THURSDAY 21ST DECEMBER 2006
Dear Listeners,
Dublin’s Spin FM kindly invited me on to their Breakfast Xpress show to play “Let It Snow” yesterday morning, and thanks to their kindness and technical prowess I have a recording of the performance online now.
Tadhg Cooke – Let It Snow (live) – [Downloaded 933 times].
By the way, if you want to download the file from the FIREFOX browser, click on the link, wait for the song to load, and then save the mp3 by clicking SAVE PAGE AS under the FILE menu.
Enjoy!
Tadhg
FRIDAY 15TH DECEMBER 2006
Seasons Greetings!
Two important updates for you. There are new gigs and live radio appearances listed on the “live” page. Watch out for a Christmas cover that I’ll be performing on early morning radio next week. You can tune in to both Spin and Phantom online – so those of you not on our shores can still tune in… or click in… or however the phrase should go now.
We’ve been toiling away at our messageboard and trying to ensure that the horrible spamming that bothered us last time around doesn’t reoccur. You can check out the new messageboard through the community page… or right here. Unfortunately we haven’t managed to salvage the old messages, but it’s probably all for the best, right? Think of it as a blank canvas. Or a really clean blackboard at the start of the school year. Actually, that’s an awful memory. Scratch that.
I hope you have a great Christmas and that I see you sometime over the holidays. Myself and a few wonderful musicians are getting together at the moment to make splendid music (in the strictly musical sense) for your future aural pleasure. It’s early days yet, but I’m getting excited. The bells have rung. The bells. The belles.
Come to The Village!
Tadhg
TUESDAY 21ST NOVEMBER 2006
Dear Readers & Listeners,
“Wax & Seal” is now available in Japan’s high street music stores. Now would be the perfect time to contact your long lost Japanese cousin, or your friend who works in Tokyo.
Live At Saint Kevin’s is being played on various stations around the country such as Waterford’s WLR, Radio Na Life, Phantom FM, Lyric FM, etc, etc. Get requesting!
Also, Bebo has been added to our community section. You can join the band’s group of fans and steal songs for your playlists at the following address : cooketadhg.bebo.com .
Thanks!
Tadhg
SATURDAY 28TH OCTOBER 2006
Hey All,
Live At Saint Kevin’s is now available in Road Records on Fade Street, Dublin 2. Visit their website for more info. They also have a popular mail order website.
You can also start requesting songs from “Live at Saint Kevin’s” now. Any support would be gratefully received!
Thanks to everyone who came down to check out Dave Geraghty’s gig in Whelan’s with Emm Gryner. It was a veritable who’s who of the Irish scene that night. Did somebody mention eyebrowy? Anyway, hopefully there’ll be more shows where that came from. You can keep up to date on Dave’s myspace. Watch out for Emm’s gigs too! She plays a good show.
Thanks!
Tadhg
THURSDAY 5TH OCTOBER 2006
Hey All,
Just a quick announcement… Live At Saint Kevin’s has arrived. You can order your copy now from the music section of the website.
Thanks!
Tadhg
WEDNESDAY 4TH OCTOBER 2006
Dear Readers,
So we now have the first shots of the Japanese Edition of Wax & Seal. It’s all very exciting and strange. You can see rough images of the artwork on my myspace blog at blog.myspace.com/tadhgcooke .
Here are some small milestones that we’ve reached on MySpace (for those of you who are interested in this social phenomenon) :
We have had 10400+ plays, 8300+ visitors and we currently have 1300+ friends. Of course, only a few of these friends would ever think to let me sleep on their couch – and really, they’re the only ones that count. People with comfy couches. I’ve become very shallow over the years.
I just found an old video which was feared lost forever when our last website-hosting company went under. I’ve posted it on YouTube and the link is here : Roadmap – The Making of Wax & Seal . Bear in mind that it’s old!
Lastly, we have heard that Rid Of Her is to be used in an independent Canadian film. “Losing Will” is currently in production. We will post links to trailers when we get them. Best of luck to all the cast and crew! That is all. Spread the word.
Thanks!
