indeed it’s not been too long since my last bit of news from my world of musicand i have some new news. the biggest bit of news is that my new band S.O.L had it’s first gig last friday downstairs in the unusual venue of fibbers. for anyone who knows fibbers they’d understand why it’s so unusual, that is more or less a straightforward metal bar, we however are not even close to being a metal band, that being said it went pretty well for a first gig. i was the only one in the band to have played live with a band before indeed it was mike’s (bass) first ever gig and more or less damiens too barring a performance in a gorrila suit at a christmas party. to be perfectly honest i don’t remember very much of the gig as these things tend to pass you by while you are in the moment, but we all played at worst perfectly fine, the sound was good and the crowd helped us along nicely on top of that the afters were a lot of fun and heres the only pic i’ve located from the night. taken at some point after we’ve come off stage, it should be noted i had my usual problem of being unable to come down for about an hour or so and therefore just avoided everybody for a long time, its a pain in the balls but i’m an asshole when i have that much energy so its best if i avoid people.
Me, Mike, Elva, Damien
you may remember from my last post that i was looking into forming some form of rock covers band three piece. i’ve gotten this slightly underway by moving to acquire a bassist, this is my friend conor mckenna who plays several instruments but i’ve asked him to more or less lower himself by playing bass which he is more than happy to do so i’m happy with that. however i’ve not yet been able to get us a drummer. i’ve been trying to persuade the old half-state drummer jimmy morgan to come join me but some left over feelings from the split some to be dissuading him which is disappointing but i totally understand why but i do really want him to play but unfortunately i can’t force him. i’m gonna try get some dirty pictures with which to blackmail him but until then the search for a drummer shall continue. the covers will be mostly rory gallagher stuff but there’ll be others thrown in too, led zeppelin, CCR, The Who, ZZ Top, that type of thing so hopefully when we’re up and running it’ll be a lot of fun.
i’m also gonna give a shout out here to my mate emer’s band five day forecast, they are a pretty cool band been to see them a couple times recently and they are pretty interesting certainly an different individual sound, they mostly remind me of the waterboys buts thats only a fleeting thought every so often. and they are also really nice guys and hopefully ill be getting to see them again someday soon.
News abound from my musical world. This morning, after much personal reflection, I decided to split from my long time band Half-State.
prior to a gig in radio city
it was not a decision i took lightly. i have been building up to it for a long time and there was many decisive factors the most important being that i no longer know what i want to do with them and don’t know where to go from where we are and to continue in such a vein would be wasting all of our time. it should be noted that i love those guys dearly they are my brothers and i wish i didn’t feel the need to take such steps but sometimes we have to make tough decisions and I’ve taken this and will have to live with it. i loved my time playing with them and enjoyed nearly all of it but the time to move on is now. we have been playing together a long time and built wonderful memories together. I can’t thank these guys enough for helping bring my music to life over the past few years and maybe someday in the future I’ll change my mind and try bring it all back but for now I move onto new challenges and really hope that Jim, Brian and Chip also move onto their own projects. Jim in particular, as much as i loved playing with Brian and Chip it must be said that Jim is my all time favourite musician to play with and certainly the one i’ll miss playing with the most. I’m not sure I’ve played with someone who matches his enthusiasm or joy in what he’s doing and easily one of the most talented musicians I’ve played with and will miss that possibly more than anything.
one of the musical challenges that i move onto is work with my new band S.O.L. i have less up front involvement in this as lead singer elva kenna takes much of the stress although me and bassist mike also chip in with writing and production. to the end of this new project my musical family has grown once again with the addition of a new member as i picked me up an electric mandolin “Natalie” as I’ve christened her. it’s a revelation mandotele that looks like the eastwood mandotele pictured below
I’ve got my eyes on possibly starting some form of rock type covers band but I’m not fully sure yet whether that’ll pan out but it certainly may end up a reality. in all honestly my thoughts on this lie in lofty ambitions of playing the rory gallagher festival so it’d be a big deal if it does happen. this is spurred by a couple of bands i saw at this years festival where no doubt i could grab a drummer a bassist two weeks before the event and be better than so i may give that a try.
that’s whats happening in my musical world. upset about how certain things have panned out, having given so much energy and effort into it’s disappointing to have to walk away but i believe it’s what i need to do right now. however i am excited about what lies ahead for me., and will write-up any further thoughts on my music.
anywho thank you to jim chip and brian for everything but also everyone who came out to listen and support us over the years.
It’s been a while since i had blogged so i thought the best use of my first in a long time would be to blog about the various gigs i’ve been to so far this year. last years gig calender ended on a high with the black rebel motorcycle club in both dublin and belfast and while i eagerly wait for the announcment of their next trip to the island i’ll have to make do with what i’ve been granted so far this year.
The Hold Steady: 10-February the academy.
as far as a first gig of the year goes; this was a belter. i had been a long time waiting to see the hold steady live. over the past few years they have grown into one of my favourite bands on the planet. to see the show was non stop would be an understatement from the very first minute craig finn was as brilliant and charismatic a front man you could imagine yell and spitting lyrics with pure adrenaline and pure joy and love of what he was doing. the only break in the no holds barred show was leaving prior to their encore, on returning he issued a happy birthday to a fan in the crowd due to an email sent to him by said fans boyfriend, all before firing back into the rock and roll that had served them so well during the first bit of the show. a years worth of gigs in one night.
Ray Lamontagne: 04-March, The Olympia
i had seen ray on a couple of previous occasions. once in dublin once in the wonderful waterfront hall in belfast. never one to step much out of line or blow your mind, he and his band get up and play the wonderful music that we love him for and that night was no different he music flowed and the atmosphere was lucky for a great evening of music even though it was not a devine gig going experience but still very good.
The Low Anthem, 10-April, Vicar Street.
this was a really special show. the low anthem were another band that i had been waiting a long time to see live and they did not disappoint. the room was quiet when it was needed and the soaring vocals filled the room. the use of the three voices was immaculate and when they started rocking, they really rocked bringing extra hands on stage to fill out the various instruments. the highlight of the show was their cover of Leonard Cohen’s Bird on a Wire, it was truely stunning as the room sat in silence and drank it in, similarly when they played charlie darwin it was a real wonder.
