Hi Christy,
I picked up son Charlie in the socialist republic of Dennistoun yesterday to come and visit his gran.
On the way down the M74, in addition to discussing your music, topics varied but often related to Glasgow, for example the understandably uncertain verdict on whether you will grace the Barras again.
We listened to Gil Scott Heron, and noted his dad played for Glasgow’s Green and White.
We mused on the great Billy Connolly, and the film i have booked to see ‘Dear Billy’ a love letter from the people of Scotland.
Talk of the Broomielaw ,and where it exactly is in that grey , wet city compared to the Gallowgate and also the Wellpark Brewery.
He and i also chatted of why the great James Connolly never crossed paths with John MacLean. I read ’16 dead men’ over 25/26 Dec ( a pressie from the missus) and saw how JC ( born in Auld Reekie’s Cowgate near to the current ‘Bannermans Bar’) was so impoverished one Dublin Christmas he could only buy a stick puppet from a beggar as a present for his children on the way home, a man i and particularly Charlie hold in the highest regard.
Anyway back to some sleep, hopefully, with some background music.
Arra best
Rory
Ps deep fried mars bar…
Bite 1 heavenly
Bite 2 sickly
Bite 3 bearly digestible
Bite 4 in the bin.
Christy's reply
no better place to share thoughts with your Son
car journeys often reveal hidden reflections
all eyes looking ahead
Wishing you and Family well
May Finn Russell have a good year
betimes he reminds me of Messi
at other times I’d love to give him a clip around the ear
but once he’s on the Park….ye just gotta watch the scallywag
Hi Christy, I know this is a longshot but I’m hoping you might be able to help. I’ve got a brother who loves your music and regularly plays your songs on guitar but he’s currently in Tallaght hospital with a brain tumour and the prognosis isn’t good. He’ll be 61 on new year’s eve and I thought if you might be able to post him a happy birthday/ get well message video message to his phone it would make his day. Would there be any chance you could record a brief message and send it to him, it would mean so much.
Thanks Christy.
For whatever reason (living abroad or just being too stupid 😉 ) I’m unfortunately not able to watch the “Note for nature” with the RTE Player, but for those who have the same problem: there are some clips on YouTube that seem to be excerpts from it (?). Here’s one with Christy https://youtu.be/s6HkyHs_YrM
And there are more, just search for Note for nature RTE.
All the best
Birgit
Hello Christy,
Well, the songs have started appearing in twos. A while ago I learnt The Contender and The Foxt Devil turned up, out of the blue. I’m slow with tunes, so it took me days to work out the differences.
Now I meant to start on Green Grows the Laurel. Just feeling my way through it on the harp when Steve appeared and said, “that’s new, The Bonny Light Horseman”. And he was right. So those two will be confusing me for a while.
Thank you to Ed for being so kind and trying to cheer me up. It’s Brighouse 😊
It should be a good day today. Lots of harp, my Dad is coming over for lunch. Then there’s the session this afternoon. Ages ago I was invited to do a radio podcast thing, and then nothing happened. The guy turned up again yesterday and it looks like it might be happening. I’ll keep you posted.
We got bored of waiting for Rabbie Burns last night and got on with the neeps and tatties. Vegetarian Haggis is surprisingly good.
Hi C. You gotta watch out for those ones from Moate !! I’m just catching up on some Christmas programmes on the player, this is a timely, challenging documentary, you certainly have your finger on the pulse. I’m not sure if this is available beyond the Island, I hope it is https://www.rte.ie/player/movie/a-note-for-nature-e1/348292648146 There have been some great music programmes on tg4 freisin. Nearly time for the January Man, le cunamh De. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
Christy's reply
Thanks H….I hope the film you have linked here is seen far and wide….it was a privilige to have been asked to participate…the setting was idyllic,the crew totally committed,the day was perfect….the sound and the air and the scent of the Bog was home to me
The Christmas turkey flying from Moate. I like it.
That’s the ‘Continental Ceidhli’ song lines getting quoted for second time inside a few days.
Christy's reply
Having 3 Johnny Mulhearn songs in my head is like having 3 feathers in my cap…
“Continental Céilí”, “Hard Cases” and “Matty” are superb songs….Johnny mines a seam like no other…his take is unique….I sing all 3 of his songs regularly here in the workroom….
