OK it’s an obvious title, but it will have to do as I’m taking a break from the blogging for the next while as I put together a new writing project. So see you soon and get ready for something really exciting on the horizon!
Early Dayz (1991-1994)
Music was always played in my house. My parents owned the original gatefold of the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band and I remember buying records myself from a very young age. The day I decided to pick up a guitar though was when I first heard heavy metal band, Metallica in 1991 (although having my ears bled by the Thin Lizzy reunion gig in Horan’s, Tralee must have also helped!). This was as loud, uncompromising and rebellious as you could get and my brother and I wanted a piece of this. So we formed our own metal band with two other school friends in Killarney. Soon there were grunge and metal bands springing up all over Killarney all with their own style, look and attitude. We tended to play covers of Guns’n’Roses, Metallica and Thin Lizzy songs and looked the part! I played bass, while my brother sported a Warlock guitar and a brutal vocal and lead guitar playing style to match!
Blackened – Metallica
There was a revolving drummer door while Mike was ever present on rhythm guitar. There were two truly memorable gigs. The first was in 1992 at the Castle Heights Hotel in Killarney. We were on the bill with three other young metal and alternative rock bands and all the local young headbangers were out in force! In 1994, though we played a biker rally at the Falcon Inn in Glenbeigh. We played two gigs there over a weekend, one late night on Saturday and another more subdued gig at two on Sunday. We all thought, ‘This is it we’ve truly arrived’, but sadly I left the band in 1995 to go to college and the band only last another few years after that.
DJ Aspirations 2000-2004
I decided to become a DJ in September 2000 after an amazing night up in the Black Box Theatre in Galway. That night Cian O’Ciobhain was in charge celebrating his 110th Street night (now Sisi), which regularly played at the Town Hall Theatre. This was around the same time he joined Radio Na Gaeltachta to host his An Taobh Tuathail and also had his own TV music programme on TeeGee Cathair, Rianta.
110th Street – Easter Sunday 2 (Hope those records on the wall aren’t real!)
I had heard many big room dance and radio DJs, but what really struck me was the way he could effortlessly blend world music, alterative rock and dance music styles. I decided I could do this and set about buying CDs. What helped me in this was the fact I worked in Roxy Records Killarney between 2001 and 2004. I was able to keep up to date with new releases as well as pick up the odd rare compilation and obscure CD single. I played a few places around Killarney such as the Granary and Courtney’s and the odd 21st, but somehow the world of Killarney music wasn’t ready for a dance DJ who could blend styles. Come to think of it neither was I. I liked a wide eclectic range of styles and played guitar regularly at the Sunday session in Courtneys, as well as checking out the burgeoning singer songwriter scene in the Granary. Highlights included Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Jimmy Cake, Tir Na Nog, Mundy, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club and The 4of Us.
Jetta’s Palace – The Jimmy Cake
However I could not link both sides of the equation and eventually tired of the limitations of the music scene and working in a record shop I sold my CD decks and took a career break.
Present Styles from 2007 on
In 2007, I rekindled my interest in world music, probably due to the influence of JJ O’Shea and Liam Rice’s Music Tree night at the Granary. Throughout 2008 and 2009 I started learning how to dance salsa and play samba. People sometimes mix these two up so I’ll clear up the misunderstanding here. Although both can involve musical accompaniment or dancing, in general, salsa is associated with a style of dancing originating in Cuba while samba is associated with a style called Samba Reggae drumming from Western Brazil.
Salsa Dancing L.A. Salsa Style P.2 by Brain Labor
The salsa styles I learnt included LA Salsa, Cuban Salsa, Cha Cha Cha, Bachata, Merengue. Although the latter two originate from the Dominican Republic and are significantly different in style to the others, all these dances are generally taught together up in the Greyhound Bar in Tralee and at the Salsa Congress and other classes around Ireland. I also learnt how to play samba with SambaCuisle in the Greyhound Bar and have played with the group in several parades around the county as well as in places as far afield as Kilmihil in Clare and at the Drogheda Samba Festival.
Samba Duro – Samba Cuisle in Cloghane 2010
Recently I joined an African drumming group up in the Tralee International Resource Centre that meets every Friday at 7pm and Samba Cuisle continue to meet every Wednesday at 7pm in the Greyhound Bar. Also a DJ (still no gigs as yet and sure when I’m playing what I like what do I care!), I have finally managed to combine world music and dance music styles into a seamless whole which incorporates Disco, Motown, House and Funk as well as African, Arabian and Brazilian rhythms. I also play in a community band in Killarney, incorporating these diverse influences primarily through percussion and some vocals.
Well that’s all for now, folks! Until we meet again be happily contented and keep that wonderful thing deep within your spirit called imagination flowing!
Pure Imagination – Lou Rawls