Eric Clapton, 09-May, The O2 (The Point)
the legend that is. one of my guitar playing idols, seeing Clapton was something i had wanted to do for a long time, I’d missed him the previous occasions he had been here so i was really looking forward to it, and by gum was it a lot of fun. clapton seemed to bring his A-game, blues from start to finish there was a couple of wobbles when he left blues but in general he and his band just pumped it out for two hours, and to say clapton played well would be an understatement, but more importantly his band was sublime, each member brough something to the table and all were given their own time to shine. for his encore he came back and belted out crossroads, was outstanding and the crowd chewed it up. one should always be weary when seeing their heroes especially old guys who you would think are passed their best, but clapton did not give the impression that he was running out of gas, i’d have loved to have seen him in his hey day but that was not available to me, so im delighted to have caught him now while he was still great.
The Fleadh Cowboys, 24-May, The Button Factory
this was tribute for bob dylans 70th birthday and what a night it was. the boys had various performers from the dublin music scene come on and off all night paying their tributes to the great bob. the crowd loved every minute of it and it was many many minutes. we eventually got inside after a long queue outside at about 8:40 and the band were already onstage, the band continued to play until after one. it was a long show but not once did it flag to try recite who came up would be pointless its just enough to say that this was a wonderful night and a fantastic tribute to the great man, what made it all the better was that the crowd were wonderful and stayed strong throughout.
Loudon Wainwright III, 28-May The Olympia.
i have seen Loudon many many times, he has forever been an idol of mine one of the finest songwriters to live. the worst thing about this gig was the crowd. this is a professional who has been doing it for 40 years, let the man play what ever the hell he wants and stop calling for what you want, if you wanna hear your favourites stay at home and listen to them there because i dont want to hear you yelling during a gig, loudon clearly wanted to play his new songs none of which io had heard yet, but each one was a gem, he was on wonderful form and played brilliantly, wonderful songs flowed all night the new stuff being the highlights. loudon is never bad, he is a great singer and performer, unfortunatly his crowd hasn’t realised, easily one of the worst crowds i have been in but possibly one of loudons best showings.
Tallest Man on Earth, 01-June, Vicar Street.
the little swede is a recent discovery of mine, he has been around a while but i had only started listening recently however i was very excited to see him, he is a wonderful performer and put on a great show unfortunately booze got the better of memories of that night, mostly it was the booze from that night but it was not helped by the rory gallagher festival which followed the day after so i’ll skip over this suffice to say it was a good show.
here is me watching Messin’ with D’Gallagher on the stage beside owen roes, this is the only band i remember seeing that weekend also saw them in the lantern and the bridge end on various nights. mr joe o’neill on guitar was a revelation i’ve known him a long time and watched him play many times but this year he was just phenomenal at his absolute peak, wherever we watched him he sent the crowd into raptures he was magnificent and one of the highlights of my whole gig calender this year.
Ryan Adams, 08-June, The Olympia.
this was arguably the gig i was most looking forward to. 3 times i had missed out on tickets to see ryan and yet again i missed out this year. luckily my cousin came to the rescue with a spare ticket. ryan was sensational just charming in every way, he was warm and funny and played brilliantly, including a wonderful version of new york, new york. my favourite thing about the show was how he controlled the audience, anyone who called for something was swiftly put in their place. again the crowd let this one down, after ryan embarrased a couple of fans (when will they realise these guys have stuff they wanna do its not all about us) he played a wonderful hour and a half show then went off, to a good applause followed by more or less silence. crowds these days are too indoctrined as to what to expect from a show these days. for the most part they sat just waiting in silence for ryan to return, which in my opinion he shouldn’t have as the crowd really did not deserve it, i loved every minute and was yelling for more, but that crowd did not deserve it. but dont worry ryan i still love you.
Foy Vance, 09-June, Academy 2
Foy is another guy i’ve seen many times and the unique thing about him is that everytime i see him, he gets even better and this was no different. plenty of new songs mixed in with the old but as always foy was charming and lively onstage and a lot of fun when not playing songs. the room was packed and the crowd was great letting the man do what he does best and joining in for a jolly atmosphere all round. the soundscapes foy create through his guitar and various effects pedals was reminiscent of david gilmore at times, he used these effects on his voices as well to create huge choirs behind him filling the room with wonder and the crowd ate it up. it was a wonderful night and leaves me as always pining for foys return.
well theres a guide to the gigs i’ve been to so far this year all been good, and leaving me looking forward to the next crop of gigs to come over the next 6 months
last year us braves fans were given plenty to shout about as Bobby Cox’s last year in charge turned into a rollercoaster of a season which saw us go on horrible winless streaks to start before producing the best May in baseball, throwing us to the top of the division before succumbing to the Phillies only to succesfully win the battle to represent the national league wildcard, only to be defeated in rather irritating fashion by the giants(injuries, and dreadful umpiring decisions and untimely errors cost us big). with spring training nearly at a finish i feel like reflecting on what makes me excited about the year ahead.
10. Fredi Gonzalez
when news came through that bobby cox would be retiring at the end of the season the question arose as to who would replace the legendary No. 6. By all aspects everyone in the braves organisation and all the fans had one man in mind. that was former braves 3rd base coach and personal friend of bobby’s fredi gonzalez. one problem existed he was managing the NL East rival Florida Marlins. but midway through the 2010 campaign news filtered through of one of what i think was the worst and most toothless sackings of any manager i’ve seen in a long time when gonzalez was axed by the marlins on the grounds that he seemed to be disciplining his players, unfortunatly for him he disciplined florida superstar and all round arse bandit Hanley ramirez for his poor attitude on the field. this led to the sacking of a manager who was doing a good job with a team that had two quality bats, no defense and an OK pitching staff. Braves prayers were answered when fredi was named as bobby succesor and by all indications the transition has been practically nothing as fredi takes bobbys managerial mould and applies it in his own way. with fredi at the helm i feel great about the braves chances this year.