“tryin to figure out who’s carryin and where they’ll be that day”
“Hey Matty, cant you see what’s become of me
in this country of the blind”
“all the publicans are there
tis like a hirin fair
tryin to figure out how much McCann is makin”
( perhaps slightly embroidered,or not, as the case may be)
hopefully Johnny’s lines will be quoted and re-quoted for manys the night to come…..word has it that Seamie O’Dowd is currently singing a great version of “Hard Cases”…
would’nt it be great if some whizz kid could post it up here
Rebecca: on live gigs, I think it’s experience and between light, sound, venue, I think from each one you’d learn and get experience and even from what one might consider a ‘bad gig’, you’d always learn. So tomorrow, ‘Brighthouse’ is it? Another one. Stardom awaits.
I lost track of Christy’s live recordings. I think the Vicar Street album is really good. It gets the atmosphere awfully well. About the best one.
Christy how many live recordings have you published and put out at this stage?
You’re not to ‘disappear’ yet as Rebecca says.
Anyway, to all, enjoy the festive season.
Christy's reply
off the top of my head Ed….
Live at The Point 1996
Live at Vicar St
Live at The Point 2003
Planxty Live 2004
On The Road
Magic Nights
Barrowland….
many old bootegs too but I cant account for them
London Fleadh
Portlaois Jail ( Republican Wing)
Town Hall new York
Sydney State Theatre….and a heap more
gettin down to the last of the Turkey now…( delivered from Moate on Christmas morning fully stuffed and fully dressed)
normal service will resume shortly
The creative process is a great tonic, someday I hope to figure out who puts those songs into my brain, it remains a mystery.. Willie Nelson says if it comes by u ,you’d better grab it or it fly away to someone else,, willie is seldom wrong.. when he goes the world will be a lot poorer… Peace
Christy,
A note for Nature was a powerful documentary and a bit scary….Sad to see Ronan Collins hanging up his boots, next dance please…… Hope to see you in Vicar St…. In the old town, the walk from the Park to the Strand would lift your heart.. Best wishes for 2023… Cill Dara abu.
Christy's reply
I think that Ronan may be stepping back …but rumour has it that he has not yet surrendered his drum sticks
Paddy was an extraordinary man…always a pleasure to meet..he exuded enthusiasm for all the music around him…I had the pleasure of working with him but once and I regret other missed opportunities…over his long career he created so much music, he flew The Chieftains around the World and home again, numerous collaborations were his concepts…last time we met was in a Curry house..as always, he was gracious, interested and interesting..his legacy resounds perpetually
Hello Christy,
The only memory I have of one grandad is of clouds of smoke coming out of an arm chair. I have the rable where he kept his tobacco. My other grandad made stained glass windows and ran a fish and chip shop.
Forcing yourself to record yourself is always tough. I hate it but I seem to keep doing it. All my favourite albums of yours are live albums, apart from Flying into mystery and Where I come from. I love the whispering.
When the new harp arrived I forced myself to record a song and I thought I sounded bloody awful. Steve said it was fine. But he’s not having to listen to himself. Self exposure is a nightmare.
I dread the day when you decide to disappear. I hope it never happens. If ever someone with a gentle hum and well trained ear is needed, you know where I am. I’m writing this despite the danger of whatever may happen to it.
Anyway, there’s a session in Brighouse tomorrow afternoon. We might get there for the harp’s first outing.
Hi Christy.
Long time no on, hope your flat out, I’ll be back in the bogs of glan easkey may ,June,July .hope to catch your latest offerings.speaking of offerings, thaught I’d share something I threw together last week, it’s a departure in style for me , hope u like it .
ust wondering how everyone is surviving , timber has gone through the roof, I’m getting sick looking at medicine, the only thing that sustains me is the auld music.. I’m planning on going back to the homestead in may for three months, I always manage to write a new one when I’m there, this was what I came up with last year, God knows what it’s about, I know u don’t mind me sharing …
fair play Marty, you are still creating ..some tasty licks there..you have a good suss on the recording process…I still miss my cassette recorder..one button is my limit….keep taking the tablets..we seem to be living longer then our grandparents…may they rest in peace..I still miss the ones I knew…Bridie,Jack and Ellie…their parents lived through the Great Hunger
What number’s the house? I’ll be there in 10 minutes and have the taypot hot. If it’s the ‘black Planxty’ album, I wont leave but stay listening.
