Pierce Turner Newsletters
November 3, 2007
Pierce Turner Wonders (not Stevie)
What makes a person? I'm not coddin ye, this is the kind of shite
that is goin through my head these days. I mean it seems to be a
series of haphazard decisions in my case. I did this, I didn't do
that, I could do this I wouldn't that! and the next thing I know is
that I'm me! And I'm finding it harder and harder to shake off the
consequences of past decisions often made so lightly. I look at
people like Bruce Springsteen and I say "God he seems to know exactly
what to do! I am such a fool!" sometimes I look at people that I can't
stand even, and think they are geniuses-for instance Barry Manilow. I
saw a thing on TV about him the other day-he looked like his skin was
glued to his teeth. But he sang all his hits, and they were many.
And I thought, "He's a genius!" I'm an eejit! I certainly couldn't be
either one of those two guys. But I'm filled with admiration for
their ability to decide. Not that I'm not decisive-I am! But I'm
very fond of grey area. And that's where I reside. It's where most
of us reside I suppose. And I like most of us. So have I answered my
question? I have to think about it.
Listen now ye bunch of sausages, it's time to start focusing on the
Christmas gigs at Joe's Pub. They are not far away. But before I
talk about them. I should tell you that we were put a little on the
spot about the parlour gig at my house. Because the first e-mailing
had an address boob-there were people who had sent in bookings and we
didn't receive them. So we have an overflow from the first one on
next Saturday Nov 10th. To counteract this we decided to add a second
one on Sat Nov 17th (the following weekend) we have five spaces left
for the 17th. Do you want to come? The details are below.
I rehearsed with Fred Parcells here the other night we worked on some
new songs with him singing and playing Trombone. And this week I will
work with Andriette Redman who will sing and play Synth-the three
voices should sound great together. Next week I will rehearse with
Rob Thomas on Bass and 5 string violin and Cady Finlayson also 5
string violin. 5-string violin is amazing because it goes down to
Viola and almost cello range. As you know they are both stunning
musicians. All of these rehearsals will have a double whammy effect,
as these are the people who will also play on my new album. Book
now-be decisive! AAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH
We will Rock the night away in the Grey…t unknown.
Al my love.
Pierce.
Dinner and Do with Pierce performing live in his own Apartment.
Dinner by Clare and Pierce.
Capacity; 11 plus Clare and Pierce
$60 per bottom
As you can imagine, cancellations would mess things up-so in that
event you would need to replace yourself, thanks lads.
BYOB
A return to the Sunday service.
PIERCE TURNER
AT JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE
MANHATTAN
SUNDAYS DEC 2 AND 9TH
AT 7PM SHARP
TWO DIFFERENT SHOWS
Tickets at the Public Theatre box office in person or call 212-967-7555
Remember you don't have to have dinner to sit. You can book a booth
just for drinks.
Dinner and Do with Pierce performing live in his own Apartment.
Dinner by Clare and Pierce.
Capacity; 11 plus Clare and Pierce
$60 per bottom
As you can imagine, cancellations would mess things up-so in that
event you would need to replace yourself, thanks lads.
BYOB
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November 26/2007
PIERCE TURNER LETTER
I was only kidding about Barry Manilow-well sort of. I mean I'm just impressed about how
clever the bugger is-but I was exaggerating when I said
he was a genius. He's just not as stupid as I used to think he was. So that's my
reply to everyone who wrote in to ask was I serious? *Oh Mandy*
There are a few important things happening here. First Colin Murnane has at last
completed the infamous documentary "*The Song For The Year"* and it is available as
of now through his website www.*hankwicklow.com* on DVD.
It would make a lovely Christmas present. I am still waiting for mine, but he tells
me the packaging is luscious.
Another important thing is the *Joe's Pub* gigs are upon us! For God sake it's next week!
I'm just getting over the Parlour gigs in my own flat!
They were really a total pleasure by the way-such lovely sausages. I knew I could be
sure of that, but still what a great bunch of people. I am so
pleased that the people who come to my gigs are not assholes. But back to Joe's-the
first one is next Sunday Dec 2nd I rehearsed with Andriette Redman last night
and she sounds great singing harmony and playing Bass Synth.
Rob and Cady, New Yorkers will know, and of course the legendary Fred Parcels on Bone
and Vocals everyone knows. We have some new songs for you, they went down a storm at
the parlour gigs, thank God (Frank Phelan's ten year old son Connor asked me at the
Rosslare gig- had I written any new songs-'I have! said I! and I performed some tonight,
they went down well!' 'Oh thank God' said he (in a sincere whisper)
Also at the second Joe's Pub we will be launching the fully refurbished " *Manana in*
*Manhattan Live"cd. *The original has been all sold out for sometime and now that
I've severed my connection with the original distributor we have re-packaged it and
reissued it. It is my most requested CD at gigs and in the Shops, plus it was the
main reason for getting that solo performer of the year award from Hot Press.
Also this is the CD that the *HBO show The Wire* pulled my cover of "*Dirty Old Town*"
from. As well as having a complete new cover designed by Brian O' Driscoll we have
added three new bonus Studio tracks. You should get a kick out of the cover version
of "Rock the Casbah" and some of you will remember me doing a song called
"Waiting For Friday" and a new love song "I have only one Theme" this will also
make a great Christmas present. For God sake.
So for the Joe's Pub on Dec 9th we will give you a big selection from "Manana Live"
including "Dirty Old Town" which I rarely perform, better tell Fred! And
"All messed up" Maybe I can get Wynn Horan up from Philly?
People are coming from Ireland too; their euro will be worth a fortune-
the craic will be dangerous.
I have to go now before I wear you out.
Love.
Pierce.
* *
*PIERCE TURNER - Performs*
*AT JOE'S PUB - The Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street *
*New York *
*NY 10003*
*on*
*SUN DEC 2ND AND SUN DEC 9TH @ 7PM =96 The early show**
Tickets available in person at The Public Theater Box Office
Or call 212-539 8778 for reservations *
*Two Different Sets*
*Sunday the 9th will be the launch of the new "Manana in Manhattan Live" *
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April 27, 2009
This Weekend with Pierce Turner
Two especially warm places
Coming up: May 9th, Saturday An Beal Bocht Café at 8pm 445 W 238th St 8pm
719-884-7127
Tracks at Penn Station 212-244-6350 May 17t at 6pm bruce@tracksbargrill.com
Reservations (212) 244-6350
I have had a very exciting weekend I have to say. For a moment of complete
surprise I was picked up by a tornado and whisked into the ether of the land
where the very famous reside. In fact I was in the company of so many famous
people I had to give up on trying to identify where I knew them from! You know
how you see one on the street and you go "who's yer one?" was she in a TV show
or a Movie? And you take the information with you wherever you go, on to the
bus or into your car or on a run around the park. You keep seeing her face and
finally it dawns on you "she was Georges Mother on Seinfeld" or something like
that. Well I had a glass of wine standing next to the actor who actually played
Georges father. He had two pairs of glasses on. A pair of sunglasses on his
forehead and reading glasses on the tip of his nose-he was looking through
neither one of them! Later I found out that he is Ben Stiller's father too!
It started on Saturday. The playwright Christopher Hampton's partner Tiana had
asked me would I sing a song in Philip Glass's house as part of a celebration
for Christopher's 50th play opening on Broadway the next night, Sunday. I said
"of course" then Philip said, "why don't I play with you?" again I was very
agreeable. And at 10:30 on Saturday night I was answering the door between
drinks to people like Mathew Broderick who was ringing the door for ages and
almost gave up and James Gandolfini did actually give up, he was seen getting
back into his limo (he is currently in one Christopher's plays on Broadway-"God
of Carnage") Ultimately though plenty of heavyweights did get in, and after a
feed of Vietnamese cuisine and copious amounts of wine. Tiana ushered them all
upstairs to Philip's music room, and they all moved very efficiently when they
were told that Philip was going to play the Piano. Next minute I was sitting
behind the Grand Piano with Philip to my left playing my Synthesizer on his lap,
and I singing "Yogi with a broken heart" looking up from the piano it had very
quickly changed from a few interested viewers to a multi-layered soiree of
sophisticates. People kneeled, sat on the floor and stood from small to tall.
And without any ceremony we sailed gently into the song with Philip playing a
wonderful keyboard part that he has created using a rhythm count that he learned
from Ravi Shankar. I did have time between lines to ponder my position-and
thought (very quickly) I may be a fuck up, and many people will say that I have
not fulfilled all my possibilities, but so long as I have moments of sheer bliss
like this in my life there is reason for hope. After we finished that Philip
played a piece from the movie "The Hours" and everyone melted into a trance.
There we were with all the P.G. Operas filed high up to the ceiling in their
appointed shelves and the great man himself playing just for us-it just must
have been akin to standing in a grand room with Mozart or Chopin at the Piano.
The respect and empathy was effortless.
The next day. Sunday, f@#kin hell! The phone rings, it's Tiana again. "How
would you like to go to the premier of Christopher's play "The Philanthropist"
on Broadway this evening? Again I was very agreeable!
At 5:30 PM Clare and I were seated in the back of a black limo with the
playwright, Tiana and her friend Ting Ting. We pulled up outside the Theatre on
47th Street to a mass of photographers and on-looking fans. It's not that I
haven't been in situations like this before, but this one seemed to come from
nowhere and it was very amusing. Christopher! Christopher! shouted the
Paparazzi and Clare and I stood out of the way as they snapped the shit out of
him and Tiana.
We had fourth row centre seats. Mathew Broderick was the star of the play-so
naturally Sarah Jessica Parker was there and this is where I lost track of the
famous people-they were ten a penny. We had better seats than Sarah, and Philip
Glass was next to us. I assured him that I wasn't stalking him. The play was
excellent and afterwards we went to BB Kings lounge for an after show party
where the booze was free and they served Dinner. Again the famous were so
numerous that they cancelled each other out. It did occur to me that there
might be some truth in the old suspicion that we use up one of our nine live
when we capture our image in a camera. There's something oddly ‘not-present'
about this world where the stars were being constantly asked to stand by
strangers for a digital trophy to take back home in memory of the night that
they broke into the silver cloud. What did these famous people feel like in the
morning? Did they feel like their blood was sucked as others loaded their
images up on to the computer? I don't know. It's weird!!
I'm knackered now! But I have to tell you about my two last N.Y. gigs before
heading to Ireland for the Summer-also today we are launching a brilliant new
website designed by Brian O'Driscoll and with much gratitude to Michael Carroll
and Joseph Prieboy. Please go take a look pierceturner.com
The gigs are at two especially warm places with proprietors that are doing it
for love not money. Please reserve now, as they are small too! The Beal Bocht
is in Riverdale-a wonderful intimate venue with food and nice comfy armchairs
and tables.
Tracks is a totally unique environment- the longest bar in N.Y. and it's in Penn
Station. Bruce the proprietor is a sweetheart and he let's me serve drinks at
the end of the night!! He also brings in a Piano for the occasion. Excellent
food is served. It holds 40 people, the cover is 20 and it would be best to get
there at 6pm for a 7pm show. These gigs are the lifeblood of music, come fly
with us. We'll have a chat afterwards.
I love you more and more each day.
Pierce xxxxxxxx
Coming up: May 9th,
Saturday 719-884-7127An Beal Bocht Cafe Tel. (718) 884 7127 subway 1 to
238th Show at 8pm
Tracks at Penn Station May 17th, Sunday 6pm bruce@tracksbargrill.com
Tracks Raw Bar&Grill Penn Station, NYC located on the LIRR level of Penn Station
adjacent to the LIRR ticket windoIrish Summer ...
June 20th, Saturday The Sugar Club, Dublin City, Ireland 8 Lwr Leeson St. Dublin
2 info@thesugarclub.ie tickets from Ticketmaster
June 28th, Sunday The Pavilion - Cork City, Ireland
Carey's Lane off Patrick St. in Cork Huguenot Quarter Reservations (021) 427
6234 or info@pavilioncork.com
July 4th, Saturday Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford, Ireland
Cornmarket Wexford, Reservations (053) 91 23764
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May 29,2009
Hello my little dumpling, doodoo, sausages. I write to you from the republic of
Ireland, upon and antique chair acquired from Clare's parent's way back in
Brighton fair city.
We arrived her two days ago all three of us, the cat (Girlie) Clare and myself.
The cat cost more than the two of us put together and she didn't even get fed on
the plane. The choice of food on the plane was Chicken or Beef, just for a
change. And they charged seven dollars for a bottle of very sweet, warm
sauvignon Blanc. That didn't stop us from trying it over and over again though.
I was chastised a couple of times for going to the toilet while the seat belt
sign was on. But it was never actually turned off, so when were we to go?
However being chastised on Aer Lingus is not uncommon, they are trained to use
the Stockholm syndrome on the passengers, make them afraid of their captors and
they will grow to love and obey! They had me so pinned down I was afraid to ask
for water. And I am going back for more! I love them! They are my masters!
Thanks to everyone who came to Tracks it was a special one, and thanks so much
to Bruce for producing it. And congrats to lovely Jamie and her lovely friend
on their book deal xx. And Copernicus on his fab new CD "Disappearance" which I
worked on as musical director.
Now the first Irish date is coming up at the great Sugar Club in Dublin on Sat
June 20th. And again the owner in his generous spirit has allowed me to offer a
special deal to my sausages. If you book here with us, it will be a mere
20-euro. It's 23 at the door and more from ticketmaster. So write here to
piercenewyork@aol.com our normal gmail address is problematic right now.
Please, Please honour your reservation, this is all based on trust. Most of you
do honour it, but some didn't, and it will ultimately kill the system if people
don't treat it like a real ticket.
I have the piano coming up from Wexford, I have the band booked and I will be in
right form, as will you. And we will sing our praises of summer and life.
I love you so much I have to pinch myself.
Cork is on the 28th at the glorious Pavilion, come on Cork boy, like, ye know
what I mean? The last gig there was tre-tastic.
XxxxxxPierce.
Dublin City - The Sugar Club
8 Lower Leeson St.
Saturday June 20th doors 8pm
Tel. 01 678 7188
www.ticketmaster.ie
Tel. 0818 719 300
or email us for direct booking
piercenewyork@aol.com
CORK CITY-THE PAVILION
SUNDAY JUNE 28TH 8PM
email us for direct booking
piercenewyork@aol.com
OR GO TO THE PAVILION WEBSITE
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June 13, 2009
Thanks God for my sausages-they keep me alive!!
The New York cat has gone over the school wall, she has never been over a school
wall before or seen grass or felt it's furry dampness beneath her floppy little
belly.. She lies in it and gets as close as she can to it at every opportunity.
She seems to wonder where it's been all her life. She has very little climbing
experience too, for that matter. So soon I expect to hear her plea for an
explanation of why this house goes so far and high compared to the New York
apartment (which has no sky) and why the wall was low on this side and high on
the other. And then I will have to climb over the bloody thing and fish her
out. She will think that's what God put me on this Earth for of course. And
she definitely thinks that this is where God resides. She purrs and purrs all
day long "Oh Ireland I've caught you like a cold in my furry brain" She met an
Irish cat the other day and I imagined their conversation. "Dude! I couldn't
help but notice, all the cats are either black or white around here! Wass up
with-at? "I cuddint tell ya, where the hell are you from..fukkin Mars??
Next Saturday June 20th 2009 we will release the follow up single to "Fading
Away" at The Sugar Club in Dublin. The track is called "Julie London" Already
getting internet radio play in the US it's about an actress turned singer of the
same name. Look her up on the net she has an amazing story; she was a very cool
cat. In the 40's she was a GI pin-up movie star, Then turned sultry
jazz/cocktail singer, every man in America fancied her, except her husband who
never come home, that's what the song is really about. Her story really touched
me so I found myself inspired; she threw away two careers at the drop of a hat.
When she left movies she never went back and when she left music she never sang
again. That's after making 32 albums!!!
It will be a limited edition single (EP) just like "Fading Away" and the hard
copies will not be in the shops. But will be available at shows. The Cd will
have two extra tracks not available anywhere else; "Our Father" about the loss
of spirituality in Ireland. I'm glad that I had the rights of passage, the
plain chant and the discipline of silence. Too bad it's all gotten lumped in
with the child abuse. "Big recession Bruise" a remake of "Big Big Bruise" and
very different. The song "Julie London" will be available as a download in the
near future.
Also check out the next edition of Hot Press for an interview that I did with
Jackie Hayden. It comes out on June 19th. I went on the warpath against Irish
national radio, there is no music on Radio One anymore, and it could get me in
trouble. When you are down in the country there are no musical choices! And
this is NOT about my music. We have Radio One for the kids (not adventurous
kids) Today FM for the zzzzzzzz Lyric FM for the 3% classical fans and nothing,
no nothing for people who love rock music between the ages of 35 and 70! And
that's generalising it could be 25 to 70!
Have you got your tickets for The Sugar Club yet?? Reserve here if you wish we
still have some 20-euro special sausage spaces. Reserve here for Sun June 28th
at the Pavilion Cork. Or Wexford Art Centre
July 4th
Have to go now and get the Cat.
Progression, not recession, nothing is easy but there is a reward for every new
challenge and every change, keep doing what you have already done and you'll
keep getting what you've already have, an all that jazz! I'll have NEW songs
for you in Dublin!
Love an all dat jazz.
Pierce.
PIERCE TURNER
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July 1, 2009
I don't want to be famous so bad that I would cry for it! When I was a teenager
I would, but not anymore, and I've become comfortable with the bed that I made.
I sleep well and I can sleep anytime I choose to. If I wake up so what? I'll
wait until I'm tired and then go back to bed.
I had a big time manager once and he called me up one day to lay out his future
plans for my career. It was everything that I had ever wanted in a manager at
last, and when I got it, it scared the shit out of me. I took off all my
clothes, put on my sleepy shirt and went straight back to bed.
I love my bed too much to be famous. Sometimes I have lots of energy and I make
loads of elaborate plans. I get on the phone and book a bunch of gigs,
residencies and all kinds of stamina testing events. But inevitably between the
sound check and the show, usually around the hours of 7 and 9, I start to get
depressed and begin to wonder why am I doing this to myself, I could be at home
all tucked up and watching the tellee in bed. I can't imagine that Madonna
thinks like this!
I love music and I love entertaining people. But unfortunately most of them
live elsewhere and I hate the discomfort of travelling. Don't get me wrong, I
have done it! Once I had a major record deal and I travelled all over the
country in a bus. It was incredibly disruptive. Do you know what a phoner is?
It's an interview on the telephone. Even though I was hardly setting the world
on fire, I still had three or four phoners ever day. Often times when the rest
of the band were asleep. And then we would get on the bus and drive hundreds of
miles to the next venue.
I hated having a band and a road crew. Young good-looking shites still getting
a kick out of looking at each other's passport photos. The tour would try to
get hold of my passport so that he could check me in at Airports-I told him to
get lost. Then he got wind that I was into Yoga and a sort of a health food
type-so he ordered me a vegetarian meal on the plane. I was livid; you know the
shite that they serve to shut up veggies! Everyone starts to overthink-treating
you like you're someone-when you're no one. It's very strenuous!
At one point we had been on the road for two weeks I hadn't done my laundry yet.
This English guy who was in the band had been on the road far more than me and
he would get to the Motel washing machine before I was finished stretching my
arms and saying "thank God we're here! I was getting really desperate. I had
to become sharper and think ahead. The next time we stop I will forgo all
normal activities-like checking in and taking my bag to my room. I must sit as
near to the bus door as possible and get off with only one objective-find the
washing machine! So that's exactly what I did. The only detour that I made was
to enquire at the desk about it's whereabouts? I dragged my big brown suit
bag-stuffed to the gills with smelly sweaty stage clothes plus T-shirts and
underwear down the winding hall way past the vending machines to the little
closed off laundry room. At last, I thought to myself I've had some savvy. But
when I opened the door I was greeted with the familiar sound of a washing
machine in motion-that familiar whir with little mettle things banging off the
glass. I turned in disbelief to gaze into the suddy little gold fish bowl and
there they were-the English guys tiny coloured thongs spinning around in a
frolic of bubbles.
This Saturday I will not have far to go! Just five minutes away is the Wexford
Art Centre originally the Town hall-a dance hall from over a hundred years ago.
It has a Yamaha piano and great sound and lights. I will check the sound and
then come back home for a shower. Upon my return the place will be filled with
wine drinking chatter. And at 8;30 Garvan Gallagher and I will take the stage,
and the Victorian hall, filled with songs and story, off on a trip to outer
space. I will be spoilt for choice on what to wear; Clare and I share the same
machine. What a life! And what a lot of love I have for you.
Pierce.
PIERCE TURNER
AT THE WEXFORD ART CENTRE
CORNMARKET
WEXFORD TOWN
SAT JULY 4TH
8PM
CALL FOR BOOKINGS
053—912-3764
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7/18/2009
Ah, droll oul day today! Of course it's probably just my take on it, based on
my point of view. Ah I don't know! I'd say that I have some company around
here. I know that somewhere up there beyond the sheet of grey, sits a sun,
shining away! And that grey is what leads me to believe that I have company in
my mediocrity. But other than the fact that logistically all of us ‘round here
have a huge grey slate above our heads right now-there may be no reason for us
to share the same mood? I can't assume that if leave the house now that
everyone I meet, will think this is a horrible day, just because I do. So maybe
I'd better wait until I fix my head before I leave the house-might be in here
all day…..could be.
I don't really know if it's the weather! I'm more inclined to think that I need
a good kick up the arse! Or a challenge…or a tragedy….or a fright!
Oh I can think of loads of challenges, I am never short of ideas. But between
me and every challenge stands a fierce competitor called FEAR. I have talked
to myself a lot about this, asking the question."fear of what?" Often times
taking a book and writing the answers down! The conclusions are nearly always
the same, old staples like "fear of rejection" "fear of failure" or (in my head)
seeing the action all the way through to it's unhappy ending, without moving a
finger.
They say that failure is merely part of an editing process, when you have X
amount of failures you can then deduce what it takes to succeed. I think that
this is true! But the process means that you need to accumulate a certain amount
of failures in order to accrue one success! As you get older - the failures
begin to mount up next to the successes and by far out-number them. It's not
unreasonable, then, to feel that you have failed more than you've succeeded! If
someone is still eternally positive after all that, they are not just living
with a "half full glass" they have cut the glass in half and are in complete
denial of the other half!
I am ready now for a three quarter full glass-this is not a good day for me to
argue with myself about the bottom half or top of that STUPID glass!!! Can we
please have it close to the top for a change, so that I don't have to
philosophise!…….especially with that great big-grey slate in the sky between me
and the sun!!!!
You know having said all that, it doesn't take much to cheer me up. Moaning to
you, my dear sausages has definitely helped. Do you want to moan to me? Or
just give us a kiss! Write me your moan or kiss piercenewyork@aol.com
I can almost go out now!
Love and xxxxxxxxxxxxxssssss
Pierce.
LEIXLIP the only other place in Ireland with an X besides Wexford.
Pierce Turner, special performance
Thurs. 30th July at 8.00pm Tickets €20
The Courtyard Hotel,(The Piano Bar) Leixlip Main Street, Co. Kildare.
Reservations. email claregturner(at)gmail.com
Direct Tel; 01 - 6295100
Direct Fax; 01 - 6295111
The Court Yard Hotel
Leixlip,
Co. Kildare
01 - 6295100
www.courtyard.ie
info@courtyard.ie
Breakfast - E99 for a double room
Bed & Full Irish Breakfast with an evening meal - E149 (for 2 people)
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7/19/2009
History Of Guinness in Leixlip and the Court Yard Hotel
When Archbishop Price died in 1752 he left £100, quite a sum then, to his
servant, Richard Guinness and a similar amount to Richard's son, Arthur, who was
then aged 27.
Richard appears to be the oldest known Guinness having being born around 1690
and was living in Leixlip in 1766. He had arrived in Celbridge in 1722 and was
employed by Archbishop Price as a land steward. One of his duties was to
supervise the brewing of beer for workers on the Price estate.
In the same year, the Archbishop took over James Carberry's brewery near the
bridge in Celbridge, apparently inspired by the ability of Richard "to make a
brew of a very palatable nature", which he was brewing in his brewery in
Leixlip, where the Court Yard Hotel now stands. Could this "palatable" brew be
either the black stuff or closely related to it?
Arthur was born in Celbridge in 1725, he was 31 when jointly with his brother he
established a brewery on Main St. Leixlip - the lease for the property dates
from 13th September 1756 and the original lease for the site is displayed beside
the main reception in the hotel with Arthur's signature on it.
Three years later, Arthur then aged 34 left his younger brother, Richard, in
charge of that enterprise and moved on and bought an existing, but run down
brewery at St. James Gate in Dublin. It was there he established the world
famous company.
The start of the Guinness business is always taken as being 1759, the date of
this move. He lived on the Gate premises for a while and brewed all types of
beer including dark beer known as porters ale or porter. The colour was obtained
by including in the mash, with the ordinary pale malt, a proportion of malt that
was roasted until virtually black.
There was a problem with the process - brewing was more an art than a science
then - but Arthur was among the first Irishmen to become really good at
producing black porter. His Guinness porter gained a foothold in the English
market despite a tax on Irish beer and when it was removed in 1795 the Guinness
brewery gave up ale to concentrated on brewing porter, much of it for the export
trade.
In Leixlip, the Guinness family owned the property on which the house owned by
Dr. Mary Boyd is built. While Arthur set up the Gate brewery, his brother,
Richard, ran the Leixlip brewery from 1759 to 1803 on his own. Wealth flowed for
the family. By the end of the 1700s, they owned the coaching yard, on the site
of the Court Yard Hotel, Dr. Boyd's house and twelve smaller houses or shops
along the main street which still stand today.
When Arthur died in 1803, aged 78, he was buried at Oughterard Cemetery near
Kill, a mere 20 minute drive from the hotel, which is also the resting place of
his wife, Olivia, who bore him 21 children following their marriage in 1761. At
one stage he lived in the house in Celbridge, now the home of Progressive
Democrat Senator, Kathleen Walsh.
If some Guinness's took to drink, Arthur Guinness's eldest son, the Rev. Hosea
Guinness (1765-1841) took to religion and was rector of St. Werburg's church in
Dublin.
The family link with Leixlip was re-ignited in 1958, when Hon. Desmond Guinness,
then aged 27, the same age as Arthur when he got his inheritance, bought Leixlip
Castle, where he still resides today with his wife Penny. The Castle can be seen
from the bedrooms in the hotel.
The site saw many changes of ownership over the years, everything from an
arbitress to a nun's resident and some views of the changes on the site
throughout the years can be seen in the Piano Bar of the hotel. Through the
1970's – 1980's the site ran into ruin and disarray but yet through it all the
original walls of the brewery still stood. In the 1990's the site was finally
bought over by its current owner, Mr. Luke Moriarty, who had a vision of a hotel
on the site incorporating the original features, such as the stone walls of the
brewery and incorporating them into a contemporary, modern hotel. With patience
and care, the original walls of the brewery were restored to their former glory.
Mr. Moriarty ensured that every door and window was reset to the way they were
when Arthur and Richard owned the site.
The hotel was awarded the amazing accolade of being "The most romantic hotel in
Europe" by Prudence Magazine in 2006,
At the Official Launch of the hotel on the 8th November 2005, the Hon Desmond
Guinness unveiled a plaque that states the hotel is on the original site of
Guinness. This plaque is displayed proudly over the fireplace in the main
reception of the hotel.
Pints of Guinness will be served over
PIERCE TURNER at the Piano
Thurs. 30th July at 8.00pm Tickets €20
The Courtyard Hotel,(The Piano Bar) Leixlip Main Street, Co. Kildare.
Reservations. email claregturner(at)gmail.com
Direct Tel; 01 - 6295100
Direct Fax; 01 - 6295111
The Court Yard Hotel
Leixlip,
Co. Kildare
01 - 6295100
www.courtyard.ie
info@courtyard.ie
Breakfast - E99 for a double room
---------------------------------------------------------------------
7/28/2009
Pierce Turner perf 3 min world entirely
Well for the first time in my life I am going to recreate one of my own albums
from beginning to end, live. It's the kind of thing that I don't like to hear
other people do usually. Todd Rundgren did it recently at one of his gigs in
New York and I hated it, but it was a new album that I hadn't heard yet, and I'm
not sure I ever will like it. Although I love Todd.
However I would say that not many albums could be played live in the sequence
that they were recorded in and work. I can tell you none of mine would….except
3 Minute World, Which I know, is a thematic album. But that's not only why it
works-it just has the right ups, downs, mood changes and tempo variation. I was
really surprised when I sang it through one day at the piano-how well it worked.
I'm pretty fussy about putting myself on the line in front of people, so I
wouldn't go near it if it didn't feel right….regardless of how dramatic the idea
sounds.
Who knows where this will lead, but maybe a re-release is due. Upon re-learning
it-I was even impressed myself how much work had gone into it and at best it is
our secret, it has never really been out there. I have a whole new album ready
to record, but this my baby too! It's one of my CD sausages.
For those of you who don't know. 3 Minute World was released in 2001 (or there
about) It was a basically a statement of anti-greed and anti-overwork. And it
cry's out for the world to give more attention to humanity, spirituality and to
sloooow down and smell the flowers
" what about the five day week? Or aimless walks on Saturday's!
what about the Sunday drive? Or a pint at night in a pub where people speak!
And…..
"Sunday being a day of rest, confused me with an after taste
And a caution for the killer fish, taking too much communal dish!" (Check that
out Bernie Madoff!!)
And of course it features the ultimate lazy song "Life in a day"
If you get the album all the words are included.
But for now I am announcing that I will perform 3 Minute World in it's entirety
from beginning to end in sequence with a few story's here and there, at the
Courtyard Hotel Piano Bar this Thursday for the first time.
Hope I'll see you there.
Love
Pierce.xxxxx
Pierce Turner
Performs 3 minute world
In it's entirety for the first time ever
At
The Courtyard Hotel,(The Piano Bar) Leixlip Main Street, Co. Kildare.
Thurs. 30th July at 8.00pm Tickets €20
Reservations. email claregturner(at)gmail.com
Direct Tel; 01 - 6295100
Direct Fax; 01 - 6295111
The Court Yard Hotel
Leixlip,
Co. Kildare
01 - 6295100
www.courtyard.ie
info@courtyard.ie
Breakfast - E99 for a double room
Bed & Full Irish Breakfast with an evening meal - E149 (for 2 people)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
8/2/2009
It's Sunday and I nearly did lie in bed all day, for I went so far into
yesterday's night that I ended up hanging over today with a very dry throat and
percussive nerve playing the wipe-out drum solo on my temple.
I appear to have talked more than I knew last night and I do wonder if I knew
what I was talking about! But until I hear from some of the people that I
encountered I can't say for sure. Anyway now I must not speak at all today, not
only to give my voice a break but also to give myself a break from myself, whose
opinion I have grown very tired of!
We had such an incredible time at The Courtyard Hotel in Leixlip. It was the
first time I ever played 3 Minute World all the through and it seemed to work
really well. Then after that I played a few ravers and we all got up and danced
our arses off. It was just magic-and thank you so much everyone who came out.
This was our word of mouth secret and you didn't let me down. And a very
special thanks to Frank Phelan who found the venue. It was proof that it really
works to find our own special places. Who's next?
I will be in Achill Island next Thursday and the following Tuesday august 11th
at The Roisin Dubh in Galway, it's been a while since the last Galway gig, it's
hard for me to get that far up in the corner of Ireland.. And I will be back
down in this corner on Saturday August 22nd at the wonderful Colfers of Carrick
on Bannow. This is a sweet little village right next to the sea and I am sure
there are great B and B's around there. This is real Irish Pub with great
atmosphere. John Murphy and his brother the owner's, are the son's of a famous
harmonica player, Phil Murphy. And they are huge music lovers; they constantly
bring in internationally known musicians. John and his brother also play
harmonica and usually play a tune with me. The following week August 27th will
take me to another far off corner and another legendary venue, started by none
other than the bass player from Jimi Hendrix's band- Noel Redding. De Barras is
in the beautiful town of Clonakilty in West Cork and this area is filled with
sophisticated people from all over the world. It's a cosmopolitan crowd in a
country of aimless Sunday walks.!
There! I'm worn out just writing about it. I must go back to bedzzzzzzzzzzzz
Oh also I must not forget NEW YORK! I will be at the fab Joe's Pub in Manhattan
with it's lovely grand piano on Sat Oct 24th I hope this bring all the
sausages out for the craic. We can take reservations for all these gigs except
Joe's Pub. For that you have to book with Joe's.
You are my sunshine!
Pierce xxxxxx
Coming up: Irish Summer ...August 11th, Tuesday Roisin Dubh - Dominick St.
Galway, price €15 Tel. (091) 586540email gugai@roisindubh.netAugust 22th,
Saturday Colfer's - Carrig-on-Bannow,l. (051) 561159 mobile (087) 8200986 email
colferpub@hotmail.comAugust 27th Thursday De Barra's - 55 Pearse St.Clonakilty
Co. CorkTel. (023) 33381 email eolas@debarra.ie show @10pm
JOE'S PUB
NEW YORK
SAT OCT 24 TH AT 7PM
---------------------------------------------------------------------
8/21/2009
I've been getting a lot of advice lately, sometimes very good and sometimes not
a whole lot of use. But I always appreciate it! I notice now that I'm at a "
you should" phaze. It inspired me to write this piece below. which "should" put
your brain in a knot!
I have the full string quartet booked for New York on Sat Oct 24th at Joe's Pub:
Raimundo Penaforte on Violin and Mandolin, Cady Finlayson Violin, Rob Thomas on
Viloa and Bass and Martha Colby on Cello. We will dust off some old (Swift)
classics and hit some new ones too. Help prevent me from having a nervous
breakdown (it's expensive!) and book now PLEASE!
Enough grovelling. Remember if you are an Irish sausage these are my two last
Irish dates. Tommorow Saturday in beautiful Carrig on Bannow and next Thursday
Aug 27th at DeBarras in Clonakilty west Cork. After that I'm stopping f****ck
the begrudgers-I'm knackered.
Love.
Pierce.
Shudda Cudda Turner © 09
Before they thought I did and I would,
Do all that I could
But now they think I should!
But sure I would if I could!
Just because I couldn't
Doesn't mean I didn't
And just because I didn't
When you all believed I wouldn't
Doesn't mean I can't!
And now you say I should!
Like as if I had
Then I would be more like
What I could
But if I did what I should
When I did do what I could
It would've meant doing what I should
When I did do what I could
It would've meant doing what I should!
Instead of being who I am
And doing what I can
Colfers of Carrig On Bannow is all prepped for Aug 22nd at 8 PM (not 9 PM)
The Piano is booked and I believe it will be jammers. Call John Murphy
at 087-820-0986
West Corkers! I will be in Clonakilty at De Barras on Thursday Aug 27th at 9;30
PM
Reserve with us also at same email address.
New Yawk New Yawk I'm coming back to you my lovelies. I will be playing with
the STRING QUARTET at Joe's Pub on Sat October 24th 7 PM. All the old string
parts will be dusted off to awaken nostalgic nirvana. Enquiries at 212-539-8777
Tickets at 212-967-7555
I look forward to frying with you.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
9/11/2009
Hello my little sea-sick sailors. My puddin pies-my sausage delights-my sun in
the morning my moon at night-my tickle in the tummy-my lemonade and honey-my
pint of stout-my twist and shout-my aimless walk on sunday-my hammock in the
country-how the hell are you?
Here in Ireland I taketh a small breaketh! I am doing some writing, ultimately
to be a book of words-stories,poems,song lyrics and yokes that fitteth not any
description.
And then next week I goeth to SPAIN for a week Yahoo.
Returning to New York in October for my Big Gig with the String Quartet at Joe's
Pub on Sat October 24th.
Peter Myers at Myers of Keswick in the west Village (Hudson Street)known for the
best sausages on the planet-has decided to make this very generous offer from
sausage to sausage. If you show your ticket to Joe's Pub to him he will give
you 50% off a pound of sausages!!!This sheds a whole new light on the
possibility of Art and the Sausage working in tandem.
Also and most importantly my first cousin Billy Roche the playwright of note is
performing in New York at present and I giveth his info below. I really think
would enjoy this performance. I rarely steer my sausages, but this you would
love. The info is below.
My cup ruuneth over in anticipation of our New York reunion-book now and save me
a fortune in therapy!
Love xxxxPierce
New Yawk New Yawk I'm coming back to you my lovelies. I will be playing with
the STRING QUARTET at Joe's Pub on Sat October 24th 7 PM. All the old string
parts will be dusted off to awaken nostalgic nirvana. Enquiries at 212-539-8777
Tickets at 212-967-7555
Tales From Rainwater Pond
Short stories written and performed by Billy Roche
Directed and produced by Elizabeth Whyte
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 through Sunday, September 13, 2009 (no show Thurs
3rd, Mon 7th and Tues 8th Sept.)
Irish Repertory Theatre- W.Scott McLucas Studio - 132 West 22nd St (between 6th
and 7th) New York.
Part of 1st Irish Festival 2009 www.1stirish.org
stories of love - lost, found or discarded, guilt, grieving, stealing, cheating,
yearning, obsession and wishing
Rugged and Melancholy, severe but generous - The Sunday Times
Tickets: $25.00
Length: 1 hr 15 mins
Intermission: None
Seating: General Admission
Tales from Rainwater Pond - US premiere of Wexford Arts Centre production of
leading Irish playwright Billy Roche performing two stories Maggie Angre and
Haberdashery from his critically acclaimed short story collection based on Irish
small town scenarios. This production is part of the 1st Irish Festival 2009 -
www.1stirish.org
This beautifully written, or one might say crafted, collection tells of life at
its most raw and exposed: stories of love - lost, found or discarded, guilt,
grieving, stealing, cheating, yearning, obsession and wishing. Brought to you by
a renowned Irish prolific writer for works that include the Wexford Triology,
Poor Beast in the Rain, Amphibians and The Cavalcaders and Lay me Down Softly
recently produced by the Abbey Theatre Ireland. Billy also wrote the screenplay
for Trojan Eddie starring Stephen Rea and Richard Harris. Billy's short story
Table Manners from the Tales from the Rainwater Pond collection also formed the
basis for the script Eclipse by Conor McPherson which won critical acclaim at
the New York Tribecca Film Festival 2009
---------------------------------------------------------------------
10/5/2009
Well I'm back on the oul American soil. The sun is shining and we had the air
conditioner on last night. I forgot that the summer stretches all the way into
October in New York. It's kind of the opposite to Ireland these days where the
Winter is the stretcher, stretching all the way from October to …..I suppose
October? Although a good Irish Summer's day is as good as lovely spring day in
New York, Whereas a hot Summer's day in New York is like walking under water in
a 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
There is a new video up on You Tube which is worth checking out, made by the
great film director PJ Dillon it was basically lost until recently, maybe even a
lost masterpiece, I don't know-but it's definitely excellent. It is from 3
Minute World and most of you will know it as "ball and chain"(snakes and
ladders) not the live version that's up there, The difference in the title is
that snakes and ladders is after it in brackets. Go take a look Clare is even in
it. And you get to see my beautiful Wexford.
I am heading up to Washington Heights soon to rehearse with the string quartet
for Joe's Pub on October 24th. We have all the star players, Rainmundo
Penaforte on violin and mandolin, Cady Finlayson on Violin, Rob Thomas on Viola
and electric Bass and Martha Colby on Cello. Think of this as a Swift, Puck
Fare reunion. We will do all the classics and knock the shit out of the
recession weehaw!!!Book now or I'll break your neck when I see you. Only
kidding, I love you too much to even break your hoola hoop! But I beg you to
book in advance so that my bank manager doesn't throw me in jail before the gig
for taking on the expense of such a lavish line-up. I did it for my sausages! I
will scream as he drags me to the debtor's prison.
If you have a fave string quartet song that you must hear-let me know now before
I rehearse-and we will see what we can do. Let's act like there's no recession
for just one night.
You are the Love of the loved multiplied by a thousand.
Xxxxxxxx Pierce.
New Yawk New Yawk I'm coming back to you my lovelies. I will be playing with
the STRING QUARTET at Joe's Pub on Sat October 24th 7 PM. All the old string
parts will be dusted off to awaken nostalgic nirvana. Enquiries at 212-539-8777
Tickets at 212-967-7555
PIERCE TURNER WITH THE STRING QUARTET
JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE STREET
SAT OCT 24T AT 7PM
TKTS AT THE PUBLIC THEATRE BOX OFFICE -SAME ADDRESS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
7 Days to Joe's Pub
Legendary quote from Bob Dylan "Book your tickets and half price sausages now,
never before has music and meat been so co-operative. Could this be the future
of CD sales? "A pound of sausages and the new Pierce Turner CD please!"
Saturday, 17 October 2009.
Watched the soccer from England's premiership this morning, great match. We
changed the bed. Miss the little cat when we're doing that. She would always
stick her head down in the corner when I pull the mattress out to tuck the
sheet. Just her bum and tail would stick up in the air. She stayed in Ireland,
she just loves the place. We didn't have the heart (or the money) to bring her
back. Our good friend Anne is minding her.
They tell me that the tickets are going well for Joe's Pub. And did you
remember the sausage deal? If you bring your ticket for Joe's Pub to Myers of
Keswick, the best home made English sausages in town. Peter the proprietor (a
star sausage himself) will sell them to you for half price! These are killer
sausages. Many's the celebrity can be seen in there acquiring the great pies
and sausages that Peter learned to make from his Father, who had his own butcher
shop in Keswick England. Peter is also a very keen music fan and was one of the
proprietors of the legendary Bells Of Hell with Malachy Mc'Court. We played
there a lot as Turner and Kirwan of Wexford.
Just google Myers of Keswick for details.
I had Raimundo and Rob here for a rehearsal on Wednesday, they sounded great and
I rehearse with Fred Parcells next Tuesday. Doing a couple of new ones. It's
goin to be bursting with savage enthusiasm.
Book your tickets and half price sausages now, never before has music and meat
been so co-operative. Could this be the future of CD sales? "A pound of
sausages and the new Pierce Turner CD please!"
I love you so much it makes me dizzy!
Pierce.
PIERCE TURNER
AT JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE
MANHATTAN
Sat Oct 24th
AT 7PM SHARP
Tickets at the Public Theatre box office in person or call 212-967-7555
Remember you don't have to have dinner to sit. You can book a booth just for
drinks
---------------------------------------------------------------------
10/21/2009
I slept like a bugger last night. Woke up in the middle as usual, around 4am,
the time that half the world is supposed to be awake. Read a little bit of my
new book Ian McEwan's "on chesil beach" he found out that his Mother was brain
damaged and I went back to bed. Dropping half a calmex to make sure I stay
there. And stay there I did, be Jasus I found it hard to get out of bed at half
nine! Had the tea and decided to take a yoga class to find me centre. I've
been waiting for two or three weeks to hear from Philip Glass about playing at
Carnegie hall in February, it was taking so long I thought it wasn't going to
happen. Maybe I was a little bummed and that was why I was going to the Yoga
class. So I put my gear on, loose fitting clothes, coat and sun glasses and was
on my way out when Clare handed me the phone with Philip on the other end.
"Yes, you are on for February 26th, we'll have string quartet there or you can
use the Patty Smith Band, Lenny Kaye and bass and drums rehearsal is on the
25th. Would you like me to play with you on Yoga with a broken heart?" Yes, yes
and yes said I. I am ready for Carnegie hall, I have practiced enough! Thank
you Philip, God bless you all belonging to you.
It's the Annual concert for Tibetan house organised my Robert A .F . Thurman
(Uma's Da)
A very glorious affair which in the past has had people like Ray Davies, David
Bowie, Sufjan Stevens, Damien Rice, Michael Stipe and on and on. Add my name to
that list of sausages for next February 26th go look at this site, when you have
a chance. http://www.tibethouse.org/Programs/Annual_Concerts.html
Anyway one way or another it will be thrill to play to a sold out house in
Carnegie Hall.
Let's hope we have a sold out show at Joe's Pub in the meantime, it's filling
up! I have a great set for you, mixing some surprising old ones and some brand
new.
Are ye coming ?
Don't forget after the show we will go to the Scratcher on 5th Street around the
corner just below Bowery.
See you there.
Love.
Pierce.
PIERCE TURNER
AT JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE
MANHATTAN
Sat Oct 24th 2009
AT 7PM SHARP
Tkts 212-967-7555
Or at the Public Theatre Box Office
www.joespub.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
11/20/2009
The things I did today
Woke up,got out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs
And bought some milk
Looking at my watch I noticed I was late
Grabbed an egg and had a bath
Made the bus in seconds flat
Made my way uptown
To 10th and 53rd
To a well known studio
Where people do record
Met a bunch of other men
Learned a song
That was not too long
The man who sang lead
Is famous an all
Goes by the name
Of Will Ferrel
Everyone was real impressed
That I was different than the rest
We were all supposed to be
From the holy ground
And the only one who was
Was me they found
Wednesday next at 6 AM
Me and Will will be shooting a filim
All day long till the sun goes down
Checking my watch
To see how much I'll earn
Thanksgiving day I'll be on the plane
Flying through the air to play in Kildare
December Three let me see, let me see
Leixlip Village is the place I will be
The Courtyard Hotel
In it's Piano Bar
Slick environs to have a jar
Turn the lights down low
And the piano up loud
Next thing you'll know
It's a manic crowd
Hit the floor and kick the heels
Up on the tables
Dance on the keys
Brand new songs
And songs of old
Down from Drumsna
Comes Duignan Noel
From New York Town
With Police cars screaming
To little Leixlip
With the Guinness streaming
It's really true though
The tale I tell
I'm Makin a filim with Will ferrel
And while I'm awake
In the middle of the night
Let me just say what's wrong and right
France used a hand
To beat Ireland!
Pierce Turner
Christmas comes early
Thurs. Dec 3 at 8.00pm
The Courtyard Hotel,(The Piano Bar) Leixlip Main Street, Co. Kildare.
Direct Tel; 01 - 6295100
Direct Fax; 01 - 6295111
The Court Yard Hotel
Leixlip,
Co. Kildare
01 - 6295100
www.courtyard.ie
info@courtyard.ie
Breakfast - E99 for a double room
Bed & Full Irish Breakfast with an evening meal - E149 (for 2 people)
Mention the gig
---------------------------------------------------------------------
12/3/2009
Time for songs!
There outside on the bright and early
Lies a heart that's light and cheery
The bird's put on a morning song
From roof to roof
And branchin on and on and on
To the Russian Ivy
Growing on the garden wall
The garden is a concert hall
For all who turn on
The silence
When the world insists on squawking
When the tone deaf have the floor
Close your eyes and open your mind
Listen to the first song you find inside
It's tax free and in your own key
Arranged by you to suit your mood
Follow it through to a glorious landing
A priceless perk for those who can imagine
It's time for song
Radio One!
Hopefully I will see many of my beloved sausages tonight in Leixlip.
It's all I want for Christmas!
I love you so much it's a crime.
Pierce.
Pierce Turner, special performance
Thurs Dec 3rd at 8.00pm Tickets €20
The Courtyard Hotel,(The Piano Bar) Leixlip Main Street, Co. Kildare.
Reservations. email claregturner(at)gmail.com
Direct Tel; 01 - 6295100
Direct Fax; 01 - 6295111
The Court Yard Hotel
Leixlip,
Co. Kildare
01 - 6295100
www.courtyard.ie
info@courtyard.ie
Breakfast - E99 for a double room
Bed & Full Irish Breakfast with an evening meal - E149 (for 2 people)
Please mention the gig.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
12/10/2009
Christmas is coming again I can feel it in the Irish rain. My summer house is
soaked, the paint may not hold. Yesterday the budget came down hard on almost
everyone, time to paint the Town red!
Next Saturday Dec 19th I'm goin to play my annual Wexford Christmas gig here in
Wexford appropriately. And I enclose the lyrics for my Christmas song in case
you're around and want to sing along.
Let's knock back the grog and port at the Wexford Art Centre. It'll be brillo.
I'm your slave.
Pierce xxxxx
ALL WE WANT FOR CHRISTMAS (IS TO BE FAMOUS) by Pierce Turner
We really don't care how it goes
If we're Johnny Cash's or Nora Jones'
Just give us the dosh and the fancy clothes'
But don't let it take too long
We're in a hurry to prove them wrong
We really are someone
Oh God it would be so much fun
To be some kind of star
And drive a fancy car
Arrive in a big black bus
Have everyone fancy us
All we want for Christmas is to be famous
We don't care where it comes from
Louis, Simon or Sharon Osborne
EATING Ant and Dec's creepy crawly insects
But don't let it take too long
We're in a hurry to get it on
We really are someone
Oh God it would be so much fun
To be some kind of star
And drive a fancy car
Arrive in a big black bus
Have everyone fancy us
All we want for Christmas is to be famous
AND WHEN WE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION
WHEN WE HAVE YOUR EAR
MANY'S A MAG WILL MENTION
HOW WE WALK
AND HOW WE TALK
HOW WE EAT
AND HOW WE DANCE
AND WHERE
OH GOD IT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN TOOOOOOO
Lyrics by Pierce Turner©2006
---------------------------------------------------------------------
12/21/2009
So dearest things can you hustle up some more votes for the album of the decade
nomination in New York urgently? We had a bit of a surge but now we're
slipping. Here is the address again http://www.irishcentral.com/ent/music/
Have you got the time to read this? Did you do your Christmas shopping yet?
And have you got the office party coming up? There's the house to clean, the
groceries to buy, yourself to wash and maintain, the phone to answer, emails to
read and write, the TV to watch-who's got time to listen to music? Or to stop
and dream? And do we want to dream and laugh and cry and drop the ball when we
have been told to pull up our socks because we have been enjoying ourselves too
much?
I saw a guy on the street the other night and he said that he was in a hurry to
go home to bed! He was in a lather of sweat as he rushed along the by-way at the
far side of my footpath. I envisioned him scrambling through his front door,
hastily discarding his coat across the kitchen chair and leaving a trail of
clothes along the floor as he frantically raced to his bedroom so that he could
leap into his bed as quick as possible and squeeze his eyes closed with great
determination and haste for a nice restful nights sleep, phew! Do you think he
pulled it off?
I played in Wexford last Saturday and it was a fairly special gig in many ways.
But the most important thing for me was the musicality of it and the newcomers.
I need new sausages to take the pressure of my old ones who seem to have an
awful lot of distractions. "Oh I thought it was next Saturday!" or "my Sister's
husband had their office party" Give me a call shur and I'll come play in your
house, you would just have to remember to stay in that night??? I'm a sarcy
bugger aren't I?
So dearest things can you hustle up some more votes for the album of the decade
nomination in New York urgently? We had a bit of a surge but now we're
slipping. Here is the address again http://www.irishcentral.com/ent/music/
Now if you are in Ireland I'm sure you will be all sausaged out after Christmas
and there is nothing as depressing as a limp lethargic sausage. On Dec 29th,
which can be a very dull day indeed, I am playing at the cosy plush Sugar Club
in Dublin. Get all the Christmas parties together and lets knock the spots off
that place. You can book here and avoid the Ticketmaster charge write to
claregturner@gmail,com
I hope Santa brings you hope and happiness and don't forget spare a thought for
the poor buggers who have no homes, food or money. A kind word costs us
nothing.
And I love you more than you will ever know.
Merry Christmas.
Pierce.
The Sugar Club
Leeson St Dublin
Saturday Dec 29th
Doors 8pm
The Christmas Show with Pierce Turner the head sausage.
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12/25/2009
With your body full of Turkey, wind and wine and your mind tired from bad
Christmas TV and exhaustive discussions about the gravy and the cold. You might
want to consider the idea of taking your mind out of the house for the amusement
of foreign faces and furniture, fresh air and sonic rapture (hopefully)
And of course your body might be pleased with a bit of movement too. Who knows
you might even find yourself wiggling in time! And between one thing and the
other you could find that the circulation of fresh oxygen and blood to your
tired and lethargic body-parts, might block off any seasonal boredom before
permanence takes hold!
Or in other words if you get out of the house and come down to the Sugar Club on
December 29th you might be able to come back to life again and burn a few
calories as you smile your way back to planet earth.
It's weird that it was only last Christmas that I played at the Sugar Club for
the first time. I am pasting down below the letter that I wrote to you just
before it. I thought night amuse you.
Book with us and avoid the Ticketmaster charge.
Only four days to go!
Will love you then!
Merry Christmas from Clare and Pierce. xxxxxxxxx
Dublin City - The Sugar Club
8 Lower Leeson St.
Tuesday, Dec. 29th Doors at 8pm
Tel. 01 678 7188
www.ticketmaster.ie
Tel. 0818 719 300
I got so bloody drunk the other night by accident! I know that I have to be
under control more than usual this Christmas. It's not normal for me to have a
gig right after Christmas for this very reason, but it's usually so boring after
the big dinner day. I have been thinking every year that I would rather be
playing a gig than sitting with my arms around my belly and not an inch of
cerebrality in my brain.
Anyway I panicked the other night and thought that I'd better get drunk fast
because I need a few days of reasonable sobriety before December 29th at the
Sugar Club. I mean people don't want to see me with a hangover-falling sideways
off a table. So I rushed in to the red wine headlong with our friends Brian and
Eleanor (their 3 beautiful kids stayed sober) out in their lovely house in
Rathangan about 12 miles outside Wexford (over 400 of you have looked at their
Parlour gig on You Tube) and then Brian said let's go around the corner to
Sinnots for a pint. So he called English Mike and he was miracously sober. We
had a few pints in this fantastic bar that is right out of an Irish play. Then
we returned to Brian's house where we grabbed a taxi back to town. Now I was in
right form having run into several people that I knew in Sinnots-the juices were
flowing and I was running out of time getting even closer still to the gig on
the 29th. So Clare went home and I asked the driver to drop me downtown to
Simon Lamberts where I thought I might catch my friends Jimmy Lacey and Joe
Murray, knowing that they would have only barely got their arses in the door as
it was just before midnight (some Irish people think that they are Spanish and
don't go out until 11;30) there they were, in all their glory and I frantically
beckoned the bartender. "Give the lads whatever they're drinking! and I'll have
a red wine please" "which kind would you like" he said, as he spun three small
bottles of red before me. I looked for a second and thought to myself that I
just wasted a precious moment, bringing me even nearer to my self imposed
curfew. Just give me which ever one you think is best I said "ah I'd say the
Chilean" said he and the next day I felt like I had been to Chile and back
having being captured and hung upside down in a dank musty cell by General
Pinochet himself.
The hang over has lasted three days at this point and I'm sure I poisoned
myself.
It's tough! The party's are beckoning in every direction. I will have to be
measured, one glass of wine and one glass of water, that kind of thing. Ah but
it will be worth it. The tickets are going really well, I can get pissed on New
Years Eve, can't I.
So dearest dear little sausages think of me when you drink your cheer….suffering
for art and sausages.
Enjoy the shit out of yourselves, knowing that someone in Ireland who is very
sober LOVES you to death.
Merry Christmas.
Pierce.
Dublin City - The Sugar Club
8 Lower Leeson St.
Tue Dec. 29th Doors at 8pm
Tel. 01 678 7188
www.ticketmaster.ie
Tel. 0818 719 300
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12/29/2009
A Christmas story from Pierce
Pat is going to meet me in Enniscorthy with the horsebox. He called me this
morning and said "God Piersh (that's how Pat speaks) it looks fierce shlippery
out dere! Did ye ever tink about the electric Piano? Ye know I delivered that
Piano to that Woman in Glynn and while I was goin up that small road into her
place, shur the ould trailer did a bit of a jacknife, Jaysus she shlammed right
into the arse of the jeep and rightly fucked the back lights! Mind you it's not
too bad, the lights on the trailer are shtill operating"
But Pat the gig is not until tomorrow! "Oh be gob is it not Piersh? No Pat
it's the 29th this is the 28th! Oh shur it could be gorgeous tomorrow Piersh!
Dass no problem! Listen Piersh, what time will you be going?" "I was thinking
of leaving here at 2;30 Pat, and then I'd be in Enniscorthy at around three!"
"Jaypers weren't we late the last time after I had that blow-out on the trailer?
Remember we had to stop somewhere and change the ould tyre? What if I were to
go on ahead of you Piersh and meet further up the road?" Great I idea Pat said
I (after all it was Pat's idea to be chaperoned from Enniscorthy as he was
nervous about finding his way around Dublin) how about meeting at the Silver
Tassie? "dat's the idea Piersh, exactly!" "Talk to you tomorrow"
Last year our rendezvous at Enniscorthy was fouled up by a small
misunderstanding. Pat said to meet at a garage on the left going out of Town.
There was none, it was on the right. We went up to the roundabout on the edge
of Town and knew something was amiss. I called home on the mobile and he said
that we went too far; he was in a garage on the right! I bit my tongue and
waited for him. Ten minutes later he sped past us, eyes fixed forward without
any concern for waiting musicians on his right. I got out of the car and waved
frantically. No use! We sped on after him as quick as we could and eventually
apprehended his awareness. At that point Clare said "take a look at the
reservation list for tonight and count how many there are!" Couldn't find it
anywhere "What? Try under the seat!" "Nope, it's not anywhere to be found"
"Fuuuck! We have to turn around, it must'v blown out when we were waving at
him!" So we flashed the lights and got Pat to pull over, as I walked back
to explain what happened another man who had been stopped at that exact spot
in the middle of butt fuck nowhere, was sliding a dead cat out of the middle of
the road with his foot. "Hello Pierce" said he "Gor I haven't seen you in
ages!" me being in an absolute panic about the loss of the list, was not in the
mood for this kind of casual small talk and was struggling to stave off
rudeness. "You must remember me I met you at such and such a Party at your
Brothers house in Wexford!" "Oh yeah" I said and kept walking back towards Pats
Jeep, he followed me and said, "Hello Pat how are ye?" like this was no great
coincidence at all! " Gor John !" said Pat casually " Long time no see! Where
are ye headin for? At this point I barged between their "we're no hurry at all
chat" Pat! "We've lost the reservation list! We have to drive back about twenty
miles and pray to the all merciful God on high, that we find it on this very
windy day!" "No problem Piersh, we'll carry, we're driving so slow that you'll
catch up on us anyway" I rushed back to the car and just as I was hurriedly
clipping my safety belt, the other man stuck his head through the window and
said casually " do ye ever play up the Cavan way at all anymore?"
Clare annoyiedly just stuck her foot on the pedal and left him in a stooped
position. I stuck my head out the window and shouted back "No! Not really!"
By some miracle of the highest order we found the list blown up against a bush
where it was stopped on it's journey towards a field that was housing a massive
bull with great big panoramic hungry eyes.
Phew! I have to get ready now for tomorrow. Pat's putting the Piano in the
horse box. If you want to be on that res list. We have to know before noon
tomorrow. It may end up in a field, but that's what's exciting about being a
sausage! Merry Christmas again!!!
Love Piercexxxxx
Dublin City - The Sugar Club
8 Lower Leeson St.
Tuesday, Dec. 29th Doors at 8pm
Tel. 01 678 7188
www.ticketmaster.ie
Tel. 0818 719 300
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1/15/2010
Pierce Turner will appear alongside Patti Smith and Philip Glass at the
prestigious Tibet House benefit at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 26th 2010
Pierce Turner's 2001 album 3 Minute World was voted one of the top three
albums of the decade in New York's Irish Voice.
Pierce takes part in the new Will Ferrell movie "The Other Guys" set for
a Summer release. Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Michael Keaton.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1/18/2010
Dear Little delicate things,
Before this letter, which will be in two parts because it's long.
If you are in new York for Carnegie Hall on Feb 26th Iggy Pop has been added to
the line-up.
Also I will be doing a very special Piano gig in Cavan Town on January 28th
Chapter 1 Cafe
Unit 1,
Convent Building,
Main Street,
Cavan
Phone: +353 49 4373488
Mobile: +353 86 6013884
FAX: +353 49 4373488
E-mail: info@chapteronecafe.ie
Part 1 Abandonment
"It doesn't matter what our specific fate is, as long as we face it with total
abandon!" Apparently Don Juan once said this to Carlos Castaneda while they were
both out having a pint at the local pub. I have been trying to brainwash myself
with this philosophy lately and no question about it there has been ample
opportunity for me to call on these words for guidance.
On December 29th ?09 I played a gig at the Sugar Club in Dublin. When I woke up
that morning I sensed almost immediately from the sound of the wind and the
pallor of the grey daylight, that it could be a dodgy day. Right away the phone
rang a little bit earlier than musician - time. It was my friend Pat the piano
man. "Hello Piersh it's Pat here"
" hello Pat , howarye ?"
Oh not too bad Piersh how are you? ye remember I was telling you about the
trailer jacknifing above on the Glynn road the other day? Well I thought
everything was secure and sound, but when I shtarted up the jeep this morning
the hand brake was frozen and she wouldn't budge an inch!" "shit dass bad news
alright Pat"
"I tried driving her anyhow, but shur the smell of burning was nottin only
dire! Absolute dire! I'm not coddin ye now! Maybe if I can get someone to climb
under her, or something we can fix it, but I'd be having me doubts!"
Now I just want to say here that Pat is not very easily put off! He would bend
over backwards to keep his commitment. So if he's in doubt, there must be a
real reason. "would you !?.. Ever consider playing an electric piano Piersh?"
(dej a vu!) Don Juan comes to mind -total abandon!
"Jays Pat. I hate the fuckin tings, they sound so small!"
Then I look out the window and notice it is the worst weather since Noah took
out the Arc, wind blowing in four different directions, up, down, left and
right! Dark and leashing rain trying to wash our house down the hill, cars
driving by with full beams cutting through the dark day like searchlights
seeking bombers in a black out. And I think "who in their right mind is going
to leave the fire tonight and come to my gig? They're all nesty enough with
their big Christmas bellies begging for more bread wine and cheese. Now they
have an ally in the weatherman whom I'm sure is saying with savour "don't go out
unless you absolutely have to!"
I think of the cost of the electric Piano versus the Acoustic! It might be wise
to keep the over-head down just in case. And then I think of Pat pulling the
trailer up through Co Wicklow with the wind blowing in four directions and
that's only IF he can get someone to crawl under the jeep and fix it!." Tell me
Pat are the keys weighted on the electric?" "Yis they are Piersh, she ?s top of
the range! But I might be still able to get this oul jeep going ye know !" "ah
don't worry Pat, I'll go with the electric!"
"Whatever you think yourself Piersh, shur ye kin come up and take a look at
her, can't ye!"
That day we were bringing our friend Barbara to the Airport as well, she had
been staying with us for Christmas and was heading back to England. So the
little black Alpha Romeo was going to be pretty full with my equipment, Barbara
and her very large case, Clare and myself! Where would this Piano go? Don Juan
comes to mind again. It turns out the back seats collapse on the car so we were
able to slide the piano in sideways and fit the lot of us in with reasonable
comfort. There was only one snag, the heater wasn't working in the car and it
was bloody well freezing, even with the blankets and the hot water bottles! Was
God trying to tell me I should cancel this gig? Something I really, really hate
to do! No! I was going to carry on with?well, maybe not total abandon, but at
least with some!
The rest tomorrow!!
Love.
Piersh
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Part 2 of the Abandonment letter.
The last time I played at the Sugar club I had a sound engineer that was
difficult to work with, I was nearly driven demented. The previous time I had
had someone who was brilliant! and I had now told the manager if I couldn't have
the good one this time, I would have to bring my own. He assured me I would
have the good one and confirmed that nothing had changed just two days ago when
I double-checked, to be certain-sure.
Assembling the stand for the electric Piano was a feat of engineering which
required one to think from the inside out and to pull legs in a direction that
felt as un-natural as bending your shins forward at the knee! But up I got her!
And it was only then I realised that there was no Piano stool, something that
usually comes automatically with the acoustic. I got myself a nice red velvet
chair, but it was very low! The Sugar Club is not like most venues, there are
no superfluous yokes lying around for improvising around moments like this. So
I had to find things. I had a towel in my bag, which was a bright blue. Garvan
Gallagher (bassist) gave me a black amp cover, which went over the towel, still
not high enough! Clare suggested adding the hot water bottles "good idea!"
stuck them into the mix, still not high enough! Found a large black cardigan in
the cloakroom, wrapped that around the whole thing and decided to lower the
piano a couple of notches. It was passable, !
but it was not looking great I must say.
A young bespectacled gentleman in Doc martin boots comes up to me and introduced
himself, just as I was coming to terms with another request for abandonment
regarding the make-shift Piano seat -. " Pierce?" "Yes" "Hi. I'm mixing your
sound tonight!" I abandoned all reservation with my expression of disappointment
"But what happened to Ian?" "All excited about his Brother being in town
tonight, ye know, rock stars and all that! His Brother is the lead singer in the
Script ye know!" (I couldn't give a shit if his brother is God almighty
himself-imagine if I was to send in someone else to play the gig tonight! Don't
people realise that it's not just A sound engineer! They are not all the same! I
want a specific one! This is not a casual matter!) Don Juan throws me a very
dirty look now "sorry wass yer name again?" I noticed that he's serious enough
to bring his own special mics for the absent acoustic Piano (a sign of someone
who cares) I decide he's a nice guy and appears to!
be a professional. Still because he doesn't really know my sound and I am
already up against it anyhow with the electric Piano being a stranger to me; the
sound check is a laborious time consumer, which barely finishes in time to open
the doors to the poor soldierly sausages huddled outside in the leashing,
horizontal rain.
There were people! I was really shocked and relieved to hear them coming in. I
decided to pull back the curtain in the dressing to peek at the audience for a
rough assessment of the attendance. It looked decent, someone noticed me
gawking, I jerked back quickly and BANG! The loudest racket you ever heard in
yer life, it was the acoustic guitar falling from a very tall cocktail table for
what seemed like an eternity and hitting the floor with the drama and finality
of a train falling off a bridge into a cavernous valley. "oh fuck!" said I, and
Garvan concurred. I picked it up like a dead baby, there was a rattle. At
this point I wanted to strangle Don Juan- "all the abandonment in the world is
not going to bring back my guitar! I suppose you think I should play the piano
all night and just leave out the guitar songs! Well tell that to those people
out there who will only get half a show!" I was now having full fledged
arguments with Do Juan. While Garvan was attending t!
he funeral of my guitar I said (hopefully) "ah it's only the battery that's
broken loose from it's mooring" (hail mary?to hell with Don Juan) after holding
it upside down and trying to manoeuvre the loose object through the sound-hole
for what seemed like an eternity, I finally copped the idea of loosening a
couple of strings so that I could cup my hand and reach in to claw the battery
out (thank you Mary, it is the battery!) and put it back where it belonged.
We go on stage to enthusiastic appplause. I softly run the back of my hand
across the guitar to make sure it was working and it blood well wasn't! Oh no! I
quickly explain to the audience that it did have a terrible fall in the dressing
room- they could feel their show dwindling away- I fiddled with the controls-an
eternity had passed, I could feel my body heating up-what a way to start a show!
After me turning it off and the sound-man turning it on and me turning it on and
the sound-man turning it off a couple of times, it turns out that I had been
panicking because of the fall and had merely only failed to turn it on in the
first place. Now when we both coincided in the on position, the sweet sound of
acoustic strings emanated from the house PA. Everyone cheered and I joked that
I was only kidding in the first place as I dragged my arse over to the piano for
the first song, but Don Juan wasn't finished trying me yet!
Ironically the first song in the set is called "Mayhem" I start to sing the
first line;
"Try to be bland and plain while my whole worlds in a hurricane" and then
PICHOO***/?'@// as soon as I put my arse on the hot water bottle/blue towel,
cardigan combo, the microphone transmitter in my back pocket made an absolutely
ear-splitting electronic bang,. I made some kind of inane remark, knowing that
it was way too soon for another joke. "Mayhem in my flat and tanks out on the
heath" PICHOO***/?'@// This time I chose to say nothing and stood up instead,
lifting my behind up off the seat and stooping over the keyboard in a half
standing-half stooped position, and acting like I was completely comfortable,
desperately hanging on to total abandon
After that I explained to the audience how I had written the next song in New
York on a depressing Monday and that when I sing "I think I'm drowning in a pool
of Mondays rain" they should answer "he thinks he's drowning in a pool of
Mondays rain" Knowing how much Dublin audiences love to sing I was really
looking forward to this. I started the song and came up to the chorus, stopping
the drum machine in preparation for the audience participation; "I think I'm
drowning in a pool of Mondays rain" " He thinks he's? PICHOO***/?'@// I
accidentally sat on the precarious pile, through the huge electronic bang I
could barely hear the audience singing their hearts out (fuck, fuck .feck it! I
thought to myself) another perfect moment ruined! But I kept going and
eventually it was a great, even brilliant gig, with the longest request for an
encore I have ever had. So I do believe that I deserve a Don Juan meddle now.
A couple of people came up afterwards and said that it was a great!
gig but that it started off a bit rough. I joked that I like to start rough
so that I have some room to improve.
For the life of me I don't know why. But it does seem that this kind of stuff
happens to me an awful lot. I'm sure to the person out in the audience that I
come across as being not that fussy or very laissez faire. But it's not true!
