"Echo Falls"

This is by far the “largest” song I’ve recorded. 3 main vocals, 4 part backing vocals, 2 acoustic guitars, 1 electric rhythm, 6 lead guitars, bass, keyboards, 2 drum machine parts and of course the poetry part! This song was so “large” I ran out of memory space and I had to get Darran to buy a new compact 1GB flash card for me (cheers for that, plus the .com address, best birthday present ever!) Now I have all space I could ever want!!

Before isinglas started back up again a few weeks ago, I sat down and started to write new songs for the year to come. This song just popped out one day. I wrote just before I had to drop my brother to Mass. I waited outside on the car and recorded a rough demo on my new Dictaphone (best invention ever!). The demo sounded obviously was awful but I got the song at the right moment, which I was able to work with when I started to record it the following Friday.

I recorded all I could until I ran out of space, waited a week for the new card to come, did the vocals; Dav once again supplied an amazing bass line. Simon played keyboards, which gave the song that extra push that it needed. Also I wanted the start of the song to sound like the crackling of a vinyl being played.

At this point in the Steady State Sessions, this was the 20th song I've recorded, so I wanted to do a bit of experimenting. Instead of the part where the guitar solo would go, I decided I would put someone talking. I started to ask people if they knew any poets or people with well spoken voices. Not a single poet could be found! At the time I was recording this song, I was watching “The Doors” film. All my memories of Venice Beach came flooding back to me and I fished out all the words and rants that I doodled whilst everyone else bathed under the sun and I sat underneath the palm trees sipping on a cherry cola. Venice Beach is no doubt in my mind the most amazing, beautiful, magnificent place I have been to on the planet. I gathered up the best of these words to form a poem called “Venice Beach Rant” which I asked my friend Colin to read out in a dark room, lit by a candle. What he did has become the most memorable part of the song, thanks Col!

Even thou this songs was the biggest pain in the ass to record, I still really like it, it was worth all the while! Thanks to everyone again to contributed to the song.

Crossroads

I feel like I’m at a crossroads in my life at the moment.

I have been in a band since I was 15 years old; I suppose everyone has dreams to be a rock star. I am now 22 years old. Over the last 3 years the band has come on leaps and bounds. I have gained confidence in my song writing abilities and also with my voice and guitar playing. I was at a 21st recently and the family were passing around a guitar and they asked me to play some songs. I played some Pallus Sinfony stuff before I moved on to some covers. 5 years I wouldn’t have had the stones to do this. Plus I played songs that I wanted to play not what I thought people would like.

I am in my last year of college, I did an 8 week work placement during the summer in Cork University Hospital and I really enjoyed and I know I want to work in that field.

But what about my true love music?

I know I haven’t been able to apply myself 100% to isinglas and music because of college. I have worked extremely hard in college and have gotten results I am really proud of. But what happens when I finished college? Do I go get a full time job? Who knows what the band could achieve if we did it full time. (Plus a bit of luck would be handy too!)

Do I give up the music and launch into a working career? I don’t want to.

I dunno if members of the band know this but I was supposed to leave Cork this year for college to finish off my college degree course. I didn’t. I stayed for the band and I am now doing a course now that doesn’t even interest me for my honours degree. I want to do a 2 year music course next year (assuming I’m good enough to get in!)

I want to give music 100% of my time, life and soul before I give it up.

These are the crossroads in my life at the moment. Where do I go?