Good gawd what’s happnin in Liverpool? Do they think the woman was a mistaken victim?
Hello Christy,
Good morning! I hope this day finds you well.
Santa brought me a new turntable for Christmas. So I’ve been listening carefully to what it does to your records. The rhythm is now impeccable again and the bass is much clearer and less boomy. There’s noises in there I didn’t know existed.
Listening to you with Planvty and solo, over the years I’ve called you Mr Reliable. Now, with this new avenue into what you’re doing I’d have to go further. Pretty much bomb proof.
This is one of the reasons it’s so good to sit on the front row at a gig. You get a chance to hear the person, not the sound system. I know David is the finest in the business, but we don’t often get the chance to hear the living vocal chords in action.
Was your granddad Jack Power a singer?
Rebecca
Christy's reply
Jack Power was our “Gogga”…..we all loved him…he was a much cherished Grandad ….he had a few wee verses but is not remembered as a singer….
thank you for your observations on our sound…
the voice is holding up better in the live arena than in the studio..I find it hard to achieve the full sound without the presence of listeners..in the studio I’m always self conscious about my vocal sound..put me in front of a room full of listeners and all constraints disappear….I hope to continue as long as the voice works and the body can transport it…..soon as cracks appear I’ll disappear ..back to the day job
Hi Christy,
I picked up son Charlie in the socialist republic of Dennistoun yesterday to come and visit his gran.
On the way down the M74, in addition to discussing your music, topics varied but often related to Glasgow, for example the understandably uncertain verdict on whether you will grace the Barras again.
We listened to Gil Scott Heron, and noted his dad played for Glasgow’s Green and White.
We mused on the great Billy Connolly, and the film i have booked to see ‘Dear Billy’ a love letter from the people of Scotland.
Talk of the Broomielaw ,and where it exactly is in that grey , wet city compared to the Gallowgate and also the Wellpark Brewery.
He and i also chatted of why the great James Connolly never crossed paths with John MacLean. I read ’16 dead men’ over 25/26 Dec ( a pressie from the missus) and saw how JC ( born in Auld Reekie’s Cowgate near to the current ‘Bannermans Bar’) was so impoverished one Dublin Christmas he could only buy a stick puppet from a beggar as a present for his children on the way home, a man i and particularly Charlie hold in the highest regard.
Anyway back to some sleep, hopefully, with some background music.
Arra best
Rory
Ps deep fried mars bar…
Bite 1 heavenly
Bite 2 sickly
Bite 3 bearly digestible
Bite 4 in the bin.
no better place to share thoughts with your Son
car journeys often reveal hidden reflections
all eyes looking ahead
Wishing you and Family well
May Finn Russell have a good year
betimes he reminds me of Messi
at other times I’d love to give him a clip around the ear
but once he’s on the Park….ye just gotta watch the scallywag
Ah , PELE….. nothing more to say , just PELE….
top five in my lifetime ??
Messi,Pele, Best, Gascoigne,Jinky
Hi Christy, I know this is a longshot but I’m hoping you might be able to help. I’ve got a brother who loves your music and regularly plays your songs on guitar but he’s currently in Tallaght hospital with a brain tumour and the prognosis isn’t good. He’ll be 61 on new year’s eve and I thought if you might be able to post him a happy birthday/ get well message video message to his phone it would make his day. Would there be any chance you could record a brief message and send it to him, it would mean so much.
Thanks Christy.
I’ll do my best
Just looked at that clip. I didnt see or missed that prog on TV. Was it Stephens Day? Anyways, I watched the clip.
https://www.rte.ie/player/movie/a-note-for-nature-e1/348292648146
💪🏻
For whatever reason (living abroad or just being too stupid 😉 ) I’m unfortunately not able to watch the “Note for nature” with the RTE Player, but for those who have the same problem: there are some clips on YouTube that seem to be excerpts from it (?). Here’s one with Christy
https://youtu.be/s6HkyHs_YrM
And there are more, just search for Note for nature RTE.
All the best
Birgit
Hello Christy,
Well, the songs have started appearing in twos. A while ago I learnt The Contender and The Foxt Devil turned up, out of the blue. I’m slow with tunes, so it took me days to work out the differences.
Now I meant to start on Green Grows the Laurel. Just feeling my way through it on the harp when Steve appeared and said, “that’s new, The Bonny Light Horseman”. And he was right. So those two will be confusing me for a while.