9. Bullpen
the best bullpen in the East??? perhaps. the loss of billy wagner closing out games will be a huge loss as he enjoys his retirement but there is still plenty of positives in the atlanta braves ‘pen. taking over the closing duties will be two young studs in Craig Kimbrel (the right handed wagner as he’s been dubed) and johnny venters, who last year led the majors in relief appearances whilst compiling a microscopic ERA. these guys are kids however and are being placed in a difficult position. one reason that it will be ok is the veteran presence which for me is highlighted by Aussie Sidewinder peter moylan (pictured) who two years back broke the braves record for relief appearances while breaking the majors record for most innings pitched without allowing a home run. alongside his left handed counterpart Eric O’Flaherty and the two off season aquisitions of veterans george Sherrill and Scott Linebrink, all of whom can close should the kids falter, the braves look to have one of the most rounded and solid bullpens in baseball with a fantastic mix of youth and talented and experience.
8. Chipper Jones
lets make no mistakes. chip is past his best, but that doesn’t mean he’s still not better than most in the majors. after a horrible ligament injury ended his 2010 season early chipper had surgery with an eye on returning to third base and hitting third for the braves and all he’s done so far in spring training this year is hit for a .411 avg with 4 homers for 16 rbi. ye i think it’s fair to say chip is gonna be fine. he wont be his dominant self anymore but his presence in the lineup is still enough to give opposing pitchers pause for thought. and with his new middle of the order partner dan uggla, the numbers should improve for chip this year compared to last, if he can stay fit. fingers crossed.
7. off-season aquisitions
the aquisition of dan uggla (pictured) was a huge success for the braves and the ability to sign him long term for 60 million looks a great especially when we look at the money that the washington nationals forked out for jason werth whose numbers have never come close to Uggla who looks a happy man as an atlanta brave. this move however cause two problems, what to do with one of last years key players second baseman Martin Prado and how to replace my personal MVP for last year; all-star utility man Omar Infante who was dealt to florida in exchange for Uggla. the first question was answered by Martin himself who in typical prado fashion put the team first by stating his acceptance to make a move to left field where he has done a great job for spring training while continuing to hit like the All Star that he is. the loss of infante as a brilliant utility man who the braves could confidently play just about anywhere was a big blow to the organisation which leaned heavily on omars versatility last year while he went on to lead the club in hitting. frank Fren addressed the situation by picking up former St Louise Cardinal Joe Mather who will not be Omar infante but will provided the braves with plenty of playable options. the other big singings where the aforementioned pitchers in the atlanta bullpen which with the loss of saito and wagner were in serious need of veteran presence and this was fixed by the addition of linebrink and sherrill. all in all a good off season in which the losses were dealt with as well as possible and certainly we look a better club this year for it in spite of some very large losses.
6. phillies weakness
as a team the Philadelphia phillies on paper are in my opinion just about the best team in baseball. one look through their lineup shows no gaps, and that starting rotation is the best since the atlanta trio of the 90’s. but there is one department where the phillies fall down. they cannot keep a clean bill of health. expect their starters to not miss much but watch as that lineup changes almost day to day. the key loss here is utley, phillies number three hitter and perenial all star. he is a beast no doubt but the early indications are that chase will spend a lot of time watching from the dugout. polanco has also gone down now and outfielder dominic brown who was slated to replace the lost jason werth. ibanez is also susceptible to go down injured as is leadoff hitter and shortstop jimmy rollins. if they stay healthy they will iwn the division and challenge for the world series but us braves fans must feel a little twinge of joy when we look at the only weakness of the phillies team, it so very rarely is their best team. and while that team is still better than most, a fit braves side would seriously put in a challenge for the division unless philadelphia stay healthy.
5. freddie freeman
for the first time in forever the braves look to have a long term solution at first base in the guise of rookie phenom freddie freeman. last year freeman had to watch while his best friend and house mate jason heyward tore a path through the majors with impressive performances time and again. this year freeman who by all accounts looks a future gold glove winner gets his chance. he has a smooth swing and raw power and looks an excellent gap hitter. it’ll be a tough year for him as his first full season at major league level but his spring has been impressive enough to inspire me to believe this kid is gonna be manning the first base corner for some time in atlanta and i think he will add a huge amount to this teams defense and lineup. i also believe that he will benefit from having jason help him through his first full season and heyward will in turn benefit by having an old friend nearby.
4. pitching rotation
l-r, jurrjens, hudson, hanson, lowe.
the braves have got probably the third best rotation in baseball after the phillies and the San Francisco Giants. but these guys are all studs. with the recent battle between brandon beachy and mike minor for the fifth starter spot resolved with the prize going to beachy we finally have a good look at the braves 5 man rotation. this rotation has no definite Ace however what it does have is two young studs and two veteran iron men who could all lead a staff and would be a number 2 starter for just about any rotation add brandon beachy to this a guy who looks a solid number 3 starter for most clubs and you’ve got a great rotation. Derek Lowe was recently named opening day starter and after his outstanding performances at the tail end of last year, why not? expect lowe to eat up innings and if he’s got his breaking balls going expect very few hits and nothing in the air. number 2 is last years MVP Tim Hudson. he was dynamite there were days when he looked like he could throw a beach ball past the best hitters in the league who were using tennis raquets. like lowe hudson will eat up innings and also keep the ball low. these two guys will continue to show the leadership that this club now has in abundance. after them comes the two young guns, jair jurrjenns and tommy hanson. if jurrjenns stays fit he will be a force to be recokned with his outsanding change up and knowledge of what to pitch and when and where should keep plenty of guys off balance. big red, tommy hanson has proved he’s got the stuff but for me he hasnt utilised his best quality yet which is his explosive upstairs fast ball which he should go to more to strike players out. his impressive frame will ensure an intimidating opponent but his calm temperment should hold him in check throughout the year. what is best about the braves pitching however is organizational depth. in the minor leagues there is kris medlen and mike minor who can both pitch at a major league level and win should injuries force them up, and if we cannot move kenshin kawakami we will have 3 guys all able to pitch and beat a major league team in the minors. bodes well, the phillies, yankees and giants certainly dont have the cover that the braves can provide.
