JigTime

……but there will be a live show tomorrow (Friday 21st – at 10am) And I will also be recording my audio podcast tomorow so you will have it in your iPods for the weekend. But later today I will be writing about my own musical past. I was inspired to write a little about it when an old dear friend, Paula Cannon from Donegal, who I haven’t seen in about 25 years sent me an embarrassing picture of me in a band from way back then. So enjoy the archived shows for today and we will have more live music and podcasts tomorrow.

Slan

John Cutliffe

Of course if you didn’t catch today’s live show then you missed one of the great highlights of the year. I can safely say that now because my Ustream recording somehow disappeared even after I had saved it. So unless you were on of the 5 millions viewers you can’t tell me it otherwise.

In truth it was a good show and I liked the music selection so much that I plan to use some of it for my next audio podcast. We had Michael McGoldrick, Sharon Shannon. The Pogues, Ciaran Tourish and more.

But I did neglect to put up yesterday’s show which had my lovely son in the middle of it for a second day in a row. So here it is. Stay tuned for the next audio podcast soon. And while you watch this I am going back to watch American Idol. I need some glitz in my day.

So it was a busy day here in the house as I tried to put the show together. I was surrounded by 4 dogs, a cat and two 5 year old boys. So it was all rough and ready but the music was good. We had music from Conal O’Cane, Liz Doherty. Planxty, The Bothy Band, John Doyle, Natalie MacMaster and more. We are down to 37 days until the festival begins and I was told tonight that already the buzz has started. They say the posters are up and people are talking about this year’s lineup. It really is the best lineup of musicians Buncrana has ever seen and I am gad to be part of it all.

There will be plenty more shows before it all starts though. So please keep coming back for more.

On this episode I look at the tour dates for Altan over the next few weeks as they make a welcome return to America. Altan are on of the finest Irish traditional bands in the world. As part of my celebrations of the music and musicians from Buncrana I decided to do a special on Altan now as they are on tour but also because Dermot and Ciaran are from Buncrana and will be appearing at the Ar Ais Aris festival.

The band take in many cities and states on this 4 week tour and play some old favorites like Minneapolis and Boston and also head to fresh pastures like Hawaii. So on this episode I play some music from the band’s many albums as well as tracks from some solo offerings from the Altan members.

 

 Ar Ais Aris Podcast - Altan Special: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

What is wrong with me? I have a bad habit of coming up with ideas in the bath. That isn’t such a bad thing. Some of the ideas are not bad. I occacionally have a “Eureka!” moment there too. If I have been struggling with a solution for an audio issue or an internet issue, a little bit of code or a layout for a web page, I find sometimes I am soaking away and suddenly it comes to me.
But then I have a new idea, a nice simple idea, one that will only take a couple of hours and might be just a little entertaining. So one day about two weeks ago I was thinking about the Ar Ais Aris festival and about how cool this music event really is. I am proud of my home town, the music of Donegal and of the people I grew up with. I am forever telling people all about what it is like to grow up in Ireland and just how idyllic my childhood seemed to be.

So it was an obvious idea to create a podcast. One that would highlight the good things about home, about my friends and especially about the festival. But just like me, I couldn’t let the simple idea stay simple. I started playing with the various new forms of streaming, pulled out wires and old webcams and video cameras. I searched through old boxes and found microphones and other bits and pieces. I felt like someone from Mission Impossible or that McGyver show. I could almost hear dramatic incidental music in my ears as I started to piece this whole thing together.

Again that is all well and good, except that now I have quite a few subscribers to the audio podcast and a lot of people are watching the archives of the video-cast. So now I have to make them, I have to get on with creating new shows a few times a week and it takes up a lot more time than my original idea of an occasional audio podcast.

But it is worth every second to do this. I have found something fun, entertaining and informative to bring to you. I have now done at least 4 video-casts and two audio podcasts. They are up and despite having my old craggy Irish face in them they are filled with information about Ar Ais Aris, Irish music, Donegal and especially my lovely home town of Buncrana.

So I may continue to be the “great unwashed” but I plan to keep doing these podcasts right up until the festival and with luck and some techy magic I will be doing them live from Buncrana in March. So thank you all for supporting me and my crazy ideas. You will have more soon.
Slan go foill

Next Live Video Show on Monday March 18th at 10am EST (3pm Irish Time)

New Audio Podcast – The Altan Special will be available on Monday PM