Tadhg
THURSDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2006
Mein Freundzzzz…
We are pleased to announce the release of “WAX & SEAL” in Japan on the 19th November 2006. If you are in Japan, seek it out! If you know people in Japan, tell them to seek it out. If you have a passport, buy flights to Japan and seek it out. In fact, can we just have a general seeking out of the record. When I have the Japanese artwork (yes, it will be different to the Irish release) I will post it somewhere here.
That is all. Spread the word.
Thanks!
Tadhg
TUESDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER 2006
Hey Kids,
After a hectic week of preparation and rehearsal for two slots at the Electric Picnic, we finally managed to meet as a band on Thursday in Bewley’s two hours before playing together for the very first time. Down to the wire. For David Geraghty and the Picnic Baskets (one of the names bandied about) nothing is too tall an order. The Bewley’s gig was great craic if a little bit scary. We gathered ourselves together the next morning for the trip down to Laois in the little green fun bus. After sorting out passes for the van and all of our wrists, finding a spot, pitching our tent badly, etc… it was time for me to perform. The gig was enjoyable and the feedback has been great. Thanks to those of you who made a special effort to get down early for it. So gathered together as a band we headed off for food, tea and musical manna. Unfortunately, overnight we discovered that we did a crap job pitching the tent, because I woke up with my hand in water and part of my blankets wet – something that hasn’t happened since I was 5. So after moving to a more secluded spot by the Big Tree stage, we started setting up for the big gig. I’m not sure who held the record at the festival for the most number of instruments onstage – but I’m sure we came close. We rocked out gently in an experimental countrified manner. It’s great to be involved in some new projects. Twas a fantastic show. Hopefully we’ll see more of its like soon. The whole weekend was great craic. Lots of music. Lots of chat. Lots of meeting random people from myspace in the flesh – which I have yet to get used to. It’s good though. Little connections. Social synapses. Hopefully I’ll be back next year for more.
I have some photos from the Picnic, taken by various individuals who very kindly donated them to the website. I also have some photos on the way from the Bewley’s headliner that we played a few weeks back. Watch out for them.
Please come down to the gigs we’re doing for The Garden Sessions CD, in aid of The Irish Hospice. You can see the full details on the “Live” page, but… we’re playing on Saturday 16th in Tower Records – Ian Whitty is also performing. Come in. Say hello. Buy a wonderful double album. Also, all next week from the 18th to the 22nd there will be concerts at the bandstand in St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. There are 3 acts each day from 12:30 to 14:00. I’m playing on Wednesday 20th with Eoghan Scott and The Maladies. They’re free. It’ll be fun.
Also, I’m playing in the Teatro in London’s Soho (details on the live page) in October and November. I hear that it’s a wonderfully classy venue. If you know any wonderfully classy people in London, please do tell them to come along. It could be right up their street.
We’ve also been confirmed for the Hard Working Class Heroes Festival on Sunday 15th of October in Pravda. It will be a cracker. I assure you.
Take care,
Tadhg
WEDNESDAY 23RD AUGUST 2006
Evenin’ All,
We have FINALLY confirmed our Electric Picnic slot. It’s at 4pm on Friday on the Chill Stage in the Body & Soul Area. I know this isn’t convenient for all of the working masses… but if you’re there early do come along and wear your support like a Carnabetian Army pin-striped suit.
Take care,
Tadhg
WEDNESDAY 23RD AUGUST 2006
Good Morning Everyone,
First of all, apologies to those who cancelled their eventful Sunday night to watch me on the “box” on Sunday. I had the details right, the papers made a booboo. I’m on this Sunday 27th with Liam O’Maonlai. 8.30pm. RTE1.
We’ll be playing the 2006 Hard Working Class Heroes festival in Dublin. The festival runs from the 13th-15th October. Keep an eye out for more news on the festival in the press.
For those of you going to the Electric Picnic… I’ll be appearing with David Geraghty on the Big Tree stage at 2:05pm on Saturday. There was talk of an appearance on the Chill Stage too, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet.
I’ve heard of the writer Hunter S Thompson but I’ve never been too pushed to check out his work. That is until this morning when I read his description of the music business : “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” That pretty much sums up my thoughts right now.