I spend hours and hours going over all the things that I would like to do and
the prevention of things that might go wrong. However I do like to keep things
interesting by changing the set a lot. And I like to have a wireless guitar and
microphone so that I can abolish the constraints of the stage-I can choose to
sing wherever I like in the room. I suppose if you add these things up, they
also allow for more things to go wrong. When I was touring America in 1988 to
promote "The sky and the ground" Members of my backing band pleaded with me
regularly to nail down a set so that we could work up a really slick show, this
is what bands normally do! I would get bored very quickly and I'm sure the
music would become cold-but slick, and less mi!
stake-prone! If anything I suppose that is the problem. I would rather have
an exciting flaw than slick predictability. Is this a bit of a death wish or am
I just naturally inclined towards Don Juan's philosophy "It doesn't matter what
our specific fate is, as long as we face it with total abandon!"
Mayhem © Turner 88
Try to be bland and plain
While my whole world's in a hurricane
Mayhem in my flat
And tanks out on the heath
Dia smuire aoimh
Connasa ta tu today
Ricochet the words
Like bullets in my head
While I'm getting all the news
Of what's really goin on
In the afterbirth of the seventh year
And the changes that I can't stop
So wave and smile
Like the queen out on a drive
Dia smuire aoimh
Connasa ta anois
Time will tell
But I wish that time would speed
And heal the way it steals
While it provides
Try to be bland and plain
While my whole worlds
In a hurricane
Hands up all of you
Who know what I'm talking about?
Let me grab you so we can share
I hear the souls out in the cemetery
Reaching out to calm
I know there's something going on
That hasn't happened all before
To men at war
And Gods on earth
To big pop stars and celibate nuns
To the writers of relief
To you and me
But still I feel alone
Try to be bland and plain
While my whole worlds
In a hurricane
*** Pierce Turner newsflash ***
Pierce Turner will appear alongside Iggy Pop, Patti Smith and Philip Glass at
the prestigious Tibet House benefit at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 26th 2010
Pierce Turner's 2001 album 3 Minute World was voted one of the top three albums
of the decade in New York's Irish Voice.
Pierce takes part in the new Will Ferrell movie "The Other Guys" set for a
Summer release. Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Michael Keaton.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
3/12/2010
They tell me I won't be let into China now! I had such an amazing night at
Carnegie Hall it was worth it. The Dalai Lama didn't make it but Iggy Pop was
pretty close. I bet that stage hasn't been spat on for a while. And the Dalai
lama apparently has never been seen spitting! Nor does he sing a song called "I
wanna be your dog" But Iggy and I like the Dalai Lama and since he and I can
never go to China now we are going to settle for a delivery of sweet and sour
something.
This Saturday I am playing with the string Quartet at the Lexington Armoury. We
had a brilliant rehearsal yesterday and we are going to do a kind of Best Of.
Including fun covers like Say you don't Mind, Lithium, Band of Gold and on and
on. I am all fired up after seeing Iggy and after playing on that beautiful
stage and I am going to knock that bloody place down. If you are in Manhattan
you have to come and that's all there is to it.
Sorry I haven't much time to write lately, I will be back on track again soon.
Come dance with me on Saturday at 8;30 PM.
I love you so much it's keeping me awake at night.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Pierce.
P,S when you spell check Iggy-it suggests Piggy! Piggy Pop?
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3/21/2010
If I was more confident about my spelling I might write more easily and more
often. But the spell check has wrecked my confidence about the standard that I
had set for my own level of incorrect spelling. This bloody thing seems to get
confused sometimes about the most elementary words; words like ambition or
aptitude-you never know what word it's going to yellow out and then have no
answers when you query for alternatives. I am almost certain that I'm
dyslexic-but then again so are two thirds of the planet. If almost two thirds
of the planet thinks backwards-why is forward the norm?.
I have written a song called Philip Glass is a class act .. And then it goes?.
Famous people can be such a pain in the ass like
But not Philip he's a class act!
I have written this song because Philip has been so good to me it's insane. I
said to him recently "thank you so much for Carnegie hall" he replied " I'm a
friendly guy, but I'm not that friendly, I'm doing it because I like your music"
Of course I am like all human beings in that I can't believe that's completely
true. As Sandra Bullock said when she got the Academy Award " Did I deserve
this or did I just wear you down?" That's the way I feel with Philip. This week
I nailed him down to come into the Studio with me on April 16th to record the
song that we played in Carnegie Hall. The New York Times said that it was "a
cross between Joni Mitchell and Opera." Rolling Stone said that it was "soaring
and reminiscent of David Bowie" Regina Spector said "Wow" and I wonder what the
character in the song "Yogi with a Broken Heart " would think of all this?
I have one more New York gig before I go back to Ireland. Joe's Pub on Friday
April 30th at 7pm. I am honoured (that's the English spelling) to have the
Scorchio String Quartet from Carnegie Hall for the occasion. It will be a repro
of that Tibet House moment and I am so delighted this great Quartet can be
there. Sorry Iggy (or Piggy) is elsewhere. This may well be my last gig in NY
this year I'm sorry to say. So please get out of work at five and take the
drive down to the lower side.
I love you more than you could ever love me.
Kome out of de hoose.
Pierce xxxxxxxxxxx
Write to me at claregturner@gmail.com
PIERCE TURNER AND THE SCORCHIO QUARTET
JOES'S PUB 425 LAFAYETTE MANHATTAN
FRIDAY APRIL 30TH AT 7PM
TKTS 212-967-7555
OR AT THE PUBLIC THEATRE
ENQUIRY 212-539-8777
www.joepub.com
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4/6/2010
Today for some reason or other the sirens on First Avenue were in harmony with
my activities. I am in the process of recording a talking book, and it's weird
because the First Avenue traffic usually fits in okay with my songs-but not so
with the spoken word through, every little sound is noticeable. It was driving
me nuts, looking out the window, waiting for the traffic lights to change to red
and trying to get a take in there before green! I refused to give in and kept
hammering away-but I must confess that I was beginning to feel like I was peeing
in the wind.
Then today everything changed! I came into the sitting room and the sun was
cutting a sharp triangle across the Hopper print of "The lady in a Summer
Dress"-I opened the window wide to see if the cars were being loud. The apple
blossom tree outside my window on the Avenue was looking splendid in her spring
dress-all pink and soft she was smiling in the sun- she reached in through the
window to me, and coooed
"What are you up to?"
"Oh all kinds of things, really"
" Are you playing around at all?"
"Yes in fact, I'm playing at Joe's Pub on Friday April 30th"
"Oh that's great-what on your own?"
"No I'm playing with the Scorchio String Quartet-the group who backed me at
Carnegie Hall"
"Oh 'm sure they sounded great with you-I don't get out much of course"
"I'm also trying to record a talking book-but the noise on the Avenue has been
very disagreeable"
"Well we'll have to see what we can do about that-give it a go today!"
I pulled my head in-turned on the machine and began to record-the traffic came
through the lights-but they moved slowly making very little noise. Nothing
jittered and nothing clanged-nothing beeped and nothing banged-I careened
through the piece with precision and poise-and was really surprised at the lack
of interruption. I looked out the window to see how come? And there they were
all mesmerised and calm- moving slowly so that they could take the time-to
admire the pretty flamingo in the pink summer dress-covered in the blossoms of
Spring standing outside my Window with the wind blowing through her hair.
It's time again my New York sausages to celebrate our love for each other-come
out with the flowers of April and relive the Carnegie hall Moment with The great
Scorchio String Quartet.
Happy Easter!
I love your little cherub button bottoms!
XxxxxxxPierce.
P.S Here are some the mentions from the Carnegie Hall reviews
Rolling Stone review of Tibet house benefit @ Carnegie Hall "Early in the
night, composer Phillip Glass introduced Irish singer Pierce Turner, who sat at
the grand piano and performed the soaring, Bowie-reminiscent "Yogi with a Broken
Heart."
NY Times review of the same event
"A piano playing Irish songwriter with tinges of opera and Joni Mitchell sang
his "Yogi with a Broken Heart" joined by Mr. Philip Glass on keyboard."
PIERCE TURNER LAST N.Y/ GIG BEFORE IRELAND
WITH THE SCORCHIO QUARTET
FRIDAY APRIL 30TH AT 7PM
JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE
MANHATTAN
TKTS 212-967-7555
OR AT THE PUBLIC THEATRE
ENQ 212-539-8777
--
*newsflash-Pierce Turner at Joe's Pub New York with the Scorchio Quartet Fri
April 30th at 7pm
Rolling Stone review of Tibet house benefit @ Carnegie Hall "Early in the
night, composer Phillip Glass introduced Irish singer Pierce Turner, who sat at
the grand piano and performed the soaring, Bowie-reminiscent "Yogi with a Broken
Heart."
NY Times review of the same event
"A piano playing Irish songwriter with tinges of opera and Joni Mitchell sang
his "Yogi with a Broken Heart" joined by Mr. Philip Glass on keyboard."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
4/19/2010
Rumour has it that some people think Joe's Pub is sold out on April 30th. Well
it's not true my dear little Cumberland sausages. However, now that Philip
Glass has agreed to come on stage with me and play our Carnegie hall song "Yogi
with a Broken Heart" tickets are likely to be in demand. However it won't be in
the press for a while-so you get to hear about it first-because you're special.
Philip and I recorded the song on Friday out in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn. And
it really came out well. It's not every day that you get Philip Glass to play an
original part on one of your songs. The studio has this beautiful grand piano
and it just purrs.
We are supposed to go to Ireland on May 12th but who knows if that Volcanic ash
will be gone or not? We may never fly again! Volcanoes don't care about
anyone's agenda. Apparently the military are flying planes above it and below
it to see how it goes????Are they mad? Look, can we wait until the fucker is
gone! Don't get any bright ideas!
I am tired now, the night has come upon me and it's a Sunday. I still feel
flourishes of dread about Monday, even though I haven't had a day job since
Moses broke that tablet!
The Country Music awards were on tonight and they were hilarious. All these
country women trying to sing like Mariah Carey-breaking their arses at half time
to sing with Cellos and harps. Look that cello shit's my game-stick to the
steel guitars and the plaintive tune! And what's with the sexy cowboy thing?
These guys are all movie stars now-they must spend four hours a day in the Gym!
They must have a gym built in to the Bus! Ah give me Willy Nelson with nothing
on the Bus but a double bed and a bong and a fridge full of Cherry Garcia.
Please come to Joe's Pub. The Scorchio string quartet sound great and I'm
brushing off some old jewels because Philip will be there, especially " How it
shone" with his string arrangement.
It's time again my New York sausages to celebrate our love for each other-come
out with the flowers of April and relive the Carnegie hall Moment with The great
Scorchio String Quartet.
I love your little cherub button bottoms!
XxxxxxxPierce.
P.S Here are some the mentions from the Carnegie Hall reviews
Rolling Stone review of Tibet house benefit @ Carnegie Hall "Early in the
night, composer Phillip Glass introduced Irish singer Pierce Turner, who sat at
the grand piano and performed the soaring, Bowie-reminiscent "Yogi with a Broken
Heart."
NY Times review of the same event
"A piano playing Irish songwriter with tinges of opera and Joni Mitchell sang
his "Yogi with a Broken Heart" joined by Mr. Philip Glass on keyboard."
PIERCE TURNER LAST N.Y/ GIG BEFORE IRELAND
WITH THE SCORCHIO QUARTET
And very special guest PHILIP GLASS
FRIDAY APRIL 30TH AT 7PM
JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE
MANHATTAN
TKTS 212-967-7555
OR AT THE PUBLIC THEATRE
ENQ 212-539-8777
---------------------------------------------------------------------
4/24/2010
NEWSFLASH * PHILIP GLASS WILL BE JOINING PIERCE TURNER ON STAGE AT JOE'S PUB TO
PERFORM "YOGI WITH A BROKEN HEART"
I'm bloggin here!
Not that that caterpillar outside my window slicing up the avenue like a pizza
pie, gives a shite! They started down on 1st Street and 1st Ave and they have
now arrived at my building on 11th Street! It looks like open-heart surgery of
the Avenue, but if that's the case this poor bastards heart must be in terrible
condition, because they just did this a few months ago and now they're at it
again! Did they forget something? Wouldn't it be great to have a job like
that, where you make a foopaw and you still get paid to carry on? Not only
that, but they pay you to fix the mistake too!
It doesn't seem to work that way for me. In fact it's the exact opposite. If I
do really well, like let's say. Sell out a gig at Joe's Pub. The people who
didn't buy tickets in advance get pissed off because they couldn't get in! Next
time they say,
"oh I'm not bothering with that, last time I couldn't even get in, it's probably
sold out anyway!"
I played a gig once in a place called Carrig on Bannow about 12 miles from my
hometown Wexford and it was jammed! But a busload of 15 people came from the
Town without any tickets and were unable to get in. I was on stage playing and
having a really good time, when Clare came up to me in a state of panic and said
"there's a bus here from Wexford and they can't get in!" I was trying to sing
at the time. She then spent the whole night alternating a few of them in to the
gig for a while and then switching with a different bunch. She was run ragged
all night and they were so pissed off most of them never came again, that'll
show me! Mr big shot! But, but but??? Mia culpa!
Foolishly I thought having a sold out show was a good thing. But no! It seems
what I need to do is time the whole thing more perfectly! Just sell enough
tickets so that there is a buzz and Mary say's to Joe, "Oh I believe Maura and
Peggy are going to that!" and then they all arrive together, buy tickets at the
door and get great seats, and just after Mary's arse ( the last arse) passes
through the door the gig is sold out! With not one person wanting to get in! and
yet it's packed-but not too packed!
This is what I get for wanting great characters in my audience. They are not
crowd followers! They like to like music that only they like! As soon as there
is a hint of reaching beyond that to the general public, they adopt the Woody
Allen attitude,! I would never want to be a member of any club that would have
me as a member!"
Of course it dawns on me too, that as a performer I may be drawing towards me,
people who are like myself! And that's why I am so comfortable hanging out with
them. And by the way that's why I have arranged for us all to go to the back
room in Swift on E 4th Street after the show at Joe's Pub-Which by the way is
selling at a nice easy pace, looking very much like it will fill up very
gradually to a polite climax befitting the benign orchestration of Peggy, Maura,
Jimmy, Patsy ,Eileen, Larry, Regina and etc??Everyone will get in no matter
how late you arrive and we will wait until Saturday for you if you have to wash
your hair!
I am so honoured to have the greatest living classical composer Philip Glass
playing "Yogi with a Broke Heart" at Joe's with me on Friday. Not to mention
the wonderful Scorchio Quartet. And don't forget Swift after wards. Book now!
Or not! Or maybe? Or plan to? Don't worry I'll keep reminding you! And then
on the 31st; When is Pierce playing at Joe's Pub?
And to my Dublin sausages, you heard it first, I will be at Whelans of Wexford
Street on July 16th Book or write to me here at claregturner@gmail.com
I am finished blogging now-and they are cleaning up the Avenue after today's
operation.
I am loving you lot's xxxxxx
Pierce.
Or at Ticketmaster.
PIERCE TURNER AND THE SCORCHIO QUARTET
WITH VERY SPECIAL GUEST PHILIP GLASS
JOES'S PUB 425 LAFAYETTE MANHATTAN
FRIDAY APRIL 30TH AT 7PM
TKTS 212-967-7555
OR AT THE PUBLIC THEATRE
ENQUIRY 212-539-8777
http://www.joespub.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
5/19/2010
The fire is lighting and the hatches are all battened down! The cat's come in
after a day of chasing blackbirds and the 9pm sun insists that the summer is
coming. Down here in the South East of Ireland daylight persists until as late
as 10pm in the middle of May! Still, the frost refuses to retreat. It has found
a foothold in the nooks and crannies and no matter how much the Sun huffs and
puffs through the cotton wool clouds it fails to permeate the walls of our old
house. Hence the lighted fire and the woollen cardigan-which I am only
mentioning now-but might soon remove as the fire takes command.
THIS JULY WILL BE THE RETURN TO HOUSE GIG MONTH.
I have some very exciting plans for this Summer, but not so much normal stuff-
I'm turning off the treadmill for a bit of rumination, examination, estimation,
self flagellation and conversation. However I have decided to pursue my new
favourite way to play between the public legit events. I want to do some more
private house gigs this summer. With the exception of July 16th which is booked
for Whelans of Wexford Street Dublin. I am offering July for house gigs. Write
here if you are interested claregturner at gmail.com Anywhere in Ireland, England
or France is a possibility. Who knows? the last time I did this the plan was
to only do six and I ended up doing sixty! If you write we'll tell you how it
works. You will need a real piano (in tune and playable) maybe I can help you
rent one at a reasonable price. Remember you don't need a mansion!!! If you
would like to see a typical house gig, go to You Tube and you can view Brian and
Eleanor O' Driscolls great video of t!
heirs.
Thanks to my New York sausages for a tremendous gig at Joe's Pub in April. And
thanks to Philip Glass and the Scorchio String Quartet for their wonderful
performance.
As for the Irish Sausages I am really looking forward to these great public
events. Spread the word, tell the gang!
Xxxxxx all my love.
Pierce.
WHELANS
WEXFORD STREET
DUBLIN?..PIERCE'S BLOOD IS ALL OVER THOSE TABLES.
FRIDAY JULY 16TH
THE KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL PRESENTS PIERCE TURNER
AT THE PARADE TOWER KILKENNY
SATURDAY AUGUST 7TH
A HUGELY PRESTIGIOUS EVENT
DE BARRAS CLONAKILTY WEST CORK
THURSDAY AUG 26TH
THE LEGENDARY VENUE CREATED BY JIMI HENDRIX'S NOEL REDDING
THE WEXFORD ART CENTRE
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 4TH
HOME SWEET HOME-WITH A GREAT PIANO IN THE CENTRE OF THE ROOM
JULY IS AVAILABLE FOR THE FAMOUS HOUSE GIGS
WRITE HERE claregturner at gmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
6/20/2010
Someone said, "Where are you?" I said, "here! Where are you?"
"There! I'm over here!"
"Where is there?"
"Over here!"
It's been so long!
I felt you needed space.
It seemed like time to shut up for a while.
So I was listening for a while. But you didn't say much and suddenly it crossed
my mind that you might move away! So I've grabbed the laptop and put it atop my
lap with the full intention of saying something pertinent! Something to fill
this canyon of silence that has developed in our one sided conversation.
Pat Donahue came down fro Enniscorthy the other day and tuned my piano. He was
booked to come at one on Sunday. At five past one Annie knocked on the door and
said "were you expecting Pat Donahue to come and tune your Piano today? I said
"yes" and she said "oh good, we'll be right back, he's just parked up the
street" they arrived back with three serious looking boxes of stuff and Pat went
at it hard for the next three hours. It's an old Piano, it was my Mothers and
it's the one I learned on. Pat said that she wasn't good enough for me; I said
"shur Pat she was my Mothers, I could never get shut of her!" Pat then got a
little sentimental and said that she really was "not that bad of an oul yoke"
After yanking it all up to speed (it had slipped about a quarter tone) Pat and
his assistant Annie had a cup of tea and departed in time for me to watch a bit
of the World Cup, which turned out to be a crap match-Ireland are so much better
then some of the teams.
I needed the Piano tuned primarily because I had a rehearsal planned for
yesterday with Karen and Linda on Viola and Violin. They came down from Dublin
like as if Dublin was only a spit away (86 miles) and we ran through a rake of
songs including some brand new ones (wonder when that album will be done?) We
notated Philip Glasses arrangement of "Yogi with a Broken Heart" and it sounded
beautiful-if I might say so myself. The last gig at Joes Pub was a bit of a
revelation in that I discovered playing Piano with strings was particularly
exciting. Why this suddenly seems like a great idea after all this time beats
me! But it really felt that way yesterday again. Songs like "How it Shone" and
"The Answer" really feel fresh in this setting. For the Kilkenny Arts Festival
on August 7th I plan on featuring this approach, especially these songs that
Philip worked on-his name sounds good on the program of a large arts festival.
But first let us bring the near future to light WHELANS OF WEXFORD STREET DUBLIN
ON JULY 16TH Its going to be a big deal I can tell you here and now. Pat is
bringing the Piano up in the horsebox and it will be a hell of a challenge to
get her up on the stage! It's pretty high, ye know! There will be several large
men with fancy back braces that look like children's bibs, huffing and puffing
and shouting instructions at each other in a frantic tone that might suggest
imminent danger.
"You pull her this way and I'll push her up!"
"Now!!! Slider her on her back!"
"Watch her Jimmy she's falling!"
"We might have to take the legs offa her!"
That kinda stuff. But it will be mighty, Whelans is where we were weaned, it's
a classic summer venue, the long Irish daylight will be coming in through the
stained glass skylight until about ten at night. And then the stage lights will
start to turn all blue - red and intense. Just like an outdoor festival-but
with a real toilet, bar and great acoustics, no blowing the sound away in the
wind. You can book with us here and save on the all them booking fees write to
claregturnerATgmail and don't forget to say how many!
There now I've filled the space between us, you are closer now, I can feel you.
Keep coming closer and we'll meet in Whelans.
Scuse me while I kiss the sky.
Love yous.
Pierce.
Whelans Wexford Street Dublin
Fri July 16th 8;30 pm
TKTS at Tickemaster and WAV
Or book wit us at claregturner@gmail.com
--
Rolling Stone review of Tibet house benefit @ Carnegie Hall "Early in the
night, composer Phillip Glass introduced Irish singer Pierce Turner, who sat at
the grand piano and performed the soaring, Bowie-reminiscent "Yogi with a Broken
Heart."
NY Times review of the same event
"A piano playing Irish songwriter with tinges of opera and Joni Mitchell sang
his "Yogi with a Broken Heart" joined by Mr. Philip Glass on keyboard."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
7/6/2010
I have worked very hard to avoid booking gigs during the world cup and so far
succeeded admirably I must say. Unfortunately up until now most of the matches
have been useless. All along I have said that Germany were going to win it and
now I'm sure of it. So say's I to myself "there's a couple of matches left
before the end but I'd say that the final will be between Germany and
Holland?and when is that?" "Where is that paper?"
"What? You must be shittin me, it's on Sunday July 11th?
I have a Parlour gig that night! After all the planning" It'll probable be crap
anyhow, or is this going to be the best one? Maybe we'll put the tellee behind
the piano.
The sun seems to have made a mistake and stopped in the sky over Ireland for an
unbelievable length of time! We keep preparing subconsciously for a long
depressing bout of saturating rain, but it doesn't come! And the result is
tremendously confusing. If you are in America and feel a great need to visit
your Aunt Nelly in Kenmare, now is your chance-you wont be disappointed. The
foliage is flush and the roses are succulent the sea is warm enough to swim in,
people are eating ice cream cones and drinking pints of Guinness on the
pedestrian streets where cars are banished and music streams from the windows.
Get over here now while you can. It could be winter next summer!
And if you come here soon you could catch the gig at Whelan's of Wexford Street
in Dublin on Friday July 16th. I think I'll have to learn a summer song, what
should it be? If you want to avoid the surcharges, you can book here with us at
claregturner@gmail.com
By the way, got a car, waiting for it to arrive, will tell you all about it when
I get it.
Have to go out in the sun now! That's the trouble I feel guilty about sitting in
here on this bloody computer now. Even though I love writing to my sausage
pudding pies.
Pierce xxxxx
Fri July 16th Whelans - Dublin City
25 Wexford St.
Show 8.30pm
Tickets: available www.ticketmaster.ie or Tel.0818 719300 or through ourselves
on our guaranteed reservation list email: claregturner@gmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
7/24/2010
Didn't get out of the house at all today. Spent the whole day notating string
parts for the Kilkenny Arts Festival coming up on August 7th.
I am working on so many things at once now it seems foolish. But still they
are there! And I can't just abandon them. Is this the story of life?
As we get older we pick up more things, or we refuse, if we refuse we die of
boredom, if we don't refuse we become overwhelmed with the multiplication of our
curiosities?
Right now I'm working on a talking book, a new album- the
follow up to 'The Boy To Be With', a book of lyrics, I'm preparing to produce an
album for an Irish Band that I really love called The Darlin Sins as well as
booking gigs and preparing for (possibly) multimedia shows like Kilkenny.
Somewhere in between all that I have to eat my dinner and drink some wine, jog
on the beach, sing for two hours a day and do Yoga before the Sun goes down.
Jasus I'm knackered just from! writing it down.
The early grey has been burnt from the Irish sky and now the 9pm Sun has come
through in an evening way. Grainy light like an underexposed kodachrome.
The delicate clouds hesitantly white mingle with the fading blue of a lullaby.
And I remember now the room up the road where we lived when I was six years old.
A small bungalow just like this with a flower garden in the front and a vegetable
garden in the back. I had a bed by the back window and even on summer evenings
like this I was put to bed around nine o'clock. You see Wexford is in a northerly
latitude and it doesn't get dark here until eleven O'clock in the summer.
So I would lie in that bed with daylight still filling the room, me all clean
and scrubbed, hair slightly damp upon the pillow, slightly confused about these
combinations but safe and contentedly tired. The decision was made for me
by someone else and I was ultimately glad to call it a day.
You are now a story and stories never d!ie
They live forever and can even multiply!
And you are the sausage of my eye.
Sleep tight.
Lovexxxxzzzzz Pierce.
SATURDAY AUGUST 7TH
PRESENTS PIERCE TURNER
AT THE PARADE TOWER KILKENNY
A HUGELY PRESTIGIOUS EVENT
DE BARRAS CLONAKILTY WEST CORK
THURSDAY AUG 26TH
THE LEGENDARY VENUE CREATED BY JIMI HENDRIX'S NOEL REDDING
Sat Sept 4th Wexford Arts Centre -
Wexford Town - the Cornmarket Show 8.00pm Tickets: available
boxoffice@wexfordartscentre.ie
or Tel. 053 91 23764
Telling stories and singing songs at the KAF
Laurence Mackin
Over the first weekend of the Kilkenny Arts Festival, two acts in particular stood out. On Saturday evening, while Robert Fisk was delivering the Hubert Butler lecture in St Canice's Cathedral, Pierce Turner was ripping it up in Kilkenny's Parade Tower with his blend of singing, storytelling and more than a touch of vaudeville.
Turner divides his time between Wexford and New York and here, with accompaniment from Karen Dervan and Lynda O'Connor on viola and violin respectively, he bounced between piano, guitar, and a bit of xylophone, and interspersed his set with various stories relevant to his songs. His show opener was a narrated short story with some projected images about two men enjoying a marvellous conversation. The set was exciting stuff, with plenty of humour and skill and a real traditional feel, in that the audience wasn't so much listening to a series of songs, as been told a long story, with all the different elements interlinking along the way through song, spoken word and even the odd few shapes that Turner was throwing on stage.
On Sunday, Erik Friedlander brought his Block Ice and Propane project to the Set Theatre, and although it was a much more contemplative affair, it had a lot in common with Turner's show. Friedlander is the son of Lee Friedlander, a US photographer, and every summer the family Friedlander would be packed into an ageing pick-up truck, with some accommodation built on top, and they would take off on a mad, few months' long dash from the east to the west coast. Friedlander's father like to make the most of the summer months, the beautiful light and the long days.
The result is a cache of photographs that depicts the US from coast to coast, and hundreds of pictures of little Erik, his sister, parents and oddball aunts and uncles, supplemented by some haunting films by Bill Morrison. Block Ice and Propane (Friedlander specifically referred to it as a "project" rather than an album) is directly inspired by this, and Friedlander narrates various slides of his family and tells a few very charming stories about what sounds like nothing less than a great American adventure during the 1960s and 1970s.
The music itself is stunning, switching from raw, meditative laments of open prairies to rollicking, blistering reels which rip of Friedlander's carbon-fibre cello with astonishing alacrity and technique. Some of the tracks are sophisticated and delicate, whereas others sound like they have just rolled in off the Appalachian mountains.
So where do this unlikely pair meet? Well, Turner's show was not entirely solo whereas Friedlander was, but both were crossing a lot of boundaries with these concerts. There was a modern, multimedia element to both, but the beauty was in the very act of telling stories, using music and sound, film, video and instruments, in a very naturalistic and accomplished way. Many performers get up to sing their songs and think it is enough – and in many cases, it is. But in these two acts we have performers, from very different places and very different backgrounds, who go a step further in bringing their message out into the open, and creating an experience that is all the more immersive and engaging.
And just in case you're more than a little intrigued, here is Turner with The Sky and the Ground, named after a Wexford pub. Drink it in. For a little taste of Friedlander, check out Friday's post on the weekend's events.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 8/25/2010 Hello my dear little suffering soldiers. Are you broke? Or nearly broke? Or have you still got a decent job? Or any kind of job at all? I am professionally penniless myself. I have become so good at surviving beyond all recognition of common standard, so frequently out-earned by the paper boy, that I have long since abandoned all pride of appearance. Words like recession just roll off of me like rain upon the feather of a duck. I am permanently recessed and almost immune to depression thereof. I have become a musical monk of sorts, divorced from most material needs and filled with blind hope. Come join me we can laugh at the whole thing together. If you are in the U.S or the U.K you might want to go check out the movie "The Other Guys" I'm in the bar scene singing along with Will Ferell, hilariously it is the number one movie in both of those countries, now I wonder does this musical monk get residuals??? I return to New York in October and it looks like I will be at Joe's Pub in Manhattan on October 23rd. Just waiting to firm it up. If you are in Cork I will be at De Barras in Clonakilty this Thursday Aug 26th. And at the Wexford art Centre Sept 4th. Back in Dublin at Aras Chronain on Sat Sept 11th . This looks like the last Irish date and it's a really cool place that feels kinda like Whelans in Dublin. You can book with us if you like at claregturner@gmail.com In the mean time .calm down and dream up! Even though I'm really veeeeery busy-I still have time to love you soo much. Pierce xxxx PIERCE TURNER IN CHART-TOPPING FILM The film The Other Guys, in which Irish singer-songwriter Pierce Turner sings a song in a bar with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, has hit the number one at the box office in the USA. The film has also knocked Leonardo diCaprio's Inception off the top of the UK box office chart. A police parody with a budget of £56 million, it took in £22.3 million in its opening weekend in the UK. After performing to a full house early this month at the Kilkenny Arts Festival, Turner heads to de Barras in Clonakilty, West Cork for a gig there on Thursday August 26. On Saturday September 4 he plays a hometown gig at Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford Town, followed by a visit to Aras Chronain, Irish Cultural Centre in Clondalkin, Dublin on Saturday September 11. This looks like the last Irish date and it's a really cool place that feels kinda like Whelans in Dublin. You can book with us if you like at claregturner at gmail.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- 9/1/2010 Pierce Turner Frm Wxfrd to Dublin and Nu York Just come in from the Wexford Art Centre where I met with Ollie the sound engineer to discuss the set up for this Saturday Sept 4th. Lately I am becoming suspicious that I might be dyslexic. A friend of mine said that I have a lot of the symptoms. I know that I was useless in school and was very slow to learn, so either I'm stupid enough to believe that the reason for my lacking is something other than my intelligence, or I'm actually dyslexic. We may never know the answer unless someone else intervenes. But because of the experience that I had with Ollie today I do believe that It's possible that both he and I are coming from the same point of view, that is to say, back to front or front to back, depending on who is standing where! I do hope I have left him with the information that I took. I believe that the stage is to be set in the centre of the room so that I will be surrounded by tables and chairs decorated with candles and copious tumblers of wine. I told Ollie where I wanted the Piano and I thought he was on the same page as me, but just before I left he casually mentioned that I would sit ! 'here' while the Piano would be on a wheelie platform just off the side, which meant that I would be on the opposite side of the stage than the side I wanted to be on! I took off my coat and started all over again, slightly suspicious that I had done one of my dyslexic directions on poor old Ollie and had left him totally confused, or that he had done vice versa to me! If anyone had come in after that they would have been very amused I'm sure to see us both mimicking being seated on a make believe stool in front of a make believe Piano and pointing at the perimeter of a none existing stage. In the end I'm sure it will be great though. We will have the DVD projector in action to show the Videos from the Kilkenny Arts Festival, One by Fearghal O Lidddy and one by Brian O Driscoll. The first is a visual attached to one of my new stories 'a marvellous conversation' and the second one of haunting black and white clouds will be an accompaniment to us performing 'The Answer' from 'The Sky and the Ground' We're coming to an end of this summer in Ireland and I'm Off to New York early October for a date at Joe's Pub in Manhattan on October 23rd at 7; 30 pm. Next week will be my last Irish date and it will be at Aras Chronain in Clondalkin.Dublin. This is a really cool place that feels like Whelans and has a nice bar with a balcony right overhead. This is run by great people and my friend Frank Phelan the winner of the Busy Man competition has put me up to it so it has to be a fun gig!!! So there! Or is it There so! Are you coming? Or will you go; oops there goes another rubber tree plant. See you there. Love. Pierce xxxxxx Sat Sept 4th Wexford Arts Centre - Wexford Town - the Cornmarket Show 8.00pm Tickets: available boxoffice@wexfordartscentre.ie or Tel. 053 91 23764 Áras Chronain Irish Cultural Centre Watery Lane, Orchard Road, Clondalkin, D 22 Sat. Sept.11th 8/8.30p.m. Ticéad/Ticket: £18/ (£15 Aras members) T: +353-1-4574847 F: +353-1-4574117 E: eolas@araschronain.ie
Watery Lane, Orchard Road, Clondalkin, D 22
Sat. Sept.11th 8/8.30p.m.
Ticéad/Ticket: £18/ (£15 Aras members) T: +353-1-4574847
F: +353-1-4574117 E: eolas@araschronain.ie
Joe's Pub
Lafayette Street Manhattan
Sat Oct 23rd at 7pm
---------------------------------------------------------------------
9/5/2010
Well I have to say that Ollie outdid himself with the set up last night. And having
the stage in the centre of the room at the Wexford Art Centre was perfect placement.
The difference from the usual spot was massive. And even though the soundman Dan
messed up the DVD at the beginning (I heard it from the dressing room and noticed
that he had omitted the first few words, so I called him on his mobile and asked
his shocked self to start it again) the show started with a bang. It shocked me
that the audience clapped for ages after the first song Yogi With a Broken Heart.
I was at the ready to dive into the next song and had to wait for a suitable
pause before launching with maximum aplomb into the next song. Something was
different; something was special about last night. The Wex art centre was built
in 1880 and last night my cousin Playwright Billy Roche was there with many
people from the cast of his play Lay Me Down Softly to be performed in the
same space during the Wexford Festival. The play is about my Grandfather Jam Roche
who fought for the world heavy weight boxing title. And ironically the first place
that he fought was on that Art Centre Floor. Of course Billy is my first cousin,
so he was his Grandfather also!
One more Irish gig to go and it will be the same line-up as last night; the
maestro Garvin Gallagher on stand up Bass and Fender with moil on all sorts
of gadgets. It will be in Clonalkin Dublin at the Aras Chronain Centre.
A really sweet little place with a bar and set up something like Whelans
with balcony and all. It's our last Irish gig! You have to be there,
that's all there is to it.
And then!!!! October 23rd at Joe's Pub In Manhattan. With Strings!!
Last time was back to old form, get the gang on the phone now the love of Jasus!
Even the pregnant ones! Come out of the house.
I love you so much I can't stand it.
Pierce xxxxx
---------------------------------------------------------------------
9/11/2010
Over here in Ireland there is something different slipping into the weather.
It's not huge! Just a small slice of change stirring up those dormant memories
that sleep in the hibernated forests of bygone seasons, like this one
approaching us now. Autumn leaves me longing, like some kind of ancient onion
is being unspun - that's a line from a new song that I'm working on, and I think
that's pretty close to how it feels. It came to me in a whiff of the chilled
air that seem to come from some fermented furnace of inner earth, now gone cold
and scented with longing. It tripped a series of vivid occasions in rapid
succession, rolling backwards, uncommonly alike because of this of course. This
strange time, not sore, and not completely sad, but essentially commanded by the
law of life and change. Saying goodbye to my summer self and trying to recall
how my winter self behaves. Just like the clothes forgotten in the back behind
the recent brights. I'm changing now I can feel i!
t, and I really don't mind.
And I am really ready for to see you whom I can. Those of you little sausage
pies that will come to terms with the Red Cow Roundabout in order to arrive at
Clondalkin tomorrow night. And those of you in New York- who are still in the
midst of bloomin summer and won't know what the hell I'm talking about-when I
play in Joe's Pub on October 23rd.
The Cat's come in and the night is down, I'm off to bed for a good nights sleep
to make sure that I'm in maximum form tomorrow. The gigs here this Summer have
been truly mighty and that's not goin to change now!
Come out of the house before you ferment yerself!
See ye manana.
Love and xxxxxxxx
Pierce.
Áras Chronain Irish Cultural Centre Watery Lane, Orchard Road, Clondalkin, D 22
Sat. Sept.11th 8/8.30p.m.
Ticéad/Ticket: £18/ (£15 Aras members)
Joe's Pub
Lafayette Street
Manhattan
Sat Oct 23rd at 7pm
---------------------------------------------------------------------
9/17/2010
I looked at this gig coming up at Joe's Pub and wondered what New York will be
like this October. Will people say that they have had enough and come out in
force - Or will they be in a state of caution, afraid to let themselves go - Of
course all of this has an impact on what kind of line-up I will have behind me
when I perform. The bigger the line-up the more expensive it is, naturally.
And I know that a gig can be great with all kinds of musical backing. At the
Kilkenny Art's Festival here in Ireland, I had a Violin and Viola, it was
wonderful really, I loved every second of it and the Irish Times concurred. Then
I played in Wexford with Garvan Gallagher on Bass and that was every bit as good
in a different way. So there are ways for doing this that would cost less and
work! It's all very practical and logical. But then I have an aversion towards
being practical when I perform.
The last time I played at Joe's Pub with the Scorchio string Quartet and Philip
Glass came up to play 'Yogi with a Broken Heart' with me.
I am not strapped to the idea of playing with a string quartet anymore, like I
once was. It all depends on the chemistry between me and the other musicians on
stage, and that has nothing to do with what they play. However the chemistry
with the Scorchio string Quartet was so intense and so musically rich that I
cannot avoid the desire to play with them again. So, I have bitten the bullet
and booked them to do it again! I am counting on my New York loves to show me I
was right to make this decision. Gather up the gang and tell them to come out
on October 23rd I will wear my green drainpipe trousers and we will sing, 'Say
you don't mind' to the owners of any drinks that I spill!
Afterwards we will all meet for a pint, I still have to establish where.
Somewhere near! Please book now and save me from sleepless worry and acid
reflux AND worrying about heading to the ATM machine after the show to pay for
the band, it's never happened yet, but the threat is always there!
Ah, It's going to be mighty!
Love and big slobbery kisses.xxxxxxxxx
Pierce.
PIERCE TURNER
With THE SCORCHIO STRING QUARTET
AT JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE ST
MANHATTAN
SATURDAY OCTOBER 23RD AT 7PM SHARP
Tickets at the Public Theatre box office in person or call 212-967-7555 Subway 6
train to Astor place
---------------------------------------------------------------------
10/14/2010
An average day
This morning I woke up and looked at the book sitting on the small wooden table
next to my bed, and thought to myself 'God when am I going to finish reading
that'? I seem to spend so little time reading. Then I thought well! When
would I have the time to read a book? They say that people are just overwhelmed
with too much stuff these days and that we just don't have enough time.
And as I lay there in my morning semi-stupor with eerie clarity I forgave myself
for not reading that book more often, with the reminder that I do spend an hour
a day reading the newspaper. And really it's either one or the other. Then as
I lay there in the grey of Sunday morning stillness I took a look at an average
day to see exactly where the time goes and why there is just not enough of it
anymore?
SUNDAY
Every day is, I presume, slightly different for me because I don't have a normal
job. But there are certain things that happen the same way each day. First
thing in the morning once I've checked that the time is not too early, of late
my wife Clare seems to think that waking up too early is a failure. So the
acceptable time seems to be around 9 o'clock, I hop out of bed and. I stick on
the kettle and wait for it to boil. I'm not goin to bother here with things
like goin to the Toilet (too personal, too mundane) Once the kettle is boiled I
grab four tea bags from the canister and throw them into the tea pot, quickly
drowning them in the steaming hot water. Then there is five minutes to kill
while it draws, there is a clock in our kitchen that my wife got from Stiff
records when she worked there, it's an old vinyl album, on the stiff label of
course, that reads 'when you kill time, you murder success!' Every day I kill
five minutes at this point. But what else can
you do when you're in nothing but a t-shirt and waiting for your first cup of
tea? As soon as the time is murdered I get two mugs from the cupboard, put a
drop of milk in each one and after checking the colour of the tea by pouring
some of it in the sink, if it has drawn properly it should be a nice golden
brown. ( She and I, my wife that is, Clare! can't stand weak tea) So once I am
happy with the colour I pour it in to the mugs on top of the milk and take them
both into the bedroom. (more tomorrow)
It's only 9 days to Joe's Pun.
Are ye coming? Xxxxxx Pierce
PIERCE TURNER
With THE SCORCHIO STRING QUARTET
AT JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE ST
MANHATTAN
SATURDAY OCTOBER 23RD AT 7PM SHARP
Tickets at the Public Theatre box office in person or
call 212-967-7555
---------------------------------------------------------------------
10/19/2010
Average Day part 3
Yesterday reminder
( If Clare is awake I just put the tea on her small wooden side table. If she's
not I have to wake her up too. Then we both sit there and drink the tea and
chat about last night and today and general trivia. Once that tea is drunk I
take both cups out into the kitchen and refill them as we need two to wake us
up. I bring them both back into the bedroom after putting the kettle on again
in preparation for the second pot of tea. Sometimes during the second cup we
will get in a little reading-maybe finish yesterdays papers or consume another
few pages of a book. This is my chance to polish off a few more pages of that
book, bit I'm afraid I can't! Because I have to use this precious time to finish
Saturdays paper in order that I can discard it and begin reading today's which I
haven't even purchased yet).
BUSY MAN
I am already half way through the main section of the paper so I'll finish that
off first. I decide to speed-read it with a sense of urgency. I think to
myself, It seems to have more in it than usual! How many times have I gone for
a coffee and bought the paper with the intentions of a nice leisurely read, only
to find that there is absolutely nothing in it! Now, here I am under pressure
and it seems to be packed with actual events. I skim through Pakistan and the
Taliban to the Israeli Prime Minister on trial for corruption and an Australian
from Lebanon getting 12 years in jail for writing a book inciting violence, a
do it yourself book on how to make bombs and assassinate presidents, he suggests
George Bush and the likes.
The book was called 'provisions on the rules of Jihad' not a very catchy title.
And then a piece about a massive new set of books containing the letters of Van
Gogh! the writer says that it is a six volume monster that weighs as much as
Mike Tyson! I need to move on, but this is too intriguing. What the hell,
He says that the painter was a masterful writer and apparently a bit dirty
sometimes. What? Vincent talking about jerking off? I think of the angelic Don
McLean song 'they weren't listening then, they're not listening still, I guess
they never will!'. The journalist say's that his favourite letter was written
in July 1888 while Van Gogh was painting Sunflowers, the Summer before the ear-
cutting. It's a letter about the stars. Apparently he believed that stars are
the souls of dead poets! And that to become a star you have to die. He said;
just as we take the train, to go to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to go to a
star! So it seemed to him that Cholera and Cancer are the celestial means of
locomotion, just as Steamboats Omni-Busses and the Railroads are terrestrial
means.To die quietly of old age would be to get there by foot - heavy stuff
ha. it brings a whole new meaning to 'starry, starry night' Still it's a
positive view of our last journey in life, the writer concludes that this is
an argument for suicide. As we know Vincent shot himself in the end, after
only consuming 37 years of time.
Ah I think we'll settle for the oul foot and the dying of old age, just in case
you're wrong Vincent.
Have a great weekend every last one of yez.
I love ye so much it's keeping me broke.
Love Pierce xxx
Continued tomorrow.
Today's piece was sponsored by only Seven days to Joe's Pub. And you'd be mad
not to come! Inc.
PIERCE TURNER
With THE SCORCHIO STRING QUARTET
AT JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE ST
MANHATTAN
SATURDAY OCTOBER 23RD AT 7PM SHARP
Tickets at the Public Theatre box office in person or
call 212-967-7555
Subway 6 train to Astor place
---------------------------------------------------------------------
10/22/2010
Sorry I'm a little behind here on my daily promise, but the last letter got lost
in the Cyber Soup.
An average day;continued.
Holy shit it's half eleven! Clare say's are ye goin to get the papes? I protest
that I need my brekkie first/ she agrees to make it if I go get the papers. So
I jump in the car and drive to the shop, get the Sunday papers. When I return
Bernard has arrived, he's standing in the garden smoking a cigarette. My
scrambled eggs are on the table with toast and a cup of tea, I pore a cuppa for
my friend and hand it to him in his self-imposed exile. Once he finishes his
cigarette he comes in and joins us and we hold a very eclectic conversation,
mostly political agreement and disdain for those who disagree. And agree that we
are the silent types that few people know exist, except for when we vote, and
then our thoughts surface to the surprise of the poll. I look at the clock and
it's quarter to one-for the love of fuck, where is the day goin'
I must go down to the beach now and run. I do aerobics about four to five times
a week and when I'm in Ireland that usually consists of running on the beach.
So I hop in the car and take the seven-mile road down to the beach. Along the
way I practice my French with the michelle Thomas Cd's. 'je suis alle a
Curracloe' 'nous alon' and so on. Every time I take this road I think about the
Summer evenings when I would ride my bike down here after work to see my teenage
girlfriend. Manys the song that comes from the memory.
'Everyone Loves A Virgin In their Past'
Love P.xxxx
Today's piece was sponsored by only a tiny while to Joe's Pub. And I'm
practicing like mad here! Inc.
PIERCE TURNER
With THE SCORCHIO STRING QUARTET
AT JOE'S PUB
425 LAFAYETTE ST
MANHATTAN
SATURDAY OCTOBER 23RD AT 7PM SHARP
Tickets at the Public Theatre box office in person or
call 212-967-7555
Subway 6 train to Astor place
---------------------------------------------------------------------
12/28/2010
I have just moved the pile for the umpteenth time. It was on the blue armchair
and my friend Joe wanted to sit down, so he attempted to balance it on the piano
stool. As it started to slither off he frantically crouched down to attempt
stoppage. But because the pile has become a bit tall, with a couple of slippery
plastic folders in the wrong strategic positions. It has become an architectural
certainty that it will not hold its structure anymore. I rush to Joe's aid
withholding my disdain for this task as best as I can, after all it's not Joe's
fault, he is now holding the top of it down with his chin with one hand on
either side, but the green plastic folder in the middle has edged forward and is
now threatening to escape and take some companions along with it for the ride.
I push it back into place and we both stand up to see if it will stay,
remarkably it does! And we sit down to continue where we left off, as soon as
our arses hit the furniture though, the pile toppled off the stool in the most
spectacular fashion possible, managing to slide into as many pieces as possible
and running underneath chairs and objects that defy description, things that
no-one had looked underneath for years.
How this pile managed to get so out of hand no-one knows, and when did it first
appear? I think it's been around for about six weeks! I looked at it the other
day with the complete intention of dismantling it and finding homes for each
individual piece. The first piece of paper was the set list from my last gig,
which is something I would have in my computer, however there were hand written
notes written all over it and it would still be handy when I'm rehearsing next
and can't think of one song to sing. Better keep that! Next came the string
arrangement that I have been working on for SXSW in Austin next March. I don't
really want to put that out of sight, I might completely drop the ball, it's in
a grey plastic envelope, this is one of the sliders, but it has to stay. Next
is a notebook with a generic Pablo Picasso motif on the front and French quotes
on the back-it was just a blank notebook with a pretentious cover. This is one
of my old songwriting books filled to the brim with pencil written lyrics.
I have accumulated many of these over the years and every now and then I revisit
an old one to see if there is an unused lyric that inspires me today. There are
often good ones just waiting for the right musical idea. Sometimes there is
absolutely nothing, or it can be a book full of songs already recorded.
However this one seems to have a few yokes in it worth investigating.
I need to have something to put before me when I think I have a musical idea.
So that can't go, can it! This is also contributing to the piles structural
instability by the way, because it's floppy and stuffed with post it notes,
earmarks for the ones worth keeping an eye on.
Next up is a short story call "A Marvelous Conversation" this is a piece that I
played on DVD at the Kilkenny arts festival last summer, and now I am learning
it off so that I can do it live in Austin, it's several pages long and is
clipped at the top with a tiny binder clip. If it wasn't for the binder clip,
this story would be a stable contribution to the piles structure. However the
clip tends to make it top heavy. But I need this story handy at all times, it's
not easy to remember! Then there is a story called "The Permist" which I now
know, but I have amended it with a new ending and that is scrawled on the back
of these four sheets of paper with a pencil-these are held together with an
ordinary paper clip, this is a sound contribution to the stability of the pile.
Next is a staff notebook for writing music, I have to have that in case I get a
string arrangement idea, it's also flat and co-operative. Then there is a
little tiny memo notebook that says it was purchased at CVS it has a wire
binding and I wrote a story in there about being lost in Dublin while looking
for a rehearsal room, it's pretty funny and it shows how terrible my sense of
direction is. It also has some blank pages in it, might be handy if I need a
notebook in my pocket when I'm out and about. Structurally this is a disaster
for the pile, unless it is kept on the top at all times, easier said then done
as I'm rummaging through this thing all the time looking for things, usually in
a hurry too. There was a very fat manilla envelope filled with short stories and
two audio CD's of me reading them, I haven't decided yet what to do with that!
The CD's make this a shoddy balancer! I was afraid to move it though . Add to
that a non descript pile of CD's with current and old ideas burnt on to them,
and that was it! Nothing! I couldn't find a single thing that I could take
from the pile. It was all current and pertinent!
Today I noticed a new disturbing development, the pile had split up and was
about the room in several different places. Each baby pile was only marginally
smaller than the original host! I looked at them with suspiscion but they were
soundly balanced I have to say, each one occupying their own seat. Perhaps that
was what went wrong in the first place, they didn't have their own seats! Or
maybe they needed to be separate piles with the dodgy bits on top!
I'm going now to watch a bit of tellee!
I hope these piles have a home before our gig here in the apartment on New Years
Eve.
Xxxxxx Merry New Year.
Love.
Pierce.
On a final note this little funny letter is for my friend Jaimee Young, the
sweetest angel of a girl that has been coming to my gigs for ages. Dearest
Jaimme is ill right now and gone back to Ohio for treatment-Please Jaimee be
strong and come back to us, we love you xxxxxxxxxx
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1/2011
Woke up on the morning of 1-1-11 in state of semi-haze. We had such a brilliant
New Years Eve with people here from as far away as Vancouver ( Bill and Ter) we
sang Auld Lang Syne over the ball dropping in Time Square on our Samsung flat
screen tele. But the tele still works! And then partied on and on.
Finally I wore everyone out and even our friends Marvin and Amanda who stayed
over, went off to bed on the Futon/sofa in the front room, oblivious to the
traffic on First Avenue.
Boris Carrol tried to leave and I introduced yet another bottle of champagne,
which we had stowed out on the freezing fire escape to keep it out of view of
the guests so that we could surprise them at midnight, unfortunately we forgot
about them and the guests departed without a drop consumed. It was only after I
mentioned around 3 am that I hadn't received a drop of the bubbly, that Clare
realised that the 4 bottles were still enjoying themselves out on the fire
escape untouched (sorry my lovely guests) so of course we had to consume them
immediately.
They were still on the go when Borris tried to leave at 5am. Finally I let
Borris go at 6.10am and reluctantly tried to retire, of course I wasn't even
tired so I had to drop a sleeping pill. That merely put me in another zone and
it couldn't rightfully be called sleeping!
Four hours later I was making tea and Clare was making her delicious scrambled
eggs with cheese for our guests and we had a marvellous conversation with
copious toast and tea. It was a lovely start to the New Year.
People!! People that we love! That's all we need to get by.
Happy New Year my lovely friends xxxxxxx
SPECIAL DATE ANNOUNCEMENT
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 4TH
9pm Start finish by 11 pm
A BAR GIG WITH PIERCE AT
PERCY'S TAVERN in the East Village
Percy's is owned by the great Larry Watson, you must remember him from Paddy
Reilly's
It's a cosy new Tavern on Ave A
210 Ave A, cross street 13th
Tel. 212 473 7770 also takes reservation
Website: percysnyc.com
Larry will bring his upright piano down from the country, so this will be like a
parlour gig in a Tavern. Fine wines, spirits, food and beer will be served and
tables with chairs to sit on, plus an actual oak bar (which might get trampled
on). This shouldn't be boring. Clare! Dust off the spotlight will ye' And
Boris shine up the cymbals!
You can all start practicing in the shower-keep your voice hydrated!
This gig is open to the public and subsidised by Percy's, which means keeping
the cover down to a mere $10-a special treat for all you recessional little
tings, a cover that is not feasible on most occasions.
It's an intimate place about the size of Swift.
All reservations must be honoured by 8:45 pm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1/30/2011
I got a letter from someone in Ireland recently saying 'please take me off your
mailing list immediately, I'm sick of being inundated with your letters!' So I
stopped writing for a while, thinking perhaps I'm overdoing it. Of course I
receive loads of letters from people telling me how much they LOVE my letters.
But isn't it funny how the one negative note outweighed all the positive ones!
It is certainly harder to be good than to be bad. And it's harder for good news
to gain attention than bad. Do we even notice bad people more than good ones?
I mean Hitler got a lot of attention didn't he?
I remember when the advertising industry in America realised that bad
advertisements were more effective than good ones, and also cheaper. So TV was
filled with adverts featuring the owner of the company who was just simply
dreadful at public speaking, so dreadful that everyone talked about it and that
was the angle. In that time when all I had was a 15" TV set and NO flicker it
made watching it unbearable with seven minutes of eejits selling their shite
between five minutes of movie.
So let me briefly bring you to date on my movements and I'll try to be brief and
as annoying as possible.
Coming up on Friday December I will do my first New York bar gig in ages at
Percy's Tavern on 210 Ave A and 13th St. I know many of you prefer to see me in
a bar, and wouldn't come to see me in Carnegie hall for all the tea in china.
So now's yer chance, truth is I love a good bar gig myself. Percy's is really
nice and Larry Watson from Paddy Reilly's is the man-so book with us now, it
looks like it will be jammers.
In March I am taking part in the very prestigious 25th anniversary of South By
South West in Austin Texas. You know how seldom I get out of New York, so if
you are down that way, you're on! The date isn't fixed yet but the festival runs
between the 15th and 20th of March. Will know he date soon. There are 23 bands
from Ireland coming out for this and we will also play a special gig together on
March 18th called the full Irish-last year the RSVP for that was 1500. The venue
only holds 150.
Then at the end of March I will take part in the 25th Anniversary of Paddy
Reilly's
That's going to be truly wild Thursday March 31st I will be there.
Ireland is coming soon too the first booking there right now is June 4th at the
Wexford Art Centre and Whelans Dublin is on the cards for June too.
I'm knackered now. See you at Percy's!
I took yer man off the mailing list by the way, I don't want get shot coming out
of my tenement apartment building.
I love yer little cotton socks.
SPECIAL DATE ANNOUNCEMENT
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 4TH
9pm Start finish by 11 pm
A BAR GIG WITH PIERCE AT
PERCY'S TAVERN in the East Village
Percy's is owned by the great Larry Watson, you must remember him from Paddy
Reilly's
It's a cosy new Tavern on Ave A
210 Ave A, cross street 13th
Tel. 212 473 7770 also takes reservation
Website: percysnyc.com
Larry will bring his upright piano down from the country, so this will be like a
parlour gig in a Tavern. Fine wines, spirits, food and beer will be served and
tables with chairs to sit on, plus an actual oak bar (which might get trampled
on). This shouldn't be boring. 'Clare! Dust off the spotlight will ye' And
Boris shine up the cymbals!'
You can all start practicing in the shower-keep your voice hydrated!
If you want to book ahead, contact us here at claregturner on gmail.com
This gig is open to the public and subsidised by Percy's, which means keeping
the cover down to a mere $10-a special treat for all you recessional little
tings, a cover that is not feasible on most occasions.
It's an intimate place about the size of Swift.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2/13/2011
I met Jerry Seinfeld last night and we got along really well! It was a dream,
And we were out somewhere in the great ambigious world that dreams belong to.
Somewhere between a massive mall and a boutique shee shee coffee shop, ye know
the kind with long wooden rustic tables! Everyone was leaving and because Jerry
and I got along so well he suggested that the two of us should go to Chinatown
for a meal. My Mother and three sisters were here on vacation and were
returning to Ireland the next day so I asked Jerry could I borrow his mobile
(the flip kind) to ask them would they mind. It was their last night and we
were supposed to go out for a meal, so it wasn't good timing. My Sister
answered the phone and she had never heard of Jerry Seinfeld, I spent a good
while explaining who he was and how important it was that he wanted get to know
me, and my ideas ( he said) She said OK maybe we can meet a bit later.
I got off the phone in a tizzy, cos I felt that I was letting them down. When I
looked around in this massive Mall-cum shee shee coffee shop, I couldn't find
Jerry. So I just went back to my apartment where my family was. This was also
a bit Mall like and there were American people there who I knew would know the
gravity of the situation, they would know who Jerry was! So I said that I was
supposed to go with Jerry Seinfeld to Chinatown, but had lost him. They said
'JERRY SEINFELD!!!' and I said 'yeah'. My family said that never heard of him,
but I wallowed in the recognition that I was getting from the people who did
know who he was. Then!!!! One of the men in a red shirt took of this pair of
really thick glasses and he turned out to be JERRY SEINFELD! I was so
embarrassed and he thought that it was very funny-then I woke up.
I know all you dream analyser's could have a field day with this, and I know
that there is something totally pathetic about it. But I don't care, Jerry and
I got along really well!
And now the news.
I loved playing at Percy's Tavern so much that I am returning there on Friday
march 4th. If want come reserve here at claregturner at gmail dotcom
Those of you who were there that there something so nice about this envoirement.
And although it got noisy sometimes it was still a real crack.
An the venue has been chosen for South by South West in AustinTexas I will be
performing at Esther's Follies, they have a grand piano and I will employ a
Violinist and Violaist from Austin for the gig. I perform on march 16th there.
And on March 17th as past of the impressive Irish contingent at a place called
BD Reilly'e I will performa at 12;30 that day.
Paddy Reilly's is celebrating it 25th Anniversary and I will be there as part of
a month of music celebration. I will be there on Thursday March 31st.
Wexford Art Centre is on June 4th.
FRIDAY March 4TH
9pm Start finish by 11 pm
A BAR GIG WITH PIERCE AT
PERCY'S TAVERN - in the East Village
Percy's is owned by the great Larry Watson, you must remember him from Paddy
Reilly's
It's a cosy new Tavern on Ave A
210 Ave A, cross street 13th
Tel. 212 473 7770 also takes reservation
Website: http://www.percysnyc.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2/20/2011
Last night I got drunk by mistake (again) I think what happens is that I get out
of training or something, or I loose my ability to measure my pace. Ye see I go
into training before I play a gig and that means total abstinence from any
stimulants stronger than tea or coffee. I can't bare to perform in a state of
non-fitness. It's as uninteresting for me as it is for the spectator. Then
when the gig is over I have a small window of time to hurry up and party. It's
a sort of vengeance towards the fact that I had to be good while many of my
friends were being bad. And sometimes I am too vengeful, with the result that I
find myself shockingly incapable. That's what happened to me last night. And I
had so many plans too!
I had rented an amplifier from S.I.R over on 36th St and 10th Ave (no mans land)
for a private gig out in Long Island. It turned out to be bigger and more
awkward than I expected it to be (the amp). So Clare had to help me return it in
a Taxi on Saturday morning. We got out at 10th Ave and walked down the hill to
the middle of the block, all the while battling gale force winds; icing their
way up from the Hudson River. Small men passed us by pushing racks of clothing
on wheels covered in see thru plastic, the wind caught in the plastic and
threatened to send them up into the air where the Chem trail set (conspiracy
theorists) keeping a watchful eye, would delight at the sighting of a garment
district UFO.
After we returned the amp we came home via Trader Joe's and stopped off for some
bargain wines. They have a delightful Rose Rioja there from Spain called
Marques de Caceres, I think it's around seven bucks. We bought a few and threw
them in the freezer to get them nice and cold. There we sat in the kitchen,
tired and kind of cosy. Our work was done, the day was ours, and we sat there
chatting about the lovely people that we had met the night before and the
greatest little dog called Rasher, who would do tricks for you at the drop of a
hat, we would like to have stolen him. Sure enough, sooner than we expected,
one of them Rose's made their way to the table lined up next to two of those big
bowl style Waterford Glasses by yer man Rocha, which is as near as you can get
to Rioja in pronunciation. Next thing we knew Indian food was at the door being
delivered by a man who motioned that he was either not capable of speaking, or
was merely sparing his own embarrassment by tr!
ying to communicate in a language that he didn't have. He smiled beautifully
though and put his index finger to his lips in a 'don't speak' gesture. The
whole thing was very effective and we decided to give him a seven dollar tip
instead of the adequate five, Clare dropped her head to one side and said 'Aw!'
after he was gone.
There was a lot of bread! We only ordered one, but they put bread with
everything, it was mounted on a plate in the middle of the table, the birds were
starting to queue at the window, knowing that it was only matter of time before
they would be feasting on Indian bread.
The ice cold Rose went down beautifully with the Indian food and soon the empty
bottles were starting to head towards the door.
We now decided it was time to drink and skype. We got our friend Jamie on the
phone, he lives upstate and used to live in the City, so I took him over to look
out the window, he was yapping away in the computer as I showed him around the
apartment. Then I closed the lid and said goodbye, we thought that he sounded
like he might a little glass of something on the go too, well it was Saturday
afternoon!
Now it was half five, I decided it was the perfect time to skype Leni and Joe
otherwise known as The Darling Sins, a group that I am producing from Ireland,
they were in bed watching a Movie, we had a good chat and I gave them a pep
talk, I had to admit that I was well oiled in case they could tell anyhow.
Now we went into the sitting room and listened to some vinyl all cosied up on
the couch with our new cosy blankee that Clare bought recently. It basically
feels like a big teddy bear is wrapped around you. I noticed that Clare was
getting sleepy. She fell asleep! I kept drinking and playing records. Now
because there was no-one sharing it with me, I lacked the monitoring that comes
with sharing. I put Clare to bed, and continued on my own, all the while
planning on going out to Percy's Tavern to see this great Band (their name
escapes me) that was there last night. Suddenly it dawned on me around half
seven or so, that I wasn't going to make it to 10;30 when they would start. In
fact that rational was accompanied by another slightly upsetting update; the
room was beginning to spin a little! 'Ah I'll be alright' said I and poured
another glass as I threw on the B side of the single 'Tubelar Bells' which I had
found in a street market recently. The announcers voice we!
nt through the instruments while the multiple guitars repeated that hypnotic
riff 'piccolo' 'trumpet' etc I don't remember him reaching the 'Tubelar Bells'
that may have been when I climaxed too in our small blue toilet spinning around
like a Victorian Space Capsule. Ah well, there was probably too much sodium in
that Indian food anyway.
And now the news.
I loved playing at Percy's Tavern so much that I am returning there on Friday
march 4th. If you want to come, please reserve here at claregturnerATgmail.com
Those of you who were there last time said that there something great about that
pub environment. And although it got noisy sometimes it was still a real crack.
And the venue has been chosen for South by South West in Austin Texas. I will be
performing at Esther's Follies, they have a grand piano and I will employ a
Violinist and Violist from Austin for the gig. I perform (now) on March 17 at
11pm.
And on March 18th as past of the impressive Irish contingent at a place called
BD Reilly'e I will perform at 12;30 that day.
Paddy Reilly's is celebrating it's 25th Anniversary and I will be there as part
of a month of music celebration. I will be there on Thursday March 31st.
Wexford Art Centre is on June 4th.
PERCY'S TAVERN
FRIDAY March 4TH
9pm Start finish by 11 pm
A BAR GIG WITH PIERCE AT
PERCY'S TAVERN - in the East Village
Percy's is owned by the great Larry Watson, you must remember him from Paddy
Reilly's
It's a cosy new Tavern on Ave A
210 Ave A, cross street 13th
Tel. 212 473 7770 also takes reservation
Website: http://www.percysnyc.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
3/1/2011
SPECIAL DATE ANNOUNCEMENT
FRIDAY March 4TH
9pm Start
Returning to the scene of the wine
A BAR GIG WITH PIERCE AT
Pierce Turner at PERCY'S TAVERN Ave A corner of 13th St
Reserve here with us for a table claregturner at gmail.com
I don't want to be famous so bad that I would cry for it.
I was once standing in the corridor of a major record company in New York when a
well-known female singer who was a stable mate, got the information that her
debut album looked like it was going to be a flop.
After the president of the record company and her manager informed her of the
bad news she started crying her eyes out. I was taken aback that she would take
it so badly and felt very sorry for her. I mentioned to the manager how sad it
was, and he said, with a knowing lift of his brow don't worry, the situation
will be rectified by Monday morning!
Three weeks later her single was in the charts. It seems that the president was
impressed that she took her failure so much to heart. Perhaps this is what
record companies want? Artists who will cry for fame!
When I was a teenager I might have cried, but not anymore, and I've become
comfortable with the bed that I made. I sleep well and I can sleep anytime I
choose to!
I can't imagine being trapped by the charts. It doesn't matter who you are or
how talented, eventually you will slip from the top slot and be replaced. It's
just as inevitable as the certainty in my life that I will never have a number
one! I like the fact that there is always room for me to climb. I've gained
such little ground that I always have a reasonable reason to get up in the
morning. And I guard that premise with great care, in fact I may believe that
this is the secret to a long challenging life.
I had a big time manager once and he called me up one day to lay out his future
plans for my career. It was everything that I had ever wanted in a manager at
last, and when I got it-it scared the shit out of me. I took off all my
clothes, put on my sleepy shirt and went straight back to bed.
I love my bed too much to be famous.
Sometimes I have lots of energy and I make loads of elaborate plans. I get on
the phone and book a bunch of gigs, residencies and all kinds of stamina testing
events. But inevitably between the sound check and the show I start to get
melancholic and begin to wonder why am I doing this to myself, I could be at
home all tucked up and watching the tellee in bed. I can't imagine that Madonna
thinks like this. I'd say if she feels like cutting her own throat from
depression, she's more likely to cut someone else's.
I love music and I love entertaining people. But unfortunately most of them
live elsewhere and I hate the discomfort of travelling. Don't get me wrong I
have done it! Once I had a major record deal and I travelled all over the
country in a bus. It was incredibly disruptive.
Do you know what a phoner is? It's an interview on the telephone. Even though
I was hardly setting the world on fire, I still had three or four phoners ever
day. Often times when the rest of the band were asleep. And then we would get
on the bus and drive hundreds of miles to the next venue; this was in America of
course. If this were in Ireland we would have driven into the sea before
breakfast.
I hated having a band and a road crew. Young good-looking shites still getting
a kick out of looking at each other's passport photos. The tour would try to
get hold of my passport so that he could check me in at Airports-I told him to
get lost. Then he got wind that I was into Yoga and a sort of a health food
type-so he ordered me a vegetarian meal on the plane.
I was livid; you know the shite that they serve to shut up veggies!
This is the trouble. Everyone starts to overthink-treating you like you're
someone-when you're only trying to make a living, doing what you love! It's very
strenuous
At one point we had been on the road for two weeks I hadn't done my laundry yet.
This English guy who was in the band had been on the road far more than me and
he would get to the Motel washing machine before I was finished stretching my
arms and saying thank God we're here! I was getting really desperate. I had to
become sharper and think ahead. The next time we stop I will forgo all normal
activities-like checking in and taking my bag to my room.
I must sit as near to the bus door as possible and get off with only one
objective-find the washing machine!
So that's exactly what I did!. The only detour that I made was to enquire at
the desk about it's whereabouts
I dragged my big brown suit bag-stuffed to the gills with smelly, sweaty stage
clothes,T-shirts and underwear- down the winding hall way past the vending
machines to the little closed off laundry room with the cinder block walls.
At last, I thought to myself I've had some savvy. But when I opened the door I
was greeted with the familiar sound of a washing machine in motion - that
familiar whir with little mettle things banging off the glass.
I turned in disbelief to gaze into the suddsy little gold fish bowl and there
they were-his tiny orange thongs spinning around in a frolic of bubbles.
