioli and Nigel Lithgow in power play conversation. Loads of celeb spotting . Headed to The Village Idiot http://www.villageidiotla.com/ for birthday drinks with showbiz friends, old and new from Lee Lessack to Amy Weaver to Angela Kinsey to musical theater people like Kathy Dietch I had the best time in LA. It just puts me in a good mood. I was still relieved to be headed back to Chicago where.....funnily enough, it is warmer than in LA.
Heading to Ireland next for some planning for later in the year and to chill with my friends and family in Wexford.
Anyways, it was fun
Sunday, April 4, 2010
CELTIC FIRE
HI EVERYONE
FIRST OF ALL I HAVE TOTALLY NEGLECTED THIS BLOG SO I AM VERY SORRY.
Life has been crazy for the past while. March tends to be a little busy for me as you can imagine. I have been fulfilling my last 5 dates with Celtic Legends and so ends my connection with the show. The shows were booked a year ago and I had to get together a group of 12 dancers and 5 musicians. Once we got everyone together and saw how talented everyone was, I decided why not put together our own show to tour the US.
And so.....CELTIC FIRE was born!
I am always being asked to produce my own show for the US and there are no US based Irish shows so it seemed like the next logical step. We put the show together in a few weeks and it has turned out to be the most satisfying and fun experience of my entire professional life.
The show is now in place. We have a website booked, the design figured out(and just wait for it...it is gorgeous) We have lovely new costumes that are truly beautiful.
Most importantly I have the nicest and most talented dancers and musicians I have worked with. Just nice people who are a joy to be with.
I asked the amazing Claire Worley on board to choreograph. She is incredible. She also designed and help make the costumes. Her brother Mellad has been musical director for my concerts for years and he is a gentleman. His original music and arrangements are really just perfect.
So we have some bookings in place. We are not going big with this show but keeping it to a manageable level so it doesnt take over my concert work. However this has been the most fulfilling time of my life. I am so proud of the kids involved in the show. Our first dates are in January 2011 in sunny Florida.(anything to avoid the Chicago winter)
We are currently adding new July concert dates in Iowa,South Dakota and Nebraska. Details to follow......
FIRST OF ALL I HAVE TOTALLY NEGLECTED THIS BLOG SO I AM VERY SORRY.
Life has been crazy for the past while. March tends to be a little busy for me as you can imagine. I have been fulfilling my last 5 dates with Celtic Legends and so ends my connection with the show. The shows were booked a year ago and I had to get together a group of 12 dancers and 5 musicians. Once we got everyone together and saw how talented everyone was, I decided why not put together our own show to tour the US.
And so.....CELTIC FIRE was born!
I am always being asked to produce my own show for the US and there are no US based Irish shows so it seemed like the next logical step. We put the show together in a few weeks and it has turned out to be the most satisfying and fun experience of my entire professional life.
The show is now in place. We have a website booked, the design figured out(and just wait for it...it is gorgeous) We have lovely new costumes that are truly beautiful.
Most importantly I have the nicest and most talented dancers and musicians I have worked with. Just nice people who are a joy to be with.
I asked the amazing Claire Worley on board to choreograph. She is incredible. She also designed and help make the costumes. Her brother Mellad has been musical director for my concerts for years and he is a gentleman. His original music and arrangements are really just perfect.
So we have some bookings in place. We are not going big with this show but keeping it to a manageable level so it doesnt take over my concert work. However this has been the most fulfilling time of my life. I am so proud of the kids involved in the show. Our first dates are in January 2011 in sunny Florida.(anything to avoid the Chicago winter)
We are currently adding new July concert dates in Iowa,South Dakota and Nebraska. Details to follow......
Sunday, December 20, 2009
So
So the end of 2009 has come. I am so excited about 2010 and next month will be announcing details of my new very exciting project. I am eager for 2010 to start but need to acknowledge 2009 first.
I have one date left here in lovely Spokane, WA this afternoon. Looks like it is sold out so that is a nice way to end the Christmas tour and frankly it reflects just how successful the tour and the Christmas album went.
I thought about how I felt about it all this morning and I realised just how happy I have been over the past 10 weeks or so. I realised how proud I am of this Christmas album and how happy I was that reviewers and fans loved it so much. I never quite take my music seriously enough and never quite realise the effect it has on people. This year, I realised. I feel humbled and proud at the same time.
To have Sharon Weisz and Jon Konjoyan work with me on Beyond was a huge help. Hearing your music on Sirius, reading reviews across the US and getting airplay across the country is all down to you guys.
Thank you to everyone for spreading the word. It is tough being an independent artist so you need a team of people around you to act as advocates. I certainly have that. You are all brilliant.
The year started off badly for me. I was in a stressful situation that I had to get out of. I forgot i was a singer and wasted a long time working for other people. Talk about a waste!!!! Walking away was the best decision I ever made in my life. I guess I returned to what I do best...being a singer.