3. new look lineup
with the addition of Dan Uggla, the braves got that big right handed bat that we’d needed for a very long time. you throw this into a lineup with perenial silver slugger catcher Brian McCann, former league batting champ chipper jones, the phenom that is Jason Heyward (pictured) all stars martin prado and nate mclouth plus freeman and alex gonzalez and this looks like the best braves lineup in forever. last year the big problem with the braves was leaving runners stranded, there is plenty of RBI threats in there not to mention there should be a huge boost to the homer total with the improved eyesite of brian mccann, chippers return to health and dan uggla swinging in the middle. a lot will rest on heyward’s second season teams now know what to expect but if ever there was a kid able to adopt and improve and beat an opponent its the ever determined heyward. off the bench the braves have some clutch pinch hitters in eric hinski and brooks conrad. normally the pitchers hitting spot is a black hole for teams, but hudson is an adept hitter who remains the record holder in most hitting catagories for his high school, his usual yearly wager between the pitchers should help keep those guys on their toes and it should be noted that both Lowe and Hanson are solid hitters.
2. Nate “the great” McLouth
will this be the year nate become “the great” once again??? last year was the worst of mclouths career as he suffered a drop in confidence alongside a couple of injuries. however at the end of last year nate looked like he was turning it around with improved numbers. he went into the offseason with a new mentality and put last year behind him. he has been the second best hitter for the braves this spring. he is smiling once again he has been more aggresive and has been squaring the ball up better than ever. will this mean a return to the all star performance he put in for the pirates in 2008. i don’t know but i do know that he will be on base more which means he can utilise his base stealing brillance more, he will be more confident hit more over the fence knocking in more runs. all the emphasis on the braves for 2011 has been placed on the arrival of dan uggla but should nate continue in this vein it’ll certainly feel like a new signing and possibly even bigger than the uggla trade. no pressure nate but you can put us in the post season.
1. team attitude.
last year the braves led the league in come from behind wins and walkoffs, including the very special moment when brooks conrad smashed a grandslam over the left field wall to finish off an 8 run comeback in turner field against the reds in the final inning of the game. this attitude put us in the playoffs last year. never once did the braves give up never once did a head drop all year. it was always possible and that is the best thing about this team. i believe it comes from the relaxed attitude which is built by clubhouse favourites such as tim hudson, backup catcher david ross and eric hinski who keep the club mellow and the atmosphere positive and helped the braves drag themselves out of the early season slump which dropped us to the bottom of the division. i’m not going to say we will be as potent late in a game as we were last year but show me a team with a better attitude if you can, because i really don’t believe one exists and if thats not a reason to be excited for this year, surely the more tangible things will be enough for even the most dour faced fan to get their hopes up
yet another football blog coming up but this time it’s a look at all time footballers living, dead, playing or retired all can be included here, there may be some overlap from my current favourite XI but there shouldn’t be too many, as usual i’ll start from the back and move forward, starting in goal
yes one player in and already there’s overlap this was not an entirely obvious however as there was certainly a couple of other goalies that could have gotten my nod, but gigi will forever be my favourite. as i stated in my current world XI i dont think that gigi is the greatest i the world anymore but there was a very long period when he was. he has always been a magnificent leader for both club and country and unbelievably inspiring player and goalkeeper often making saves quite frankly beyond belief with just about every part of his body, gigi at his best could well be included in the list of top 3 keepers of all time, but for me he’s the king.
Left Full Back: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan, Italy) Captain.
possibly my favourite player of all time, the man is quite simply a legend, much like gigi maldini is a true leader and this guy has done it all for AC Milan, although he was unfortunate not to win a world cup for his nation just missing out in the 94 final and playing between the last two italian victories in 82 and 2006. paolo was of course a one club man following in his fathers footsteps and leading his club to more than a couple of european cups, hopefully his son christian will follow in the great tradition of his father and grandfather however the decline of AC Milan and italian football in general makes this seem unlikely
centre half: Franco Baresi (AC Milan, Italy)
just an absolutly outstanding footballer, probably the best footballing centre half to ever play the game, his ability on the ball was as good as any central midfielder, his passing was exquisite and he would also get a goal or two for the cause. he actually scored one of my all time favourite goals which ill include here, as he finishes with the aplomb of a world class forward after breaking with the ball from his own half just brilliant stuff
centre half: Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich, New York Cosmos, Hamburg, West Germany)
the first non italian in the list here is germany’s finest ever defender, franz beckenbauer, who became known as the kaiser. yet another world cup winner here in my list and a european cup lifter too for munich. franz reinvented the position of central defender and was the original baresi styled defender a mix of brilliant tackling and wonderful footballing ability. beckenbauer was also one of the finest readers of the game, he worked out that most forwards would outrun him as he was not the quickest as a result he learned to read the game so as to stay a step or two ahead of the forward.
right full back: Cafu (sao paulo, juventude, zaragoza, palmeiras, roma, ac milan, Brazil)
there really can only be one for right full, cafu is just the king at right full, time after time he would be seen busting a gut to get up the line overlapping the winger and improving the teams options further up the pitch. as with all good full backs he knew how to whip a ball as well as possessing wonderful footwork and skill, as well as being a strong tackler and excellent defensive full back. cafu is one of few players to play in four consectutive world cups and only the second to play in the 3 consecutive finals, winning two 94, 2002. he is brazils most capped player and surely one of the greatest of all time, for footballs greatest nation.
left wing: Thiery Henry ( Arsenal, juventus, barcalona, monaco, new york red bull, France)
as much as he will be vilified by some especially since his handball against ireland (for which i’ve no problem, you do what you have to do for your team to win) i find it hard to imagine there are many people out there who can argue with the sheer quality of this man. although most think of him as a striker my wish to include him in the team ment i had to facilitate him in some other manor by moving him out of position but sure he played left midfield on more than a couple of occasions and only his move to arsenal turned him into a striker. there are few players who lit up the premiership as much as this french maestro, and he is certainly a character that united fans love to hate due to his various sparkling performances for the gunners. he is also a quiet and unassuming player who just about always kept himself out of trouble and kept a clean nose and is a remarkable ambassador for the game. to be perfectly honest i was gutted to hear he was leaving arsenal as this limited my chances to watch him.