One minute more
That's how close I am
Only a minute away
From turning it round
And living again
Because of the can't sleep at night poison
My make-up's poor and not too flattering
This dark ring and this dark ring
This deep line and this decline
Because of the book I read
I know that this is watershed
From a weaker mind way back then
Before I could mould my element
This dark ring and this dark ring
This deep line and this decline
This loose hair and this despair
This deep freeze and this disease
One minute more
That's how close I am
Only a minute away
From turning it round
And living again
Because I couldn't get it done on Saturday
I put it off till the following day
Because it seemed to be more suitable
But Sunday being a day of rest
Confused me with an aftertaste
And a caution for the killer fish
Taking too much communal dish
One minute more
Then I'll have what I need
It's becoming quite clear
I could clinch the great deed
With just a little more time
SPECIAL DATE ANNOUNCEMENT
FRIDAY March 4TH
9pm Start
Returning to the scene of the wine
A BAR GIG WITH PIERCE AT
PERCY'S TAVERN - in the East Village
Percy's is owned by the great Larry Watson, you must remember him from Paddy
Reilly's
It's a cosy new Tavern on Ave A
210 Ave A, cross street 13th
Tel. 212 473 7770 also takes reservation
Website: http://www.percysnyc.com
Larry will bring his upright piano down from the country, so this will be like a
parlour gig in a Tavern. Fine wines, spirits, food and beer will be served and
tables with chairs
---------------------------------------------------------------------
3/25/2011
We've just restaged the movie 'Trains Planes and Automobiles'! After we got out
of Austin airport at around 10pm we licked up the hired car. My license is in
Ireland, so Clare had to do all the driving, I have driven a good bit in
America, but Clare has not, and is a little nervous here.
Once we were suitably ripped off by the grey haired lady with the most benign
appearance imaginable. 'And let me see if I have a special' Mmmm, 'but how much
is that Mrs' (She looks like someone's granny) 'Oh just $39 a day extra' 'ah no
we won't bother with the convertible' anyway we get some kind of very nice
Vokswagen car and off we go on our merry googlemap way.
It didn't take long for to appear completely lost. We were starting to notice
that the same place was being revisited. I was reading the map, but the google
map was useless, and nothing appeared before us as written. Then the first
'T.P.and A' moment emerged. People started flashing us, we complained to each
other about their impatience with us two 'out of Towner's' and thought that they
were way too fond of their horns! I had to remind Clare constantly which side of
the road that we were supposed to be on, and presumed that this was why they
were annoyed! Then a Woman passed us by on the left and was flashing so much
that we had to look at her. She was frantically pointing down at our wheels (we
thought) 'what the hell is wrong with her!' another one beeped and another one
flashed!
'Maybe something is wrong and we should pull over' Clare doesn't like to pull
over, she thinks it's dangerous, 'but that's what the lay by's are for!' 'Nope
we could get hit by a truck' 'WE HAVE TO!' she pulls over, I go to the front
of the car, the LIGHTS are OFF!! For f***k sake!
We fiddle with the knobs for 5 or 20 mins, got em back on. A really big knob
that was too obvious to be true.
Head out on the road the next morning to pick up the violinist because his car
has broken down. No idea where we are going again. We get lost 12 times. I
call Jamie the violinist for the 12 th time, while I am frantically picking his
brain, I look up and notice something extremely startling, there are only 2
lanes and there is a car in each one coming towards us! 'CLARE, WE ARE GOING THE
WRONG WAY ON THE HIGHWAY!' Have to call you back Jamie! 'Pull over to the left
Clare and let's cover our heads and kiss our arses goodbye!' There was no sign!
she swore, and I almost became a Muslim in gratitude to any deity that would
have me. We turned around to a chorus of amazed and blazed faced drivers. We
danced with death and lived to tell the tale, phew!
Fred Parcells and myself have toured the world together, he is the best
trombonist alive and he sings harmony like a bird with me. We will play
together for the first time in 1 and a half years. I haven't played in Paddy
Reilly's Music Bar for years. But it's their 25th anniversary and the
proprietor Steve Duggan is having a few special gigs. This may be my last gig
before returning to Ireland, and it will be a good one I promise.
My love is captured in the vessel that you carry. Carry me carefully and I
promise not to spill all over your good coat.
I am off now to dig up some old classics for Paddy's. Come, come come!!
Pxxxxxxx
Thursday March 31st at 9pm sharp
Paddy Reilly's
519 2nd Ave
Corner of 29th St
---------------------------------------------------------------------
5/8/2011
I don't know how these bloomin buggers blog every bleedin' day, it's taken me
all this time to think of one bloody thing to say.
Just got back on the windy sod, no wonder no one wears toupes anymore over here,
it would end up in your sandwich or in the Say! (Sea)
Had a very nice flight over, everything was fine, but what is going on with the
security now in the Airport? It seems like every airline does it differently.
This time they made me take almost everything off, I was worried that they were
suspicious that I might be new The Underpants Bomber! But this part I really
don't get! After taking all my screwdrivers and string cutters and anything
resembling the slightest threat out of my shoulder bag. They give us real steel
knifes and forks to eat our food. I have had my stuff confiscated several times
for nothing, it now seems, even gaffer tape for Christ's sake.
Ran on the beach yesterday down in Rosslare Strand, and again I ran into someone
from Dublin! That place is full of quiet Dubliners. This time it was Sara and
her lovely family plus their French visitor Lisa who had just lost her earring.
I was struggling along with the jet lag hanging on to my ankles, and Sara was on
the phone to her husband Brian 'Look, here's Pierce Turner running along the
beach!' of course she could show him right there and then what that looked like!
With the wind trying to blow me back a foot for every two feet forward. I had
to put my head down and speed up a bit until I got over the next sand bank where
I lay down and panted for as long as I could. While I was lying there It
occurred to me that so many Irish people are holidaying around here in the sunny
southeast during the summer, that you might want to be aware of my first gig
here this summer at the Wexford Art Centre on Saturday June 4th, take a Taxi and
get pissed! And if not go home to see!
yer Mammy and come to Whelans in Dublin on Saturday June 18th. I got up just
before Sara and family came over the hump and ran on as best I could carrying
this thought and thinking that I might mention it in a letter, which is what I'm
doing as we speak.
It's a bit disconcerting all this going back and forth, now I miss my New
Yorkers! But I look forward to seeing my Irish sausages too, yes sausages, I've
been told that I'm saying that too much, but I like it, and it's my letter. It
might be time to draw attention to the up and coming gigs though, as it won't be
long until that time when you can say ' oh I thought it was next week that you
were playing!' But I only survive because of you! So for God sake get the ball
rolling, unless you want me to seek gainful employment in a shirt factory.
If you want to come to Whelans you can book here for cheaper by emailing
claregturneratgmail.com we can't book the other ones I'm afraid. I just emailed
Karen Dalton (Violin , Viola)in Majorca to confirm her and Gavan on double and
electric bass, got to get Pat and the horse box with the Piano in it. And Bobs
your dog! I have some toppin new songs and now I am REALLY on my way with this
'gone with the wind' album. But twill be worth it I promise.
On top of that on June 11th (Sat) I will play in Cobh county Cork for the first
time ever at their beautiful Sirius art centre by the sea. My sister Bernie has
been trying to get me to play there for years, I am slow, but deliberate!
And lastly I am going to my friend Helen's 40th birthday party this weekend ALL
weekend, and I wrote this for her birthday card, maybe one of you would like to
use it for your friend, after all everyone hasn't got as much time as me to lie
in bed writing shite.
From now on you have to start warming up your vocal chords in the shower, I am
back , and you better be good!
I love you more than Barcelona.
Pierce.xxxxxx
Helen's 40th
Helen she is pretty
Pretty smart too!
Two books in a week I'd say
Maybe even one a day
Days; 365 in a year
If 60 is the new 40
And 40 is the new 20
Helen is now 20
And if all this follows
20 is the new zero
Which means Helen Lacey nee Doyle
Begins her life today on May 7th 2011
Happy birthday Baby!
PIERCE TURNER JUNE DATES IN IRELAND
THE WEXFORD ART CENTRE
Corn market Wexford Town (where I'm from)
Sat June 4th at 8 PM
SIRIUS ART CENTRE COBH
COBH CO CORK
SAT JUNE 11TH
8PM
WHELAN'S DUBLIN
WEXFORD STREET
JUNE 18TH
8PM
---------------------------------------------------------------------
5/14/2011
I don't go to school, I don't have a job, I don't play gigs, and I don't do the
dishes!
I don't pay the bills, I don't light the fire, I don't bring out the rubbish,
and I don't make tea!
No, none of that for me.
Sometimes at night I go out for a stroll, when I come back I like a little
snack, if Clare is asleep I wake her up to make me a spread.
I have my own seat right in front of the fire, I keep one eye on the flat screen
tellee, nodding off every now and then, pleasantly awaiting my next livation.
I keep no hours, none in particular, and because I'm well rested I'm always
available for a bit of fun or affection.
I have two homes, one for the winter and one for the summer. Each one has it's
own foibles, but all of the above remains the same. I don't compromise my
standards when it comes to relaxation, comfort or food.
My name is Albert Turner I am an adopted feline tabby cat (15lbs) and my Summer
parents are Clare and Pierce, I have them under my thumb because they feel so
guilty about leaving me here with my other parents Ann and Ian during the
winter. Ann and Ian spoil me in the winter because they miss me during the
summer. It's all working out very well.
OK Pierce,
Just sign it love Albert xxxxxx
And tell 'em when your playing, we need some money comin in 'round ere!
Wexford Arts Centre, Saturday June 4th Tel. 053 912 3764
boxoffice@wexfordartscentre.ie
Sirius Arts Centre, Saturday 11th June The Old Yacht Club, Cobh, Co.
Cork, Phone/Fax +353 21 481 3790
email: cobharts@iol http://www.siriusartscentre.ie
Whelans, Dublin 18th June 2011 (Sat) Wexford St.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
5/21/2011
When we arrived here last summer there was blackbird family that were under the
impression that we had gone for good and that it was now their place of
residence. The Mother just ran around the parameter of our extended kitchen
roof. Screaming her brains out 'get outa here, get off my property!' she seemed
to be shouting. It went on all day long, she was furious with us. Then with
time her chicks started to show up, it did not escape our cat Albert's
attention. They all seemed pretty sharp and managed to stay well beyond
Albert's reach as they tweeted and fluttered around. The Mother was exhausted
from screaming at us now and appeared to be going hoarse.
One morning I was eating my breakfast and looking through the French doors at
our sun soaked garden and thinking what a lovely job Clare had done with the
flowers, when Albert went walking past with a baby Blackbird in his mouth, I ran
out in a panic and squeezed his jaws until his grip relaxed, he is very gentle
cat really and didn't mind handing the chick back to me. Clare and I knew where
the nest was and placed the little fella right next to it on the roof of the
bicycle shed. He appeared to be ok.
A couple of days later we had an exact replay. Albert was seen walking by once
again with what appeared to be the same bird. We freed it again. All told it
happened three or four times. And the bird was looking more and more haggard,
but he carried on. We watched him grow and as he got bigger he appeared to have
a couple of bald spots from the fiasco of his earlier exploits. Winter came; we
took Albert out to his winter residence and headed back to New York.
So now we're back and you know what? That blackbird is still around and of
course fully-grown. I see him almost every day, I know it's him because he
still has the bald spots and his feathers are still all askew, in short he is a
holy show, he looks a bit like Rod Stewart's hair at it's most unmade best. He
looks absolutely dreadful but appears to be ok hanging out in the tree and
nibbling on the breadcrumbs that Clare throws in the garden for him. And up
above our heads seated on the TV aerial which sits atop our chimney sings a
blackbird that may be the Mother! She tweets the most complex aria's straight
from the pen of God and I do hope to God she doesn't get pregnant again, because
I like this a lot more than when she screamed at us all day long to 'get to hell
out of here' After all I do live here! But perhaps she is thinking the same
thing.
I hope you are out there you never write any more, you must be so busy, and here
I am loving you more than
sushi.
Pierce xxx
claregturnerATgmail.com
JUNE DATES
Wexford Arts Centre, Saturday June 4th Tel. 053 912 3764
boxoffice@wexfordartscentre.ie boxoffice@wexfordartscentre.ie 8pm tickets 18 Euros
Sirius Arts Centre, Saturday 11th June The Old Yacht Club, Cobh, Co.
Cork, Phone/Fax +353 21 481 3790
www.siriusartscentre.ie 8pm tickets 18 Euros
Whelans, Dublin 18th June 2011 (Sat) 25 Wexford St.
Dublin Tickets: available www.ticketmaster.ie or Tel.0818 719300
WAV Tel.1890 200 078. or through ourselves on our guaranteed reservation
---------------------------------------------------------------------
6/11/2011
Frank Phelan (The Busy Man himself) says on facebook about Sat June 18th; This
could be the 'Gig for the Year'! Bring anyone who means anything to you, - they
will love you forever! Bring the black-bloodest of your black-blooded enemies -
their blood will be cleansed, and their affection reclaimed. The drip-drip of
negativity that permeates our entire existence will be vaporised to replenishing
and life-affirming nectar! Get to this gig. You will be rewarded!
I was running on Curracloe today in the sun at times and the rain, at times. A
large foreboding cloud held on to a massive front of the northern sky so I ran
in the opposite direction as it took to chasing me across the powdered mounds of
pristine sand.
When I returned there was a podium erected at the entrance to the beach with 50
or so grey cushioned folding chairs neatly place in rows of ten before it. The
Minister for the environment was craning his neck on the podium to reach a Shure
58 microphone that sat inside a goose neck mike stand, six or so inches above
his mouth. From where I stood he was inaudible, but standing above his right
shoulder about a hundred yards away on top of the grassed dune stood a beautiful
blonde being photographed with her arms outstretched like a great bird
threatening to take toward the sky on a glide of blue flag with the EU emblem
for first class environmentally clean beach stamped on its centre.
Once more this beautiful seven mile long strand has been given the highest
honour that can be bestowed upon anything that happens to be a beach in the
European Union. The sight though, of the podium, the chairs, the Mayor with all
his golden chains and the numerous cameras on an empty Thursday afternoon strand
was pretty eerie to me. A mile or two behind him one could see the dunes and
beachfront where Stephen Spielberg simulated the Dunkirk landing in the film
'Saving Private Ryan' - settled in to peace now, once again.
Whelan's next Saturday June 18th
I have booked the Piano, Pat will drive it up to Dublin in the horsebox and I'll
meet him at the Silver Tassie so as to guide him and the Piano carefully in to
the City proper. The cavalcade should arrive around 4pm for an 8pm gig.
I have Eugene Campbell booked to play his beautiful trumpet behind the glass
bell, Garvan Gallagher on stand up Bass and two other basses and chant
enthusiastically with you, myself on Piano and Guitar and a heap of new songs
that we played for the first time in Wexford on June 4th, the reaction was
beyond my wildest hopes, thanks be to Jasus. This will be a great gig, miss it
at your peril!!
Book it now, here if you want a break in the price, Whelans have agreed to a
special recession deal which allows us to let people book with us here at 18
euro a head. So write here for the deal claregturnerATgmail.com
Whelans, Dublin 18th June 2011 (Sat) 25 Wexford St.
Dublin Tickets: available www.ticketmaster.ie or Tel.0818 719300
WAV Tel.1890 200 078. or through ourselves on our guaranteed reservation
list email: claregturnerATgmail.com show 8.30pm
When you're down in Dublin Town
Hanging out in our old favourite haunts
You're bound to see my ex
I bet she's flying there filled with fire
So be careful what you say to her
Just tell her that I'm OK
My broken heart might bring her down
And I don't want her to feel that way
Come Hum With Us There. I love you more than Rhubarb tart and tea.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
6/15/2011
Listen lads I know you always leave it till the last second (my own philosophy)
but would you please just tell me if you are coming to Whelans? I've bitten my
nails down to the hub with worry about the expenses, there's the Piano and the
horsebox, the musicians, the roadie, the petrol and the tea and samwiches, not
to mention Clare getting her hair done. Surely you are not going to Take That
at Croke Park' I woulda thought you had out grown That-Take!
It's gotten so out of hand here, Take That are playing to 80.000 people Neil
Diamond, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, George Michael, Coldplay, FooFighters, The
Electric Picnic, Oxegen, Slane (with U2) and every little fartarse village
running their own festivals with duck races and Pig Derbys all in a country of 4
and a half million! I haven't even mentioned the Gala's and benefits and
Classical events, or the thousands of artists that will come here who are
slightly less popular who will only draw a mere one or two thousand, and of
course the other thousand like me who are playing in places like Whelans to an
audience of 2 or 3 hundred (hopefully) throw into that mix the outrageous 'keep
up with the Jones's' events like 20.000 euro weddings and Holy Communion and
Confirmations that are threatening to be as big as a wedding, all this in a
country that is on its knees with a recession that is only barely fighting off
the letters D .P and R. Oh and don't forget the new super Casino that is
projected for Tipperary! In a little place called Boris I believe, a
500 bedroom Hotel, a Racecourse, a Dog Track, one of the biggest Casino's in the
western hemisphere and wait for it; an Original replica of The White House!!
Soon all the small things will be gone, and small things pay taxes, big things
don't! (Look at Bono) the result, we are already experiencing, no money for the
frail of our society.
What I earn here gets spent here, the others leave with bags of money to go in
there off shore accounts, I spend mine in the garage on my way home driving down
the N11 with the hush of late night radio, to the cooing of Maxi hopping from
Dylan to Streisand and from there to some horrendous cover of a Beatles classic,
but that's Ireland, and I love and understand it better that any superduperstar
with catered food from a gourmet chef hopping on a private jet to London for
another frolic!
I need you lads, they don't!
Book here for 18 euro reservations claregturnerATgmail.com
Love from the Model County.
Pierce xxxxxxx
Whelans, Dublin 18th June 2011 (Sat) 25 Wexford St.
Dublin Tickets: available www.ticketmaster.ie or Tel.0818 719300
WAV Tel.1890 200 078. show 8.30pm
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6/18/2011
Don't go to Whelans tomorrow night! June 18th
After all the fuss about making you buy tickets sooner, the response has been
amazing, bookings have come flying in and now it looks like we would have a
great night, but oh no, no, no! While I was making you hurry up to buy tickets I
was also ignoring a cold, assuming that it was an allergy of some kind. Then I
started coughing like a maniac, all night long violent stuff, woke up on
Thursday without a note in my head. Went to the Doctor, she said that I had
ripped my throat out and that I should shut up for a day. So I shut up all day
yesterday and steamed for hours, took antibiotics 'cos it is on my chest,
hummed (that's like massage for the vocal chords) drank pineapple juice and
coconut water for hydration, took zinc, bit on vitamin E before going to bed-to
heal. I am so pissed off, just checked my voice and it's a bit better. but not
near better enough. I know that if I do it I will rip my throat out and I have
an album to record this summer. Furthermore it wouldn!'t be good enough anyhow,
and then I would be letting people down. I should add to this that Clare is
sick too, and she's my driver.
This is actually historical as I have never cancelled because of illness, I
played once at Whelans with a broken arm and another time with Vertigo, out on
those tables!
But I got a node on my vocal chords a few years back from singing through a
vocal problem, the result was an expensive operation and I don't want another
one.
I am so sorry lads, I honestly would go there just to see you, but I wouldn't be
even able to talk!
Whelan's are not angry and have asked me to do it again in a couple of months.
What do you think?
I love you more than bruschetta.
Pierce xxxxxx
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7/11/2011
Went to my Sisters house for dinner last night. She lives on the other side of
the Bridge, up a bit to the left, in around the old stone wall, and up just past
the nub of a an old bridge long since dismantled for safety reasons. Most
people would take a right turn at the end of that road nowadays instead of a
left on to the old bridge once the only way to get into Town. To the right
under the tall dark leafed tree tunnel the narrow pot holed road leads to the
very popular Crosstown Graveyard, the home for most Wexford town residents after
they retire from life. However if you do take a left nowadays, you do so with
the knowledge that there are private houses up there, just to the right of the
long gone bridge. That's where my Sister Delores lives with her husband Toddy.
Their house has a large garden, which slopes right down to the River Slaney.
Even at 11 0' Clock it was still daylight and you could look out through the
sliding doors at the glistening River gliding along under the massive old Trees
at the bottom of her garden. While we sat there chatting the evening light went
through its various shades as it passed the time. I suppose we did too, but I
couldn't see our colours so clearly, maybe if the evening looked at us it could'
But evenings don't look do they' Still that one carried on like it knew that
someone was watching it. At first the sun shone a bright golden lamp across the
garden throwing long dark shadows, and we talked, then the light turned amber
and the old nuns convent on the far bank with the schoolhouse and chapel,
appeared to turn sepia. We poured some more wine, the sun went cold and applied
platinum to the sky and the ground, the final bow before it turned inside out
and left black porous silence between the yellow lights of town and the
cloud-fighting moon.
My Sister made two different types of pie, one of them resembled the steak pie
that my Mother Molly used to make, my Sister Delores seems to have inherited her
recipes, it was particularly delicious, and instead of steak she used chicken.
The pastry was sumptuous. The other one also reminded me of my Mother in that
Delores improvised some kind of curry, Chicken and something else within the
delicious pastry. Of course there was new potatoes, and broccoli and Carrots
and parsnips. After the meal she served a rhubarb crumble with ice cream that
my Sister Bernie had made, and oodles of white and red wine washed the whole
proceedings to its appointed destination. Coffee and tea was served before we
hit the road back in to Town with my sober brother in law Dave doing the
driving.
I can't remember for the life of me say why I decided to tell you about this.
But there I have done it so now it's done.
I am excited about recording the new album, which will be recorded with 'a very
small orchestra', and I have produced an Irish band called The Darling Sins that
are causing quite a stir with the Record Companies. So there aren't many gigs
because I'm busy doing that, and you know I hate being busy! But here are some
gigs and one of them will be at the Fringe of the Wexford Opera Festival that
one will be the debut of 'a very small orchestra' I am never here for the
festival, so this is exciting. It will be at Greenacres Galleries, which has a
beautiful baby grand piano, on Saturday October 29th (the holiday weekend). I
want to sell it in advance, as the orchestra is expensive, so book here if you
want to come its 20-euro. I will do most of the new songs that night.
claregturnerATgmail.com
Also Kilkenny on August at the beautiful Hole In the Wall on Friday August 19th.
Back at Aras Chronain in Clondalkin on September 24th, that was really good one
the last time, people who used to never leave their houses came out the last
time, it was frightening. Great place.
Other dates will arrive including a trip to England. And I am up for some House
gigs again if you are!
I did think of you as I ate the Rhubarb crumble with the ice cream, lovely and
sweet.xxxxxx
Ah sure musha god help yez.
Pierce XXX
Kilkenny The Hole in the Wall -Fri August 19th (capacity only 45)
Clondalkin- Aras Chronain, Sat Sept 24th
Wexford Town -Opera Festival Greenacres Galleries Sat Oct 29th
---------------------------------------------------------------------
7/29/2011
Friday September 2nd will be a nostalgic night for those of us who come to
Whelans of Wexford street in the city of Dublin just up the hill from Wexford
Town and a stones throw from Wicklow, Finglas, Ballyfermot, Portlaoise, Meath,
Cork, Gortahauk and Glennamaddy.
After much haranguing by my very opinionated Irish pen pals about Getting
Whelans back the way it was and that I should only play THERE For the rest of
my whole bloody life, I have persuaded the club to put out its big old wooden
tables the way they used to be. The club agreed that it would be a special
occasion anyway as it will be my 20th anniversary, 'what'? Said I, 20 years
since I first danced across the tables in Whelans? Many's the glass of nearly
full beer were smashed in the blindness of the light, many's a filthy look were
thrown my way, many's the ashtray went sliding like a hockey puck (that's
history now) and smashed on the floor, many's the celebrity ran to hide
upstairs, because the tables were lit like a stage and were slightly dangerous.
Brad Pitt had so many bloody bodyguards that there was hardly any room for
anyone else upstairs. But Christy Moore braved it out right there in the front.
Unfortunately, while rushing out to the left flank of tables t!
o slide on my knees towards the brethren for the chant in Moonbeam Josephine, I
smothered Christy and his family in whatever it was they were drinking, I still
feel bad about it. Many's the performer gave the greatest honour by stealing
the table/stage idea, people like Jack L whom I'm told was there a few times.
But it was no great mysterious invention, I just thought of the place as one big
stage. At one point we even brought in one of those circus rope ladders, I had
the idea that I would run to the side table, grab it and after swinging around
the room for a while like Errol Flynn, I would climb up the balcony! Well we
hung it over the side during the sound check and I had a go at it. I had no
idea! it was bloody impossible! It buckled and twisted around me like a snake,
forrgerrabouri! The rope ladder was returned.
That was when Whelans had chairs with the cast iron legs, I did a run of
Saturdays there once and on the first night we were running late on the sound
check and there was a line around the block hugging the wall to avoid the rain.
I hurriedly jumped off the stage on to a chair, the iron legs turned into
perfect skates on the slate floor, I went flying into the worst fall of my life,
a sort of summersault into mid-air, and while I was on the way down, head
backwards, I took the time to notice the look of horror on the string quartets
faces, I then landed on my left arm only narrowly missing the stage with my
head. My left hand swelled up like a balloon, but the show had to go on. Next
morning I was sitting next to a guy in the hospital who had fallen off his bike
the night before and swore that his bike braked itself, but couldn't be sure
'cos he had taken ten pints! Meanwhile the nurse pulled cold wet cloths from a
bucket of plaster of Paris. The following week Leo O' Kelly played guitar
and I swung my cast around to great effect, of course they
were all thinking; 'I knew he'd fall offa dem tables wan day'
Hundreds of photos were taken at Whelans over the years, if you have any good
ones will you PLEASE send them to me? Thanks.
So lads here's the deal, Whelans have agreed to this; if you book in advance
through us here or Whelans WAV it will be 18 euro. At the door on the night it
will be 20. Or you can use Tickemaster with the usual surcharge. I will dust
off the old tracks and signs and get my dancing shoes out, fuck the begrudgers
and the purists (we might be getting over that!), this will be our party and
we'll cry if we want to!
This first though, Kilkenny where I had a triffic sold out Gig last Kilkenny
Arts Festival. This amazing venue is much smaller though it only holds 45 people
and it truly is gorgeous, look at their site.
* Pierce Turner Friday Aug 19th at 8.30pm Kilkenny Hole in the Wall Tickets are
on sale from Rollercoaster Records, 056 77 63669 and are priced at 20.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hole-In-The-Wall-Kilkenny/126624194026231
* Whelans Dublin 20th anniversary gig book now 18 euro 20 at door
September 2nd -9pm
Book here at claregturnerATgmail.com
* Aras Chronain Clondalkin
Sat Sept 24th
This is like a throwback to a small dance hall with a balcony an all. People
came down from the Wicklow Hills and everything the last time
* Sat Oct 29th The fringe of the Wexford Opera Festival
Greenacres Art Galleries. This will be the debut of my Very Small Orchestra, the
line-up for my up and coming album. They have a beautiful Yamaha mini Grand and
it holds 150 people, this will definitely be sold out, so book now.
* finally I am heading over to England before this I will perform at The
Slaughtered Lamb in London on September 29th. I will be in England for the first
two weeks of October, All of you lads that wanted to do house gigs over there,
Now's your chance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
8/18/2011
Working hard here, don't really know if I'm getting anywhere. But it's hard
work trying to get where I'm not sure that I'm going. I'm nearly always behind,
I hammer away and think I must be making progress, but I never actually feel
that I've finished something. Sometimes I don't know what's wrong with me,
after numerous days back to back of that feeling, I become irritable and
annoying to be around, finally I take myself to one side and give myself a good
talking to. That's when I turn to the list. grab a piece of paper from the
printer tray and write down all the things I'm supposed to do. I fill side one
from top to bottom, numbering each thing, and then turn it over for a good few
more. I throw the paper on the table and decide to tackle it tomorrow. The
first thing on the list was to write to you and remind you about Whelans on Sept
2nd. And that Whelans told me to tell you that the early bird special of 18
euro expires the previous Friday to the gig August 26th.
So if you want to save a few bob reserve before then. And the second thing
was to remind you that I am playing in London on September 29th for the first
time in a long time. And the third thing is that I have been accepted by
Pledgemusic to do a crowdfunding for my forthcoming album to raise a budget, all
sorts of things will be on offer and we will launch it at Whelans with fancy
beermats that will have a code on the back of them for you to scan your
smartphone across and see a special video of...you'll see!
And now that I've done three things I have to say I feel none the more on top of
it. I have the music though and I'm ready to make an album! small detail.
But that's not on the list. Also on the list I have to make a video for the
beermats! and get a photo for the beermats. Ye see you fix one thing and it
leads to another. I'm going to bed. I am starting to feel the heat of Kilkenny
this Friday and WHelan's on the wooden tables.
Book now with us at claregturnerATgmail.com or contact ;
wav ph1890200078 for the early bird tickets. Or the link www.whelanslive.com
We have a lot of wasps down here, pesky little things flying in my tea. Just
thought I'd tell ya that as the day unwinds. Come out lads I will be singing
the staples on the Whelans old tables.
xxxxxPierce.
Subject; Pierce Turner 20th Anniversary in Whelans
Friday September 2nd will be a nostalgic night for those of us who come to
Whelans of Wexford street in the city of Dublin just up the hill from Wexford
Town and a stones throw from Wicklow, Finglas, Ballyfermot, Portlaoise, Meath,
Cork, Gortahauk and Glennamaddy.
29th Sept (Thursday) show @ 9pm
The Slaughtered Lamb
34-35 Great Sutton St
City of London EC1V 0DX, United Kingdom
020 7253 1516
http://www.theslaughteredlambpub.com/
Sat Oct 29th The fringe of the Wexford Opera Festival
Greenacres Art Galleries. This will be the debut of my Very Small Orchestra, the
line-up for my up and coming album. They have a beautiful Yamaha mini Grand and
it holds 150 people, this will definitely be sold out, so book now.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
9/1/2011
Went for a run up at the racecourse this morning. I followed the path of the
horses. It starts off fine, I thought 'what's the big deal' it was a beautiful
sunny morning and the sky was as wide and big as any cowboy country. Then
suddenly I found myself labouring (yes there's a U! and I'm being yelled at by
the spell check, but if I didn't put a U in there where I went to school, I
would have been tortured for hours) it was a sneaky rise in the track-suddenly I
was going up a very slow hill-not steep, but big and long. I could see why it
was necessary to have a horse. Then a man came along driving a tractor whilst
pulling a ginormous lawnmower behind him (I got the WHILST from Clare) and he
was spitting grass everywhere as he attempted to mow what looked like the entire
country. Now, I'm not used to allergies, they are new to my world, and someone
told me recently that if you have allergies when you're young, that you can grow
out of them. But if you get them when you're older you never get rid of them!
Thank you Mary Kelly (my friend) So I run all around the track a couple of times,
with the tractor put- putting away nearby, couldn't get away from the bugger.
Now I sit here sneezing and would like to wrap that tractor around his nose.
This Friday September 2nd I will play my 20th anniversary gig in Whelan's of
Wexford Street, Dublin. Also that night I will launch my Pledgemusic.com crowd
funder to raise the budget for my next album, Pierce Turner with a Verry Small
Orchestra (yes 2 R's) I will be offering all kinds of incentives to you my
little lovelies to gain you're advance support for this my 8th studio album.
Hopefully when the time comes this weekend you will find something interesting
in the bag of goodies. I will keep you informed.
I have been practicing my dancing, and Whelan's are bringing in the big old
solid wooden tables for me to slide upon, hold on to your pints, I'll hold on to
my pants.
Only four days to go. Book with us here at claregturnerATgmail.com or go to
Ticketmaster, or Whelan's WAV.
The sneezing has stopped now! Must be cos I'm looking forward to seeing the
Dublin gang again.
I love you as much as my Cat.
Pierce xxxxxxxx
Whelans Dublin 20th anniversary gig
Fri.September 2nd -9pm WAV or Ticketmaster
Book here at claregturnerATgmail.com
Aras Chronain Clondalkin
Sat. Sept 24th
Áras Chronain Irish Cultural Centre
Watery Lane, Orchard Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.
T: +353-1-4574847
F: +353-1-4574117
E: eolas@araschronain.ie
This is like a throwback to a small dance hall with a balcony an all. People
came down from the Wicklow Hills and everything the last time
Sat Oct 29th The fringe of the Wexford Opera Festival
Greenacres Art Galleries. Selskar Wexford. This will be the debut of my Very
Small Orchestra, the line-up for my up and coming album. They have a beautiful
Yamaha mini Grand and it holds 150 people, this will definitely be sold out, so
book now.
Finally I am heading over to England before this I will perform at The
Slaughtered Lamb in London on September 29th.LONDON: The Slaughtered
Lamb
34-35 Great Sutton St.
Clerkenwell
London
EC1V
ODX
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/131224
I will be in England for the first two weeks of October, All of you lads that
wanted to do house gigs over there, Now's your chance, have a couple booked
already- claregturnerATgmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
9/4/2011
I played in Dublin on September 2nd, it was a Friday! And the man who books
Whelan’s in Dublin warned me that it would clash with a big music festival in
Ireland, the best fest they say, called The Electric Picnic. I said “ well there
is always something isn’t there'” so bugger it let’s risk it for a biscuit.
I don’t know anyone who goes there anyhow. But then on Monday I see in the paper
that Ireland will be playing Slovakia in a qualifier soccer match for the
European Cup. Now that’s a whole different matter! So I said that I would start
after the match was over to try and appease those interested (nearly everyone
over two years of age). It was actually Whelan’s idea, but then when we figured
out that that would mean starting at 9.30 I was told that would be fine so long
as I finished by 11 PM. Of course I usually play for 2 hours so I had to start
at 9pm. Some of you missed the first half hour and I'm sorry about that, but
you still got an hour and a half.
And half the people who are usually there didn’t turn up at all, so they missed
two hours, and I’m telling you they missed two of the greatest hours I have ever
spent on stage. The audience was like a dancing choir. We raked ourselves
across all the ould songs and they even brought in the old tables from Finglas
where they have been out to pasture. Thank you for a magnificently great night,
thank you.
And also what a great start to the Pledge Music campaign, God it’s inspiring to
have this great support coming in already.
Thank you to those who have pledged so far.
Just so that you understand, this is the way it works:
Pledge has set a realistic financial goal for my album based on their estimation
of my possibilities. I have 60 more days to reach that goal, if I don’t reach it
by then the project fails and everyone gets their money back. And the album goes
on the back burner once more, that should make you feel guilty enough to come out
of the shadows!
As the Pledges come in the pledgeometer goes up and up accordingly and the more
movement there is, the more attention Pledge will give it. This is a worldwide
site and it has a high profile, doing well on here will not only raise the money
for the album, but it will give the album some impetus to start off with, very
useful for TV, Radio and Press. So if you have always been a supporter and
wondered why I don’t get more going for me, now’s your chance to help sort that
problem out - after all I’m hardly about to go on X Factor! By the way when you
go to Pledge Music you will see where I am on the Pledgeometer, please tell your
friends and your friends friends and their children and their Mammy’s and Daddy’s
and their Mammy’s and Daddy’s, Mammy and Daddy.
We had small Video cameras flying around Whelan’s across pints of Guinness, up
skirts and under arses and we will be posting some of them up for the pledgers.
So once you pledge you will start hearing and seeing all kinds of new videos that
I will be hand-making, and hearing unusual versions of new songs and covers. I’m
telling ye, ye have to come on board! We are going racing! Big time. Just click
on the link below and it will take you to my Pledge Music page.
Love,
Pierce.
P.S. Upcoming gigs in Clondalkin (Sept 24th), London (Sept 29th),
Wexford (Oct 29th) Available for house gigs in England in the first 2 weeks
of October.
Full details of all gigs on my website here: http://www.pierceturner.com
|
1/25/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
Returning to Joe's Pub
First things first - some of you have said that these newsletters come out garbled
when you get them. There's a couple of things you can try: your email settings
might be blocking HTML and graphics from getting through - if so, you can change
your settings to allow them be downloaded. Within this message, you'll hopefully
see a link near the top where you can click to view it in the browser if it's
not displaying correctly. Also, right at the bottom, there's a link to update
your preferences. You can click on it and it will take you to a page where you can
change your settings and choose to receive emails as text only if you prefer.
So this is 2012? I thought so! I knew I wouldn’t know it when I saw it, and sure as shit, I was right. It’s good that we had a party on New Years Eve, otherwise there wouldn’t have been any difference between that Sunday and Saturday and any other pair of days. But the smell of copious beer bottles and the layers of shoe muck scrawled all over the kitchen floor, chairs that belong in the house out in the garden and the fact that half past noon felt like 8 am earmarked this as some kind of different thingameebob. But let’s not go nuts here, very little has changed and if it has, you probably won’t know about it for some while. Maybe in five years time I’ll see a photo of us sending the Chinese lanterns off in the garden and the horror in our faces as they twist and turn in the multi directional Irish wind formidably swirling and driving them back down towards a sleeping neighbours roof! And of course I will see that I looked considerably younger, and far better than I thought, and wonder why I wasn’t happier that way? Yes time will tell that this was an important passage, but time, my time anyway, doesn’t register at the rate of fiscal measurement, I think I am operating on a kind of 5 years to one ratio! So really I think we are having too many New Years, one every 5 years would be far more reasonable. This letter is to give good news and sad news to my American friends. The good news is that we have a New York gig set up for Saturday the 3rd of March at the internationally renowned Joe’s Pub of Manhattan at 7pm. The sad news is that the lovely Jaimee Young will not be in the audience. Jaimee has hardly missed one gig in in the last 15 years, but sadly at the heartbreaking age of 36 Jaimee succumbed to a year long battle with cancer this January. Many of you who live in N.Y would know her, as she had the most beautiful smile and just filled the room with sunshine. So it will be very strange not to have Jaimee there, but I will give it every ounce that I can for her memory, this is dedicated to you Jaimee, with all my love. I miss you from here and I will miss you there, your silence is everywhere. The new album is almost done! And I think Jaimee would have loved it. You will have heard a good few of the songs live already. We recorded the strings last Friday and they sound amazing. I wrote a lot more string parts than usual, and now I do write them on my own, as my friend Fred Parcells isn’t next door any more. I was really bloody nervous sitting in the control room with the parts in front of me, knowing that the constraints of the budget meant that we had to pull it off in one day (that’s the strings only) but of course like all things in life- you get back what you put in-and all those late evenings of tearing my hair out with the aim to not let any second of the arrangement be lazy or lame paid off. Fiachra Trench (of orchestral fame) sat behind me for a little while (it’s his son’s studio) and was greatly surprised when he said the arrangements were impressive, although I probably wasn’t convinced. Now I am very happy though, I can’t wait to hear what you think. If you pledged you will receive your advance download early February. And I have to ask you as a friend for a huge favour, please don’t burn any copies of it, or send it by email. Eventually the album will come out officially and it would be damaged considerably by this kind of activity. My plan is to make as much of a fuss as possible about nobody burning it when it’s released. Just think how different it would be by that gesture alone. So please help me to pull off this plan, just play it to people. Tickets are on sale now at Joe’s Pub (you can book HERE) book the baby sitter or husband, get your friends on the phone, I haven’t seen you for 9 months let’s have a party. I will have Fred Parcells on Trombone and Greeeat vocals with me for sure and Rob Thomas on Bass, Viola, Violin and Cello. Raimundo Penaforte on Violin, Mandolin, guitar and keys-of course I will be at the Grand Piano and on the carpet with my guitar, Borris, and Jasus what else do you want? All them new songs. I miss New York and I am really looking forward to seeing all you lovely little pretty things. We have lost loads of people from our mailing because of lost jobs and dead email addresses - please forward this mail, as people can sign up at THIS link. I love you more than “Withnail and I” Pierce xxxxxx Pierce Turner And a Verry Small Orchestra Joe’s Pub Saturday March 3rd at 7pm 425 Lafayette Street NYC Enquiries 212 539 8777 Tickets 212 967 7555 |
|
2/20/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
New York State of Mind
Did you know that Kurt Cobain would have been 45 today if he had lived? My friend
Lori Nasrallah has put together a new video for my cover of Lithium - you can see
it HERE.
Also, I'm back at Joe's Pub in Manhattan again on March 3rd - all the details
are HERE.
My friend Maura wants to know did we make it back to NY alive? Well yes I know that I’m alive because I’ve been in agony since I got here. The day before we left I woke up after an extra deep nights sleep (helped by a 4 am calmex tablet) to a tension around the bottom of my neck. Within an hour it had travelled upwards towards the bottom left side of my skull, and it felt like someone had stabbed me there with a screwdriver. I ignored it and got on with my packing expecting it to subside, a few hours later I took a couple of pain killers, some kind of EXTRA type of yoke that was as ominous in appearance as Hitler’s cyanide pill that he kept in the bunker. They had so little effect, I even forgot that I had taken them. That night we went to bed at 10 pm as we knew we would have to arise at 4 am to drive to the Dublin international Airport where flights are scheduled to suit Dubliners, it doesn’t dawn on em that some people live hours away. For this special early attempt at slumber we took an ambien each. It was at this point Clare decided to do a bit of tidying up. I lay there in bed awaiting the effect of this rarely appointed pleasure (a whole sleeping pill) but the light was on and Clare seemed to be taking forever to do whatever the hell she was at. My head was not too bad with the sleeping pill kicking in and finally Clare got in the bloody bed and we killed the light, it was now 10;45 and we were in a hurry to go asleep! I awakened before the alarm with the screwdriver gouging into my skull again. I crawled out of bed and thought it would be no harm to get up before 4 to make sure that I had everything packed an all. I put on the kettle and casually glanced at the clock as I clenched my agonizing knot-…phuck! What? 2 am! You can guess the rest…. My nephew Adrian very kindly took us to the airport, I made him stop along the way, the pain was so bad I was getting nauseous, all I could find were Rennies, spearmint flavor, they are for indigestion, I sucked on em anyway. Brain tumor was starting to cross my mind. I’m not going to tell you how, but we got bumped up to business class on the flight and it was brilliant, the seat had a snooze button on it, which meant that we could lie flat down and sleep, I slept a little and I was almost used to the pain by now - plus the luxury was a huge distraction. I decided that it might be wise to drink the free wine as it would thin my blood, just in case I had a clot in my brain. Our dear friends John and Andriette met us at the Airport and I didn’t bother telling them about the pain, it was so kind and welcoming of them. It really makes all the difference when you are returning from afar, or should I say home? Which one is it! We carried everything upstairs and were pleased that the house hadn’t been burned down, although the hallways had been painted purple and white making it look a bit like a female prison. I made a Bee line for the Korean Beauty Salon across the street where they also do shoulder massages for a dollar a minute. I asked the very sweet smiling young one for a ten-minute massage. She put my head into a paper towel and went at me so hard she nearly pushed me and the chair through the wall. I told her to go easy in THAT special skull spot - eventually though she did have to approach it. I really thought that I would faint the pain was so bad, I almost asked her to stop but was too embarrassed, besides we could have been at $7.50 or something odd. Eventually I went for another ten, because I thought this was the only way to find out if I had a tumor or not (or knot) I certainly can’t afford to go to the doctor! I screamed in agony and everyone had a right laugh, women picking nail varnish colours and others with their feet lavishing in tremoring foot baths. I decided that it was tension, that’s what my problem was. There were knots all over my blooming back, I said to her that it probably had spread to my neck. She didn’t speak English unfortunately, so she couldn’t elaborate. What am I tense about? Well I always worry myself crooked when I make an album, and right now I’m convinced that it’s all shite. Of course anyone who hears it thinks that I’m nuts, and I hope they are right, I would rather be nuts than make a bad album. And…. Also I’m worried that no one will come to Joe’s Pub on March 3rd, that gives the screwdriver another turn. I could call and see what the sales are like, but I’m scared that it will give me a knot on the other side as well. It must be so great to be Bruce Springsteen, and to be sold out every time you fart. On top of that I’ve forgotten how everything works in the apartment. I just had a bath (our bath tub is in the kitchen) and suddenly realized that I needed to shave while there, that’s why that mirror springs out from the wall. Stood up, grabbed my razor and began looking in the magnified side, (bad idea) felt a sting, I know that’s a bleeder on the right side of my mouth, carried on in regret, bang! Another sting on the left side this time. I get out of the bath and I look like Dracula! Blood pouring down either side of my mouth like long fangs. Oh for that thing my Father used to have for this, I think it was called a styptic stick? Do they still make them? We have now began mixing the album, Grammy nominee-engineer Roman Klun is the man. We are using a studio over on 13th St owned by Aaron the drummer from the Spin Doctors with platinum discs all over the place (that was when people expected to pay for music) and now it sounds great - so the knot is fading away. I rehearsed with the band for Joe’s Pub and it sounded so good that I have to usher Fred Parcells into the mixing session to put him on the track “Snow”. Have you booked for Joe’s yet? I am not worrying anymore. I don’t want to live in the Korean beauty Salon. Warm up your voice we will raise the rafters on March 3rd at 7pm sharp. I love you more than Belgium beer. Piercexxx Pierce Turner And a Verry Small Orchestra Joe’s Pub Saturday March 3rd at 7pm 425 Lafayette Street NYC Enquiries 212 539 8777 Tickets 212 967 7555 |
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2/20/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
Sticking a fork in the new album to see if it's done
It's Monday in New York, a sunny shiny day, heading over to to the studio now
to mix the 7th song for the album, we appear to be on schedule. Trying to create
a running order - not sure yet. I am really pleased about the way it's coming
together, just rushed as usual. Every night we seem to be seeing someone for dinner,
met Todd (Lily Allen's and James Blunt's manager) for dinner on Saturday,
he was in NY for a few days, some fancy place over in Chelsea right next to where
they made The Other Guys. New York is hopping - there are so many beautiful
women it's ridiculous. I am distracted.
The tickets for Joe's Pub are going well - expecting a gang from Brooklyn. Playing at sweet Jaimee's memorial on Thursday, it coincides with the Pledge downloads of my album. In my life triumph always seems to come with tragedy. My Mother died 3 months before my first solo album "It's Only a Long Way Across" there was something about Jaimee that reminded me of her, they both gave me lots of love without any fuss or expectancy. That album was for my Mother, this one is for Jaimee Young. I love all of you, thank you for your support. Pierce xxxx Pierce Turner And a Verry Small Orchestra Joe’s Pub Saturday March 3rd at 7pm 425 Lafayette Street NYC Enquiries 212 539 8777 Tickets 212 967 7555 |
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3/2/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
I know what I'm doing ...
I'll be at JOE'S PUB - tomorrow Sat Mar 3rd @ 7 pm - after
drinks will be at Percy's Tavern 210 Avenue A and 13th St (a 5 min
ride in a taxi). I'll see you there.
Yesterday I walked home with a little silvery CD in a green paper cover tucked in my pocket. It contained all the finished mixes of the new album (as yet untitled). I look at its tinyness and wonder why it took so long. But I put it on this morning and it sounded huge, it was clear how much work so many people have put into this, all packed into a small silver thing waiting to be opened by your stereo. All I have to do now is solidify the running order of the songs, and then it will be sent to all the very kind people that Pledged towards it. The official CD will be released in the near future, again ask those friends that get the downloads - please, please don't mail it or burn it, that's the grand plan, please help me to hold this on place. This year is Philip Glass's 75th on the planet. And New York is on its knees to him, with major performances in his honour all over the place. On Wednesday John Rokosny videotaped Philip and I discussing the track "Yogi with a broken heart" on which he duetted with me playing keyboards (John also did a fly on the wall video of the session). We have since added strings, bass and percussion. After it was all over, Philip linked me as we walked up the Avenue in the slight rain - I felt so moved to have him as a friend. He told me that he was writing more now than he ever did- and that I have that to look forward to. What an encouraging prediction for age. Thank you Philip. Yesterday I also sang at my dear friend Jaimee's memorial. I'm not good at that type of thing - I nearly broke down into a shuddering, blubbering fool in the middle of it, held it together until the end though and then fell into a shuddering, blubbering fool. I have to say though the whole event was a huge release for our pent-up feeling of loss. Jaimee went out with such quiet dignity, but it was the loudest quietness I've ever known. Tomorrow Saturday the 3rd we take to the stage in Joe's Pub at 7PM sharp (extra half hour by starting early) and afterwards we will all meet for a drink at Percy's Tavern 210 Avenue A and 13th St ( a 5 min ride in a taxi). It's owned by a friend Larry Watson and we will be treated with respect, I look forward to seeing you. I love you more than Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. Pierce XXXXXX Pierce Turner And a Verry Small Orchestra Joe’s Pub Saturday March 3rd at 7pm 425 Lafayette Street NYC Enquiries 212 539 8777 Tickets 212 967 7555 |
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4/29/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
Down in the hole ...
Hello my sages, this was this week's adventure. Love Pierce xxxxxxx
The Verizon man in the hole at the end of the Avenue was very patient when we quizzed him on the expected time of completion for his repair. We had called Time Warner cable to complain that the entire house was suffering an outage for the umpteenth time this year. They said it was because of the Verizon man in the hole. But the oldish gentle, African American in the hole said that he was driven insane by people hassling him on this issue, as he came up the ladder to answer us for the 2nd time, he said "this is not even their hole!" "This is my hole!" Always be sure whose hole you're in! For those of you that supported the campaign on Pledge Music, my elves are working very hard and they hope to get your packages to you soon. Thanks very much for your kind words about the album. Here's a couple of treats from my show last month in Joe's Pub - Pierce Turner : Mayhem : Joe's Pub 2012 Pierce Turner : Moonbeam Josephine : At Joe's Pub 2012 |
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5/10/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
Follow me up and down to Carlow
We have a pet Robin now in New York. He comes to our window every morning
and creates a woe-full row if we haven't put his raisins in the elongated flower
pot. I like to have raisins with my porridge, and lately I have found
myself wanting when I go to the cupboard to prepare the tasty slop. Why? because
Clare may think that the Robin is more important than me - she swears, if she had
the time, that she could hand feed him and make him tame. I curse the smart
alec who told her that Robins like raisins, not nuts now! or raw porridge, just
raisins!
PieRce TuRneR and A veRRy small oRchestraHe has become our replacement for the Cat Albert, I imagine that Albert might eat Robin if it was in his windowsill, but Albert knows nothing of New York, he is from Wexford where no-one feeds the Robins, that I know of. I have come to be very fond of the little feathery fecker though, and I do speak to him when he arrives, just like the way I speak to Albert, in a half falsetto voice "hello little fella" "haylo bwoy" "o dit a goo liddle fella" he turns his head to one side and appears to be listening, then he yanks up a raisin like it's a worm, and flies away. That's the extent of our relationship, there is no reply, just like Albert (unless he's hungry) there is something about having someone to talk to, that can't reply. We all need one, have you got yours? I am starting to prepare the apartment for departure. It's time to go home for the Summer, and it's Albert's turn to not speak back (unless he's hungry). PieRce TuRneR and A veRRy small oRchestra will be playing at the Eigse festival in Carlow on Saturday June 16th. Carlow has always been a great town for me and it is a prized place of Culture in my mind, half of Tir na Nog comes from there after all. I am sure we can achieve the same impact at this wonderful Theatre that we did at the sold out Kilkenny Festival. We will have the full Band from the new forthcoming album and because of the great advance reaction to the album we are feeling extra confident about the new songs. We will have an acoustic Piano and superb sound and lights, so you have to get your bum down there, it's not always easy to get such a great set up. If you have pledged we are pressing the album right now (a special advance version) it wont be long, thank you for your patience. You will have it before Carlow, so that you can know em all. Have to pop out now for more raisins, me and my Robin are starving. I love you just as much as he and Albie. Pierce xxxx The Eigse Festival Carlow Sat June 16th Tinahely Courthouse Arts Centre Sat June 30th More to come. |
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5/28/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
I rest my case!
I am doing jury duty again!! They just won't leave me alone, and this time I'm
the foreman, it's a criminal case so I will have to deliver the verdict, yikes!!
This means I have to go against the very grain of what I would like to do, i.e not
be judgemental.
So I come home, put on the telly and there is Mitt Romney, and looking at him with my newly feathered judgement hat, I can say with absolute certainty, this man will not care about me! This is not someone who will give a damn if I am ever stuck on the road with a flat tyre, I can see him speeding by with his IRISH setter on the roof splashing me with rainwater, never thought of him before much until now, going into this courtroom and having to figure out who is lying and who is truthing and who has the wisdom, who is kind, who is ordinary and who is just trying their best. Everyone seems reasonable that works there, the cops, the Lawyers the Jury and the Judge. People there have manners and logic is suspended above the stubborn rule of law. I, of course , feel it's my duty to call for the law of unwritten flexibility. Tomorrow we do the scene from 12 angry men, after the summations we deliberate, I have a feeling it will be a battle. And I'll be looking to keep the poor bugger out of jail I suppose, we'll see. Every night I come home and rehearse at the Piano for my first gig in Carlow for a long long time, this will be THE VeRRy smaLL oRchestRa that played on the album, I can't always promise that line-up but it will be at Eigse in Carlow on June 16th. I hope you will be there. We will perform the album in its entirety and I hope to have advance copies for sale, this will the first time it has been done from beginning to end live, I am extremely proud of it, and it may be a slight challenge, but I believe it's worth it. I love you more than Mad Men! Pierce xxxxxx PieRce TuRneR and A veRRy small oRchestra |
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6/23/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
Are your fish jumpin'?
It was sweltering when I left New York, 100 degrees and 90% humidity, it was like
walking under water. One night we had the 2 ceiling fans on the go - one of
which is like propeller of a World War 2 bomber- and the air conditioner on
full belt. Down on the floor we had a Vornado fan cranked up so high that
it sounded like were in the engine room of a large ship! And still we were boiling,
lying there stark naked covered by nought but a cotton sheet. It reminded
me of when Clare first stayed with me in N.Y. It was also in the middle of
a heatwave, I woke up in the middle of the night to find her with her head in the
refrigerator. I didn't even have a fan at the time, never mind air conditioner.
I think she might have known what lay ahead when she saw me taking the sheets
out of the fridge where I used to put them before going out.
So I am glad to be here in Ireland where we are having a gorgeous Winter! I presume by now most of you that pledged have received your CD's and various other stuff, I will laminate some passes for those of you who pledged for that. If you have requested that and are planning on attending a gig please let me know and I will sort you out. The album is in its first phase which means just in the hands of pledgers, those who attend the gigs and you. We sold a heap of them at Carlow last Saturday and it will be available at Tinahely Courthouse in Wicklow next Saturday June 30th and at Whelans......on July 21st....at Greenacres Wexford July 27th. The VeRRy Small ORchestra is rolling and the Baroque Pop is catching, people might even turn up in period clothing and we can all do a minuet. Phase one sales will be a limited edition and the takings will go towards phase 2 which will go out to the Press,Radio and T.V. If you would like to order a phase one CD with Mario Quintana's beautiful cover, you can send a cheque or Money order for 20 euro plus 2 euro for postage here and we will mail it to you. send it to 12 Davitt Road South Wexford Ireland or If you have a paypal account send it to piercenewyork@aol.com I am really happy with the recording and it wasn't easy, I nearly drove anyone who worked on it demented! Getting great response, my brother-in law said "if this don't do well boy you may as well feckin give up!" So now let the games begin, anyone who can help to spread the fire, please do, the world is our oyster. Because there is no big honcho taking from the profits and because this is a co-operative between you and me, if we could sell just 5 thousand albums we would be winning big time. Live shows are essential to this though, and I am also planning to to hit small local pubs with one of you, my friends hosting it, County by County, here in Ireland right now and the U.K. All places are possible, just contact me and we can have a chat. Of course we will do a national publicity campaign to back it. So lads think about it, host a gig at your local, it won't cost you! we will keep the expenses down and people will pay to get in. I have to go lie down now, I'm exhausted just talking about it. I love you more than a glass of chilled Rosé Pierce xxxxxxxxxxx Summer Gigs in Ireland Sat June 30th Courthouse Arts Centre, Tinahely, Co. Wicklow Sat July 21st Whelans, Wexford Street, Dublin - phone for tickets - 1890 200 078 Fri July 27th Greenacres, Selskar, Wexford - Tickets available from Whites for Music (30 South Main Street, 053 91 22067) and Greenacres (053 9122975) and many more to come ??? PieRce TuRneR and A veRRy small oRchestra |
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6/28/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
Rain and fog will cling to the Wicklow hills this weekend
It appears that I am far more popular with the farming community than I knew to
be! I have a gig this coming Saturday above in the Wicklow Hills at a lovely
venue called the Tinahely Courthouse. But there is some concern about the
attendance. Apparently my main competitor is "the silage and dah!" normally
they don't have gigs there in the Summer because of this very smelly enemy's
superior level of priority. Some of you will wonder what silage is? well you
might google it and save me a lot of bother, but as far as I know it's pigshit!
they splatter it all over the fields and the vegetables grow like mad and have a
wonderful bouquet! Being in its vicinity is like sticking your head up a pigs bum!
But the farmers have to splatter it when the sun is threatening to shine.
And the weather forecaster did say on the national radio yesterday "the
rain and fog will cling to the hillsides this weekend" so maybe I will give
my smelly friend a good licking (oooch) If you want to come to Tinahely Courthouse
and prove that I am more popular than pigshit, you can book in advance here with
us at claregturnerATgmail.com or call the place itself.
I bet Leonard Cohen doesn't have this problem!
"SoNgs foR a veRRy smAll oRchestra" will start going in to select Irish record shops next week, I will let you know which ones have it as it goes along. White's for music in Wexford and Enniscorthy will have it this weekend, naturally Wexford is first. Book here also for Whelans on July 21st with the V.S.O. and Wexford Greenacres July 27th. Pierce xxxxxxxxxxx Summer Gigs in Ireland Sat June 30th Courthouse Arts Centre, Tinahely, Co. Wicklow Sat July 21st Whelans, Wexford Street, Dublin - phone 1890 200 078 Fri July 27th Greenacres, Selskar, Wexford - Tickets available from Whites for Music (30 South Main Street, 053 91 22067) and Greenacres (053 9122975) and many more to come ??? |
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7/15/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
I'm laughing at clouds so dark up above
America is frying and Ireland is drowning. The Bishop of Wexford has asked
us to pray for it to stop raining. Just after he said it the rain was coming
down so hard - on the M11 Motorway on the way down from Dublin - I almost had to
pull over! The wipers were flying, but the rain was boss. It’s shocking
to be in Ireland, the land of annoying-but-never-unmanageable weather, and get a
hint of what it feels like when our machines are dwarfed by nature. This was
nothing like a tsunami, but I got a small taste of that feeling of running out of
ideas and just hoping for the best. And I didn’t like it at all!
So here we are in the middle of a recession and non-stop rain and people are saying to me “what about that song of yours, Mondays Rain? Could you be looking a gift horse in the mouth? If someone offered me a horse now, I would have to look in his mouth, how amm I gonna feed the fucker, and where will I keep him? Well it’s an interesting point! Maybe I should rush it out! That just might stop it raining, and the Bishop would thank God, while I’d be thinking about that horse! Only now I might be flogging a dead one. Is it trite for me to expect people to come to my gigs in the middle of all o this? Or to buy an album that has nearly put me in the poor house? It might be, but I’m still gonna do it because I believe we have something to give you. It’s what I was put here for, and when the pints are poured and the lights come down, and after Mario Quintana’s animated film of the album cover dances across the DVD projector we will perform our hearts out like as if the country might sink beneath the rain tomorrow. Nothing will come between us if you are present, and I think Whelan’s is on a hill, so it probably won’t float away, and by the way, it has a roof! Come and see us, in Whelans in Dublin on July 21st and Greenacres in Wexford on July 27th. I love you more than thick cut marmalade. Pierce xxxxxxxxxxx Summer Gigs in Ireland Sat July 21st Whelans, Wexford Street, Dublin - phone 1890 200 078 Fri July 27th Greenacres, Selskar, Wexford - Tickets available from Whites for Music (30 South Main Street, 053 91 22067) and Greenacres (053 9122975) |
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8/13/2012
Pierce's Newsletter |
I've got the seats - will you bring the bums?
Hear ye hear ye all of you, from the planet of bums on seats. All of you with
a bum, or without, for we can’t be prejudice towards the bumless. I
am taking my own bum and all beneath it and above it, to a rake of small and intimate
public houses to the south and north of my present predicament. All of this
to forewarn and forearm all who come in contact about the forthcoming album “Songs
for a Verry Small Orchestra”. Some places are so small that you may
have to sit on my lap! But that’s fair enough, I have said that your bum will
have a seat! These will be Pierce Turner IS a Verry Small Orchestra gigs,
and sometimes my compatriot musicians will pop in and out depending on the price
of petrol. I am still in Ireland so if you’re in New York that might
be a problem. But I will get to you as soon as the plane is mended. So
bring your bum and we’ll bring the seats, oh and the songs. You can even download
your very own tour poster HERE.
Are you one of those people that watches everything on the special extras menu when you get a DVD? Well, you're in luck! I decided not to make a DVD, and just concentrate on the extras - here's Philip Glass and myself talking about Yogi with a Broken Heart from the new album (which, as you know, is available HERE): 
Pierce Turner - Yogi With a Broken Heart (featuring Philip Glass)
I love every single one of you-even the bumless. Pierce xxxxx The Bums on Seats Tour DUNCORMICK, Co. Wexford - SINNOTTS BAR - T HURS AUG 16TH 9PM - PHONE: 051-563-121 GOREY, Co. Wexford - KATIE DALY’S - 78 MAIN STREET - SAT AUG 25TH 9PM - PHONE: 053-948-3920 WEXFORD - THE SKY AND THE GROUND - SOUTH MAIN STREET - THURS AUG 30TH 8.30PM - PHONE: 053-9121273 GREYSTONES, Co. Wicklow - HOT SPOT COFFEE HOUSE - UNIT 5 WATSON & JOHNSON CENTRE, MILL ROAD - SAT SEP 15TH - PHONE: 01-201 6888 |
Fired up! Ready to go!
This is very short note from me.
I was born a long time ago and I remember nothing of the experience at all. You would think one would remember such a life altering experience, but no! Not a bit of it. There were other people there of course, and they remember it well. Much more well - than the other babies they cradled, because I was 14lbs in weight! Apparently the maternity nurse that dragged me out head first was so astonished at the sight of me that she ran a little competition, taking me around the hospital fully dressed in a suit of clothes, she asked the other expectant mothers to guess what age I was! I remember nothing of that either, and do not know who won the competition.
But yesterday! I remember it well and it was on that day that I confirmed the launch venue, date and time for my new album “Songs For A Verry Small Orchestra” And I have a favour to ask of you if you live in Ireland- and it matters not what weight you were when you were born- because this is a REALLY important event, the most important one for many years in the career of this 14 lb baby – I know you love your house and your children and grandchildren and/or dog and cat and this and that and the other thing-so just think of this as a christening! A thing that you have to go to! I don’t have too many babies, so it will be a while before the next album. So please get out the calendar and put me in there before you are invited to a Tupperware party! It will give the album a great send off if we pack the place! All the media will be invited and we will have all the people who played on the album performing (except Philip Glass of course –he’s not here) We will have the art work and animation (stunning!) of the Dublin Institute of Technology Students projected on a screen behind us as we perform the entire album and more of course. Plus this Sunday Sept 9th there will be a major article in the Sunday Times Culture Magazine by Liam Fay about the album, which he loves I’m pleased to say. Lots more media attention coming.
All this will happen at the very reasonable hour of 8 O’Clock on Thursday
October 11th 2012 at The Grand Social just next to the Hapenny
Bridge in Dublin. Thursday is best for the press-once they go home on Friday
or Saturday-they won’t come back! So Thursday is best and 8 pm means
going there after work with ease.
You can book with us here if you like my dear little things, please spread the word
and book busses and things, I need you, honest I do!
Love you too.
Pierce xxxx
Let's heat up the Hot Spot!
I hounded that woman at the Hot Spot coffee shop in Greystones for a gig, not that it’s some kind of hot spot on the itinerary for touring bands, but she seemed unsure of who I was (under the 30 age limit I imagine). So I worked extra hard to get across to her that I really was moderately well known! I wanted to do a tour of unconventional places around the periphery of Dublin City, just like the Tour of Manhattan that I did once and the recent tour of Wexford. The thing about this kind of thing is that quite often the people who own these places function in a different world of commerce. The world of who drinks the most coffee or who drinks the most beer etc, not what kind of music do they like.
So she said “can ye draw a crowd?” “Ah yeah I’d say so”
said I with removed bravado, meaning it was far away still and the further a gig
is away, the more it seems full in my appraisal. But now that it’s
near - this Saturday in fact! - my bravado has subsided and fear has taken hold
in its place, a common occurrence in my life since my audience started drinking
wine at home and watching the telly. Of course I could call and ask how the
tickets are going. But I’m afraid to know! Do me a favour and
call for me will ye?
You’d be doing two things for me - (1) adding to the enquiries - btw
would appreciate it if you would say something like “I can’t believe
he’s playing here!!!!” and (2) - I’ve forgotten what 2 is?
If you don’t do this for me, I will have to sneak up there on Saturday and hope for the best. If she tells me off for exaggerating my popularity I will be mortified. But wait a second - Clare says “you always do this, and the gigs have been great!” I suppose so; just the same I might walk in backwards at first. Or you could be there and make it wonderful!
I feel better now.
I Love you more than Vindaloo.
Pierce xxxxx
PS - Don’t forget the launch on Oct 11th at The Grand Social and
launch in the UK @
The Slaughtered
Lamb
in London on Thurs Nov 15th
See you at the Grand Social!
Where was I? Ah yes, I have a pimple behind my left ear. It’s really throbbing and sore. Remember when people used to keep cigarettes behind their ears? And pencils? I just tried it and the pencil didn’t stay there at all! And I don’t have small ears or anything, how did they do it? I had a manager once who carried a rolled joint behind his ear all day long, he never smoked it, I thought he was pretentious prat and we didn’t get along at all. But he could sustain the grip on that joint with his ear without any problem at all, and he had the small curled down type. It’s a peculiar notion when you think about it. I have this thing that I want to keep handy, so let me see, where will I put it? If I put it in my pocket then I will have to remember which one. If it’s a cigarette it will fall to pieces also. I can’t put it under my arm, or in my hair -although some Women can- the last place left other than my nostril, is my ear! It’s a handy little shelf that just happens to be all mine, and …on the side of my head all the time! And as if that’s not enough, it’s extra sensory, I can actually feel anything that rests upon it. There won’t be too many things there either! It’s not like I will have to search around, or rummage through the clutter, no there is no room for anything else at all. I’m beginning to see the point now, mind you my shelf would not be usable at this moment the space is taken by a bloody sore pimple.
You can now download the lyrics for Songs for a Verry Small Orchestra from the website. People are asking if the launch on October 11th is a real gig. Yes it absolutely is, we have the full band and we will a full show - no messing. No matter where you are on the planet you can listen to internet Radio and Irish National Radio (RTE) is starting to play the album quite a bit. A brilliant, superb Radio show is Dave Fanning on 2FM (RTE) from 7 to 10 pm Monday Through Thursday, he has played “Yogi with a Broken Heart” every night. It’s really exciting, as he is such a great DJ (Ireland’s John Peel) and the music he plays is really hip - you can tune in here and text or tweet or email a request if you like.
This Friday the Irish Times will have an article and review in The Ticket. Also
the Examiner are doing the same,and Hot Press are doing a big piece, they will also
attend the launch to write about it. And this week we release an edited Radio
single of “Mondays Rain” Please, if you hear it on the Radio, try and
send them a reaction, this really counts.
Off to bed now, sleep on the right side, pimple on the left.
I love you more than the day it will be gone.
Pierce xxxxxx
Oct 11th: The Grand Social,
Dublin
Oct 19th: Cleeres Theatre, Kilkenny
Oct 26th: Greenacres, Wexford
Nov 15th: The Slaughtered Lamb, London
In the wee small hours ...
I write this in the middle of the night, well at twenty five past five; is that the middle of the night? It’s become less and less clear when the night begins to end! Some people get up at four and call it the morning! So for them I presume the middle of the night is two! But sometimes I don’t even get to bed until three! Of course I know that I’m not normal because I’m a musician and get to bed late. But people who get up ridiculously early tend to think that they are normal! And the laws of the land tend to favour that approach too. It’s perfectly ok to ram a pneumatic drill into the pavement outside my home at seven in the morning and shudder the very teeth out of my head. So is that the morning? If so who are these lunatics that expect people to get up at four?
Last month my Sister and her family went on vacation to the Canary Islands and the plane left Dublin at 7 AM. Dublin is three hours from anywhere that’s not Dublin in this country. So because we are chopped liver she had to leave here at two in order to check in a couple of hours ahead. She is a go to bed at 11; 30 PM type. The middle of the night for her is somewhere between three and five. To leave at two, she had to get up at 12; 30 am! What kind of time is that then? Early morning? Or late night? When I pointed out that this was ludicrous to my Sister, she replied “sure, we’ll have the whole day there then” But you’ll have to go to bed when you get there ‘cos you’ll be so shagged, and when you wake up it will be night again and then the middle of your night will have been during the day! They are stealing your night! What is it with this travelling so bloody early in the morning? Maybe it’s all because of this 24 hr. clock business-24/7 and all that shite. We’ll I’m dropping a sleeping pill and I will arise at the civilized hour of 10 or eleven AM. And that means At Morning. Good night my sweet things.