Take care,
Tadhg
MONDAY 14TH AUGUST 2006
Hi All,
Spin have kindly allowed me to upload the Breakfast Xpress session recorded live a few days ago. So here it is in all its glory. A bit of chat and a live live version of Rid Of Her:
Tadhg Cooke – Spin Interview 10/08/2006.
times.–>
As you can see, the site is getting a little bit of an overhaul. I’ll be making more changes over the next few weeks.
Oh, for those of you with fancy mobile phones, you can now download ringtones and full songs from Bandwagon. Have fun with that.
Enjoy!
Tadhg
FRIDAY 4TH AUGUST 2006
Dear Readers,
I’ll be on the following radio shows talking about and listening to my new cd “Live At St Kevin’s” tomorrow morning and evening. You can listen live from their websites. (All times are GMT + 1 hour, or local Irish time if you prefer).
Thursday 10th August
8.45AM – 9.45 AM (approx) – Spin 103.8FM
“Breakfast Xpress” with Joe & Keith
www.spin1038.com
9PM – 10PM (approx) – Dublin City Anna Livia 103.2FM
“The Indie Hour” with Aoife McElwain
http://www.dublincityannaliviafm.com/
Also, I’ll be appearing on your tv sets across the nation (and in Irish bars with Irish television across the globe) this Sunday and later this month. Do tune in. You’ll never be the same again. (All times are GMT + 1 hour).
Sunday 13th August
1 to Remember with Brian Kennedy
RTE 1 – 8.30 PM
Sunday 27th August
1 to Remember with Brian Kennedy
RTE 1 – 8.30 PM
Enjoy!
Tadhg
FRIDAY 4TH AUGUST 2006
Dear Readers,
Yes, I know, there have been lots of little updates of late, but that’s just me getting everything sorted before I disappear into the depths of the studio for album number 2 (not to be confused with the live album which is album number 1.5 – you can take the man out of the computer programming but…).
Although it’s been running in the UK for a while, Bandwagon have just launched an Irish site. One of the features of the site (which plays and sells downloads and ringtones directly from your favourite bands) is a weekly playlist featuring ten songs from ten bands across the UK and Ireland. The Walls are also on this week’s playlist. I’m now working on some ringtones for the fancy phones that you people own. I’ll post back here when they’re ready to sell. I have uploaded all the songs we’ve ever released – so we’re just waiting now for the website to be updated. Should be there soon. There’s only a few singles there right now.
So I have a few links for you. As you know there are a lot of new-fangled websites out there like MySpace and Bebo and stuff… most of which I’m on. So if YOU happen to be a member of these sites, then please look me up and add me as a friend. So here are the relevant links:
tadhgcooke.bebo.com
www.myspace.com/tadhgcooke
www.bandwagon.ie/band/tadhgcooke
www.bandwagon.co.uk/band/tadhgcooke
Also, Bebo and Myspace users have the option to add my songs to their own profiles/pages. It’s easy. Press the “add” button beside your favourite song (one of mine preferably!) and that’s it.
By the way. In the mailshot I sent out I misspelt the bandwagon address. The correct one is above!
Sl?n,
Tadhg
WEDNESDAY 2ND AUGUST 2006
Dear Readers,
It’s been a hectic time of late. All good news though. Some of the news is outlined below… and the rest, well, I’ll save that news for cocktail evenings at the Ambassador’s house. See you there, roundy chocolates and all.
I hope you’re keeping well. Oh I have a tv appearance coming up on “Brian Kennedy’s 1 to Remember” show on RTE1 over the next few weeks. Well, I have two appearances on the show actually. I’m the only guest to appear on two separate shows. Swish. So, I’ll try to let you know when the program is being aired – but for the moment I’m not sure, so keep your eyes peeled!