central attacking midfield: Francesco Totti (Roma, Italy)
the oft maligned roma legend is one of my personal all time favourites and i’ll be thoroughly upset when he retires. this is a one club man, who took a pay cut to stay at his beloved roma, where he is a god. euro 2000 was when this kid came to the fore in world football, his sparkling display for italy in that competition capped by one of the most audacious penalties brough the media attention for all the right reasons. on too many occasions however totti has garnered this attention for all the wrong reasons as his feisty temper has gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion. but the reason i love him is just the sheer grace he carries when on the ball, he is simply majestic and when he was at his very best he could rival anyone in the world. such a fine passer and incredibly hard worker, and that is before you get to his goals, long range, tap ins, free kicks, headers, everything. no matter where he played either midfield or up front he got goals. just a class act.
central midfield. Socrates (botafogo, corinthians, fiorentina, flamengo, santos, brazil)
one of brazils most underrated greats here. most notable for his lacklustre approach to fitness or health in general, sometimes not showing up for training whilst continuing to be a heavy drinker and smoker throughout his professional career. this beast of a man is noted as being one of the most rugged footballers of his generation, and a fine goalscorer. but what is most striking about the good dr. socrates (obtained a medical degree whilst also playing football at a professional level) was his passing. here was a guy who could put fabregas to shame. socrates had a wonderful head for the game and could read it as well as anyone ever could this is probably concurrent to the fact that he was a wonderful intellect off the pitch as well as on it.
right winger: Lionel Messi, (Barcalona, Argentina)
time and time again i find myself saying. im tired of being amazed by what this kid can do. but it just seems like every time i watch him he does something beyond belief. i dont know if there has been a player as unassuming and unnatural looking. he looks like he doesnt belong anywhere near a field of sport, indeed his midfield partner in this team scorates would stand nine inches taller than him. but it is this very asset that makes messi so good. it seems as though his centre of gravity is located somewhere in his ankles. enough has been said about this kid so there really is no point other than to say one of my favourite things about him is that he gets kicked all day long, but very rarely moans about it, he has a brilliant attitude and clearly just loves to play the game.
forward: ferenc puskas (real madrid (some hungarian teams) Hungary/ Spain)
puskas is a little known player these days but in the 50s he was the king of european football leading a potent hungarian national side and arguably the finest team of all time in real madrid side which also included luminaries such as de stefano and gento. with this team he won several of madrids european cups in the late fifties and early sixties. much like messi he in no way looks like a footballer being short and squaty but he had footwork the likes had never been seen before in the world most prominently put on display against england in wembley in 1953 where many of the english players had been mocking him before the game until he started to juggle the ball in the centre circle prior to kickoff. at this time, england had never been beaten by a team from outside of the british isles. hungary put 6 past them puskas got two (including one of the finest goals of all time) a year later puskas again struck twice as hungary pust seven past england for a 7-1 defeat england biggest loss ever. i feel like including footage of that puskas goal in wembley so here you are, masterclass. and for those who wish to comment on ronaldo and messi’s unbelievable goal to game ratio, lets look at puskas 85 international caps, 84 goals, 529 club games, 514 goals. and that was with a ball and footwear vastly inferior to what messi and ronaldo use. not to take away from their great accomplishments so far but rather just to put it in context.
Forward: Pele (Santos, Brazil)
i’m actually not going to say anything about the greatest of all time as there is just nothing to say about him other than show you what he did on the pitch
and the greatest piece of onfield intelligence ever
so theres some of my all time favourite players. theres a couple of notable exceptions. daniele de rossi, dino zoff, lev yashin, denis bergkamp, gianfranco zola, but i couldnt have them all.
yesterday, tragedy befell the berlin zoo and the world of animal lovers, as the star atraction Knut the polar bear died of as it unknown circumstances. as an animal lover and fan of the polar bear in general i’ve been aware of the existence of Knut since his birth in 2006. having been rejected by his mother, knut was cared for and raised by the zoo keepers at the berlin zoo. (here he is with thomas dorflein, the main caretaker and adopted mother of knut, who himself died in 2008)
he became the first polar bear to outlive infancy, mostly due to the remarkable care he received from dorflein who maintained constant round the clock vigilance, and became a huge star of the zoo leading to a massive increase in visitors and tranformed the zoo which became its most popular in over 150 years. knut became a celebrity worldwide and was photographed for vanity fair magazine alongside actor and activist leonardo decaprio, but it was knut who made the cover of the issue, he has also graced the stamps of germany. unfortunatly knut died at the age of only 4 but his memory will live on.
only recently i watched a documentary on knut it had his story linked with the story of a polar bear family in the north pole as they struggle with the wilderness. the polar itself is not an endangered species as of yet but its future is far from certain and the polar bear is one of the many animals one can adapt from the WWF as the organisation is seriously worried about the survival of these beautiful creatures. this is partly due to overfishing and seal murder by the canadians which is troubling the survival of the bears but also the horrific effect global warming will have on the region as pointed out in this WWF study http://www.worldwildlife.org/climate/Publications/WWFBinaryitem4928.pdf. hopefully the death of knut will not be in vain, if his birth and survival was enough to captivate the world, hopefully his death will spur people onto more conversational thoughts towards the animal kingdom, this world is nothing without its animals of which we are only one species, how many of the uncaring neo-conservatives who reject global warming and animal rights have pets whom they love dearly, i’m willing to bet a whole lot, how can you love an animal yet not care about the survival of another animal, one which makes this world an much richer and beautiful and well operating machine.
while on the subject of animals i think i should make mention of something close to my heart. this is the slow demolition of the lives of the tigers in asia. there is roughly 3000 left in the wild, where they belong, this led me this year to sponsor the tigers as part of the WWF adopt an animal. i’ve always been a cat person as there has always been cats in my house and i love them dearly, so it seemed obvious when i wanted to help the WWF that i support the cats bigger cousins the tigers. i sponsor a bengal tiger named kamrita, who you can see below. this is a bengal tiger living in southern nepal. these gorgeous animals are in serious danger from poachers who want their fur, something i stand full square against.
