New Years Resolutions. 4-1-2012

Wed, 4 Jan 2012 12:57:15 +0000

Recording info for the buffs

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:50:48 +0100

So...here’s a bit of an explanation of how the drum was recorded for all the buffs out there. We did the album in Sean’s studio so we had time to mess around with different drums an microphones and all that techno junk.
The drum I ended up using for all tracks apart from one on the album was my blue baby from Christian Hedwitschak. I’m currently on my 3rd head with that drum, which is a record for me. It has taken a lot of beatin’ over the years it’s a wee hero.

The other drum I used on the song ‘come in out of the rain’ was from Ralf Siepmann. I used a jazz brush for that sound and Ralf’s drum had a nice shashy sound which suited.
So we recorded the bodhran with 2 microphones. We used a Neuman KM184 on the front side and an SE 4400 on the back. When Sean Og was mixing the album he used 2 plug-ins ‘imperial labs fatso’ and ‘oxford transient designer’, these brought the sound to life. It went from being really flat to full of tone. We tweaked it to get a great bass note throughout without losing the high stuff. Don’t ask me how he used these plug-ins, he just clicked the ‘sound awesome’ box and that was that. Done.

Canada and the craic 26-7-2011

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:54:43 +0100

Canada is a great place. I never quite realised how big it was, ye couldn’t walk it. We had great craic at the Stan Rogers festival, the Winnipeg Folk Fest, Harrison Hot Springs and Folk on the rocks in the Northwest Territories. We got destroyed by mosquitoes who were loving a bit of Irish the dirty things. All in all though we had a blast, meeting lovely people and beating out tunes with some of the best musicians ever- our good friends ‘Caladh Nua’, ‘The Once’ and JP Cormier to name a few.

I did notice however that most Canadians can’t say my name. When I introduce myself to someone over there they generally look at me like I’ve got some sort of affliction. Conversations generally go something like this-

Canadian person- ‘What’s your name?’
Me- ‘Eamon’
* long awkward silence *
Canadian person- ‘What is it?’
Me- ‘Ahh.... my name’s Eamon’
Canadian person (nodding)- Nice to meet you Edam.

I’m considering changing my name to Chuck for the next Canadian expedition, just for handiness. I think being called chuck is better than a type of cheese.

I got my hands on a few new drums too. I got the brand new design from Christian Hedwitschak to try out. The compressor tuning system. It’s a lovely drum and the tuning system is going to be great for the pro’s. Check it out at www.bodhranmaker.de. I also got a lovely drum from Ben March www.benmarchbodhrans.com Ben is a good friend and the drums a lovely. Check ‘em out. The cream of the crop however is my new baby. Check out the pic, from Rob Forkner, www.metloef.com. Rob built me a 13’’ and a 1/3 with the cover design from the new Beoga album. We are a marketing machine! Take that Justin Bieber! It looks and plays awesome.
So that’s the craic jack. See ye soon.x

Style 8-6-2011

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 12:34:47 +0100

Myself and my mate Conor McCaffrey of ‘The Rapparees’ have decided it’s time for a few things to be back in style, namely the Spice Girls and The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Scenesters/Hipsters take note.

Portugal 4-6-2011

Sat, 4 Jun 2011 12:08:46 +0100

Blog number 2! So I just got back from my holidays in Portugal. I had to come a day early with the bucking ash cloud.
We met a couple in Portugal, the guy kept accidentally calling his girlfriend the wrong name. he kept calling her his ex’s name. Not a good idea. She however, took a more direct approach and called him ‘a bull-root’. Simple and effective.
There’s ample tasty food in Portugal, loads of fish and fresh fruit. I snuck into an orchard and helped myself to a few oranges- naughty naughty.
The new album was launched last weekend, the official release is next month, I want this bad boy to get nominated for a Grammy so I can go grind on the dance floor with Beyonce and 50 pence.