Buskin' love..

Last night I came up against my biggest fear. Well, it's not exactly my biggest fear.. that is heights or spiders but this does come pretty close. With it being the last night before I headed home for Easter, we decided to head out to celebrate the fact that we haven't killed ourselves yet over Uni. Thursdays are normally not on the weekly agenda so I was pretty excited. The last time we headed out on a Thursday night was before Christmas and we stopped by Paddy Whacks. There was a open mic night and as much as I was egged on to get up there, I knew there was no way I could have. Back then, playing the guitar was the thing I did in my room when I didn't want to do work. I've sang infront of hundreds of people in the past but adding guitar to that was something that scared me. So that night I was thankful the set was booked up and I couldn't get on. But I knew that there would be a time that I'd have to face my fear.

I guess I was thankful for a bit of preparation time before heading into the 'pit of fire'. I knew there was no way Lisa was going to let me go to Paddy Whacks without getting up there. I am a lot more confident now with the guitar than I was before Christmas but it was still scaring me. Before heading out, I had a few songs in mind so when we headed to Paddy Whacks, I couldn't walk for my knees shaking. I was excited though but it was the usual, I just had a gut feeling I was going to forget everything. When we arrived, I barely had enough time to compose myself before I was up on stage, staring out at a packed out Paddy Whacks.

I'm still buzzing from last night. The guitar was a full size one whilst I've been used to working with a 3/4 size so obviously it was a bit wierd. There was a few times that I missed chords and that but I didn't let it bother me. During my first song, Angel by Sarah McLachlan, I was really nervous because the crowd was quite loud, but I played on thanks to my little crowd of supporters. I've got to say thanks to everyone who came down, you all made it easier for me. Overall it was fun, putting the nerves to one side. I'd definately do it again but before I do.. I think I should invest in a full size acoustic. I think I might steal my friend Mark's when I'm home this Easter and get some practice in.

Have a great Easter everyone!

Some Good News for St. Patrick's Day!

Hey everyone! Before I begin, I would just like to wish everyone a very happy St. Patrick's Day and I hope you all have a great one!

Basically, being from where I'm from, you can imagine that St. Paddy's Day has a bit of a meaning for me. Well, to be honest, I've celebrated the famous Irish holiday more since I've arrived in Sunderland that I ever did when I was back in my homeland. It's funny how Sunderland makes this day (or whole weekend) an excuse to be 'Irish', have a few pints of Guinness and try to dance along to a few Irish Jigs. All in all, it's great fun.

My weekend was spent between my 'local' The Royalty and of course Paddy Whacks. What did Sunderland do before Paddy Whacks opened I do not know! From Friday, right through the weekend, the music has been amazing. From traditional Irish Folk songs to live Bands from Ireland, Paddy Whacks has not disappointed. It was hard not to get into the spirit of things.

It was also great to meet a few Irish people who flew over especially for this weekend. I had the honour of meeting a few from Limerick and they have already stressed that Sunderland is the place to be for St. Patrick's Day and that's including back home. I couldn't agree more.

I'd like to take this opportunity to mention a band called Good News from Dublin who have flown over to play in Sunderland this weekend. I managed to catch them in Paddy Whacks on Friday and I was amazed. They weren't the traditional Irish band, but more like a rock band with an Irish twist (obviously the best kind). Normally when you think of a rock band, you think of hardly any melodies, hard to hear lyrics and perhaps a lot of shouting. Sometimes that is great. But for a weekend like this, it needed to be different. Good News played an amazing acoustic set on Friday, with amazing covers from the likes of U2 along with their own material. The harmonies between the two vocalists were amazing and despite only having two bongo drums to work with, the drummer managed to keep the rhythm going.

I had a good chat with them after their set on Friday and again in Paddy Whacks on Saturday and they told me that they managed to get this opportunity to tour here by being spotted by Seamus from Paddy Whacks when Busking in Dublin. They haven't been together long, but have had quite a few gigs in Dublin and Belfast. But Sunderland has been their first overseas mini-tour. Check out their myspace and bebo pages with all their latest material. I must say that I love their music as it is fresh and not exactly the mainstream sound you are used to hearing from this genre. Here is my favourite song that I couldn't help but download. It's called Feel That You Own It.

I made this music player at MyFlashFetish.com.

If you fancy a good starting point for your ultimate St. Paddy's Night, I suggest heading to Victoria's Bar just down past The Lambton Worm and Baroque where Good News will be playing their last gig of the weekend. It should be a good one so I really recommend at least stopping by.

Well that's me for now. Have a great St. Patrick's night and enjoy all the Traditional Irish music.

Blogging just got popular..

Okay, so this may not exactly revolve around music but I felt like it was just too good not to mention!

