Cheryl's Healing Harmonies! 24/6/13

Image compliments of Patrick Duddy Photography

Cheryl-Ann McEvoy is a new young talent whose name is becoming increasingly known in the City’s Music scene. Cheryl started playing as a result of having an operation on her hand. She used the movement and practice as therapy in her healing.  

“It was about three years ago I started playing guitar. I had an operation on my hand and it was really just to make my hand start to move. My daddy’s guitar was always sitting around the house and to start with I tried to play it and played the same old ‘Smoke on the Water’ or ‘Teenage Kicks’ and then I thought that I really did want to learn. I kind of fell in love with it. My daddy’s been everywhere with music so it’s always been running in the family. Then coming to the Tech in September 2010 brought out my confidence. I was able to get up in front of people and start singing properly. Started writing songs, the Tech gave me the confidence to start writing. Now it’s like the yin and yang, everywhere you see me there’s a guitar somewhere, it’s pretty much everything that I do now.”

As any proud father would Cheryl’s dad went out to buy a guitar as a present to encourage her but it wasn’t quite what Cheryl expected. “My first guitar, I cringe about it all the time, was pink! I hate pink! Anyone that knows me, knows I hate pink. It was pretty cringy but I got up and sang with that then. That one actually got broken by accident and then my daddy gave me his, it’s really old so that meant a lot to him that I was playing it.  My daddy thought it would be class, because I was a girl to have a pink guitar. I came down one morning, a Christmas morning and it was sitting there. I was like ‘Aw, that’s nice, it’s pink but it’s nice’. It was a lovely guitar, just pink but I ended up with his and I still have his now, it’s the only one I use.”

Cheryl’s attachment to the guitar her dad gave her grew when the original owner of the instrument passed away last year. “The guitar belonged to a friend of his, Seamus McBrearty. He was a golfer so the guitar just sat about the house. He sold it to my daddy and the next thing was he died then, last year. There would be a bigger emotional attachment to that. That guitar is the only guitar I can write with, I couldn’t write with anything else, I get memo blocks. It’s the only one I can actually put music to songs with.”

Like many students leaving school Cheryl was faced with the decision of heading off to uni or staying at home. She chose staying at home and concentrating on her music. “Rocket ship was written on the back of an envelope. I was playing on going to uni this year and my acceptance letter, the envelope that was in it was huge, from Cambridge like so it was one of those big letter saying ‘Do Not Bend’ and all that. I started getting idea in my head and I’ve always had a thing for rocket ships and I thought ‘Right, I’m going to write a song about a rocket ship’ and it just sort of came out. At the minute, here in Derry there’s a lot going on for music, there’s a lot of people being seen about like SOAK and different people. It’s not somewhere at the moment that’s being overlooked in the music scene. People are still making it big, look at The Clameens now making a start. It’s that process of going from your home town and getting there from your home town is far better than trying to find it somewhere else. It means more if you’re coming from your home town I think.”

Studying music at the North West Regional College has seen Cheryl’s song writing and confidence come on leaps and bounds. She’s now in a band and will soon be releasing an EP.

“Studying music now, first year of music finished, second year next year. It was class, the amount of people I met and the amount of musical ideas that have come out of Tech were amazing. Started writing a lot of stuff too for the band that we’re in ‘Don’t Get Personal’ , I’m kinda the front woman of that. There’s a lot going on. I’m going into the recording studio soon so we’ll get that EP out as soon as possible.

I do a lot of cover stuff and that’s how I fund my own stuff. I bought a wee home studio, especially for writing, maybe not for recording and doing my EP on but anytime I write something I would record it straight away.  My gigs are funding that, I don’t do any full original gigs yet because I want to have a full set that I’m able to do. I do a lot of stuff my own way and use the open mic nights to play my own tunes.”

Cheryl is running an open mic night for singer/songwriters and musicians similar to herself every Tuesday Night in Masons. It will offer a platform to people like Cheryl who may not have enough material to fill an entire gig with original music but who still want their music to be heard.

Paul Tully: New Man from Strabane! 3/6/13

Image Compliments of CG Photographics

Paul Tully of Strabane is proving to be another great talent well worth keeping an eye on. His singer songwriter style and great lyrics are to be showcased in his coming EP this Summer. With a single also due out next month things are really starting to become exciting for Paul musically. His song writing didn’t initially take off until Paul began playing piano and guitar he says,  

 “Just started playing when I was about 14 or 15 in local bands back in Strabane, kept playing from there, started writing songs and then that broke. I kept writing songs and been doing that ever since. At school, there’s a lot of brass band in Strabane so I started playing trombone, done piano, I got into that way. Started to gain interest in guitar and that kind of thing then and started writing songs from there.”

