New Song - Say Say

I finally got around to actually turning the lights back on in my recording studio and put some sounds to tape, or at least to hard drive. I have two songs that I had been working on earlier in the summer, but life got in the way, and I shelved them until the muse decided to re-visit. "Say Say", is a pretty straight ahead Rock/Pop song. Its quite an old song, I wrote it almost ten years ago, and recorded a few demos but I never really finished it. It didn't quite fit with the sound of any the bands I played in over the years, although I always played it when I did solo acoustic shows. I am trying to record some songs that have some commercial potential, so this was written with an eye to that. This is a very rough mix, I finished adding the harmonies over the weekend and did a quick mix so I could listen to the song outside the studio, in the car etc. The mix took very little time, which is a good omen. I still need to add some ear candy, and there is a 2 bar gap at 2:05. I left this to leave room for some creativity, and I plan on playing around with some ideas when I get back from a business trip to London next week.

As always, follow the link to listen to the song, (right click and "save as" to download), and let me know what you think!

Say Say

All rights reserved copyright John McDermott, Macca Records.

The Rock

Yet another Alcatraz photo. The blog has turned into a photo blog lately. I'm too busy to write anything at the moment, what creative energy I have left at the end of the work day is going into recording some new songs. I've also been practicing the guitar quite a bit, I have to play some classical pieces, (and I am not a classical player), at an upcoming wedding, and rehearsals with yet another new bass player in our band are ongoing.

Window to San Francisco

While walking around Alcatraz, I noticed this little window with a picture postcard view of San Francisco. I couldn't help but wonder if this was put there to torture the inmates, or to give them some hope. It was unusual in that there were no other similar windows in the building, and it was at face level, which also seems out of place in a prison, and it was so small it didn't let in much light. It seems it's only purpose was to provide a view of the city.

There weren't just visual stimuli, apparently on a still clear night the inmates could actually hear the revelers in North Beach.

Indians Welcome

Jail Bird

Its been a busy few weeks. My brother has been in town for a prolonged visit before he goes back to college to do a Master's. His trip here coincided with one of my college friends arriving for a week. Natasha and the kids were still on the east coast, so a rip roaring rampage of rambunctious revelry was had. Imbibing, ingesting, and inhaling were indulged in. By that I mean we ate some amazing food, began drinking in the late afternoon everyday, and I reverted to the occasional cigarette. Both my brother and Richie smoke so...
I took the week off and we did a lot of touristy stuff, which I really enjoyed. It's been a while since I saw San Francisco through the eyes of a tourist. One of the highlights was a trip to Alcatraz, which I have visited twice before, but it never gets old. The park service really bring the prison alive. It's a sobering place: an awful prison with the best views of one of the world's most beautiful cities. That must have sucked. Big time. The weather was amazing, and despite some major camera problems (I got dust all over my camera sensor and fixing it involved some open heart surgery on my Canon 30D - this deserves a post all on its own), I got great photos. The Rock is a haven for birds, and this seagull obligingly posed for me.

Nectar

I was trawling through my photos when I came across this from a trip to Ireland last year.

Luimneach Abu

Tomorrow, my cousin, Damien Reale, will captain Limerick in the All Ireland Hurling final against hurling giants, Kilkenny. Limerick has had quite the season, and if I believed in fate, I'd say that I feel the gods might favor us. The odds certainly don't. Paddy Powers has Kilkenny as 2-9 favorites. (bastards won't accept bets from American credit cards!). But given that Limerick were never supposed to beat Tipperary or Waterford, and showed great character in coming from behind against Tipp, maybe, just maybe, the Liam McCarthy cup (well used to the journey to Kilkenny), might take the less familiar route to Limerick. As a five year old, my parents took me to meet the victorious 1973 Limerick team as the paraded the cup down O'Connell Street, unfortunately I fell asleep while we awaited their arrival. I always remember the picture of that team, hanging on my grandparents wall for years afterwards. Little did they know that one of their grandchildren would lead another Limerick hurling team onto the hallowed ground that is Croke Park. 'Tis a pity they aren't around to see it. Good luck Damien and the rest of the lads.