2005 Diary

THURSDAY 15TH DECEMBER 2005

Hello People!
I’ve just added a cool feature to the site… Wax & Seal radio!!! That’s what that crazy looking thing on the right-hand side of the screen is. You can now listen to Wax & Seal incessantly until you go mad…. but my FAVOURITE part is a little button that says “pop-up”. The player pops up so that you can wander around the site freely (or around the web for that matter), without the songs being interrupted. How cool is that? (If you have pop-ups disabled on your browser then this button might not work – let me know how you get on!)

Okay, I know I’m going to get abuse from some of you for having the neck to create my own “radio station” … but it solves all of my sampling problems.

Also, the gig in Cano’s of Dungannon will be a full house. So a night of wine, food and bad Christmas songs will be had – I can’t wait!

Enjoy!
Tadhg

THURSDAY 8TH DECEMBER 2005

Hey Everyone!

The link for all you people in the USA who want to buy my album “WAX & SEAL” (and for many outside the US too) is http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tadhgcooke. They’re good guys.

If anyone has iTunes, keep an eye on it. I’m not sure when the album will be online.

Take care now!
Tadhg

SATURDAY 3RD DECEMBER 2005

Good Morning (it’s 03:16) Everyone!
So, I’m playing later today in Radio City (formerly Isaac Butt’s… opposite Bus?ras) with The Guggenheim Grotto. Hopefully I’ll see one or two of you there and we can kick off the festive season in style. I always enjoy listening to the Guggs – you should too!

I’ve been busy making Wax & Seal easier to purchase for all you people in the USA. CDBaby will be selling the album for me shortly at www.cdbaby.com. I’ll put up proper links when everything is ready. Also, for i-Tunes users… Wax & Seal will be available within the next few weeks. I’ll keep you posted!

There are tonnes of gigs over the holiday season… Come down to one, enjoy the music, say hello, hug me excessively, slag my shirt, make a nuisance of yourself, forgot where you are, take the plot out of your wallet, go dancing, put the plot at your feet while dancing, trod on and gradually wander away from the plot while still dancing, forget where you put the plot…. you’ll blend right in!

Take care now!
Tadhg

THURSDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2005

Good Afternoon Everyone!
Just a quick one to say that we’ve made the album available on AboveTheSky.Com for downloading. The full address to my stuff is :
http://www.abovethesky.com/album/?albumID=1735

Also, “Wax & Seal” is among the top 20 Irish albums in CoolDiscsMusic in Derry. It is an “Essential Xmas Purchase”. I commend everyone in that corner of the world for their good taste and big thanks to Lee and his crew for their help and support!

Mind yourselves!
Tadhg

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2005

Good Afternoon Everyone!
New dates have been announced. Keep your eyes peeled.

I was up in Belfast yesterday. I had a lovely meal in “The John Hewitt” pub. Great food in there. There’s also a gorgeous pub called “The Crown” on Great Victoria St (I think). Amazing old decor. Looks like it hasn’t changed in 150 years. Someone said it’s the oldest pub in Belfast. We’re not sure, but it’s well worth a peek if you get the chance.

Any day now there’s going to be an artist’s rebellion in Ireland. The current post office strike will seem like a temper tantrum compared with the awesome force that we will utilise. Imagine violent Irish painters taking to the streets. Would-be writers leaving Mulligans, pint in hand, marching on D?il Eireann. Members of The Frames, Turn and BellX1 striking chords of defiance on their telecasters while avid fans push wheelbarrows full of amps and their respective batteries. You have been warned. Those of you who continue to push and promote tripe in this land are in for a big surprise. The revolution is coming and for once the teachers are not going to be first against the wall.

I ate some cheese last night before bed. I think it’s given me stranger ideas than is usual.

Mind yourselves!
Tadhg

MONDAY 24 OCTOBER 2005

Morning all!
Check the gigs page for new live dates. I’ll be doing an all-ages gig in Cork on 20th November. I also have a tour coming up in January/February with Q and The Hallucinations…. and there are plenty more on the way.

Ardan – this saturday – TG4 – 10pm. Check it out.