With most multi-instrumentalists there can be a preference of which instrument to write with and it seems Paul is no different.  “At the minute I like sitting down at the piano but it’ll change, it just depends what’s coming out at the time and then if there’s a good song there you’d work on it then, it’s usually the piano, sitting down at the piano. Whenever there’s an ad during the break of a show I’ll sit there and see if something comes out. It’s one of the two, sometimes it’s the guitar, sometimes the piano, at the minute it’s the piano. The trombone got neglected a while ago, after school finished I did it for a few more years and I haven’t done it since. You have to do stuff at the weekends ya know and I’d rather be rocking out than playing in a brass band, came down to that eventually.”

Paul sums-up his musical style using some other massively successful singer/songwriters as examples of influences that have encouraged him along the way. “It’s just sort of acoustic music, it’s very Ryan Adams, Glen Hansard, they’d be the biggest influences for myself, I don’t know if that comes through, for me, that’s who I’d look up to. Damien Rice too, when that ‘O’ album came out that was a big turning point, I think everybody listened to that. That’s what made me think, ‘I want to go down that path’ so that’s how I’ve ended up writing the kind of music I do. At the minute I’m into the likes of Tom Waits stuff on the Piano so I be looking at him and seeing what he’s doing. Things like, I haven’t done it yet but he’d change up his voice and stuff like that. I haven’t got that far yet but if the songs start getting monotonous or you feel like you want to go somewhere else, why not? Change it up a bit.”

Something that has been picked up early from his idols by Paul is the importance of being adaptable as a performer and not being afraid to change things up. “It’s always an avenue to look at when you see these guys change it up, you write a certain type of song and all right, that might be good and they sound good or whatever and you’re happy with them but after while you might want to change it up. If it’s only you with a piano, it’s only you on your own. So it’s things like and that seeing what they’re writing about and they’re always writing about their own experiences. I just try and be honest with myself, if you can honest about yourself and your life and try and write songs about that people can relate to it. If people can relate to something it’s happy days, if they can’t relate I don’t think there’s much point.”

In his writing Paul expresses a lot of emotion and delves into the stories of his own life experiences as many writers do. Not so much now, but when he was younger Paul was sometimes weary of sharing that part of himself with others. “When I was younger, I used to a lot. I think everybody goes through that a bit but then once I got over that the song just seemed to grab people a bit more. If you’re really lying it on the line, don’t get me wrong, you can’t be too specific but I try and be as honest as I can without being too specific, keeping it general again there’s more for people to relate to. People might like it or not but that’s the way I’m feeling, if that song seems right doing it that way rather than sugar coating it with a pile of nice adjectives, the hardest thing is getting the simple language.”

A great deal of the aim for his music is the achievement of good honest and simplistic lyrics in order to make the music more accessible but also more relatable. “That song, Reign Down Your Love On Me, very honest. I suppose when you’re younger you’re reckless and you do things you don’t intend to because you’re young, you burn bridges, do some stupid things. The first line is ‘Forgive me for all the things I’ve done’. That was just wrote down on a note book, on the iphone, or on a book when I was away and then I just put some music to it. I think people can relate to that, I've got my own specific thing but you say that opening line it can mean a while lot of different things to different people, and I think that’s important to connect with somebody otherwise what’s the point?”

For anyone who’d like to take a listen, and I advise you do, links are available from www.facebook.com/paultullymusic  for Soundcloud where you can hear the already mentioned ‘Reign Down Your Love On Me’ amongst many other tracks. However, Paul is holding his cards close to his chest on the remainder of the EP so you’ll have to sit tight and grab a copy later in June or July. “My friend, Peter Doherty in Strabane, we sit down, we might not have the world’s best equipment but Pete’s a whizz at that, he’s great. It’s all about getting the vibe and if you get what you want to say across. You can get lost in all the technology of it. I think if you have something to say it’s best to get it across. I think there will be 4 or 5, maybe 5 or 6, you get your money’s worth anyway. There’s one more track to record and then another we guitar and voice song but the single ‘Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine’ that’s getting finished up now, should be out next much because it’s nearly finished, we just have to get covers and all that sorted.”

Paul will be performing at a few up and coming festivals locally but they are to be confirmed so watch online for further updates.