heres me enjoying a chat with my personal mascot wilson
as you can see i really care deeply about the animals of this world, far too many are in danger due to unnecessary human activity and poaching, there are more than just tigers and polar bears in trouble and implore you to take a moment to look up the WWF website and find out more about our neighbours on this planet, and hopefully you too will be encouraged to support them in what ever way you can.
as most of you will know i’m a musician and play several instruments, i am also a songwriter and again and again i’ve been asked how i do that. songwriting seems to be some sort of terrifying idea for most people and i dont fully understand this. as loudon wainwright (one of my favourites say) “songwritigs not so hard it’s well understood, everyone can do it and everyone should” thats about the best way to sum up songwriting its really quite easy to do, perhaps to create a masterpiece of lyrical and musically prose is beyond the grasps of many, but songwriting in itself is remarkably easy.
what i think most people find terrifying about songwriting is the idea of putting ones thoughts down on paper and commiting them there not so much for the world to see, but the author themself, and indeed this can be a scary thought, but simply one that we need to push through. of course we can write songs with incredible ease and not include any real emotion, this is something however that i struggle to do. as a person i wear my heart on my sleeve and feel i reveal myself through music, my darkest moments are usually when im writing at my very best. i find it very easy to put my self out there, a lack of caring what people think about me helps here i guess, also the fact that i’, fucking insane helps. theres a wonderful quote in the west wing from josh lynam whilst listening to shuberts ave maria “schubert was crazy ya know?…..do you think you have to be crazy to create something powerful?” this is something i prescribe to entirely. people always talk about great music being created on drugs and drugs being key to songwriting (keith richards begs to difer) well i think its insanity that helps me. for the record for those who think im running my mouth talking about how im crazy, i do actually have a chemical imbalance in my brain which lead to the rather debilitating depression that i’ve suffered with my whole life and that i’m fighting at the moment, it’s lead to paranoia and slight schizophrenia and just general difficulties in my mind, and general life and why i hate everyone and tend to be a fairly reclusive wanker unless i’ve a few beers in me, so ye i’m totally nuts. i think this gives me a slight edge over others when it comes to songwriting, i don’t know why but when im at my worst i tend to write better and when i good i cant write at all so i credit a lot of my songwriting to my chronic depression. this means there is a lot more for me to lay out and a lot more to use to try and create something real and powerful, not that i feel i’ve ever really written anything of fantastic merit, i feel most of what i write is just putting my thought and heart and soul on paper, but the reaction i get sometimes about different songs from people makes me think that perhaps i’m doing something right. it also helps to be well read when writing. one becomes a more astute writer just by reading and having as good a grasp on language as possible, im lucky here in that i come from a household just full of books due to an incredibly well read father.
the other side of songwriting is the musical element. recently my friend elva, the wonderful singer and musician that i am so lucky to get to play with, and indeed a really great songwriter herself, asked me how i write riffs and come up with music and melodies after she played a song and instantly i played a riff that she claims she had been missing and couldn’t work out. well that is something to me which just comes so naturally, anyone who has seen me play football knows that in general i’m a very good tackler and tend to get those right, tackling in football is natural and easy to me, in the same way musical composition is. i recently heard johnny greenwood out of radiohead talking about songwriting and from what i could make out, what he was trying to say is that in order to write music you have to know music and that its not all just something you can just do and wing it, you have to know how music works and whats right. i couldn’t disagree more, one does not need to sit down and dissect music to try and work out what is meant to go somewhere. a person with no musical talent and no musical teachings can know in themselves what something should sound like or what chord comes next from sheer experience. but more importantly music should be something very real and should come from within, when i hear music it generates some emotion within me. i can then take that emotion and put it to music, not because certain notes need to be played in certain places but moreso because t feels right to me to put them there. maybe im sounding pretentious on this but really i dont care, that’s how i feel, music cant and should not be confined by structures but rather emancipated by our emotions.
i don’t know why i thought to write a blog about writing music maybe i needed to examine the idea myself but i hope you understand now how i do what i do. i suppose the one thing it doesn’t answer is why i do it, and quite frankly i don’t know, maybe its my way of releasing myself and my emotions or maybe its a way to express myself, but mainly i think i just enjoy doing it. i should probably thank certain people here that i write with and who help me with my music, mainly jim morgan, ronan mccann and brian murphy, my brothers in Half-State and of course the aforementioned elva kenna who i play it, and kellie o’reilly who i have written for and ken mahon, an artist and cartoonist who has continuously fed this monstrous ego of mine by requesting music from me and by just going on about how he enjoys my music, thanks guys.
while i’m blogging about music at the mo i think i’ll answer one of those questions that everyone asks themselves from time to time and is of course batted around amongst friends a plenty, who would be in your supergroup, so i think i may as well answer that now, as i’ve nothing else to be doing with my day.
on lead guitar and vox and anything else that takes his fancy(mandolin, sax, piano, etc), there can only be one choice for me, Rory Gallagher
it should be noted that this is the reason i play a fender strat. the man is just a king of the electric guitar but was also more than able to sling an acoustic, he could play it all from blues and folk to trad and spanish, also an outstanding slide guitarist and brilliant no holds barred showman. rory will continue to be one of the worlds great unrecognised talents, but to those in the know he is a god, counting, eric clapton, jimmy page and muddy waters amongst his many fans, brian may of queen also credits rory with giving him his sound and is the reason why brian plays through a Vox AC30.
on the other guitar i have to include my personal hero, in no way is he the greatest guitar player in the world but none other has influenced me or my sound as much so i have to include peter hayes from BRMC
well as far as im concerned he is one of the great effects masters going and his simplicity is staggering, the wall of noise he creates is a true sound to behold, also a great slide player and songwriter and outstanding acoustic players. not the worlds greatest showman as he is himself a shy yet rather charming individual. you might think putting two lead guitarists in would be a bit much but no way i could ignore either of these guys so they’re both in there
on bass guitar would be one half of the greatest beards in music, ZZ Tops Dusty Hill.