That’s all for the moment I think.
Mind yourselves!
Tadhg

WEDNESDAY 19 OCTOBER 2005

Good morning everyone,
Bell X1’s “Flock” has now gone to number one in the Irish charts. The charts come out officially on Fridays… so I probably shouldn’t be saying anything until then, but you deserve to know these things if you have gone to the trouble of spelling my name correctly and getting on to this website sooo…

What does this all mean? Put simply, it means that I actually appear on a number one record! I would like to send out best wishes to the Bellies in their world domination attempt and I also want to thank them for giving me the chance to sing on their record. An honour and a pleasure.

That’s all for now.
Mind yourselves!
Tadhg

THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2005

Good evening everyone,
I just have a few short announcements for you…

  1. You can now find me and my music on MySpace. So, if you’re wandering about that end of the web, do pop in and say hello! The address is… http://www.myspace.com/tadhgcooke
  2. Due to pecuniary embarrassment beyond my control (translated: I am broke), my European and US tour will be postponed until the new year… I think, although, this is subject to change at any time … but it does not look likely. I’m sorry. We will be looking for volunteers soon to help promote the gigs when we have them organised.

I’ll be announcing an Irish tour with Q very shortly. We’ll be heading around the country together in the New Year. There will be some serious heaviousity vibrations… to borrow one of his rich phrases! More details over the next few days!

Mind yourselves!
Tadhg

MONDAY 03 OCTOBER 2005

Hey All,
Charlie McGettigan’s show was great fun on saturday morning (although the getting up early part wasn’t pleasant!) and it turned out to be a pretty good session. Thanks to everyone for tuning in.

I’ve finally sorted out the gallery. All the photos are back, unfortunately the comments aren’t – but you can leave your own comments in the gallery if you want. You have to register to do that I think. The mailing list is back working too – so all is good.

There are a few small gigs coming up by the way. Details on the gigs page.

Talk soon,
Tadhg

THURSDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2005

Hey All,
If anyone is in and around Longford, Cavan, Monaghan, Westmeath, Leitrim, Galway, or Meath on Saturday morning, why not tune in to Shannonside FM? The frequencies are 95.7FM and 104.8FM. I’ll be on from 11am until 12 moon with Charlie McGettigan for some craic agus ceol. Unfortunately there is no website – so listening on the web is not possible I’m afraid.

Also, I have posted details on the gigs page for four small dates in November. I’ve received word about another tv slot. I’m not going to give you any more details – partly because I don’t know any more details and partly because I love suspense!

Talk soon,
Tadhg

SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2005

(…Later that same evening) Hey Everyone,
The hosting switch has been made. The shop and mailing lists are back. All the main pages are back, but I’m still working on restoring the gallery and messageboard. I’m hoping that we can still recover the information. At first I thought our hosting company had gone bust, but now I think that they’re just having severe technical difficulties – if so, I should be able to recover the databases in a few days. Until then, grit your teeth … but not too hard.

Apologies again,
Tadhg

SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2005

Hi Everyone,
Due to the terrible service we’ve been receiving over the last month or so, I’m moving the website to a new host. I haven’t been able to salvage the messageboard (yet – but I’ll keep trying) but I will be able to restore the mailing lists and everything else. I’m also taking advantage of this horrible inconvenience by adding some new functionality to the site. Our new hosts “A Small Orange” are, according to all reports, excellent so I hope the site will recover the lost ground.

Apologies for the mess. If you have any problems please let me know a.s.a.p.

Thanks. Happy Surfing!
Tadhg

FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2005

Hey Everyone,
The Spanish thieves saw me coming. My phone and camera were pinched. I now have a replacement but I have lost loads of phone numbers… so please send me your numbers again if you get a chance! I’m still at the same old number 087 7989686. Apologies to anyone who’s been trying to contact me over the past few days. I’m not avoiding you… honestly.