Johanna's Music Maneuver! 9/5/13

Image compliments of GC Photographics

Johanna Fegan is a bit of a local legend when it comes to the music scene in the city. Her power house vocals do not fail to impress alongside her stage energy and plain raw talent. Johanna has now revealed that after years of hard girl rock she’s looking to her softer side and things are due to mellow out. Johanna began playing music while still at primary school picking up the guitar at the tender age of 8. Immediately she was writing songs but didn’t fancy herself as a singer from the start.

“I developed song writing buzz, started writing a few wee tunes but never thought of myself as a singer but I loved writing. When I was in secondary school in St. Mary’s I wrote a few tunes, one was called ‘Opening number’, ‘No Denial’ and I would just play them on my own. I used to hound my best friend at the time and get her to listen to them but some of them would be while dark and morbid and she would be like: “What are you writing that for?”. 

Even then I still didn’t even think, you know I thought I had a decent enough voice. I used to sit and sing up in my room, like 4 Non Blondes and stuff like that and my mammy would be coming up the straight all: “Would you stop that singing! Everybody can hear ye from down the street!”. So I used to mess about with those kinds of songs, loved the Cranberries. My writing became that type of style.”

Turning her hand to arts of another direction Johanna was interested in acting but funnily enough it was through her performance arts that she really discovered she wanted to do music. “I went to lower sixth and then left to join performance arts because I was more into being an actress at the time. I wanted to go to America and all and do all that craic. I just thought my singing and guitar playing was just a hobby. When I went  performing arts I sang for my audition and I ended up playing my guitar for everyone else to do their auditions so I had awe bit of confidence then because everyone was all: ‘That’s brilliant, you picked that up really quick’ and I was thinking, so I did. One of the tutors David McGookin, he thought I had a really good voice along with my other two tutors Ann and Pauline. He worked with part of the popular music section in the tech and he was all: “Look, I’d love you to record something”. There was one wee place called Church House and there was this wee group of boys and they were working with our show. They were in a really good band called ‘Price’ and they were tight and did all Skunk Anansie and proper rock and that. There were two female singers and we used to go and watch them in the Bound For, I used to just want to be in that band. He had decided to ask them to do the music for my CD, he wanted me to record my own songs. We all ended up recording three of my songs and it sounded really good, that just sent me off on one then, I wanted to do music after that. Then the two girls that were in the band had to leave for uni and that. The boys asked me to join the band, so after that then I was all into rock, girl rock, Alanis  Morissette, No Doubt, Skunk Anansie, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, anything kind of heavy that was my thing, it still kind of is.

Of course with these kind of influences it’s no surprise that the sound Johanna was pitching for was a strong gutsy female vocal but now she’s finding her softer side. “I learnt to sing aggressively because Skunk Anansie, she was a big idol to me. It’s only now, years down the line, 15 years down the line I’m kind of teaching myself to soften up and get more nice softer, more mature , to drag something out from within myself rather than shouting and screaming like a teenager. So, taking a different approach to things now, a lot more mellow in my old age.”

Her journey to a more melodic style of vocal has seen Johanna on a path of discovery of what she is actually capable of. “I’m not smoking anymore so I’m finding I can get those wee notes so I’m really enjoying discovering my voice again, which is exactly what it’s like. It’s like I’m discovering parts of it I’ve never ever been introduced to before because I’ve always been a smoker. Since I joined bands and even after gigs I’d end up wrecking my voice because I had never learned how to warm it up properly until about three years ago, I was just hardcore. I never ever took care of my talent and my throat and stuff. Now at this stage it’s like I’m learning everything I should’ve learnt back then but it’s good, like a new lease of life. I’m a lot more protective now, not as open. When I was younger up until a few years ago I used to give my whole life away through songs. Whether people knew that or not I don’t know, I knew it. In some ways that has helped younger females which gives me back so much, it really does but now I just feel like I want this for me. I want to get real, I want to figure out what my strong parts are and what I enjoy. Times have changed and people are singing differently and I want to evolve with that, not to fit in but to replenish and find myself and touch all elements. I want to be a proper singer and writer. I have found dynamically it can take things to another level. I’ve sat and written more songs but because they’re slower and I’m not giving it the bit, I kind of doubt myself a wee bit in it. Are they going to be as good? Until I’m ready to put them out there and get the reaction then I’ll kind of know myself, it’ll confirm things with me but I’m liking it and I like the change and I’m finding that it’s a change that isn’t just physical it’s internal too. It’s a progression and it’s happening because of the way I’m feeling inside wanting to evolve.

