Shamrock & Thistle
This
super value double CD pack of all of Shamrock & Thistle's recordings
is available for only £2.99 including UK mailing costs.
What
does your solo act consist of?
What does your duo act
consist of?
What
does your band consist of?
What's the benefit of booking your duo or band instead of your solo act?
What type of
music and songs do you play?
Do you work to a pre
arranged 'set list'?
Do
you use backing tracks?
Do you sing Irish rebel songs?
Can we
choose the songs played at the booking?
How can we hear what you
sound like?
Do
you sing your own songs at gigs?
Do you sound the
same live as on your albums?
How long do you play for?
Can you do pop covers like Snow Patrol, The Rolling Stones, etc?
How much does
it cost to book you as a solo?
How much does
it cost to book your duo or band?
How far do you travel to?
Do you play abroad?
When playing a residency do you play the same stuff every night?
Can we
come and hear you play before we book you?
Do you have your own PA
system?
How do
we enquire about booking you?
Do you back singers?
Do
you sing at funerals?
Do
you play at weddings?
How do we book and pay you?
Where can I buy your CDs or download
your music?
What does your solo act
consist of?
Myself, guitar and vocals with a PA.
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What does your duo act
consist of?
Yours truly on guitar and vocals with another
musician, usually a fiddle, accordion, or banjo player.
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What does your band consist of?
Me on guitar and vocals with two additional musicians such as a
fiddle, accordion, or banjo player.
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What's the benefit of booking your duo or band instead of your solo act?
The more musicians the fuller the sound, due to the additional
instruments. The added benefit is that a duo or band can also perform
Irish Jigs and Reels. But, the solo show is also very popular and
perfectly adequate for bars and small functions.
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What type of music
and songs do you play?
Essentially it's Irish but I can also
perform a
mixture to suit a more varied audience where needed. Best thing is to go
to my song-list to see exactly which songs can be included in my show.
With the duo and band we can also play traditional tunes, Jigs, Reels,
the Siege of Ennis etc.
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Do you
work to a pre arranged 'set list'?
No, I don't really believe
in them. I check out the crowd at the gig and try to play to their mood.
Each gig and crowd is different.
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Do you use backing tracks?
No, not my cup of tea. Nothing against them, but I very much prefer
the realness and feel of the live thing.
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Do you sing Irish Rebel songs?
ONLY when that's specifically requested by the person who books me. I definitely won't do
them in any environment where they will offend people. I can sing lots
and lots
of them including Kevin Barry, Sean South, Grace, Four Green Fields, Joe McDonnell, etc, To see
the songs I can do live, go to my song-list.
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Can we choose
the songs played at the booking?
Certainly, as long as it's
on my song-list. Just let me know at the time
of booking your preferences, but you can also let me know on the night. If you have a song
NOT on the list and it's a special song wanted for the night, let me
know at the time of booking and I'll do my best to learn it for you. Within reason of
course! Bohemian Rhapsody, Eminem numbers or Dancing Queen need not apply!
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How can we hear what you
sound like?
Just go to my samplers page.
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Do you sing your own songs
at gigs?
Yes, but mainly on request. The main part of my
standard gig is covers.
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Do you sound the same live as on your albums?
No, not really.
If I'm doing a solo it's very acoustic based and of course the melody
instruments on the albums are missing. It still works really well
though. When it's a duo or my full band it sounds fuller and closer to
the recordings.
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How long do you play for?
My normal gig is between 2 to 2.5 hours with a break. Weddings are
sometimes up to 3 hours. Working abroad is normally a minimum of 3 x 45
minutes sets. This is all clarified and written into your booking
contract at the time of booking.
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Can you do pop covers like Snow Patrol, The Rolling Stones, etc?
Hmmm, not really. I can do lots of country songs by Hank Williams,
John Denver, George Strait, George Jones, Garth Brooks, etc and a few
contemporary numbers by Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Oasis, Simon and Garfunkel,
Neil Diamond, The Eagles, etc, but apart from that it's mainly Irish. I
also offer a Disco add-on option for a reasonable fee for
weddings and
parties for music after the live show.
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How much does it
cost to book you as a solo?
It depends on where, when, how long,
etc. Best thing is to give me all the details via the
enquiry form and
you'll get a reply with availability and a quote very quickly. My solo
act is obviously the least expensive option.
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How much does
it cost to book your duo or band?
Again, it depends on where, when, how
long, etc. Best thing is to give me all of the details via the
enquiry
form and you'll get a reply with availability and a quote very quickly.
The more musicians I get to to work with me, the more it costs, but the
solo or duo is fine for the vast majority of gigs that I do.
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How far do you travel to?
As long as the terms are right I will travel anywhere on the planet from
Kilburn to California! I love what I do and I'm always up for new
experiences.
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Do you play abroad?