The last two gigs have been really enjoyable. The Hard Working Class Heroes festival was great fun and I really really enjoyed the slot in The Olympia. It was great to get the opportunity to do it. The Ruby Sessions on Tuesday was fantastic too. It was one of my favourite gigs I must say. The crowd were lovely and sang Happy Birthday to me, which is a first for me. Not the birthday. Just the crowd singing Happy Birthday to me. I got a great kick out of playing one of the new songs too. So all my pre-gig nerves and tiredness fell away fairly quickly. So, yeah, that’s it for the moment really. I can tell you that there’ll be a short European tour coming up soon. I’ll keep you posted.

Talk soon,
Tadhg

TUESDAY 23 AUGUST 2005

Hear Ye, Hear Ye,

New Gallery up and running – still not perfect. The thumbnails are not working for the first few galleries – BUT the full-size pictures are there if you click through on them. New photos will be on the way soon… bear with us.

Remember: Olympia on Saturday, CDs for sale on the music page, … and that’s it for the moment.

Talk soon,
Tadhg

SUNDAY 21 AUGUST 2005

Hear Ye, Hear Ye,
I have two major chunks of news for you to sink your teeth into:

  • The album “Wax & Seal” and the single “Know You Hate Me” is now available to buy from the music page on this site. The price is ridiculously low. Avail of the offer while you can. Support Indie artists.
  • As part of the Hard Working Class Heroes festival I’ve been moved to The Olympia on Saturday 27th at 8pm. The rest of the line-up is Mundy, The Walls, Joe Chester & David Hopkins. That’s fantastic. Tickets are € 25 from ticketmaster and with one ticket you can get into all of the gigs over the friday, saturday and sunday of the festival. Nicht so schlecht, eh!?

After a week of impersonating a 70’s tennis icon with my little wrist support, I’ve made a full recovery thank goodness.

I’m sitting at home trying to eat well and catch up on the lost sleep from the touring, driving and sessions. My resistance is falling. I think the bad germs are coming to get me. Out with the Lemsip, the hot bottle, the DVDs, the records, the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, and sure fingers crossed… and I’ll be grand. Ready for the Olympia on Saturday. The diary is on the way… (just figuring out what to censor!)

See you soon,
Tadhg

SUNDAY 14 AUGUST 2005

Dear Readers,
I’ve so much to tell you that I don’t know where to begin. I’ll begin at the start because that seems like a good place, and convention dictates, etc, etc.

The Cafe Bar Tour 2005 kicked off in style in Derry on the 4th. I’ve been driving all over the country in my little van since (and before!) then, clocking up mileage like the death toll in a children’s computer game. I will post up a little diary of the events shortly… Plenty of madness went down. There was the stick-accelerator incident, throwing pups, lost clifden nights, discovering historical buildings behind PSNI barriers, etc etc. Twas eventful.

If you’d like me to play in your area, and have a suggestion as to how that might happen, please don’t hesitate to contact me! It worked out for us up in Cano’s Pizzeria, Dungannon, Co Tyrone. Why not in your area?

Oooh I got to meet my main man Gerry Anderson in Derry too. Chuffed I was.

In other news, I’ll be playing the Hard Working Class Heroes Festival at the end of the month. I’ll be playing Vicar St as guest at the 2FM song competition in February. I’ll be playing in the Olympia on the 28th September as part of a Concern – African Food Crisis fundraiser. Is that enough for you to be getting on with?

A big thank you goes to the Miriam and the Happy Endings crew for having me on the show aired on Saturday. I don’t think I could have been plugged any more than I was. Fantastic.
See you soon,
Tadhg
PS. I’ve sprained my wrist… I’m hoping this will heal quickly. I’m worried it’ll get worse.

21 JULY 2005

Hey people!
The website has been slightly tweaked to enhance your surfing pleasure. I hope this is to your satisfaction. I’ve been trying to make the site more user-friendly where I could (and friendlier to me too). Features to watch out for in the future are: email form, mail-list subscription within the main page structures, improved photo galleries, etc,. If you have any suggestions, let me know and I’ll keep them under consideration.
I’ll be heading out on a little tour of Ireland shortly. Coffee-shops, bars, living rooms and radio stations… nowhere is safe. More details will follow. Also, if you’d like me to play in your area, and have a suggestion as to how that might happen, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Once again, may I remind you – Fri 29th July – RTE1 – 9.20PM – Be there or be a equilateral quadrangle. Also, Sat 6th Aug. Same bat-time. Same bat-channel.
Talk soon,
Tadhg

