What do you consider work as an artist?

How hard does a flower or a sunset have to work to look so beautiful?

For years and years I've sat down at my computer to go 'to work' -  on planning, marketing, sales and promotions of my business - organising events, posters etc etc.

And in all that time I squeezed in my practice or research or arranging or writing in between my work.

Recently I met an old friend who's a wonderful songwriter.   In his earlier life he worked as a journalist.  And since retiring from that line of work,  he plays music regularly, within a 10 mile radius of his own home and always sleeps in his own bed at night.   Never tours and never worries about any of the chases attached to any of the creative businesses.  And he says "I've never worked a day in my life - I've loved both of my jobs so much."  Isn't that a wonderful thought?

And I thought to myself - Fil, you are thinking all wrong about this.  Those other things should be only by the ways, but the real work should be the creative processes.  

Coming from a background of working 9 to 5, even though I myself have only done that for a couple of years of my earlier working life, I've always thought that I was doing nothing.

It's a hard habit to change.  But change it I will - and that's my 'work' for the time being.

Are you playing or working tonight? I'd love to hear your take on it.

On the road Frequently Asked Questions

People have so many different ideas of what it's like to be on tour that I thought I would answer a few questions here and let you see behind the scenes.

The first, and most annoying, question that we frequently get asked is:

Are you on holidays?

Ok, let me first qualify my answer by saying I do love music and above all I love performing, but now let me ask you - would you choose for your holiday to work for 5 or 6 hours a night, pack the car, get up early next morning and travel to another town to repeat the process?  

Many people have a romantic idea of what it means to be a touring musician - one guy said to me, "I just picture you musicians heading off on the road and stopping up to play music for whomever will listen".   Hmmm, yes that's a good idea.   And how do we pay for our food and petrol etc?  "Oh, I hadn't thought about that".  Right! This was in a venue where the owner insists on putting around a hat to pay the artists, but passes no remarks on half of his audience leaving at half time before he passes around the hat!   Needless to remark we won't be going back - which is a huge shame cause it is a lovely venue and a great audience.  But every workman needs to be paid. 

So let me answer the question by quite categorically saying a huge No!   This is our job, our chosen path in life; however bizarre it may seem - and sometimes it feels very bizarre to me - but this is how we make a living.  

Driving off into the sunset?  I guess not :)

Do you just keep travelling around Europe?  You get to see some fabulous places.

I do love Europe - above any place else in the world - sorry to my friends further afield.  I love hearing different languages and eating different food.   However, it is always good to come home and then you can appreciate the travelling all the more.  And we do other things when we're at home.   Like planning future tours, recording, writing (although that's a painful subject for me), I also do some voice coaching, run a couple of community choirs, we have a studio and get involved in lots of side projects as well as also doing some gigs at home. 

We get to see lots of out of the way places, towns and villages that you wouldn't perhaps get to see on a holiday.  But the down side of that is that we also see an awful lot of motorway.  

But it is the people that most define a place for me.  

Over the years we have made friends along the road.   In the beginning we got to know them and then their children.   Now we are meeting their grandchildren and getting to know the pets and hobbies.  

The scenery whizzing by

How do you get these gigs? How did you come to this small town?

We have been travelling for nearly 25 years - after a concert someone will come to us and ask us to come to their venue on our next tour if we're in the area; or perhaps a friend will organise and publicise a concert or two for us in their home area.   This has been the case on our recent tour in Germany - our friend Barney organised some concerts in his area around Kiel and another friend Rita organised one on the Rhine.   They are both in the music community in their own areas and know the venues that would suit us.  

Then I put the tour plan together and decide the route we will take once I know what days certain venues usually work on.  

Have you a place near you that you would suggest we contact on our next trip to the UK or Australia or Germany?

Past places with exotic names - Shark Creek?

Why do you not fly?

Well, obviously we do fly to Australia or America.   But for concerts in Europe or the UK it is easier for us to take our own car so that we can fit in Tom's conga drums and a small sound system.   Plus with your own car it's easier to throw in an extra coat in case the weather turns cold and of course I leave enough room to bring some wine home from France :) 

Is it not tiring doing concerts every night?

Actually no ... you get into a rhythm and it becomes quite easy to keep going once you get past the second or third night.   It gets hard again once you have a night off.   Then your body thinks "weyhey we can rest up now" and doesn't like being kicked in to action again. 


So there you have it - a little peak into life behind the scenes on the road. 

Who cares!

With concerts over the past couple of days I'm a bit behind with my 30 day blogging challenge so this is short and sweet and tomorrow will be catch up day.

I try to not watch the news too much - headlines are enough to see all the badness that's out there.   But I'm at a total loss to see why (a) there's so much interest in Oscar Pistorius' trial .... why has he captured the media attention to such a degree?   The cynic in me suspects diversion tactics.   And (b) who cares what Renee Zellweger has done to her face!!  I spend far too much time on Facebook, and I noticed her name coming up a few times this evening and, wondering what new movie has she coming out, I clicked in to find 100s of people aghast that she apparently looks younger now that she used to!!!   Duh!!

I don't get it - all the more reason to not tune in.

OK, rant over - see you tomorrow with something calm and sensible - ish lol

This blog is Day 10 of Sarah Allen's 30 day blog challenge

Do you vote?

What a strange election this has been - for the first time in my adult life I didn't make it to the polling station before it closed...


All those women who campaigned for us to have a vote a century ago have always been whispering in my ear - "go and use your vote"  

But this time it wasn't that t couldn't be bothered - I was away and didn't get back in time, but there was no-one to vote for anyway.   Our wards have changed and not one of our campaigning would be councillors made it down our lane to introduce themselves ...

Here in Northern Ireland we still have tribal politics - one side or the other.    For years it used to annoy me that we had no real say in the Westminster elections, yet we are governed from there - we couldn't decide Labour or Tory and had no influence on the outcome.   But watching the results come in this time, it would not have made one bit of difference ....   Such an overwhelming vote against Europe, right across the continent.   What good will it do?   What changes can be made?

Do you vote?

Making friends with the rain

My father used to say 

"If you can see the mountains, it's going to rain.   

If you can't see them, it's already raining".  

I can still hear him laughing when he said it.  

Clouds gathering over the 12 Bens

Ireland is known as the green island or the Emerald Isle. 

But that green comes at a price - the flippin' rain is never far away.

Watching the weather forecast is a national obsession.  

It'll be good on Thursday so we'll mow the lawn then!!!

 From the lightest of drizzles to the downpour we had yesterday or the endless weeks of rain over Christmas and New Year ... You can't be annoyed with rain and live in Ireland. 

But endless days of grey are no fun.   

Roundstone Harbour

As a child I used to love playing in the summer rain.  Jumping in puddles.   

It would be brilliant to have a summerhouse and keep the doors open 

and smell the rain as it bounces on the ground.  

Everything smells and looks newly washed and the birdsong fills every hedge 

after each shower.  

Once we visited a house in Germany where all rooms were built around a central fireplace and one of the rooms had no walls.   We were sitting inside, but outside, in the Spring rain, with our coats on and the fire lit, with the birds flying under the eaves to build their nests.   Simply wonderful.  

It'll rain soon

Yesterday was his anniversary - 28 years.  I still miss him.  

Still watching the mountains Daddy x

Do you have much rain where you are?   Did your family have their own sayings?   

You know I love to hear from you.