Yes, I
love to travel and always welcome enquiries from different countries. If
it's say, a bar in Lanzarote or Southern Spain, I'll need an in house pa
and accommodation provided. It's all negotiable so put the information
into the enquiry form and I'll get right back to you.
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When playing a residency do you play the same stuff every night?
Never. I do not plan ahead at any gig and work hard at playing to
the crowd on the night. Every night and every crowd is different. You
can win or lose an audience very quickly with the right or wrong songs.
I like to think that I have plenty of songs to vary the material each
night.
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Can we come
and hear you play before we book you?
If I am doing an open
gig yes, of course, just go to my news-gigs section to see where you can
hear me next. Most of my gigs these days are private, weddings, wakes, etc. If
the date is near, I can't of course guarantee that I'll still be free
for your date at the time you come along and perhaps want to book me.
The easiest way to hear me is to go to my samplers page
or view my live video.
Do
you have your own PA system?
Yes. I bring my own pa
to gigs except when the venue has one already, or I'm playing abroad. I
recently invested in the top notch BOSE L1S system with a B1 Bass
module, the power and quality is astonishing and more than enough for a
crowd of 300 or more. Click on the image below for the full details and
a video.
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How do we enquire about
booking you?
You can use the
enquiry form and I promise you
a speedy reply. You can also contact me by calling me via the number
provided on the contact page.
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Do you back singers?
Well
sometimes yes, but generally no. I only allow singers up on
very rare
occasions. It can be problematic for all sorts of reasons and I tend to
body-swerve it. If it's a wedding or private function where that's a
specific part of the bookers requirements, then it's not a problem.
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Do you sing at funerals?
Yes. I normally play alone with my acoustic guitar at the graveside or
at the service. I also play with my duo or band at functions afterwards
too. For more information visit my
funerals and wakes page.
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Do you play at weddings?
Yes, that's one of my fortes, I do lots throughout the year. Usually
that's a duo or trio affair. Visit my weddings page for more
information.
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How do we book and pay you?
When you book me it's contracted to include all of the details,
date, times, format, (even the songs required can be included) fee, etc.
I usually email the contract for you to sign, scan and return by email,
or if you like, you can sign and post it back to me. A deposit for
weddings or private functions is normal (approx 25% of the fee) with the
balance of the fee payable on the night. Actual payment can be paid by
BACS, PayPal using your
PayPal account,
credit or debit card. I also
take cheques.
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Where can I buy your CDs or
download your music?
They're available from lots of retail
websites and shops but the easiest way is to get them via my online
shop. You can also get lots of totally
FREE downloads!
Drumshanbo Exile is one of the most requested of my own songs at gigs and the lyrics are available here along with lots of my self penned recordings spanning the years.
My
work has changed a lot over the years. I started out at a time when the
Irish population in England was much larger. Once upon a time there were
scores of Irish music pubs across the country, with London seemingly
having one on every corner. There were also lots of Irish social clubs
and Catholic clubs that had live Irish music too. Over time, as my old
mate WB Yeats quite rightly once wrote, "All changed utterly".
We had some unexpected boom years in the 1990's with the surge of Irish 'Theme' bars and that was certainly a great time too, gigs galore all over the country, combining with an atmosphere that was making Irishness trendy and avant garde. This gave Irish music a broad and hungry audience, alas, with all trends that kind of fizzled out too. So, thesedays I ply my trade mainly at private parties, weddings, corporate events. I'm busier than ever with funerals and wakes, somewhat sad by-product of our ever shrinking Irish community in Britain. Fortunately for me I've been doing this a long time and have a lot of contacts out there and referrals are a big source of my work. I've also been very lucky to have expanded my work levels abroad over the past few years too. Cruise work in Sweden and Finland along with festival gigs in Spain, Germany, Belgium, Norway and Canada, that have prised open new doors for me.
I am very fortunate to have a really great bunch of musicians to call upon for working alongside me at my duo and band gigs. I tend to mix and match to suit the occasion. Weddings work well with the fiddle and accordian and wakes and funerals lend themselves to the Uilleann pipes with the ever trusty banjo, suited to all events. I'm always happy to consult with bookers to get the best mix.
I regularly post my upcoming open gigs on my 'news gigs' page. An open gig is where anyone can come along, usually pubs, clubs and festivals. Most of my live appearances are private parties, weddings, wakes, funerals and company functions. In the old days most gigs were open. In the absence of an open gig to come and hear before you book, I'd suggest listening to my samplers and checking out my song-list.
This
super value double CD pack of all of Shamrock & Thistle's recordings
is available for only £2.99 including UK mailing costs.
Shamrock
& Thistle CD's featuring myself along with Archie McPherson are
available from the shop from £1.99 including mailing costs.
Get
all of my hit singles on this popular double CD pack which
also includes a copy of 'Great Irish pub songs' for just £2.99
inclusive of UK mailing.