Welcome To The New Site Hello folks and welcome to the new site which I've been building up over the last few weeks between writing, designing, painting and lots of gigs. A new feature in the MUSIC SHOP is an option to buy four of my albums where you choose the price (starting at a minimum of AUD$5.00). You can purchase from iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp but the site I've built is to keep all profits here at home. I'm back painting again after a long learning curve and love affair with graphic design so there are new paintings and prints in the ART SHOP and much more to be added as I go. I'm moving into my own studio in the city in July where I can paint BIG as I'm currently talking with a gallery about my first Melbourne Exhibition. The space will also allow me to begin pre-production on the next album without worrying about the neighbours!!! The songs are there but as is the case with most of us in the independent world, the funds are not. On that note I'm reaching out to ask that when you need to buy a special gift for someone, you consider buying some of my art that will go towards the funding of the next album. There is also a contact form in the art shop to request a specific art commission or graphic design job. I've financed five of my six albums on the back of my art and I'm trying to do this once again in both the virtual and real world. As I know we're all tight these days I'll keep the majority of the work under AUD$150/€120 (with free shipping). I hope you enjoy the feel of the new site and that you can be a part of what I know is going to be my best album yet, thanks for your support!!! “Could it be that we are safer in our depths..”
Recently I got my hands on the book 'DREAMTIME' by John Moriarty solely due to a recurring memory of a Cork man I met in art college in the RTC Galway back in 1993 who was doing amazing oil portraits of the man and who told me to check out his work. So as you do 18 years later, just in from a gig, start reading to get to sleep........3 hours later at 4am I'm still digesting: "Could it be that we are safer in our depths than we are in our heights? Or, could it be that we will only be safe in the heights when we already know that we are safe in our depths?" Tommy Tiernan ya lucky fecker, I'd have loved to have met this man!!! Picasso in verse!
Exhale
So, I'm back at base after an amazing 5 weeks and 2500km covered on the roads of New South Wales. Firstly I would like to say a big thank you to the universe and it's perfect sense of timing as the car would not start when I tried it this morning.
 I saw a mighty chunk more of this insanely beautiful country on my travels, played some really intimate and memorable gigs, some sold out and some 'who's your man in the corner' type of ones. I had my first dip in the ocean since last summer, saw that 'Total Recall' remake with the young lad of the Farrells and I highly recommended it for the ultimate in BRAIN OFF mode, top job, wow my first movie review! I did an interview and song with ABC National Radio out of Coffs Harbour, had Freddie White drop into my gig in Sydney and come up and do two serious beauties! I got word that my song 'Hell Bent on You' was one of the 2012 Finalists in the Folk Category of The John Lennon Songwriting Competition, and finally I've been invited to play this years Mullum Festival in November, Peats Ridge at Christmas and then it's up to Gulgong Folk Festival the first weekend of Jan 2013. For those of you in Melbourne I've got some gigs coming up in the next few months at The Chandelier Room, Pure Pop and The Drunken Poet (for more info on these see the tour page). Vote for my design on Threadless
I designed a character set recently ‘Bi Ullamh’ (Irish for the Scout moto ‘Be Prepared’) and since then I’ve had some people ask if I would get some of them printed as a t-shirt at some stage so I began looking into ways of doing so and was led to the very cool world of Threadless.
 HOW IT WORKS All designs printed on Threadless are voted on and picked by the community over a 7 day period. Once the scoring period has ended the overall scoring is used as a gauge by Threadless to decide what gets made into a t-shirt. I tweaked my design a little, submitted it, and got an email this morning saying “it has been accepted by our discerning panel of snobby judges” …that’s the first hurdle. WHERE YOU COME IN 1. Open a Threadless user account at THREADLESS.COM 2. Submit your info, you’ll be emailed an activation email. Follow the instructions in the email to activate your account. (If you don’t receive an email, check your spam folder and if nothing is there, contact the Help team and they can activate your account) 3. Vote 5 on MY DESIGN and just as important, comment. (Leaving the words ‘i5$’ in the comment section is Threadless speak for “I rate this design 5 out of 5 and I’d buy it if it were printed”. It’s like the gold medal of scores! (It would be great if you did but your also under no obligation to do so off course, it’s just a HUGE help towards it getting made) WHAT DO I GET Designers who are printed earn $2,000 and a $500 gift certificate (the $500 gift certificate can be exchanged for an additional $200 cash). The printed design will also be eligible for up to $20,000 in the annual Bestees Awards. I guess alongside the freelance design work that I do, this is a mini equivalent to the creative funding type sites that are out there. One small example of how something like this would be useful right now is by going towards fuel, food, accommodation and some much needed car maintainance for my 3000km New South Wales Tour that I leave for next Wednesday. NOTE My submission can be dropped from the running before the end of the 7 day voting period if it receives a low score within the first 24 hours of voting, which means today! I would be so grateful for your support on this one. REMEMBER Your Support Funds Music Making! New 'Mad Cow' Print on Etsy
This is a signed 210 x 210mm laser print on beautiful 215 gsm Freelife Felt paper.
 Freelife is 40% post consumer recycled fibre, 55% elemental chlorine free virgin pulp from well-managed forests and controlled sources and 5% cotton. Freelife is manufactured by an ISO 14001 certified mill and also carries the EU Eco Label. The print comes in a protective sleeve and is shipped immediately in an A4 rigid envelope. Paper Size = 210 x 210 mm (8.3″ x 8.3″) Image Size = 140 x 140 mm (5.5″ x 5.5″) Visit the Art Shop for purchase details 
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