– TIGERcooke.com –
I have been playing with a few cures for those of you who are not fluent Gaelic speakers (ie. the overwhelming majority of you) and therefore have a bit of difficulty with my name. So, now, if you input the name tigercooke.com into your browser you will land on tadhgcooke.com. Which is nice. I know some of you pointed out that people are still not sure if one should spell Cooke with an “E” or without (like Captain Cook)… and I admit that I haven’t cured that ailment just yet. But it’s a step in the right direction. To recycle the most honest, useless and utterly depressing advertising campaign of all time : “we’re not there yet, but we’re getting there”. So ehm… yeah… leave it with me! Ooo, also, if you’re trying to explain my name to foreigners, the best way to do it is to say that it’s “tiger without the ER”.
– Bewley’s – Bretagne –
I wrote a little blog piece on the gigs in France and Bewley’s Caf? on my myspace page (click the link to your right!). If you’re curious to see how it all went, please do have a read. C’est magnifique!
– The Garden Sessions CD –
The Garden Sessions CD, featuring EXCLUSIVE live acoustic performances by some of Ireland’s best known artists, is now available in record shops around Ireland. The proceeds go to The Irish Hospice – it’s a great cause. I’m on track 4 of the cd performing a previously unreleased track called “I Knew Better”.
If you’d like to buy online, or find out more you can visit :
www.thegardensessions.com
www.myspace.com/thegardensessionsirl
– Live At St Kevin’s –
We’ve been delayed with the cd. Thankfully the delay is not of my making so I don’t feel too bad about it! We hope to have the CD pressed and ready to ship by the end of the month.
Sl?n,
Tadhg
SUNDAY 9TH JULY 2006
Hi!
Just a few items of note for you :
– The messageboard is now fixed. I had to disable in order to do some repairs. It’s all fixed now. Enjoy!
– We have just hit 1002 friends on Myspace. Thanks to everyone for spreading the music. If you want to get involved, please feel free to send an mp3 of my songs (downloadable from MySpace and from the music page of this site) to friends of yours. Oh but only if you think they might like it. I don’t want any music-related assaults cases to arise out of this please!
– The gig in London went down a treat. Big thanks to those who came down for the gig. I know that in those record temperatures it’s tough to trek across the city, but you did and I appreciate that greatly. They weren’t kidding when they said the Betsey was the smallest venue in London. Tis intimate alright. It’s across the road from the Guardian offices too. I will make my way back there soon I think, if only to try and win friends and influence people in the Guardian music and arts department.
– WATCH OUT for my next Dublin gig which is almost upon us. The date is 28th July in Bewley’s Caf? Theatre on Grafton Street, Dublin 2. Come on down. It will be my last headliner for a few months I think, because we’re planning to start the album as soon as I wake up on the 29th July. Special guest stars will appear. It’s for the launch of my new “Live At Saint Kevin’s” CD. Be there or miss it.
Sl?n,
Tadhg
SUNDAY 9TH JULY 2006
Hi Everyone!
Check the gig listings for all the latest gig announcements and flyers for discounts. I’ll be playing in the Wexford Arts Centre on the 6th August with Chunky Planet and some new gigs in Dublin at the end of the month and in September.
Hope to see you in The Betsey Trotwood in London on the 18th July.
Oh by the way. I’ve restored the free download from my site and from myspace. We used to have a counter on it, but the counter crashed when we switched servers. I’ll look into restoring it as soon as I can. Also, on my myspace page (link to that on the right of your page) you can listen to the first track on my new live CD.
That’s all for now. Sl?n!
Tadhg
WEDNESDAY 5TH JULY 2006
Dear Friends!
There are flyers available for my Betsey Trotwood gig in London on the 18th July. Print this off or print multiple copies for your friends and gain entry to this marvellous Farringdon gig-spot for ?4 instead of the usual ?5. Students also get in for ?4. The flyers have the address of the venue and the tube stop (Farringdon) listed too… so it’s very useful indeed. I hope to see all the London folk there. Spread the word if you can. Thanks!
I have some diary entried to catch up on. If you’re impatient you can read all the latest news and what’s happened over the past few weeks on my myspace blog (you can use the direct link on the right hand side of your page). That’s all for now. I have to run for a meeting as I always seem to be doing these days. Still. Mustn’t grumble. Mustn’t grumble. (Answers on a postcard… what’s that taken from?)
