Writing

The Great Trade

June 22, 2016

Introducing “The Great Trade”

For the past couple of years, in fits and starts, with great bursts of creativity quickly followed by long periods of distraction or working on other things, songs have been coming together for a new project called The Great Trade. These songs have been co-written with my friend Brian Murphy, a fellow Mullingar native who has contributed electric guitar and lap steel on my last two records.

The first beginnings of this project came when we were on tour in the UK and Holland in 2013. We were both looking for a way to play some shows outside of Ireland and somehow this tour came together. The entire tour lasted about three weeks I think and in that time we spent a lot of time together in vans, trains, hotel rooms, back stage areas and coffee shops. So much of being on tour involves waiting. You’re always waiting for the show to start it seems. Hurry up and wait. We filled these spaces with chatter and dreamings and wandering conversations. Out of some of these conversations came songs, or the beginnings of songs, the outlines of ideas.

It was interesting to be kicking around song and melody ideas with another human being for a change. It was exciting and had a speed and energy that I don’t often encounter when working on my own. This was the first signs of something coming together. There was a feeling, still is, that we could write some good songs together and more importantly enjoy challenging each other to write well.

: The Great Trade

: The Great Trade

After this 2013 tour I went on to write and record my “Outlines” album and then tour that. Brian has been busy with his other original project “Arrow in the Sky” and playing guitar with the band Cronin. In this way the time gets filled. We grabbed some time here and there in 2014 / 15 but have really turned our attention back to the project this year. In April we recorded our first video with the help of Mark Bennett and Darragh Glennon. The song is called “Blackberry Wine” and was inspired by a book I read about the life of Billie Holiday. I hope you enjoy:

Please let me know what you think. Does it sound different to my solo stuff ? If you have a moment to share the track on Facebook / Twitter so other folk might here it that would be super!! Songs get lonely too you know. Share it aboot.

Good wishes and thanks for reading

~ Peter

Blackberry Wine (Lyrics)

Meet me in the after-hours We’ll drink blackberry wine
There’s a place not far from here I think you’re gonna like
Caroline has fixed a little something for your mind
I’ve picked a dress to match your eyes
You’re gonna sing tonight

Let’s go to the good time house where the wine never spills
Let’s go to the good time house where nobody sees in
INTO this LOW HEAVEN

Pull the sheet from the piano they wanna hear you sing
Fly on up there don’t be frightened, show a little skin
Try anything you like
Little Bird don’t be shy

Let’s go to the good time house where the wine never spills
Let’s go to the good time house there’s no such thing as sin
DOWN in this LOW HEAVEN

-solo-

Fire cracks, opera echoes, Suzie cuts the deck
Horn players all blown out just blown in from the night
Here on top of the world
Little bird why so still

Let’s go to the good time house where the wine never spills
Let’s go to the good time house where nobody sees in
I won’t hit you too hard honey no just a little sting
HERE in this LOW HEAVEN

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Sugar Rush – Dublin, June 20th

June 15, 2015

Live in Munich last month.

A week from now, I play The Sugar Club in Dublin city. I last played this beautiful venue in 2006, almost ten years ago, for the release of my first record “Wood”. It’s crazy how much has changed since then. It’s a whole new cast of characters, a whole new bag of atoms, instruments and songs! I was 22 years old then and bringing my very first record into the world. It was a good night and an exciting time. I must have been nervous as hell because I remember breaking a string on the very first song! I never break strings.

Live at the Sugar Club at the Wood album launch, September 2006.

Sadly, two of the musicians that played on that night in 2006 have passed away in the last years – Vinny Baker (who was my musical mentor and great friend, and who produced the album we were launching that evening) and Cani Bruton, a fantastic bassist and long time friend who played on my first two albums. Both are hugely missed and have left deep holes in man peoples lives. I’m sure some of their spirit will be in the music next week. In fact, recently I had the opportunity to acquire one of Vinny’s acoustic guitars, It’s a stunning instrument and I’ll be playing it next week, trying to do the great man proud!

The Late Greats. Two hugely talented and deeply missed friends -Cani Bruton & Vinny Baker.

The venue is beautiful with a great vibe and warm, clear sound. I’ve seen some great shows there in the last years. Among them Jazz singer Gregory Porter (one of the most amazing singers I’ve ever heard in the flesh), fellow Irish songwriter Rhob Cunningham, and most recently the mind-bendingly good Snarky Puppy. The room has the feeling of a classy old cinema or theatre, with it’s comfortable tiered seats, oval tables and wood pannelled walls.

The Sugar Club

For this gig on June 20th, I have the good fortune to be joined by the stupendously talented Nicky Brennan on electric gutar and Darren Sweeney on Bass. We’ll mostly be playing songs from the “Outlines” and “Overhead the Stars” records, along with a couple of brand new ones that I’m enjoying playing recently.

With a week to go I’m starting to feel that usual mixture of and excitement that comes with putting on a big show. On a Saturday night in our Capital City… I’m not nervous about the performance, the stage is where I feel the most at home and comfortable… the most relaxed. The songs are in good shape after two months of touring here and abroad. The guitars have just been re-strung. I’ve done good advertising, having put probably more money than is sensible into postering in the city and online stuff too… I’ve individually reached out to almost everyone I know and told them of the gig.

But yet, there is still the worry. The nervousness comes from that little voice in my head that Steven Pressfield calls “resistance”. Resistance appears whenever you try something bold, whenever you create something, whenever you go out on a limb… For me the voice says things like “

1. Nobody’s coming to your show.
2. Nobody cares what you have to sing about.
3. Bob Dylan already wrote all the songs.
4. Everybody is going to see the Script instead.
5. Acoustic guitars are stupid.
6. Art is stupid.
7. Why don’t you get a real job.
8. Nobody’s coming to your show.”

But that’s not real, it’s just the resistance talking, the fear. As an artist you can’t let the fear get to you. Instead we do the show, we keep believing, we make the art, we sing from our f**king hearts and no matter what we a never ever give up. That is the only thing that matters. To have the chance to sing to people and to bring some joy to their evening is a very special thing and I’m thankful for that.

I’m so excited to sing some songs with friends in the Sugar Club next week.

Hope you can be there with us and bring all your song loving friends along.

Tickets on sale through ticketmaster.ie and tickets.ie ( with the latter being the slightly cheaper option)

Best wishes

-Peter

The Black Boar

March 28, 2015

(A dream, a short story …)

Inside the grand old Circus Marquee, the people strolled from cage to cage, taking photos of the animals, eating candy floss and laughing happily. A small boy, drinking from a coke the size of his head, gasped and stretched a fat shaking finger at a sleeping lion. Read More

Writing:

January 11, 2013