BTW the album is doing very well, we are up to five - 4**** star reviews now from the national Irish press. England is next and then …The Super Bowl!! The review in the current Hot Press is excellent and I’m doing an interview with them this week for the next issue. The Wexford Festival Fringe is this coming Friday Oct 26th at the beautiful Greenacres Gallery with the grand Piano and the VeRRy Small OrchesTRA. Come down! The Town will be hopping with Fur coats and exotic cigars-Verdi will be rising from the bars and leaking up the alleyways. This album seems particularly made to fit, the New York Times did forecast this after Carnegie Hall: “An Opera tinged performance with hints of Joni Mitchell and David Bowie”
Tickets available at Ticketmaster and at Whites for Music on the Main St or the
Venue. You can book with us too claregturner at gmail.com
The Wexford Festival Fringe
Pierce Turner and a VeRRy SmaLL ORchestRA
Greenacres Art Gallery -Selskar -Wexford Town
Friday Oct 26th at 8;30 pm
A Verry Big Night
It’s half four in the afternoon and getting dark. At half eight this morning it was dark too. My head is wrecked, I don’t know whether I’m coming or going? The Cat is confused too. I was up at 6 this morning by mistake and he wanted to get out, but it was dark and he does run across the street! He wears a camouflage coat, ye can’t see him at all. I said to him “No, yer not getting out and that’s all there is to it!” he kept rubbing up against me, I ignored him and tried to find some news about Florida, did they finish counting yet? Next minute he bites my big toe! Only a little bite, but he gets my attention. Ye see in the Summer at this time you can let him out because it’s daylight here, but not now, especially since they changed the clock. But he has no need for clocks and does not carry a timepiece of his own. So he thinks that I need a bite to remind me that it’s way after six o’clock! Normal ‘can go out time’-even with, his camouflage coat “look, go to the toilet in the bathroom like everyone else!” He starts scratching the end of the sofa “stop! Yer not getting out yet, it’s dark and you’ll be killed” he starts pulling on the door, trying to squeeze his paw into the tiny crack in the door (it’s an old house) I pick him up and put him in his litter tray “there, this is what this is for” he looks at me like I am a child killer and follows me out, rushing off ahead of me suggesting that I should follow him to the door a let him out “You, are not getting out and that’s all there is to it!” Clare says that she sometimes can hear me talking to him like he’s a human being, in the middle of the night. I remember that, and take heed of what I am doing, madness might be setting in! I put him in his bed and he starts kneading it like it’s his Mother's breast. He decides to resign, I switch off the light and go back to bed in the dark. Ni-night John boy.
But all of that is neither here nor there - I have some gigs coming up in England and then back in Ireland. Will you come? No cats allowed!
London: Thursday, Nov 15th, The Slaughtered Lamb, 34-35 Great Sutton St, Clerkenwell EC1 Tel: 0207 253 1516.
Tickets here
Liverpool: Friday, Nov 23rd The Lantern Theatre, 57 Blundell Street, Liverpool
L1 0AJ Tel: 0151 703 0000. Tickets here
Cork: Thursday, Dec 6th, Coughlans Live, 7 Douglas St, Cork. Tel: 021 4961751. Tickets
here
Wexford: Saturday, Dec 22nd, Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket, Wexford. Tel: 053 9123764 Tickets
here
OK you lot - take it!
Krismis? What again! Cork Dec 6th, Wexford Dec 22nd, Dublin Dec 27th and then back to New York to my NY Family.
When I was a teenager I played in a band called the Arrows and we performed 5 to 6 nights a week including the day before Christmas and the day after! Of course I didn’t drink then (that has changed a little bit, (sic )) and I was a teenager (that has changed a little bit too) (sic) but it went on for many years and I had to give up on the idea of partying like a Person for Christmas, it was work time. But I put my mind to it and bared down upon it with total devotion until I got what everyone else took for granted - no gigs after Dec 23rd or so, for at least a week. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? I personally used to feel a kind of homesickness even when I was sitting with my family. It seems to create unachievable expectations.
So variety is the spice and I’ve decided to play again because I’d sooner be with you! And Christmas Parties have ripped the shite out of December gigs - so I play where no Christmas party dare go! Dec 27th!! to a room full of fat bellys and jolly hearts in Dublin at the Grand Social. Dec 6th in Cork will be the first time in donkeys years that I’ve been in that Favoured French city (well the Huguenots - French Protestants - ran there in the 17th Century - plenty of big noses and curly hair) That’s before the parties ! - the 6th in Cork that is - And Dec 22nd my annual celebration in Wexford at the (Cornmarket) Wexford Art Centre will be after the Office parties! I will dust off sing alongs songs about Santa Clauses and young chaps playing drums rump a pum Pum!
Also! (And it’s a big also) “Songs For a veRRy Small ORchesTRA” has been short listed for a major prize - I cannot say yet-but the announcement will be made on Jan 9th’ This is your album too dear pledgers thank you so much.
I love you more than mince pies
Pierce xxxx
Cork: Thursday, Dec 6th, Coughlans Live, 7 Douglas St, Cork.
Tel: 021 4961751. Tickets here
Wexford: Saturday, Dec 22nd, Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket, Wexford.
Tel: 053 9123764
.
Tickets here
Dublin: Thursday, Dec 27th, The Grand Social, 35 Lr Liffey
Street Dublin Tel. 01 874 0076 Tickets here or through a direct reservation from us
Don’t forget my Christmas song “all we want for Christmas is to be famous,
a funny poke at the X Factor Generation” is available on the website and “Songs For a veRRy Small ORchesTRA”
is now available as a download on itunes (click on the link up the top there) and
on Spotify too. It will be in the UK shops Feb 2013
The stars are brightly shining
I wake up in the morning to the sound of our Sony cube radio (now an antique, I'm told), roll out of bed and put the kettle on. I can hear the cat’s bell as he runs around the house wanting two things as quick as possible, to be fed and to be let out. I need to wee too! I decide to put the kettle on first, which means watching the water going in while I’m holding my own. The cat follows me into the toilet and is whining about the delay, I put some food down, he barely touches it and runs for the door, I want him to bugger off, so I run to the door and let him out. Throw 4 tea bags into the pot and sting them with red hot water. Pull the black out curtain up in the bedroom and look at Clare sunk deep into the pillow looking about 2 years of age.
We sit up drinking the tea and slowly start to speak. She loved the new Batman film, I hated it - why? “mindless rubbish” “not at all, it was really well done” “ it was so bloody long and noisy” The mail comes through the door with a kerfuffle, I go get it. It’s a check from the RAAP, neither one of us is sure what arm of the music business this is, but it doesn’t matter that much it’s only 240.72 euro. We look at the statement, it seems that most of it comes from America?
The new Hot Press year book is on the side table-we just got it yesterday. I have been anointed “Maverick of the Year” there is a very impressive 2 page interview in there, we read it , it seems like I’m moaning a lot in there. I’m a bit surprised as it’s not the way I felt. We talk about The Gathering next year and how people responded to it being on Facebook - someone wants to know how to get tickets. If we are going back to America in February we have to confirm that gig at Joe’s pub! And here we go again, talking about me and my career! I have been trying to watch this because I’m aware that it’s a little unfair for Clare. So I say to her “ That’s enough of us talking about me, what do YOU think about ME?” She replies “ will you fuck off!”
Happy Christmas my lovelies and if you’re far away will you come here in May? And if you're near, will you come to Dublin on December 27th?
I love you more than Christmas pudding. Pierce xxxxx
Dublin: Thursday, Dec 27th, The Grand Social, 35 Lr Liffey
Street Dublin Tel. 01 874 0076 Tickets here or through a direct reservation from us
"A HOMECOMING HUG WITH PIERCE TURNER" May 10, 11, 12th - part of The Gathering
Will you come to my hometown - the historical Town of Wexford - where I was born and bred - a major influence on many of my songs - meet my friends and family? - we will have 3 nights of music- (Fri May 10) "Manana in Manhattan Live in Wexford" with the String Quartet Doing a musical trip from the start up to now! (Sat May 11th) A forum with the Irish National Press, discussing "The peculiar trajectory of a rural Irish Baroque-Rock musician to America and back, and is it harder to succeed if you're from a small Irish Town?" An evening meal and a guided tour of this historical Town, pointing out Pierce places of influence and habitation - and walk the lanes that King Henry the 2nd did to Selskar Abbey to penance for his murder of Thomas a Becket( Sun May 12th) A sung Morning Mass with PT on the altar with a choir performing his sacred compositions-derived from influences of early Church music in the beautiful Church where he was baptised and initially travelled through all of his rites of passage. Sunday Afternoon trip to the Hook Head Peninsula (by Hook or by Crook) near where the Normans landed-and Sunday Night a sing-song Parlour Performance with Pierce in the Bar called after his song "The Sky and The Ground" all part of The Gathering Ireland. It will be a love-in for you and me, my family of friends. We have never done anything like this before, just think of the many great people in one place-it will be like a Daniel O'Donnell tea party - come and have a cup of tea pet.
New York, New York!
How's the weather where you are? Are you buried deep beneath the snow? You might be interested in my new iPad app that tells the story of how my song "Snow" from the new album came about. You can get it in the app store HERE.
In Wexford we don’t say “I’m not kidding you”, we say “I’m not codding you”. Why? I don’t know! We do have a fishing industry and fishing boats along the quay, and of course cod is popular with chips! Maybe cod was considered to be a sub-standard fish once? A poor man's salmon or something? So by suggesting codding, you are proposing a hoax? I don’t know, but I am not codding when I say that this is the place I was born and raised - and whatever it is that I am, I would not be, but for this ancient seaside town filled with the swagger and cynicism of sailors and their thirsty tales. And on May 10, 11th and 12th I am inviting everyone to come here for a weekend for a celebration of my music as part of the Gathering Ireland. But I also live in New York and before that I am going there.
I’m not codding when I say I’m coming back to New York (at last) to Joe’s Pub on Saturday March 2nd at 7 p.m. and I’m a bit excited to see my NY friends after all this time - please pass the word, ‘cos I don’t want anyone missing. Afterwards, we will all go to Larry Watson’s bar “Percy’s” on Ave A - East corner of 12th Street.
Tell everybody I’ve been away for 10 months. I’m coming back now,
what songs you wants?
I love you as much as New York xx
Pierce
Joe’s Pub Lafayette Street Manhattan, Sat March 2nd at 7 p.m.
Tickets HERE. The Joe's Pub website allows you to mail
the info for the gig on to someone else - would really appreciate you spreading
the word through that.
"A HOMECOMING HUG WITH PIERCE TURNER" May 10, 11, 12th - part of The Gathering
This town rips the bones from your back
I didn’t leave my apartment today at all. I woke up at 4 a.m. with jet-lag and read my Bruce Springsteen biog - I find it a bit depressing to see how much tougher he is than me, and disciplined, but I still find it irresistible. Still, I wouldn’t have fired Mike Appel or the band, nor would I have threatened them for doing drugs -but how can you argue when the results are so great?
Went for a run yesterday and it was so bloody cold the wind chased me back ten minutes after I left with a big red face. It’s a little bit scuzzier here in Manhattan - something dirtier about it. Darker and dingier, more 70’s in appearance. Like a murky film from that time, all shadows and scaffolding, and when scaffolds go up anywhere, they never seem to come down.
I went over to Joe’s Pub to put a poster up, the place had been renovated. I couldn’t find the place where they normally go and told him that it seemed like a closed glass case. The man at the door said “over there under the stairwell”. I went there and found the same closed glass case again, he came over and said "oh you’re right, leave it with me and I’ll look after it". So I did and sauntered out of there waving goodbye to him with a pair of glasses in my hand. Wait a second who owns these glasses? I walk back and say “are these yours” Astonished he replied yes, and I handed them back, none the wiser about how I came to have them.
The one and only, bar none, Fred Parcells - trombone player extraordinaire and vocalist and ex-partner that travelled the world with me, came to my apartment to rehearse. We started with “Snow” and his tone was so sweet and beautiful. I have known Fred since 1985 and I am so lucky to know such a great talent and a great friend. We dug deep (although I nearly fell asleep from jet-lag ) and we will dig deeper in Joe’s Pub on March 2nd. I want all of my NY sausages there, please pass the word. Percy's Lounge afterwards 12th and Ave A for a post show pint.
Finally who is coming to Wexford on May 10th for the all encompassing story of my life? From the string quartet on May 10th to a forum with national Press, and a pub crawl of this ancient town with its history, to a mass on Sunday the 12th with church organ , choir, soprano, and myself up on the altar playing keys, I have ripped my hair out to compose this! And then a finale Parlour gig (fielding all requests) at the Sky And the Ground Pub named after that black and white song. This is a once in a lifetime event and I want all of my dear friends and supporters to be there, from all the many journeys we have travelled, it will be magic, THE TOWN WILL BE OURS - ARE YOU COMING? It may never happen again.
I love you more when you are broke.
Pierce xxxxx
PS: Here's me on RTE in Ireland last week, talking about my "Snow" iPad app, which was put together by the nice people at Vermillion and is available HERE. (It's OK, you can skip the first 83 minutes - start at 1:23:20).
PPS: Here's a review of my recent gig in Cork.
Joe’s Pub Lafayette Street Manhattan, Sat March 2nd at 7 p.m. Tickets HERE.
"A HOMECOMING HUG WITH PIERCE TURNER" May 10, 11, 12th - part of The Gathering
The answer, my friend ...
Here in New York the wind blows up the Avenue with a winter western chill filled with imaginary tumbleweed. The traffic rattles its way up First Avenue. No matter how diligent the City is with potholes, they never seem to be done. Every second block will have a massive multi-ton plate of steel covering a hole in progress. And that's what causes the rattle it seems. A hundred cars screech to a halt at the red light by the Italian Pastry shop and rev their engines impatiently as they await the starters gun. The light goes green and they scream their tyres in forward drive......be-dum...be-dum..Be-Dum...goes each one by the Spanish Bodega where the steel plate resides today - and it becomes the music of the Avenue - the City's drummer! And in this neighbourhood, you can always hear drums.
Many of you now know about the Gathering Weekend in Wexford On May 10,11,12. At my gig in NY the other night I heard whisperings of people intending to attend. Could you please do me a favour? could you click HERE and say that you're attending? Even if you're not coming, we can hope for better promotion from the Gathering if they can see a greater level of interest in the event. Thanks so much.
Sunday week is March 17th but I will not be out there, where even familiar Pubs become Tubs of slither - no not me. And then the day before, March 16th, is the day of the Parade, which means that's really THE DAY! I will be away with the fairies in some secluded meadow snorting the gentle aroma of wild shrubbery, however the day before that - Friday, March 15th - is a chance for us all to get together under the pressure of pleasure and togetherness. I will perform in the intimacy of Percy's Lounge on Ave A and 13th St at 8pm - Piano at hand and good drink - with songs of ancient Irish reverie pulled out of the back end of memory. Twill be our celebration close enough to the time, but far away enough to keep it ours. CU there!
I love you more than green Guinness.
Pierce xxx
Pierce Turner celebrates his homeland, Friday March 15th at 8 p.m.: Percy's Tavern, 210 Avenue A New York, NY 10009. Phone: (212) 473-7770
Pierce Turner returns to Riverdale, Saturday April 13th at 8 p.m.: An Béal Bocht Café, 445 W238th street (@ Graystone Ave.), Bronx, NY 10463. Phone: (718) 884-7127
"A HOMECOMING HUG WITH PIERCE TURNER" May 10, 11, 12th - part of The Gathering
A whale of a time
Last night I lay on the bed thinking in the dark. The house was quiet; all the apartments had gone to sleep. I ran across my life with a fine toothcomb and came to no conclusions that were conclusive. I turned to my right side and tried to drift away, but my mind was up and running now and had a lot more berating, regrets and missed opportunities to parade before me. I turned back to my back and started to count from 300 in reverse. By 296 I remembered some stupid thing that I said in jest to someone, and thought, “Why can’t I just keep my big mouth shut!” and off I went again… about ten minutes later after being dragged through the coals in a remarkably complex litany of personal fuck-ups, I realised that I had stopped counting and went back to 300 again.
Then just as I was starting to drift off I heard this haunting sound echoing through the empty back streets “ what is that, it sounds like it’s under water” it happens again two minutes later…it sounds like a crying Whale..I once had an album of Whale sounds-it was given to me by a choreographer who had commissioned me to write music for dance piece based on Whales-she said “I want 20 minutes of music in ¾ time” So I wrote it and it nearly drove me batty-20 mins of waltz time??? But she paid me well and that was it, she was the boss. I went to see the performance sometime later, six dancers dressed in steel blue unitards (Whales) struggling to stay on their feet for 20 minutes of laborious clichés, to music that sounded every bit as boring as I was when writing it. I wanted to crawl out under the seat scaffolding and run, but during the applause the choreographer gestured to me, I was supposed to stand up at this point, but I couldn’t….I squirmed in the bed once more, and realised that I had stopped counting once again, back to 300.
To be continued…
Speaking of counting, starting soon we are doing a countdown to the Big Pierce Turner Weekend in Wexford on May 10, 11,12. I hope you can come. It’s a big SHOO
Last NY gig coming up who wants to come…. I love you more than the Dolphins. Pierce xxx
Next Saturday April 13th I head to Riverdale to perform in a Gay Porn Bar called "an beal bocht" No just kidding - it comes up in error as a gay bar though! -And my google alert tells me that there are only a couple of Pierce Turners out there, and one is a gay porn star!-there is also a white supremacist nut and an American football manager, he has the most activity-but the gay porn star is doing well! next Saturday at the Beal Bocht should be interesting-my last gig before I return Ireland for the big Wexford Weekend on May 10th....if you live in the Bronx-don't say I never came your way
Pierce Turner returns to Riverdale, Saturday April 13th at 8 p.m.: An Béal Bocht Café, 445 W238th street (@ Graystone Ave.), Bronx, NY 10463. Phone: (718) 884-7127
"A HOMECOMING HUG WITH PIERCE TURNER" May 10, 11, 12th - part of The Gathering
A whale of a time
Continuing from last week…. 300, 209,208, to whom am I speaking? To myself of course, said I to me, as I lay there getting hotter and hotter. The bed was now embedded with the shape of my hot sweaty sleepless frame. I read somewhere that if you can’t sleep and you’ve been lying there for ages, you should get out of the bed and sit somewhere else for a while, when you return the bed will be fresh and cool, cool is apparently the key. Well this is not cool now, that’s for sure, I just scratched my toes and now my nose is itchy, oh shit I’ve lost count again, my t-shirt is drenched in sweat. Wow! There’s that haunting sound again - it’s unbelievably authentic, but it can’t be, it sounds like a singing whale under water, I’m on First Avenue in Greenwich Village, it can’t be a Whale down on Avenue A. It’s strangely comforting I must say, I do find the sea comforting….”
I went out with a girl once that looked like Kate Winslet (kinda). I had met her at an Irish wedding in the Bronx that Larry Kirwan and I were booked to play at. The groom was a big fan of ours and booked us regardless of the fact that we were the most wrong wedding band in the Universe. We were sitting at our instruments as the guests began to arrive and I was extremely uncomfortable and paranoid. I knew that we were totally unsuitable for the occasion in our Sunday jeans with a couple of rips here and there, and beards with scraggly hair, not to mention our repertoire. I imagined people were saying things about us, “oh no, not those two feckin eejits” I was tuning my Piano when a man came over pointing to me and said “is that a he or a she?” I lividly looked up at him seethed “would you like me to drop my trousers and show you?” He was horrified and recoiled in disgust, Larry leaned over to me and said “what did you think he said?” I said “you heard him! He asked me was that a he or a she?” Oh no said Larry, I think he said is that an E or a G?...... All through the wedding I tried in vain to catch his eye as he danced past confiding in his partner and pointing his head my way with a derogatory nod.
I squirmed in the bed once more, oh God please let me off the hook…. Back to 300………………………………………..to be continued
Countdown to the big Homecoming Hug Weekend In Wexford
3 weeks to go.
Apparently we gave you the wrong address for tickets last time here are the details again
boxoffice@wexfordartscentre.ie
353-53-912-3764
"A HOMECOMING HUG WITH PIERCE TURNER" May 10, 11, 12th - part of The Gathering
Only 6 days to go!
It's nearly upon us! If you click on the graphic up there, it'll take you to all the details of the events!
The other day, I got out of bed and fumbled my way from the bedroom to the sitting room in the dark, fanning the space and feeling with my left hand for objects that might stub or scrape, confident enough that I could manage. I shut the sitting room door to contain the light, grabbed my reading glasses from the piano where I keep them, and lay on the futon for my now familiar 4 AM middle of the night reading sojourn. I open “The Sheltering Sky” by Paul Bowles and night dream my way through the first two paragraphs. Forrest Gump pops into the mind, what an amazing movie! Just watched it on tellee, boy that running thing…. There’s always that, ye know, just get out on the road and run, meet all kinds of new people, no more weight problems, or fitness regimens, or goals… off the map completely, I could almost do it. I look at the page and the writing is semi-blurred, the main character, Port, has gone back out in to dark desert night to find a blind woman that he has fantasies about, I am tired already This is beautiful writing but hard to read when you’re tired. I hang in there because I can see that I’m coming to the end of a chapter. I read the last two lines, and they grab my attention. I shake myself and read them again, it seems like I have found the words to perfectly describe my gnaw….
I read them again "They both had made the fatal error of coming to hazily regard time as non-existent. One year was like another year. Eventually everything would happen” That is my case, I never plan my future, and I don’t like it to be done for me either. I never liked talking about age “surging on full speed to our tombstones” The other night an eight-year-old girl asked me how old I was - I refused to tell her. Not because I care, just because I don’t believe in keeping track. She said, “I bet you're 75 or something, because you have grey hair”. I told her my brother in law went grey at 21 (true)….. Now I was back in bed squirming at the idea that I seemed guilty of something for not being young. But I wanted to teach her something “how old would you be if you didn’t know old you are” said I, “that’s a stoopid question, I DO know how old I am!” Her father said “that’s just because we told you! We could be lying” I finally fell asleep thinking of his kindness and listening to the sporadic whale sounds still echoing up from the back streets…. what in the name of God is that, it can’t be a whale zzzzzzzznozzzzzzzzzzzzz
Just days to go before the Wexford Weekend, I’ve got to send you some music so that you can sing in Mass.
I love you more than silence
Pierce xxxx
Tickets from
boxoffice@wexfordartscentre.ie
353-53-912-3764
"A HOMECOMING HUG WITH PIERCE TURNER" May 10, 11, 12th - part of The Gathering
Only 1 day to go!
OK lads this is your last chance for booking and just wanted to give you another option to make things easy, you can book with us, on our guaranteed reservation list, email us with your name and mobile number.
Here's a video promo for the weekend, and here's a clip of Pierce playing with Pete Seeger recently in New York.
A Home Coming Hug with Pierce Turner
A Gathering Weekend Celebration Of Pierce Turner’s music including the world premier of a Pierce Turner Mass in Wexford Town.
May 10, 11, 12, 2013
Friday May 10th 8pm at Greenacres in Selskar Wexford. Ticket price 23 euros. Pierce Turner will kick off a weekend celebration of his music by performing a two-tiered evening of his work with a string quartet and Garvan Gallagher on Bass. The first half of the show will be a selection of songs from his recent album “Songs For a verRy SmaLL OrcheStra” and in the second half they will revisit the material from “Manana In Manhattan Live” the album which earned him Irish solo performer of the year in 1994 This period of rearranged material from his first three albums was originally honed in on during a very successful residency in the Church like back room of a bar called Swift in Manhattan’s East Village. New York Magazine put him on the cover of their entertainment section and called him “One of the Cities great gems” Aer Lingus ran a promo film for those visiting the city showing this as one of the city's happening events. Many young Irish people, who worked in New York at that time, will remember these packed shows fondly.
Saturday May 11th at 3 pm, there will be a Forum “Wexford to Manhattan and back, discuss!” at the Wexford Art Centre Ticket price 10 euros with the acclaimed Playwright, author, Billy Roche (Pierce’s first cousin) Liam Fay (author and controversial columnist from the Sunday Times) Jackie Hayden (author, Hot Press columnist and former Record company president), Tom Mooney (author and Editor of the Wexford Echo). Questions will be taken from the floor, opinions will be plentiful. That evening there will be a free short-guided tour of selected pubs with snatches of history along the way.
Sunday morning May 12th at 11am Church of the Assumption Bride St. Wexford The world premiere of a Mass composed by Pierce Turner will be performed with the Bride Street Church Choir conducted by Organist Ger Lawlor. Soprano Roisin Dempsey will feature with Pierce on the altar playing strings, ending with Turner’s famous covers “Faith of our Fathers” - free entrance.
Sunday evening May 12th at 8pm The Sky and the Ground – south main st. Tickets 17 euros
The weekend will finish with a Turner solo performance and sing along parlour performance at the pub called after his song “The Sky and the Ground”
Pierce xxxx
Tickets from boxoffice@wexfordartscentre.ie or 353-53-912-3764
"A HOMECOMING HUG WITH PIERCE TURNER" May 10, 11, 12th - part of The Gathering
A whale of a time
Well the weekend is over and it was truly time altering. The three days were like a whirlwind and yet slow, every waking moment was taken by thought and action-not trouble shooting though! we had put so much time and effort into preparation, it was down to just keeping the energy up and the standard. It was pretty shocking to feel the emotion at the Mass; sustained, unexpected applause at unexpected moments. I couldn't control my emotions when the Priest thanked me on the altar - and even more so when people applauded for ever. The soprano Roisin Dempsey said " go and take a bow" and I hadn't thought of that. Afterwards people came up to the altar and shook my hand or hugged me. I was a bit of a basket case, I suppose all the pressure began to release.
The weekend really was everything I hoped it would be on those sleepless nights in New York when I lay awake listening to that strange Whale cry coming up from Avenue A. By the way, on the night before we left for Ireland I went over to window to brush my teeth at the sink. It looks out on to the back of the house, and down to the left I could see the harsh street light of 11th Street illuminating a garbage truck doing its late night pick up. As its mighty jaw opened to digest the heaved in garbage bags I could hear it cry, and then again when it closed....there it was, the cry of a Whale! That big old dirty garbage truck in need of oil, was the source of that sad, beautiful, haunting underwater cry...the city does dig up its own beauty..from the depths of its exhaustion.
This Thursday at 8pm I will be at Coughlans Live in Cork City...with 2 major articles in the paper this week and the buzz so many people took back to Cork from the Wexford weekend, I am really up for this. I love you more than tuna melt.
Pierce xxxx
P.S.: This great account of the weekend was written by my friend Brian O'Driscoll.
Pierce Turner always makes me smile.
Last weekend Pierce Turner made me smile. The Homecoming Hug gathering proved if proof be needed that Pierce is a unique risk taker, performing and writing at the top of his powers. Effortlessly he moved from a concert with string quartet to the Bride Street Church with choir and finally to the pub, The Sky and The Ground for a parlour gig. Alternatively he sang, he played, he told stories, he conducted and celebrated and most of all he made us laugh, cry and sing at the top of our hearts. He has a serene faith in his craft that allows his music float above expectations and presents us time and again with gorgeous lyrical surprises wrapped in the poetry of the commonplace. The respect and regard of his fans and fellow musicians and artists was everywhere.
Greenacres on Friday night was amazing. Pierce took us through his new songs culminating with the soaring 'Yogi with a broken heart'. The second half of the show featured Pierce's early songs performed with a string quartet. Effortlessly, he cloaked us in his Wexford youth and early New York years. We were with him when the sun shone on Commercial Quay and down a Manhattan Avenue and how it shone.
Sunday morning brought the people of Wexford to Bride Street for the world premiere of Pierce Turner's mass. Pierce was retuning to his pitch as a youthful choirboy to perform his mass. Roisin Dempsey sang his opus 'Union' a song that surely deserves to be recorded for a wider audience. Roisin's interpretation of Pierce's composition together with Ger Lawlor's conducting was a truly exhilarating and spiritual musical moment. The mass finished with an emotional outpouring of deserved appreciation for a very special artist.
Brian O'Driscoll
Architect Wexford
Next door is only a footstep away
I have a new neighbour!! Scares the living daylights out of me. I see them unloading grotty furniture from a big white van. They are young fellas, with tattoos and high hair, shaved side-face up as far as possible, before crossing to the other side. This is an old house with walls like paper, I can hear them bumping the sofa against the door frame “push her up!” “lift the bottom” “kick it in !” BANG !! I hear the front door slam. Oh my God there seems to be five or six of them, oh wait there’s another one.
I worry about my karma. Thinking back to my first apartment in Bay Ridge Brooklyn, a beautiful brownstone on Ovington Avenue owned by the local Vicar. A gentleman. It was the 2nd floor of a 2 storey house. And the poor bugger living on the ground floor was an Irish-American called McNulty, he lived there with his wife and nine year old daughter. Unfortunately for him, he was erratic, irrational and not too articulate - a bit uncouth - so he wasn’t able to make his valid point to the Vicar when he lodged his complaint about us, which he did almost every day. We on the other hand - four smart arse twenty one year olds -were well able to create a verbal camouflage whenever McNulty fumed his displeasure to the very reasonable Vicar “it’s very unfortunate Vicar, Mr McNulty seems awfully annoyed, we are really sorry (sic)”
McNulty would be stomping and steaming like a bull, roaring in frustration “they’re a bunch of no-good bums!*#+$% …….Look at them, they don’t even shave, if I saw you’s on the street I would think ye’s were from Skid Row” The Vicar would think this very distasteful: “now now Mr McNulty, these seem like very nice young men to me” “you have no idea what this scum is like to live under, the other night I tried to sleep through their noise when I saw one of them climbing down over my front window at two o’clock in the morning, he was too lazy to use the stairs, they had some heap a noise playing on the stereo that was on repeat and just kept playing over and over, I ran up and their door was wide open, they were all fast asleep….. fast asleep!” He didn’t mention that he came in and slapped my friend Bob in the face, he woke up in a state of shock to see McNulty’s arse disappearing out the door.
We drove this poor guy crazy, he was constantly banging his broom against the ceiling and screaming at us “shut up ye scum!” But we were young and thought that he was just a nut. It never dawned on us that this was a classy building and that he was probably proud to have moved up in the world a little, his dream apartment for his Wife and daughter. Well I love this house and I sit here nervously awaiting my karma, I’m really sorry Mr McNulty…..And whomever keeps the Karma accounts….I was a young fool that thought of time as endless, and never dreamed I would be an adult one day.
The Pierce Turner Mass, will be on national TV here on Monday July 1st at 7pm – the progamme is called Nationwide-RTE 1- you can watch it here afterwards anywhere on the planet. (The link is good until 7/22/2013 go to: 0:17:00 for the story titled: "Helen McInerney travels to the Church of the Assumption in Bride St. in Wexford."
Also there will be a feature in The Irish Times Magazine next Saturday July 6th with Eoin Colfer (his book Artemus Fowl sold 24 million copies) and myself talking about our friendship.
Upcoming gigs:
Saturday July 6th: Katie Daly’s, Gorey, Main Street, Co Wexford - Doors 8 p.m.
Thursday July 18th: De Barra's, Clonakilty, West Cork - Doors 9 p.m.
Saturday July 27th: The Seamus Ennis Centre, Naul, Co Dublin - Doors 7.30 p.m.
I love you more than Spain (and that’s a lot) ……Pierce xxxx
Also, check out this audio recording of the Forum from the Pierce Turner Gathering weekend, this was an amazing success -with Billy Roche, Liam Fay, Jackie Hayden, Tom Mooney, Frank Phelan discussing what the hell is wrong with me!!!
Tonight, tonight, the sun watched over us in the garden as we ate a salady summer mixture washed down with Pinot. The church bell man practiced just down the hill, his chime rang out across the river above the sail boats parked on Commercial Quay - and Clare and I lay back on our red canvas Garden chairs watching above the Cherry tree, 18 foot now I believe, and still a growing. There some small pilot in his private plane as he rips the sky with ambition and the pigeons circle in a routine circle from that house below the Friary. It's heaven in Wexford when the sun shines, I must make sure to remember this.
It's worth checking out this review of my Cork gig as I will be in Co Cork next Thursday at the very special town of Clonakilty in this amazing venue De Barras. Originally owned by Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience - this is such a unique venue with amazing sound, it's a Summer place! and this is some Summer.
Upcoming gigs:
Thursday July 18th: De Barra's, Clonakilty, West Cork - Doors 9 p.m.
Saturday July 27th: The Seamus Ennis Centre, Naul, Co Dublin - Doors 7.30 p.m.
Saturday August 10th: Athy Community Arts Centre, Athy, Co. Kildare - Doors 8 p.m., Box Office: 087 -2761156 or athyarts@gmail.com
Friday August 16th: St John's Theatre, Listowel, Co. Kerry - Doors 8 p.m.
You know I love you and I always will my minds made up by the way that I feel (what's that song?) Pierce xxxx
This is just a quick one to remind you of some upcoming gigs, including one TONIGHT in Athy! So switch off the computer, and get out the door!
Here they are:
Saturday August 10th: Athy Community Arts Centre, Athy, Co. Kildare - Doors 8 p.m., Box Office: 087 -2761156 or athyarts@gmail.com
Friday August 16th: St John's Theatre, Listowel, Co. Kerry - Doors 8 p.m.
Saturday August 31st: Electric Picnic Festival, Lit Tent
Sunday September 15th: Americana Festival, Roisin Dubh, Galway
Friday November 1st: Spiegeltent, Wexford Fringe
Here's a review of my recent gig in Clonakilty - with apologies to Bruce!
I love you as much as I love my union card and my wedding coat, Pierce xxxx
Asked a girl what she wanted to be ...
Left my car in for service the other day. Sometimes I wish I could leave myself in for servicing…and go away (….) "I'll come back for him next week!"
I have been living with myself for some time now and have gotten used to the necessary maintenance. It’s a full time job, not part time. I can say 24/7, without the slightest hesitance, and it’s not a job that will ever be finished while I am alive. It certainly is a work in progress, but unlike the largest project, or the most multiple highway being constructed like a wedding cake of tarmacadam around Limerick City, it will never ever be finished. It will be closed down one day alright, but not finished, just stopped like the end of Route 66. So naturally I find it a little exhausting and wouldn’t mind a break from it. I mean I have run out of funds on several occasions, but even then the work carries on.
Even after all this experience, I tend to believe, from time to time, that I am coming to a conclusion of some sort. Writing an album, recording it and finishing the cover, the work can feel like it will never end. And I hammer away with increasing fervour day after day, closer and closer I get, almost holding my breath with determination to finish what I started. And then, when it is done…what will happen??? A small collapse perhaps. But not a new space to live in, or a totally different road to ride upon. Just a bend in the road, and off we go again, me and Pierce Turner, he will never leave me alone while I am alive. So I have to look after him! 24/7!
Here are my next few bends in the road:
IRELAND
Saturday August 31st: Electric Picnic Festival, Lit Tent with Eoin Colfer
Sunday September 15th, 8.00: Americana Festival, Roisin Dubh, Galway
Saturday October 5th:
Cunninghams
, Kildare
Friday November 1st, 8.00: Spiegeltent,
Wexford Fringe
, Tickets from Whites for Music, Main Street, Wexford
(053 9122067) or Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket (053 9123764)
UK
Friday October 18th:
The
Courtyard Theatre
, London.
USA
Saturday November 30th: Joe's Pub,
New York
Sunday December 15th:
An Béal
Bocht
, New York
I live by the river
I will be taking the boat to England soon. It leaves from the south east corner of Ireland, a place
called Rosslare. That’s about eleven miles from here. When I originally emigrated to America,
my sister brought me to that tall harbour wall and from there I went to London and on to the New York snows of
January.
I only get to play in England, at best once a year. And before last year it was several annums ago.
This new venue could be a great spot for us. It’s a beautiful old refurbished building with
excellent sound, lights and bar. It’s a brand new place and I’m lucky to get in there
at the start. My friend Simon Boswell found it (Co - producer of the Sky and the Ground album) so
that’s a fine recommendation, I imagine next year this will be one of London’s top spots for
Theatre as well as music. If you are capable of being there I do hope my timing suits your calendar.
Or that your calendar is flexible in it’s demand, insistent, but not persistent, suggestive but not regimented.
And if it is all of the bad stuff mentioned above, I hope it is so, in my favour. In other words,
I hope Oct 18th at the
Courtyard
London is already in your (bloody) calendar.
I love you more than You.
Please come through too. Will I see you there? Twill be great.
Pierce xxxxx
IRELAND
Saturday October 5th: Cunninghams, Kildare
Friday November 1st, 8.00: Spiegeltent, Wexford Fringe,
Tickets from Whites for Music, Main Street, Wexford (053 9122067) or Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket
(053 9123764)
UK
Friday October 18th: The Courtyard Theatre, London.
USA
Saturday November 30th: Joe's Pub, New York
Sunday December 15th: An Béal Bocht,
New York
Hi again
Just a quick reminder that I'm playing at the Courtyard in London on Friday,
October 18th. Tickets are available here.
Hope to see you there
Pierce xxxxx
IRELAND
Friday November 1st, 8.00: Spiegeltent,
Wexford Fringe
, Tickets from Whites for Music, Main Street, Wexford
(053 9122067) or Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket (053 9123764)
UK
Friday October 18th:
The
Courtyard Theatre,
London.
USA
Saturday November 30th:
Joe's
Pub
, New York
Sunday December 15th:
An Béal
Bocht
, New York
CountryWide with Damien O'Reilly
Pierce Turner visits Countrywide..and sings about snow !
download
Manana in Manhattan
Last night I got payback for a year a growing, and a year a sowing. I have been following a line of thought that has been holding me together. When I’m performing on stage I think of the words as they drop from my mouth and nothing else. It seems easy, but it isn’t. It’s very easy to get distracted when you’re on stage by the audience's appearance. Why aren’t they dancing? Or singing? Or clapping more? “Why is that woman scrunching up her face?”….. Once I start thinking this way I am in trouble, because then my performance gets affected too, usually for the worse. It’s insidious.
Obviously when the night is perfect, a full house of enthusiastic fans, great sound, in good voice, there is nothing to be concerned with. But when the situation is more ambiguous, that’s when this discipline saves the day. Last night in the beautiful Spiegeltent it all seemed perfect. Amazing setting, 1920’s art nouveau tent on the Wexford Quay front and a full house. I had the Brass and Reed Band that I played with as a kid play with us in the first 2 songs and the house went wild. But then some uncertainty set in as I dug deeper into new material. I was teetering on the edge as the audience just sat there and listened, this is where in the old days I might have freaked out and started to try harder, thereby ruining everything and maybe even breaking a string. But last night I just leaned on the new plan, keep focused on the words and the music and don’t drift. The result was alarmingly effective. A strength/bond started to build between the audience and myself. It was a magical night and ended with a very surprising standing ovation. Holding the line and not letting the performance be affected by insecurities saved the day, and in a way proved that there is nothing wrong with the music if I perform it properly. It’s a comforting thing to know. A bit like a surgeon or soldier, having their knowledge to lean on when they are tired and unsure.
Leaving for the U.S. soon, I do hope my American friends remember me and come to Joe’s Pub in NY on Nov 30th it has been so long. As usual I have asked Joe’s to let me start a half hour earlier (at 7pm) so that I can do a longer show. I will have my great brother musicians, Fred Parcells on Bone and soaring vocal harmonies and Rob Thomas on Violin, Viola, and Bass. Also I have not played in Philadelphia for many years; the last time was with Suzanne Vega in a Theatre called ??? there was a great review in the Philadelphia Enquirer. My debut album had a full page rave in the same paper. There has always been tremendous potential there. And yet I have not returned until now! Yes, this December 19th I will be at the Tin Angel in Philly. This will be a break from my usual Manhattan, Ireland, UK routine. I start slowly here, spreading word on the ground. Our previous Vet (for our Cat) Janna Norris is from Philly, Professor Aubrey Chamberlain (ex NY regular) has moved there, my last subletter who writes for Jimmy Fallon will be there, Violinist Win Horan from Solus who played with me in Swift, lives there. Clare’s first cousin Amanda Knight and her husband have moved there from Brighton, Gianni Siri a friend from Brooklyn lives there, can you add to this list please? Maybe that writer from the Enquirer? Let’s make this a Christmas party.
Between Joe’s and Philly I will return to the Beal Bocht in Riverdale on Dec 7th. That’s always a
killer gig, not worried about that. But Joe’s Pub and Tin Angel is a greater challenge, will you help me
and come down, book early please?
My American Sausages I am coming back. Dear Irish sausages thank you for a great year.
I love you, like I love the stars xxxxPierce
USA
Saturday November 30th: Joe's Pub, New York
Sunday December 15th: An Béal Bocht, New York
Thursday December 19th: The Tin Angel, Philadelphia. More ticket information here.
New York gig coming soon!
Don't forget! The first of my US shows is just over a week away, at Joe's
Pub. Buy a ticket as an early Christmas present for yourself - it might be the best
one you get! Check out the links below:
Saturday November 30th: Joe's Pub,
New York
Sunday December 7th:
An Béal
Bocht
, New York
Thursday December 19th:
The Tin Angel
, Philadelphia. More ticket information here.
I went to get my Synth Module fixed today, I had a feeling that it was a minor complaint, but still I needed it. This place was on 30th bet 5th and 6th, a pretty new building with a fancy buzzer down stairs. It said "have a nice day and welcome to the building" which flashed across a small screen "to reach the business that you require look up the directory bet A and Z...." this place was called A440 Audio on the 5th floor, I tried everything but could not open this bloody door. Then a young woman heading out to smoke a cigarette let me in.
"just for curiosity, how does that buzzer work?" waving it away with her cigarette she dismissed...."fuck knows!" I got out on the 5th floor, at the end of a small hallway the door was open to a tiny office jammed with synthesizers. They were everywhere,big huge ones, small ones, on the floor, up against the wall (some of them worth a fortune) I walked into the dimly lit claustrophobic, slightly smelly and sweaty hallway of the room. I said "hello". A feeble voice answered "yes, can I help you". I said "hello, where are you?" "in here". I looked down the darkening hallway, to my right there might have been a counter, I wasn't sure, whatever it was, was piled up to the ceiling with equipment, mini-disc players-dat machines-synth modules-just piles of yokes. "in here" "you have to sit on the stool to see me".
There was a high stool behind me, I sat down, and there through the letterbox of skewered space between all the yokes, was a balding old man of about seventy five with long grey scraggly hair wearing a shabby old blue shirt and black tie. His wire rimmed glasses had some Cellotape mending, and his trousers were held up tight by a worn out and tattered old brown leather belt. He was folded in half by years of being alone with all this mending, his shoulders almost touched his knees. He wanted 75 dollars to just look at it, and said if I was in a hurry I should have the rush job for $125. "no, I'll just have the normal job thanks"
"well, when do you need it?" says he. "Next week" says I. "well,
if it's not a rush job, I can't have it until January!" says he. "What
! Well I wouldn't have come here if you had told me that over the phone. Can
I have it back please?" I went home and finally found the manual for my beloved
old Synth module, which I would've had, if I lived in one place like a normal
person. There was one tiny switch on the back on Comp instead of Midi. I flipped
it and lo and behold it worked, I talked out loud for a long time "thank you
God, thank you I could have paid $125 for him to do that in 3 seconds" The
ould bastard!
Philadelphia next week, New York on New Years Eve
It's snowing outside, and I have a song called "Snow" - it may be the most commercial song on my new album. Vermillion Design made an iPad app for it and just won first prize in Ireland from the Institute of Designers of Ireland. And yet I find myself doing nothing about it. What is this apathy that I feel from the world towards music? Not, when I play live though, the gigs have been tremendous of late. But I feel that even if I did try to get "Snow " out there, that there is nowhere out there for it to go! So can I ask you what you think? any suggestions?
Next Thursday Dec 19th I will play in Philadelphia for the first time in an eternity. My friend Win Horan from the great Irish Trad band Solas recommended the Tin Angel. Win played the beautiful solo in "All Messed up" on Manana in Manhattan Live. She was in my quartet for years. and lives in Philly now. They serve food and stuff. This is my new plan. Instead of just playing in Manhattan and Ireland, I want to add Philly, Boston and Washington DC to the list, I have already added the U.K. So where should I play in those other places? I don't ask agents, I ask my friends.
Lastly...we are in NY for Christmas and New Years Eve. So what better way than to have a party/gig in our apartment on New Years Eve. I will dust off all my old party songs, like "Mr Smith" and "I'm a Busy man", my track that made it to "The Wire" "Dirty Old Town" and....it will be more of a party than the usual house gigs. We can only hold 25..make your mind up now, I had to!
I really want to spend the night with my sausages. I love you more than wine
and smelly cheese Pierce xxxxxx
Thursday December 19th:
The Tin Angel
, Philadelphia. More ticket information here.
Tuesday December 31st: Pierce & Clare's apartment in the East Village, New
York. Capacity only 25 - so plan now. Pierce will perform a party set and be
house dj, specialising in 70’s groovy unhackneyed tracks. Delicious
finger food and champagne,B.Y.O.B, merely 60 bux a head. You can book now on Paypal (send the money to piercenewyork@aol.com and remember
to include your name and number in a note with the payment), or via
claregturner@gmail.com
PieRce TuRner, "SoNgs for a VeRRy SmaLL ORchesTRA" Presentation Video. from madebymario on Vimeo.
A Dog Wearing Shoes Goes Past
The snow floats horizontally past the sitting room window; outside on the Avenue, hats turn into poetry as they set up different memories fronted by the falling snow. There’s a man crouched by the corner cake shop, pulling in all his raggy coats beneath the cardboard sign, sagging and blurred saying “praying for a miracle, help me” a dog wearing shoes hops past frolicking in the fresh air.
Sorry to have taken so long to write to you dear ones, I hadn’t forgotten you. You see I’ve been actually writing stories! And that explains why that first paragraph is all WRITE-EE ……and why I haven’t written, I’m all written out, ye see! My social media guru tells me that you won’t read this if it’s too long: ye see we know now if you read this or not! Now don’t go all Snowden on me, I can’t see into your sitting room, or toilet, or anything like that.
Good news about the Mass, I am working on a tour for next year with Note Productions, a high quality company from Dublin with Matthew Nolan former curator for the Killkeny Arts Festival at the helm. The plan is to combine a gig and the Mass in several different towns. The towns themselves will be determined by the choirs, organists and priests that want to be involved. We are applying for a grant. Will keep you informed. Also on the prowl now for summer festivals in Europe. As always I counsel your advice on where you would like to see me perform.
But right now, before our faces, I am in New York and saddened to hear of dear old Pete Seeger, a champion of the people. A soldier for the everyman has been knocked from his horse. Thank you Pete for being at the front line for us, all of your life. For yielding your sword in defense of the flowers.
Here's Pete and I last April in New York at N.Y.U. singing Turn Turn Turn.
Gigs are unfolding as I speak, we will all sing out to the heavens above for the love of Pete. I am waiting on some more dates, but better tell you about these now.
Words are cheap-but honest to livin Jasus, I love you more than the word means. And I can prove it!
Fri. March 14th, New York: Paddy Reilly's, 519 2nd Ave Corner 29th Street, Reservations 212 686 1210 - Start at 8 p.m. Sing out with me for the love of Pete.
Advisable, agreeable and supportive to get tickets in advance.
Sat. March 22nd, Riverdale, New York: An Béal Bocht, 445 W. 238th St. Reservations 718 884 7127 - Start at 7 p.m. Subway 1 train to 238 Street.
Pierce xxx
Pierce Turner - "Snow"
Published on Feb 24, 2014
This Pierce Turner video of his song "Snow" was filmed entirely in Tompkins Square Park and a back-garden in the East Village of New York City.
The song is from Pierce's latest album, "SoNgs for a VeRRy SmaLL ORchesTRA". The video was produced and directed by John Rokosny and Andriette
Redmann / NewYorkMVP.com
The Song For The Year from Colin Murnane
At the height of Ireland's tiger boom, acclaimed cult Irish musician Pierce Turner embarked on a unique tour of Ireland ... playing peoples own pianos in their own parlours, and front rooms. This is the story of the artist's year, the pianos, and the people who opened their homes.
Colin Murnane's film follows Pierce from his homes in Wexford and Manhattan to the studio in Woodstock NY, along the way there are surreal twists, with storyline cameos from the legendary Rory Gallagher and the late John Steinbeck, and venues as differing as the famed Public Theatre Manhattan and The Headon's Parlour in Birr.
I'm still a busy man
There is so much going on, my head is dizzy. My bank manager is amused, he said he has never known anyone so busy and so broke. I said I have never known anyone so broke (as him) and so rich! “clever words they mean nothing” I know. But seriously I do believe that we have hit on something here with these live concerts on the internet. You must take part.
The tickets are on sale now, pay what you like, as little as a dollar (for the cheap bah-st-urds) This could be a way of reaching all of you, some in too far away places like Australia, Argentina - I would love to go there, but never have. The first show will be 8 pm EST on March 12th. This will be tricky for many I know, but I will do some on Sundays 2pm EST and that will suit most people. You can send me requests even as I perform. If this works it might free me from the constraints that are surfacing since streaming audio has robbed us musicians blind. They will be our private studio sessions. I'll be playing songs, some as yet unrecorded, taking requests, and answering YOUR questions in real time! We can dig up some lost ones too, like “Steven’s Preparing to Leave”. You can purchase tickets HERE.
I've got a different kind of gig this Saturday, March 1st, performing at the American Society of Media Photographers with Padraig Grant's wonderful photos for 3 Minute World as a backdrop.
Colin Murnane has now released his documentary “Song for the Year” to view online HERE. So if you haven’t seen it, this is your chance, it is such an amazing labour of love. It's free to watch, but I'm sure you'll want to click on the "Tip this video" link when you've seen it. I am eternally grateful Colin.
I love you more than sleep.
Pierce xxx
Fri. March 14th, New York: Paddy Reilly's, 519 2nd Ave Corner 29th Street, Reservations 212 686 1210 - Start at 8 p.m. Sing out with me for the love of Pete.
Advisable, agreeable and supportive to get tickets in advance.
Sat. March 22nd, Riverdale, New York: An Béal Bocht, 445 W. 238th St. Reservations 718 884 7127 - Start at 7 p.m. Subway 1 train to 238 Street.
March maddness
Getting a tremendous response to Colin Murnane’s titanic piece of work, the documentary “Song for the Year". Really glad that you like it - you can watch it HERE. Now all of a sudden everyone wants to do a Parlour Gig! Bring em on, I have my little suitcase packed - get in touch HERE. Also check out John Rokosny's new video for Snow
And next Wednesday you can come into MY Parlour for a live show via the magic of the internet, really having fun putting songs together for this Parlour Session with my equipment (all the details HERE). AND I’m really having fun putting a set together for next FRIDAY MARCH 14TH (8PM) at PADDY REILLY’S MUSIC BAR “THE GREATEST BITS SHOW”. I intend to crawl across that bar for the first time since I was last drunk there.
And then the magical Beal Bocht mini Theatre in Riverdale-March 22nd with excerpts from my new Performance/Book “why use 2 words when 10 will do”.
Are we awake now? January is gone, with its forlorn song - March is here with black and green beer!
Still I love you more than a big Fry-up
Pierce xxxx
Fri. March 14th, New York: Paddy Reilly's, 519 2nd Ave Corner 29th Street, Reservations 212 686 1210 - Start at 8 p.m. Sing out with me for the love of Pete.
Advisable, agreeable and supportive to get tickets in advance.
Sat. March 22nd, Riverdale, New York: An Béal Bocht, 445 W. 238th St. Reservations 718 884 7127 - Start at 7 p.m. Subway 1 train to 238 Street.
Tonight's the night
Pierce Turner, Wednesday March 12th at 8 p.m. for about 45 minutes
Streaming live from my New York recording studio/apartment at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT , 5 p.m. PT, 12 midnight Wexford, UK, 1 a.m. Paris)
Here are clear instructions for how to attend:
- Click on this link
- Click on pay what you want
- Fill out your payment information on the secure page - it's $1 minimum and two-thirds goes directly to me.
- Create a login with email and password
- You'll be taken to the streaming window. You'll also receive an email with a link to the concert. You can send messages, questions, and tip me during the show!
- Live streams are compatible with most devices: computers, laptops, ipads, iphones, android-based phones and tablets & Apple TVs. If you’re using a computer or laptop, it should have:
- an upgraded version of Chrome, Safari, or Firefox
- Flash player v. 10+ (free)
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Love Pierce x
Fri. March 14th, New York: Paddy Reilly's, 519 2nd Ave Corner 29th Street, Reservations 212 686 1210 - Start at 8 p.m. Sing out with me for the love of Pete.
Advisable, agreeable and supportive to get tickets in advance.
Sat. March 22nd, Riverdale, New York: An Béal Bocht, 445 W. 238th St. Reservations 718 884 7127 - Start at 7 p.m. Subway 1 train to 238 Street.
Announcing Pierce Turner Live Web Concert from New York March 30th
8PM Irish/UK time 3PM EST
My dear things, I will do another webcast concert for Ireland and the UK from my New York apartment on Sunday March 30th at 8 PM Irish/UK time, 3 PM EST. This should suit a lot of time zones because it’s Sunday. Bloody Mary in New York, glass of wine or cranberry juice in Ireland.
Our first one on March 12th was at 8 PM EST and most of the viewers were American, although we had some Australians, Irish, English even someone in Nepal! The response was truly exciting, everyone knew that something different was happening . People were saying how they were cuddled up on their bed and they could send me messages, The whole world can watch, and when you are watching, you are watching it with the whole world! There were even babies being fed while watching.
We are working with a website called Concert Window, once you log in it’s really easy to follow the directions, you can watch it on any computer, smart phone, Ipad.
I perform in my apartment/recording studio and you can communicate with me as I perform, I can read the messages on the screen. You can make requests, and even tip! Pay what you like for the tickets from one dollar up. This is a chance to see and hear the kind of songs I sing for my own amusement. This week will feature a version of James Blake’s “Wilhelm Scream” at the old Baldwin donated by Philip Glass, along with many seldom heard originals. The performance will last forty five minutes to an hour. Just click HERE and follow the instructions.
Let’s hook up on Sunday!! It’s really easy, buy your ticket now so that you can relax.
I love you more than a cool glass of Rosé in spring.
PS - some Irish summer dates confirmed:
June 14th: The Mermaid Theatre, Bray, Co. Wicklow
June 21st: Greenacres Wexford
June 28th: Granary Theatre, Cork
July 10th, The John Field Room, The National Concert Hall, Dublin
Irish gigs this summer
And when shall the time be when all is perfect?
No downs just ups
no fears just fortitude
no pain just gain
no debts just abets? That time shall be, when you are not!
Ah just the same, there is always time for a nice cup of tea, or a trip home to
Ireland from the rumble of New York. I am a little flummoxed as we are renovating
my apartment and the dust is in my mouth and ears. We are living in the Kitchen,
and I am surely worse off than most of ye who readith this in your armchair without
the leg of an upside down table sticking into your ribs! But time I findeth,
to remindeth you of the forthcoming gigs in Ireland, being the martyr for the cause
that I am. I am feeling the excitement in my goyther.
The book - “why use 2 words when 10 will do perfectly well” - is giving
me a lot of pleasure to write and the publishing company are very pleased, which
is giving me confidence that I didn’t have about being a writer. These gigs
in Ireland will probably be my only gigs there this year, so please don’t
dawddle. I am wrapping the stories more and more around the songs in performance
and a residency is planned in the New York Irish Arts Centre for the Fall. But
these three Irish gigs are in stellar performance spaces. The National Concert Hall in Dublin on July 10th will
be a chance for me to get my hands on a Steinway Grand!!! This will be at the John
Field Room and tickets are available now. I promise you not to be who I’m
not, and to give a full account of who I always was and will be under that beautiful
chandelier. I have wanted to play there for years, so this is a true first. Plan
on a classy evening out with a few pints and plenty of singing.
Working backwards, the first Irish gig will be at the Mermaid Theatre Bray on June 14th. This is also a
first, a classy venue, that I have been trying to time into my Irish tours for a
while, always seems the timing is off. Haven’t even played in Bray before
as far I know. And
June 28th at The
Granary in Cork City
. This is another gig that keeps falling through
the cracks because of timing. Cork is always a thrill for me, has always been a
highly supportive city, a place that celebrates true Irishness without the gimmicks
or the blarney, the home of Sean O Riada and his family. His son Ali used to do
my sound there, I knew him for ages before he said! Cork has been singing with me
for years.
After the National Concert Hall on July 10th I return to spend my first summer in
New York for a while. The webcasts will resume in May - probably the 7th. I’ll
let you know, first of all I have the get the dust out of here. I look forward to
seeing you my friends in Ireland for these live dates. And everywhere during
the webcasts from my newly renovated sitting room - wait till you see it, all Downton
Abbey colours an all, about the same size too!
I love you more than the cute one with the raspy voice that died, married to the
Dublin fella.
Pierce xxxx
June 14th: The Mermaid Theatre, Bray, Co. Wicklow
June 28th: Granary Theatre, Cork
July 10th: The John Field Room, The National Concert Hall, Dublin
Put your feet up - NOT THERE!!
Now that the Sitting Room has a new ceiling and walls, is painted all Downton Abbeyish
and about the same size too, we are resuming the Webcast Concerts from there. It's
so simple - just click
HERE
and follow the instructions and you can't
go wrong. The tickets cost whatever you want to pay from one dollar up, all you
need is a credit card of any type including Paypal. I will perform for just under
an hour or so, last time we did an encore which made it an hour. You can write to
me during the show, and write to each other!
I will take requests, and some unusual songs will get performed. Last time I did
"Steven's Preparing to leave" and "Groovy Hearts"
It's on this Wednesday Night, at 8:00pm EDT! you can have a few friends over
for a quiet glass of wine or for dinner. It really was received very well by those
who partook in the first two. It's interesting to connect with anyone in the
world, have a friend in a far off place join you, you can write to them during it!
Please pass the word, and buy your ticket now so that we can build a head of steam
- they will remind you when the day comes if you buy a ticket now. If I can make
this work it will change my life, so please lend your support.
From the rumble of New York,
All the best Pierce.
June 14th: The Mermaid Theatre, Bray, Co. Wicklow
June 21st: Greenacres, Wexford
June 28th: Granary Theatre, Cork
July 10th: The John Field Room, The National Concert Hall, Dublin
Webcast tonight!
Dear Friends,
Just a final reminder that I will be performing a Live Web-Show at 8:00pm EDT tonight,
Wednesday May 14th.
I will be taking song requests and answering your questions - live, in real time.
You can purchase online tickets starting now and pay-what-you-want - click THIS link!
The Web-Show will not be recorded – it's offered in real time.
Wherever you are in the world, you can tune in on your computer, smart phone or
tablet device - invite your friends and watch together - even if you're in different
cities!
I hope you can join me!
Pierce
June 14th: The Mermaid Theatre, Bray, Co. Wicklow
June 21st: Greenacres, Wexford
June 28th: Granary Theatre, Cork
July 10th: The John Field Room, The National Concert Hall, Dublin
House Gig for the World - Monday 26th
Pierce Turner’s 4th Concert on the web - live from New York, 4 p.m. EDT/ 9
p.m. (UK & Ireland time) Monday May 26th
It will be Monday, you will have the day off (if you're in the UK or US), and
after a day of pottering around in your underwear or pyjamas, you will feel the
onslaught of Tuesday’s tasks veering around the bend. You might have a nice
bottle of red or white lurking in the shade and a plan to share it with yourself
or someone else. They might not be nearby or they could be five hundred miles away,
preferably in the same time zone. At around half eight you will place the computer
on the small table and put your feet up on the Ottoman, click
HERE
and watch the beautiful red curtain of the concert stage, behind it
I will be preparing with the lavishly talented crew and sometimes backing singers,
John Rokosny, Andriette Redman and Clare Turner. At 9 p.m. the curtain will withdraw
to reveal our new lime green sitting room on First Avenue in Manhattan, with me
at my piano and guitar yapping to you and singing all kinds of songs from my world,
some you never heard, some rarely, some very familiar. It will be 4 p.m. in NY –
Eastern Day Time - on Memorial Day Weekend, celebrations will abound, stealth bombers
flying over the West River and the Tall ships cruising along beneath in quiet dignity
- out on Long Island my Manhattan brothers will begin their summer purges upon the
sunny sound. You can write to me as I perform or write to your friend 500 miles
away - Clare will read out your requests to me and I will sing them if I know em.
Don’t be afraid of this ground breaking idea, it’s so easy and user
friendly, just go there now and book your ticket, go on now… you pay anything
from one dollar up (preferably more) we will remind you on Monday. This idea is
a winner I promise, those who have seen it are writing rave reviews, Be a part of
the future come to our house gig for the world.
Love,
Pierce xx
June 14th: The Mermaid Theatre, Bray, Co. Wicklow
June 21st: Greenacres, Wexford
June 28th: Granary Theatre, Cork
July 10th: The John Field Room, The National Concert Hall, Dublin
Home thoughts from abroad
I am in Ireland without my wife, she has a job in New York, which means she will
never be let do anything until she is unchained from the desk after a couple of
years.
I knew she did a lot, but boy doing what she did as well as what I do is making
me work like a dog; make that a horse! The day I arrived, Albert the cat was delivered
by our friend Anne, who minds him in our absence. He was very sweet and showed his
delight, the way cats do, by sitting there purring and closing his eyes at me when
I looked at him, opening and closing his paws, it’s small stuff, but effective
in a cat way. But looking after him is like being his personal valet.
“Get me some food will ye? And the cat litter needs changing by the way”
“But I just changed it 2 hours ago”
“Yeah well I’m going to bed soon and I need to pee”
“Why didn’t you pee when you were outside?”
These kind of questions go un-answered.
“I have to get ready for these gigs ye know! I have a gig in Bray next week and in Wexford the following week,
Cork
after that, and the
National Concert Hall
on July 10th, there a lot of things to
sort out besides your feckin cat litter”
“Before I go to bed I need you to play with me”
“Not now, I’m in the middle of writing a very important email”
“What you think people read those yokes still? Haven’t you read the
rules for owning a Cat? A major rule is that you’re supposed to play with
me for at least fifteen minutes a day, or I get sick and it will cost you a fortune,
Vets are more expensive than Doctors ye know?”
“Ok where’s that stoopid feather?”
Man we miss Clare. Please come to these gigs, I need your company, you will remind
why I’m here with this fussy animal.
Love you,
The odd couple xxxx
Pierce Turner’s “ Why use 2 words when 10 will do perfectly well”
June 14th: The Mermaid Theatre, Bray, Co. Wicklow
June 21st: Greenacres, Wexford
June 28th: Granary Theatre, Cork
July 10th: The John Field Room, The National Concert Hall, Dublin
Pierce Turner memoir expected later this year - RTÉ Ten
On the road again
“Turn right and then turn right again” said the satnav, it has an annoying
male voice in a high range, an ambiguous English accent, it could be a woman but
ye know it’s a man. I didn’t turn right because I couldn’t, it
was one way, showing no disturbance at my disobedience, it immediately says “after
400 metres turn right and turn right again” Again I ignored it, I was driving
along the Quay in Waterford and knew that it would be best to go all the way to
the end and then turn right. “After 600 metres turn right and then turn right
again” “THEN” I added out loud, I turned right and my mistake
was to turn right again like it told me. It took me all over the country for about
a half hour and I suddenly realized that I was back where I started.
I was going for the NCT, a car fitness test that they do in Ireland. I have never
seen one like it anywhere that I have lived. It is far stricter than the English
one, I don’t believe there is one in America. In short it doesn’t matter
how good your car is, you have a good chance of failing. Of course it matters which
test centre that you go to. I used to go to Enniscorthy which is just fourteen miles
from Wexford, until I read that they had one of highest failure ratings in the country.
The last time I went there, there was about ten people in the waiting room all sitting
there nervously, like they were waiting to be shot. They were furtively whispering
to each other, Clare and I stood by the wall waiting to be called, we had already
handed in our car, and it was like waiting for your spouse to be tried for murder.
“Timothy Murphy” the man called out coldly from behind the narrow window.
Some whispering ensued between Timothy and the man in dark blue overalls through
the glass, he nodded in a chastising manner as he handed Tim the papers stating
what was amiss with his poor car, I don’t know where they get these men from
in Enniscorthy, their accent is indiscernible and their expressionless faces are
cold and unfamiliar. Timothy walked out with a forlorn expression like his dog needed
to be put down. As much as we could, Clare and I shared our sympathy for him. But
our own worry put limitations on the longevity of our concern for Tim. Eventually
everyone in the room failed, including us, and I mentioned it to the guy in the
Blue overalls as he handed me my rejection for a very minor flaw, he said. “The
machines don’t lie” “Well maybe they should try it sometime -
everyone else does!”
So now I go to Waterford, where the atmosphere is considerably more pleasant and
people generally pass. Where the waiting room doesn’t feel like a funeral
home. I have to say though that in Ireland the satnav is a dead loss, it will take
you down old country roads with cowsheds and shite all over the place, by the time
you get there the car will look like it is a thousand years old and smell like an
abattoir. Still, my car passed woo-hoo!!!, And now I am let drive to
Cork this
Saturday June 28th
to play in the Granary, how I love Cork
and the Corkonians, loads of singing and laughter, I am really looking forward to
it.
And then...the final gig of This Little Tour – at
The National Concert Hall on Thursday July 10th
with the Steinway Grand
Piano, if you are one of those people that have been sticking up for me for years,
sometimes in the face of great adversity, this is the night where we can take a
stand for us. Please spread the word and take yourself to this event. This is a
big anniversary year at Whelans of Wexford Street and they are having post gig drinks
upstairs after the gig at the Concert Hall. My Sisters are all coming up from Wexford
and I am staying with them at a B&B nearby, so I am tallyho to party with you.
Please book now and lets make this our celebration after all these years. It will
be brill. All the gigs so far have been brilliant, but Boy have the tickets been
sold late in the day, giving me an ulcer almost. My Sister says it’s because
people are waiting until the last minute to see what they can afford, is that true?
I love you more than the world cup (Not this one now, the one in 1994)
Pierce xxx
June 28th: Granary Theatre, Cork
July 10th: The John Field Room, The National Concert Hall, Dublin
Pierce Turner for the National Concert Hall | Music | News | Hot Press
National Concert Hall
Dublin July 10th
Thanks be to the livin Japers, the ticket sales are going well for the National Concert Hall, we have room for yous too though.
The media is now responding also, I'm doing Dave Fanning on Sunday morning 10
AM on RTE 2FM and Arena on
Tues July 8th at 7pm live on
RTE
Radio
1 -
with a new song and interview. Click on the links to tune in. The song is called
“An Indian Prayer” and I have just written it, never before performed.
It's based on a letter written by Chief Seattle to the U.S Government when they
requested to buy tribal lands for the arriving people to the United States. it was
about in about 1852.
What will happen when you’ve bought us
Killed the Buffalos tamed the horses
And the scent of men fill every glen
Illuminating private corners
(c) Turner 2014
In the Chief's letter he points out all the parts of nature that can’t
be sold, and the traditions of his people, the silence, the air, the waters, the
ponies. It’s amazing how relevant it is to the anxieties of today. Chief Seattle
knew what was ahead of us if we bought and sold the sky.
How I would love to see a full house at the Concert hall, and then for us all to
pop over to Whelans afterwards for a pint upstairs in the Parlour, I’m staying
nearby. What a send-off that would be, before I return to the heat of New York....
where are those shorts? My neighbour says she can’t take the heat in Wexford
by the way “Ah I’d sooner have the cold, at least I can put me coat
on” It’s 70 degrees Fahrenheit with a cool breeze and sunny. New Yorkers
will read this and cry.
Don’t let anything stand between us.
I love the way, you love the way, I love the way, you love the way, I love yoooooo.
Px
Live and Well in Times Square
Here, my lovely sausages, is a short excerpt from one of the stories that I will
tell during my up and coming (and did and done, Irish shows) at Klub 45 in Times
Square - does that make it ON BROADWAY? The response in Ireland took me back a bit
I must say, and really it is better to be taken aback when people honour you with
a standing ovation, at least one looks taken aback, as opposed to pretending to
be, there is nothing as bad as a hand on the heart, pretend to be taken aback, while
throwing kisses to the balcony, is there?
Oh I should just shut up. Thanks so much everyone for the encouragement. Klub 45
is upstairs at
Connollys
of Time Square
- the details are at the bottom of this letter. You may have
seen Black 47 play there. It is a great room with a state of the art sound system.
We will have tables and chairs and it’s going to be very cosy. They serve
food in the restaurant downstairs - so having dinner beforehand sounds like a good
plan. Maybe some of you would go after work! The show will be at 8 pm, you will
be home early.....and with a smile in your brain that will burn for the whole weekend,
hopefully. Coming to this show will be like Guinness, as they say “there is
eating and drinking in it”
You can book tickets for the gigs (on Sept 4th and Oct 2nd) HERE. If you do book for dinner, please say that you are
going to the show.
Please spread the word and let’s pack it with us.