Johanna has mentioned that the all new style won’t be unleashed straight away but rather will be something that will come with time and only when she’s ready. However, there may be a sneaky peak sooner than expected. She will play tonight at Sandinos as part of the IU SHE charity night which is raising funds to help Child Victims of Sex Trafficking in Asia. A worthy cause and great entertainment so do not miss out.

Laura B's Big Voice! 30/4/13

Image property of Aoife White

Laura B is a fairly new singer/songwriter to the music scene in Derry. Most recently Laura B performed at a night full of local talent where artists where filmed in order to have a chance to take part in the “It’s Happening” festival, a two day event over the 11&12 of May.

Laura got started in music a little later than usual but it didn’t take her long to decide she would pursue it and see what happens. “It all kind of started when I did a transition year in school, I never did music before and I picked that and started teaching myself guitar. I was always fairly shy and doing all the different activities and stuff I built up my confidence. I tried my hand at playing guitar and I liked it. I always liked singing but you always kind of need an instrument to back yourself up.”

Continuing her music at school, Laura spread her wings into the world of gigging very early.  “Then I thought I’d do it for leaving cert and I got an A so I decided to do a bit of giggin as well. There’s an organization for young people down in Moville called the Up Scene and I started giggin with them and built up a bit of confidence. 

Mainly I started before Christmas, started writing my own songs and giggin with other artists like Susie-Blue. Been coming on leaps and bounds and doing a bit of recording as well. It’s about two or three years ago but I’ve only been getting serious about it in the last year and a half and building myself up. I’ve noticed myself getting better, changing poems into songs and that kind of thing. I always used to write poems, just adapting them musically. It’s a good way of expressing myself. 

I tend to get a wee notebook whenever I’m feeling annoyed or whatever and jot it down and then just make it a song. Any kind of feelings, happy, worried, strong emotions that you need to get down on paper.”

Feedback from local music followers has given Laura more confidence in her performing and her songwriting abilities. She explains how the Derry music scene in particular has been a comfort where she can learn from other musicians. “People have given me feedback about it being catchy or saying they really liked it. Some will say they noticed the lyrics are really kind of deep or whatever and that’s what I like to hear because whenever you’re singing songs to people in bars, like your own songs, you are really afraid about people not liking it. It’s your own work so you’d be more conscious of it where as when you’re singing covers that’s not your own song so you don’t really mind. It’s relaxed in Derry. It’s nice to see all the different musicians because you learn stuff from them and it’s always handy that if your friends are musicians you can go do gigs with them. It’s a nice wee community of people that are like yourself. I’m from Greencastle originally but play mainly in Derry. I would do regular slot in Ruddins in Moville but mainly in Derry because I go up to college here. I do the Bound for Boston with Susie-Blue and any open mics that are around. I’m trying to get myself known so I can get more proper gigs about Derry as well .”

Having listened to Laura B perform there is no doubt that her voice carries a lot of power. It’s controlled in such a way that she doesn’t give everything away to begin with but when that song goes for the emotion so does Laura. “I’ve been described as sounding a wee bit like Regina Spektor, Jilly St John’s compared me to her. Last week at the singer/songwriting competition in Moville I was described as sounding a bit like a young Edel because my voice was kind of powerful. I didn’t place but there was a lot of people involved and there was about 15 that had gotten through to the final. My friend Jack Craig came second. It’s always good to get the live experience I mean every gig’s different but live is more atmospheric.”

More atmospheric indeed! If you’d like to hear some more you can hear Laura’s demos online at http://www.reverbnation.com/laurab3 or on her Facebook Laura B Music. I recommend seeing this artist live as the energy that comes with the live setting is conveys Laura’s true talent and potential.

There are to be more professional recordings coming up soon and Laura is hoping to be possibly bringing out an EP of her own music. “I’m hopefully going to release one in the summer. I’m working on it now. I have the songs ready, it’s just a matter of getting them recorded and getting everything ready. Maybe even a launch in the summer time. In a year hopefully I’ll be a bit more better known and playing a few festivals like Stendhall and Glasgowbury and stuff like that, keep it small so there’s something to build upon.”

Hats off to this Comrade! 22/4/13

Image compliments of Paul fox

Neil Burns is a local singer/songwriter and composer. You can see him perform tonight at Sandinos
as part of the singer/songwriter night upstairs. Neil started off playing music at a young age and
ended up studying music extensively as well as taking on an alter ego name ‘Comrade Hat’ for the
delivery of his songs. Neil explains in full how he’s come to this stage.