Thank you to Ed for being so kind and trying to cheer me up. It’s Brighouse 😊
It should be a good day today. Lots of harp, my Dad is coming over for lunch. Then there’s the session this afternoon. Ages ago I was invited to do a radio podcast thing, and then nothing happened. The guy turned up again yesterday and it looks like it might be happening. I’ll keep you posted.
We got bored of waiting for Rabbie Burns last night and got on with the neeps and tatties. Vegetarian Haggis is surprisingly good.
Rebecca
and a deep fried Mars Bar for afters
Hi C. You gotta watch out for those ones from Moate !! I’m just catching up on some Christmas programmes on the player, this is a timely, challenging documentary, you certainly have your finger on the pulse. I’m not sure if this is available beyond the Island, I hope it is https://www.rte.ie/player/movie/a-note-for-nature-e1/348292648146 There have been some great music programmes on tg4 freisin. Nearly time for the January Man, le cunamh De. Beir bua agus beannacht. H
Thanks H….I hope the film you have linked here is seen far and wide….it was a privilige to have been asked to participate…the setting was idyllic,the crew totally committed,the day was perfect….the sound and the air and the scent of the Bog was home to me
TG4 continues producing the goods….
The Christmas turkey flying from Moate. I like it.
That’s the ‘Continental Ceidhli’ song lines getting quoted for second time inside a few days.
Having 3 Johnny Mulhearn songs in my head is like having 3 feathers in my cap…
“Continental Céilí”, “Hard Cases” and “Matty” are superb songs….Johnny mines a seam like no other…his take is unique….I sing all 3 of his songs regularly here in the workroom….
“tryin to figure out who’s carryin and where they’ll be that day”
“Hey Matty, cant you see what’s become of me
in this country of the blind”
“all the publicans are there
tis like a hirin fair
tryin to figure out how much McCann is makin”
( perhaps slightly embroidered,or not, as the case may be)
hopefully Johnny’s lines will be quoted and re-quoted for manys the night to come…..word has it that Seamie O’Dowd is currently singing a great version of “Hard Cases”…
would’nt it be great if some whizz kid could post it up here
Now I get it, Christy. it’s very funny. Sometimes I do it with first names. Have a nice sylvesternight and a good start to the new year.
just revvin up now…checkin the brakes before take-off…another season, some new songs…two bumps Josie and away we go
so glad to come back to eire next summer and just managed one of the last tickets in waterford, so glad to see you then…love klaus
come on over Klaus..
if you are German, there will be a welcome on the mat….
“Wolfgang ‘s playin on the comb
some one shoutin póg mo thón
Klaus is playin a slow air on the Bódhrán
Quinn from Corofin
his fiddle tucked beneath his chin (shhh)
he’s gonna play The Bucks of Oranmore now
an old fashioned Lady
begins to sing a song
Ahh lads, a bit of order over there
Claerinbridge for the chowder
keep your powder dey
for The Continental Céilí tonight”
( Johnny Mulhearn with sacreligious alterations from yours truly)
Rebecca: on live gigs, I think it’s experience and between light, sound, venue, I think from each one you’d learn and get experience and even from what one might consider a ‘bad gig’, you’d always learn. So tomorrow, ‘Brighthouse’ is it? Another one. Stardom awaits.
I lost track of Christy’s live recordings. I think the Vicar Street album is really good. It gets the atmosphere awfully well. About the best one.
Christy how many live recordings have you published and put out at this stage?
You’re not to ‘disappear’ yet as Rebecca says.
Anyway, to all, enjoy the festive season.
off the top of my head Ed….
Live at The Point 1996
Live at Vicar St
Live at The Point 2003
Planxty Live 2004
On The Road
Magic Nights
Barrowland….
many old bootegs too but I cant account for them
London Fleadh
Portlaois Jail ( Republican Wing)
Town Hall new York
Sydney State Theatre….and a heap more
gettin down to the last of the Turkey now…( delivered from Moate on Christmas morning fully stuffed and fully dressed)
normal service will resume shortly
The creative process is a great tonic, someday I hope to figure out who puts those songs into my brain, it remains a mystery.. Willie Nelson says if it comes by u ,you’d better grab it or it fly away to someone else,, willie is seldom wrong.. when he goes the world will be a lot poorer… Peace
tis the magic of it all Marty
Christy,
A note for Nature was a powerful documentary and a bit scary….Sad to see Ronan Collins hanging up his boots, next dance please…… Hope to see you in Vicar St…. In the old town, the walk from the Park to the Strand would lift your heart.. Best wishes for 2023… Cill Dara abu.