I love you more than a turtle dove. Pierce xxx
THE PERMIST ©2012 PIERCE TURNER
I remember when there was a hairdresser in my hometown of Wexford called Tony Myler,
who gave gorgeous perms. He was known far and wide to be a terrific permist; he
himself had a gorgeous perm. And he had an assistant called Kate whom he had thought
his technique to. She was nearly almost as good as him, and nearly almost as good,
was the standard in Ireland at that time. My Mother got wind of the fact that Kate
was nearly almost as good, and figured; that was good enough for her. So she booked
Kate to come down to our house to do a bit of perming. She roped my three sisters
into it too, so that she might get a job lot. Kate arrived at our house at half
past six, just after the evening news. She went upstairs with her bag of curlers
and went at it, hammer and tongs. I had nothing to do on a Monday night, and we
had a young boarder from Cork staying in the house at the time; he was bored too!
So we decided to go upstairs and check out the goins on. We entered into that feminine
terrain with great trepidation, because of the smell of burning hair and sickly
perm solution. He swapped his hand for mine on the door handle, and in we slipped.
Nobody paid much attention to us at first, as we ambled casually towards the unoccupied
chairs over by the open fire. They were enjoying each other so much; there was no
need for extra input from the likes of us to keep the tempo going. With little shortage
of creativity, the stories were flying along without any noticeable divide, new
ones fading in, where the other one was tapering off. It was an explosion of colourful
energy, and carried along by all this, I could feel my cheeks were flushed from
this potent atmosphere; a combination of the blazing fire and the sheer feminine
abandon.Kate had a friend with her called Joyce, and I couldn’t help but notice
that she was a very attractive girl. She started asking me questions.
“Where are you from?’
“Here”
“Yeah, but where did you grow up?”
“Here”
“And where do you live now?”
Shrugging my shoulders “Here”
I wasn’t used to talking to women yet, and was economizing my replies for
fear that I might say the wrong thing. Figuring, the less I said the safer I was,
and the more intrigued was she. After they left, the Cork guy and myself sat down
facing my Mother and three Sisters on the couch, looking a bit like, four Jimi Hendrix’s..............................................................to
be continued on the night.
THE KLUB 45 ROOM (UPSTAIRS AT CONNOLLYS,TIMES SQUARE)
FIRST THURSDAY’S - SEPT 4TH AND OCT 2nd @ 8PM adm $20, CONNOLLYS 121 WEST
45 STREET (212) 597-5126. Book your tickets HERE.
On 23rd St and Avenue C
I went for a swim last night over in the public pool on 23rd St and Avenue C, with
only the F.D.R between it and the East River. Clare met me there after work. It’s
a huge pool that has a lot of rules and is very well maintained. You must
have a lock for your stuff, no magazines (just books) no coloured T-shirts (In case
you jump in the pool with it on). They search your bag before entering for paraphernalia,
such as alcohol or sandwiches. It holds over 200 people apparently and it
almost never seems over crowded to me. Clare loves to swim, and it was very
relaxing for her after the tension of navigating through New York to work and back.
We came out of there all knackered and slow. We were supposed to be
on a bit of a health drive, taking hints from Carol Vorderman, but when we passed
a sign saying “Belgian beers half price before 8pm” our bodies of jellied
swimmers sat down before our brains could intervene “ ah sure we might as
well have something to eat while we’re at it.
Four beers , blue cheese-cheeseburger and chips later, we lolled our way down the
Avenue towards home, so laid back our shoulder blades were scraping the pavement.
Clare said “sometimes you’ve just got to have a treat” and
I concurred while putting the wine in the freezer. Wonder what’s in
store for today? There is an urge somewhere in the back of my scullery already
striving to take command saying stuff like “but we didn’t even get a
holiday!” I reply unconvincingly “some would say my entire life is a
holiday” There is only one way to shut it up, take an action. So I sit
down and write you this letter. And after that I will rehearse for my show
at Klub 45 in Connollys of Times Square on Thursday September 4th. You can
book tickets now
HERE
.
Who else will have me but you? Spread the madness tell a friend.
I love you more than ice cold Belgian blond (wouldn’t push it though)
Pierce xxx
THE KLUB 45 ROOM (UPSTAIRS AT CONNOLLYS,TIMES SQUARE)
FIRST THURSDAY’S - SEPT 4TH AND OCT 2nd @ 8PM adm $20, CONNOLLYS 121 WEST
45 STREET (212) 597-5126. Book your tickets HERE.
The show must go on
My Da was a fireman (part-time) and he came to me last night in my sleep and said
that he personally had put the fire out in Connollys, and little damage was done
because he had God on his side. He saw the Devil scedaddling up Times Square with
a torch up his bum, the AC is on full blast now and the room is as cool as a cucumber.
See you there tomorrow night! You can book tickets now HERE.
Pierce xxx
THE KLUB 45 ROOM (UPSTAIRS AT CONNOLLYS,TIMES SQUARE)
FIRST THURSDAY’S - SEPT 4TH AND OCT 2nd @ 8PM adm $20, CONNOLLYS 121 WEST
45 STREET (212) 597-5126. Book your tickets HERE.
Next Thursday in Connolly's
Oct 2nd will be the final show at Klub 45 in Times Square (upstairs at Connollys).
In spite of the fire, the first gig was a cracker. Come at 7pm and eat a bit of
dinner, 8pm is showtime and you will be home with a whole fresh outlook on life
by the bedtime. You can book tickets now HERE.
BTW…..
I was born a long time ago and it wouldn’t do me any good to draw attention
to the distance between then and now, in fact if I was left to my own devices I
would stop keeping track of it completely, it seems to bring nothing only fear and
depression with every additional digit, it might be handy for the government, but
I don’t find it useful at all. I rarely feel as old as I am, and even if I
only shave 3 years off my age, I feel better about myself, perhaps because the utterance
is an intrusion on the age I feel. Anyone that I’ve ever known who kept
tabs on their age with full enthusiasm ended up dying on time. It’s foolish
behavior. Of course it also seems to be very useful to journalists! They seem to
think that their job is made a lot easier by getting that number in there as soon
as possible! They are under the impression that it tells the whole story in
an instant. One time we knew that it didn’t, but now many years after the
American establishment of the word “Teenager” it has become clear that
youth is more important and more valuable than anything else. So the further we
move from our teenage years, the less valuable we are to the planet. Therefore if
a journalist merely points out that the observer of an accident is a certain age
– we will know instantly the value of the observation! Sixty or more, “dodgy”
between forty and twenty “sharp” below that varying degrees of clueless!
Of course there would be no mention of the journalists age.
I love you more than my memories.
Pierce xxx
THE KLUB 45 ROOM (UPSTAIRS AT CONNOLLYS,TIMES SQUARE)
OCT 2nd @ 8PM adm $20, CONNOLLYS 121 WEST 45 STREET (212) 597-5126. Book your tickets
HERE.
Upcoming gigs in November
Hot Press magazine and RTE 2fm in Ireland have teamed up to give listeners a dedicated
day celebrating brilliant homegrown music on the national airwaves. They want music
fans to help create the ultimate Irish playlist on Monday, October 27th. Can I ask
you dear sausages, to please vote for one of my songs? So as we don't get too
many songs, we are suggesting "All Messed Up" or "The Sky and the
Ground". You can vote
HERE
, but don't delay! Registering to vote is free, and if you want
to share your vote on Facebook, who am I to stop you?
I'll be playing on 3 Sunday evenings in November (the 9th, 16th and 23rd) at
the Harp Raw Bar & Grill on 729 Third Ave (between 45th
and 46th Street) in midtown Manahattan. The shows are at 5 p.m. and you can reserve
at 212-818-0123. Three magical Sundays with different sets each show — any
requests?
I love you for loving music
Pierce xx
A Joy Forever
Return to the Sunday Services this Nov 9th, at The Harp on 3rd Ave bet 45 and 46th at 5 p.m. - they serve
great food and high quality refreshments. Reserve at 212-818-0123. Bruce the owner
is a nice guy who loves music, he has installed a real piano too, I will run
all across the old and new, this is a really nice place. You’ll leave with
a smile I promise.
I went to Philosophy class last night up on 79th bet 5th and Madison, right next
to the Iraq Embassy. The class is taught by man of some maturity called Michael
Polskey. He is a beautiful man with an aura haloing around his hairless head. Last
night the subject was “Beauty”. He quoted the great Greek legends to
verify the staying power of the message, and ye have to wonder why the Greeks had
such a head start on this stuff. The message is powerful and valid to this day,
if not more valid. Beauty is not an object or a thing, beauty is omni-present it’s
every where. It is up to you and I to bring it to life. If you have no beauty in
your heart, you can’t see it. Many of us already knew this “beauty is
in the eye of beholder” But still we always need to be reminded.
I once asked John Reed, Elton John’s manager, what he thought audiences were
thinking when they came to a concert. He replied “show me how good you are”
I explained that my philosophy was the opposite. I believe (true or not) that the
audience is thinking, “I hope this guy is great” why would someone want
to give their time and money to an unhappy experience? This class seemed to verify
my beliefs. When you listen to my music, it is you that makes it beautiful (whenever
it is). If you had no beauty in your heart, it wouldn’t either. I may not
have a massive audience, but they have the beauty required to see some in me. It’s
true that my music may need hearts with extra openness to project the required
beauty. But surely these are the people any artist would crave to have before them.
This way of thinking is a great relief to me also. A performance is collaboration.
Thanks for allowing it, right back at ye.
I love you more than you love me, and I love you, and you lo……
Just come to the Harp On November 9th.
Piercexx
Ah, ferjayziss ake!
The last gig at Klub 45, we had a fire beforehand, and now if you're looking
to book for the Sunday Services this Nov 9th, at The Harp on 3rd Ave bet 45 and 46th at 5 p.m., you'll
discover that, thanks to Verizon, their phone lines are down. But you can call Bruce
- the owner - on his cell at 347-804-3266 to reserve.
To whet your appetite, you can watch a video HERE from one of the recent gigs at Klub 45.
Piercexx
In the present
The Sunday Service is back and flying - Nov 16th and 23rd at The Harp on 3rd between 45 & 46 at 5 p.m.
I think I told you that I’ve been attending these philosophy classes uptown.
It’s in a beautiful townhouse between 5th and Madison. Originally it was owned
by two old spinster sisters and apparently they donated it to the School of Practical
Philosophy. It’s now on sale for 51 million. Everyone who works in this building
does so on a volunteer basis. And they are all practicing or studying, or teaching
philosophy. Downstairs in the basement they have a café, with all kinds of
healthy food served at a reasonable price, only open to the students. There seems
to be about ten people working down there, a quarter of what it holds. All makes
and shapes of people, a very tall man who seems to be a about fifty ( but could
be a young sixty) with hair that is hanging on to the final days of its poorly
dyed blondness. An elderly grey haired gentleman with a limp and one side of his
eyeglasses fogged over. A lady shaped like a wedding cake, very skinny at
the top, and increasing with each tier. A veritable variety of gentle souls, all
happy as pigs in poo, all solid as iron, completely balanced and centered. They
would put the Hare Krishnas to shame. Clare meets me there at half six, she works
at 58th and 3rd - not too far from there. I bring food with me in my back pack,
and we eat down in the café. I felt a bit uncomfortable at first, seemed
like we were being cheeky. I saw the wedding cake woman waddling over towards us
and thought, “Oh God this is going to be embarrassing" “Let me
get you some napkins, and would you like a glass of water?” See what I mean!
Everyone is like that, kind and thoughtful. I tell ye, I could volunteer in this place
myself, and I’m not exactly the volunteering type.
One of the things they have taught us at this school is: how to practice being in
the present. I had a chance to put it to good use my first night at the Harp last
Sunday. There was a great buzz in the room as I ran to the stage waving and smiling
“Hello, hello” to the tune of “Frantic” my usual intro track.
The track stops, the applause subsides and I slam an F chord out on the guitar for
the introduction of “Thunderstorm”. “Thank you”, I said,
when I realized there wasn’t a decibel of amplification. The mike wasn’t
working! Shit! I fiddled with the wires, told the audience to talk amongst themselves,
and begged the soundman to tell me that he
knew the answer. But no! It was dead as a doorknob, and not going to morph into
life any hour soon. We had to get a mike stand out and a conventional microphone,
and for the whole show I had to adjust to the idea of standing in one place, if
I played the piano, the stand had to come over there with me, it was a potentially
disastrous situation (ye know the way I run around). I looked around the room and
some people looked anxious. It was very important for me to hang in there. So I
put my philosophy lesson to use, I just sang the songs and lived one word at a time.
Stayed in the present, inside the song, and paid no attention to the potential disaster.
It worked like a charm; I was as grounded as the wedding cake lady, almost laughing
at the situation and ready to serve. With the past out of the picture, the present
was allowed to prosper. With the help of a great venue by the way, there is a real
piano, so all the wild requests are easier to pull off, like for instance Patryk
from the West of Ireland has asked me to play a rare Major Thinker B side tomorrow
- “Farewell to the coast” - when he visits. To top the night off, I
hopped behind the bar at the owner’s volition and served a free drink to all.
God is great!! Two more Sundays to go. Great buzz in this place.
I love you more than the wedding cake lady (and she loves everyone)
Pierce xxx
How the days fly by!
I had to get up this morning wash my face and clean my teeth, then figure out what
I could eat, I had to find a pair of socks that I could live with plus a T shirt
that was cleaner than the one I wore in bed...I'm such a busy man that I haven't
time to write a proper letter. But I wanted to squeeze this note in before I make
some breakfast, put on my favourite record and persuade that cat to vacate my seat.
If you are in NY, the gig this Sunday at
the Harp
is a must. This place is so cozy,
with Avon Faire (and you) singing back up vocals, sexy lighting, great food, and
exotic beers. Last week we had quite a few Irish people off the plane, perhaps because
this place is mid-town, Patryk from Ballyshannon made me resurrect a Major Thinkers
B side "Farewell to the coast" it was very "new wave"!!! Call 212-818-0123
for reservations
We've been featured in the New York Daily News too:
“Hi Mighty. Your old buddy Bruce Caulfield, who had the newsstand concession
in the Daily News building, recently opened his third drinking establishment. Many
of your readers would know Tracks in Penn Station and Nevada Smiths. His latest
place is the Harp Raw Bar and Grill on Third Ave. at 45th St. The next two Sundays
at 5 p.m. the legendary Pierce Turner from Ireland will be performing"
BTW dear Irish sausages, I am working on an Irish tour.
Love Pierce.
You'd better watch out!
Pierce Turner’s Christmas Party at Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar in Manhattan, Sat December
13th at 8 p.m.
I just got off the phone with Steve Duggan, the proprietor of the notorious Paddy
Reilly’s Music Bar. He was out having lunch with a couple of friends,
knowing Steve he could be purchasing a horse off them or maybe a hotel in Scotland.
He is always up to something.
“What time should we start at on December 13th?”
“Tell me this, is that a Friday or a Saturday?”
“It’s a Saturday, Steve”
“Sure I don’t mind, how long do you play?”
“about two and a ¼ hours, or so, depending on the craic”
“sure I suppose about Eight O’Clock so, there’ll be another band
on later then for the ones that never go home”
Steve is the one that inspired “Not a bad day for a Wednesday”, he is
a character and a half. This is my final gig before Christmas, it was his idea “a
Christmas Party” said he "Before they all go home to their Mammy’s,
or before the Mammy’s all go home to their kids, or whatever the hell happens
nowadays”
This will be a “Greatest Bits” show. Balloons and hot toddys,
mulled wine!!! Mmmmm and all of us. Call 917-930-7702 to reserve.
“Why use 2 words when 10 will do”: The next gig after that will be 2015
at Joe’s Pub (voted one of the top 5 venues in America) On Saturday January
17th at 7 p.m. - tickets now on sale HERE. And then Beal Bocht Riverdale on March 7th, and The
Irish Arts Centre Theatre NY on April 17th and 18th. May and June looks like Ireland.
Oh and this Saturday December 6th I will perform at a free concert of songs for
the season, organized by Kath from Avon Faire (You saw them singing with me at the
Harp) at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, 155 East 22nd Street at 7.30 p.m.
I love you more than Santa. Pierce xxx
December 6th:
Gustavus Adolphus
Lutheran Church
, 155 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010. 7.30 p.m.
December 13th:
Paddy Reilly’s
Music Bar
, 519 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10016. Call 917-930-7702 to reserve.
January 17th: Joe's Pub,
425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003. Doors at 6 p.m., Show at 7 p.m. Box Office:
212-967-7555 or click HERE.
March 7th: An Beal Bocht Cafe,
445 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463
April 17th & 18th:
Irish
Arts Center
, 553 West 51 Street, New York, NY 10019
The last show of the year - tomorrow night!
Pierce Turner’s Christmas Party at Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar in Manhattan, Sat December
13th at 8 p.m.
Call 917-930-7702 to reserve.
Added to the line-up at Paddy Reilly's - my compatriot Fred Parcells! Fred has toured
the world with me, played on most of my albums, sings like a bird with me, all this
before and during Black 47 - his presence brings all kinds of songs to mind.
I love you more than fancy all sorts. Pierce xxx
December 13th:
Paddy Reilly’s
Music Bar
, 519 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10016. Call 917-930-7702 to reserve.
January 17th: Joe's Pub,
425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003. Doors at 6 p.m., Show at 7 p.m. Box Office:
212-967-7555 or click HERE.
March 7th: An Beal Bocht Cafe,
445 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463
April 17th & 18th:
Irish
Arts Center
, 553 West 51 Street, New York, NY 10019
Back in Joe's Pub on the 17th!
OK it’s another year - it doesn’t feel like one really. I had to renew
the domain on my website the other day, I said “how much is it do ten years?”
she said “ye can’t do ten, but you can do nine or five” what?
So we did five, the present term doesn’t end for another two years anyway.
“So that will bring you up to twenty twenty two” said she. And she pulled
up my website “oh what a lovely cat”
“yeah that’s Puss, he’s dead now”
It’s outer space time. Can you believe it? In seven years time it will be
2022! I had to wonder will I be alive? Not because of my age, I should be alive
according to that, but I just never thought of myself being alive in 2022 or there
being a world - I didn’t sit down and work out the approximate date of my
expiration when I was a chap. But I don’t think my mind was capable of thinking
beyond 2000!
Now that does make me wonder about some of my cerebral friends out there, the statistical
hounds with a never-ending desire to nail down numbers. The ones that have excelled
with the advent of the computer. Did they do that? Did they figure out the approximate
time of their own demise already? Jasus that’s a very strange thought. Please
get in touch with me immediately if you have done this.
Here’s another statistic - January 17th will be my eleventh show at Joe’s
Pub - voted one of the top five clubs in America last year (Rolling Stone). The
ladies from Avon Faire Andriette Redman and Kath Green will sing with me and there
is that beautiful grand piano. January is shite really, come for a bit of luxury
and brighten up the centre of this murky month, the new seating arrangement is brilliant
there, and the new sound system.
And to end with a riddle; A Father and Son get into a car crash, the Father dies
and the Son gets rushed to the Hospital. The Surgeon comes in to operate, and upon
seeing the patient says “I can’t operate on this boy, he is my Son”
Come to Joe’s Pub and I’ll give you the answer, that’s if you
can’t figure it out yourself. You can book HERE
Happy New Year - it is your year.
I still love you as much as the Sun Moon and Stars - because that’s who you are xxx
January 17th:
Joe's Pub
, 425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003. Doors at 6 p.m.,
Show at 7 p.m. Box Office: 212-967-7555 or click HERE.
March 7th: An Beal Bocht Cafe,
445 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463
April 17th & 18th:
Irish
Arts Center
, 553 West 51 Street, New York, NY 10019
Fluting around at Joe's Pub on the 17th!
I was in my friend's apartment for dinner. "Want to put on some music?"
said she generously, pushing her laptop towards me. So I go to iTunes. It wants
the password. She can't remember it (I can never remember mine either, besides,
because I use it in Ireland too, it has become suspicious of me, cos of the different
currency, so I've given up fighting it). She asks her ten year old "What's
the password?" After trying several, we fail to impress (that's what happens
with me).
I try Youtube and find a concert of Linda Ronstadt singing Mexican songs - that
should be nice quiet dinner music. "You need to install the latest Adobe flash!!!"
(that's what my one says also). We download it, and go back, it says "You
need to download the latest adobe flash" (that's what my one says too,
even when it's sitting there on my desktop).
After a good half hour of fluting around, I just give up and settle for fresh air
as accompaniment to our meal. If you have a similar experience, let me tell you
about this amazing invention that I have in my apartment. It's a box with
a drawer that comes sliding out, when you press the button, in it I can put a disc
(I have numerous discs, some really really good ones). I close the drawer and press
a button, and out comes this beautiful big stereo sonic sound. At the blink
of an eye I can take that disc off and change for another. I am not kidding here!
it exists.
R U coming to Joe's Pub this Saturday? You can book
HERE
or phone their box office at 212.967.7555. After Joe's we are going
to the Scratcher for a drink - just around the corner at 209 east 5th Street (I'll
bring my laptop if you fancy having a look at it).
I look forward to hanging out with you. I love you more than I love installing Adobe
updates.
Pierce xxx
January 17th:
Joe's Pub
, 425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003. Doors at 6 p.m.,
Show at 7 p.m. Box Office: 212-967-7555 or click HERE.
March 7th: An Beal Bocht Cafe,
445 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463
April 17th & 18th:
Irish
Arts Center
, 553 West 51 Street, New York, NY 10019
Spring? Sprung!
Spring shall be sprung - gigs galore (it’s exhausting, just thinking
about it). Just look at them all!
An Béal Bocht,
March 7th, 6.30 p.m.
The renowned cosy back room at the Beal Bocht in the Bronx with
a real piano, food and drink, run by people that love music and art (that’s
why they booked me!). This is always a great gig and starts early - doors at 6.30,
gig at 7.00 445 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463, Phone: (718) 884-7127
The Harp, 3 Sunday
Services on March 15th, 19th and 22nd at 5 p.m.
Everyone loved this place, with it’s great upstairs room
looking out over 3rd Avenue, a real piano, and special guests Andriette Redman and
Kath Green, singing beautiful back up vocals. Great food, lovely management,
Jim will bring his 98 year old Mom. Come and have yer Sunday meal with a pint, you
will leave with a smile. After the set I will jump behind the bar at Bruce’s
behest and serve some free pints. 729 3
rd
ave between 45th
and 46th Phone: 2
12-818-0123
The Irish
Arts Cent
er,
April 17th and 18th
A grand piano will be brought in for this occasion.
553
West 51 Street, New York, NY 10019 Phone: 866-811-4111
Ireland - the
National Concert Hall
, Dublin, May 12th
It was well overblown by the media - just an average snowstorm.
All the supermarkets had lines around the block - no snow shovels left or snow blowers,
no salt. Lines around the corner at the wine stores - I even went to our lazy corner
shop for a couple of beers and there was a line from the bananas all the way around
the fridge aisle past the cabbage and the beer on past the brillo pads and the sandwich
bar to the two sweating cashiers - unheard of! I have never paid much attention
to the weather, but lately the weather forecasters are dominating my skyline. We
are obsessed with them, and ye know why of course, they are predicting the future
(supposedly)! Therefore, we believe that they are helping us to control our lives.
And, like a great big rainstorm that we try to fend off with our houses and hats,
the ‘unknown’ circles around us constantly. Anyone who offers us a way
to predict the “unknown’s” next move has got our attention. In
fact, if you can fabricate a way of convincing people that you are capable of this,
you can become very rich. That’s ‘money’ rich, of course. If you
want the other kind of wealth - ‘wisdom’ - then you will see the unknown
as exciting and ripe with opportunity. That’s where the real magic lives,
no disappointments, no expectations. Always capable of accepting what comes. This
kind of thinking would put the weather forecasters out of business.
I love you more than tomorrow. Pierce xx
Oh and BTW please book ahead for these gigs, I have to pay for the petrol.
NY winter gigs & Irish spring gigs
At last, old man winter has taken his heavy overcoat, sheep skin gloves, 10 ft woollen
scarf, and 10 ft grey beard, off to his cave, where he will sleep until November.
He is so, so tired, he has exhausted us and himself. Blowing cold air for
weeks on end, and just when we thought he was done, he started again! Hiding
the sun with dark pregnant clouds, burying the cars and freezing the stars. Blocking
the roads, even subways were closed. He did fierce destruction, caused a hell
of a ruction. His mood was dire, pushing us all towards the fire. All I can
say is listen, maybe it's all out of his system, we certainly won't miss
him.
Hello to the Angels of bird- singing April.
These are my last NY gigs before I go to Ireland for May - looks like this Sunday
will be a blast: I have even dusted off "Carrigfergus" with Avon Faire.
I need you more than ever, and love you even better. xxxx Pierce.
New York
The Harp, 3 Sunday
Services on March 15th, 19th and 22nd at 5 p.m.
Less bog and more beat at our own St Patricks Day gig at the Harp next Sunday at
5pm-March 15th -fine food, wine, spirits and beer.
The Harp presents The Pierce
Turner Sunday Service (with special guests vocalists Avon Faire) Spring is
here - last chance to hear this for a while.
729 3rd ave between 45th
and 46th Phone: 212-818-0123
The Irish
Arts Center
, April 17th and 18th
A grand piano will be brought in for this occasion.
553 West 51 Street, New
York, NY 10019 Phone: 866-811-4111
Ireland
May 2nd - The Seamus Ennis Arts Centre,
Naul, Co. Dublin
May 8th -
Coughlans
Live
, Cork
May 12th - the
National Concert Hall
, Dublin
June 5th - Wexford Arts Centre,
Wexford
Sunday gig at the Harp
Well we’re shopping around the book presentation, just one at a time. The
first publishers to get it, looked at it for a long time, they are probably the
biggest of the lot. The revered Irish writer Joseph O’Connor (Sinead’s
brother) read some of the stories and liked them enough to introduce and recommend
me to this company. Anyway, after a good while they said no, in the nicest way possible.
Now we are on to number two. Apparently Harry Potter was turned down by 25 publishers
before it was accepted. She is a hell of a Woman that she didn’t chuck it
in at fifteen. And because of her, we now have a different barometer for failure.
One turn down is chicken shit, nothing! I have 24 to go!! I’m just starting
out. If I start to get depressed around 17 or 18 though, remind me of this will
ye?
Next Sunday will be number 2 of three Sunday Services at the Harp - this really
is a spectacular setting with those amazing windows looking out on to Third Avenue.
I feel very inspired when I play there and am inclined to feel free enough to wander
into new places. We are starting a little later cos of daylight savings time - so
it’s doors at 5.30 and gig at 6 p.m. - please come and show me your love,
I’ll show you mine. And afterwards you will be all refreshed to face the following
week. One minute more, then I’ll have what I need, it’s becoming quite
clear, I could clinch the great deed, with just a little more time.
Warning - this letter was written with a St Pats day hangover, I got drunk by mistake!
I love you as much as I don’t love this hangover Pxxxx
New York
The Harp, Sunday Services
on March 22nd and 29th at 5.30 p.m.
Harp presents The Pierce Turner Sunday Service (with special guests vocalists Avon
Faire) Spring is here - last chance to hear this for a while.
729 3rd ave between 45th and 46th Phone: 212-818-0123
The Irish
Arts Center
, April 17th and 18th
A grand piano will be brought in for this occasion.
553 West 51 Street, New York,
NY 10019 Phone: 866-811-4111
Ireland
May 2nd - The Seamus Ennis Arts Centre,
Naul, Co. Dublin
May 8th -
Coughlans
Live
, Cork
May 12th - the
National Concert Hall
, Dublin
June 5th - Wexford Arts Centre,
Wexford
Last of the Harp gigs
I am sitting in my Kitchen on First Avenue just around the corner to the buildings
that collapsed yesterday here in the East Village. Sirens criss cross my ears from
one window to the other, a helicopter rattles overhead. Second Avenue is closed
from 14th Street all the way down to Houston, that’s fourteen blocks. Last
night I went to the church over on 22nd Street where I’m planning to record
my new album. On my way back down
Second Avenue, the
police were everywhere, some
wearing masks! I thought “Jasus, they need masks! What about us?” Looking
ahead along the Avenue, even in the dark, the smoke still seemed to add density
and drama, this was about nine o clock. I mean it happened at three thirty. Silhoutted
heads, all makes, shapes and sizes, were crammed together in the distant fog like
a mass exodus to nowhere. Bopping up and down they walked away from me - way off
far - where were they going? I turned left and went home, where Clare had all the
windows closed because there was a warning flashing in red at the bottom the T.V:
“CLOSE ALL YOUR WINDOWS….DON’T GO OUT UNLESS YOU HAVE TO…IF
YOU ARE EXPERIENCING CHEST PAIN…DON’T BREATHE!! Something like that.
Today they tell us that three buildings collapsed from a gas explosion. Right next
to my barber! I wasn’t here for 9/11, nor was I here for Hurricane Sandy,
or the great blackout a few Summers ago that saw hordes of people roaming the streets
in the silent dark. But when I add all of these events up, unrelated and all, it
does feel like there is lot of mass disturbances around here. Perhaps it’s
time (again) to tell everybody I’m gone away for ten years. Or make an album
that sends a healing message across the planet, think that’s what I’ll
do. I’m such a bleeding heart romantic! My Pledge campaign starts soon for
this album, I hope you don’t mind, and I hope you are as kind..as the last
time.
Last Sunday at the Harp was totally sublime! If you live in America (well N.Y. ish)
you simply MUST come down, or up, or over, whatever - we’re not going to live
forever ye know. Bruce had me hop behind the Bar again, and I gave away a lot of
free drinks. This is the last Sunday for a while. It will break my heart if you
are not there. Now, I’m off to buy a mask.
Love you more than beans on toast. Pierce xxx
Sunday March 29th doors 5;30 gig 6pm at the Harp 3rd Ave bet 45 and 46; Phone: 212-818-0123
The Irish
Arts Center
, April 17th and 18th
A grand piano will be brought in for this occasion.
553 West 51 Street, New York,
NY 10019 Phone: 866-811-4111
Ireland
May 2nd - The Seamus Ennis Arts Centre,
Naul, Co. Dublin
May 8th -
Coughlans
Live
, Cork
May 12th - the
National Concert Hall
, Dublin
June 5th - Wexford Arts Centre,
Wexford
Gigs at the Irish Arts Center
The show at the
Irish Arts Center
in Manhattan is just around the corner (I’m spelling
CENTER the way it is spelt in the logo) Friday April 17th and Saturday April 18th.
My good friend and ex-musical partner Larry Kirwan is joining me on the 17th to
sing the title song of Turner and Kirwan Of Wexford’s only official album
“Absolutely and Completely”. We haven’t sung this song together
since it was played all over NY radio for weeks on end in the Year of our Lord.
At this point in our lives it just feels right, and there is a Grand Piano, which
is what this song needs. I know it will be special for me anyhow, and I have always
got keep myself on my toes. Also joining me on both nights is my brother Fred Parcells
on bone and vocals, and the amazing Avon Faire, Kath Green and Andriette Redman
on vocals. The reason why you have to come is: it will be different! It’s
a real theatre with lights that will be actually rehearsed and designed. These people
believe in me, my songs and my stories, enough to give me two of their most precious
nights on a weekend. Twill be good for you, a night in the Theatre!! Read about
it this week in the New York Irish Echo. They are so excited they are running it
next week again.
After these shows, I’m off to Ireland for a wee tour, listed below. The big
deal there is the
National Concert Hall
on May 12th. This is a Tuesday night, a night that
always needs help to pass in a painless fashion. This is such a special venue with
excellent sound, I hope to see all my Irish friends out in their capes and dicky
bows. You know my Philosophy in life is to take your time and as I have said many
times “Don’t surge on full speed to your own tombstones”. Well
ignore that information when it comes to these shows - please surge!!! Or I will
be scared to death, and that’s my tombstone, not yours.
I love you more when you come to my shows xx
Pierce
The Irish
Arts Center
, April 17th and 18th
A grand piano will be brought in for this occasion.
553 West 51 Street, New York,
NY 10019 Phone: 866-811-4111
Ireland
May 2nd - The Seamus Ennis Arts Centre,
Naul, Co. Dublin
May 8th -
Coughlans
Live
, Cork
May 12th - the
National Concert Hall
, Dublin
June 5th - Wexford Arts Centre,
Wexford
Irish tour dates
Well I’m back in Ireland! So far the sunny days have outnumbered the rainy
ones. It can change fast though. Yesterday morning I set out on a beautiful bright
sunny day for my first run on Curracloe Beach. As I was crossing the new bridge
(1965), I noticed a tiny yellow gas pump icon lighted on the dashboard, running
my eyes to the left I came upon an incremented guage with its needle comfortably
settled in the red. Of course I hadn’t brought my wallet, so back home I went
to get some money. I ran in, grabbed the wallet admiring the glorious sunshine beaming
upon our front garden, got back in the car and headed back across the bridge towards
the beach. Because the petrol was perilously low, I pulled in to the first gas station
I came across. I only bought ten Euro worth because I hadn’t tested my Irish
Bank card yet, and Irish Banks have a way of making you feel like it’s not
really your money, the customer is always wrong is their motto. So I had enough
cash to cover it, should there be a problem. I stuck the card into the machine upside
down, and the young girl serving, corrected it for me. I stood there waiting.
“You have to put your pin in now” she giggled. “Oh Jasus, what’s
my pin?” I panicked out loud, a couple of customers behind me now. “I’ve
just got back from America” I pleaded, ready to spill out my entire life story
in pursuit of pity. “Ah you’re alright, no bother, take your time”
She consoled. I stabbed the first number that came to mind into the tiny device
and nothing happened. She swiveled it towards her and jabbed the green “enter”
button with her tiny pink nailed finger. “Oh” I blushed “Of course”
continuing in my “don’t mind me I’m a right buffoon, just off
the plane with jet lag” mode, which wasn’t entirely inaccurate. But
at least now I knew that the card worked, so I took a quick look around the shop
to see if there was anything else that I needed. Bread? No not really. Milk, tea,
newspaper, hummus? I spun around on my heels surveying the bizarre mixture of sundries
designed to keep a person going until they got to the supermarket, and trash snacks
to shut up a cranky stomach. But the little machine had already spat out my receipt,
and the young attendant had said. “Now, thanking you, next please”.
If I went back with something else now, it would seem like I had just discovered
there was money in my bank account and that I was going to grab all that I could
while the going was good. So I sheepishly (and mistakenly) slipped out the In door
as someone else entered. My car shone in the sun all ready to take me for my run,
I gazed off towards my destination to the east, and it was like a line was drawn
across the land about a mile before me. On this side the sun beamed, and on that
side the darkest most foreboding clouds spilled their grey insides into the bushes
and briars along the horizon; way off into the deep distance, certainly pouring
down upon the beach. It was winter over there, and spring over here. Just like that!
It’s a small country, the weather travels fast. I went to the supermarket
to get some real groceries, and a nice bottle of rosé.
This is a very short tour, from Naul (this weekend, truly warm venue, with great
people) to Cork (the best intimate venue in this great City) to the National Concert
Hall, where I will launch the Pledge campaign for my next album. They are
all weekend gigs, except the National Concert Hall in Dublin, that’s going
to be a very special night, the sound there is superb, and I will debut three new
songs from the album. People are asking me will there be another Dublin date,
and I’m sorry to say that there won’t. So come to this one please,
I’ve come all the way from America to see you and I've had to learn (again)
the difference between petrol and gas, and faucets and taps. Imagine having fun
on a Tuesday! The tour finishes at the Wexford Arts Centre on June 5th (the place
where all the stories come from). It looks like these will be my only Irish dates
this year unfortunately. When I get back to New York, there will be fun in
the sun at the Harp for 3 Sundays with the roof open on July 12, 19th and 26th at
7p.m.
I love you more than the Orange coloured sun down by the sea. Pierce xx
Ireland
May 2nd -
The Seamus Ennis
Arts Centre
, Naul, Co. Dublin
May 8th -
Coughlans Live
, Cork
May 12th - the
National Concert Hall
, Dublin
June 5th - Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Pierce Turner: Pledge to Preorder My New Album on PledgeMusic
Hi there!
I'm here to ask for your help as I begin to make my next album. I want to do this because I still believe in the concept of an album, a body of work that takes you on a musical journey like a novel or a movie. And like a great novel or movie, a great album can stay with you for a lifetime.
I have something extra uplifting in mind for this album. I have found a jewel hidden among the skyscrapers of Manhattan, a small church built by the same man that created the Metropolitan Opera House. It has great acoustics, but even greater instruments - a Baldwin Grand Piano, a Harpsichord and a full pipe organ. Pastor Chris (a beautiful man) heard me perform there in a Christmas special and is allowing me full access to record my new album there. I want to bring you along for the making of this. I have a 20 Euro note stuck to my fridge that someone paid for a CD with, on it they wrote "there's a lot of love in your music". The goodness of this environment should only help to capture that elusive love. Playing this organ truly excites me, and that's how the special songs come about.
I'm teaming with PledgeMusic once again to release this album - so many people supported me greatly through my last campaign. Through the changing music industry, I have been in and out of different labels and experiences. When I found PledgeMusic I finally found somewhere that was a perfect fit for me, my music, and most importantly, my supporters. By pre-ordering my new album here, you will have access to exclusive updates that I will be posting so you can experience the album as it is made. There are some cool exclusives that you can subscribe to and treasures from my history in music that you can own - just click on the icon below to take you straight to the project on the Pledge site. Also, every pre-order comes with a digital download of the album, which I'll send out as soon as its ready!
I'm in Ireland at the moment to do some gigs to launch the Pledge campaign. Hopefully I'll see you in Cork on May 8th, Dublin on May 12th or Wexford on June 5th - click on the links for booking details.
During my last release on PledgeMusic I promised that I would not short-change you
with my music and I hold that promise true. Join me as we do this again together.
Cheers, Pierce
Thanks so much!
This is just a quick note to say a big thank you to the many generous fans that have dug deep and gotten the Pledge Music fundraising campaign to 23% of its goal already after only a few days. Please continue to spread the word and please support it if you can by clicking on the link on the left below and checking out the wide range of exclusives. I've also got some gigs coming up (details on the right below), so I'd love to see you at one of those - I'll be debuting 3 new songs at the National Concert Hall.
There's been some good media coverage of the Pledge Music campaign and the gigs - on the Blue of the Night show on RTE Lyric FM, on RTE, the Irish Times and the Wexford People . On Monday May 11th I'll be a guest on the John Murray Show on RTE Radio 1 between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. (Dublin time).
I'm up to my eyes, but I'm remaining calm.
Love, PiercePainting fire escapes with Hopper shades
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5/16/2015
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| Thanks to Colin Murnane for this great shot at the National Concert Hall in Dublin |
3 years ago, I played at SXSW in Austin Texas. Between shows I had been invited by the boss of my ex-label Beggars Banquet (Martin Mills) to attend the performance for one of his 4AD bands. They were performing out in the open with the audience all seated on the grassy hillside. After the show, my wife Clare and I went for a beer at another section of the field which was cordoned off for the festival. We stood drinking the beer next to a packed Marquee where there was a performance going on. My ears cocked up at the thick fruity organ sound and soulful vocal emanating from it. I went over closer, and there was this guy sitting at the keys backed by electric guitar and percussion - I fell in love with the sound instantly and had to know who it was. Later I discovered it was James Blake. When I found him on YouTube the first track (his most popular, and commercial one) I heard didn't sound like what I had heard that day to me. But then I found his "Live at the BBC" tracks and there it was again, that magical deep brooding rich quality - my favourite track was "The Willhelm Scream". I often just jam on it to warm my heart, there are very few words, so it wasn't hard. I hope you like it, that's Albert the cat over in the corner, I just did this yesterday in Wexford. I hope you like it.
Thanks again for your Pledges of support for my new album. If you can help, I'd really appreciate it - the new album can be yours for as little as $10, with some cool exclusives if you're able to dig deeper. Just click on the link below.
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The Eclectic Light Programme: Interview: Pierce Turner (22/5/2015) | KCLR 96FM
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5/25/2015
|
Hi there
This is just a quick note to thank all of you that have pledged so far in the crowdfunding
campaign for my forthcoming album. I want to keep you updated with my plans for
the album. A few days ago, I posted a clip of one of the songs - "Mary from Drumcondra"
- to the Pledge Music site: pledgers can access it via the link at the bottom left.
I've also posted another clip of a new song - "Gone Gone" to Youtube. Just click
on the link at the bottom right, where you'll also hear about the inspiration behind
the song.
I've reached just over half of the amount I need to record the album. The momentum
has been great, and I'd love to keep it going. There's just over 6 weeks left to
raise the remaining amount - if the money isn't raised, the existing pledges are
returned and the album doesn't get made. So your support is vital, and will be gratefully
received!
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|
5/31/2015
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| Here's a photo of Larry Kirwan and myself with Pete Seeger, back in the day. Shortly before he passed away, I played with him again and he signed this photo. A limited number of prints of the signed photo are available as exclusives in the Pledge campaign. |
We were in Ireland on tour with my old band The Major Thinkers, rushing along O'Connell
Street with Larry Kirwan, Peter Collins and Hammy (Thomas Hamlin) the drummer. Hammy
fell behind for a moment as we dodged our way through the luncheon traffic, then
he came running up to tell us with great amusement that a fella had hit him up for
some money, he had told him that he was in a hurry, to which the man quickly replied
"I'll be quick!" (Hammy does an hilarious Irish accent). We giggled our way along
to our destiny.
So I'll be quick too as I hit you up to support my next album. And also as I tell
you that I have one more show in Ireland, in my hometown of Wexford on June 5th,
where all the stories began. They will ring through extra well there, believe me.
If you choose to give me a hand with this campaign, which will allow me to make
a new album, you should know that it's risk-free. You get your money back if it
doesn't reach the target (but it's at 60% so I'm hopeful we will get there). However,
the album won't get made unless we reach the target. The old business model of a
Record Company doing all this doesn't exist for me anymore. The Pledge site is completely
secure I promise you, that's why I am doing this with them.
We did get off to a flying start, but it's slowing down a little of late. So if
you have been moving at 3 Minute World (leisurely) pace, perhaps I can encourage
you to be a little quicker, like that man on O'Connell Street back then in 1984.
I love you with the precision of George Orwell's prediction.
Pierce xxx
PS: Click on the link below for my cover version of a Madonna classic. My new album
might give further clues as to the extent of Madonna's influence on my work - or
it might not! You'll only find the answer if you support the album :-)
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6/15/2015
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| Colin Murnane took this great photo of me at my recent gig in the Wexford Arts Centre. |
When it came to thinking of things to offer as incentives for pledges in my fundraising campaign, I thought I had thought of everything. But I thought wrong.
A few emails ago, I uploaded a video of one of the new songs - "Gone Gone" - in which I explained how it had been inspired by watching a Joe Dolan video on Youtube. Someone saw it and, being a big fan of Joe Dolan, promised me an extra pledge if I covered a Joe Dolan song and uploaded it. So here it is, recorded at my Wexford gig last week.
We did get off to a flying start, but it's slowing down a little of late. So if
you have been moving at 3 Minute World (leisurely) pace, perhaps I can encourage
you to be a little quicker, like that man on O'Connell Street back then in 1984.
So if you have any requests for unusual or exotic cover versions, or creative ideas that will help you pledge for my new album, please let me know! I'm open-minded (I promise!)
Love, Pierce
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6/22/2015
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| Taken by Padraig Grant at the Spiegeltent in Wexford in 2013 |
Paul Darby put me up to it. "Why don't you sing Oh Ireland any more?" "I don't really know, maybe it didn't work any more" "It's an awful shame, especially when you're in Ireland, the words are so appropriate" "Are they?" I said I didn't think I could.
The next day, of course, when rehearsing and wanting to try something new "Oh Ireland" came to mind. Had I ever tried it on the Piano, I wondered. So I gave it a go and,filled with new inspiration (probably because someone had said something good about the song), it seemed to fall into a very comfortable groove on the piano. It was a song from the album "3 Minute World" an album that we had run out of and now replenished with a fresh pressing. This video is a live performance from my recent Wexford gig on June 5th. I explained to the audience, that the song had come from my experience of flying over Ireland on the way to London from New York when I was signed to Beggars Banquet Records, at the time a successful Indie label, now it's a huge label - even signing Adele. Because the flights coming in off the Atlantic cross over the South East of Ireland n their way to London, the pilot would sometimes mention what was below. It was a little frustrating to think of Wexford being just down there, early morning, my parents would be having breakfast in the odd-shaped kitchen on the Quay (home made brown bread and sharp Wexford cheddar washed down by strong tea) - more precious moments of our time on Earth without being in each others company. My father would be opening the door to let Sputnik out for his day of long far-off wanderings and furious battles over territory with dogs of a similar disposition - "house angels, street devils". If it was summer, I envisioned the beaches of Rosslare and the seemingly hotsummers, embellished by amnesia. If it was Winter, I envisioned Christmas and the fairy lights swinging across the main street like clothes lines being battered by the river wind. When I finally wrote a set of lyrics that described this feeling, I found myself wanting the verse to be accompanied by a chant that exemplified my love of Gregorian and Plain chant from early childhood, for this song is really about childhood.
I end this with a soft nudge, and for this I apologise. I have only 20 days to raise the last 30% of the Pledge campaign - please pass the word along if you've already pledged yourself: I know there are some well-wishers meaning to do what they plan on doing, when they get a chance, after they just do the next couple of, two three five things. The uncertainty of this campaign has left me with a knot of tension like you'd feel on the morning of a Wexford-Kilkenny hurling match - and you know how they can turn out!
I love you as much as Plain Chant and Chips.
Pierce xxx
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Celebrate reaching the Pledge Goal with me at the Harp this Sunday July 12th.
New York City July 6, 2015. (it's hot) We celebrated July 4th up on our roof looming
high above First Avenue. At Nine O'Clock the fireworks shot up above the East
River to our right, and all along the rooftops people from the adjoining buildings
spread out picnics and sipped chilled wine from their glasses. Suddenly a multi-coloured
square drone lifted up from the roof next to ours and rose way up into the grey
war clouds of the night sky, remnants of a dirty day. In what seemed like no time
at all, it was up high and far away, someone said 23rd Street (we're on 11th). It
was flying into the fireworks, there it was way out there on its own, a tiny little
object with coloured fluorescent lights. It seemed like a little animal facing up
to the massive sparkled hoops and dripping cascades of caramel coloured stardust,
booming subsonic explosions, and carnival kaleidoscopes. It was as if it was saying
"I'm with them down there on that little roof".
And in front of me four silhouetted people sat at a table on another Hopper brick
building, this one elevated above the rest with a slight slant, they looked like
paper cut-outs as the colours changed from red to green and blue exploding sand
behind them. I took out my iPhone and had to use the moment to thank you for
pledging your hard earned cash towards my next album. I didn't want anyone to see
me, I was a little embarrassed, but how could I pass by this moment, with this fireworks
exhibition that cost a fortune being provided as a backdrop for free. We can make
big things for a small price, and that's what I hope to do with the belief you have
instilled in me with your hard earned support. Here is that video, it cudda been
better, but it couldn't have had better intentions. I am so grateful.
And if you are in New York this Sunday July 12th we will celebrate reaching the
100% goal with Pledge at the
Harp Raw Bar &
Grill
at 729 Third Ave, New York at 6 p.m., for the first of 3 weekly Sunday
gigs. The singers (Kath and Andriette) from Avon Faire will be there and the
roof will be open to the July sky. We will do all the "Best of's" and some new songs
from the forthcoming album - after the set I will hop behind the bar and give out
free drinks!! What's not to like? There will be a full page article in the Irish
Echo this week. Please tell everybody. And by the way, the Pledge campaign
is still open, hopefully we will go way above the goal like that tiny drone.
I love you more than air conditioning.
Pierce xxx
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| 4th of July up on the roof |
Manana in Manhattan in the Harp
I've been living in the East Village now for the better part of my life. And yet
I know very few people by name from this neighborhood. Still I do… know them. Here,
I have seen teenagers grow up into adults and then disappear. Businesses that were
around from the turn of the century fold and newer ones open and close, some after
decades, some within a year. I have seen normal-looking young men from seemingly
good Italian or Eastern European families, go from step to step with each passing
year, from soft white complexion to bristle and shadow, from Coca Cola to Beer and
sometimes from there, tragically, to serious drug addiction. Some get through it
and some die. In most cases I wouldn't know that they died of course, but it's not
hard to believe the worst once you you've heard a couple of horror tales through
the pipeline. And if you see them flopping around for a few years, then disappearing
for good, they've gone somewhere! I can't imagine it's to an aunt in Montana somehow.
Just the other day I held the door open for the daughter of an elderly Italian lady
that lives upstairs. We had a short discussion about her mother "how old is she
now?" (thinking she was ancient) "Actually she'll be 82 next month" she declared
with a ‘how about that' smile (I thought she was about ten years north of that).
I had seen the daughter pretty much grow up in this building, raised by her single
mother (I had never been aware of a father figure). They were always a quiet family,
and lived here through all the changes from a half empty building looking for tenants,
to that vacuum being filled by dodgy drug dealers, to Yuppie political types instigating
rent strikes, to where it is today - part of the N.Y. University rent boom, which
has driven the rent of these tenements up beyond all reasonable value. She and I
had never really spoken to each other, other than to say a neighborly hi on the
landing. Then one Summer evening back in the 80's she was at the Schaeffer Music
Festival in Central Park to see Cyndi Lauper when she noticed Larry Kirwan and I
in the opening band The Major Thinkers (Larry and I had shared this apartment at
the time) - she was there with her husband to be. The next day she stopped me to
share her surprise as I descended the stairs with the garbage. After that I got
to know them better. Her slightly older brother Sandy stopped me one day too "Hey
my Sis saw you guys at the Schaeffer Music Festival, how about that, so you'se guys
musicians?" He had a Saturday Night Fever Wardrobe and hairstyle, and it turned
out that he had a small speaking part in the Movie too "How'ye doon Tony" I suppose
that was why I never saw much of Sandy in the building - he was going out to Brooklyn
to dance.
I suppose we will go on like this forever, guessing how each other is doing, based
on a handful of small clues. We will all go away one day and never come back, and
someone else will take our apartments. The double decker buses will continue to
look into my 2nd floor window and instead of seeing me in my underpants, they will
see someone else. But before that I have things to do and places to go. And you
and I should see each other as much as we can before then. Time flies when you don't
know what you're doing. One final show in Manhattan this summer - come over to the
Harp at Five O'Clock, have a nice cold cocktail in a cool air-conditioned room with
a view of the summer light without the humidity. As we perform the daylight will
dim and the stage lights will hue - just like the Schaeffer Music Festival.
July 19th at the Harp, with special guests
Avon Faire singing back up: doors at 5 p.m., gig at 6 p.m. Food is served too.
Pierce's new website is ready!
My mother opened her first shop when I was about nine. We had just moved down to the Wexford quay front into an old merchant house with three storeys and a shop underneath it. My father just came along and kept his day job. It was my first taste of commerce; Molly (whose last name was Roche) was from an entrepreneurial family.
The first business was a grocery shop, beans and tomatoes, that kind of thing, and ICE CREAM!! There were six kids in my family and the idea of having control of a fridge with blocks of ice cream in it was breathtaking. It was not a profitable business. The second attempt was, though! It was a second-hand clothes shop called Molly Roche. My mother's maiden name was quite famous because her father (Jem Roche) had fought for the world heavyweight title.
Wexford is an agricultural area and farmers like to wear a suit, shirt and tie with their wellingtons. Naturally they didn't want a new suit, so they came in their droves to our shop for a second-hand one. My Mother knew that the majority of them were not skinny, so she kept a big stock of outsize suits, it was a gold mine, and I hated it. In my thirteen-year-old stupidity, I found it embarrassing. A couple of years later, I convinced her to turn it into a record shop. She liked that I had the business flair, so being the great force that she was, she encouraged me. It only led me to being a musician, which she was also delighted with, because that was her own first love. And that led me to this; my new shop front, my new website, which we are launching today.
My mother would be pleased with the concept of a cyber shop-front; she would hope we have what you need of course. It's still brand new and will be lacking in something I'm sure, but I believe it will be easy to navigate, and that's the first priority. It features a new blog that I am writing about living in the East Village - "Monday Morning Milk" - it will come to you with the milkman every week. They will be one page blogs, short stories of stuff that happen here in this overactive beehive. I hope they will tickle you.
It's imperative that I mention the people that have been so helpful to me on my website journey. The first site was by New Ross man Tom Kirwan (c 1996) and then Brian O'Driscoll with Michael Carroll guided the ship for years: Brian (who is a very successful architect and huge music lover) designed and maintained it beautifully. This new site is being championed by Michael Quilligan. I am extremely grateful to them all.
This cyber shop will be crucial for me to sell my own wares, and stay afloat, and it will be open for business before you go Christmas shopping. Please take your friends there. I officially smash a champagne bottle against its fire escape, you are launched baby!
Love Pierce xx
An early Christmas present from Pierce
We're mixing the tracks right now for then new album, and so far what we have is
excellent. I want to thank you all for your patience and as a way of making it up
to you, all pledgers will receive 5 bonus tracks through Pledge Music as downloads.
Three of them you will not have heard before at all, some of you will not know any
of them. You will know "Julie London" (maybe) as it was a single,
but got lost in the noise. It's one of my faves - when we were recording it, we
also recorded "Word from the Wind". You can hear the similarities
in the sound and the instrumentation, with the famous Knox Chandler on guitar and
Van Romaine on drums, Michael Golub engineering. I would be proud to put either
of these tracks on an album.
"Future Dwellers" is a home demo that I think I wrote around the
financial crisis - there is something that I like about it, but didn't think it
would fit on my albums. That happens (a lot, really). "Never Really Here"
is a track that was fully recorded for "Songs for a Verry Small Orchestra" and didn't
fit in the end. "All We Want for Christmas" is a Christmas
song that I did for charity a while back. I was in Wexford a lot at the time and
my friend Mick Egan had a little studio around the corner, I wrote this about the
whole X Factor stuff when they audition (and abuse) talentless people who just want
to be famous - they don't feel anything other than their personality is necessary,
just that want! The song started small and just got bigger and bigger - in the end
we used a 40 piece male choir from Wexford "The Wexford Male Voice Choir" and members
of a popular vocal group called Valda. Mick Egan (a tireless enthusiast) hauled
his studio to the choir's rehearsal room on a cold dark Monday night and, with Ger
Lawlor conducting, we captured their intro.
I hope you enjoy these tracks, and thank you so much for your support. If you have
already pledged for the album, you'll have received an email from Pledge Music with
a link to the campaign page on Pledge where you can download them. If you haven't
pledged already but want to get these tracks as well as the new album, you can click
on the link below.
Just to reiterate, the new album " Love Can't Always Be Articulate" is to be released
March 1st - I will mail you all your incentives (T shirts, CD's lyrics etc) before
that. Don't forget to share the weekly blog "Monday Morning Milk" about living in the
crazy East Village. I'll also be participating in the First Songs of the Season
event on December 5th at the Gustavus Adolphus church in Manhattan, where I recorded
the new album. I hope to sing some songs from the album - you can get more information
here.
Pierce x
Just listen and see if you like it!
The other day my doorbell rang and I almost didn't answer it. Lately there are all
kinds of people living in this building, and they seem to know that I'm one of the
few people here during the daytime, so they ring my doorbell to get in. I was in
the front of the house, a full apartment away from the buzzer in the kitchen and
I responded with scepticism at first. But I relented and buzzed them in anyway.
I opened my door and shouted with authority down to the ground floor.
"Who is it?"
I heard a mumble
"$%&*&^%$" and then heard a thump.
I ran downstairs and there they were; a large cardboard box with my new CD in it.
I dragged it upstairs and opened to see, to my absolute delight they were exactly
the way I pictured them. Vermillion in Dublin have done a beautiful job on the cover,
it looks as good as the sound Roman Klun got in that church.
On Saturday night I played the entire album live for a select audience in my apartment,
the place was jammed, and I believe it was clear that there's something about this
album that affected all that were there.
If you visit my site HERE, you can listen to 90 second clips of
each track to give you an idea what it sounds like. It dawns on me that there are
still a lot of people on this mailing list that didn't pledge, and might just simply
want to buy the CD. And if I could convince you to buy it from me, it would
give the album a great beginning and help provide me with a budget to promote it.
You can buy it on my website
HERE
. And, don't forget, there'll be a launch gig on March 12th - details
HERE.
Love to you from the noisy city - by the way this may be my first real New York
album, where I write about living here. And fittingly recorded it in a church, with
my Irish childhood influences intact.
Pierce x
Either be there or you're a putz!
The launch gig for the new album "Love Can't Always Be Articulate" will take place
on Saturday, March 12th at 7 p.m. at the Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church at 155
East 22nd St in Manhattan (where it was recorded). Just show up - no tickets
required, but donations to the church roof fund welcome. There's a Facebook
event
here
that you can share with your friends.
If you want to be the envy of your fellow gig-goers, you can learn all the new songs
by the buying the new CD
here
and learning the lyrics
here
- we've thought of everything!
If you are in New York or nearby and you have a paltry excuse for not being there,
you are a putz.
But I still love you, Pierce x
Onwards to Puck Fair
David Bowie drank at Puck Fair I am told, he lived just across the street on Lafayette.
Sadly he doesn't drink anywhere now, Puck Fair is not his pub anymore either, and
soon Puck Fair won't be anyone's pub anymore. We will lose it, like we lost
Mr Bowie. I have been commissioned by the owner to hire my string quartet and a
top class sound system to perform there for the last time on Friday March 25th.
My head is still spinning from the performance at the church with the premiere of
the new album last Saturday night. For the last six weeks at least, I have been
rehearsing with the musicians at any time that they were available. Sometimes the
organist Nic alone, or just Fred on trombone and Nic, with Andriette, Kath and John
in my apartment separately, and occasionally with everyone at the church, scribbling
out changes in the organists parts, fixing time signatures and tweaking up to the
last moment. Getting the girls to sing the uileann pipe parts, which they did brilliantly.
Borrowing lights and gels to create the right atmosphere on the night with Kath
hugely helping. Asking plenty of lots of people, all pro bono of course, as this
was a benefit too for the stained glass ceiling: we raised $2500 - thank you! And
on Saturday March 12th, the crowd poured in past Deacon John and his wife as they
volunteered the door, the other Deacon John Ogren introduced us and we shone like
a new pin as we launched into our first song "Life's a Gas".
Right away it felt right, the beautiful acoustics encouraged us to ring out notes
in a subtler way than we may have ever. And I could even see the silhouettes of
people seated in the ancient iron seats lined in twos along the periphery of the
wood-crafted low-cut balcony, something I am told has not been seen in many a year.
And the response all the way down to the final standing ovation was genuinely enthusiastic.
It was a glorious experience, and I want to do it again right away. Martin Mills
from Beggars Banquet was there and said he was amazed that a whole set of new songs
felt like a "Best of". He said that it brought back memories of the first time he
popped my demo cassette into his car stereo in 1985 back in London - that feeling
of liking every song equally, and finding none inferior. So "Love Can't Always Be
Articulate" feels like it's got something right about it, something very right I
hope. I am so grateful to all who helped with that show.
But before I nail down the line-up for rehearsals and make sure the arrangements
are legible to Josh Johnston the organist for the premiere at the Irish church gigs,
I have to switch hats for the finale of Puck Fair here in New York, get out all
the string quartet arrangements and dust them off: "Say you don't mind", "God only
knows", "Snakes and Ladders", "Not a bad day for a Wednesday", "Thunderstorm", "Wicklow
Hills", "Manana in Manhattan" and so on. "Here Comes The Night", "Mr Smith": yikes
- this will be fun. I have three of the original string quartet - Tomas Ulrich
on cello, Julie Goodale on viola, and Caddy Finlayson on violin and Julianne Carney
on violin. So next Wednesday my living room will be filled with string players
as we prepare for Friday at Puck Fair, admission is free, and I want you there,
please come. This and other upcoming gigs in New York, Dublin and Wexford are all
listed here.
And don't forget, you can get the new album - "Love Can't Be Articulate" -
here.
Gigs in Manhattan and Ireland
Soon I will begin giving my new album to Irish radio. RTE's Radio One is my best
hope, it's a completely eclectic station, and is for most part motivated by the
quality of the music. I have had a lot of plays on there throughout my career, and
you get paid! So it can be a good thing, a very good thing, be sure to respond when
you hear it please.
I am doing a "Love Can't Always Be Articulate" tour and as much as possible I would
like to perform it in churches, but of course that is not always possible. This
coming Sunday April 17th we will do it at my dear friend Bruce's Bar; The Harp.
Bruce is such a music lover and he has that lovely upstairs room looking out over
3rd Avenue - when I'm performing there I can feel the light on my back. The great
Andriette Redmanne and Kath Green will join me on vocals, and John Rokosny on guitar
- maker of almost all of my videos - and better give Fred Parcells a call too! The
piano will be tuned and we will do some of the songs from the other albums too.
This is the last Manhattan gig for a while, off to Ireland soon after. This is a
truly intimate and magical setting. Food, fine wines, whiskey and beer shall be
made available upon request to all and sundry.
Details of all the gigs are
here
, and you can buy the album here. Also, don't forget my weekly blog
here.
There is a real buzz about this album, people can feel the LOvE – LoVe you's too,
Pierce xxx
And don't forget, you can get the new album - "Love Can't Be Articulate" -
Irish summer gigs
The world is gone mad, lunatics from the right are selling snake oil to the desperate,
who - hoping for a quick cure - are buying their rubbish. Politicians are not entertainers,
they are boring administrators, Hillary might be boring, but she knows how to do
the job better than Trump, and it's just a job. He has no idea what he is stirring
up, or how to do this job, be careful everyone, please.
Had a great house party last night up in Dublin. We were fine once we got over being
lost coming out of Wexford. We had directions intact on how to find the place alright,
but we didn't bring the actual house number. Brian - whose house it was - is not
mad about answering the phone, so I had to guess which house it was. I decided that
it must be the one with the car parked outside that was filled with Peroni beer
cases. And it was.
"You have to bring an oul violin wit ye, all yer songs have a bit of a tune on de
vile-lin"
"OK Brian, that's fine with me, I'll give Larissa O'Grady a call and see if she's
available"
Larissa plays with the National Symphony Orchestra, we've played together before,
some of you may also know her sister Eimear O'Grady (now married to Declan O'Rourke)
- she played cello with me for years, all you fellas used to come just to ogle her.
My friend Mike Raftery came with me to give me a hand and he brought his small PA
with him, small and powerful, we could have blown the walls down. We were there
for about a half hour before Larissa, and when she arrived I sat at the small upright
piano so that she could tune to it. The song was in A, and she seemed in another
key. She thought I was kidding, I thought she was kidding, and then we realised
that the piano was a whole tone flat, she was in A and I was in G. I dropped a lot
of piano tunes from the set.
It was a house full of barristers, Brian is a barrister too! Singing, dancing barristers!
They have about 4 dogs! Brian needed to have a fag on the go the whole time, so
he stood at the farthest reach of the room by the back door with his cigarette hand
outside, singing every word with a voice like a detached trailer being dragged along
bare cement. He was powerful though and made words like "my father's hand upon my
back, the nicotine stained index finger, big and rough, but love, can't always be
articulate" sound twice as profound by joining up with me. Then at the end when
the whole place was up dancing like mad, we were singing "Animal" and the dogs started
barking along, a perfect ending. It was a great night of total madness, only to
be achieved at a house gig.
Yesterday, there was an article in the Irish Times about "Love Can't Always Be Articulate"
- you'll find it here.
The more of you that buy the tickets in advance for the gigs, the larger the line-up
- it's as simple as that. So please, please, buy your tickets now, this is an expensive
show. Unlike other people who play at these churches for the ambience, we are actually
using the organ and the piano. The line-up will be:
Garvan Gallagher on Bass and Vocals
Mick Egan on Guitar
Aileen Mythen on Vocals and Percussion
Josh Johnston on Organ and Piano
and myself on Guitar and Piano - we might add trumpet if you book now!
Aileen's band The Remedy Club will open for us.
Gigs
Saturday, June 11th: Unitarian Church, Dublin; Tickets here.
Saturday, June 18th: St Iberius Church, Wexford; Tickets here.
I met a man today...
"I'm not coddin you boy, but you brought the good wedder wit ye, sno doubtin about
it"
"Thanks, it's my pleasure, it's a pity it's so windy though"
"Ah now it's grand, r ye jokin me, no, fair play, and credit where it's due, ye
deffinly brought the sun wit ye. Someone told me you were playin somewhere
in the near future. I forget who it was now, who's this was it now? Jasus I could
be wrackin me brains here all day. You don't know who I am do ye?"
"Yeah I'm playin in Dublin
"I'm not coddin ye boy, you have the life! dares no doubt about it, I suppose you're
making pucks of money?"
"Yeah, do you want some?"
"Ha ha dat bates all, I'll do me best to see ye down dere, when did ye say it was.
June 12th?"
"No, June 11th is Wexford
(He was still doing his best to ignore me presenting him with my iPhone, with the
ticket website open on it).
"Oh, Jays I can't go on the 18th, I just remembered, I knew dere was somtin, I know
it sounds funny, but there's an oul aunt of mine who is dying, she's been tretenin
to die for years now, but we do actually expect her to die soon and dat's goin to
be some funeral!, I say I'll be busy around dat time wit everyone being home an
all"
"OK, That's a new one I have to say, all the best"
Wexford!!
Someone stopped the organist Josh Johnston - who is playing with me at these 2 performances
– on the street and asked him where he could get a ticket for the Dublin show, Josh
told him to go here and he said that he doesn't have the internet. Now
I know that those of you receiving this email, have the internet. But
still it dawned on me that some of you might not want to deal with ordering tickets
that way, so I will take your names here and reserve a ticket for you. Thursday
will be the last day for taking names though, as there is just too much to do after
that, also you will need to be at the church no later than 8 p.m. The show
is half sold now, so it's going well, but I want to fill it, this is an expensive
show, and worth it, the sound is incredible. I have been thinking of songs of mine
that are suited to the wonderful church acoustics, and there are a good few! I sang
"Oh Ireland" yesterday at the piano in the church and it was made for it.
If you know someone who is internet shy, just tell them to go to the door
on the night, they should be fine, they can sit on my lap. So send your
reservations to claregturner@gmail.com
See you there lads. Love Piercex
PS: I will have albums for sale at the gigs
Gigs
Saturday, June 11th: Unitarian Church, Dublin; Tickets here.
Saturday, June 18th: St Iberius Church, Wexford; Tickets here.
Wexford gig on June 18th, and then back to New York and Joe's Pub
Just as things are starting to heat up here I'm heading back to New York. The Dublin
Unitarian Church was sublime last Saturday. As always the Dublin audience was filled
with life, they have something in their blood that is relentlessly positive. And
the Irish Ensemble of musicians were superb also. This is such a special sound,
with the organ coming from behind the audience and us coming from the front, it's
like something Pink Floyd would pay a fortune for (and so would you). Two extended
standing ovations, and the entire church singing "Someone gave us something for
free" left us all flying.
This week we had a boob in Facebook, when Clare posted a second event for the same
one that was already posted – this Saturday June 18th at the Wexford St Iberius
on the Main Street - Michael Q the man behind me in the I.T crew reminded her and
suggested she delete it to avoid confusion, so Clare cancelled it instead of deleting
it, and it was all over Facebook that the up and coming gig was CANCELLED. My phone
rang off the bloody receiver, and I posted it numerous times about the error, before
the panic seemed to subside. Bad news travels VERY fast. Maybe I should promote
my gig at Joe's Pub in New York on Thursday July 21st as cancelled? We might get
a bit of urgency from my very laidback audience. I know that I encourage you to
be laidback, but there is a point when we will all die lads!! That gig will have
the New York Ensemble that you heard at the NY launch back in March, you know the
songs now, come and lets have a sing song, with a bit of luxury in one of America's
top five venues, according to Rolling Stone Magazine.
The tickets are going well for Wexford, it's going to be smashing….and it's NOT
cancelled. But Joe's Pub is another matter, let's start a rumour now.
The new album had 3 reviews in the Sunday National Papers here.
Love an all that jazz xxxxPierce.
Gigs
Saturday, June 18th: St Iberius Church, Wexford; Tickets here.
Thursday, July 21st: Joe's Pub, New York: Tickets here
Joe's Pub in July
I am back in NYC getting ready for the Frank McCourt 20th Anniversary show this Sunday at the Sheen Center in Manhattan (sold out) - it's a new theatre on Bleecker Street.
Having just spent a lot of time waiting in airports, I found myself noticing the effect of it and wondering if there is a song there? It's a kind of neutral ground, a place where all of our normal responsibilities go by the wayside; the bills piled upon each other in the hallway, the cost of an airport sandwich, our guard towards strangers; it feels like everyone there is in the same club! And tears come easily, for no particular reason. There is a sense of freedom; everything is put off until tomorrow, and no one can reasonably expect you to do a task regardless of the urgency. It's like you are in outer space and can't be reached until you land, you don't have to watch what you eat or drink, and it doesn't matter if it's morning or night. Travelling can be hard, taking off the belt and the shoes, the in and out of the computer, explaining all the bloody wires that I have to carry with me, shoving it all down the line while holding on to my trousers, counting the gates for miles and miles, only to find an elevator that takes me to the next set of gates. But once you get there and put down the bags, there is a great moment of respite to relish as you people watch with a very expensive pint and sandwich in hand, knowing that you are such a cad at that moment, that you are not phased by doling out a small fortune.