It is funny that I am a middle aged man who feels like he has just started, but that is what the situation is. I have many things ahead of me and frankly I feel like I am just getting going.
To my band I say thanks so much for your dedication, your love and respect. To Mellad I cannot tell you how much I admire you. I appreciate all your hard work. To Steve Skinner, you are family and always will be . Thanking you in a blog is not enough. TO Patty, I appreciate those words that make me stronger. Maybe you dont realise it, but i am listening.
To everyone in Wexford. Love yas and am a singer because of ye.
To Mam and Dad for always believing in me
Thanks Mark for being Brilliant(not to mention handling all the distribution and management of the campaign).
A Big Thank You to all those fans for their lovely letters and gifts. Your words of encouragement make a huge difference to me.
To everyone .....thanks a thousand.
OK, off to the last gig and then I plan on a very nice cabernet!
I have one date left here in lovely Spokane, WA this afternoon. Looks like it is sold out so that is a nice way to end the Christmas tour and frankly it reflects just how successful the tour and the Christmas album went.
I thought about how I felt about it all this morning and I realised just how happy I have been over the past 10 weeks or so. I realised how proud I am of this Christmas album and how happy I was that reviewers and fans loved it so much. I never quite take my music seriously enough and never quite realise the effect it has on people. This year, I realised. I feel humbled and proud at the same time.
To have Sharon Weisz and Jon Konjoyan work with me on Beyond was a huge help. Hearing your music on Sirius, reading reviews across the US and getting airplay across the country is all down to you guys.
Thank you to everyone for spreading the word. It is tough being an independent artist so you need a team of people around you to act as advocates. I certainly have that. You are all brilliant.
The year started off badly for me. I was in a stressful situation that I had to get out of. I forgot i was a singer and wasted a long time working for other people. Talk about a waste!!!! Walking away was the best decision I ever made in my life. I guess I returned to what I do best...being a singer.
It is funny that I am a middle aged man who feels like he has just started, but that is what the situation is. I have many things ahead of me and frankly I feel like I am just getting going.
To my band I say thanks so much for your dedication, your love and respect. To Mellad I cannot tell you how much I admire you. I appreciate all your hard work. To Steve Skinner, you are family and always will be . Thanking you in a blog is not enough. TO Patty, I appreciate those words that make me stronger. Maybe you dont realise it, but i am listening.
To everyone in Wexford. Love yas and am a singer because of ye.
To Mam and Dad for always believing in me
Thanks Mark for being Brilliant(not to mention handling all the distribution and management of the campaign).
A Big Thank You to all those fans for their lovely letters and gifts. Your words of encouragement make a huge difference to me.
To everyone .....thanks a thousand.
OK, off to the last gig and then I plan on a very nice cabernet!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Apologies
So I guess I have totally neglected my blog. I apologise wholeheartedly. I had no idea how this whole campaign would go and frankly I am swamped. The album is doing extremely well on Amazon causing them to run out of stock over the weekend and sending the sales rank down bigtime. Problem solved now.
All Access Radio the go to radio site for AC radio have recommended Beyond the Star on their Cool New music section which is hilarious as I am neither cool nor new. What the hell. I am delighted with it.
The next 6 weeks will be hectic with interviews, touring , appearances and general Christmas stuff. I am excited about it really. Feels good to be out there doing my thing.
Thank you to everyone to wrote asking for Beyond the Star sheet music. We are trying to solve that right now.
Thank you also to the people who sent in their recordings of the song. I am delighted that people will have it as part of their Christmas repertoire in and outside of church.
Planning for shows next year and it promises to be great. Details to follow in January.
We plan on doing a few video updates from our tour so look out for those in the coming weeks.
First stop ARIZONA for some sun and fun at the DELL E WEBB CENTER in Arizona which I believe is just about sold out aside from the odd ticket.
OK back to work on the tour and planning on a New York Christmas!!!!
All Access Radio the go to radio site for AC radio have recommended Beyond the Star on their Cool New music section which is hilarious as I am neither cool nor new. What the hell. I am delighted with it.
The next 6 weeks will be hectic with interviews, touring , appearances and general Christmas stuff. I am excited about it really. Feels good to be out there doing my thing.
Thank you to everyone to wrote asking for Beyond the Star sheet music. We are trying to solve that right now.
Thank you also to the people who sent in their recordings of the song. I am delighted that people will have it as part of their Christmas repertoire in and outside of church.
Planning for shows next year and it promises to be great. Details to follow in January.
We plan on doing a few video updates from our tour so look out for those in the coming weeks.
First stop ARIZONA for some sun and fun at the DELL E WEBB CENTER in Arizona which I believe is just about sold out aside from the odd ticket.
OK back to work on the tour and planning on a New York Christmas!!!!
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