not technically the finest bassist in the world but i doubt there is many with a better driving bass sound and certainly very which come close to being as loud and powerful a tone as ZZ Tops man
on drums i’m going for a more obscure character than the usual names thrown around this guy has played with everyone but is best known as the drummer in Bob Dylan’s current lineup, i am talking about new orleans’ george recile
george has played with everyone whose anyone in the music industry, rolling stones, john prine hell even cindy lauper. he plays with incredible intricacy and has amazing time keeping with a brilliant change of tempo, but when he really needs to pound them you feel every single beat. heres george playing with bob in 2010
so ye, those are the guys i’d have in my supergroup, theres been plenty left out of this impossible lineup but i stand by my choices
this was a statement thrown at me recently whilst discussing some classic old school bands, i think pink floyd were the order of the day. this however led me to question the statement that there’s no good music anymore. as many of you know i’m a big fan of the older music, right back to the earliest blues records through to the great rock and roll of the seventies. the thing is that once you start to delve into the music from by gone generations we see that most chart music in the post war era is fairly dross. there was good stuff in the charts in the same way there is now, but the really great stuff like today was all around and sometimes required a bit of digging. right through the ages theres been the pumped manufactured micro pop, of one hit wonders and record companies forcing the fiscal issue, but there will always be great music out there so i’ve decided to fight this question by looking at some of my favourite bands and artists that i feel disprove the theory that modern music is shit.
i’m going to start by looking at a band which you may dismiss as modern considering they’ve been around for about 10 years now, but i feel that this is modern enough for the debate, this is of course my favourite band of all time, the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
these guys are for me the current embodiment of rock and roll. last year i saw them on back to back nights and it was just outstanding both dates. while these guys have a very old school sound due to the huge influence of blues on them they still stand as a modern sounding band. they burst onto the scene in the early 2000s with their debut albuum BRMC and hits such as “spread your love” and “whatever happened to my rock and roll”
since then the hits dried up for BRMC as their brand of music is not exactly chart friendly especially after their falling out with record label RCA and a foray into folk music for their brilliant third album “Howl” which showed the versatility of this great band. howl was follwed up by “Baby 81” a stunning album containing some of the bands best work. after the departure of Nick Jago; leah shapiro was drafted in on drums and added a new dimension to the band for their most recent album “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” an album which shows they can continue to grow and proves that there is still great rock and roll out there.but it’s not all balls to the wall all of their albums mix in some acoustic majesty usually by way of peter hayes and his acoustic guitar, “Beat the devils tattoo” contains my favourite of these, “the Toll”
just beautiful, i could also include devil’s waiting, in fact i think i will
from rock and roll i’ll wander over to something more sedate. the low anthem.
i first heard the low anthem last year an album called “Oh my god Charlie Darwin”. this is a particularly fine example of the art of not sticking to one genre. the album starts with the beautful Song “charlie Darwin”
featuring wonderful falsetto vocals and melodies, “charlie Darwin” has become one of my favourite songs for just about any mood. theres a couple of other tracks on this brilliant album which fit this mould and i’d be quite happy to sit and listen to an album as such, however midway through the album it goes all bombastic and electric guitars and drums and banjos on “the horizon is a beltway” and tom waits cover in “home I’ll never be “. their most recent album “Smart Flesh” very much follows this pattern as we go from the sublime of “Ghost Woman Blues” to the ridiculous as such of “Boeing 737”. to put them in a global context they have vocal harmonies at times to put Crosby Stills and Nash to shame before they move onto equally the dynamics of any rock and roll band of the past in spite of their stature as an acoustic three piece.
perhaps now would be a good time to bring up one of the finest modern songwriters and one of my favourite performers of all time, Mr. Josh Ritter.
starting off as a country singer in the great style of john prine josh ritter has always had a fantastic gift for lyrics, he has developed musically as his career progessed, hitting his very peak with the astonishingly good album “The Animal Years” admitedly his most recent album “So runs the world away” was strikingly poor by his standards it still contained elements of his brilliance with likes of “Lark” and “Another new World”. i will instead so focus on monster ballads. this contained the minor hit of girl in the war a stunning piece of poetry wrapped in simplistic music that touches tha heartstrings, this is what josh does best. he is a fine troubador and has been hailed with comparisons to bob dylan and bruce springsteen one of my favourite tracks on “Animal Years” is “monster Ballads”
a lovely country song with a marvellous build up and melody. the album also contains the bareness of “Idaho” with the power and fun and dynamics of “wolves” everything that interlopes this album is special especially Josh’s magnificent “Thin Blue Flame” a power piece of poetry and political commentary. the album that followed the animal years was not as good as its predecessor but was still a brilliant album in its own right and includes everything you expect from josh with majestic music and heart warming lyrics, it also includes arguably his greatest song “Temptation of Adam” a beautiful post apocalyptic love song which i include here for your pleasure
I’ll Stick with the Songwriters for now and throw and eye over Ray LaMontagne.
i first heard this guy back in 2006 on some program on Channel 4 and immediatly order his debut album “trouble” and to say it’s brilliant. track after track of pure gold song writing of the finest variety. much like josh he has gained and improved with his music with each album as he becomes more ambitious however “Trouble” remains my favourite album of his and this is mainly due to the wonderful “jolene” which was recently played over the credits of Ben Afflecks “the town”
this however is only one of the many beautful songs which ray has created. sometimes he strikes deep into your heart and tears the flesh from your bones with the crushing power of the likes of “Burn” or “let it be me” two of my favourite songs of heartbreak, both gorgeous and plain and telling and true, but he will also pick it with rock and roll and go bombastic with the likes of “three more days” or “you are the best thing” ray is easily one of the finest out there and people should look out for him.
