singer | songwriter | musician | writer
This is the story of a collaborative songwriting effort over the last six months or so between Gerry Callaghan and myself. The result was a three-song album -an EP if you will – which we’re selling to benefit SAMH, the Scottish Association for Mental Health. Four Little Leaves – the beginning Early in 2018 I … Read moreWho Was The Poor Girl from Dublin?
UPDATED 09/11/2018 Following my post about John Martyn I was thinking about where I’d used his guitar style most, and it was probably this Robert Burns song. Here’s a live video, recorded at home where you can follow the guitar style if you’re that way inclined. Also updated: the Now page Here’s the studio version … Read moreYe Banks And Braes – Robert Burns in John Martyn style (live)
I just came across this recording of Leonard Cohen’s Famous Blue Raincoat from a music night at the Roxy Art House way back in 2005. I remember it being a spontaneous decision on stage to finish my set with this and not one of my own songs. The Roxy Art House was a huge former … Read moreFamous Blue Raincoat – a Cohen cover
This post contains two videos showing how I build up a demo of a new song in the recording software Reaper. A lot of songwriters work the traditional way – work out a song on paper or with an instrument, practise it, maybe perform it live and then record it. I sometimes do that still. … Read moreHow I demo a new song
Two new songs taken from different ‘streams’ of music I make – highly arranged stuff and simple acoustic stuff. If I Could Be With You (live) At the Village last week I tried out some of the songs from the acoustic album which Gerry and I are working on. Here’s If I Could Be With … Read moreTwo new songs – one simple and one elaborate
This is my cover version of a song by my friends Fiona Thom and John Farrell, of Ms Fi and the Lost Head Band. (It starts very quietly!) I’ve loved the song Box of Tricks since the first time I heard it. The soaring chorus of I fooled them all is one thing, the elusive … Read moreSongstories #23: Box of Tricks (cover)