Thanks everyone who came to the Irish gigs, they were really thrilling for me, singing in those acoustics with that organ coming from behind the audience while we came from the front, created something truly unique, so special that I am adamant about doing a bunch more the next time, and it seemed to bring people out of the woodwork, some old and some new. A gentleman called Donal from Waterford has found a beautiful church there that we are working on, if you know of a good church with a working organ and the right vibe (not stiff or depressing) please get in touch, it doesn't matter where, lets look at it first before we decide. And I mean in the US or UK also.
But what about Manhattan? The Sheen Center show is sold out, but no need to fret, we have a good one coming up at the glorious Joe's Pub. We will have the full ensemble from the last NY church gig: Andriette Redmann on bass and vocals plus Kath Green on vocals and percussion, John Rokosny on guitar, Fred Parcells on the bone and vocals, and Mark Brotter on drums and percussion, me on the grand piano and guitar, we will do the new album and the old ones, tickets are on sale starting now. I hope to see all the familiar faces and those new ones that have been popping up with the gleeful surprise of virginity.
One gets the feeling that these are golden days judging by the reaction in Ireland - in New York, please come and celebrate with a nice cool cocktail, bring your vibe and I'll bring mine. BTW, I made it a Thursday to suit your summer weekends.
Px
Thursday, July 21st: Joe's Pub, New York: Tickets here
A Tribute to Frank McCourt
Sheen Center Loreto Theater
Hosted by Joseph O'Connor
Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Angela's Ashes in Support of the inaugural UL/Frank McCourt Creative Writing Summer School at Glucksman Ireland House NYU
A great night at the Frank McCourt 20th Anniversary of Angela's Ashes celebration. Backstage with Larry Kirwan of Black 47, who sang and told a wonderful story about Frank.
Frank's brothers Malachy McCourt and Alphie McCourt with John Rokosny
Kath Green and Andriette Redmann of Avon Faire, Fred Parcells of Black 47 and John Rokosny with Pierce Turner on his new song, "He Gets Gone".
Joe's Pub gig next week!
Thursday, July 21st: Joe's Pub, New York: Tickets here
It was Monday July 4th and it hadn't been an easy week up till then.
The previous Sunday June 26th was a wondrous day at the Sheen Theatre
on Bleeker Street in the Village. The author Joseph O'Connor had invited us to perform
at the Angela's Ashes 20th Anniversary Concert in this newly renovated
hi tech auditorium, it was a bill filled with a mish-mash of talented people, all
strung together around one simple premise; respect for the deceased Frank McCourt
and his hugely successful memoir. It was mostly an evening of spoken word - other
than that, Jean Butler (of Riverdance fame) danced, Larry Kirwan my old cohort from
Wexford sang, and I sang with my New York Ensemble. All performers were asked to
stay within a four-minute framework, and most of us did, so it was a quickly-paced
event that never allowed the usual greedy types to hog the limelight. At the end
of the evening, Malachy McCourt and his youngest brother Alphie took to the stage
in their own time, Malachy at eighty-four pushing his grey walker, and Alphie at
seventy-six with his silver tie hanging out and swinging slowly from his forward-leaning
gait, a dry under-pronounced pleasantness etched into his milky pale Irish skin,
skin that suggested his hair had been ginger before it turned grey. Malachy beamed
from ear to ear with long grey hair that curled over his large white dinner jacket,
it was easy to see in him the child that Frank described in the book as so charming
and inquisitive with his little pearly white teeth.
Before them, Gabriel Byrne had been at the podium - he had just come from the theatre
where he had completed the final performance of the four-hour Eugene O'Neill play
Long Days Journey Into Night. As had been the pattern throughout the evening,
his presence was natural and understated and he spoke in a soft deliberate Dublin
accent and compared O'Neill's play to Angela's Ashes in the way that they both dug
deep into the microcosm of one family, the hidden shame, pain and truth. He also
talked about how Frank could be charming company one minute and then in the next
decapitate you with a knife. It was easy to become totally immersed as he delivered
his gentle thoughts on why this evening was important, and why he was there and
why we were there, he hadn't much to say he said, and because he wasn't trying,
he was all the more powerful.
The same applied to Alphie and Malachy, they had no intention of knocking us out.
Malachy sat down on his walker as Alphie underwhelmed with the might of a humble
guru. Saddened by the fact that his brother Michael had died six months previous,
he motioned the shape of an arc with his hand and said "I'm sure he's around here
somewhere. Michael was always fighting with Frank, I remember coming out of some
place one evening with drink taken, and Michael had been arguing with Frank for
some time, Frank just brushed him off with clever ripostes, finally Michael shouted,
you're nothing only a tortured version of James Joyce!, of course all of us, including
Frank, just fell around laughing". Alphie pulled out a hanky from his brown
jacket and wiped his nose periodically, occasionally coughing with a dry throat,
after a roll of droll humour, then he just quietly strolled off stage through the
wing. Malachy pulled the goose-necked mike towards him and thought out loud "he's
probably gone for a drink, OK, so I'll just say a few words, as King Henry the Eighth
said to his many wives, I won't keep you long!" Eventually Alphie returned, and
they finished with a song, encouraging us all to sing along, and try we did, even
though we didn't have the foggiest what the words were, but the song was infectious.
The humility of these two unpretentious men reminded me that you don't have to jump
through hoops to touch an audience; you just have to be honest. It was a magical
event, and all I can think is that Frank McCourt and his masterwork had hovered
over the whole affair and turned the mish-mash into a coherent homage.
That was Sunday. The next day, Monday, I was standing in my kitchen leaning against
the countertop, still quietly pleased with the previous days happening. There before
me seated by the door was Kevin, the owner of an Irish Wheaton Terrier called Murphy,
and talking to him with her back to me sat Clare, in between them sat upon the floor
was Murphy. We had been minding Murphy for Kevin for several days, and I had walked
him, fed him, patted him on the head, rubbed him under the chin, and only made him
wear his muzzle while I was walking him, he had sat on the couch with me when I
was watching the European cup. It seemed cruel to make him wear the muzzle around
the house, although he had to wear it because of some unclear personality trait.
He is a medium size, very muscular dog that is excitable. I was waving my hands
about, talking of who knows what, when Murphy with a vicious growl lunged at me
and took a lump out of my index finger. I looked at Kevin with the fear of God in
my eyes and the word HELP screaming in silence, pulling my hand away only suggested
attack to the dog, now he went for my stomach tearing a hole in my shirt and puncturing
the skin, his growl was as ferocious as his action, I felt completely helpless,
if I moved, he would get worse, all I could do was let him attack it seemed.
Kevin jumped up and shouted HEY, grabbing Murphy by the collar and pulling
him back, a little too late for me.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I don't know what happened" I said, shaken, embarrassed and uncomfortable,
for the dog and the owner, while my blood was spilling all over the kitchen tiles.
Clare, who was feeling all the same emotions as me about the dog and owner (Catholics)
explained that I was probably bleeding that much because I take a baby aspirin every
day. That split my emotions for a second, I was now feeling that some sympathy
was in order, and that this was still real blood, so what if it was a little thinner!
The dog and the worried owner left, my favourite shirt was ripped apart and we went
to the emergency ward at Beth Israel where three hours later I got stitches in my
finger.
That was Monday. Tuesday comes and it's a hot one, Clare and I decide to go for
a swim over at Asser Levy, an excellent Olympic-size public pool over on 21st
Street and First Avenue. I point out to Clare that my favourite American Camper
sandals are starting to fall apart, the rubber soles are flapping in the front and
in the back, it had been going on for a while, but now they were getting dangerous.
She had ordered a new pair with Amazon but they hadn't come yet. Clare suggested
that I wear them over to the Pound Shop along the way, and that we would get a cheap
pair for three dollars there that would get me to the pool and back. After going
though a heap of very bright plastic sandals we finally settled on a black pair
that were a bit on the big side. The pool has its rules though, you must have a
lock for the locker, no magazines, no phones, and you must shower before going in
the pool. So Clare goes to the women's to change and I go upstairs to the men's
locker room.
Clare reminded me that you can get verrucas in public showers, so I should wear
my new plastic sandals to the shower, after all they are waterproof unlike my campers.
I wet myself and my shoes, lock the locker and swing down the stairs, the wet stairs!
BANG!! My feet went flying up in the air … the hard plastic shoes were now like
boards in a water slide, I hit that hard stone stairs screaming involuntarily, beyond
all Catholic restraint, my pain echoed up the stairwell so loud that the two jaded
janitors came and asked me was I alright, my feet had gone so far into the black
shoes that they were stretched over my ankles now, I had landed on my left arse,
and it was swollen so bad I barely recognized it, I was half of a hippie person,
half big bum, my neck hurt, the ring on my finger had carved a purple bruise where
it tried to travel towards my wrist, every muscle in my body ached, and people were
looking at me. I was in agony, and I was embarrassed, AGAIN!
I hobbled out to the swimming pool where Clare was frolicking around like a baby
seal, I hobbled towards the ladder mouthing my agony towards her, finally, after
boring a hole into the back of her head she glanced in my direction. "I have just
had the worst fall of my life", I mouthed towards her. She had "what now?" on her
lips as I descended into the cool soothing water. On the way home Clare insisted
on bringing the shoes back to the Pound Shop, I stood outside while she argued with
two Chinese teenage girls about how dangerous the shoes were. I think this was her
way of showing she cared, so I let her, even though I thought it was unreasonable.
She got the three bucks back, and I hobbled home in my flappy campers.
To this day I am covered in bruise patterns, a myriad of colours like an angry sky,
deep purples, black and blue, with a translucent sulphur yellow, they are in the
front of my leg, the back of my leg, my left arse, reaching up over the front of
my stomach where they almost meet the ones on my right stomach with the puncture
wounds left by Murphy. The ground they cover is so vast, it's clear now that
I had so many spots that were hurt, I had lost track of them, but the bruises are
there like a map to show where they were.
That was Tuesday. A few days later, I heard that Alphie went to bed for a
sleep and never woke up. Another bruise, this one on the inside.
On Monday July 4th I sat by Clare's cousin Amanda's pool in Philadelphia,
they had a party that was set to climax with a fireworks display by the local Chamber
of Commerce come nightfall. It was absolutely pouring rain, and we sat huddled under
umbrellas drinking beer and eating bread and cheese. A woman whom I knew,
but wasn't sure how, lamented that she hadn't been to an Irish music festival in
ages, she heard that the Milwaukee Irish beer festival was great as usual and when
was I playing again?
"July 21st I'm at Joe's Pub in Manhattan"
"Oh I can't possibly go to something on July 31st, I have a school………etc"
"No it's not on the 31st, it's on July 21st"
"Oh that's even worse, I can't possibly go to a gig on the 21st….etc"
I jumped in the pool and watched the fireworks over the high trees, above the occasional
lighted windows of a passing train, in the rain.
Joe's Pub gig on Thursday
Thursday, July 21st: Joe's Pub, New York: Tickets here
Thursday morning 11:07 it's 85 degrees and 90% humidity, not sure if we should open the windows or keep them closed. We've had the AC on all night in the back of the house where the bedroom is, and it's nice and cool, but we don't want to live in AC all day with the windows closed, Clare says its like living in a cave, and I agree. She is heading out for a breakfast meeting and I need to work on the set for my gig at Joes Pub next Thursday, she suggests that I should go to the Italian cafe on the corner of 10th to get out of here. As I'm heading out the door I am confronted with a dilemma; should I open the windows or keep them closed? For someone living in Ireland this is a no-brainer, but this is New York, in the centre of Manhattan. When I came here first I remember being astonished when someone told me that they aimed their fan outwards in order to exhale the humidity, as opposed to blowing the air in. Humidity is the real problem here, not so much the heat, obviously you would only do this if you have no AC. The next best cure was to keep the windows closed, try and keep the humidity out, just grin an bear the dryer heat, that seemed nuts to me. Truth is if you don't have an air conditioner you're fucked no matter what you do, and I didn't even have a bloody $26 fan at that time. Anyway I never bought into it, kept the windows wide open, and nothing moved except the mosquitos, not an ounce of air or wind. I just walked around in my underpants with the sweat dripping down my chest, hadn't acquired shorts yet, went against the Irish grain, I found them a little embarrassing, or uncool, not David Bowie enough.
However now I'm a grown man, and I have AC! (and shorts) but I don't want to have it on all day. So should I leave the windows closed as I'm going out, or close them? I decide to leave them closed and keep whatever cool air that is there within. I'll re-appraise the situation when I'm out there; decide what I should do upon my return to the cave.
I push the tired old metal street door open - top-half cracked glass, covered from head to toe in graffiti - and there it is the force of damp heat bearing down on the half naked sweaty citizens hauling their tired arses along the pavement. A tall unshaven man in a sweaty undershirt thuds his beaten body towards me, soggy denim shorts, off white socks and shapeless dirty sneakers, he has a long tired face, long hair in a ragged pony tail, ear buds attached to his phone and an old cloth bag twisted around his hand. He is an ugly unhappy looking bugger, almost dangerous, but probably not, he only has half of my attention until he makes an ugly leeching sound "chu-wawwwww" and casts his tired head downwards at two passing women passing him by. Now with their back to him and me are two young women in their early twenties, I can't see their faces, but can tell from their skin that they are young and that the one he is panting at, is black. The two women completely ignore him, obviously used to this shit. I am always astonished at this, I see this all the time in New York, big ugly looking assholes oogling women to their faces, what do they think; that they have a chance? That the women like this? I try to imagine what it is like to be the woman, it seems like they are used to it as part of the daily routine in this city, I can't imagine adding this to my life as part of the difficulty commuting in this overcrowded city.
Only once did I come close to this experience, it comes back to me now as I try to get inside the thoughts of these women. Back in the eighties my friend Larry Kirwan and a guy called Jacque from Lyon used to bounce around New York bars looking for fun. When our usual haunts were dull and too familiar, Jacque would exclaim "Gypse!!" imminently we would hop in to a yellow cab and head towards 49th and First Avenue where there was a cabaret club owned by a transvestite performer called Gypse, of course it was predominantly a gay hang-out, but that never even crossed our mind. One Monday night with nothing going on anywhere, we swung into Gypse half stoned and up for the Craic. Gypse was up on the stage, a tall skinny drag artist with a sharp tongue and wicked sense of humor. We were glued to the stage laughing and yelping in support, when suddenly I noticed a table of men to my right, they were all staring at us, looking us up and down, one of them said " alright...that's more like it" I felt like a lump of meat, it made me withdraw and want to hide behind something, that is the nearest I ever came to what these women must feel like, and this guy was not being rude, he was doing what people do in singles bars, I can't imagine experiencing that when I'm just popping out to get some milk.
To my surprise, the apartment was pretty cool when I returned, even without the air conditioner, keeping the windows closed had kept the humidity out, they were right all those years ago when I didn't believe them.
Just rehearsed "Thunderstorm" with the full ensemble, including the original drum part with Mark Brotter, Andriette Redmann on Bass Synth, John Roksony on Guitar and Fred Parcells playing the original Trombone that he played on the album Now Is Heaven. Forget all the agony of the world, leave the heat on the street, and come to our love fest at Joe's Pub in Manhattan on Thursday July 21st.
Joe's Pub and Scratchers
JOE'S PUB The Public Theater
Great show at Joe's Pub (Public Theater NYC) tonight with the Pierce Turner Ensemble - with Mark Brotter, Fred Parcells, Pierce Turner, Andriette Redmann and John Rokosny - we missed you Kath!
Outside Scratchers after the gig. Mark Brotter, Fred Parcells, Pierce Turner, Andriette Redmann and John Rokosny
Encore Performance at the Church of Dudes on Oct. 21st
"It's come to the end of the season; everyone's brooding or teething"
This is a line from You Are Leaving, a so-far unheralded track from Love Can't Always Be Articulate. It's a favourite of mine: of course it may be favoured by others out there too, sometimes no one speaks out loud, sometimes a song can quietly hum beneath the surface and it's preferred to keep it there (I had no idea that people liked Drumsna from Boy To Be With until I had several requests for the lyrics during the Pledge campaign). But the real litmus test for a song is when I have to sing it repeatedly. If the song has an Achilles heel, it soon buckles after a couple of renditions before an audience. I sang You Are Leaving with Zach Dean, the church organist at the Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran, and once again I found it moving as I sang it out over the empty church. Zach added something new to it with his command of the organ, it was clear that he has a rock sensibility.
I have now sung these new songs in churches and clubs and even at the Irish Consulate in front of dignitaries, and there is no sign of fatigue. No sign of the world at large knowing about them either though. That's just the way it is, they are yours and mine alone: can that be enough? Why the hell not! Van Gogh only had one fan, his brother Theo, but were those paintings diminished by the absence of notoriety? No! Of course if the world knew that he had cut off his ear, they would've been more interested while he was alive, "Clare, pass me the bread knife"
I do have one on him though, I can perform, and I love to sing to people, and the performances at these churches have been amazing to take part in, cool places, run by cool dudes. There are a bunch more special shows coming up too.
Starting October 21st at the Gustavus Adolphus Church where the album was recorded, this is an encore of the performance we had there earlier this year (some extra songs though) for the launch of Love Can't Always Be Articulate - we raised $3000 for the repair of the stained glass window the last time, the window is now in place, we will help pay the enormous bill with this show also, and you will get to see how beautiful it is. The ensemble backing me up will be all these amazing people:
- Fred Parcells on T-Bone and vocals
- Kath Green and Andriette Redmann on vocals, bass and percussion
- John Rokosny on acoustic guitar
- Mark Brotter on drums
- Zach Dean - the house organist - on piano and pipe organ
Tickets available now here - what more can you ask for? This involves a huge amount of rehearsal and organisation, please spread the word and let's fill that incredible space - wine and food in the basement afterwards. Maybe you will sing this time?
Then to Ireland, the first 2 shows there will be private, and then on Nov 25th 2016 we - me and the Irish Ensemble - will encore at the lovely Dublin Unitarian Church in the heart of Stephen's Green. Tickets available here. Then to my home town on Dec 3rd at the St Iberius Church on the Wexford Main St – where last time, the whole gang stood outside arm in arm and sang "Faith Of Our Fathers" incredibly touching for me. People came from Cork, New York, Gortahork, Kerry, Mayo and Glenamaddy. I love singing in these churches. Tickets for that show are available here. And if I can't find a church, give me intimacy, nowhere is more so than Coughlans in Cork city, that will be on Thursday Dec 8th, tickets available here .
Dec 12th will be my return to Limerick through the back door so to speak, it's an invitation only gig at a Hotel called 1 Pery Square. For tickets you should contact Tom at tpprendergast@yahoo.com and say I sent you. There are a couple more private gigs and then in 2017 I will be in Glasgow for the first time in decades, why I haven't been there is a mystery, it always went down a storm there. This is a big one though, and maybe the romance will re-ignite. The exact date is not set, but it will be at the Tron Theatre as part of Celtic Connections Festival during the weekend of Jan 20th to 23rd - keep an eye out here.
I think that's enough for now, as always I am in your hands, without you I am toast.
Love Pierce xxxx
Get your tickets to the Politics-Free Zone!!
This is a reminder for all you New Yorkers who never sleep, set your alarm for next
Friday Oct 21st, my last NY gig in 2016. The Ensemble is ready, the sound
in this church with that organ and this line-up, is positively massive. For one
night only, a small corner of Manhattan will be declared a Politics-Free Zone!
There'll be no debating, no moderators and our only goal will be to Make Music Great
Again!
New York
The Pierce Turner Ensemble
Fri, Oct 21st – 7.30 p.m.
The Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church 155 East 22nd St bet 3rd and Lex. Just click
on the campaign poster below to buy tickets:
Upcoming shows in New York, Ireland and Scotland
Us addled dwellers running round with holstered yoga mats: here's a list of up and
coming shows, with no frilly stories to confuse you. Px
New York
The Pierce Turner Ensemble
Fri, Oct 21st – 7.30 p.m.
The Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church 155 East 22nd St bet 3rd and Lex. Tickets
available now
here
; Last New York date in the year of our lord ……2016
Dublin
The Pierce Turner Ensemble
Fri, Nov 25th - 7.30 p.m.
Unitarian Church in the heart of Stephen's Green. Tickets available here
Wexford
The Pierce Turner Ensemble
Sat Dec 3rd - 8.00 p.m.
St Iberius Church, North Main Street. Tickets available here
Cork
Solo show
Thurs Dec 8th - 9 p.m.
Coughlans, 7 Douglas St. Tickets available here
Limerick
Solo show
Mon Dec 12th - 8 p.m.
No.1 Pery Square. Contact tpprendergast@yahoo.com for bookings. Say I sent you, SERIOUSLY.
Glasgow
Solo show
Jan 20th - 23rd
Glasgow Tron Theatre –
Celtic
Connections Festival
Exact date not yet announced, we'll let you know asap, but it will be that weekend.
Dublin
Solo show
Sat Feb 4th 2107 – 8.00 p.m.
The Seamus Ennis Arts Centre Naul, Co. Dublin. Tickets will be available here closer to the date.
Gig next Friday in Dublin
"What do you fancy for dinner?"
"I dunno"
I was hunched over the piano warming down my voice after rehearsing with Paula Cox
and Mick Egan, a bit miserable I was; nursing the latter half of a stinking cold.
Clare was halfway out the door, and was fed up making decisions about food.
And tired of looking at me slumped in the corner like a heap of misery.
"Well give me a clue, smoked haddock?"
"Ugh, no thanks……….. Actually!……." I lit "I think I fancy a stew"
"Well it's all there, some of the filling from that cottage pie is still there in
the pot, and there is a pound of minced turkey in the fridge", said she, relieved
that I was contributing.
"Frozen?"
"No, it's fresh"
"Oh OK then I will make a stew, with the turkey, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, pearl
barley, onion, stock and herbs ( I didn't really say all of that) "
So I made the stew, and we just ate it here by a blazing fire, on this freezing
cold Wexford night in the year of our Lord two thousand and sixteen.
Last night my good friend the Wex Doc - David Curtis sorted me out with some penicillin,
I begged him for help cos I was losing my mind. Every time I coughed my chest
hurt, and then my mind hurt with worry about being able to sing properly on Monday
night for the RTE Radio 1 show Arena, on which they have asked me to sing two live
songs. The pills are kicking in now thanks be to Jasus, and I'm on the mend.
You can listen in here,
at 7 p.m. Irish time on Monday night.
Doing these church gigs is not easy, but they are worth it. I drive to Dublin
for rehearsals with the organist Josh Johnston, and Garvan Gallagher (the bassist)
who drives down from Westmeath to meet us at the Dublin Unitarian in Stephens Green.
And then I rehearse with Mick and Paula in Wexford. I go up and down like
a whore's drawers, and with the cold it's been extra tough, under-singing all the
while so as not to strain the voice. We also have a trombone player joining us,
have yet to meet him. Each unit sounds great on its own though, and the magic
is when they all come together. The gig is next Friday the 25th and you can book
here
It's been a cupla two tree fy years since I've been in Ireland for Christmas. I'm
beginning to feel it in my bones. There'll be night in the day, and everywhere the
fairy lights will wrestle with the winter's way, and a pilot has dropped me, dropped
me down from the Christmas clouds, December 22, 23, 24, I can hear the angels sing.
I look forward to seeing you.
Love Pierce xxxx
Dublin: Unitarian Church, Nov 25th, tickets here
Wexford: St Iberius Church, Dec 3rd, tickets here
Cork: Coughlans, Dec 8th, tickets here
Limerick: 1 Pery Square, Dec 12th, email tpprendergast@yahoo.com to book
Glasgow: Tron Theatre, Jan 20th, tickets here
Naul, Co. Dublin: Seamus Ennis Centre, Feb 4th, tickets not yet
on sale
Wexford gig this Saturday
Book your tickets here for the Wexford gig on this Saturday, December
3rd at St Iberius church.
Mike's cat sleeps in the back of his car, he parks it around the back of his house
somewhere down around Rathangan in Co Wexford. He was having a cup of tea on our
sofa when he relayed the story about his new car and the cat in his thick Manchester
accent.
"I ope no-one is aleer-gik"
I looked at Clare for a minute and wondered about her allergies, they hadn't been so noticeable of late, but of course we don't have a cat in New York. However, we've been in Ireland for a couple of weeks now and our cat Albert (shared with a Wexford friend) doesn't seem to be affecting her. So we all tittered in union, and brushed the question aside.
On Friday at one o'clock everyone congregated at our Davitt Road bungalow for the trip to Dublin and after we loaded the gear into the back of Mike's car we all piled in. I bagged the front passenger seat hoping for a nap. Clare, Paula and Mick, slid into the back (where the cat sleeps) and off we went to Dublin for our show at the Dublin Unitarian. Late the night before, Josh Johnston the organist had slipped into his text a small bombshell, the church had accidently double-booked a wedding rehearsal at 6 p.m. during our planned soundcheck. This is typical of the stuff that happens when you are playing in churches. "Nightmare!" I replied, Josh wrote back that we would start at 4.30 and have plenty of time, and if needed we could resume after the rehearsal at 7.15.
"If everything goes swimmingly Josh, that won't be a problem, but the doors open at 7.30, what if something goes wrong?" We hadn't played together yet as a whole unit, I had rehearsed with Josh on organ and Garvan on bass at the church, and with Mick on guitar and Paula on vocals and percussion in Wexford, but we hadn't played together as a unit yet, the soundcheck was going to be the only chance. I had this kind of thing before and knew how to pull it off, but a wedding rehearsal in the middle of it? Yikes!
We pulled up in front of the church at half three, unloaded and set up the equipment. The heat had been on since ten in the morning because during the rehearsal on the previous Tuesday we found that the cold front blowing down from the North had lowered the pitch of the organ by a ¼ tone. The organ tuner had advised us to put the heat on early with the hope that the organ would move up to the standard A440 pitch by gig time. It wasn't exactly boiling in there at half three, but the edge had been taken off of it, and Josh excitedly greeted us on the church steps with the news that the organ was going upwards, only two cents below 440 now! By the time we began playing it was only one cent below. Of course we could always tune to the organ, but the bloody piano still stayed at 440, we had only one tune in which both of them played "Sorrow is a Solid Feeling" I had already begrudgingly restructured the set with its exclusion, just in case.
At around quarter to five we were ready to go, so we checked the organ once more, we tried playing "Sorrow" and it seemed alright to Garvan and me , Josh didn't seem as happy, but I figured if it didn't hurt Garv and me, it couldn't be too bad. We began rehearsing and checking the sound at the same time. It was sounding good and we were just about to hit another song when I noticed a change in the atmosphere. A frumpy looking woman in her fifties with a forward keel, and a "here's me head and me bum is coming" posture, swung her brown handbag like a weapon as she busied across the aisle. I suddenly became aware of her and was clocking her Michael Caine glasses and Clancy Brothers cardigan more than anything else, when a second dawning came upon me (Josh and the sound man Kevin - who lives and works in the Church – had gone into a state of reverence). Of course, this was Bridget the Pastor, and the four people behind her giggling, were the wedding party! Without much being said we all laid down our instruments in surrender and sheepishly crawled away to the basement cum dressing room.
At five to eight Josh went up to measure the organ again, it was a ½ cent short of the target. I put "Sorrow" back in the set. And we lighted the stage for a blinder.
On Sunday Clare woke up coughing a weird kind of dry cough, unlike the ones we both had when she had a chest cold the previous week.
"What's wrong with you?"
She was wheezing, I found her inhaler.
"That's odd, why are you wheezing now?"
"Mike's cat!!" It dawned on me, he slept in the back of the car where Clare sat going up and down to Dublin, Mike leaves the car window open for him so that he can get in and out. Jays, we'll have to give it a good hoovering before the long drive to Scotland. Mike will be amused.
Now for the Wexford gig at the St Iberius next Saturday Dec 3rd where the 150 year old organ, with the sweetest sound, tends to hover around 5 cents sharp of the desired pitch, all 1350 pipes.
Synthesizers are for wimps, this is a real living thing. Love Pierce x
Wexford: St Iberius Church, Dec 3rd, tickets here
Cork: Coughlans, Dec 8th, tickets here
Limerick: 1 Pery Square, Dec 12th, email tpprendergast@yahoo.com
to book
Glasgow: Tron Theatre, Jan 20th, tickets here
Naul, Co. Dublin: Seamus Ennis Centre, Feb 4th, tickets not yet
on sale
That Petrol Emotion ....
The mood was jubilant driving away from Coughlans of Cork on Thursday night. The gig had been sold out and extra stools had to be employed to make use of every nook and cranny, getting on stage was even a maneuver, getting off was even harder. The atmosphere was magic and I could've sung any song really, the more obscure the better, even the new comers seemed to know them. When the audience sang, they sang out without hesitation, and when they laughed I had to wait for them to stop, and when it got deep, they dove down with me to feel what was there; magnificent people. So the mood was jubilant as beaming Mike and I drove delightedly away up the one-way Douglas Street in the opposite direction of the determined way for everyone else. Cars backed up to get away from our unfettered advance, as we breezed ahead to the nearest turn off heading down the hill towards the quay. After our usual quota of getting lost, our chronic lack of direction became overwhelmed by our unbridled enthusiasm, and we somehow got taken to the Waterford road by a series of one-way streets that seemed to have been designed to ferry the likes of us in the right direction, in spite of ourselves.
It was all going swimmingly as we pulled out on to the open road, with David Bowie's "Let's Dance" blasting out on the stereo. Mick, the sound man at Coughlans had told us we would encounter a garage pretty soon (we needed fuel) and we should keep an eye to the left. Sure as shit there she was coming up on left, bright clean lights shouting out "we are open". I was ravenous, and went straight to the Indian gentleman behind the bullet proof glass to enquire about sandwiches. I could hear Mike humming away as he rammed the pump into his car and fiddled with the screen read out.
"Hi, how are ye? Do you by any chance have sandwiches?"
"Yes we do indeed"
He was a young friendly man with an strong Indian accent, but I could understand him clearly enough as his voice squeaked out through the tiny speaker below my side of the counter.
"Would you have tuna by any chance?"
"I have" he replied unhesitantly to my surprise.
"Could I have it on brown bread?"
I couldn't believe my luck as he nodded in the affirmative.
"Great I'll have a tuna sandwich on brown bread and a lucozade please oh and hold on" I shouted over to Mike as he delightedly gazed at the sky humming even louder now while allowing the nozzle to administer the much needed gasoline into his car's receptacle.
"Mike! Would you like a sandwich and a coffee or something"
"Oh, just a coffee will be fine Pierce, with milk, thanks! " Mike is not a needy type.
Off went the young teller, confidently around the floor of the fair size store, knowing exactly where everything was and returning in no time with all our needs in a white plastic bag. He added the cost of the petrol from pump number 2 to the bill, and I put a fifty euro note in the drawer which he had shoved in my direction. He calculated the change and pushed the drawer back to me with the bag of goodies and the coffee standing up in a carton along side the change. Mike was already in the car and as soon as I hopped in we took once more to the Waterford/Wexford dual carriageway, with gusto.
"This is very nice coffee I must say Pierce, and Hassy back at the bar gave me a gorgeous cup of coffee at the end of the night, wherever he got it from, I think they had a machine"
Mike had now progressed from humming to singing the words (almost) to Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes" I was delighted that I had brought that box set along, as I prized open my sandwich packaging in the dark, and shoved it enthusiastically into my gob. Ugh, I thought
"What is this?"
"Eh?" said Mike
"I don't know what the fuck is in this sandwich, but it's not tuna"
Mike put some light on the subject, there it was, a ham salad sandwich in cold white bread, a sloppy rag type of white bread, the kind I really hate, with ham (which I don't care for either) tomato (Bad in sandwiches unless eaten right away, they make the bread wet) a lot of mayonnaise and a bit of lettuce. Christ, did that guy understand anything that I said?
Mike became silent, he stopped humming, he caught my attention.
"Ugh , hmm, that's a bit odd, she's chugging" said he, with an uncharacteristic tone of fright.
" I ope I didn't put petrol in instead of diesel, cor blimey!"
"Well didn't it say Diesel on the pump that you used Mike?" I ensued with the calmest voice I could muster, as the car began to lose pace.
"Well, I didn't really look, the nozzles are supposed to be different sizes, I presumed it wouldn't fit if it was wrong"
The car was now slowing down and Mike could see his life flashing before him, and in it he saw a green pump (which represents petrol) not a black one (diesel) he now had the presence of mind that he didn't have back then, his heart sank visibly as he pulled into the shoulder. The car was now screaming out visual alarms on the dashboard "FATAL FLAW !!!"
We had been driving in the fog with low visibility, but now the rain began coming down too, beating heartily against the glass, as the winter wind of the Irish countryside howled around the car. Only five minutes before, we had been driving along in the lap of luxury with Bowie singing and the heater warming the cockles of our heart. Now we were pulled over by a tall wet stone wall in the dark, hazard lights flashing, music halted by the car itself "POWER ECONOMY!!" it now flashed. It dawned on us both that we may not be going home that night, it also dawned on us that we hadn't the foggiest what to do. It was 1.30 on a Thursday night, everyone would be in bed. Cars and trucks flew past at such a pace, we could feel the car rock from the pressure of their wind.
" 911!! Let's call 911" said Mike
"A great idea" said I. But! Said I
"What can they do?"
"They can siphon it off"
"Can they? 30 Euro worth of petrol! "
I imagined someone sucking a hose (the way thieves do to steal petrol) in the pissing rain with the wind blowing in four directions and trucks flying past so fast they were bending the grass, I was dubious to say the least, we might be doomed.
But Mike was right! After we were piggy backed on the phone from the police to their break down crew, through to their suggestion of someone else because they had to stay on duty, to another guy who was 40 minutes away , to someone else who was 20 minutes away, a big beautiful yellow van with flashing lights appeared in our rear view mirror, oh the brotherhood of man, hallelujah!!
This van, and this man, had everything. He insisted that we get the car way in off the road, he got his shoulder to it and just pushed us in, while I sat there like a twat. I got out as soon as it stopped and introduce myself. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me in.
"Mind yourself! this road is fierce, they come flying long here shur, ye could be kilt in a flash"
Then he opened up the back of his van, upon opening the door it automatically lit up like an operating theatre on wheels. On the floor in the middle of the very efficiently organized pumps and other gadgets was a big white tank with Gas Scavenger written on it. Sure as shit that was for sucking the rogue petrol out of the diesel engine. All I could think as I sat there - cold enough now - was Mike's mistake must be common enough. After sucking all the petrol out, and some cajoling with the cylinders or something like that for about a half hour (not sure what they are called) we were repaired, and the Cork break down man sent us off flying towards home again. David Bowie was on "China Girl" now and Mike began to hum again.
"Isn't that an Iggy Pop song?" I offered.
"Is it?" mm ♬ ♪ ♫ mmmmm
And as for the Limerick trip, well that's another story ...
Upcoming gigs
Glasgow : Tron Theatre, Jan 20th, tickets here
Naul, Co. Dublin: Seamus Ennis Centre, Feb 4th, tickets not yet on sale
Happy New Year from Pierce!
Upcoming gigs
Glasgow: Tron Theatre, Jan 20th, tickets
here
Naul, Co. Dublin: Seamus Ennis Centre, Feb 4th, tickets
here
Fergus's Tractor and the Christmas Geese.
It was Christmas 1988, I had flown from New York to London to do a photo session
and talk over promo plans for my up and coming album "The Sky and The Ground". I
stayed with Clare at her London flat in Holborn. We were now a couple and planned
on our first Christmas together. Once the tasks were all wrapped up, the presents
purchased and dispatched and the cards in the mail, we loaded up the Renault 5 with
everything we could possibly fit in her, including a portable TV and more than ample
food supplies. We knew that we would be staying in my family home on the Wexford
Quay, an unoccupied three storey house with all the furnishing and curtains intact,
almost as if my parents still lived there, a ghost house I suppose, but with remnants
still of Molly and Jem's warmth and all the songs, laughter and love that had permeated
its walls.There would be scant luxury, it had electricity and that was it, it would
be a bit like camping. But we'd be fine, we were young lovers and the idea of basing
ourselves in the large 2nd floor sitting room with windows looking out over the
bay and a blazing fire in the hearth seemed both romantic and bohemian. So off we
set for Fishguard Wales where we would board the ferry for Rosslare Harbour just
eleven miles outside my home town of Wexford.
It takes about five hours to get to Fishguard and another four on the ferry, even
though the latter is only a distance of thirty miles. So altogether it takes close
to ten hours. Clare of course organized everything down to the tiniest detail, including
bunks on the ferry and a meal in the restaurant, luxuries I had never bothered with
before.
When we landed in Rosslare it was dark and the harbour appeared all the more Christmassy
because of it. The multi-layered ferry glowed like a Christmas tree as we drove
out of her belly into the bustle of home-going travellers. We would drive out on
to the main road past the multiple warning signs in German and English "WARNING
–ACHTUNG- KEEP TO THE LEFT SIDE!!" It had been too common for Europeans to come
out of there exhausted from the journey and drive on the wrong side of the road
into an oncoming car in the two way traffic; being extra misled by their left side
steering wheels. Just a couple of miles beyond the harbour the road turns back towards
the mainland, bypassing the once popular beach Village of Rosslare. Being in a festive
mood and excited by Clare's first visit to Wexford, I suggested that we deviate
our plans for a moment and take the slip road into Rosslare Village. It's a place
filled with very fond memories for me, a place that I looked forward to as a child
all year long, when (provided my parents could afford the splurge) we would rent
a hut in Boyles field for the month of August. I guided Clare up over the hump back
railway bridge down past the white washed Edwardian summer homes, and up along the
main street lined with palm trees, past a couple of elite hotels with rear access
to the beach, that café on the corner where I would suck on a Brazil orange and
daydream to the village's only jukebox, usually preferring the B sides "Got a Feeling"
by the Mamas and Papas and "See that Girl" by the Righteous Brothers; I wasn't aware,
at the time, that the café was owned by Larry Kirwan's no-nonsense aunt.
It was dark now and everything was closed but for the hotels and the bars. I directed
Clare up past the golf course where we used to hunt for stray balls in the tall
grass, golfers were glad to buy them back at sixpence each. And then, just when
it seemed like the road was coming to a narrow end, I asked her to keep going around
the curve to the right where the water softly ebbed up to the stony edge. I got
out and swung open the farmer's iron gate so that we could go a little deeper on
into the pot holed gravel, I wanted to get us in a position where we could face
the car towards the sound and view the lights of Wexford Town across the bay. In
the pitch black with the car engine turned off, the whole scene was reminiscent
of a romantic movie; I was Cary Grant in An Affair to Remember bringing Clare to
my secret cove on the beach. We had a little puff of the funny stuff to amplify
our experience and put Pink Floyd on the stereo. Clare is from Brighton in England,
a much bigger town to mine, but nonetheless, a seaside town, with many similarities,
we pleasured in exploring our history while gazing at the dancing lights in the
distance. After about half an hour I looked at my watch and thought of my family,
"They might start wondering about us, maybe we better head in"
Clare turned on the engine, and began to back away from the water, we were not moving,
she put her foot further down. We moved even less. Realising what was happening
I asked her to stop and jumped out to take a look. The tide had come in a bit and
even though our back wheels were on solid dry ground we were not gaining traction.
It was then that I realized that Clare's Renault was front wheel drive. I looked
at the front and could see in the scant moonlight that we had only been digging
ourselves into a wet hole in the soft sand. I threw my jacket under one of the wheels
in desperation, that tide was coming in! All it did was spit the jacket out. Our
situation was quickly progressing from a curious problem to a possible catastrophe
of major proportions; we could lose the fucking car! There were no phone booths
around, we were a long walk from the nearest hotel, looking around in the pitch
dark there was nothing except silent sand dunes and black clouds overhead; no mans
land to Clare, but this was my country, I had been in Ireland's butt fuck nowhere,
before.
"Let's walk back a bit, I think I saw a little light deep in behind the bushes as
we were driving in here"
Sure enough, with our eyes now adjusting to the dark, a small yellow light was visible
over and above the dense bush. A little inroad became apparent, an entrance into
some kind of yard. We followed it in, and before us an old white washed outhouse
paralleled the road creating the familiar shape of what I knew to expect in traditional
farmyards. Over to the right standing alone where it had been built in far more
recent times was a small two-storey house. The woman of the house pulled the door
open without hesitation.
"Really sorry to bother you" It was beginning to spit rain now and the wind was
whipping up a bit too, I held the collar of my coat up around my eyes, Clare of
course was not the overcoat type, she had on a nice little two piece jacket and
skirt, she looked perished.
"We were down on the beach admiring the town whe…" "FERGUS!!!"
"Yes Mammy" Came a male voice in prompt response.
"Get the tractor will ye? dere's a nudder wan stuck in de sand!! "
We could hear someone rummaging around for something in the distance.
"C'mon in shur, Fergus'll be here in a minute"
"Mammy do ye know where the Battery is?" Fergus, a twenty something fine big strapping
chap comes rushing out from the back of the tiny house, with wellington boots up
to his waistline, raincoat, and peak cap.
"It's in the tractor already, shur I used it earlier when I was haulin up the straw"
An old man sat in a low chair by an open hearth fire, he looked bemused as he pulled
away on his white clay pipe. We offered our names and I explained that Clare was
English, but that I was a native Wexford man. She suggested that Clare sit down
by the fire while I go off with Fergus to find the car.
Outside, Fergus switched on an industrial strength lamp, it cut a bright beam through
the blackness and revealed a mud covered red tractor with those typical massive
wheels and an iron drivers seat with holes to let the weather through.
"Kin you hop on the tow bar dare, and hould de light out so I kin see what's in
front of me?"
I looked at where he wanted me to stand, and wasn't sure it was possible. It was
one of them metal yokes that stick out the back of a tractor with a knob on it for
hauling trailers, or eejits like us that were stuck in the sand.
"Just hang on to me shoulders, and hould the lamp out"
I did the arithmetic in my head, one hand to hould on to his shoulder and one to
hould the lamp, seemed to me like one hand too few houlding on to his shoulder!
But up I got on the slippery bar, and before I could think about it, Fergus had
the engine running and we were out the lane and bouncing along the beach towards
our sinking car. Desperation is a great leveller, I found the perseverance to stick
myself to the round bar, a nearly impossible feat, and I was practically having
a romance with Fergus with my left arm now wrapped ‘round his neck. It was hard
to believe that just twenty minutes ago we had been sitting in our London car listening
to Pink Floyd through a super hi fi stereo cooing at the view. Now here I was with
the wind and rain blowing through my hair hanging on the back of a Tractor like
a chariot, one arm around a strange man and providing his headlights by holding
a very heavy lamp up above his head!
Fergus was well used to the routine, in no time he had the rope in under the car
where it was secure, and that tractor effortlessly hauled the Renault 5 back to
solid ground. I drove behind him back to the house, where Clare was now drinking
tea by the fire looking absolutely puzzled by the old man's accent. I thanked them
heartily and grabbed a couple of bottles of wine from the boot of the car, they
seemed a bit confused about that, and I did wonder would they have preferred money,
but was afraid they would be offended.
"Really sorry for interrupting your evening, thank you so much, you saved our lives"
"Ah shur you're not the first couple dat got stuck down dare in de dark, people
do be up to all kinds of tings down dare"
She seemed to be suggesting that we were there for a bit of rumpy pumpy?
We pulled out of the farmyard and up on to the main road laughing at our ordeal.
We drove down past the hotels and the café and up on to the hump back railway bridge,
we were at its precipice when Clare announced with a slap to her forehead.
"Shit, we have to go back, I just realized, I left my hand bag in the bloody chair"
"Are you fucking joking me?"
The laughter subsided as we did a U-ee and headed back past the café, the hotels
and on to the old dirt road facing towards the once lovely view of Wexford town.
Clare sat in the car as I fumbled my way in the dark towards the distant light.
I sensed a strange presence, an odd animal sound was coming towards me, my inability
to see it increased my alarm. I quickened my pace towards the house, disregarding
my unsure footing, Honk!! Honk, honk, went the sound that drew me to look left.
Coming in my direction with their necks stretched towards me in extreme enthusiasm
was a gaggle of angry geese, I increased my speed dramatically and ran at full pelt
for the plain wooden door of the farmhouse. Fortunately Fergus's mother was expecting
me and opened the door before I touched it. She went over and got the purse from
the chair by the old man, who still sat in the same position by the fire smoking
his clay pipe.
"Fergus!!! Dem Geese are after de man, don't worry about dem, Fergus'll send dem
off"
Fergus came out and waved a backward hand at the Geese.
"Gi way outta dat"
They ran away, chasing there extended heads. Honk, honk, honk!!
I jumped back in the seat on the Renault with my heart still racing. Off we drove
again, down past the golf club, the palm trees outside the hotels, the café, and
over the hump back railway bridge, feeling a little exhausted now.
When we arrived in Town, I went into my brother Paddy's chipper, which was part
of our family home, to say hello and get the keys. We told him the story, he raised
his forehead and nodded a knowing giggle, I thought that he seemed to assume we
had been up to no good?
After being in Wexford for a few days, we gave up telling the story, everyone was
sure that we had gone to that dark quiet spot for a bit of nooky like all the other
couples that got famously stranded there.
"Ah yeah, Fergus! ah shur everyone knows him, he's pulled us all out, one time or
anudder! And dem feckin geese are like guard dogs shur"
Happy New Year all you lovely sausages. I am very grateful for your
support again this year. Love Pierce xx
Last gig of the Irish tour!
Naul, Co. Dublin: Seamus Ennis Centre, Feb 4th, tickets here
Communication was a major problem for me when I came to America first - especially on the phone. My friend and roommate Bob Schwenk from Bay Ridge always found it hilarious when he witnessed my desperate attempts to communicate my name over the wire.
"Pee-ersss TuRRneR" Trying so hard to emphasize the consonants that my tongue was in a knot.
Irish people tend not to open their mouths too much when they speak. And where I come from it's almost a badge of honour to be seen withholding your clarity during conversation. It's important to be ordinary. And trying to communicate is fancy!
"A rale Wexford accent ain't supposed to be clay-er"
So I brought some of that stuff to America with me. No one could understand a word that I said at first. It seems to me that I got so used to no-one understanding what I was saying, I began to misunderstand what people were saying to me. There were numerous incidents where I misread what was being said; to such a ludicrous extent that the sayer appeared to suspect derision. Usually I wouldn't cop on until they were gone beyond apologetic reach. As I said, I believe that I was so nervous of being misunderstood, that I began to try too hard, causing me to elaborate on a simple statement. Small things; like a guy came up to me after a loud Major Thinkers gig in a crowded venue in the East Village called the UK Club - after you play a gig it's not that uncommon for people to approach you about joining the band - saying things like "that drummer is not right for you guys, I'm much better man!" or, "Yo , do you need a roadie?" On the night in question a bloke came up to me and said "Do you have a lightman?"
"No, actually we don't! Do you do lights?"
"What????" With a look that suggested I was being a smart ass.
When he left, Hammy, the Major Thinkers drummer fell around laughing.
"I think he just wanted a light for his cigarette"
He had disappeared into the crowd by then. I mean, we really did need a lightman! But that wasn't the worst one. By far the biggest mishap occurred at an Irish wedding in the Bronx. The groom was a big ‘Turner and Kirwan of Wexford' fan and managed to talk his partner into having us play at the reception. The only thing smart about his choice was that we were not expensive by wedding band standards. Wedding bands are expensive for a good reason, they know all the reception rituals, they can play everything from the top 50 to evergreens, including standards from a host of different cultures. It's a business, and they expect to be paid extremely well. A good wedding band could charge somewhere in the vicinity of three thousand dollars. I think we charged about three hundred. I believe he gave us a bonus of two hundred, we were so pleased, he wondered out loud if we were hard up?
"Ah no, but just the same, you're a decent skin and we really appreciate it!"
I suppose we knew that we were doing it for too little and had hoped he would do the right thing. We left a lot to supposition. It was some kind of a bare bones function hall, nothing too fancy. We brought our own Shure sound system and set it up in the corner near the entrance. We were a two man band in the truest sense, in that we were really loud and made the sound of a full ensemble. People were known to stand outside and say "how many musicians are in that band, do you think?" Usually the answer was three or four. Larry played bass drum and guitar while singing, and I played clavinet (electric piano) mini-Moog and hi-hat while singing. The drum and hi-hat were mike'd and the guitar and piano were over-driven, it could be a helluva roar.
So there we were in the corner setting up. I had to tune the piano almost every night. The clavinet has actual strings inside it on an iron frame with pick-ups. The beauty of this was that I could make it feed back into my fender tube amp, giving it that Jimi Hendrix effect. But when it was moved around and thrown in and out of a van, the strings would shift and slip out of tune. Each string had a screw at the end of it that I would turn with a short fat screwdriver. So there I was with the piano plugged into a strobe tuner tweaking away on the strings, getting them up to pitch, it was tedious and slow.
We had arrived at this bizarre line-up a couple of years previous while we were doing a summer residence down in Cape Cod. The owner of the place had seen us playing at one of his other places in Lowell Massachusetts and thought that we might be interesting to have on before the main attraction at his club on the beachfront. The place in Lowell was a two hundred capacity folk rock club where bands did residencies for a month at a time playing mostly covers. We were kind of folky at the time and sang Simon and Garfunkel stuff mixed with Cat Stevens etc. I can't say if we drew the crowd or if it was just a popular place, but I know that it went well and there was a lot of young girls there. I remember once, during a break, kissing some young one at a table and seeing Larry at the far end of the room kissing another. The accents were going over big time with the locals! We must have done well enough there if he offered us the Cape Cod gig. We were absolutely elevated, getting a gig at the Cape during the summer was sort of big time for a cover band, not to mention three months work with bed and board included. We had put our originals on the back burner for now, until we found our feet.
His club at the Cape turned out to be a very different scene than we expected. The headlining band was typical of what most of the clubs down there were presenting. A top notch cover band from Boston, they could re-produce Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" to perfection - the singer had a range like Robert Plant, the guitarist thought he was Jimmy Page and had learned every single note down to minute detail, even having the double neck guitar with twelve strings on one for the opening section. The keyboard player had a massive A.R.P Synth with a patch bay and numerous wave controllers, just like Keith Emerson. Naturally he could reproduce "Lucky Man" by ELP and the recorder part in "Stairway to Heaven".
They were loud and powerful with a full light show and a stadium size sound system. We were the mis-match of the century. And the owner didn't beat around the bush about telling us that he had made a mistake giving us the gig. Everyday we began playing at 3 p.m. to a few stragglers at the bar and a slowly filling room. He hoped that we would draw people in at that time, allowing him to start making money before the main attraction. This would also guarantee them a full house when they began, which would make them look good too. Unfortunately the crowd didn't know what to make of us with our little folky sound. We turned the Irish charm up to Disney level, but even that didn't seem to work. The main band liked us though and was beginning to feel sorry for us, we told them that we were afraid we might get sacked.
One day when we were preparing to play, the drummer told us that he had an idea that might up our sound a couple of notches. He explained that our sound was too small and if we were going to compete in this environment we would need more oomph! He had some old spare drums that we could have if we like. He suggested one of us could play Bass Drum and the other Hi-Hat! Without further ado (and without rehearsal) he put the Bass drum in front of Larry's right foot and the Hi-hat under my left. Off we went. Some songs we decided were better with, and some without. Clearly the idea had potential. It was exciting, and God forbid, maybe even had some originality. The next day we bought two drum stools and tied our new additions to the legs to stop them running away as we beat the living daylights out of them. Then we put microphones on them. Now we started to get louder. I started overdriving the piano and Larry got a fuzz box for his Ovation. Because of this we managed to hold on to the gig for the rest of the summer, not cos we were blowing them away, more because we were such good triers. By the time we reached that wedding in the Bronx we were creating such a roar that we sounded like Mott The Hoople. One audience member in Boston's Inman's Square Men's Club heckled. "Turn down for Christ's sake, you sound like a Boeing jet!" I suggested he go down the road and find a James Taylor imitator. Jon Moss, the Boston Globe critic, gave us a rave for the same gig. Apparently he arrived late, we were ripping into the climactic instrumental of "Travelling People" our most "Boeing Jet" moment, he had never heard two people sound like that. He gave us a critic's choice the next time we played there.
The guests were starting to arrive at the reception; I recognized a certain style about them and even knew some of them from seeing them at other people's gigs when we were out on the tare. I had a very bad habit in those days of pre-supposing what the audience would think of us before we'd even started. I decided that they were a straight looking Irish and Irish American crowd. And whether it was real or imagined I cannot say, but I believed that they were aghast upon realizing that we, were the band. There they were in their Sunday best, while Larry and I were in denim jeans and T-shirts with shoulder length hair. I imagined them negatively confiding.
"Please tell me they're not the band?"
The tension was building up in me now, my shoulders were up around my ears when this very straight looking older bloke came over to me and pointed at me.
"Is that a he or a she?"
This drove the fume that had been building up inside me to take complete control of my mind.
"Would you like me to take my prick out and show it to you?" I snapped.
Well that soon shut him up. He was absolutely astonished and walked away shaking his head from side to side looking dazed. Larry turned to me and said.
"What did you think he said?"
"You heard him! He pointed at me and said is that a he or a she?"
"No, I think he was pointing at the piano and said, is that an E or a G?"
I looked out into the once empty room, now filling up with guests arriving from church. Mulling over what Larry just said, it felt more and more like it was plausible that I had heard wrong. At first I had jumped to my defense in the heat of the moment.
"Gimme a break, why would he ask me what note I was playing?"
But then I thought about that guy's demeanor
"He was a little bit harmless looking to be leashing out insults"
I kept tuning the piano.
"In fact, he coulda been a silly Billy type with a miniscule knowledge of music, trying to show off and be all pally with the band - is that an E or a G? -He was smiling after all! And my reply was; do you want me to take my prick out and show it to you? JESUS CHRIST!! He must think I'm a really nasty bastard to respond like that to such an innocent, albeit, stupid question"
Larry said that we should start soon everyone was in. Thinking it would be best to start off easy, we gently tested the water with Tom Paxton's "The last thing on my mind" This crowd was up for it, they immediately hit the dance floor. I saw yer man going past doing some kind of a foxtrot, he was moving fast. I tried to get his attention while projecting the most congenial smile I could muster from my drum stool. But he seemed afraid to look at me. While we were playing he went by several times with many different partners, he obviously liked to dance. And even though I am aware that I was displaying some paranoid tendencies, I still could swear he was retelling the story every time I saw him, nodding his head in my direction and exclaiming something to his dance partner with an astonished open-mouthed delivery, which was met with an even more open mouthed, gaping, response of disbelief.
I never did get to apologise to him, and even if the opportunity had arisen, I wasn't sure what I would say. It seemed almost better to pretend it didn't happen, and with time I had almost convinced myself that it was an exaggeration. But Larry was there, and he confirms that it happened all right. Whatever ideas the guests might have had about us being unsuitable when they arrived, were certainly confirmed.
I wrote this song many years later for my Beggars Banquet album "the Sky and the Ground" I was inspired by that time in Massachusetts and New Hampshire when we drove around in a beat up old Dodge Polara that we bought for three hundred dollars. The song is about the futility sometimes of trying to communicate a belief or a line of poetry. We especially experienced it while writing a song, I might feel sure that a line works and Larry might feel not. There is no point in arguing, my belief was based on my experience not his. Eventually it would be ok for me to sing it, but maybe not Larry. These things are so subjective, and are contrived by our past personal experiences.
You can never put yourself in my brain
And feel what it felt like in a Dodge Polara
Speeding down a New Hampshire highway
Upcoming gigs - New York, Dublin and Wexford
Check out the gigs page
on my website for details of upcoming shows in New York (this Sunday March 12th), Wexford and Whelans in Dublin (both in June).
We were flying over JFK in the snow, Dublin had been a hairy experience, sitting
at the departure lounge with regular ding-dongs and muffled PA announcements.
"Flight mmmmm to New York is cancelled"
"Which one did they say?" Clare, looking as worried as everyone else.
"Fuck knows"
The lounge was looking pretty empty and those who were there; were scrambling to
check the monitors to see what was going on. It turned out that most people from
the cancelled Aer Lingus flight were transferred over to our Delta flight, and we
took off pretty much on time, with me wondering why JFK was fit for us, but not
for the other planes?
Now (seven hours later) I was getting the answer as we circled over Long Island,
waiting for the one runway that was open to be cleared of snow. The pilot had warned
us that we only had enough fuel to hang around for fifteen minutes, and then we'd
have to fly to Cincinnati! Fucking Cincinnati!!
"What was that song, by someone?"
"The Lights of Cincinnati, by Scott Walker, we used to do it in the Arrows, Dave
Heenan sang it, Dave's coming to the gig in the Harp, he's retired now, stopped
doing the cruises as a stand up"
"Well I'm afraid we have run out of time, so here is the plan that I have just received
from the ground, we are to head for Dulles Airport in Washington DC, where we will
put down and refuel. Once we have achieved that, it shouldn't take any more twenty
minutes, we will turn around and return to New York"
"Jesus Christ, I was just about to run up there and tell him that was enough circling,
I mean fifteen minutes worth of fuel"
Dulles, was dull, lots of anonymous jets sitting there with no logos, big tan-coloured
things, I wondered if they were government, odd but not odd enough to be more than
dull.
The captain again, speaking in low frog range:
"We are just waiting for the oil truck to come and refuel us now, shouldn't be too
long, once they fill us up we'll be out of here, about a half an hour or so I'd
say"
If he was any more relaxed he would stop. On comes a female voice, full of outside
world vigour.
"Hi my name is Madeline I am part of the Delta ground crew here in Dulles, while
we are here, if there are any of you who would like to get off, please hold your
hands up when I come round the plane and I'll do my best to sort you out".
Clare and I laughed, "Yeah right! Who's going to just hop off the plane here, I
mean it's not a fucking local bus".
Madeline, a tall young one with dark skin and a massive head of ragged energetic
hair came through the cabin like a whirlwind, addressing those who were interested,
and communicating with the ground through her mobile. To our astonishment a heap
of people wanted to get off. So we sat there, with the cold fresh air coming in
through the open cabin doors. A long queue of pale, over coated passengers formed
along the aisle with back packs and hand luggage, stacked up and waiting to get
off.
Madeline; " Those passengers who are getting off, your bags are now being taken
off the plane, you can pick them up at the arrival hall, you may need to show your
ticket tabs"
"What, Now we have to wait for their bags to get off"
I felt like going up to Madeline and saying "couldn't you have kept your mouth shut"
we were getting cranky now.
Pilot; " Well it turns out that the fuel guy was here, and just as he was about
to fill us up, discovered that his tank was empty, so he's gone back to get more
fuel"
"Is he joking? I mean this wouldn't happen on the Wexford Dublin Bus"
I decided to walk around, got talking to two flight attendants while looking through
the open doors, one was a bald sixty something year old, he shared stories of insults
that he received because of his age and lack of hair, one guy told him he looked
like Khrushchev, another said, within earshot, is this old guy really working here?
The woman had put my guitar in the closet when I boarded.
"My husband plays guitar too, he has a six string and a twelve string"
"Great, everyone has more guitars than me, I really just use one"
"What's a twelve string sound like?"
Before I could answer, she jumped in.
"It's a very specialized sound, you can't play songs on it, it's just for expression"
This was a very unusual way to describe it in my book, but couldn't be bothered
arguing. Still he was a nice bloke, and puzzled by her description.
"Have you ever heard a band called the Byrds?"
"Yes of course, and how kind of you to suppose I am too young to not know them"
"Well I always assume that everyone is too young to know these things, anyway the
sound of their guitar is an electric twelve string"
"Oh, yes I know that sound"
The Captain; "Well the fuel guy is back, this time with a tank full, and he is now
filling us up, however; we have been on the ground for so long now in the snow,
the wings have gotten iced up, so we need de-icing, as soon as all that is done,
we will close up and fly back to JFK"
I crawled back to the seat, disheartened.
"Oh no" said Clare. "I've been through de-icing before, it takes fuckin ages"
Another hour passed, I went up to look out at the de-icing, there was a black man
in blue overalls washing the inside of one of the jet engines with a mop. I decided
not to tell Clare (a nervous flyer) about that. We figured out that by the time
we got off the plane in New York we'd be travelling for over eighteen hours. Eventually
we got out of that big smelly hot thing, and just in time - it had run out of food
and booze.
So after all that, you better be planning on coming to the Harp on March 12th!
Of course I'll still love you if you don't!
Pierce xx
The new stained glass ceiling at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church.
Tickets now on sale for Irish and UK gigs
Tickets are now on sale for my gigs in:
Not sure the five and a half hours sleep is going to cut it, three cups of tea later
and I'm still in a semi stupor. But the sun seems to have slept well! It wags its
tale and throws shape n shadow dancing down the Avenue. It's a spring sun, accompanied
by the left-over wind of yesterdays storm, the temperature is perfect. You need
a jacket though; the crisp wind curls around the back of my neck tempering the heat
of the sun to a perfect balance.
We are packing our bags once again, all the gear for the gigs, and suitable clothes
for an Irish summer; will I need shorts, or an overcoat, sandals or boots? Ireland
is like a box of chocolates, you never know when you're gonna get wet.
However, I don't go there for the weather, and besides, they say the weather has
been good so far. And when the sun does shine there, it's a bit like it is
here today; fresh and beautiful, I love it.
We are there for the whole summer, except for a foray into England and France in
July. Tickets for all shows are now available, just click the links above. Whelans
are printing posters that say "Once more across the tables" we have had people hanging
from the rafters in this great club, with its upstairs balcony and feel of a small
vaudeville theatre - large wooden tables used to point inwards toward the stage.
As the club became more and more alternative, and drew a more stand up audience,
the tables went elsewhere. But, for us on June 25th the tables will come out
of retirement, and we will dance upon them, I plan to whip out some forgotten pleasures,
like 3 Minute World.
If you are alive, and in Ireland at this time, and if you like pleasure, like hearing
a whole house full of the most tuneful audience in the world, singing along, buy
your tickets now, the more tickets we sell in advance, the larger the band! Honest
to God.
So far every tour of Ireland has featured at least one house concert, people think
that I don't do it any more because I don't push it. I do have one in England
this year at Carol's house. Just to let you know that I am up for some Irish
ones too. Email me at claregturner@gmail.com if you fancy it.
Spread the word, love can't always be articulate.
Love and wisdom to all. Pierce xxxxx
Irish and UK tour under way
Tickets are now on sale for my gigs in:
The first gig of this Irish leg, Cork! Started off as sweater, and became a cracker. Good sweat though, Otis Redding sweat, Bruce Springsteen sweat, that kinda ting, ye know what I mean? Because we were late the last time I played there, we set off extra early this time. We were late the first time because we got lost, Cork is a maze of one way streets, and I have no faith in my sense of direction anyhow. I did a lot of studying on the Google map, and almost understood where Coughlans was. But we got lost anyhow. It's on Douglas Street.
"Excuse me do you know where Douglas Street is?"
"Douglas Street?" scratches his head with the shopping bag hanging from his thumb.
"Ara Now, it should be around here somewhere, I mean Douglas Road South is over there"
"ok thanks very much"
Eventually after many's the dodgy looking housing estates (dodgy because they appeared to be going nowhere) and narrow one-way hills, we landed outside IMRO's venue of the year. It was a truly brilliant night. Especially inspired, and funny!!
Then I went to see my home county hurling team beat Ireland's toughest opponent Kilkenny, up at the Wexford Park, I love hurling, and this was a killer match. This Saturday (June 17th – 8pm) we will finish a perfect Wexford week at the St Iberius Church on the Main Street. The 200 year old organ is so sweet, in this great church, with its back to the harbour, one time the sea went right up to its back wall. The acoustics are incredible, and this may be my last gig there as it is hard work to organise. So if you want to experience this porous musical gem with our guitars wrapped in that beautiful organ played by Josh Johnson, with the lovely Paula Cox on vocals and percussion, Garvan Gallagher on bass, Mick Egan on acoustic and electric guitar, and myself on grand piano and acoustic guitar.
This same line–up will also be at Whelans with me on June 25th. It is years since the classic gigs at Whelans when people hung from the ceiling and sang like football fans. They are bringing back the old classic wooden tables, so I can slide along them like a lunatic. The Irish Times did a special offer for this event, running an ad every day for a week. They also compiled these quotes from Irish authors. Come outa the house, you've been in there long enough.
And as if that's not enough, I will return to London's Slaughtered Lamb on July 13th. Angeala De Burca will join me on fiddle, this is always a blinder, and happens rarely enough, God knows.
I need you, honest I do.
Love Pierce xxx
Manana in Whelans
Tickets are now on sale for my gigs in:
Relax! It's not Manana exactly (unless you're reading this on Saturday). But I wanted to strike a balance between reminding you that it's on soon and you can get your tickets at the link above, and also give you enough time to organise yourself.
I'll be selling CDs at Whelans - I will leave a box of CD's on the front of the stage, if you want one, just take it and throw the money in the box (I trust you!). There is no other way to sell CD's at Whelans. Brian from Dublin wants to buy 10 Manana in Manhattan's – I will put them on the stage for you Brian, in a box that say's BRIAN !! That's you Brian.
It will be an early night, we will begin no later than 8.30 p.m. (doors at 8.00 p.m.) - the weather man says that it won't be barbecue weather, so don't hedge your bets. Brian says do Manana in Manhattan (will do) and You Can Never Know (will do) and The Sky and the Ground (will do) and be Jasus, the list of songs is falling off the edge of the paper. And I have no intention of falling off the edge of the tables!!!
Love from the sunny south east. Pierce xxxx
Live in London!
Tickets for London, on Thursday, July 13th
I am writing from Brighton in the UK, the weather here is positively South of France-ish. Staying with Clare's sister just up the road from the seafront where all the pop stars live, and the large white Crescent houses reflect the sun the way they were meant to. All of these things, the piers, the cotton candy, the boardwalk and the cafes with al fresco tables and chairs, were meant for this skin glowing sun - not the rain and windswept misery that usually infiltrates this summery town
Tomorrow I will run through my set for the Slaughtered Lamb in the lovely attic at top of Clare's sister's house. Just have to arrange the sound check time with Aingeala De Burca and the sound engineer Joe. Joe has been there for years, he's a cool guy with good ears and a great attitude. Some say that The Slaughtered Lamb was made for me and the way I perform, no stage, just a cosy corner facing out at a bunch of luxurious armchairs and sofas sat upon a comfy carpet. It's a cocktail lounge vibe, no fourth wall man! A great venue.
If you have cousins, brothers or sisters, aunts uncles, grannies or grandads living in London - be sure to tell them that it will be a great day for a Thursday, next Thursty day July 13th at The Slaughtered Lamb @ 8pm. Forecast is cloudy, so make hay while the sun hides.
Love Pierce xxx
Live in Wexford and New York
Wexford: Mackens Bar, the Bull Ring, Thurs Aug 24th – 8 p.m., tickets here
Jesus where have I been? And are you still there my fellow suffering sausages? Don't all write back at once now, I know sausages are not aggressive, and if you listen to me, you are "manana" big time.
Of course I am being dry, it has been unusually dry in Wexford, maybe that's why, although I did swim in the rain last week. The water seemed to swell and become hugely quiet, an attractive Polish couple swam nearby with their three year old in wings "I have neffer swam in de rain beefora" the woman exclaimed. We have a good few Polish people in Wexford now, but I seldom exchange words with them, other than with a check out person at Lidl. One minute they speak Polish, and the next breath a thick Wexford accent "Not a bodder". But we were sharing this unique moment, and whatever division there is, was decimated. The clouds dropped low, almost within reach, and we felt warmer, it had been freezing. I felt a rush of excitement at the idea of us getting to know these new people, we were in this kind of bath together, wearing next to nothing. If we had gone this far together, couldn't we have dinner, fully clothed?
Alas it was not to be, the water pulled them that way, and we swam aimlessly the other. I ran to cover our clothes with a towel, the golden beach had turned brown and everyone was running away. I ran back to sea where I felt at one. The rain splashed softly on the calm grey water, the Polish family frolicked in the distance, deeper in, silent.
Gig after gig it has been marvellous of late, Whelans in Dublin was all I have ever wanted as a performer. Working on future dates now, heading back to New York in September. Before I go, one small gig that I have had my eye on in Wexford. Upstairs at Mackens in the Bull Ring they have a room that looks right up along the Norman Main Street - it has a sweet little piano - only holds 45 people. I am dusting off Mover and a Shaker, Groovy Hearts, Buried City of Love, Clowntown, Never Take Advantage of you. Iss gonna be a phun nite, I want YOU there so hurry up. More dates will be added, this is just to keep you ahead of the posse.