I was doing the usual Sunday night routine: a night spent watching my favourite shows LOST and Supernatural. It was a break on Supernatural when I saw it, my dream come true, the reason why I love ITV2 with a passion! Gossip Girl is coming to the UK!!!

Before you all think I'm mad, I'll explain! It was Naomi Robson who got me hooked on the joy that is Gossip Girl. It is a new American TV Show based on a best selling novel about a bunch of kids in New York, with a mysterious blogger keeping tabs on all the scandal! This blogger, or 'Gossip Girl', uses her blog to unravel secrets as they unfold, keeping the kids the blog is based on always on their toes. Here's a sneak peak video for the show that will hopefully explain more.




It's the blog that manages to keep the show and all it's storylines together. It goes to show that weblogs are here to stay. This show proves how important a blog can be, if the right people read it. I recommend everyone to watch this show when it hits ITV2 soon. If anything, watch it for weblog research. You can find the online blog here, it does contain spoilers for the show though.

Having already streamed it online, I can tell you that it's the next best thing since The OC. More importantly, the soundtrack ain't half bad either. So as you can tell I'm a bit of a gossip freak myself. This show gave me the inspiration to start my own gossip blog a few months back, which has sadly quietened due to the mixed tape. Have a look though, it's quite fun. "... you know you love me, xoxo gossipgirlNE"

Anyway, sorry for the lack of music in this post.. I just thought the world should know that blogging just got popular!

Youtube's finest

This is perhaps a little off-track compared to your normal run-of-the-mill mainstream artists but I believe that what I've stumbled upon is the future.

Well, if truth be told, I didn't stumble upon anything. It was more of a push in the right direction by a classmate. Andrew sent me a youtube link of this guy, telling me it would be great to post on my blog. Normally I don't believe a word that comes out of Andrew Lisgo's mouth, I just assumed it to be a joke. Turns out Andrew is a genius (who would have thought) as the video he sent me is probably the best thing I've seen in ages.

Introducing to you all the amazing talent that is Nick Pitera. When I first listened to his video that Andrew sent, I'll admit in saying I died of laughter. I just never expected what I was about to hear! But as I went through the videos on his youtube user account, I actually realised that he has a brilliant voice. I really recommend you check more of his work, you'll be amazed. You can also check out his myspace page. This guy seems to have a lot of fans by posting his songs on youtube and it seems to be paying off. Anyway, here is the video Andrew sent me. It's Nick's version of A whole new world from the Aladdin movie.





After the sensation that was Nick Pitera, it got me thinking. I started scanning through the related results (as you do) and came across a few other aspiring artists who have also found youtube a great way of getting their music across.


This next woman has become a 'micro-celebrity' because of her youtube success. She has had over 700,000 views on her videos already and that count is increasing daily. Her name is Diana Rein. Her music has a kind of blues/country feel but it's her covers that are amazing. She has taken some amazing songs and made them her own. You can check her out on her youtube page, along with her website and myspace page. But here is my favourite video of hers. It is a total arrangement of Stronger by Kanye West. She has created a melody to go with it and in my opinion, I think it is great. I hope you enjoy.





My next video is of a 22 year old called Ricardo Munoz. This guy lives in Holland and is now a singer/song writer. Check out his youtube page and his myspace. He has a lot of his own material but I quite like his cover of Apologise by One Republic. He's released this version in Holland. This is the official released video for it.





These last two videos are of just two guys who aren't necessarily out to make it as recording artists but just like the covers they are singing. The first guy is called Phil Schawel, check out his youtube page and his myspace. This guy is actually quite popular, having nearly 700 subscribers on youtube. What I like about him is that he has this amazingly unique voice. He's covered quite a few of my favourite songs but You and Me by Lifehouse has to be my favourite because his voice grabs the emotion of the song.




Finally, I'm pretty sure this guy is from Northern Ireland as his accent is quite like mine. He hasn't posted his name on his youtube page, but he's 21 and definately from the UK. All of his covers are really good and also quite varied. I thought I'd post up this one though as I've already mentioned it to Lisa Ovenden. This is a cover of New Shoes by Paulo Nutini.




Overall, it's amazing how many people watch people's videos like this and become fans. If the artists are lucky, it could make their career. But if not, at least they are sharing their talents with people who appreciate it. In a world where very few talented artists get the chance to break through into the music scene, is Youtube the future in finding such hidden talents?!

I thought I'd jump on the Youtube generation bandwagon and post a few videos of my own. Watching the previous artists, I can say my covers lack serious quality... and a full sized guitar. But I'm having a laugh I guess. I'm not going to be playing gigs anytime soon, so playing to an online audience seemed easier and I've actually gained a few subscribers/fans of my own! Check out my youtube page for some other videos I've uploaded, but I'll leave you with a random chosen one. I particularly love this song because it's one of my Mum's favourites. This is my cover of Angel by Sarah McLachlan. (Apologises for the bad sound quality.)