13 JULY 2005

Hello All! The single has just made No. 88 in the Radio Airplay Charts. Big thanks out to everyone playing the single in cars, bars and radio stations across the land. As I said in the mailshot : watch out for Coulter & Company on Fri 29th July and Saturday Night With Miriam on Sat 6th August. Also, NVTV in Northern Ireland will be showing the concert I played with The 4 of Us at the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast. I haven’t got the dates for that yet. I’ll let you know when I do. The single’s available to buy from Tower Records. It’s a limited release. Talk soon Tadhg

14 JUNE 2005

Hey kids, The single “KNOW YOU HATE ME” will be going to radio this week sometime… It’s available to buy today from Tower Records (as is the album). The price is a mere € 2.99. The cover is one to watch out for. Humourous Sadism. It’s collectable, or so I’d like to think. We may get it out to shops around the country… I’ll let ye know… . Gotta run to wexford now Talk later Tadhg

8 JUNE 2005

Well the bud rising thing was a bit mental… anyhow… I followed the gig in a manner that is suitably rock n roll methinks. A gang of the lads had tickets for Beck. So we went to see Beck. Then the lads had a beer. I had water. But I had a half bottle of wine before that, so I had a head start. Then me and DG headed to Matt’s for more mayhem of an admittedly more subdued nature… But it still counts as mayhem. Then I topped it all off with a few hours of sleep and a gig at the Ruby Sessions upstairs in Doyle’s in Dublin…. Twas a lovely vibe. All good. 4 June 2005 Just back from Carrick-on-Shannon, after playing on a boat on the River Shannon with Paul & Dave from BellX1. What larks Pip! What larks! Such a lovely audience, such a lovely gig, thanks to Aoife McC for the hospitality and to the mighty Shirts O’Colourful for giving us the run of his beautiful house while we were there. I was in a silly mood because I was over-tired and drank baileys all the way from Killarney with the most wonderfully kind people I could possibly have met. Thank you so much Susan & Susan’s folks. I’d never have made it to Carrick in time for the show if they hadn’t gone miles and miles and miles out of their way. I shall repay you in some small way soon. The Coulter show was a fantastic experience. Was flown down by the lovely Aer Arann. Picked up with Paul Carrack and his wife in a stretched limo. I reckoned that the stretched limo was for Paul. He reckoned so too. He was surprised by the appearance of a limo in Farranfore. So were all ten people who stepped off the plane. It was one of those really awkward moments, like having a well stocked office water cooler in a drought. I must say that I was expecting a battered Hi-Ace. I adjusted. Everyone from the crew to the band to the guests were so much fun. Even with all the madness and work going on the craic was mighty. The food was lovely and the drink flowed. Meeting all these mad musicians who have played with the best known and loved musicians in the world is just such a pleasure and a thrill. I know I know I know. I’m gushing. But I had such a fantastic time. Marvellous. I was on the show with Camille O’Sullivan, Paul Carrack (from Squeeze, Ace and Mike & The Mechanics to name a few… he was even in Roxy Music for a while), Paul Jones (Manfred Mann’s singer), and The Troggs. Mad. I’ll let you know when it airs as soon as I know myself… So, after getting completely wasted and then stumbling down to breakfast and rushing to check out I was stopped by the hotel people and asked to stay on. Not that THEY wanted me to stay (or for that matter do anything in particular) but the wrap party for the show was that evening and the organisers wanted me to stick around. Cool beans says I. So I spent the day sobering up and preparing for another session. Hence the messiness of my trip to Carrick. I missed my bus in the morning. Too much drink was had. Too much chat was indulged in. I did get to meet Nick Lowe, Garent Watkins, Dervish, The writer from Dr Hook Dennis LeCorrier(?) & I missed Dec O’ Rourke who hightailed it away quickly after the show. Must have heard I was around! Lovely show to end it on. Was sweet. Mental to see all of these guys play and hang out. The band on the show, by the way, are the most amazing musicians you could possibly see. They learn most of the songs on the day as they’re doing the soundcheck, dress rehearsals etc… madness. You’ll see me grinning from ear to ear like a fool when I’m playing cos I’m enjoying it soooo bloody much. So, back to the present ….it’s on to Belfast first thing in the morning for BBC Ulster Radio’s saturday morning magazine show : The Saturday Show. 94.5FM in Northern Ireland or live on the web : http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/radio/index.shtml?link Then later in the day tis off to Derry for the Tennent’s Intro Festival at the Nerve Centre in Derry. Hopefully I’ll be able to meet up with a few heads I know up there. Have the craic. Then on Sunday it’s back down to RTE for some recording… We’ll be there the whole day. Should be a great bit of craic. Then it’s home to rehearse with some new players for the Bud Rising Festival on Monday… Then on Monday it IS the Bud Rising Festival. 5.20 to 5.40pm in Meeting Hse Square, Temple Bar. Then it’s home to my bed. I think I’ve earned a lie-in on tuesday… what do you think?!