My friend Irene Lucchitti recently gave a paper about my work at a conference on Irish literature in Singapore - you can read it here
Wexford: Mackens Bar, the Bull Ring, Thurs Aug 24th – 8 p.m., tickets here
New York: The Beal Bocht Riverside, Saturday October 14th
New York: The Maritime Museum Staten Island, Friday October 20th
(more New York dates to be added)
(And ahead)
Cork: Coughlans, Thursday December 7th
Wexford: Greenacres, Friday December 29th
Autumn and winter live shows
New York: The Beal Bocht, 445 West 238th Street (Graystone Ave.), Bronx, NY. Phone:(718) 884-7127. Saturday, October 14th, 7 p.m. Admission $20
New York: The Noble Maritime Collection,1000 Richmond Terrace, Building D, Staten Island, NY 10301. Phone: (718) 447-6490. Friday, October 20th, 7.30 p.m. Admission $20
Cork: Coughlans, 7 Douglas St., Cork. Phone: 021-4961751. Thursday, December 7th.
Wexford: Greenacres, Selskar. Phone: 053-9122975. Friday, December 29th.
Dublin: John Field Room, National Concert Hall. Phone: 01-4170000. Tuesday, January 16th.
I am back in New York and warming up for a few shows. I sat at my ould piano today and played a few tunes. It's the piano Philip Glass gave me in 1986, an upright Baldwin, it has crossed my mind to get Phil in for a coffee one day and get him to sign the bloody thing. It might be worth a few bob one day, pay for my trip back to Ireland. Ah Philip is too busy to sign pianos. One day it will end up in a bar or something and no-one will know that it was the little piano that could write operas.
I am not exactly overwhelmed with work here, busy of course (aren't we all) but not that many gigs. I had no time in Ireland, with all the house painting and scraping etc. Oh and gigs, to look for gigs. Left that house in good nick for the Choir Master from the Wexford Opera though, he stays in our house every year. We have other Orchestra members too - we had a viola player and a first violinist stay there when the orchestra was from Belarus. Our neighbour from across the street said they walked around in their underpants the whole time. We happened to be there when they arrived, two characters! I offered to help carry in their cases, big mistake. It came up to my chest it was so tall, it was fat and stuffed to bursting point, felt like there was a human inside there, and was the weight of a fully grown adult. Turns out there was a lot of canned food in there and bottles of vodka, we had to go back the next day to get something, and there was a big sturgeon laid flat out on the table staring at the ceiling.
For the Beal Bocht in the Bronx I am planning on doing the theme from the movie that I recently scored - "Emerald City". Bronagh, a star from the movie, is also a star at the Beal Bocht. Many people there will have seen it. It's three years since my last gig there, should be jammers.
I have never actually played in Staten Island in my life, as far I know. It has come about in a very circuitous way. But come about it has. Dawn Daniels is a very special woman that I first met at one of my shows. It turns out that she is the youngest sister of Dave Cook the great recording engineer who recorded the album The Sky and The Ground. Dawn produces performances at the Maritime Museum in Staten Island, and that is where I will perform on Friday October 20th – it's a beautiful room with sweet acoustics, Dave Cook will mix the show, a real honour. There is a piano, so I can do songs like "The Answer" from The Sky & the Ground. This should be very special indeed.
Time will tell, but I wish that time would speed, and heal the way it steals while it provides.
Lov you P xxx
Final New York gig of 2017
New York: The 11th Street Bar, 510 East 11th Street, between Ave A and B. Wednesday Nov 1st, 8.30 p.m. Admission $20, Book HERE
On Sunday night, Gerry Leonard showed me how to get a beer out of the tap without it turning into foam. 'Just turn on the tap for a while and let it float down the drain, then put the glass under it'. It worked be Jasus, and to my astonishment it lasted all night! Maybe it was piped to a reservoir?
I hadn't seen Gerry in a long time, maybe as far back as 94. Now we were in the basement of a big Manhattan club over on the west side of the island, called the City Winery. It was a green room, stuffed with musicians, silver servers were lined along the table with blue flamed heaters keeping their contents warm. I don't know what was in them, but I could smell some kind of chicken and creamy sauce. Clem Burke, the drummer from Blondie was lashing into it, he seemed pleased. Clem had also recorded once with The Major Thinkers, and been in my apartment for parties. I said 'hi, man' and he said it back to me, no idea if he knew who I was, he was the drummer for the whole show last night. I barely recognized Suzanne Vega, she was all glammed up with a top hat over a wig of dark hair. We hadn't met since we shared the bill with Philip Glass at the same venue about 8 years ago. I told her that Gerry, who plays with her now, had reminded me of the time he mixed my sound at the Copacabana on St Patricks Day. 'Oh when was that, forty years ago?' 'No sixty years ago', I said with tongue in cheek. 'Well it was thirty years ago when I used to follow you around' 'Yeah I know, ah it was about 1994' 'Oh so that was about when he had just arrived from Ireland' 'Yeah, I suppose so'. I hadn't thought of it, but why else would such a fine guitarist, who played with Bowie for his last few tours, and co-wrote on his final album, be mixing my sound? He needed to make a living any way that he could. It was lovely to talk to Suzanne again.
Lloyd Cole stood next to me as looked up at the big TV screen, a close circuit view of the stage, we were keeping an eye on things. There was about 16 artists on the bill, we had to be careful to not miss our slot. Lloyd's twenty year old son, who had already done one song with his father, was sitting on a high stool with no shirt on, the way he had performed. He had the perfect guitar sound for what we were doing. It was Marc Bolan's 70th Birthday, two sold out shows of T Rex songs basically. Some of you will know that I recorded 'Life's a Gas' on my new album - that's a T Rex song. When I suggested singing that, Joe Hurley one of the organisers said that Suzanne Vega had already taken it (she did a great version too). So I sang a song called 'Seagull Woman'. Lloyd had no idea who I was, even though I toured with him, ate dinner with him. He had come to see me play with the string quartet and wondered if he could do that? I gave up on him, but he said I made a good song choice.
But Gerry Leonard and I rekindled our friendship, and I am wondering could we make an album together? Wouldn't it be cool to have Bowie's guitarist? And he is Irish, so he understands where I am coming from.
Nov 1st will be my last U.S. date before Ireland at a very low key place called the 11th Street Bar - between Ave A and B. Fred Parcells will play with me, and Cillian Vallely is offering to bring in the pipes. You can book here. It's not big, so don't be small about booking. This will be like a parlour gig in a pub, it ought to be magic.
I'm going now, I love you more than plum tart.
Pierce xxxx
Irish winter tour:
Cork: Coughlans, 7 Douglas St., Cork. Phone: 021 4961751. Thursday, December 7th.
Wexford: Greenacres, Selskar. Bookings via Phone: 053-9122975. Friday, December 29th.
Dublin: John Field Room, National Concert Hall. Phone: 01-4170000. Tuesday, January 16th.
Getting ready for Ireland
Check out the official Pierce Turner Christmas gift/ gig guide:
Cork: Coughlans, 7 Douglas St., Cork. Phone: 021 4961751. Thursday, December 7th.
Wexford: Greenacres, Selskar. Bookings via Phone: 053-9122975. Friday, December 29th.
Dublin: John Field Room, . Phone: 01-4170000. Tuesday, January 16th.
It's a crazy morning in New York, I can feel the vibes in the air already. Walking into a restaurant, I changed my mind halfway through the door, when I noticed that the tiny place was full. Pulling back from the door, I backed into a woman who was right on my heels. "Oh sorry", said I, she threw me an impatient look and was about to say something, but withdrew after the first syllable, a vague sound - but not a vague suggestion. The message was clear: she considered telling me off - so what would she say? "Why didn't you put your brake lights on?" or " You are a stoopid human being?" Anything is possible in New York.
I have always said that being here, is like living with a large dysfunctional family. This woman acted like a sister who is sick to death of her brother, I mean what stranger would think of telling off another person for changing their mind to enter a restaurant?
Once when I was at a very boring Tom Stoppard play on Broadway, having not eaten since breakfast I picked up a Kit Kat in the foyer to give me some sustenance, sugar in other words. Clare and I sat in our tiny seats made for tiny people eighty years ago, way, way up in the gods. Squeezed between strangers on both sides, winter anoraks underneath us, handbags in between, scarves, gloves and hats filling every cavity. It was claustrophobic and vertaphobic, and it was hot! Really hot! The play was on its way and it was pretentious and strained - my eyelids became heavy. "Oh God I can't go asleep here". I know, find the Kit Kat! There are so many pockets in that blasted Canadian winter coat, will have to do this like a CIA spy, slippery and slowly I felt my way down the rough weatherproof exterior of my coat, feeling around almost every pocket before I found the right one. I pull the paper wrapper off it very carefully, so far so good, I'm now down to the silver, it makes a soft crackle. This play is excruciatingly quiet, I break off a finger, and let it melt in my mouth without chewing. All was going well, I think it's ok to go for another finger, a little less gingerly this time. They are in a boat now with an oil lamp, it's beautiful-looking, but what the fuck are they talking about? I reach for a third piece, thinking nobody cares what I do…… SMACK!! A woman sitting a couple of seats away from me slaps me on the hand with her glove, like lightning, without even looking. What? I mean, is she my mother? I tried to get her attention to express my astonishment, but she didn't seem to even give it a second thought. See what I mean?
So back to the restaurant, after leaving I went around the block to another place that I like, but there was a line outside the door. So I just walked back to the scene of the crime to see if things had changed, sure enough it had, there was plenty of room. So I sat down, read the paper and had some Italian coffee with a caprese sandwich, delicious. As I finished my breakfast, I notice the woman across from me is nasty with the waiter. Pointing at her empty plate she snaps "Just take it away!" dismissing him with the back of her hand. He brings her the check book and she starts foraging around in a small crumpled white envelope, she pulls up a five dollar bill and a few ones - with her coat off and seated I hadn't recognized her - it was yer one who almost told me off for changing my mind at the door, while she was so close she could have run me down. The waiter brought back her check in the black plastic book. She opened and removed the three dollars and put them back in the envelope - picked up her Sunday Post - pushed it into her bag, and chinked a few quarters on the marble table top.
I leave for Ireland soon, might be good timing. I love you more than Mozzarella.
Pierce xx
Dublin gig on January 16th
Tickets now available for my gig in the John Field Room of the National Concert Hall, Dublin on Tuesday, January 16th - just click on the link.
I walked into the spare bedroom and reached to turn on the light, but the light was already on. Strange discovery, but it happened before, recently enough. It's not that I couldn't see, I just wanted it to be brighter, even though I was only looking for a piece of cardboard to write a sign on.
We were having a New Years Eve Party, the musical theme was 1940s. Having had several NYE parties in the past, I had no ambition to struggle through my music collection to find something fresh and contemporary, yet familiar, not too racy or noisy, that would suit a generational melting pot of all age groups and taste groups. The1940s felt like a way to avoid all these issues, the music would be before everyone's time, so therefore beyond debate. Yet, it was good fun, bopping along stuff - Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and all that jazz.
As I was compiling the music, it began to feel a bit samey after a while. So I decided that it would be OK to stick in a bit of David Bowie, the rationale being that Bowie was born in the 40s. Just a couple of Bowie tracks - "Life On Mars" as a sing along, "Let's Dance" as dance along. But how many people know the words of "Life on Mars"? I don't even know them myself. So I googled em and wrote the chorus out on a big yellow card board with a black sharpie. This part – "Sailors fighting in the dance hall - Oh man, look at those cavemen go". I was a bit surprised, it turns out that I really didn't know what the song was about myself.
New Years Eve: The kitchen table was pushed into the corner, the lighting all sexified, packed full of friends all swinging and swaying. When I produced that yellow sign everyone sang, even older people whom I'm sure had little or no knowledge of the song. What a great party, how was yours?
I won't pull that sign out at the National Concert Hall on January 16th - but there will be other signage. By the time we get to the 16th, January will be trying enough, and God knows Tuesday will be as dull as …….Tuesday. Except for where we will be, beneath that beautiful chandelier in the company of Tuesday giants.
This is what a great friend wrote to his friends, please pass it on to yours: "I told my main muse Pierce Turner I would promote his gig in the NCH on 16/1/18 as a way to elevate spirits early in the week, early in the new year".
Reach for the light and make it brighter in 2018
Happy New Year.
I love you more than sage stuffing.
Pierce xxx
What are Hot Press saying about next Tuesday's gig?
Tickets now available for my gig in the John Field Room of the National Concert Hall, Dublin on Tuesday, January 16th - just click on the link.
Here's what Hot Press are saying - will we see you there?
"Turner has been getting world wide critical acclaim for decades, with Rolling Stone Magazine describing him as "a cross between David Bowie and Joni Mitchell" and The Irish Times declaring him "one of the most important Irish artists of the last twenty years".
Many critics have commented upon Turner's uniqueness, something the Wexford native has joked about in the past.
He tells an anecdote about Adam Clayton of U2 once saying to him that surely being such an enigma makes things very hard.
However, he has discovered that his uniqueness has advantages too, such as the pockets of fans scattered throughout the World who he says are "fiercely loyal" to any project that he pursues.
In 2017, he began to play parlour gigs, an indication of his innovative spirit. He played in Mackens Bar Undertaker in the Bull Ring of Wexford Town and more when he returned to New York where he now lives.
He gets excited at the sell out crowds at these gigs, "I don't need large crowds, I love my audience for who they are, these are people who have the courage of their own convictions".
Pierce hopes that the bigger venue in the National Concert Hall will be "none the less intimate"."
Final gig of this Irish tour
Tickets now available for my gig in the John Field Room of the National Concert Hall, Dublin on Tuesday, January 16th - just click on the link.
Warming my feet before the open fire in Wexford, I just stopped rehearsing. The piano is over in the corner, away from all radiators, I'm perishing.
We'll have to go for a pint somewhere after the gig on Tuesday, where did we go the last time? Now's the time for the rest of the stragglers to buy your tickets, I will tare my soul out for you, can't wait, who needs the bloody thing intact.
BOOK NOW.
I love you more than Christmas Pudding. Pierce xx
New York sausages asking about my return should be aware of the gigs so far.
Sunday March 11th: The Saint, Asbury Park NJ
Monday March 12th: New York - Muldoon's Picnic (with poet Paul Muldoon and others) at the Irish Arts Center.
Thursday March 15th: New York - the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan - a posh parlour performance.
Upcoming gigs in Wicklow, New Jersey and New York
Upcoming gigs:
Friday February 23rd, 8.00 p.m. The Hot Spot Music Club, Greystones, Co.Wicklow
Sunday March 11th, 3.00 p.m. The Saint, Asbury Park NJ, with Avon Faire and Fred Parcells
Monday March 12th, 7.30 p.m. The Irish Arts Center, New York, Muldoon's Picnic (with poet Paul Muldoon and others)
Thursday March 15th, 7.00 p.m. The American Irish Historical Society, New York.
Saturday April 28th, 9.30 p.m. Joe's Pub, New York (tickets not yet available)
Manhattan in the 80s, Pierce Turner © 2018
Philip buzzed me in. Buzzers were a luxury then. Some of us had them, but they seldom worked. Most of us kept our keys in a thick, knotted sock. Outsiders would shout up at the window, and we would pitch the sock down to them. Every day without fail, I heard the same voice shouting up "Yo Howie" outside the building next to me, he would shout it repeatedly in a thick booming New York accent. Eventually Howie would throw down the knotted sock. I didn't know anyone in that building to speak to, but I knew some faces, and had supposed some of their stories. Twice, the building caught on fire and they had to call the fire brigade. On both occasions Howie had fallen asleep with a cigarette on the go. The second time the building had to be evacuated at two in the morning. I looked out my front window to see a woman being carried down the fire escape in her nightie. Down below on the street, the entire occupants of the building were looking up in anguish. I knew most of their faces, and took a guess at which one was Howie. The one with the frail skinny body that I had decided was an alcoholic, struggled on his gout-ridden feet to angrily accost Howie, he swung a wild punch at his clueless nuisance of a neighbor. Someone held him back while he shouted angrily at the bed smoker in Italian. Eventually the fire was quelled, the army of fire engines went home, and we all went back to bed. The next day I heard it again "Yo Howie" And the knotted sock hit the ground.
Vote Pierce!
Upcoming gigs:
Friday February 23rd, 8.00 p.m. The Hot Spot Music Club, Greystones, Co.Wicklow
Sunday March 11th, 3.00 p.m. The Saint, Asbury Park NJ, with Avon Faire and Fred Parcells
Monday March 12th, 7.30 p.m. The Irish Arts Center, New York, Muldoon's Picnic (with poet Paul Muldoon and others)
Thursday March 15th, 7.00 p.m. The American Irish Historical Society, New York.
Sunday, April 8th, 3.00 p.m. Cafe Nine, New Haven, CT
Saturday April 28th, 9.00 p.m. Joe's Pub, New York
Just dropping in to let you know that Hot Press (Ireland's foremost music magazine) are running a vote to find the All Time Top 30 songs from the south-east of Ireland. If you'd like to vote for one of my songs, I recommend The Sky and The Ground and you can vote for it here. You can register with the site just to vote - details are at that link.
And there's another gig just booked - New Haven CT on April 8th - the details are above.
Pierce plays Greystones tomorrow night!
Friday February 23rd, 8.00 p.m.: The Hot Spot Music Club, Greystones, Co.Wicklow
I spoke to the Greystones Guide ahead of the gig and told them about some of my musical inspirations. You can find them here
(PDF)
Here are my upcoming gigs in the U.S.:
Sunday March 11th, 3.00 p.m.: The Saint, Asbury Park NJ, with Avon Faire and Fred Parcells
Monday March 12th, 7.30 p.m.: The Irish Arts Center, New York, Muldoon's Picnic (with poet Paul Muldoon and others)
Thursday March 15th, 7.00 p.m.: The American Irish Historical Society, New York.
Sunday, April 8th, 3.00 p.m.: Cafe Nine, New Haven, CT
Saturday April 28th, 9.00 p.m.: Joe's Pub, New York
Goodbye Snow, Hello New York
Upcoming gigs:
Sunday March 11th, 3.00 p.m.: The Saint, Asbury Park NJ, with Avon Faire and Fred Parcells
Monday March 12th, 7.30 p.m.: The Irish Arts Center, New York, Muldoon's Picnic (with poet Paul Muldoon and others)
Thursday March 15th, 7.00 p.m.: The American Irish Historical Society, New York.
Sunday, April 8th, 3.00 p.m.: Cafe Nine, New Haven, CT
Saturday April 28th, 9.00 p.m.: Joe's Pub, New York
I had dinner at my sister Dolores's house, and she pulled out all these clippings from when I went to America first, this photo of Larry Kirwan and myself was the biggest surprise, I haven't seen it since it was taken for The Daily News in New York. Wish I had that bloody hair now!
I am getting ready to vacate the house. It's always a little sad. The cat has to pack his bags and head out to Castlebridge where he lives while we are in New York. He is all soft and furry as he wallows by the fire, he really has no idea that tomorrow is the last one before we push him into the case and take him across the bridge. Mind you, he soon gets over us. Once I had to turn back because I had forgotten something and he had already gone upstairs to bed - when I approached him, he acted like I was a nuisance.
We'll drive up to Dublin Airport, the news is sending out red alerts that there will be a mother of a storm, the mother of all mothers!!! We could be in trouble. Let's pray that they are as wrong as usual, the supermarkets must be paying them, the shelves were empty.
But when I get to New York, this gig on March 15th is worth looking at for a very different experience. My friend, the Detective Brian McCabe, who has the soul of an artist, has hooked me up with this. Brian is always way ahead of the pack. Look at this 3D view of the American Irish Historical Society where the gig will be, would you want to be in that room with the grand piano? That's where we will perform. It's an early show on a Thursday - 7 p.m., so come out of work, have a sandwich or whatever, and come hither for a classy St Paddy's Day Fix. And do a bit of noseying around too. Looking forward to seeing you.
I love you more than you deserve,
Pierce xxxx
Pierce Turner, Kath Green, Fred Parcells, John Rokosny, Andriette Redmann, Swamy on sound
Across 11th Street
Upcoming gigs:
Wednesday, March 28th, 7.30 p.m.: 11th Street Bar, New York
Sunday, April 8th, 3.00 p.m.: Cafe Nine, New Haven, CT
Saturday April 28th, 9.00 p.m.: Joe's Pub, New York
I haven't got the time to write this really. I'm rushing out to have breakfast with my friend Una Johnson, who is dropping off in New York for a few days on her way back to Ireland. It's snowing like a whore outside. The weather-persons usually make such a big deal out of something small, but they did the opposite with this. The dog wouldn't even walk in it, she kept trying to brush it off her face with a paw. I made sure she stayed out long enough to have a poo anyhow, God knows when we'll be out there again today.
Una is coming from the South by South West Festival in Austin, she is one of its Euro reps for music. She used to live right next door to me here on First Avenue, literally my next-door neighbor. She was with Phelim O'Lunney then, he mixed the sound for the Major Thinkers (our punk/ new wave band). Una was a great help to me when I was organizing the tour of Manhattan to go with my first solo album, 16 dates in Manhattan within a month. This was 1986. Una and myself went all over Manhattan, up to its very tip and down below Houston, canvassing places that we liked the look of, almost never conventional venues. We even booked the New Amsterdam Brewery over on the West River. Philp Glass was there and that great filmmaker that he made the trilogy with, Godfrey Reggio. Standing up on that huge, tall counter with the massive beer vats at my back singing "How It Shone" was a great moment, thanks Una.
After that I toured America with the Smithereens one time, and Graham Parker on another - we had great shows at Toads Place in New Haven, and on April 8th I will play at Café Nine in New Haven, for the first time since then. Fred Parcells will be with me, as he was then. We're getting in a car and driving all the way there, you better get in yours if you live nearby, twill be great. I am attaching a powerful photo by Kathleen Connally from our gig at The Saint in Asbury Park, trying to leave Manhattan!
And next Wednesday March 28th we'll be at the 11th Street Bar around the corner, that magnificent speakeasy back room with the piano. The last one was magic, they have been trying to get us back there since, this was the first and only chance. Twud be wise to book it now, we are keeping it down to 50 people. I love you more than my dog hates the snow, and that's a lot!
Pierce xxxx
Joe's Pub ... and then Ireland
Upcoming gigs:
Saturday April 28th, 9.00 p.m.: Joe's Pub, New York
Friday June 22nd, 8.00 p.m.: The Grand Social, Dublin
Thursday July 5th, 9.00 p.m.: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday July 7th: Levi's Corner House, Ballydehob, Co. Cork
I got an email from Joe's Pub today. Joe's Pub is not a pub at all by the way, it is part of Joseph Papp's Public Theatre. Rolling Stone Magazine listed it as one of the top 5 clubs in America. So yes, I got an email from them today to tell me that I should shoot out an emailing to tell people about my up and coming gig there on April 28th. This is the new world of music. The artists are asked to shoot out an email. So here it is, I'm shooting at you!
Needless to say, it's important for me to get a good house when I play an important theatre like this. Artists from all over the world are beating down the walls to get a gig at this venue. This is a little along the lines of pledging to support a new album.
I have an extraordinary list of musicians who will be taking part in this performance. Fred Parcells will be there, the singers from Avon Faire and John Rokosny on guitar, the great Cillian Vallely will join us on uileann pipes - and we will do the theme from the recent movie that I scored, Emerald City. Mark Brotter is even threatening to join us on drums. I am working on a couple of new baroque pop songs for the occasion. It's gonna be a cracker. Another posh Parlour Performance.
Summer gigs in Ireland are starting to come together. It's been a while since we did the big parlour room at the Grand Social Club (voted Dublin's top venue) - that's on June 22nd . Joe from Levi's Pub in Ballydehob West Cork has been at me for a while to play in his little sweet pub - so I have attached it to my gig at Coughlans in Cork City on July 5th, from there I will hop over to Ballydehob on July 7th.
More to come….
I love you more than you think. Pierce xxxx
Joe's Pub tomorrow night!
Upcoming gigs:
Saturday April 28th, 9.00 p.m.: Joe's Pub, New York
Friday June 22nd, 8.00 p.m.: The Grand Social, Dublin
Thursday July 5th, 9.00 p.m.: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday July 7th: Levi's Corner House, Ballydehob, Co. Cork
I was lying on the floor at the gym, the Asser Levy, a public gym, I like it because it's cheap, and because normal people go there. No annoying music, and no perfect bodies preening themselves in the mirror. Was stretching away on the ground there, when a pair of huge flat feet went by in gym shoes. Atop those feet, a very big man was stuffed inside dark blue overalls with "Staff" written on the back. He walked with the ponderous gait of someone who was jaded with their job. He was trying to shake off a piece of white cardboard stuck to his foot, turned out to be a glue trap, a cruel invention covered in very strong adhesive. He shook his foot, no go, he tried to pull it off, his beer belly got in the way of his stoop, no go, he leaned against a machine and tried to rip it off, no go. He tried walking again, it was really getting on his nerves, he was stuck to it! A fellow staff member howled with laughter and shouted "Look everybody, we caught one!"
What has that got to do with my gig tomorrow night in Joe's Pub, which still has tickets available at the link up the top there (and the link here, if your scrolling thumb is a bit stiff)? Who cares? It's just a bunch of stuff that happened!
I love you more than my abdominal core
Pierce xx
The Orange Coloured Sun tour
Upcoming gigs:
Friday June 22nd, 8.00 p.m.: The Grand Social, Dublin
Thursday July 5th, 9.00 p.m.: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday July 7th, 8.30 p.m.: Levi's Corner House, Ballydehob, Co. Cork
Friday July 20th, 9.00 p.m.: Green Acres, Wexford
When the world insists on squawking
When the tone deaf have the floor
Close your eyes and open your mind
Listen to the first song you find inside
It's tax-free and in your own key
Arranged by you to suit your mood
Follow it through to a glorious landing
A priceless perk for those who can imagine
It's time for a song, a summer song of love
Once again, like then
In that Orange Coloured Sun
Down by the sea
There isn't as much time as I thought. In general, there isn't as much time as I think. I'm possessed of a forever mentality, no immediate rush, I'll get that ready for next year. Overwhelmed with ideas and plans, I scrawl them out on a notepad. The book (where's that feckin book?), an album of instrumentals (almost ready), a new album of songs (keep on demoing), a concert with a full orchestra (orchestrated by Liam Bates), a stage performance called 3 Minute World. With all the time in the world, it's no problem, I'll get to em.
But it just dawned on me that it's not that long to the Grand Social show in Dublin! There isn't as much time as I thought. Gather up the gang, time for another bang up crack with my Irish sausages. Spread the word, I'll hone in, and spring to the present. Got a new song for ye, and I'm twisting the others so that they are omni present, and possessed of a forever mentality. I may not kiss you, but I love you more than any new- born baby.
xxxx
Pierce
The Orange Coloured Sun tour - Dublin on Friday!
Upcoming gigs:
Friday June 22nd, 8.00 p.m.: The Grand Social, Dublin
Thursday July 5th, 9.00 p.m.: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday July 7th, 8.30 p.m.: Levi's Corner House, Ballydehob, Co. Cork
Friday July 20th, 9.00 p.m.: Green Acres, Wexford
Yick, yick, yick, goes the blackbird at the top of the leafless tree. I wonder why it is leafless? Clare says it's dead. "Hmm, and yet it stands, way up high above all the living leaves, wonder why we don't' stand when we die?"
I start to imagine the possibility. Where would we put us, would we still have graveyards? If so, undertakers would have to use different vehicles - stand-up jobs, maybe like a chariot. And of course there would be no reason to change the dress code that we now employ for our wakes. A nice suit, shirt and tie, or her favourite dress, with full make-up of course, in both cases, as it is now. Or we could return to the original shrouds, when death was gender equal. Even big sturdy macho men adorned a gown for their trip to heaven, with nothing underneath of course, clothes wouldn't be necessary in either of the supposed destinations. The chariot would drive through the town with him/ me standing there in a black or purple smock (ecclesiastical colours) in full make–up, with the hair groomed back like Ronald Reagan or Teresa May, and nothing but the wind underneath. What if, like the tree, we didn't pong? Graveyards might not be necessary at all. We could be just stood in the corner, or sat in our favourite chair, to wilt away until we fall apart. Sitting here at the kitchen table with my morning cup of tea, as you can see, I have travelled to all kinds of crazy thoughts with my imagining dream-state. The blackbird continues to yick,yick. She sees Albert the cat languishing in the hot sunny grass, but Albert has no intention of pursuing her babies, he is a big softie. Still the old tree holds sturdy, would I rather be a tree?
I have more than three gigs coming up. And if I don't see you there, I won't see you at all. I have got my songs and my stories, and my love for all of you, only you and I can share what this is. And no matter what happens, the memory will stand for a long time, just like the tree. Build your memories, they are our foundation for the present. I am coming with fire in my belly, like a jumping jack flash!
And I love you as much as I love the Stones. Dublin next week! Weeha.
Pierce xx
The Orange Coloured Sun tour rolls on - Wexford on Friday 20th!
Upcoming gigs:
Friday July 20th, 8.30 p.m.: Green Acres, Wexford. Tickets for gig only here. Tickets for gig and 2 course meal here.
Thursday August 18th, 9.00 p.m.: The Hole in the Wall, Kilkenny
Just got back from a couple of gigs in the West. Hit Cork City, then drove south west to Ballydehob, or as I call it, Ballydequityourjob, ‘cos it seems like most people who live in this idyllic little haven have moved there with the wisdom of a Buddhist monk. I am sure that the waiters in the little café across the street from Levi's Corner House, were hoarding PhD's in their biscuit tins above in the attic.
Joe from Levi's found time to run this great spot, share the minding of his beautiful daughter Johanna, one year and three months old, going on PhD. His wife Caroline had a laptop attached to her as she levitated around with the calmness of a Ballydehobian, doing some kind of computer work and minding Johanna, as well as helping with the shop. Joe's mother Joanne, always seemed to be leaving as she was staying, and you'd be mistaken to think she didn't have the run of the place. I asked Joanne could we put the TV on to watch England playing Sweden. Caroline, Joe and little Johanna were at the Farmers Market in Skibb (Skibbereen) and like all TV's, their TV didn't like strangers trying to turn it on. It didn't even recognise Joanne.
"Ara don't worry about it Joanne" said I, picking up the Cork accent.
"Ara no, I'll give Joe a call"
I really didn't want her to go through all this trouble for me, and didn't want to interfere with Caroline and Joe's fun at the market. Mike and I went in to set up the gear for the gig, Joanne kept fiddling away, she was intent on sorting this out. We were hammering out my loudest song "The Sky and The Ground" with the drum machine at full wallop, when Joanne came in and said how wonderful it sounded. Because she is a Mammy, I half-expected her to recoil from the volume, but no! She loved it, and said I should stop while I was ahead.
"You'll be worn out"
Off she went inside to have another go at the telly.
"I figured it out" says she, "It wasn't plugged in! How the hell could it work if wasn't plugged in?"
It was 3 p.m. and they were singing God Save The Queen. I made up a salad and sat down to watch, thinking how great Joanne was for going through this much trouble for Mike and myself. To my surprise Joe's mother sat down too, folding her arms she became engrossed with the proceedings, she meant business. I wondered how long she would last, she lasted!
"Ara how could he miss that? He shoulda just kicked the bloody thing. Ah shur he's way offside for God's sake."
He was! And the bloody Ref didn't even see it.
The sun continues to be lost, it must've confused Ireland with Spain. Long may its little happy head be muddled, for we are a gladder people, if this goes on we might even play like the Spaniards and win the World cup.
Next week … Wexford, the centre of the universe. The beautiful Green Acres even has air-conditioning, not put in there for us mind you, it's for the art, but we get to use it anyway, so cool beer and wine with cool air. I'll have something new for you, and we will sing Orange Coloured Sun in the summer of our lives.
Another gig just added, the AKA Festival Kilkenny in an Elizabethan pub called the Hole In The Wall, only holds 50.
I love you more than I can remember.
Pierce xxxx
The Green Acres show will be dedicated to my dear friend Michael Carroll who sadly died last month, still a young man - Michael helped me hugely through I.T. snaggery, he was such a special person. And to his beautiful young family who must be so heartbroken. We love you Michael - hope you are getting to the bottom of one of your great passions, the paranormal.
The Orange Coloured Sun tour - Kilkenny and beyond: Oops wrong date!
Upcoming gigs:
Thursday August 9th, 9.00 p.m.: The Hole in the Wall, Kilkenny
Friday August 24th: Tea Lane Chapel, Celbridge. SOLD-OUT Parlour Performance. To get on the cancellations list for this intimate performance in a unique setting, contact Frank Phelan at 086-8167193.
Mid-September to early November: Available for house gigs in the UK - Email me!
Friday, November 2nd: Brasserie Zedel, 20 Sherwood Street, London, W1F 7ED
December: Available for house gigs in Ireland - Email me!
Friday, December 7th: The Hot Spot Music Club, Greystones, Co. Wicklow
The tropical weather has subsided now in Ireland, we had a full day of rain yesterday and it was spitting a bit this morning. The grass is grateful and I'm pleased for it, the poor thing had turned to the colour of sand.
It's half past six on Monday July 30th, the bright yellow south-eastern sun cuts through the net curtain into the sitting room of our bungalow on Davitt Road South. Outside the air has returned to the more common texture that we are accustomed to, cool and fresh with a hint of moisture, perfect for an evening walk by the water, but not for a swim. Not a bother though, I have clocked in a lot of swimming time already this summer. Won't do me any harm to stay dry for a few days.
If you are in Ireland, my next gig will be the opening night of the AKA Festival Kilkenny at the beautiful Elizabethan Hole In The Wall on August 9th.
If you are in England, I will be over there from mid September to early November, excited to announce that I have been asked to perform in Piccadilly Circus at Brasserie Zedel on Nov 2nd at 9.30. Tickets don't go on sale until September, save the date, this place is stunning.
While I am wandering around the UK I would love to pick up some house gigs, let me know if you fancy one. The same applies to Ireland in December, I would like to do some private Christmas gigs, write to me here. It goes something like this:
Not on December 7th though, I will be at the Hot Spot in Greystones on that night.
I love you more than you love yourself.
Pierce xxxx
Brighton musings
Mid-September to early November: Available for house gigs in the UK - Email me!
Friday, November 2nd: Brasserie Zedel, 20 Sherwood Street, London, W1F 7ED
December: Available for house gigs in Ireland - Email me!
Friday, December 7th: The Hot Spot Music Club, Greystones, Co. Wicklow
Friday, December 28th: Greenacres, Wexford
I grew up by the sea, it lived across the road from us on the quay, upstairs in the sitting room with that blazing fire at my back, I often peeked past the curtains at its commotion. From my bedroom on the third floor, the seagulls announced the dawn with their yelps as they circled the Dutch coal boats in pursuit of their morning slop.
Now I am in Brighton U.K. where the seagulls play a much bigger part than they did in Wexford. Their announcement of the dawn is like the sound of an advancing army, thousands of yelps, squawks and baby squeaks of laughter, many Brightonians would like to mow them down, or make them wear diapers at least. Sometimes you can hear the blood-curdling, banshee-like wail of a fox as she fights with a Mammy gull. I am told the foxes go after their babies, and that sometimes the gulls go after the fox cubs. I go out and there is a baby gull standing on the roof of the car, right in the middle, like an ornament. I know it's a baby because it is not white yet. They are beautiful animals, but they leave their mark everywhere, long brown splatters mixed with subtle feather clings to almost every available glass surface. Shat-upon windows are more common than untarnished ones.
Down by the beach (if you don't presume a beach to mean sand) they stand still in the wind, like a suspended sculpture, it feels like you can reach out and touch them, and they seem unperturbed by that possibility. A live animal meditates within arms length, floating into the weather. I retreat to the café (pronounced caff here) on the waterfront, there guarded by canvas windbreakers. I consume a sausage sandwich and a cup of tea and think of what I should write to you.
I miss my American friends, how are you? I will be back in January; I look forward to seeing you.
If you are in England, I have a great gig coming up between here and France - November 2nd at Brasserie Zedel in Picadilly Circus, the very heart of London. This is one of England's great venues with a grand piano on the stage, it is the English version of Manhattan's Joe's Pub. In the meantime I am writing and sleeping and looking and listening.
And I still love you more than fish……. and chips. Pierce xxxxx
Live in London on Friday 2nd
Friday, November 2nd: Brasserie Zedel, 20 Sherwood Street, London, W1F 7ED
December: Available for house gigs in Ireland - Email me!
Friday, December 7th: The Hot Spot Music Club, Greystones, Co. Wicklow
Friday, December 28th: Greenacres, Wexford
"Two flat white coffees please". I am standing there at the Meeting Place on the Brighton sea front, waiting for the coffee, when I look over and see Clare in a tizzy, half-wanting to keep an eye on the sea and half-wanting to get my attention. "What the hell's up with her?" I thought. Right then, the coffee arrived and she was pleased to see me coming towards her.
"Look!" she shouted, and everyone else looked too. I looked out and saw the beaming sun burning like a spear through the water - very near to shore two fishing boats circled in pursuit of their catch. But we had already talked about that, what else was there? There was obviously something, everyone was oohing, then I saw its grey shiny shape, the classic body of something I had never seen in real life before, a dolphin, only about one hundred metres out. It leaped way up and smiled at us, sandwiches were dropped and eggs were stopped as the whole outdoor restaurant smiled with delight back. Clare says that through all her life growing up in Brighton, she never had never seen a dolphin in the sea. Someone gave us something for free on Brighton's front of sea. I challenge anyone to still be angry with life after looking at that sweet animal smiling.
I ain't no dolphin, but I promise to bring all the love I can muster to Crazy Coqs live at Zedel in Picadilly Circus next Friday at 9.15 - I have a new monologue about Wexford that I have written to start with, and from then on I will jump up in the air and smile at you, singing all kinds of new and old songs. You won't get me on the Tellee! And there's a grand piano. Parlour scene supreme. Get em while they last.
I love you more than you believe.
Pierce xxxx
Parlour gig on November 24th
Saturday, November 24th: Parlour gig in Ennis, Co. Clare. Phone Bernard Dowd at 087 - 4686578 for details
Friday, December 7th: The Hot Spot Music Club, Greystones, Co. Wicklow
Friday, December 28th: Greenacres, Wexford
I have a friend who does a sock and a shoe, and a sock and a shoe. He was very annoyed when we all laughed at the idea, and I have to admit it's a bit odd that we all thought it was so odd. It's such a minor thing, isn't it? Who cares how anybody puts on their shoes and socks, who ever said that there was a right and wrong way? No-one ever told me to put my socks on first and then the shoes, it's not any quicker. In fact, if something were to go wrong, like the building catching fire, it might be better to have one shoe than none, of course you'd have to hop out of the building, but if the ground was hot, it would be helpful.
But what is so odd is our assumptions that the way we are doing it, is the only way. I remember being equally shocked when a friend of my brother's said that in his family they did not put butter on the bread before the jam. He didn't see why it was necessary, what had butter got to do with jam he asked. I once told my brother (the same one) that I hated if bread was soggy, never would put tomatoes in a sandwich, because it would get wet. Then I explained that I never have food in my mouth, especially bread, when I drink tea or any liquid, he just didn't believe me, after I insisted, he thought it was really odd.
Of course, since then, I have found that there are many odd enough things about me, one of them is that I like to play in parlours - not exactly the road to world domination. Furthermore, I have no desire to dominate the world. I have had letters of disappointment from people who are great supporters, regarding this. "Just give it one more major push Pierce, please." It's hard to be a fan of someone's music, if they are in a vacuum, it takes a bit of courage to say I like this guy that no-one ever heard of.
After my recent London gig (thanks to those who were there, great gig) a woman with a London accent came up to me and said she had really enjoyed the show, but "when I called my Irish friend and told her excitedly that I had tickets for you, she said that she had never heard of you, I was gutted". She then made an expression that seemed to suggest she had been cheated by the (real) quotes and the blurb in the fancy brochure for Crazy Coqs. Even though she loved the show, she felt unfulfilled because her excitement wouldn't hold water when it came to delighting about her experience, because I wasn't well known. I gave her the answer that I always give about her friend: "well she's heard of me now!"
Bernard Dowd, who is hosting a parlour show in his wonderful converted schoolhouse in Ennis Co Clare, has asked me to give his number out for anyone who might want to attend. Knowing that I seldom play in that area he is saving 10 spaces, so here it is - Bernard Dowd in Ennis, Co Clare, 087-4686578. I am playing there on Saturday November 24th.
I love you more than my upright piano. Pierce xxx
Playing Greystones on December 7th
Friday, December 7th: The Hot Spot Music Club, Greystones, Co. Wicklow
Friday, December 28th: Greenacres, Wexford
I'm back from County Clare, it's four and a quarter hours from there to here. Bernard, who was hosting the gig in the old reformed school house in Maghera, warned me that there were several Maghera's and that everyone gets lost looking for his place. This information put me into a bit of a panic, because Mike and I are now known throughout the world as the team who always get lost. I went straight to Clare (my wife, not the county) with this issue and pleaded for help, she is pretty good at this kinda thing. A day later Clare handed me my phone and said that she had programmed Maghera into it. And yes there was one in Northern Ireland, and that this was the right one, she had tried putting in St Stephens Church, which was next to the Old School House, but Mrs Google said NO! Happy with her assertion that we were covered, I left it at that.
First we had to get to Limerick, that was easy enough, and then we turned on Mrs Google. She sounded confident and even though she speaks with an American accent, she seemed to know her way around County Clare well enough. She told us we were an hour and ten minutes away, great said I to Mike, we are going to be early!
The road signs began to indicate names that Bernard had mentioned in his warning about the different Maghera's, there's one up on the mountain too, he said, "where there is an R.T.E mast, but we're nearer to Tulla", said he, and I was heartened to have seen a sign for Tulla. Now the road was getting narrower, and the sun began to descend behind the silhouetted trees and muddy sky. Tulla became nearer and nearer, and I cheered Mike on. "We are really close now" says I to Mike, who was doing the driving. "Only five kilometres to Tulla" "wee-haw" cried he, in mock cowboy.
Several clicks later, Mrs Google gave us a new command "Veer slightly to the right in two minutes". What happened to distances, I thought to myself, shouldn't it be a hundred yards or whatever? But there it was, a kind of slide to the right, we took it and descended down a small hill. This was a very narrow road, only fit for one car really, an S.U.V came towards us with the attitude that we were invisible, we pulled into the ditch, my passenger side buried itself in the wild thorny bush, we heard an aggressive thump, the S.U.V hadn't bothered to slow down as he banged our side mirror back and went upon his way. We had been climbing hills for a while on our previous narrow road, now we were climbing again on an even narrower one. Bernard did say that he was a good bit out. On we went for about fifteen minutes, and then Mrs Google instructed us to take another right in a couple of minutes. This was a different matter completely, as soon as we turned on to it, we could see that it was a whole other class of ruggedness, we expressed some consternation out loud to each other, but like the good lapsed Catholics that we are, went onward.
It was down a road with pools of mucky water and undisturbed rocks, in fact the road appeared undisturbed, like maybe no one ever went near it. We kept going, Bernard said it was a good bit out. We came to the bottom of a muck hill and were on our way out of it when Mrs Google said "You have arrived" "What?? Are you fucking joking me!" There was nothing, more of nothing than I had ever seen. Empty black fields behind stark briary bush, scarecrow trees, mucky ground, mucky skies, and a moon that badly needed charging. We were alone in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly it felt a bit frightening, could we get out of there? And if we could, where were we? Why was Google maps saying that this was it? I got out just in case, to take a look across the fields, maybe this was it? Bernard did say he was a good bit out, Nope, not a light or a lamp to be seen for miles.
We needed to turn around and get out of there, how? Mike remembered that there was an old gate back there where we could probably turn. We were backing up through the slippery mud and deep puddles, when Mike said he wasn't sure if it was front wheel drive or rear, panic again. I got out and directed him, slipping in the muck and covering myself in it. We turned around and made it back to the road, where a man was building a new house in the dark with a floodlit digger. "We were in the middle of nowhere" said I to him like a broken man. "Well you'll have to go back to the middle of nowhere agin", said he in a thick Clare accent, pronouncing Maghera "Mowra". I put St Stephens Church into google, and this time she recognized it because we were so near. We found it! and now I have to stop and rest. Phew!
The gig? Oh, that was grand!
I love you more than Google.
Pierce xxx
Happy Christmas from Pierce - Wexford gig on Friday 28th
Friday, December 28th: Green Acres, Wexford
Sunday, March 10th: The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
Sunday, March 17th: Joe's Pub, New York, NY
I'm going around here, where am I going? Nowhere! I'm just looking for a place to stop, a place to park. It's Christmas time in Wexford and the town is swamped with cars and dogs and buskers and shoppers, and them Christmas songs pouring from little horns overhead. There is an ice skating rink on the Quay, and a children's choo choo train on wheels, all lit up and sparkling, only the bored driver sits inside, but it goes around just like me. I dropped Clare off in the Bull Ring, the most central place, and went off looking for a parking place. I have a gig here in town at Green Acres, that's on December 28th.
I drive up Cornmarket past Paddy Kelly's furniture shop, it's been there for decades, they used to sell clothes in there too. Manly stuff -wellingtons, corduroy trousers and sports jackets. Every summer my father would require a pair of summer trousers and a new sports coat, clothes suited to the hot weather (sic). However he was a bit shy about fitting things on, so my mother would go there and order an assortment to be sent down to the house. He would try them on in the kitchen and my mother and sister would pass comment, it was a common practice all over town. Lovely people the Kellys, they seem to be surviving with the furniture thank God.
I go back down Abbey Street past Whites Hotel, nice decorations in the bar, not that many in there though, down past Selskar Abbey from the 1100's (no roof now, for tax purposes) and shit I'm off on the one way street roundabout again, back down past Dunne's and on to the Quay again.
There's a spot on the right-hand side going in the opposite direction, but I can't swing over there because so much traffic is coming off the bridge. And on I go, shit I'm going up past the Bull Ring again - I am sweating now from a singular position. God I have got to get rid of this car, I would do anything, and if someone said ‘you can park here but you can't have the car back' I would say ‘OK' I swear.
Up past Kelly's again and and and…… what!!! There's a spot, I pull in and put money in the meter, and think, ‘Now what'll I do, what was I out here for?"
Are you coming to Green Acres? If you are home for Christmas and live within 40 miles, I expect to see you. We have a grand piano on stage and an upright out in the audience, Mick Egan will play guitar with me and we'll sing together, and laugh and drink all kinds of fancy wine and beer, work off some of that dinner in the process. Back to New York at the end of January with Joe's Pub on March 17th. That's one of the top five venues in America, in spite of the humble name.
I love you more than Paddy Kelly's.
Merry Christmas.
Pierce xxx
New Year gigs
Thursday, January 24th: Macken's Bar, The Bullring, Wexford. Tickets from Wexford Arts Centre, Phone: 053 912 3764
Sunday, March 10th: The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
Sunday, March 17th: Joe's Pub, New York, NY
Saturday, March 30th: Randy Now's Man Cave, Bordentown, NJ
Date TBC: 11th Street Bar, New York
May you have a peaceful, joyous and prosperous New Year, and may your mind be only on what is now.
Pierce Turner - Reggae Clancy Tour 2019 is building.
Stephen Holden writes in the New York Times: "Mr Turner's best songs feature old-fashioned narrative folk melodies with a strong Celtic flavor and chatty idiomatic lyrics, many of which remember Wexford with affection. In performance, Mr. Turner is more than just a chronicler of his home-town memories. He is a transplanted Irish folk vaudevillian who jubilantly evokes a high-spirited village ambiance, even jumping up on tables. Mr. Turner's best songs, such as ''Orange Coloured Sun,'' ''How It Shone,'' ''Wicklow Hills'' and ''Groovy Hearts,'' are substantial folk ballads with quirky lyrical images and the kind of whimsicality one associates with Ray Davies of the Kinks"
Back in New York
Wednesday, February 20th: 11th Street Bar, New York - 510 East 11th Street between Avenue A & Avenue B
Sunday, March 10th: The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
Sunday, March 17th: Joe's Pub, New York, NY
Saturday, March 30th: Randy Now's Man Cave, Bordentown, NJ
We had a 60's party for New Years Eve up here in our Davitt Road bungalow. I say up, because we are the middle of the hill that rolls up from the waterfront, or the sea front, or the Quay, depending on where you are from. And I think of myself as being from the Quay, although I lived up here on the north end of this road until I was nine. All beside the point really, but I just thought that I would tell you anyway.
We had a forties party last year, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and other more obscure jazz stuff a la Ken Burns, that went well. I wanted to try a different decade this year, after considering 70's and 80's I wondered aloud, why am I skipping 60's? After all, might that not be the great decade that has influenced every musical decade since? Still it was hard work, it seemed like a lot of the great tracks have been getting too much exposure, so I had to dig deep. While digging, I came across Doris Day singing "Move Over Darling":
I was surprised, thought that she was maybe dead by then? It turns out that she is still alive today, never mind back then. So I looked at a biog on Youtube. To my surprise Doris was a singing star in her early teens,singing in big bands from fourteen on, having hit records before she was twenty. Then she reluctantly starred in a musical movie, she was reluctant because she had no belief in her acting ability, and had never tried it. She did a few more and they were very successful. She became a huge box office attraction. Then she was asked to delve into drama, to act opposite Kirk Douglas in a movie about a famous American jazz trumpeter, the movie was called "Young Man With A Horn."
Now if you are Irish, you will be falling around the floor at the idea that a movie could be called that, in Ireland we could never make a movie called "Young Man With A Horn" - Ireland is not known for its jazz trumpeters. There are many sayings that change their meaning upon crossing from America to Ireland and vice versa. "Park and Ride" for instance, is the equivalence of saying "Park and get laid" in Ireland. To understand the translation of "Young Man with a Horn" you would need to look at the Wexford English Dictionary to understand: horn 1 a; a projection on an animal's head. 2 b; is a physiological phenomenon experienced by men in which - ah sure, you know yourself.
I leave for New York on Thursday. New American gigs are falling into place, most urgently the great under the radar speakeasy at 11th Street bet Ave A and B - away from the traffic but not the fun. They have now upgraded the sound system in that cool back room. Tickets are available here. This will be my first New York gig in nine months, I look forward to seeing you, send requests. You have two weeks to practice, I'll see you there.
I love you more than you love me. Pierce xxx
And of course these other stellar shows including my Clancy Brother Special at Joe's Pub on March 17th - worth noting, St Patrick's Day is really on March 16th this year, that's the day of the parade. So the city won't be a zoo on the 17th.
Joe's Pub on Sunday 17th
Saturday, March 30th: Randy Now's Man Cave, Bordentown, NJ
I expect that Joe's Pub will be sold out at this rate, even my good friend Philip Glass will be there, he wants to hear my arrangement of Irish folk songs. Going to be some feckin night. Now I should explain that the set list in question (above) was from another gig, I am planning on including my new Irish folk songs (and my own) for which I am launching a crowdfunding campaign imminently for my album of these great timeless songs, songs that inspired many of my own. Heart-aching songs of love, emigration, debauchery and rebellion.
We will go through my website for this campaign, Michael Quiligan, the I.T. wizard from Limerick, who is behind all this shenanigans, is in the process of renovating the site for this exciting project. I love singing these songs, and the live response has been surprising, their connection with the audience in both Ireland and America has been a revelation. My Uncle Seamus told me to do this 30 years ago! I am slow! But, ye see, I am not on a normal trajectory, I am on a circuitous road to the far-off summit. What's your excuse?
We are currently putting a list of incentives together to fund this album of very Pierceified Folk, in which I will attempt to connect the dots between Ireland and Jamaica and the Caribbean, mon!
I hope you will be my producers again, without you I would not be a recording artist. After all, I do love you more than my doctor (easily)
Pierce xxx
New Album is Coming
Wednesday, May 15th: 11th Street Bar, New York, NY
Saturday, June 8th: The Fallout Shelter, Norwood, MA
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
When I was 16 I ran my mother's record shop in Wexford - it was her money that she had earned from her second hand clothes shop and B&B - and my record shop I suppose. I listened to everything that we had, from My Fair Lady to Velvet Underground, found something to like in every genre. Of course very little of the heavy stuff was available in Wexford. Showbands were the main source of live music, and through the good ones I had had access to high quality pop like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, reggae, ska and soul music. But there was a folk movement on the go that brought me something deeper and actually more in line with Velvet Underground or early Pink Floyd than all else. Bands like Emmet Folk and ultimately Emmet Spiceland, Christy Moore would have been in there too. They were singing these mysterious and beautiful folk songs like The Curragh of Kildare, Dainty Davy and Bunclody. As a young songwriter, I found these songs to be a huge inspiration, it was in my DNA to write like this, and so I did, melting the influences of Pink Floyd's Arnold Lane or the Beatles Eleanor Rigby to The Byrds 8 Miles High and even Otis Redding, with the influence of songs like Lovers Ghost or Mary from Dunloe by Emmet Spiceland.
I have never stopped singing these songs, performing a song like Bunclody in the middle of my own songs. It has the effect of turning my songs into the greenery around a rose, the ultimate outcome is refreshing, and healthily humbling.
But putting all this analogy aside, all of this music is just floating around in the ether, some of us pull the different parts together and try to make something new, others choose to sing what is already written. It's a great pleasure to sing someone else's song, to choose the cream of someone else's crop, and I am at present engaging in that great pleasure for my next album. Michael Quilligan, my Limerick partner in crime for this fundraiser (he gets all my mailing to you and designs and controls the website) asked was this going to be experimental like my version of Dirty Old Town, or conventional.
"Imagine if Roxy Music recorded an album of Irish Folk Songs" said I.
"I can't!" he replied.
But, can you?
Coming soon my next studio album: "IF I SHOULD RISE"
But of course I can't even begin without you - my record company of the street, grant me your support, and I will begin. You just need to go here, and choose the reward you want. And, unlike previous campaigns, 100% of what you contribute will go towards the costs of recording the new album. More rewards will be added throughout the campaign.
Love Pierce.
Want to hear the new album on vinyl?
Wednesday, May 15th: 11th Street Bar, New York, NY
Saturday, June 8th: The Fallout Shelter, Norwood, MA
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
We've also decided to add an option to get the new album on vinyl. But that will only work if enough people choose it - we'll need to submit an order of at least 100 to the pressing plant before they'll produce it. So please tell your vinyl enthusiast friends about it.
If we don't get enough orders to make it viable, we'll work with you to either choose a different reward or else refund you.
He was handing it to me like it had been pre-arranged almost. I found it bewildering, and didn't comprehend any deeper motivation other than the plain act of giving me his watch. I had a perfectly good watch, and didn't want to take his away from him, how would he keep his own time?
"I don't want your watch" I replied softly with ineffectual bewilderment.
"Aye, bates all you don't want my watch"
He pulled it back on to his wrist and went back to eating breakfast. We were the first ones up; the kitchen was quiet other than the thin sound of the transistor in the back kitchen playing "Oh to be in Doonerie". I was home from New York for Christmas, and as usual my father was reminding me of his mortality. Year in year out, it was always the same sentiment "I probably won't be here when you get back the nixt time" and the usual refutation by myself. Now he was offering me his watch, this was a new and surprising twist. He wasn't a wealthy man, he had worked his whole life in a foundry called Pierce's, where they made agricultural machinery and was prudent with the money he earned, always keeping a nest egg in the Credit Union. Believing in the rainy day, he was ready for it. He had enough he believed, he was a union man, a shop steward and was a devout unimposing Catholic as well as believing in socialist values. If my mother ever wanted to go on a holiday at the behest of one of my older siblings, he had the money to pay for it. The nest egg was for those occasions, and of course the covering of their funeral costs. I couldn't imagine that the watch was of much financial value, but that didn't matter to me, I
didn't want it regardless.
Later, when I found myself evaluating my response. I knew that I didn't want to think of my parents mortality, or my own for that matter, taking his watch felt like taking his time perhaps; yes I have never been a person who cares that much about "things" - never wanted a fancy car, or a fancy watch. But this was neither of those things; this, I realize now, was a leaf from the book of tradition that his generation observed. He wanted to live on in my life after his death, every day I would look at the watch and remember him, perhaps, or was he just trying to do the best that he could do? I wouldn't be inheriting any money after he died, in the pecking order I was at the bottom of the list anyhow (being the youngest) his watch was the most valued possession that he could give me, he wanted his sons to have something. But he had given me enough, he owed me nothing, we were equally non-materialistic as people, I had gone off to America to play music, not to become rich, I hadn't earned a fortune to show my parents big things, no trip to Italy to see Pavarotti, no palatial apartment in Manhattan to peruse the skyline or East River, I had inherited his modest ambition, I already had a watch.
And I am watching it right now, and a little worried about taking this pledge campaign on for my next album without the help of a major site. We are off to a good start though, reaching 13% of the goal this week. I have found an amazing rhythm section and would like to get them into the studio ASAP, before someone steals them away for a tour. Initially, we need to reach three and a half grand to capture them. They are so bloody good! I have to capture them. This is going to be a bright summery album to go with the seaside and country drives.
Thank you my Record Company of the Street, you are the ones who decide if I can make an album, and I love every single last one of you, thank you for your time. And yes, I do
wish that I had taken Jem's watch.
I love your little cotton socks.
Pierce xxx
Check out this rehearsal clip for the new album
Wednesday, May 15th: 11th Street Bar, New York, NY
Saturday, June 8th: The Fallout Shelter, Norwood, MA
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Click on the image above to see a short clip from my first rehearsal for the new album with Karl Wright on drums and Tim Zamboni on bass - I'm really looking forward to recording with them, and hopefully with your support I can do it. If you can support the fundraising campaign, please check it out here. Thanks to Declan Saint-Onge for the video.
I experienced this sensation when I began my pursuit of Karl Wright and Tim Zamboni as a rhythm section for my forth-making album. I have a long list of high quality musicians who are available to me in Ireland, or here in New York. But I wanted to try something different. I am recording Irish folk songs, so that's a start, and adding an unusual blend of musicianship is an important next step. I had been reading about the incredible connection between Ireland and Jamaica, 25% of Jamaicans are of Irish heritage, Cromwell sent the Irish there (including a rumoured 3,000 children from Galway) a great proportion came from Cork and Waterford, and that is why the Jamaican accent sounds a lot like a Cork accent! Look it up, it's fascinating.
When I was a teenager in a showband, I always sang the reggae and ska songs, always found the melodies and vibe to be natural somehow. So, since I am recording an album of Irish folk songs, I thought why not seek out some Jamaican musicians? My Jamaican friend Lister who used to work at Island records, suggested the drummer Karl Wright, a Jamaican who has been living in New York for several years. My engineer Roman Klun also suggested Karl, and knew that he had worked with Nando Griffiths a successful reggae producer. I found Karl online and saw that he was brilliant, Nando supplied his phone number and Karl suggested Tim as his favourite bass player. I explained that I don't want to make a reggae record, I just wanted them to play what they wanted behind Irish folk songs. Then I would mould it around the new arrangements that I had devised to suit this sentiment. When we got together at eight o clock on a dark Monday night , April 15th, I have to say that I was a bag of nerves, it was tremendously scary. Would we like each other? Would they like the music? Would it work at all? Would these songs be too alien to them? I booked a cheap studio, tight budget. We could hear very clearly what the band in the next room were doing. However, we got over it and bared down, everyone cared for the outcome, and it swung and swayed like a bastard. We were only there for an hour and a half, and made a fair dent in 2 songs. The next day I was jubilant, I had scared the living daylights out of myself, and found the perfect rhythm section. Thanks to your generosity we can put the backing tracks down now, I have a few rehearsals and will record them on May 9, 10, 11 - of course there is loads to do after that, but at least I will have captured this magic before someone takes them on the road.
I did what I hadn't already done, it seems, and I am off on a wild adventure, you are coming with me. Only 57% to go!
Pierce xxx
Nearly halfway there - new incentives available
Wednesday, May 15th: 11th Street Bar, New York, NY
Saturday, June 8th: The Fallout Shelter, Norwood, MA
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
We want to finish the campaign by mid-June, so that we can concentrate on the recording and everything that comes after that.We want to keep the momentum going, so we have just released some new incentives - posters, photos and even an original Turner painting! If you click on the image above, it will take you to the crowdfunding page on my website. We have rewards that fit every size wallet, but if you don't see something you like and you have an idea for something else, get in touch and we'll see what we can do. Don't forget - we're hoping to release on vinyl as well if we get enough people to commit to it. If you can share the campaign through your social media channels, that would be really great.
I first heard Monto sung by the Dubliners. I had heard they were great characters and my "cool" friends loved Luke Kelly, they also favoured The Who and The Lovin Spoonful, so their approval was notable. We went to the Parish Hall to see them, I was about sixteen and the Parish Hall was still a formidable venue in my mind. I had seen Roy Orbison there and the Tremoloes (who were a great live band, they started with a great version of Reach out I'll be There) and had unfortunately missed The Move, had a gig that night (that was a real bummer).
The Dubliners were a rag taggle of five mature men spread across the stage, beards and out of control hair was the norm. I think it was banjo, fiddle, and guitars, some penny whistle playing, all fine competent musicians. But the two main voices are what made them most interesting to me, beside their brusque, tongue-in-cheek attitude. Ronnie Drew sounds like an unhooked trailer being dragged along the ground, a sandpaper bass voice that is solely possessed by only one man, he sung with his head hung stiffly to one side while strumming acoustic guitar. They even had a hit in England (very rare for any kind of Irish band at the time, never mind these fellas). The song "Seven Drunken Nights" was sung by Ronnie and his voice was a first for BBC Radio too.
Luke Kelly was completely different however, he had a strong open baritone, there was no whispering or affected emotions about either one, Luke had a big voice though, he just opened up his voice and sang full out, you knew that you would be able to hear him without a microphone. He had a big shock of red curly hair, and was fit, he had oodles of charisma, unlike Ronnie with his big watery eyes and iron focus, Luke was loose and relaxed with a natural smile that stayed its distance, the kind that doesn't require a smile back.
Like most of these songs, I got the definitive lyrics from Robert Gogan's trilogy of Irish songs, this one was in the "50 Great Drinking Songs" book. In the book he explains this song is about the red light district in Dublin during the 1800's – Monto, stands for Montgomery Street, which was one of the worst slums in Dublin at the time "The red light district of gaslit, foggy and thronging streets" is the way Robert describes. The other Robert Gogan books are "50 Great Irish Fighting Songs" and "50 Great Irish Ballads" They all come with chords and lyrics, a brief history of each song, and a CD with enough of each song to teach the tune. I can't recommend them enough for absolute clarity and tireless research.
I'll be recording Monto and other songs like it on my new album – I'd love it if you were able to support our crowdfunding campaign.
Pierce xxx
53% and rising
Saturday, June 8th: The Fallout Shelter, Norwood, MA
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Here's a brief clip from the recording session for my new album. If you can support the fundraising campaign, please click HERE
This first stage of the recording is probably the most expensive part, it knocked a big hole in the budget so far raised. The good news is that I was able start now! As opposed to waiting until the end, as I was obliged to with Pledge Music. It has come to our attention that some people are having a problem with their credit cards on the site - if you are having an issue would you please, please contact me here claregturner@gmail.com and I will help. We're working on figuring it out, but in general it works best if:
- You already have a Paypal account and pay through that (the first option on the site) rather than entering your credit card details.
- You have validated your card or your bank account with Paypal, so that they can lift the limit on your account that prevents larger payments. You can get more information on that here.
We just did three solid days in the studio on the album. It was condensed pressure, I found myself saying "hang tough, don't let go" quite a bit. Everything was perfect really, Karl Wright on drums and Tim Zambonifunk on bass were a dream, as was Roman Klun at the board and of course my brother, the one and only Fred Parcells on trombone. But I have taken eleven Irish folk songs and written very different arrangements for them. Keeping track of them all and making sure that I deliver an album to the world that can hopefully fill the function that I expect from an album when I purchase one myself - that requires hanging tough. But my file of notes, lyrics and music sheets did the trick, I was able to answer most questions (and there were a lot of questions) with an assured response.
Innsbruck Studios is in Lower Brooklyn, about five stops on the L train. I get on at First Avenue and 14th Street, from there it travels under the East River into Brooklyn, about five stops later I ascend at Montrose Street. It was once an industrial area, now those vast empty buildings are in the process of transforming into rehearsal studios, gay nightclubs, internet radio stations and at least one recording studio. I pick up a sandwich at the deli that sells everything from buckets to potato salad. I tell the short man behind the tinted deli counter, who speaks Mexican English, that I would like a chicken sandwich on a roll:
"Bicy durky or chicka?" he asks,
"Chicken!"
"No bicy chicka, you whan durkey?"
"No I don't want spicy, just chicken"
"On a dees roll or large?" he holds up an ordinary bread roll.
"Yes that one"
"Hot or cold"
"cold"
"Tomato, lettuce?"
‘Yes please"
"Mayonnaise, mustard?"
Now that has planted that idea, I find it attractive.
"Yes mayonnaise please"
"Lettuce?"
"Yeah ok "
"How abow unyin?" (Jesus Chris whatever, just give me the fuckin samwich)
"Yes please"
He still looks like he has more questions, but I cut him off by going over to the checkout counter. It turns out that he is a perfectionist, and the sandwich is delicious, and… it was only 5 bucks, plus the checkout guy, middle Eastern I presume had a genuinely kind smile when I enquired if he had Advil - my throat was on fire from a coming cold. He recommended the capsules for a quicker response and then threw a banana in the bag with the sandwich, implying that some fruit would help too. It reminded me of what my own neighborhood in the East Village used to be like. Every day these guys got me off to a positive start, the sandwich was almost an excuse to see them, and yes the deli man took me through those questions every day.
If you are in NY don't forget the special under the radar gig at the great 11th Street this Wednesday.
I love you more than unyin.
Pierce xxx
Credit card payments working again
Saturday, June 8th: The Fallout Shelter, Norwood, MA
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
I mentioned last week about the problems people were having with payments - the good news is that we have fixed them! If you want to use Paypal, you can do that - it's the 1st option on the checkout page. Be aware, though, that Paypal might have extra security checks relating to validating your card - particularly if you're pledging for a larger amount. More information on that here. If you just want to make a straightforward credit card payment, you can use the 2nd option on the checkout page.
My first three years in America were mandatory, waiting for my green card application to go through meant that I had to stay put until the process was complete. My first trip home after three years was euphoric. I had missed my family and friends so much, had also missed Wexford and Ireland, it was a time of growth from twenty- one on, and that growth happened in America solely. I was like an Irish tree with an American branch shooting from it. That trip had some surprising negatives though - one guy (who was feted for his black belt in karate) made a threatening stance against me: "Spose you think you're a big fella now living in Ameirikay!"> He stood in a combat stance and was rapt with pent up anger. I had been to school with his older brother and had always admired him as a person of wisdom. I just told combat-man that and walked away. But his anger was only of great note because it was physical and thereby ominous, it soon became clear that he represented an underlying resentment that was shared by more than one. It made absolutely no sense to me at the time, and it sent me back to New York with some semi-bitterness.
When I returned to Brooklyn and met up with all my new friends in the local bar, I was incredibly warmed by their presence. They had missed us and were very excited to hear what Wexford was like? Ultimately many of them ended up visiting there. They were part of my family tree now, and I was part of theirs. One of them was Robin Johnson, she and her brother Gary had a strong artistic sensibility; they were sensitive intelligent souls with a penchant for deep conversation. Both were classically handsome and it didn't take long for me to wonder what my chances were with Robin. But Robin had another kind of boy in mind, and when she announced that she was getting married, at a pretty young age, I saw where she was heading, certainly not in the direction of someone like me who had no intentions of marrying until I was completely cornered.
Last week, a few decades later, I found out that Robin's husband had died. A mutual friend had come to a show and videoed me on his phone giving Robin my condolences. After that Robin pledged to support my next album and bought it in advance. I wrote to thank her. She wrote back to thank me for the consoling video clip. Then she wrote back again and included a photo of her on her wedding day getting dressed at home, she was so young, so beautiful, wearing hardly any make-up if any, as fresh as a spring stream. She also sent me a photo of a group of people standing in the upstairs balcony of the old protestant church where they were hitched. It took me a moment to realize that I was in the photo, taken in the mid-seventies, I remembered none of the me that was standing there. I didn't even know my clothes! Was that a brown velvet jacket? I never remember owning one. And the hair! Jesus it was a statement, shiny, long, brown and split down the middle with a pair of dark mutton chops leafing the side of my face. Then there was the expression, what was going through my mind? I found myself trying to get inside to find the answer, who was this person? I began to remember the wedding, it was very new age, very un-catholic and there were recorders! An ensemble of recorders! A mixture of all shaped young ladies in long dresses with flowered crowns adorning their wild spring hair- very Anglo-American and fair. There is a look of benign amusement on that face of mine, I have always hated recorders for their unstable and ethereal uncertainty, here they were fulfilling all the musical needs of this wedding ceremony. But it was sweet, beautiful Robin, and in my face I can see that I am stifling my hatred for the instrument for the sake of harmony and hope. I can tell that from the way my arms are crossed in determination and resignation, humility has prevailed, thank God, and I seem to have decided that the beauty of that sunny moment overpowered the limp wind of those accursed flutes.