Take care of yourselves,
Sl?n
Tadhg
SUNDAY 28TH MAY 2006
This just in… You can now order CDs from over 2400 stores worldwide. Walk up to the counter and ask them to order “Wax & Seal” from “SUPER D ONE-STOP”. There’s a massive list of all the countries and stores on the music page.
I’ll be sprucing up the site a little bit shortly… you’ll know when it’s done!
Sl?n
Tadhg
MONDAY 15TH MAY 2006
Dear Friends,
Just so you know where I have disappeared to… I’ve run away to the country for a while. I’m absorbing the country air. Getting things straight in my head. Clearing it with my conscience. Making one-man soup. Figuring out how to prevent the sound of bullocks munching grass in the neighbouring field from spilling on to my basic recordings. I had a funny incident with a thunderstorm (courtesy of the lovely sunny days we’ve been having – equal and opposite reactions)… An almighty bang and clatter from all around. An almighty curse from me. All caught on the middle of a recording of a song. I should put it on myspace at some stage… although I’m not sure if the language used would be tolerated. I heard later that a building a few miles away had been hit. No damage was done as the lightening struck their lightening conductor – but it still made the place shake. It sounded like God threw an aerosol can into Hell.
Anyway, the writing is going well, and despite my loneliness and desperation at times, the solitude is great… although a little scary at night. There is nothing but an old castle on a neighbouring hill to keep me company, and some wind-chimes outside which don’t help to stop the horror movies showing in my mind. The house is funny. It’s about 200 years old. An old Irish house. Huge thick walls. Low low low doorways (I’m proud that I’ve only knocked myself out once so far). I can receive text messages in the house but in order to make phonecalls I must go outside the house and sit on the graveyard wall of a terribly quiet and solitary Church Of Ireland (which is behind the house). So I go out there once a day to make the calls with a mug of green tea and then return to the grindstone. I feel like I’m doing an exam… It’s around the same time period really… end of may, early june… Strange. Best days of our lives. Indeed. There was a lie if ever I heard one.
A friend is coming over on Tuesday to have a listen to what I’ve been doing. It’s one of those moments where I suddenly get sharp pangs of doubt. What if they go “erm… that’s emmm…. nice”? So I’m getting a little panicked now. Deadlines like these are good though. It focusses the mind. Nothing makes you see things more clearly than playing your music for a friend. Instantly you seem to know what’s wrong… walking a mile in their shoes, I suppose. If I were Tom Cruise what would I do? What would Tom do?
I have my support network though. I have good friends in a little town about 8 miles away from my cottage in the foothills of the AhemCoughCough Mountains. So if I go completely nuts and start talking to myself (which I do anyway) I can always run to the town and beg for a coffee and a small chat with someone. So anyway, things are coming together.
I’ve added in a few more dates to the gigs page (plus the lovely description of my music in French that I stole from the Saint-Quay-Portrieux town website – I like it. It stays). So, take care of yourselves and I hope to hear from you and see you soon!
Sl?n!
Tadhg
WEDNESDAY 19TH APRIL 2006
Seeking hosts for the UK TOUR . Contact us at the usual addresses.
Hope to hear from you.
T
MONDAY 17TH APRIL 2006
I’m pleased to announce that Wax & Seal is now available on iTunes.
I’ve also posted up some of the festival dates I’ll be playing this summer.
That’s all for now.
T
WEDNESDAY 12TH APRIL 2006
I’m doing a tour in the UK around mid-May. Everything’s explained here if you’d like to get involved. I’m looking forward to it.
I have just set up a digital downloads shop! So you can download high quality mp3s of Wax & Seal and some singles too. I’ve made the 2002 recording of Sparks available here for the very first time, and also the single version of Know You Hate Me, which is not available anywhere else.
Lyrics… A few people have been asking me for the lyrics to my songs… and apart from my own laziness there is no reason why I should not put them online… so I will sort it out over the next few days.
That’s all for now.
Play nice!
T
THURSDAY 30TH MARCH 2006
This is a little bit of diary entry/catch-up/update… so make yourself comfortable…
I’m sitting in London’s Luton Airport in a fiercely dishevelled state. A steaming cup of something that “tastes almost exactly but not entirely unlike tea”, to quote Douglas Adams. My flight has been delayed by an hour so I’m using the time to catch up on some diary entries.