27 MAY 2005

Yo! There have been a few additions to the gig listing, that you should check out. Notable additions are: * Early Riser, BudRising Festival on Monday 6th June in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar. * Sandino’s, Derry on Wednesday 15th June with Duke Special. Both should be great fun. Perhaps we can meet up after?! The Single is on the way. Be patient my children and make do with the download until then. Talk soon, Tadhg

6 MAY 2005

Hey Everyone, I have released a single version of KNOW YOU HATE ME exclusively from this site as an mp3 DOWNLOAD. Spread the word! Official single release will come later in the month… In the meantime : download, share, swap, infiltrate, colonise, … Well, at this stage you may have heard of the radio play we’re getting in far flung places like Malaysia and California. This was all part of my cunning plan. Honest. Big thanks to Nic Harcourt the Brummie DJ out in Santa Monica (at least, I’m told he’s from Birmingham, I’m not sure…), and the mysterious DJs in Malaysia who are playing the record. I’m wrecked after the gig in Limerick last night, which was lovely, … but I’m tired now… I’m going to get some sleep and hopefully I’ll see some of you this evening in Whelan’s or maybe on sunday in Belfast. Talk soon, Tadhg

11 APRIL 2005

Salut! I’m off to Munich in a few minutes, so, my replies will not be as prompt as they usually are for the next two weeks. Hope to see you in the middle of the two weeks back in Dublin for Matt’s gig! Take care Tadhg

05 APRIL 2005

Salut! As those of you on the mailing list should already know, we’re doing the “Coulter & Company” music show on RTE television in a month or two. As soon as we find out we’ll let you know when the show will be aired… We’ll be adding a group of dates to the gigs listing in the very near future… but, for the moment, we’ve added a new date in Whelan’s supporting Q on the 6th May. It should be a cracker. Also, if you’re in MUNICH in a few days time… I’ll be playing in a theatre there with some friends of myself and Shane, Mark ‘n’ Simon. They’re absolutely mad, but kind enough to let me play as their intermission act during an 11 day stint in a beautiful theatre in the centre of Munich. They’re celebrating their 25th year on the circuit, so it should be nuts. You can order my debut album “Wax & Seal” here: Road Records If anyone is having any problems getting their hands on the album please let me know. Contact details are here Take care Tadhg

15 MARCH 2005

Greetings… Reviews of the album are out in the RTE Guide and HotPress this week. The Irish Times supplement “The Ticket” will also have one on Friday. …or you’ll find it on their website www.ireland.com. If anyone is having any problems getting their hands on the album please let me know. Contact details are here. ROAD Records in Dublin have the album. They have a great mail order service so tis perfect for those living abroad. Also, their website is very easy to follow… You can go find the album directly here Talk soon Tadhg

11 MARCH 2005

Hallo! Finally, ROAD Records in Dublin have the album. They have a great mail order service so tis perfect for those living abroad. Also, their website is very easy to follow… You can go find the album directly here Also, I made a bit of “boo-boo” with the mailing list message the other night. The review in the Irish Times supplement will come out next Friday 18th March Apologies to those who went out of their way to read it! Talk soon Tadhg

9 MARCH 2005

Hey All, Just a few updates on the record… Mulligan have sold out, but they’ll have some more in stock before the end of the week. HMV have the album on display and when you buy the album you’ll get a “HMV Playlist” cd free. That’s only in Ireland though. Virgin don’t have it yet. Boo. ROAD Records in Dublin will have it within the next few days. They have a great mail order service. Just Jones, the BBC show we did the other day was great craic. George is sound. What I didn’t know (because I didn’t do my research!) was that he was a member of The Monarchs, Van Morrison’s first showband. They played in Germany around the same time the Beatles did. Being a huge Van Morrison fan I was delighted to hear that of course. Hopefully we’ll be back up to play there soon. I’ll be playing in Dra?ocht in Blanchardstown on Saturday 12th. Tickets are € 5. I’m only playing for a half an hour, but it’s a nice venue and not too pricey so do come down if you’re in the vicinity. Talk soon Tadhg

4 MARCH 2005

Hey All, So the album is officially out now. “WAX & SEAL” – in all good record shops nationwide. If it’s not in stock tell ’em to order it! … I have heard it on the grapevine that HMV definitely have it… the rest are following. If you’re buying the album online from overseas, buy from an Irish shop such as Road Records. They have a great mail-order service. You can also buy from Mulligan’s in Galway. I’ll be on George Jones’ show “JUST JONES” on BBC NI radio on the Mon 7th March… The show is from 15:00 to 17:00. I’m looking forward to it… Tea and biscuits in donegall square first! I’m making a day of it. I’ll also be on Dublin’s Country 106.8 on Sunday evening at 7pm talking to Niall Boylan. If you’re about the Dublin area, have a listen in. Thanks to Jim & Brian and all at Inishowen Community Radio for the interview this morning! Buy, buy, buy. Tadhg

25 FEBRUARY 2005

Hey All, I’ll be on Inishowen Community Radio – Monday Feb 28th @ 10.10 chatting with Jim & Brian on their “Voices of Inishowen” show. You can listen in on the wireless at 105FM or 107.6FM or live on the web at www.icrfm.ie . I think I’ll be on George Jones’ show on BBC NI radio on the Mon 7th March… I’ll keep ye posted on this. Der Teig

18 FEBRUARY 2005

Hey All, I’ll be playing with Q, darling of Pet Sounds on Today FM, at The Lobby, Cork on 5th March. If you check the news page I’m also doing some dates with Matt Lunson in April at the Spirit Store and Connolly’s of Leap. Hope to catch up with some of you then… I can’t wait to hit the road again. I’ll have more for you soon (a waterford gig in March is in the pipeline, and some larger dates in April… but that’s off the record, on the QT and strictly hush-hush) Der Teig

15 FEBRUARY 2005

Hi All, A few little snippets of news for you… I’m doing a gig for charity in the United Arts Club on 19th and 20th Feb. Sorry for the late notice – but it’s a good cause, “To Russia With Love”, working in orphanages in Western Russia. 2FM have just added George’s St Arcade to their A-list which is great news. Also, we have yet to confirm it, but I’ll be playing with New Vegas in mid March. World domination is scheduled for around june, but I’ll get back to you on that when I know more. Bis sp?ter, Tadhg

3 FEBRUARY 2005

Hi Again, I’m going to be playing on Phoenix 92.5FM this Monday 7th February from 10-11pm. The station broadcasts to the Dublin 15 area of Dublin. Listen in if you’re in the area, (and sure if you’re not, hop in the car and turn on your transistor radio). The “George’s St Arcade” single is waiting to be played. Ask your friendly DJ to give it a spin. Sure what harm? Anyone who wishes to reserve or buy tickets in advance for the album launch in Crawdaddy, just send me an email. I’ll be sending out a mailshot in the next week or so to give those on the mailing list a chance to get first dibs on the tickets. Thanks & Take care now, Tadhg

28 JANUARY 2005

Dia Dhaoibh! I’ll be on tv : POP4 – TG4 – This saturday at 17.00 and on sunday at 17.40. That’s just a reminder. I’m also going to be on RTE’s Sattitude. I’m not sure when it’s going to air, but I’ll keep you posted. I’m doing a gig supporting Ross Breen on 14th February in Whelan’s. I’m playing solo and I’m looking forward to it. I’ll have an interesting cover for you to pick out and name… if you can… obscure-orama! Man, I’m beginning to talk like that Brady fella. The shame of it – I’m losing touch with my roots. HotPress have reviewed the single and given it a sweet write up. You can check the links above for that or pick up a copy in your newsagents. The first radio single is waiting to be played. Ask your friendly DJ to give “George’s St Arcade” a spin. Sure what harm? Finally, a big word of thanks and a shout out to all the people that have written and phoned in the last few days with messages of support. It means a lot. We really believe in this record, but it makes everything sweeter when you find out others like it too. Yeah, I know, “corporate whore”, “sellout”, yada yada yada… I need to eat too! Stay in school kids, Tadhg

25 JANUARY 2005

Dia Dhuit! I’ll be playing a tune and throwing a few focail about on TG4’s music chart show, POP4, this Saturday 29th. That’s Saturday, TG4 @ 17:00. If you miss it, it’s repeated on Sunday at 17:40. Same bat-channel. ALSO, the radio single is sitting on the desks of stations across the country just waiting to be played. Ask your friendly DJ to give “George’s St Arcade” or another of the tracks a spin. Sure what harm? The other tracks are “Like A Stone” and “Foolish Part”. Keep yizzer eyes and ears peeled. Tadhg

22 JANUARY 2005

Hi all, I’m in a very good mood today because I can announce two things: * The album will be released on the 4th of March. * The tour will commence on 1st of March with a date in Crawdaddy, Harcourt St, Dublin 2 . Special guests for the night are New Vegas. We’ll be pencilling in more dates for the first two weeks in march with the full band. We’ll let you know as soon as they’re confirmed. Keep checking the gigs page for the latest gig news. Bis sp?ter Tadhg

13 JANUARY 2005

Hi all, It seems everyone else is having a slow return to the grindstone too. Anyway, to knock you all out of your daze, I’ve got a gig on Saturday. It’s late notice, I know, but it should be an interesting night. I’m supporting MIA and TONY FITZPATRICK in Crawdaddy, Harcourt St, Dublin 2 on Sat 15th Jan 2005 without the band. Doors are open at 8pm. Tickets are at the door for € 10 or € 8 with this flyer . So, I might see you there. In other news: I have some mp3s from the Near FM live session we did in November with the band ready to be put online. They’ll be worth a listen. Good quality sound. Also, I’ll have some photos from the Olympia gig fairly soon. If anyone has any of their own that you think may be of use, do send them along to us… I wasn’t very snap-happy myself that day. I had other things on my mind! Anyways… Oh before I go, may I just nudge the Irish among you in the direction of this website : http://www.shane-ross.ie/ . If you have issues with the M50 Toll Bridge, the Senator is waging a campaign or at least gearing up for one. Send an email to the relevant people with 1 click. Bis Sp?ter, Tadhg PS. The videos are now online : Check them out on the pics page: pics page .

9 JANUARY 2005

Gru?! Happy New Year to you all. I’m slowly getting back into the swing of life in Ireland and trying to get myself back to reasonably normal hours… Over the Christmas period I got into my usual habit of rising late and going to bed early in the morning… which is fine over Christmas… but if you need to get things from the shops, or run errands of any kind, it can be a bit of a hindrance, because us old fashioned Irish people are generally not awake at 4am in the morning to do much business. So I had lots to tell you all, but I’ve forgotten most of it as I tend to do. I’ll spare you the story about how Giant Pandas determine who the dominant male is. It’s a good one though. Have a think about it and ask me the next time you see me. The music industry is slowly coming back to life after its holidays, so you can expect to hear more from us on gigs and release dates pretty soon. Happy Birthday to Mitch, our drummer, who’s celebrating (quietly) in Freiburg with friends, family and a few drops of champagne. Have a good one! Bis Sp?ter, Tadhg