As I'm going home to Ireland for les vacances de la Toussaint next week (I must commend France for one thing, and this is doing the Catholic thing properly. Less guilt, more days off), I've been thinking of how much I can't wait to see my friends again. This led to frequent stalking of their Facebook pages and bemoaning, drunkenly, all that I've missed while I've been living the life over here. That in turn led to wondering how it is that I ended up fortunate enough to have made the acquaintance of so many talented people. I count musicians, writers, artists, photographers, DJs, actors and film-makers among some of my closest friends. Graveyard of ambition it may be, Galway is still a dab enough hand when it comes to the flowing of creative juices. Our cup doth overflow, in fact. God, I can't wait to come home and bask in the reflected glow of their respective gifts, secure in the knowledge that I have none myself but that hey, it's okay, because we're all mates here.
The Indelicates said it best, absolutely anyone can play the fucking guitar. Sadly, not everybody does so well. I've been lucky, and have been exposed quite often (although not as much as I'd like these days) to the sound of people Doing It Right:
Lost Chord:
www.myspace.com/lostchordband
Elaine Mai:
www.myspace.com/elainemai
This Mellow Party:
www.myspace.com/thismellowparty
The Ralphs:
www.myspace.com/theralphs
Go Panda Go:
www.myspace.com/gopandagomusic
...for a sample, please see below (as well as a guest appearance from yours truly and the lovely Naomi Ní Chatháin, whose art would be featured here if it existed online)
My good friend Byron DJs weekly, spinning 50s-60s tunes upstairs in the Róisín Dubh on Friday nights, looking exactly the part himself. He's also in the early stages of a weekly punk/new-wave night downstairs with Fuz, which takes place on Tuesdays, I believe, and which I'm dying to attend. Byron's blog exists here:
www.byronsnonsense.blogspot.com
Josh isn't a bad lad when it comes to the tunes either, having been one half of the sadly-missed Substance in 2009, as well as DJing in Kelly's and presenting iTest on i102-104. He's currently going about the business of making a name for himself in London, where he'll do very well if they know what's good for them. His blog is here:
www.popgoestheradio.blogspot.com
My friend Yvonne's photography continues to surprise me, as she seems increasingly unafraid of new directions and is improving exponentially with each shoot in terms of skill and inspiration (not that she was in any way uninspired to begin with!) Her photoblog on Tumblr (who came up with this spelling? and for Christ's sake, why?) is here, along with a few shots of Ciara and I, who have been, and remain, only delighted to dress up and get foxy for the sake of fashion:
http://yvonneryanphotography.tumblr.com/
 |
| aesthetically pleasing orphans in a shed in tuam |
 |
| still orphaned, but looking well |
In short, Galway me manque tellement. It isn't, or at least I hope it isn't, that I'm whiling away my time in France wishing I was back home, in the rain, and the indescribable autumnal gloom, and the smoking area of the Róisín, with everybody I miss. It's more that I can't wait to see them all again, and since I will in five days, I'm allowing myself the luxury of missing people properly. While this country is beautiful and I appreciate every day how lucky I am to be here doing nothing (mostly) but enjoying myself, it would improve immeasurably if I could have everybody here with me. Unfortunately, the government would never allow it. The next best thing is to have a wonderful week at home, revelling in indecipherable Hiberno-English and forgoing sleep in pursuit of ALL the craic. One can only hope...
No comments:
Post a Comment