I was asked to tell you the one about Mulligan’s so here goes… A few months ago I arrived in Mulligan’s for a meeting. I was a little early for once so I decided to go in, sit down and gather my thoughts a bit. There were a few of the regulars at the bar (actually I don’t know if they were regulars, ’cause I’m not a regular myself, but I imagine that they’re regulars) but being about lunchtime there was only one other punter in the bar apart from myself. He was surrounded by shopping bags so I assumed he was taking shelter from the Christmas shopping storm. The main lounge in Mulligan’s is brown and red in a dark old Irish pub way and not in the fantasy Irish pub way that’s becoming far too widespread for my liking. The room has long narrow windows near the roof which sheds a strange light upon things. It’s nice though. A fire was blazing beside me. I nodded at this guy sitting on the opposite side of the room at his table, as you tend to in empty places. A brief acknowledgement of existence.
Anyway, I had my pint and horsed into it, relaxing the nerves a bit. The man opposite drained his and got up to get himself another. He shuffled slowly and tentatively towards the bar as if he were making his first steps and somebody had spiked his milk. He got his pint. Put the change down and asked the barman to pick it out of that… It’s one a.m. and this guy is already plastered. I thought that was impressive, if slightly worrying.
So he turns around and starts making his way through the centre of the room and then arcs towards my table and makes to sit down right beside me, feeling his way around chairs and everything. So I ask as nicely as I can, trying to sound forceful yet polite : “Are you okay there, man?”. He jumped slightly and went “oh yeah, I’m sorry… emm… oh my table’s over here. Sorry”. So he shuffles his way over to his table and eventually gets back to where he was sitting. I’m relieved. Crisis averted. Situation defused. Then sitting down the guy says “sorry!” and holds up a white stick… and I begin to feel slightly dumb…
WATFORD
I finally got to play my first UK gig since releasing Wax & Seal. It was a real treat. Bar Bodega is on the main street of Watford and is fairly unassuming from the outside. Inside is all candles, couches, melted wax, wood, etc… No bouncers. No fruit machines. It makes for a happy change. If there’s one thing that really cements the differences between Ireland and England it’s the fruit machines in the bars. I hate them with a vengeance, so any place without them immediately jumps up in my estimation.
The gig was a mix of family and friends, with whom I stayed while trekking back and forth from Germany, getting to know Stansted airport much more than I really wanted to. They knew the songs before anyone else really, because they heard the rough cuts and early demos when I passed through. So it was good to put a show on for them finally. The crowd were fantastic – although it’s always a little strange playing for family. There’s a whole ‘nother type of pressure involved… I don’t know why. It shouldn’t really be so. A friend of mine from Malaysia who knew me back in the days of Cooke & Emerson when we were 17 was also there… That was a bit mad. He had to wait 8 or 9 years for a gig. There’s dedication for you.
The gig and the craic was mighty. Scat filmed the whole thing methinks… so we might have clips in the future. Thanks Scat! Phase 1 of Operation Sasana had been completed. Hands were shaken. CDs were signed. Drinks were drunk. Caravans were painted periwinkle blue (for de mammy). I made a promise to return soon to put phase 2 into action : Operation Escape from Watford.
OPERATION SCALA
The next day started in the usual way with the sun coming up, the birds singing, the weather being generally rubbish, and me missing all of the above due to sleeping until 9. BellX1 were playing in Scala somewhere in London that night and I wanted to see a bit of the city before heading back to Dublin. So JP, who’s not my cousin but it’s easier if I say he is, and myself sprinted for the train to London, which turned out to be embarrassingly late. We met up with Ana, a friend of JPs, in second class (well, I’m a musician, come on) and roughly sketched out the day. Luckily for me JP and Ana are of pretty much the same mentality as me. The plan was that there was to be no plan – just wandering. So I had my first cornish pastie while watching a loose-rope walker embarrass crowds in Covent Garden. Yeay. We visited one of those embarrassingly un-Irish Irish pubs… I have no real idea where we were… just somewhere near Covent Garden… The pints were grand… but the decor… I mean… I don’t know of one Irish pub that ever looked like a castle ten years ago. Do you? Answers on a postcard to me.
After a while spent window shopping (and London’s a great place to window shop, if you don’t mind getting the urge to smash and grab every few minutes. They have such great swag …that’s swag not skag) we found an underground gay bar (literally) that served fr?li which is a type of fruit flavoured beer. Now, being the masculine blokes that we are, we were keen to impress upon Ana that we don’t in any way feel threatened or awkward in a gay bar. Which is true I was surprised and relieved to find out. However, we found we were slightly wide of the mark when the pair of us saw a huge transvestite enter the room. That freaked us both out a bit. So I’ve now come up with a rule. Big blokes should not wear heels. Don’t know how the hell he got down the stairs. The fr?li was having very little effect… it was like water… but we all knew that it would kick in eventually so we decided to move on. Of course, maybe the fr?li had kicked in already and we had just been hallucinating. How and ever…
They have a gallery in London consisting entirely of portraits. For me that puts the size of London into perspective. It’s not a small gallery either. While I loved the more modern portraits… the older sections which include delightful folks like Kitchener and Cromwell who really knew how to put the blood into bloody, sort of make me feel not too great. I feel almost as if I’m celebrating the lives of people I never wanted to celebrate. I was really on a high coming out of the place… but for one small problem. Someone had the tasteless idea of filming David Beckham sleep for 20 minutes and leaving it on a loop for all to see. That almost ruined my day. We needed to act fast to save it.
… So we queued up for the gig… we thought we were early but there was already a moxy-load of fans there aiming to catch a glimpse of the infamous Bellies road crew and entourage, if not a glimpse of the lads themselves. So rather than remaining in the queue and risk incurring the wrath of an angry romanian, we decided to cut our losses, go to a nearby bar and chill for a beer or two. It was a wise decision, as JP led us to a lovely little spot that serves giant spuds, tiny olives… and even plays comedy sketches in the toilets … which is probably more dangerous than it should be. People should not laugh in toilets. They’re not engineered to deal with such eventualities. Anyway, the gig itself was mighty. Met up with all the cousins and friends and had a mighty time. The heady mixture of preaching and singing in a venue that to me looked like the inside of the Old Bailey, was pretty interesting. Although I think that perhaps the highlight of the evening was getting whisked away to Chiswick, and serenaded by Tim “Careless Whisper” O’Donovan. I ended up later that morning conked out under a set of curtains, for there were no blankets. I read the rock and rollers handbook* and I’m almost certain that there was no mention of curtains. (*this is actually a lie).
I would really really like to sleep but duty calls… Perhaps I’ll catch some of you in Leitrim or Donegal tonight or tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for making the London trip so enjoyable as well as fruitful. I’ll be over again soon – you poor things.
Take care now,
Tadhg
THURSDAY 9TH MARCH 2006
Hi All,
I’m hitting the shores of the UK in the next few weeks. Keep an eye on the gigs page and on myspace (www.myspace.com/tadhgcooke) for the latest additions to the list, but for the moment, I’m starting on the 28th March in Bar Bodega in Watford. It would be great to see happy heads there. This is my first official gigging trip to England… so I’m really looking forward to it.
Oh, you may have spotted me playing two tunes on “An Stuif Ceart” over on BBC2 TV earlier this week. I suppose it’s no good telling you about it now! Sorry, I wasn’t told when it would be aired. Also on the show was Bronagh Gallagher and the West Ocean Quartet. They were all mighty! Maybe it’ll be repeated?
Thanks to everyone for their support over the past month or two during my tours with Jessie & Layla, Jenny Lindfors and, of course, Q and the Hallucinations.
I’d like to thank Ali Coolaboola in Cork and her housemates for being so generous and kind to the wandering minstrel (I hope you ate the food I left behind). Also, I’m giving a huge shout out to Gavin Moore who looked after me in Clonakilty, West Cork and showed me everything from curry soup (tastes amazing!) to Inchdoney Island… and supplied Q and myself with beds and fabulous gigs in The Woodford and the legendary De Barra’s. He’s a legend and if you’re ever in his neck of the woods check him out. He has a residency in DeBarras, Clonakilty and The Woodford in Cork City.