Looking at yourself in a photo that you have never seen before, a photo from the long ago past, is like seeing yourself as someone else almost, like looking at yourself in a different dimension. In truth, it really is a different person, as we get older that is the way it seems. Looking back I see myself as a series of different people, some of whom I totally disagree with, and some of whom are better than who I am now. Maybe we shouldn't think of ourselves as one long project, but as a series of several. When one dies, anther one is born. Surely that is a more accurate way to measure our lives and keep track of time. You are not forty, fifty or sixty, you have just begun a new stage, and depending on how long your segments have been, the Indians say seven years, you may be on your ninth stage? That would make you nine! (lets say that's how we're counting). At that rate our time measuring seems more like that of a cat or a dog. I think I'm on to something here, twenty stages doesn't seem so unfathomable! Don't say I never gave you nothing.
I love you more than I hate recorders, and that's a lot.
P,P and P. xxxxxxx
It's easy if you try ...
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
The album was recorded at first in John and Yoko's home, a grade two listed Georgian country house called Tittenhurst Park in Berkshire county. A lot of talented and famous friends gathered around to assist, Klauss Voorman on bass, George Harrison on guitar, Alan White on drums and Nicky Hopkins on piano, with Phil Spector at the helm. Of course, before that John would have spent several weeks, if not months, or even years, writing the songs. They say the song Imagine was written in one sitting, while Yoko listened on the bed, they don't mention the gestation period it takes for something like that to grow. Then the songs would've been introduced to Phil Spector, perhaps over a few glasses of wine. In the documentary you can see John introducing them, one-by-one to the musicians. Then they begin rehearsing, each song could take a day to arrange in rehearsal, or more, depending on the way it falls into place, but more likely it depends on how well John wrote the song in the first place. Then the backing tracks were recorded, with John singing a scratch vocal to guide and make sure they stay true to his song. It can be frightening sometimes when an artist begins this process, very talented backing musicians can come up with creative parts, but if you're not careful, the song can speed up slightly or slow down in the giddiness and camaraderie of the moment, not always in a good way. Or a part can develop that sounds good on its own, but not when the song is sung with it. So John would've sang along, he might have to sing it ten times, I can tell you from experience, I just finished recording backing tracks, because I wrote the arrangements and know the song inside out, I might sing it perfectly on the first or second take, ten takes later my voice will sound tired, but the track will be perfect. This means that the vocal will have to be re-sung later. In the documentary you can see John over-dubbing the vocals later. He goes in to listen and goes back out to improve on what he has heard, when we are singing with the full band, the atmosphere is there, when you are on your own, you have re-create the atmosphere, it can take time to get back up to speed.
After several weeks of recording at Tittenhurst, John, Yoko and Phil Spector boarded a plane for New York City where they had some favoured musicians that they wanted to add, and of course the Spector string arrangements. They also wanted to mix at the Power Plant, a famous and expensive New York Recording Studio. After a week or two of overdubbing there, they would've taken some time to acess the tracks and prepare to mix. Mixing is a process where you have everything on individual tracks with independent control. This is a crucial stage, and a recording can be ruined, rescued or perfectly sculpted here. Depending on the song and the fussiness of the engineer, just getting the drums right can sometimes take the best part of a day. The producer Mutt Lang famously spent several days on the Bass Drum sound for the Cars song "Drive". Big records will often allot several days for each track in the mixing process. And after all that, if someone doesn't like the mixes, they will hire a re-mixer, who will then spend a couple more weeks mixing it in the Bahamas or somewhere. After all this, the album will be mastered. A special house for this process, usually with a legendary mastering engineer who has mastered countless hit albums, will go through each finished track with a fine tooth comb while listening through super high fidelity speakers, they will hone in on every minute frequency to make sure that album will sound good on every kind of hi-fi. Then there is the cover art and the credits to complete, better not forget anyone! Yoko wanted a photo of John with clouds in his eyes, it appeared demonic in reallisiation. Ultimately they double exposed a polaroid of John and a clouded sky. All told, from the point of John's introduction of his finished songs, it will have taken about six months of intensive work involving a huge team of talented people, and a few hundred thousand dollars of expenditure.
When it arrives in our hands, we take it out of the folder and begin listening, it can give us forty minutes of inexplicable pleasure, transcend us from an old sofa to Avalon, but we seldom have a bull's notion of how much work went into making it. Just remember that today - thanks to a world where massive corporations like Youtube and Spotify give music away for nothing, most of us musicians have to do all this without the desired financial support, or reward. But thanks to the wisdom and kindness of those who are aware, we can raise enough cash to get it done.
Music may seem small nowadays, an oddity that should be free, but one three-minute song can still achieve in that amount of time, the impact of a great novel, it will stay with you all your life, and move you countless times, and you don't have to upgrade it, once you own it, it's yours. It is one of the most condensed forms of art, and for that reason, a great track sounds a lot simpler than it is. Thank you for your support.
I love you more than you can imagine.
Pierce xx
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Sunday, September 1st: Whelans, Dublin
Thanks to everyone who pulled the trigger on the crowdfunding this week. At 78% and 11 days left, I'm almost hopeful that we'll make it - are you?
I'm really excited by how it's going, and I hope that - with your support - we can give these songs the production and the quality that they deserve. Below is a video from the studio shot by my friend and collaborator, Fred Parcells. If you can help us by preordering the album or buying one of the special rewards on offer, please go here
Apparently I stood out, as I stood silently by a wall waiting for nothing, and being no-one, Elton wondered who the hell I was (Billy Joel went walking past, he seemedlike a nice guy, I wouldn't hold his music against him). Elton was doing six nights at Madison Square Garden, and they were all sold out, twenty thousand people a night. I was looking forward to seeing him live for the first time, I had loved his earlier stuff. When I shared a bedsitter in Rathmines with Larry Kirwan, one of our big thrills was to go to a little café with a juke box and have liver and onions with mashed potato, while listening to "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with those beautiful Beach Boy-like backing voices. Unbeknown to me I had been standing next to the door of Elton's dressing room. Leaning on a cinder block wall, it was easy to forget that I was in the V.I.P area. But of course the Garden wasn't really built with music performances specifically in mind. Professional ice hockey, ice shows, basketball, circuses and professional wrestling were placed equally high if not higher on the priority list. So when Elton popped out of his highly adorned concrete cave with the metal door, it seemed a little incongruous, and didn't have the bowled-over effect that you would expect while being within inches of a superstar. I kept him in my peripheral and allowed him his privacy as he spoke to his manager John Reid, my wife's boss. He was raising money for his AIDS charity at the time, and some wealthy royal dignitary had just written a check for a million dollars. Elton wanted to know what the protocol was if he was to thank the donor from the stage. I can't remember John's answer, but I noticed Elton throw his head in my direction inquiring who I was. That was the beginning of his curiosity about Clare and myself, and from then on we were invited to everything that he did in Manhattan. At a private showing of Trainspotting, catered with gourmet Chinese food, for about fifty people in a full size cinema, Elton and his boyfriend David Furnish, came from the front of the cinema all the way back to specifically talk to us in the middle of the centre row. He seemed to crave normal people, and I suppose that is what we represented, I can't say I was comfortable, but I admired them both for bothering with us, it said something about their values. I liked Elton; he was filled with curiosity, and had a big generous heart.
I have heard that John Reid is not given a flattering portrayal in the movie. Elton and he had been lovers, and a few years after I met Elton, he and John parted ways, bitterly. My wife was put in the uncomfortable position of choosing between the two, and was compelled to side with John, her boss. Sadly I never saw Elton again after that. Elton was going through some financial problems, his expenditure was so massive (apparently a million per year on flowers) that any kind of a dip in his income would throw the whole thing off balance, he needed a fortune coming in. Looking around at John's lavish lifestyle, he came to the conclusion that something was amiss, a conclusion that was thrown out in court by the way.
But we did get closer to John and his boyfriend James, a doctor from Belfast. So close that they came to stay with us in Wexford up on Davitt Road in our modest bungalow. In order to give them a decent double bed, I slept at my sister Dolores house, while Clare slept in the spare room with the single bed. During the day we drove them around in our little Renault 5, to Curracloe and Rosslare strand, and to fishing villages like Kilmore, dinner at The Lobster Pot in Carne, and Richard Trapp's Restaurant on the South Main Street, that kind of stuff. It was an odd experience, having stayed at John's luxurious London town house, and being served dinner by his butler in a penthouse Manhattan apartment that consumed the entire floor of a skyscraper and knowing his pedigree; he managed Tamla Motown Records in London when he was only twenty one, had taken Elton John to football stadium size and also managed Queen. No-one in Wexford had any idea who he was, although I think it's safe to say, the majority would have music in their homes that had passed through his hands. Now I am hearing about this movie with John's negative depiction, and I am finding myself sticking up for him. It's sad to see these two great men, who achieved so much, falling apart so bitterly. I am forced to come to my usual socialist conclusion - money and power begets turmoil and war - and movies about the powerful will only succeed if there is a villain. And it has to be a hit, so there has to be a villain. Looks like Rocket Man has the correct formula, and he was once squashed in the back of our Renault 5. By the way, John liked my music and offered to help, but that's another story for another day.
Go to bed!
We Did It!
Sunday, September 1st: Whelans, Dublin
We'll Be Able To Fly
Saturday, June 29th: Swift, New York, 6 p.m. Limited tickets available to a special performance as part of the 2019 Frank McCourt Creative Writing Summer School. Tickets $25 - only 15 available, pay via PayPal to piercenewyork@aol.com
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Sunday, September 1st: Whelans, Dublin
"I would like one photo of you sitting where BOC are sitting on 72nd and Broadway, one taken on the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C, and one taken at any location where Bob Dylan once hung out" Holy shit, I thought, that's pretty much all over Manhattan, and who is going to come with me to these locations to photograph me standing there? I put the idea to one side while I subwayed back and forth to Brooklyn where I have been recording the album - I'm a great believer in letting things sit for a while, to see if they can find their own solutions without me.
On Wednesday May 15th I took a break from rehearsing to play a gig at the 11th Street Bar. It was a mighty gig with a packed house. At the end of the night, Frank Rocco, a regular at my NY gigs and a great music lover, voiced his regret that he couldn't put a thousand dollars into my campaign, he would if he could said he. But however, he offered, "I could take some photographs of you, and maybe someone would buy them?" Absolutely said I, knowing that Frank is a professional photographer and a good one, but having no idea how it would work out.
Two days ago Frank got in touch with me and wondered when we might take the photographs. I suggested maybe coming to the studio, and he agreed. But after I got off the phone I started thinking about fulfilling any incentives that needed doing in America, before returning to Ireland in July. The first thing that came to mind was those three Manhattan photos for Michael. The next day I talked to Frank again to discuss the timing at the studio, and it dawned on me to mention Michael's photos, could Frank take them? I asked. "Yes of course" said he.
So today we met at 72nd Street and Broadway just next to the subway station and across the street from the Beacon Theatre, The Verdi Garden it's called. It's a monument to the great Italian composer, and it looks a lot smaller in reality than it did in the Blue Oyster Cult photo, they must be small. Michael Quilligan knows me well, he looks after all my I.T. stuff and is managing this crowdfunding campaign (which is still open by the way, our goal was the minimum) He didn't mince words, he wanted me to be "engaging" in the photos, struck me that he was tired of my pensive head shots. Ironically, his boys, the Blue Oyster Cult, looked so cool and laid back, and aggressively disinterested in their photo, that they seemed perilously close to nodding off. But OK, why not? He had paid for it, who knows, it might be interesting. On the train going up, it dawned in me that I was wearing slip on trainers, that it could be engaging for me to kick my shoe up in the air and catch it coming down, like I used to during 3 Minute World at live performances, that would be engaging! Frank liked the idea. At first the kicked up shoe just reached face level, and then it went higher, soon it was flying way up in the air and I was reaching full out to catch it, it was a lot easier to catch in daylight than in a dark club with blinding lights and a guitar strapped on. Frank showed me the photos, they were good. Then he and I discussed the Bob Dylan thing, we were on the west side, he spent most of his time in the West Village, so we should go there next – Frank had done some research "What about Great Jones Street where that iconic album cover for Freewheeling Bob Dylan was shot?" Perfect!. We got out at Christopher Street and walked over to Great Jones and 4th. The short block was instantly familiar, even with the cones and new road works barriers. We were walking up the middle of the road trying to figure out what angle that he and his girlfriend had been photographed from. Cars beeped, get out of the way, we weren't perturbed, we could feel the history. "It's over there!" A low size woman in her late sixties with a pleasant demeanor, pointed westerly and said if you stand across from that light pole and shoot this way, you will capture it. "Look in the window of that small record shop, you will see the actual cover" This was unbelievable, she had given us a perfect blueprint for how to take this photo. I went over and looked at the cover in the small dark window, his suede jacked was unbuttoned and he hunched his shoulders up to fend against the cold. It wasn't cold now, but I hunched anyhow, to be more "engaging" Frank showed it to me, it was good. Then we did a few with the kicked up shoe, it was a theme.
On the way across to 9th Street and Avenue C, we stopped outside of what used to be Folk City, another Dylan haunt where he soaked up the Clancy Brothers and Irish folk melodies - took a couple there too. After capturing the shoe catching on that corner where someone gave me something for free many years ago, we took some shots outside an abandoned, falling down, school with graffitied walls.
Frank walked up to my building with me and bade me adieu - thanks Michael - I think we got some "engaging" photos and had a fascinating time. Oh Manana in Manhattan in the Morning. And thank you Frank Rocco.
This morning I awakened to the memory of Great Jones Street and that iconic Dylan photo, it's not the kind of thing that I would ever do, never wanted to walk across the Zebra crossing at Abbey Road. But the experience has really resonated with me, just to think that I stood in that spot where Dylan walked with his girlfriend on that winters day, when he must've thought the world was perfect, having slept on sofas for two years, now a signed and critically acclaimed musician with a few bob in his pocket, even the cold ground was friendly.
The album is sounding so good - now I am worried that I won't be able to do it promotional justice, there is no big machine behind this. My idea is to start with "Monto" as an Irish summer single for radio, specifically aiming at Dublin - it's a Dublin song filled with Dub slang- and the track is killer for radio. I would like to do a poster campaign on the Dublin Streets (official sites) it will cost about $2000. Just in case there's a few of you who didn't get to it - we will keep the campaign running for another little while to see if we can cover the promotion.
Thank you so much everyone.
I love you positively on 4th Street.
Pierce xx
Every stop is neatly planned ...
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Sunday, September 1st: Whelans, Dublin
Friday, September 13th: Tait House, Limerick - tickets going on sale shortly
- Thanks so much to everybosy that contributed to the crowdfunding campaign for the new album - we did it! Or rather, you did it! I'll be heading back to Ireland shortly for some gigs over the summer, and so I'll need to close down some of the reward options in the campaign - so that the posters, CDs and so on are in the right place for me to send out to you. So, if you were thinking of pledging and you haven't done it yet, click here over the weekend to make sure that you get what you wanted.
- In a few cases, we needed to confirm what rewards people wanted, so Michael Quilligan sent out some emails to get that information - the handwritten lyrics, CDs, etc that people wanted. If he emailed you, please get back to him and if he didn't, you might hear from him in the next couple of days, so please watch out for that. If you don't get an email from him, you don't need to do anything.
- Don't forget - tickets are still available for my gig in Swift this Saturday evening, as part of the Frank McCourt Creative Writing Summer School - see the listings above for how to book.
- I'm delighted to add a gig in Limerick on Friday, September 13th in the unique and historic surroundings of Tait House in Limerick - tickets will go on sale shortly.
Pierce xx
Moving Swiftly on to Limerick ...
Friday, July 19th: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Sunday, September 1st: Whelans, Dublin
Friday, September 13th: Tait House, Limerick - tickets now on sale here
Swift was a great success, bloody boiling though. I got it into my head that they were a Limerick-ee audience, and I performed the entire evening thinking that, what difference it would make, I'm not sure, but if it could - it did!
I told them that they surely knew where Tait House was in Limerick (where I will perform, on September 13th) and in general talked to them like they were all hurlers.
Joseph O'Connor said that it was a brilliant evening, and that the next day in class, conversation about the gig dominated. They had never heard me before, and they liked it, this was also confirmed by a spy that I had in the women's bathroom, she said that they said that they "really bloody-well liked it".
Then Joseph wondered aloud if I was disappointed that when I mentioned Limerick, there wasn't much response. I know, said I, how come do you think? "Because they're not from Limerick! They're all New Yorkers except for the lecturers, that is"
I am getting ready to leave, I better pick up some more gigs. I'm finishing the album as I speak, and if it's as good as I think it is, it should be as big a success as my others. Thanks to Rudy Giuliani we now know that lying is ok, so long as you are not under oath. Anyway, my last album was number one in every country in the Western Hemisphere and had more hits on Youtube than Ed Sheeran! My new album is liked by everyone, they all say it is going to be HUGE, in fact it's possible that it will be in the charts before it is even released! I know people believe me, people who know.
Back to work.
So pleased with Wexford - they were stunning against Kilkenny and are the Leinster Champions!!!! I heard Limerick were playing too?
I love you as much as a good hurling match.
Pierce xxxx
How it shone!
Saturday, July 27th: Tea Lane Church, Celbridge, Co. Kildare
Sunday, September 1st: Whelans, Dublin
Friday, September 13th: Tait House, Limerick - tickets now on sale here
I'm delighted to announce a return visit to Celbridge in a couple of weeks - check out the details above.
"Should we go to the beach?" "Yea-ah, let's" Clare had read that the weather was set to steadily disimprove as the week wore on, we should get a swim in while we could. We gathered up the beach towels and made a flask of tea, I was about to pour milk into the flask when Clare pointed at the blue bottle with the fancy stopper on the table, she had half-filled it with milk, no need to put milk in the flask then.
A half-hour later we were in Ballinesker, which is part of Curracloe, a stunning seven mile beach of pure white sand. My sister Bernie met us there and we lay our towels upon the ground to bask in the sun, and as soon as our arses hit the towel, the question was popped "Should we have a cup of tea?" "Ah sure we might as well" we had only planned on being there for a short while, so there were no sandwiches, initially disappointing, not because of hunger, but because of the pleasure of eating wiches filled with sand.
I got out the flask and the coloured plastic cups, unappetizing yokes, but that's what we had. I reached for the blue bottle and ….. not a drop of milk left, the cap had opened in the bag. Shit, none of us wanted a cup of tea without milk. Bernie suggested that I go ask the lifeguards "They always have milk" "I'm not going to ask them I can tell you! - wait a second there was an ice cream van by the parking lot" They ignored me, I headed up there to get a cone, it's milk isn't it! When I returned they thought I was daft as I put a big dollop of ice cream in each cup before pouring the tea - and there it was "Ice Cream Tea" a rich creamy head sat upon the steaming hot potion and I found it to be delicious, Bernie wasn't sure though. Still, she thought it had potential as an invention. By the time I hit the stage next Friday in Wexford (tickets still available here), I will have consumed copious cups of golden tea, and filled my lungs repeatedly with pure Wexford oxygen. Good to be home.
I love you more than a 99
Pierce xx
Listen to the first track from my new album
Sunday, September 1st: Whelans, Dublin
Friday, September 13th: Tait House, Limerick - tickets now on sale here
You can hear the track here
I love you more than self-promotion
xxx
Ready to launch ...
Sunday, September 1st: Whelans, Dublin
Friday, September 13th: Levis Corner House, Limerick - tickets now on sale here
Saturday, September 21st: Levis Corner House, Ballydehob, Co. Cork
Tuesday, October 22nd: Wexford Spiegeltent, Wexford
Friday, November 15th: Coughlans, Cork
- The website - we've given it a bit of a tidy-up, with more to come.
- The new album, Vinegar Hill. You can read about it here and you can buy it here.
- The launch gig, tonight in Whelans. I'll be joined by Wayne Sheehy on drums and vocals, Garvan Gallagher on bass and vocals, Mick Egan on guitar and vocals and I'll be on tables and vocals. Along with the new album, the show will feature songs from the Manana in Manhattan live album.
- The other gigs, coming up in Limerick, Ballydehob, Wexford and Cork, with more to be added - click on the links above to book tickets.
I love you more than leaving everything to the last minute
xxx
Limerick up next ...
Friday, September 13th: Levis Corner House, Limerick - tickets now on sale here
Saturday, September 21st: Levis Corner House, Ballydehob, Co. Cork
Tuesday, October 22nd: Wexford Spiegeltent, Wexford
Friday, November 15th: Coughlans, Cork
Also hatching a plan to get to London before the end of the year - stay tuned!
Thanks a million to everyone that came out to Whelans in Dublin last week for the launch of the new album. It was great to see so many of you.
The next stop is at Tait House in Limerick on this Friday, the 13th. Tickets for that are going fast, and you can pick up one of the last few here
And thank you so much to whoever put up the sign below, on the overpass near RTE in Dublin. All contributions to the promotional campaign for Vinegar Hill are very welcome!
xxx
It's Tuesday
Tuesday, October 22nd: Wexford Spiegeltent, Wexford
Friday, November 15th: Coughlans, Cork
It's Tuesday, Tuesday is the worst day to have a gig, even Monday is better than Tuesday. My theory is that Monday can sometimes carry over the weekend energy, and as a reaction to the first sight of Monday's sobriety we can sometimes rebel against it by holding on to the let go of yesterday. But Tuesday is another matter, we know that it's pull up your socks day, we can't blow that day off too, unless we want to endanger the whole week. So don't expect too much of Tuesday, it's a day we pass on the way to somewhere else, like Hull or the village of Horse and Jockey. If you add rain to Tuesday it becomes a ‘duvet day' as well, when the cat lies at full stretch upon the bed and shows no intention of going anywhere, and your body feels like lead. But you have to put on a bit of a show, because no-one can even afford you sympathy on Tuesday, they are too busy trying to hold it together themselves.
When I was a teenager I had a day job, we had a Record and photography shop on the Wexford Quay just opposite the Bridge, and my job was to run it. Every morning at nine o clock the door had to be unlocked regardless of what the weather was like, or what day it was, excepting Sunday. I was in a semi professional band as well, so my weekends were spent in small dancehalls and marquees scattered all over the country, wherever our manager had one of his beauty contests running; we were the band. Sometimes we would get home from places as far away as Galway, just in time to drop my Brother Paddy at Walkers wholesalers and for me to open the shop. That day was usually spent in a trance, too tired to participate in any kind of discourse, including thought, and certainly not sales. But after a good sleep on Monday night, Tuesday came at me with awareness of my restrictions; I was going to be trapped behind that counter until Saturday night!
The Quay was a windier place in those days, well not really (of course) but you would think it was when you were trapped there on a rainy Tuesday. Going down on to the Quay was a phrase that carried the same clout and horror as suggesting a swim in January. "Sorry I mint to cum down to ye yisterday, but no-one wants to go down on the Kay when the wither is like that, do they?" So I was left to fend for myself, leaning on the shop window surrounded by masterful album covers, Bob Dylan to my right, the Rolling Stones to my left and the howling wind and angry rain swept Slaney to my front. An occasional raincoated human with their head bulling into the wind behind a buckling umbrella, would struggle to pass, while I wallowed in self- pity, all my shortcomings amplified by Tuesday.
But that was long ago, and now we have better coats, big stiff things that can stand up on their own, designed for the Canadian winter, and accessories designed for climbing Mount Everest. The Quay is friendlier, things are put there now; social events like The Spiegeltent Festival, Carnivals, Ice Skating Rinks and food festivals. And I don't have to man that shop any more. But By Jasus Tuesday hasn't changed, it's still a day of limbo and carries all the fear of something foreboding ahead, it's a day on the way to something else. If we can master Tuesday, we are good for the rest of the week.
In the meantime, take the rest of the day off!
London gig confirmed
Tuesday, October 22nd: Wexford Spiegeltent, Wexford
Friday, November 15th: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday, November 30th: The Fiddler, London
Also, we've added a few of my older albums to the store on my website - you can get them here.
And here's my most recent column for the Wexford People:
Joe was full of quips, very few of them were funny, surprising or meaningful, but he rattled them off anyhow, in his thick Brooklyn accent.
"The fyst hundred yays rr the whyst"
"Granma was slow, but she was old"
I was between bands, after playing with Larry Kirwan for a decade, first as Turner and Kirwan of Wexford and then as a new wave band called The Major Thinkers. Our record deal with Epic Records had ended abruptly and we just didn't know what to do next, so we called it quits, there was no juice left in the tank.
I called up my friend Joe, a landlord in Brooklyn, and explained that I was out on a limb, and desperately needed to earn a living while I figured out what to do next. He agreed to give me a lackey job in his houses, clean the toilets and windows, clean everything and anything, sort out the cellar, separate the oily rags from the useful, organize a black hole that had no real function, and still wouldn't afterwards. As he would put it in jest, I was his "slave".
If someone moved out of Joe's rooming houses it was declared an emergency, and we would descend upon it with a gallon of bright yellow paint. "Painting is cleaning huh?" he would repeat. I would answer with a sardonic sigh as we rolled canary yellow paint over the grease and nicotine stains to make it presentable for the next renter.
When a room was vacated it was declared an "emygency" a new renter had to be found fast, every unocupied day was considered to be catastrophic by Joe. He had arranged an interview with a potential tenant the next morning, and provided the bloke was respectable he could have it. Joe's rooming houses had a reputation for being clean and well run; tenants were lining up to live there. So long as tomorrow's interviewee didn't wear sneakers he would have it. Joe had to be judgmental, and wearing sneakers for such an occasion showed a character flaw, he reckoned.
Thirty years have gone by, and I still occasionally talk to Joe. Unlike the rest of the world he still answers the phone without looking at the caller I.D. He and his wife Marcella have always fastidiously manned the phones. Unlike most landlords who hope their tenants will leave them alone and get on with it, they tend to offer themselves up for every minor complaint. All four of their buildings have their phone number boldly posted on every floor. While we are talking he is always waiting for some call and usually moans about someone "I sway te God ahm gonna kill dis mutha one of dese days!" But of course he wouldn't have it any other way. He still peppers his conversation with quips "He lies like a rug!" and ends every call with "Take the rest of the day off!". This is my favourite quip, and I have taken this one into my own vernacular. I recommend it as a great way to put a smile upon tired or dreary faces. As it comes out of my mouth I realize that I could be becoming Joe, one of those old characters that young people giggle at bemusedly - we are whom we meet.
The next time you arrive at the cash register in a busy supermarket, and the attendant does their best to offer up company policy "Have a nice day" Try riposting with Joe's words "Take the rest of day off!" and you will see how much it genuinely tickles them.
Take the rest of the day off !
Tune into Dave Fanning tomorrow
Tuesday, October 22nd: Wexford Spiegeltent, Wexford
Friday, November 15th: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday, November 30th: The Fiddler, London
If you're up early enough on Saturday morning, you can tune into Dave Fanning on RTE 2FM radio in Ireland - he'll be playing a song from Vinegar Hill some time between 9 and 10. If you wanted to tell him afterwards how much you liked it, you could text into the show at 51552 or tweet them or email2fm@rte.ie But it's up to yourself, like - no pressure or anything!
Here's my most recent column for the Wexford People:
So here's what happened on that crazy New York morning. Because it was full, I stopped short whilst going through the door of a small restaurant and backed into a woman who was right on my heels. "Oh sorry" said I. She threw me an impatient look and was about to say something, but witheld. The message was clear though, she considered telling me off. What would she say? "You wanna back off!!" Or " You are a stoopid human being?" Anything is possible in New York.
I have always said that being there, is like living with a large dysfunctional family. This woman acted like a sister who was annoyed with her stoopid brother. I mean who would tell a stranger off for changing their mind about entering a restaurant?
Once when I was at a very boring Tom Stoppard play on Broadway, I picked up a Kit Kat in the foyer to give me sustenance, I hadn't eaten since breakfast. We were seated way way up in the gods, squeezed between strangers on both sides, in tiny seats, made for tiny people long ago. Winter anoraks underneath us, handbags in between, scarves, gloves and hats filling every cavity, it was claustrophobic and vertaphobic, and it was hot! Really hot! The play was on its way, it was pretentious and strained, my eyelids became heavy.
"Oh God I can't go asleep here… I know - find the Kit Kat, there are so many pockets in this blasted Canadian Winter jacket, I'll have to do this like an FBI spy".
Slippery and slowly I felt my way down the rugged exterior of my coat, feeling almost every bloody pocket before I found the right one. I carefully pulled the paper wrapper off "So far so good" I'm now down to the silver, it makes a soft crackle. The play was excruciatingly quiet, I broke off a finger, and let it melt in my mouth without chewing. All was going well, I thought "It's OK to go for another finger" a little less gingerly. They are in a boat now with an oil lamp, it's beautiful, "But what are they talking about?" I reach for a third piece, thinking "nobody cares"…… SMACK!! A woman sitting a couple of seats away from me slaps me on the hand with her glove, like lightning, without even looking. "What? I mean, is she my mother?" I tried to get her attention to express my astonishment, but she didn't give me a second thought. New York!
Back to the restaurant, after leaving I went around the block to a place I liked on Avenue B, but there was a queue outside. So I just walked back to the first place to see if things had changed, it had, there was plenty of room. I sat down, read the paper and had some Italian coffee with a caprese sandwich, delicious. As I finished my breakfast, I noticed the woman across from me being nasty with the waiter. Pointing at her empty plate she snaps "Just take it away!" dismissing him with the back of her hand. He brings her the check book and she starts foraging around in a small crumpled white envelope, she pulls up a five dollar bill and some ones. With her coat off and seated I hadn't recognized her - it was yer one who almost told me off for changing my mind at the door. The waiter brought back the change. She opened the book and put the notes back in her envelope - pushed her Sunday Post into her bag, and chinked a few quarters on the marble table top.
Noo bloody Yawk!
Back to Limerick
Tuesday, October 22nd: Wexford Spiegeltent, Wexford
Friday, November 8th: Tait House, Limerick
Friday, November 15th: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday, November 30th: The Fiddler, London
Just a quick note to let you know that, after last month's sell-out show in Limerick, I'll be heading back to Tait House for another gig on Friday, November 8th. Tickets are available from the link above - I know some people were disappointed last time, so make sure you book early for this one.
Regards
Pierce
Beat the World Cup blues
Tuesday, October 22nd: Wexford Spiegeltent, Wexford
Friday, November 8th: Tait House, Limerick
Friday, November 15th: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday, November 30th: The Fiddler, London
By way of an antidote, I am pleased to include your latest Wexford People column "A sock and a shoe". I hope you like it, do you like them? You certainly are a quiet lot sometimes, even so I wouldn't trade you for the world.
It seems necessary to let those of you who are in Ireland that the gig at The Spiegeltent for the opening of the Wexford Opera Festival will be right after the fireworks display on the Quay, and......right next to it. It will be a SEATED event, contrary to what people seem to think, and tickets will be available at the door or at the link above. Pat Donahue is bringing in his lovely upright piano, and we will have it out on the floor. Mick Egan will be playing an assortment of instruments, and Garvan Gallagher will be bowing his upright as well as plucking his Fender, everyone will be singing, the tent will quiver, while the fishing boats that I have written about so many times will be moored within spitting distance. Ten thousand naked cossacks will come riding through on horseback singing "The Boys Of Wexford" what more could you want?
And the celebrated Marty Whelan with his popular radio show on Lyric FM Marty in The Morning will have me as a guest playing the new album and chatting on the morning of November 5th, three days before we return to the gorgeous Tait House in Limerick, after a sold out show the last time, this will be mighty.
Don't forget London!! I have my wellies packed.
I love you more than Puccini, or spaghetti for that matter.
Pierce xxx
But what is so odd is our assumptions that the way we are doing it, is the only way. I remember being equally shocked when a friend of my brother said that in his family they did not put butter on the bread before the jam. He didn't see why it was necessary, what had butter got to do with jam, he asked. I once told my brother (the same one) that I hated if bread was soggy, that I would never put tomatoes into a sandwich, because the bread would get wet. Then I explained that I never have food in my mouth, especially bread, when I drink tea or any liquid, he just didn't believe me, after I insisted, he thought it was really odd. I found it hard to believe that something about myself was odd, I have always worked hard on being normal, so that I would fit in. But it seems that no matter how hard you work on fitting in, there will still be something about you that will be odd to someone. If you are clean living, you will be thought of as fastidious or very disciplined to say the least, by someone you wouldn't call if you were having a party. If you are belly to the bar, shaking hands with yourself nightly indulgent, you could be thought of as "too much" or "a waster". If you stay at home and watch the telly the whole time, you will be called a recluse. "Ah sure she never goes out" (I'm trying to be PC here, but it's more likely to be "HE" who never goes out). If you are too kind you could be called Mother Theresa. If you are too frugal, you could be called a cheap ba****rd. No matter what you do, or who you are, I guarantee you that there is something about you that seems weird to someone.
But I wouldn't worry about it, if by some unreal twist of nature you don't have something odd about you, you are probably invisible, and that's odd too. My good friend Billy Roche told me that he read somehwere, or maybe he came to this conclusion himself, that the thing you hate the most about yourself is most likely the very thing that others find interesting. Take Rene Zellweger for example, I used to find her little pinched nose, pursed lips and high cheekbones adorable, together those features gathered around a shy smile and the end result seemed to merge with her Alpine surname. Apparently those were the very things she hated about herself, she has paid a lot of money to the plastic surgeon to have them removed and replaced by averageness.
Hang on to your oddness we may love you for it.
Going Under the Radar
Tuesday, October 22nd: Wexford Spiegeltent, Wexford
Friday, November 8th: Tait House, Limerick
Friday, November 15th: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday, November 30th: The Fiddler, London
"Where is Nicky?"
"He's above in the Dolphin drinking Frank Sinatra's drink"
"Is Frank Sinatra up in the Dolphin?"
I even had a couple of short term girlfriends there. The walk was a bit rough on a cold windy night, walking up Williams Street is a bastard, good reason to wrap around each other though. Then to my beloved Cork, where people have their own opinion - Coughlans is a sweet venue run by impeccably honest people, they are untouched by this new breed of Irish promoter that has decided that musicians are an easy fleece. Promoters are even block booking our beloved clubs now, meaning that they take a cut between us and the club. Of course this will eventually do away with the booker at the club, more money going straight to the top, to the unconscionably greedy. All this, while their huge festivals suck all the money up, and bit by bit they are making the names of the artists on the roster less important. Meaning they need the band less, so they pay them less, agh what's the use, still I thought you should know in case you don't. That's what we get for loving what we do, and I look forward to loving you Cork....Boy.
Speaking of promoters, there is one very special one who flies above the rest. His name is Vince Power, originally from Waterford. Vince is known for the London Fleadh, the Reading Festival, and the great Mean Fiddler in London. He has always been a supporter of mine, still I was surprised when he tracked me down for his new club in London, The Fiddler, in Kilburn. Get your coat, get your hat and make sure that, you will not miss this, it's a once a year event at best, they even have a piano, hear all the good ones live..and Vinegar Hill.
And then, home for Christmas, lights will be glistening "December 22, 23, 24 - I can hear the angels sing" December 23rd at the Wexford Arts Centre - everyone will be there. Better book this bugger soon, not a good night for the Mañana Wexford approach, twill be night in the day.
Vinegar Hill is steadily gaining respect, a tremendous 4 star review in the RTE Guide, plays on Ireland's most respected radio show John Creedon, a special spot on the Dave Fanning Show where he played what is turning into a classic "The Rising of the Moon" - healthy sales, and on Tuesday Nov 5th the very popular morning host on (Ireland's national, mostly classical station) Lyric FM, Marty Whelan, will have me on as a special guest, around 9 a.m.
Like all great albums worth their salt, Vinegar Hill takes time to soak in, and takes a long time to dry out, like all Pierce Turner albums.
Pierce xxx
Go on, complain!
We had meant to eat outside, it was the middle of August, and it had been a glorious day. But at half six in the evening there was a slight chill in the wind, and the sun was too weak to warm it. My mobile rang; the couple we were meeting were already inside. After hugs and hellos, we sat down, and as we did there was a collective sigh of relief. Feeling the curvature of the chair caressing my back and soft padding beneath was so pleasure- full, I think I made another soft sigh. No one mentioned it, but we were definitely relieved to sit down. I almost did mention it, it was kind of funny, but in this day and age we are supposed to pretend that we are well able for everything, aren't we? No whining, no moaning, be a good sport and just get on with it. It's a way of self-control that I have seen being practiced in America for decades. It was important to laugh at things and to keep things sunny.
When I first returned to Wexford after three years of exile as I awaited my green card, I noticed this difference in the culture. When my Mother complained about someone constantly bragging about her son, I chastised her for being negative. It was confusing for her, she knew that complaining wasn't a great trait, she was generally very positive, but was she not supposed to say if something annoyed her now? Had I unknowingly brought back the etiquette of the new world? My Mother had prepared for my Americanisation; she had bought hot dogs and peanut butter to satiate my supposedly new diet. She anticipated that, but not my change of attitude. And likewise I had not prepared for the possibility that some of my new attitude was suited to the biggest city in the world, but not necessarily to rural Ireland. Some New Yorkers wanted to laugh at everything; it was like being on the set of Happy Days. Irish people tended to save their laughter for what really made them laugh, in between laughing and crying, they were entitled to do neither.
Looking back now, I realize that Ireland felt very different to America, it wasn't just the materialistic stuff like central heating, it was the way people moved and thought; they were more porous, events didn't deflect from them, they were absorbed and consumed whole. Irish people were listeners, they had all the time in the world for a good story, time was slower, and in fact there was more time. Time was scarce in New York, work began in the early morning and you were never supposed to leave, no eleven o'clock break or lunch at your desk, and if you left at the supposed-to time, you were not a team player. A story had to be pared down to the snappy parts, and it better be funny. Complaining was not acceptable and the word ‘no' was not to be uttered to children. New York was tough, sharp and snappy. Wexford was soft, round and quiet.
Now all four of us sat down after our long timeless day, a seamless day of non-stop action in 2019, if there had been a vacant minute, we had the computer right there waiting to fill it. Our bodies had sighed with satisfaction at the pleasure of being seated; we dared not mention it for fear of allowing ourselves to complain. I wonder did we pass up a moment to wallow in commiseration, and then to laugh heartily at ourselves.
Live in Cork this Friday
Friday, November 15th: Coughlans, Cork
Saturday, November 30th: The Fiddler, London
Monday, December 23rd: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
I was delighted to be a guest on Marty in the Morning on RTE Lyric FM last week - you can listen back at this link.
Pierce xxx
The diesel engine, one of the multiples now inhabiting our second-hand cars, tick-ticks along like a cigarette carton faking a motor sound on the spokes of my boyhood bike. The ferryboats still go in and out at Rosslare harbour, but there are no Dublin picnickers in the green on Rosslare Strand, where the kids played music that sounded like a piledriver by the low wall. There is no sun pelting down on the small galvanise hut across from the public toilets. Its lace curtains should be more appropriately vague in October; does anyone ever go there? And if so, who are they? I imagine it's been there since the fifties or forties, children of the children of the first one who had the chutzpah to erect those walls forever in the first place, someone with a lot of front. My father didn't have that kind of front, so we rented a hut in Boyles field, he slept better with that, and I heard him. The door to my parents
bedroom seemed to swell and deflate in tandem with their snoring duet.
A couple of autumns ago I wrote a song with the line "it's come to the end of the season, everyone's brooding or teething" to encapsulate the sensation that swells inside us during these times. After the flower of summer has opened up and invited us all to inhale the blossom, filled our heads with bright motes of evening tingle, before eventually withdrawing and closing like a fan, we begin to feel a sense of farewell, and a call to the pleasure of hot soups, and heftier duvets.
As the flower closes, a new feeling unfolds, longer nights and shorter days. The half-light of dusk puts a scrim of slated grey across the grass and trees, across the opposite houses, across the harbour at the bottom of the hill and the Welsh horizon. Rowe Street spire reaches for the pulley overhead, and tugs down the blinds.
With black dust in every pore, the coal man's eyes of blue and white, peer out to hand me change, his diesel truck rattles on the footpath, it's back on the road and out of its stable again, we will order double before the silly season comes. The jingle bells are on their way, but I don't hear them yet, we still have the evening, when that turns to night we will hear them all right.
Live in London - Saturday night!
Saturday, November 30th: The Fiddler, London
Monday, December 23rd: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Might see you there?
Pierce xxx
We were in the kitchen having breakfast on a Saturday morning. The night before, I had been out painting the town, ending up in Whites Barn dancing to Jack and the Jackpots, with the interior of my mouth coated in grease from the chicken and chips that came with the ticket. It was a way around the late night drinking laws in Ireland, bars were obligated by law to close at 11 p.m., but if a club supplied dinner, they could serve alcohol until 1 a.m. in the morning. My father rolled back his shirt sleeve and pulled the expanding strap of his watch over his hand, he had been out the night before too, at his usual Friday haunt called Stones but was actually Jack Fane's for several years now. He would've had a good few pints of Guinness and probably a few short ones of Powers Whiskey. He and his best friend Harry Doyle would've been in the smoke-filled back room dealing cards, playing poker for small change, cheating in plain sight, and roaring with laughter. Now he was hung over and observing his traditional behaviour, he had cooked a fry for anyone who would have it, sausages, rashers, eggs and tomatoes fried in hot lard. I was tucking in to mine when he pulled off the watch. I have no idea what make it was, it was probably just an ordinary watch, it hard large hands and apparently kept good time It had come from a time when a watch was a watch, an instrument of value. The gold-coloured strap was still sturdy after decades of use, expanding and springing back with certainty. The normal-size watch had a golden tint to it also, he had taken care of it, the glass still appeared scratch free, maybe there was trace of a nicotine hue. ‘Here! I don't know if you want this or not?" seeming to reply before I had a chance to respond.
He was handing it to me like it had been pre-arranged almost. I found it bewildering, and didn't comprehend any deeper motivation other than the plain act of giving me his watch. I had a perfectly good watch, and didn't want to take his away from him, how would he keep his own time?
"I don't want your watch" I replied softly with ineffectual bewilderment.
"Aye, bates all you don't want my watch"
He pulled it back on to his wrist and went back to eating breakfast. We were the first ones up; the kitchen was quiet other than the thin sound of the transistor in the back kitchen playing "Oh to be in Doonerie". I was home from New York for Christmas, and as usual my father was reminding me of his mortality. Year in year out, it was always the same sentiment "I probably won't be here when you get back the nixt time" and the usual refutation by myself. Now he was offering me his watch, this was a new and surprising twist. He wasn't a wealthy man, he had worked his whole life in a foundry called Pierce's, where they made agricultural machinery and was prudent with the money he earned, always keeping a nest egg in the Credit Union. Believing in the rainy day, he was ready for it. He had enough he believed, he was a union man, a shop steward and was a devout unimposing Catholic as well as believing in socialist values. If my mother ever wanted to go on a holiday at the behest of one of my older siblings, he had the money to pay for it. The nest egg was for those occasions, and of course the covering of their funeral costs. I couldn't imagine that the watch was of much financial value, but that didn't matter to me, I didn't want it regardless.
Later, when I found myself evaluating my response. I knew that I didn't want to think of my parents mortality, or my own for that matter, taking his watch felt like taking his time perhaps; yes I have never been a person who cares that much about "things" - never wanted a fancy car, or a fancy watch. But this was neither of those things; this, I realize now, was a leaf from the book of tradition that his generation observed. He wanted to live on in my life after his death, every day I would look at the watch and remember him, perhaps, or was he just trying to do the best that he could do? I wouldn't be inheriting any money after he died, in the pecking order I was at the bottom of the list anyhow (being the youngest) his watch was the most valued possession that he could give me, he wanted his sons to have something. But he had given me enough, he owed me nothing, we were equally non-materialistic as people, I had gone off to America to play music, not to become rich, I hadn't earned a fortune to show my parents big things, no trip to Italy to see Pavarotti, no palatial apartment in Manhattan to peruse the skyline or East River, I had inherited his modest ambition, I already had a watch.
All I Want for Christmas is ... Vinegar Hill
Monday, December 23rd: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Clare came up with an idea for your Christmas stocking. We will rush out a copy of the Vinegar Hill, which is in its third pressing, and a great party album, to your intended loved one. Specially forthis Christmas spirit we are knocking $5 off the price. This will make the perfect stocking filler for one of your friends or family. They will arrive in a metallic, coloured mailer and wrapped in tissue paper with a happy Christmas message from Pierce. You can get them here
Here's what the media have been saying:
"Immeasurably brilliant" Hot Press Oct 2019
"Pierce Turner: this a rare gift, a kind of divine intervention in music, really special, tender and winning. Pierce totally occupies Bunclody with that beautiful burnished voice" Paddy Kehoe RTE Guide September 2019
I sincerely wish you a Happy Christmas and a peaceful, healthy and successful 2020
Much Love
Pierce
P.S.: See you in the Wexford Arts Centre on December 23rd? Tickets available here
Paying for Inconvenience
Tuesday, March 17th: Joe's Pub, New York
"I'm not getting your newsletters any more""Well I haven't sent one in ages, I'm writing a column for the newspaper now, it's like I have a bloody job, there are only so many words in my head, I need 600 for the column"
"Oh that makes sense"
This was a conversation with Copernicus on the phone between Wexford and Brooklyn. But now I am afraid that I will lose you if I don't write, I would hate to lose you. And as well as that, I have a few things that I need to flog. I am off to New York next week, and of course I want to draw your attention to March 17th at New York's classiest venue, Joe's Pub. As you know I have a new album called Vinegar Hill, and it is the first album that I have made that is particularly apt for this particular day.
Of course this album has confused the shit out of the radio stations in Ireland, and suitably confused anyone who thinks they know what I'm going to do next. But I swear, I'm not trying to be contrary, I always think that everything I do is pretty commercial, with the exception of "Angelic Language" and that album has proved to be just as accessible as any of the others as far as I can see. Even a catchy (?) song like "Wicklow Hills" was safely kept from accessibility by adding Philip Glass's name as the producer. But, I tell you what, the songs from Vinegar Hill are a great craic to play live, and they will be especially fun to play on March 17th.
As you know, you are my executive producers, I can't record without you, thank you for helping make this album, I hope you love it as much as I do. With the help of Brian O'Driscoll, who designed the wonderful cover for the album, we have come up with a really cool t-shirt and hoodie and socks design for Vinegar Hill. Have a look at them here. Let's face it, a lot of us look for something green(ish) to wear on St Patrick's Day, I think these shirts are unusual, cool, and unique. You can easily mail order them from this site, and or, have them sent as a present to someone else. Of course you can do the same with the album from our website shop here. Of course you can choose to have a pink one if you like, there are several colour choices and sizes.
As an added pleasure I am including one of my newspaper columns, it's called ‘Paying for inconvenience" inspired by something Michael Quilligan said to me in a Limerick Bar called "South's" I plan to play there in the summer. Without the help of Michael, these letters would never leave my computer. He also comes up with some doozies, during every day rumination, hence this title.
I love you so much that I missed Sunday mass to write this!
Pierce xxxx
She gets up in the morning dissatisfied. Annoyed with herself she looks out the kitchen window at the bullfinches feasting on the bird feeder, and wonders is life so bad? Why is this not enough for me? She pours a cup of tea and butters a piece of toast, it's delicious, she wonders again, what is it about so many of us, that stop us from enjoying our greatest commodity - time itself?
She goes to the doctor for her annual check-up, something that she has been doing since she retired from her job as a bookkeeper for a marketing firm. The doctor is behind schedule; he keeps her waiting for an hour and a half. Looking around the waiting room, she wonders what the mother and her young teenage boy are there for? It's obvious what the elderly man with his arm in a sling is there for. His wife is there to look after him, but she looks like she can only barely look after herself. She supposed that they were in their mid-eighties, they were running out of time. She had a while to go before she would reach that precipice, what would she do between now and then? She couldn't clearly see an answer. Would she spend that precious decade and a half doing what she was doing, Just biding the time until there was none left? Checking her heart, checking her liver, making sure that the whole thing was tikkydeeboo so that she could do this? Go on being only half alive, following the same patterns every day, avoiding inconvenience.
She is a music lover. The town that she lives in hosts an opera festival every year, and although the music is not always as beautiful as Puccini, her favourite composer, she always makes a point of catching a few of the dress rehearsals in the hotel banquet room. While she is there, she runs into an old friend from long ago, he is thin and frail, fighting a serious illness. He might be dying, yet she notices he is full of life. He wonders why an attractive woman like her never married, she tells him that she likes the order of her own company.
He tells her that he has become a serious hi-fi enthusiast and that he only listens to vinyl. He describes his prized ceremony of taking the album out of the dust jacket, and gently placing the needle upon the edge of the album. And how much he loves foraging through old albums at record marts "They can tell a life story, one album had someone's old wedding photo inside it" To her it all sounds so messy, it's so much easier to play a CD or watch YouTube. But with all life's ease, she was beginning to feel numb. She had her own Spotify Channel that only played what she wanted to hear. Then she remembered the first pleasure of listening to Tapestry by Carole King, letting one side play, before picking it up and turning it over, unfolding all those wonderful songs. Alas, in the 90's she deemed that vinyl was taking up too much room, and gave it all away, she wonders how can beauty take up too much room.
Confronting herself now, she wonders, is her life too sanitized? Does she only walk on straight roads, without hills, or twists, or grass to mow?
How could she fix this? Her life was too orderly and sensible. Perhaps a turntable would be a good place to start, she wanted the beautiful inconvenience of what her friend described, and she was willing to pay for it now.
New York Launch for Vinegar Hill - Joe's Pub, March 17th
Tuesday, March 17th: Joe's Pub, New York, Doors at 6 p.m., Show at 7 p.m.
I love you more than Ben and Jerry's.
Pierce xxx
Paddy Kehoe wrote of Vinegar Hill in the RTE Guide: "A rare gift, a kind of divine intervention in music. Wexfordman Pierce Turner revisits the rich canon of Irish balladry - …a vibrant and refreshing homage to his roots. Turner, a long-time resident of New York has throughout a fruitful life produced astonishing original music grown from an Irish seed bed…..The Rising of the Moon, Muirsheen Durkin (here called Diggin Lumps of Gold), The Holy Ground, and Monto have seen out many spirited renditions, good, bad and indifferent through the years. On the new album, Pierce rouses them from their relative sleep - okay, let's call it a nap - into a rocky place, gunned-up a bit with guitar and drums.
It's the slower ones that your reviewer is particularly drawn to, The Parting Glass is extraordinarily effective in his fresh new treatment which brings up the tempo, the voice is pristine, honest, unpretentiously dealing out the entrancing lines. As I Roved Out has been long associated with Andy Irvine, and Pierce takes the song to another plane because his voice is so different from Andy's. He still has a touch of the boy soprano and it his saving grace, but his rendition is really special, tender, winning. Pierce totally occupies Bunclody with that beautiful burnished voice.
Online gig on March 17th
Tuesday, March 17th: Online gig through my Facebook page at 5 p.m. New York/ 9 p.m. Ireland & UK
As you probably know by now, one of the many side-effects of this coronavirus is the cancellation of so many gigs, including the scheduled New York launch of Vinegar Hill in Joe's Pub in Manhattan on St Patrick's Day.If you had booked a ticket, you should have heard from them by now and their official statement is here. And now that everyone has got their money back I am all rehearsed up with nowhere to go. So how about I come to you without going near you? Bring a camera into my sitting room and stream to you wherever you are in this world of enforced isolation? Put my concert on anyhow? We can have our own festival in the comfort of your home with ne'er a strange germ to be found. It will be on St Patrick's Day - 5 p.m. for New Yorkers, 9 p.m. for Ireland and UK. The Italians are singing across the houses to each other, and so can we, across the waves.
You can access the gig through Facebook at the link above. And if you can help me over this unexpected bump in the road, check out the links above for donations at different levels, CDs, t-shirts and other merch.
Hope to see you on Tuesday - kind of!
Pierce xx
Life in a Week
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
T-shirts and merch available here
Before we did the webcast on Facebook Live, we tried all kinds of other methods. It started with a site that does concerts, like the one we used before, Concert Window. That one is gone, so we tried StageIt a new one that does the same thing. But they had some kind of weird method of selling notes, 10 notes were a dollar I think and they wanted to know how many notes did I want to charge. It was weird, but I thought there wasn't much choice, and I had read a review in the NY Times recommending it. StageIt said I should book a sound check, which I did. Mo Maloney was here and Declan St Onge, Mo said he had been trying it all morning and that it wouldn't let him try the sound. He reckoned it was because he needed to buy notes from the site first, through PaypPal, he didn't have a PayPal account. Declan and I refused to believe this, buy notes to just check the sound? So we abandoned it, declaring it too cumbersome.
Then we tried YouTube, and decided that this was the way to go, everyone has YouTube. Then my headset stopped working, just died. I hooked up a conventional mike and found myself wanting a full size mike stand. The day was running out of time and I needed to get over to the Guitar Centre on 14th Street between 6th and 7th to buy a stand. Mo had his friend Larry's car, and said he would drop me over, Declan came along and went off to see his friend over on 7th Avenue, he wasn't sure where, Declan floats like that, cool kid.
The Guitar Centre is massive, I was greeted at the door with a cheerful "Welcome to the Guitar Centre". It sent my mind into a bit of a tail spin, I wondered "will I be able to just go pick up a stand from a shelf, haul it over to the counter, pay them and leave?" It seemed unlikely, if the door guy is making such a fuss, I hate fuss, here's the money, just give me the yoke.
"Where would I get a mike stand please?"
"Downstairs in the audio department"
I know the downstairs room, dread it. Keyboards spread out as far the eye can see, with chancers playing them like as if they were video games. But I had a hunch the stands would be at the wall, and sure as shit they were. I stepped over all the amateur musicians who had no intention of buying anything, and grabbed the triangle shaped box. When I went to the counter there was a DJ standing there over his two turntables which were spread across the counter in a foam and black velvet luxury travel case. They stood over it like it was the corpse of a deity. The counterman was shaking his head in frustration; he seemed to not have the answer that the DJ wanted to hear. "Oh Oh" said I to myself, there is a guy in front of me who is buying a thousand dollar studio mike, and he's not getting any attention, me with my 29.99 mike stand, won't stand a chance. Then miracle of all miracles, the counter man told the DJ to step to one side (and pray if he will ever resolve his problem) while he settled us two. All told it was only about twenty minutes, not bad. Mo was outside patiently standing by the car smoking a fag. He dropped me home, traffic was negligible.
Sunday, March 15th
Declan arrives at 3 p.m. and I have everything set up to go. We set it up on YouTube and do a test, it doesn't sound good, we fiddle with the settings, it has this horrible phasing thing. Can't use that! We had thought of Facebook Live, but decided that it would be the last recourse. To our surprise it was the best yet. But the voice wasn't loud enough, my straining over to sing into the mike was uncomfortable. I needed a new headset, the mike stand was no good.
Monday, March 16th
I called B and H first thing and asked them did they have the Sennheiser unit that I was looking for? They did of course, they are a ‘can do' organization, it was about six hundred dollars. I put on my sneakers, got two pairs of rubber gloves, and a facemask, just in case. Dressed up for the cold day that was in it, and walked over to 34th Street and 9th Avenue, just next to the moon, about 3 miles away, a stone's throw from the Hudson River, the opposite side of town. I had purchased it beforehand, so it was just a pick up, the actual store was closed. This place sells serious electrical hardware like they are selling apples. Ten Jewish guys rush around behind the counter, rolling out the orders at the speed of light, we are careened through a curling line of people until we are called forward to a man with rapid fingers, who punches my order number into a specially styled cabinet encased company computer.
I took it home and plugged it in, the problem was solved, the voice was the way I wanted it to be, I was comfortable again.
Tuesday, March 17th
Declan came around at half three, we set up the lights and camera, Michael Quilligan (the IT brain with biting wit from Limerick) called to say that Irish Prime Minister was addressing the public on TV at 9 p.m. for 15 minutes – show time - I scribbled a sign and stick it front of the camera, explaining the fifteen minute delay. At quarter past five we came to your houses. And I have clips that people sent me of them singing and dancing on the sofa, that brings me a lot of satisfaction to know that what went on here in my sitting room, affected yours in such a positive way.
Thursday, March 19th
I am so grateful to you for your generosity, the contributions were truly fantastic, thank you so much. We used a site that didn't charge, and you volunteered to support us anyhow. I knew you would, I know how good you are. As of today the video had 6,192 views. With over 600 comments. The most comments I've ever had is 48, and that was for when I knocked down my shed!
And I'm tired!
Pierce xxxxx
Special thanks to Michael Quilligan, Declan St Onge, Mo Maloney, and Clare G Turner.
Link to Corona Concert #1 on St Paddy's Day 2020
Next Facebook Live gig on Sat 11th, radio interview today
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
T-shirts and merch available here
Just a quick reminder about next Facebook Live gig next Saturday 11th April - the details are above. Also, I will be interviewed by Dave Fanning on his radio show on 2 FM in Ireland today. The show airs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (or 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. New York time) and you can tune in on their website here
Here are some thoughts that I sent to Dave on what it's like living in New York at the moment:
Just last week, First Avenue below was eerily quiet. Surrounded by hospitals, we are usually hounded by sirens yelping their way to the emergency rooms. But this was akin to the calm before a tsunami, or the medical tents at the back of a war zone, waiting for the wounded to return after the battle. After a few days of quiet, the enemy broke through, and the war commenced. Then the ambulances came racing down the Avenue, screaming, yelping and flashing with the wounded inside. They haven't stopped since.
It's night-time now and the fog engulfs the Empire State Building. As usual it has been lit to match the time that's in it, it pulses in blood red, like an alarm, or a warning. Apparently though, it is meant to be a pulsing heart of gratitude to first responders, the true heroes of the day.
On Easter Saturday, April 11th, I will do my third Corona Concert on Facebook Live - 9 p.m. Irish time, 4 p.m. New York time. The first two had over 6,000 viewers, and it was so wonderful to receive audience feedback as we went along, from Baltinglass to Donegal, from New York to Rathangan, from Australia to Dubai.
Next Facebook Live gig on Saturday 11th
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
T-shirts and merch available here
Just a quick reminder about the next Facebook Live gig on Saturday 11th April - the details are above. I've included below a recent piece I wrote for the Wexford People newspaper.
Stay safe
Pierce
i was born a long time ago, and it wouldn't do me any good to draw attention to the distance between then and now. In fact, if I was left to my own devices I would stop keeping track of it completely, it seems to bring nothing only fear and depression with every additional digit, it might be handy for the government, but I don't find it useful at all. I rarely feel as old as I am, and even if I only imagine three years off my age, I feel better about myself, perhaps because its mention is an intrusion on the age I feel. Anyone that I've ever known who kept tabs on their age with full fervour, ended up dying on time; it's foolish behaviour.
I grew up by the sea, it lived across the road from us on the Quay, upstairs in the sitting room with a blazing fire at my back, I often peeked past the curtains at its commotion. It spat up massive wooden sleepers like matchsticks, and threatened to cross over the road to us. By the fire, my mother knitting, me Da still in his blue overalls from the factory, taking the occasional gawp over the newspaper at the television, his ill fitting spectacles stopping short of outsize ears. To his side, a sofa full of sisters, maybe a boarder or a brother or two.
For me though, the drama of the sea far outdid anything that the television had to offer. There we sat in the sanctuary of our home, with the waves bashing the bridge and the wind building on each reproach, a rattling can, and then a mysterious bang! Some kind of cadence before the next shuddering crescendo. Oddly enough, this wild cacophony only served to increase our comfort and security, as we sat beside the fire in that solid house by the sea.
We lived at number 2 Commercial Quay, an old merchant's house surrounded by coal yards, auctioneers, furniture showrooms and lumber yards. From my bedroom on the third floor I awakened to the yelps of seagulls announcing the dawn as they circled the Dutch coal boats in pursuit of the morning slop. After a breakfast of Kelly's bread and Wexford cheese, I would run up through the meandering lanes and church yards to the Christian Brothers school, back home for lunch and back up the hill again, all the while slapping myself on the bum, as would a cowboy on his horse. I also sang boy soprano at midnight mass for Christmas and Easter, after which we were given boiled sweets and lemonade as a reward. Then, flushed with the excitement of being allowed into the sacristy, and the giddiness of being out at that hour, I ran myself home in the dark, panicking through the shadowed side streets, and thankful that I had my horse.
Wexford is a seafaring town. Long before tattoos were fashionable, I knew men with blue anchored arms, emblems from drunken dreams in exotic places, but their endless regret left me fearful of that permanent ornamentation. After they had been all over the world, they warned of the great temptations of this green orb, and that, in the end, "Nowhere is better than home boy!" They would pull me to one side and advise, "Nowhere is better than home boy, nowhere is better boy, I can tell you ‘cos I've been there, you'll end up with no-one at all. You'll end up coming back boy, just don't leave it too long, this is where you belong, nowhere is better than home, boy"
Next Facebook Live gig on Saturday 2nd
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
T-shirts and merch available here
But here we are now sheltering from invisible bombs, our lives have been turned upside down, and just like our forefathers we are having to find a way to get around it. Just like Londoners during the great blitz, when everyone was connected to a common cause, we will have more time and sympathy for each other, for none of us are better than the other these days. But unlike the Londoners, we can't touch, or share a cup of tea, that's fucking hard.
I am fortunate to have something to offer to you, and because you have been generous, I am also able to pay my bills. I know that many people cannot. Ironically, I am finding that the songs I have written over those peaceful years, seem to fit the colour of this calamity. I do hope that you are enjoying these Facebook Live performances as much as me. They are a great adventure as far as I'm concerned, and they are unlike anything that I've done before. It's also interesting that no-one has ever recorded a full performance of mine before, one song at a time, but not a full live show, with visuals. Now there are three of them, and I am learning a lot from them. I would like to continue with them for as long as I can, and as long as you are bothered with them.
We have had an average of six thousand viewers, which is wonderful. However this could be a golden opportunity to reach more people, spread the word. So if you could just share the link with at least one other friend, we could double or triple the audience, I know there are many people out there who would like to know.
I will be broadcasting from my home (give me Ma's piano a tickle) in Wexford this time, 8 p.m. Irish time and 3 p.m. New York time-on Saturday May 2nd. Please spread the word, let's have a session. Send in some unusual requests, make me revisit something different, frighten me.
I love you more than Jaffa cakes......and a nice cuppa.
Pierce xxxxxx
P.S.: Here's a recent column of mine for the Wexford People:
Everybody has a daily routine. Monday to Friday we put on our uniform and purposefully bear down on our schedule – shaving, showering, and rushing out the door with still wet hair. Then on the weekends we give ourselves permission to become slobs, take out the torn jeans, comfy old shoes and ragged sweaters.
However, in my case, there is no established dress ethic. I could decide to be a slob all day long if I wanted to, and often do. On those days, I might roll out of the bed and find the T Shirt that I wore yesterday throw on an old pair of sweat pants and sneakers, put on the kettle, have some breakfast, and continue on in that garb till the end of the day. No one will put much pass on me; I might not even leave the house. If I need to write, play music, make phone calls or leash out emails, it won't matter, no-one will see me. It never dawned on me that this carry on might be detrimental in anyway. Then one night I was watching one of my favourite sit-coms, starring Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry has a sidekick called George, a short, portly, balding bloke with a case of full - on Woody Allen, New York neurosis. Jerry in his taut physique, and faultless presentation - skintight 80's jeans and tailored shirt, turned to George and made a flip observation. "So when did you begin wearing sweatpants all day long?" George, eliciting the fear of someone whose towel had dropped at the beach, rushed to defend himself. "Well ever since they laid me off Jerry, I don't have no reason to get all dressed up. Do I?" Jerry smart-arsed back. "You do realise that you are telling the world you have given up?" "Well I dropped the ball for a while and put on weight, now I'm dressing comfortably" "At this rate you might have a problem bending over to pick the ball back up"
I found myself wondering. Maybe I do have a reason to shower, shave and put on some proper clothes every day? It would separate the day from the night. If I were going to meet Billy Roche at the Arts Centre for a coffee I would do it! But that's because of social pressure. People will see me, word travels fast "last time I saw him, he wasn't looking so well now!" My mother never went up on the Main Street without putting make-up on and donning a pillbox hat to cover her hair, unless it had just been done. This is different though, I'm not going anywhere, unless I have a gig, it's unlikely that I'll be seen by anyone, except maybe the postman or the coalman, oh, or Clare, and of course my bloody self. How many times have I caught myself in the mirror and wondered who the hell it was? Electric shock hair, baggy trousers and wrinkled T-shirt, unshaven chin. "Do something with yourself" comes to mind. Now. Not every day, but most days. I get up and have a shower and shave. Look for a decent shirt and trousers, put on real shoes, not slippers, act like I have a job.
It's important to separate one moment from the next I've found, to act like you are going somewhere. You may or may not be musical; it doesn't matter; now you're living like one. So dress like you have to go down to the Main Street. And, no sweatpants!
Welcome to my world.
Now is Heaven album - live from my living room
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
T-shirts and merch available here
Now I have to do it, and I am sensing some new possibilities. For next Saturday, I am learning the whole of Now Is Heaven, my third studio album on Beggars Banquet. I am finding it very exciting and moving to go through it. The album was produced by the legendary John Simon, who produced the great debut album by Leonard Cohen as well as Janis Joplin's debut, and all of The Band albums. He also wrote the wonderful string arrangements. It wasn't all smooth sailing, we fought and kissed, he is a passionate honest man, and I matched him. Mr Smith should have been on there, but he didn't like it, he was wrong about that, he also suggested that there wasn't enough time to do Zero Here, I prevailed. But this is what it's like working with geniuses, they are opinionated, often right, and sometimes wrong.
I am also attaching last weeks Wexford People column - what it's like to be in Ireland during Covid 19. See you on Saturday. I really appreciate your support during this, and I promise my all in return. Virtual tickets are available at the link above.
I also could not do all this without the brilliant Michael Quilligan the webmaster, and the charming Clare Baker Turner on the computer.
I love you more than Branston Pickles.
Pierce xxx
See that little dark bird over there?"
"Yeah"
That's a tern, a really unusual bird, it'll probably be gone by the time we get near"
"Will it?"
"It's probably a baby"
"He looks pretty normal to me, just a little grey bird"
"You have no idea how rare these birds are, wow look at that, it's a heron!"
"Oh yeah, the one with the long neck"
I am pulling my trousers up while wading in the shallow waters of the Katz Strand. Wexford bides its time silently across the river. There appears to be three levels of sound, the subtle buzz of small insects, the high-pitched song of small birds and the cawk of something large. A peaceful haze hangs in the air, and I seem to be able to appreciate it more than usual, my mind is not over-run with why I shouldn't be here, or why I should be elsewhere doing something useful. Up ahead, the butt of the old bridge sets a marker on my bearings. Indeed this was the place where my brother Paddy and I would Huckleberry Finn the mornings during our summer holidays as children. We would dig ragworms here and play at fishing, it didn't matter that we caught nothing, it was a glorious world, and we were free to frolic in the sun. It's a sensation that rarely happens in adult life, but here it is happening to me now, and I am quietly surprised.
We have a brought couple of crusty rolls, some Wexford cheese and a flask of Columbian coffee; they sit by the wall beckoning. We had to dip our toes in the tepid water first; it feels like some kind of cleansing baptism in this odd time. A middle aged couple fly by on the upper road, they are whispering, these days everyone talks softly, afraid of attracting the unwanted intruder, although it's not drawn towards sound, is it?
To my surprise, there is concrete seating lined up along the wall, it discontinues abruptly and falls away like it has been worn down by the tide, or by time.
"This used to be a popular beach one time ye know"
"Look the heron is taking off, how beautiful"
It truly is, with its massive wingspan, it barely has to flap in order to ascend. I once had the opportunity to see a stealth bomber fly over the Hudson River in New York as part of some military thing, such a strange sight, silent as a bird it passed over, seeming to float rather than propel. This comes to mind when I see the heron glide away. When I saw the Stealth, I was convinced that it was some kind of outer space technology that had been pilfered from that rumoured spaceship crash in Roswell New Mexico. But looking at the heron, I am reminded that birds are the original inspiration. Mind you I wouldn't even notice if it weren't for Clare, she is my eye on nature.
"Look at these little red flowers, what are they?"
"They've always been here as far as I know"
"They are so beautiful"
"I suppose"
Clare thinks that we are surrounded by such wonderful wildlife, she is shocked at how blasé I am about it. But because this is a time of halt, I find my mind slowing down enough to see what she means. We sit with our backs to the old wall, and eat bread and cheese washed down with coffee, while the bird ballet goes on before us, and wild red flowers push through the sea grass.
Next Corona Concert - Saturday May 30th
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
T-shirts and merch available here
We, Larry Kirwan and myself, played for Sean in a few different pub situations, mostly when Sean was the boss. Sorry I can't be there in person, but I will give you as much of myself as possible.Then I was lying in bed here having a cup of morning tea, when my calendar made a sharp beep, or boop, saying that Monday May 25th is Memorial Day. You know I'm useless at this stuff, maps of any kind mean nothing to me, borders and directions, hopeless. I can keep time though, and I'm punctual, so I know not to let people down. Anyway, the gig is May 30th, and sorry Sean, I missed Memorial Day, hope you had fun and found some swimming water with six surrounding feet, with no one in it.
Of course I will have to do something for all the Gemini's out there, including me in here, Bobby Dylan, