check in

Just a quick note to apologise for the lack of updates. I have been flat out working on an animation which will fund the recording of the next album. So far for the album far I have 30 pieces written, some just sketches some fully written songs. I am very excited about recording them and how it will be done. I hit the road for a few weeks tomorrow and will have my laptop with me so i will update this blog as much as i can. I have some funny stories to tell about my Polish shows which were fantastic. The last day was the best where I had a standoff with 3 armed soldiers in the airport and made it to the plane with 1 min to spare. I’ll fill in all the details soon. I hope everyone is well and listening to great music, eating great food, seeing great movies, having great sex, reading good books and whatever else makes you happy.

Ken Saro Wiwa

Today is the 11th anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa. A brilliant writer, he along with eight other activists, were executed for organising non violent protests against Shell Oil Company who were destroying the Ongoni peoples land. Today the Irish Gardaí (police) baton charged 200 protesters in the west of Ireland blockading the construction of the Shell Gas pipeline. If you want to read more you can find information here http://www.remembersarowiwa.com/ http://www.corribsos.com/ Please boycott Shell. They really don’t care what people think, Cash is the only weapon to make them think.

do I even need to comment?

Last weekend I watched a group of Palestinian women and daughters running for their lives as they were fired upon by Israeli Snipers. I watched as one of them a woman in her 30’s or 40’s crumpled to the ground lifeless as she was shot in the back. I watched to blood start to pool under her. I didn’t see the gun man supposedly beside her the sniper said he was trying to shoot. Maybe he was wearing a harry potter invisibility cloak. Maybe the sniper failed sniping class. In fact i didn’t see any guns in the hands of the one man i saw in the crowd of all those women, both in wide shot as they fled for their lives or in the close ups. It looked like the streets of Derry when the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment opened fire on a civil rights march and shot 26 unarmed civilians killing thirteen of them, six of these were minors. We called that day bloody Sunday. This morning i see Israel shelled a group of civilian houses for 50 minutes last night killing 18 people and injuring 54. Of the dead 7 were children and four were women. I am watching the news and waiting for the uproar to come from governments around the world…oh wait i forgot. These were Palestinian. Camera fodder, they can die but it doesn’t really mean anything. Can you imagine if 18 American, Australian, French, English, or any other western nation civilians were shelled by tanks in their homes while they slept? It would be front page news for a week, the UN council would be called and sanctions would be placed on the aggressor. But the UN is a lame duck, the power of veto of the strongest over the weakest makes it impotent. I know next week there will be another Bloody Sunday in Palestine. I know we are still recovering here from Bloody Sunday that happened in 1972. I don’t understand how these people will ever forget. I want to punch a wall. Or maybe i should pick up the guitar. Maybe if i shout loud enough into the void someone else will listen and they will start shouting. Maybe I’m dreaming. I know i am white knuckle angry. I wonder if the sniper and the Tank commander are having breakfast with their families. I wonder if they feel sick, or if they feel nothing. I wonder what happened to the Israeli pilots and soldiers who refused to attack the occupied areas before the 1967 borders? I wonder if i would have the balls to stand up against the tide of my own nation? I wonder what is going through the head of a young boy this morning who has lost his mother, brother, sister, father?

Good news

Earlier in the year i promised that “Song of a thousand Birds” would come out in North America and then i could come over and tour. Well I have finally signed with Translation Loss Records for a North American release of “Song of a Thousand Birds”. I really like their spirit and attitude towards music and the bands on their label. This will see the record available throughout the United States and Canada. They have great distribution so it should not be hard to get a copy in a store near you. Thanks to everyone for their patience in waiting for it to come out over there. The record comes out in early 2007 and I will be touring both the USA and Canada as soon as possible. I’m looking forward to playing for you and meeting new faces. Oh, and for you Vinyl Junkies? Translation Loss also plan to release it on vinyl.

Blackbird Song – Balcony Tv

This was great craic and fucking freezing…this guy has a show from the balcony of his flat in temple bar in Dublin.