I see that James Blunt has gone to number one in the States and has even been given a slot on Oprah. Has the world gone mad? … Then again… was it ever sane? Join our Anti-Blunt Movement. Support Organic Music. Say no to the corporation. Why do I suddenly feel that everyone’s to my right?
That’s all for the moment. Take care now,
Tadhg
SUNDAY 26TH FEBRUARY 2006
Dear Everyone,
Like Irish people all over the world I’m claiming that I had nothing to do with the riots in Dublin city yesterday. I’m actually surprised that any Irish people cared enough to have a riot yesterday… I thought we had mastered the art of apathy. It’s a shame that the people involved in the trouble most likely had absolutely no idea what they were “protesting” for… or against… Although it does seem that poking dead bodies with a stick has finally caught up with Charlie Bird.
There are three more dates left on this current tour – all in County Cork – you can check the dates and venues on the gigs page. If you’re around drop in for a pint, a tune and a chat afterwards. Also, I’ll be on Cork Campus Radio 97.4FM( http://www.ucc.ie/ccr/ ) on Tuesday morning. You can listen in at 10am GMT. It’s the breakfast show.
I’m looking forward to a bit of time off after touring… Can’t wait. Sleeeeeeep.
Enjoy!
Tadhg
FRIDAY 3RD FEBRUARY 2006
Hey All!
If anyone is in Trinity College Dublin this evening I’m supporting KILA at The Buttery Bar tonight at around 9pm. Knowing the KILA boys and girls, it will be mental.
The tour with Q is going great and the tour with Jenny Lindfors and Jessie & Layla is about to kick off too, so there’s a busy month ahead. Come down and enjoy the atmosphere. By the way, in case you haven’t heard, the normally fantastic Q & The Hallucinations are ON FIRE at the moment. You would be foolish to miss them. You have been warned.
For those of you in the UK… we have big big news… the UK release of “Wax & Seal” will happen around the end of April. More details will follow when everything is confirmed. In the meantime, if you are living in the UK and want to help us out with promotion, etc, drop us an email. Join our team of Anti-Blunts!
Do you like free internet radio? Do you like being able to see immediately who the artist is, what the song is, what the album is and what the cover looks like? Would you like to be able to press one button when you never want to hear a song again? Would you like to be able to press another button if you really really like a song? Would you like to be able to skip through songs? Would you prefer to have ZERO adverts?
If the answer is yes to the above questions then go to LAST FM and sign up FOR FREE. I have recently signed up myself and it’s fantastic. It sounds like I’m getting paid to say this. I wish! There are other similar stations on the internet like this (shoutcast etc), but this one has no ads AND it features songs from “Wax & Seal” and “Know You Hate Me (single)” and “The Sparks EP”. I even have a “Tadhg Cooke – Gold (The Collection)” playlist set up… no, I’m not taking it entirely seriously. So, go and download their tiny little player and join the revolution. It’s a fantastic way to hear new music and rediscover old stuff you haven’t heard for years. Go and take a peek before you download. LAST FM .
Enjoy!
Tadhg
SUNDAY 22ND JANUARY 2006
Hey All!
Phantom FM’s ICON show featuring me is now available for download :
Audio Player
The show is approximately 30 minutes long and features an interview and a song from me. Also featured on the show are songs from Q, The Rags, The Chapters, etc.
Enjoy!
Tadhg
THURSDAY 5TH JANUARY 2006
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a pleasant and fun-filled holiday season. I had a quiet one until St Stephen’s Day… then a friend of mine from England visited and my plan for R&R went out the window. We had a great time… but now I’m sick in bed. Aw. I’ll be ready for the 10th though. Get your party dresses and trousers on…
Myself and Q will be starting our Irish tour in a few days. Listen out on the airwaves for us. We’ll be hitting some radio stations on our way around the country. I’m also touring with Jenny Lindfors and Jessie & Layla in February. The dates are still to be confirmed, so I’m posting up the provisional ones for the moment.
See you soon!
Tadhg