“We had a piano in the house, it was a sort of a family heirloom type thing, it was banjaxed and my parents got it fixed up. Nobody in my family could play so they sent me to lessons, that was the beginning of my involvement in music and then I got to like it. I got very interested in playing by ear and started to pick tunes out and everything. I was a lot more enthusiastic about doing that than I was about practising scales and pieces and things at that age."

I taught myself a lot I think, I did all the ‘by the book’ stuff as well and I started, when I was a bit older, going through the exams but I just liked playing things and picking out tunes. I was picking out Irish folks tunes, we had a sort of odd record collection in the house, mostly classical really to be honest and I don’t have any brother or sisters or anything. Then I did music, studied music in school, picked up the guitar somewhere along the way and played the violin a bit too, a bit of everything. When I was at school at about 14 I started a band called ‘Imperial Blether’ and we never formally split up as such we just sort of drifter
our separate ways. At the same time as doing that I was doing serious musical study. I did A Level music and then I went to university to do music because it just was the path. I wouldn’t say it was
expected of me it was just the natural thing to do. So I did that and then I got interested in composing when I was doing that as well, classical, apart from just song writing which I’d been doing for years anyway. I ended up staying on and did a PhD in composition. So I’ve two sides to what I do one is the serious composing, whatever you want to call it. I’m doing a project the year actually for the City of Culture. It’s a sound-scape piece collecting sounds from around Derry and assembling them into some kind of music that you can listen to on headphones as you walk around, that’s the concept. I have that sort of avant-garde side of things which I do that’s Neill Burns. I created the Comrade Hat thing as a vehicle for my song writing really and to have a bit of fun.”

‘Comrade Hat’? Where did that name come from? Neil has a child hood friend to thank for the
inspiration. “It’s my alter ego as a songwriter and performer. When I was about 11 I had this hat
that, it was actually from Hog Kong but it was like one of those old soviet sort of ones, Russian ones
and there was a guy in school jest thought it was funny and called me Comrade Hat. I kind of forgot
about it and then years later, after Imperial Blether it wound down and I wanted to start doing songs
again myself and I didn’t have a band so I revived this name as a solo project.”

As well as doing his own recordings at home Neill is now also looking forward to a little studio time
and releasing something that is a little more polished. “I’ve been working on my studio debut which
is going to be an EP really which should be out before the Summer, it’s almost finished. I’ve been
working on that for a while. At the same time I’ve also been working my way through archiving and
completing loads of home recordings because I’ve been working away at stuff myself for years. I’m
more or less just finished a song today that I’m hoping to get up before the weekend, up online on
my Bandcamp page. I realised an album last year which again was a compilation of home demos
from the past couple of years and I’ve also realised a couple of EPs. I released 3 Christmas EPs, over
four years because I skipped one year, I think I was busy. I kind of just made them as a bit of fun
really and for presents for friends and family for Christmas but I put them out there anyway for people to experience and they’re all up there online if you feel like Christmas in July.”

As well as performing tonight there will be other opportunities to see Neil play and sing locally. “The
Inishowen Gospel choir, which is another thing I do, we’re doing a concert in Derry in the Glassworks
in May with various local artists, they’ll sing a couple of their own songs with us. I’m going to be
performing one of my own songs at that with the choir backing.”

The arrangement that Neil has as backing has somewhat become an unofficial band with a core of
members. “It started just with me recorded songs on the laptop and that sort of just evolved into
more of a loose band arrangement working with various musicians. It’s become more of a band.
There’s two or three people who I work with regularly and then some other people I bring in for
other bits and pieces. It’s informal that way but there is a core. Rohan Armstrong plays double bass
and electric bass for us, I’ve been playing with him for years actually in various projects and bands.
Gary Raymond, drummer, he’s based in Crandonagh for the past year or so. There’s a guy Padre Coll
who plays guitar with us sometimes too.”

There are a variety of sites to check out Neil’s music online, his Bandcamp page http://
comradehat.bandcamp.com/ has his album and EPs on it and there’s also his Soundcloud page http:/
/soundcloud.com/comradehat-1 which has more of an overview of what he’s produced. However
Neil warns that the stuff online is older material and quite eclectic in taste. Neil’s newer material
which has a heavier jazz influence hasn’t been released online yet so it’s definitely worth keeping an
eye so you can hear what exciting new path he’s taking. For updates check out his Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Comrade-Hat/170939696252814.