I think that Ronan may be stepping back …but rumour has it that he has not yet surrendered his drum sticks
An interview with Paddy Moloney, recorded in 2021, is the finale of ITMA’s Saoithe series.
https://www.itma.ie/events/saoithe-paddy-moloney?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=A+Free+Event+For+You++FIRSTNAME&utm_campaign=Drawing+From+The+Well+%28online+event+28th+Dec%29
Paddy was an extraordinary man…always a pleasure to meet..he exuded enthusiasm for all the music around him…I had the pleasure of working with him but once and I regret other missed opportunities…over his long career he created so much music, he flew The Chieftains around the World and home again, numerous collaborations were his concepts…last time we met was in a Curry house..as always, he was gracious, interested and interesting..his legacy resounds perpetually
Hello Christy,
The only memory I have of one grandad is of clouds of smoke coming out of an arm chair. I have the rable where he kept his tobacco. My other grandad made stained glass windows and ran a fish and chip shop.
Forcing yourself to record yourself is always tough. I hate it but I seem to keep doing it. All my favourite albums of yours are live albums, apart from Flying into mystery and Where I come from. I love the whispering.
When the new harp arrived I forced myself to record a song and I thought I sounded bloody awful. Steve said it was fine. But he’s not having to listen to himself. Self exposure is a nightmare.
I dread the day when you decide to disappear. I hope it never happens. If ever someone with a gentle hum and well trained ear is needed, you know where I am. I’m writing this despite the danger of whatever may happen to it.
Anyway, there’s a session in Brighouse tomorrow afternoon. We might get there for the harp’s first outing.
Rebecca
all roads lead to Brighouse come the morrow
Two different messages got put up together,no idea how that happened..
Hi Christy.
Long time no on, hope your flat out, I’ll be back in the bogs of glan easkey may ,June,July .hope to catch your latest offerings.speaking of offerings, thaught I’d share something I threw together last week, it’s a departure in style for me , hope u like it .
ust wondering how everyone is surviving , timber has gone through the roof, I’m getting sick looking at medicine, the only thing that sustains me is the auld music.. I’m planning on going back to the homestead in may for three months, I always manage to write a new one when I’m there, this was what I came up with last year, God knows what it’s about, I know u don’t mind me sharing …
https://youtu.be/KUerahh-csA
fair play Marty, you are still creating ..some tasty licks there..you have a good suss on the recording process…I still miss my cassette recorder..one button is my limit….keep taking the tablets..we seem to be living longer then our grandparents…may they rest in peace..I still miss the ones I knew…Bridie,Jack and Ellie…their parents lived through the Great Hunger
What number’s the house? I’ll be there in 10 minutes and have the taypot hot. If it’s the ‘black Planxty’ album, I wont leave but stay listening.
Good gawd what’s happnin in Liverpool? Do they think the woman was a mistaken victim?
cross the Shannon , second house on the left
Hello Christy,
Good morning! I hope this day finds you well.
Santa brought me a new turntable for Christmas. So I’ve been listening carefully to what it does to your records. The rhythm is now impeccable again and the bass is much clearer and less boomy. There’s noises in there I didn’t know existed.
Listening to you with Planvty and solo, over the years I’ve called you Mr Reliable. Now, with this new avenue into what you’re doing I’d have to go further. Pretty much bomb proof.
This is one of the reasons it’s so good to sit on the front row at a gig. You get a chance to hear the person, not the sound system. I know David is the finest in the business, but we don’t often get the chance to hear the living vocal chords in action.
Was your granddad Jack Power a singer?
Rebecca
Jack Power was our “Gogga”…..we all loved him…he was a much cherished Grandad ….he had a few wee verses but is not remembered as a singer….
thank you for your observations on our sound…
the voice is holding up better in the live arena than in the studio..I find it hard to achieve the full sound without the presence of listeners..in the studio I’m always self conscious about my vocal sound..put me in front of a room full of listeners and all constraints disappear….I hope to continue as long as the voice works and the body can transport it…..soon as cracks appear I’ll disappear ..back to the day job