i’ll move back to bands now and talk about a great cadres of performers from portland oregon, the decemberists
these guys are great there is very little more to say about them, for all the accolades being thrown ath “mumford and sons” or decembersits lite as they should be known these guys blow them out of the water, and well they’re insane as “the Mariners revenge song” proves, this is actually one of my favourite pieces of musical story telling, its whimsical and funny and something that, dylan cohen or waits would be equally proud of, in fact im not gonna say any more, i think everything that needs to be said about the briliance of these guys is available here
yes they are very much insane
the last band i will look at here is the hold steady
i first heard these guys supporting the rolling stones at slane a couple of years back and then really got into them after hearing “Stuck between Stations” on MLB 2k8, i then went out and purchased the “Boys and Girls in America” album. and lets just say these guys really rock. they are a sound unto themselves and i now have all their albums and none of them disappoint. while they don’t venture with their sound much, this is not a problem as it is a very gripping and catchy sound, indeed having seen them live recently in a sold out room of their fans it must be said that it was one of the most engaging shows i’ve been to, i’ve been throwing over in my mind what i should put here for your listening pleasure as there is just too many tracks i want to but i think i’ll settle on my favourite
what i like about these guys is that it is unashamedly pure rock and roll, but the band are well, not exactly fitting the bill, but hell they may not look the part but they certainly play it. while i’ve stated that their sound is fairly set, they do vary from time to time with the crushingly sweet, “First Night” or the blues infused “both Crosses” twi great tracks, which really help break up the rock and roll of their respective albums, but its the rock and roll where these guys really make their bread and butter just a truely great catchy band, with some brilliantly indept lyrics looking at youth culture, just an excellent band, also when i saw them craig (lead singer) bid happy birthday to a member of the crowd after a fan emailed them asking him to do so, great guys and a great band.
theres a few others that i could mention here but i feel i’m probably boring you so i’ll let it slide for now, i hope you’ve enjoyed what i’ve put up and i hope you now know why there is hope for music still
This post is in relation and response to a thought me and my colleague rob (http://marshavin.wordpress.com/) were discussing in work the other day. what would be our personal world footballing XI the question here is not who are the best players in the world but rather our own preference if we could put a team together who would it include. so i’ve decided in my boredom to do that now starting from the goalkeeper moving forward i’ll give you my favourite XI.
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus, Italy. for a very very long time buffon was the best ‘keeper in the world in spite of spanish claims that the flap-a-holic dropper of a midget iker casillas was. NO, buffon has been the best since the retirement of oliver khan. But i do feel buffons days are numbered as the planets top net minder, a tag that i would place at the feet of lyon’s hugo Lloris for the time being. but my love of buffon will long outlast his glory days, he has always been an outstanding keeper as we saw at the 2006 world cup, he is also a fantastic leader on and off the pitch and was one of the superstars who vowed not to leave juventus after the caltropli scandal, but rather go down to serie B with the club he’d come to love. he may not be the best anymore but theres still few i could even consider before picking him.
notable mention: hugo Lloris, Roman weidenfeller, Edwin Van Der Sar, Shay Given
Right Full Back: Ignazio Abate, AC Milan, Italy. the second italian in the list after only two players but i think abate is a highly underrated full back, we must remember he comes from a club were full backs have always been of the highest quality and Abate is as good as any in the world at the moment, he gets up and down the line excellently and puts in great crosses as well as covering across his own back line very well, he is a hard working player and worth a nod in this position.
Left Full Back: Phillip Lahm, Bayern Munich, Germany. the munich and germany captain is probably the best full back in the world and to captain arguably the best national team in the world at such a young age is quite an achievement, but certainly a merited one. lahm can play on either side is not bad from a dead ball and can also play higher up in midfield he is again a great leader on the field and i think any team that would exclude him would be a greatly weakened team due to what he can bring to the table.
Centre halfves: Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United, Serbia. Ricardo Carvalho, Real Madrid, Portugal. for too long in the premiership these guys hid the failings of their english partners in defense. terry has been badly found out since the departure of the portuguese defender from chelsea and well if anyone wants to argue that there is a better defender in the world than vidic really needs to check their thoughts on football. both these guys are top footballers, vidic being stronger in the air but carvalho being probably the best footballing central defender since franco baresi. both these guys give 110% every game and play with tremendous pride and are easily my favourite defenders in the game today.
defensive/holding midfielders: Danielli DeRossi(captain), Roma, Italy. Scott Parker, West Ham, England. to anyone who knows me, the inclusion of DeRossi should be no surprise he has for a very long time been my favourite player. nobody in the game today plays from the heart more than the future roma club captain. he plays with his heart on his sleeve and works as hard as anybody in the game. hes a tough tackler but passes the ball both long and short with tremendous beauty and will also score some wonderful goals. as many before that i’ve selected he is an immense presence on the pitch and a true leader and is my choice of captain. my choice of scott parker is perhaps surprising but he is worth picking for that tackle on joe cole alone, but of scott i think its fair to say he should be included in the nominations of the FA’s player of the year, because quite frankly without him safety may already be out of site for west ham but he has dragged them kicking and screaming into a position from where they may yet escape, and my god how he hits a ball in front of goal.
Central midfield: Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal, Spain. the maestro. watching the arsenal captain over the past two years has been a thorough joy. his movement on and off the ball is magnificent and as far as passing goes hes just about the best in the game. i dont have all that much to say about cesc other than his playing really does the talking on this and it requires no explaination.
notable midfield mentions, Simoni Perotta, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Gennaro Gatusso, Andrea Pirlo
Left Winger: David Villa, Barcelona, Spain. perhaps an odd choice you may think as Villa is certainly considered mor of a striker than a winger but this is of course a very attack minded winger position which would allow villa get forward as much as possible. this is a guy who is just about the best goal scorer in the world at the moment and will always get you goals. he also goes about his job with minimal fuss and unlike many of his spanish counterparts fights hard to stay on his feet.
Right Winger: Lionel (leo) Messi, Barcelona, Argentina. what hasn’t been said about messi that can still be said. he continues to astonish me with just the most amazing of ability and balance, audacity and effort. i’m actually gonna leave it at that there is nothing left to be said for him, he is the worlds finest.
striker: Robin Van Persie, Arsenal, Netherlands. RVP’s return from injury this year has been phenomenal. he has been unstoppable in the premier league scoring goals from all over, vollies, headers individual efforts link ups, he’s also lethal from a set piece and has the most vicious left footed shot in the game. RVP also does a lot of things that go unnoticed of a striker, the way he moves players out of position and how he brings his team mates into the game and works situations out. he is strong in the air and can certainly pass a ball. Van Persie has got his dark streak but then again he’s not the only player in my list that has so im willing to forgo what he does wrong with what he gets very right.
so thats my team a sorta 4-5-1/4-3-3 type effort. would be strong all through the pitch provided the team finished with 11 players which i dont see happening every game
dsingo 