Susie-Blue on the Button! 1/4/13

Image compliments of Peter Sherlock

Susie-Blue is launching her second EP ‘Bits and Buttons’ this Friday at Café Soul! The local singer/songwriter has a lot in the pipeline with both performing and organising gigs locally and further afield. Susie-Blue will have the pleasure of providing support for her friend and peer, SOAK, at The Little Museum of Dublin tomorrow and Wednesday, both nights have sold out already!

Susie-Blue tells of how she first began to play music a few years after receiving a guitar as a present. “I’d say I was about 7 or 8 my daddy bought me like a wee half guitar or ¾ guitar for Christmas and I didn’t touch it until I was about 9 or 10. I moved from Belfast to Foreglen and then he started to teach me how to play. After that I just played guitar flat out. He taught me my first five chords and after that I just ran with it and tried to do as much as I could with it. I was learning other songs, well trying to, he taught me ‘Sloop John B’ by the Beach Boys. He used to play ‘House of the Rising Sun’ and when he was playing that I thought it was the most complicated song to play ever and I used to think ‘God, I’d really love to play that song, I have to learn how to play it.’ That was my goal.”

After reaching her first goal Susie-Blue went on to write her first original song at the age of only 15. “I wrote my first proper song when I had just turned 15. When I did that, for Christmas which was six months later my mummy and daddy booked me into a studio in Feeney to record two songs. That was my present and I was so happy, really buzzing. I went in and recorded Avril Lavigne’s Nobody's Home and did a piano cover of it. I was just learning piano at the time and it was awful. I also did the first song that I’d written, Memories; I don’t even play it anymore. I think it’s bad, my mum obviously loves it because it was the first song I’d written.”

Even though it was big step for Susie-Blue, she felt at ease in the new surroundings.  “It was weird, I felt natural in it, I really enjoyed it. I was still a bit shaky on guitar and piano, I was fifteen and had been playing for five years but never in front of anyone or anything. Then to play in front of this man who has a studio and plays guitar. It was nerve wrecking and I was sitting trying to play but it only took two takes to get the guitar part and one or two to get the piano as well.  I had only just been learning to play piano, Eoin O’Callaghan of Best Boy Grip taught me how to play in school.”

Susan Donaghy was the name left behind for the new identity of ‘Susie-Blue’ but this was a transition she felt was necessary. “There’s a strand of songs that I don’t play. They’re all on YouTube except for Memories, that’s not on YouTube. Songs like ‘Fallen’, ‘Pressure’ and others that are on YouTube under ‘Susan Donaghy’ and to me they’re nothing to do with Susie Blue, they’re more just me when I was starting out. There are some good hooks in them but I wouldn’t tamper with them or change them and leave them where they are. The songs I have now are the ones I was writing when I set out to become Susie Blue. I did gig as Susan Donaghy for a while and played the likes of Internal Woman’s Day with my friend. I was really shy though and I think I needed to take myself out of the equation and put in like a character and a stage presence where I could talk on stage and be more open on stage because it wasn’t actually me. It feels like you’re not putting yourself out there as much because it’s under a different alias. I think I understand now why people pick stage names, it’s easier to make a page and say when you’re playing, if someone doesn’t show up then I’m grand when I go home, Susie Blue might be a bit hurt when she’s sitting at the gig.”

Susie-Blue explains how she went on to organise nights for other acts, particularly those who may not have had the opportunity to play otherwise. “Les, the owner of the Bound for Boston, saw me at the Battle of the Bands where I came third. That opened up a good few opportunities for me. That encouraged Sean Woods from Birchwood Recording Studio to record my next EP. The Les said he like  me to organise a night with my name on it where it’d be my night and I’d get the acts and he would step back and give me full control of it. I thought it was great because then I could get in acts that don’t really get a chance anywhere else. I found the Bound For Boston really hard to get into initially, thank God for the Battle of the Bands, I think they’re great to introduce bands and singer to bars where they’re looking for acts. For example, I’ve got a girl playing who never plays anywhere, the only way she would get to play was at open mic nights and stuff but because I’m organising this she’s getting to play. Her name’s ‘Wee Blue’, I’m excited to have her there to play.”

It’s going to be a busy week for Susie-Blue, The Little Museum of Dublin tomorrow and Wednesday, Susie-Blue Presents… in the Bound for Boston on Thursday and of course, not to be missed, the launch of ‘Bit’s and Buttons’ the new 3 track EP on Friday . Check out Café Soul for the launch starting at 8.30, £2 at the door but you can bring your own drinks. In the meantime have a listen online at http://susie-blue.bandcamp.com/.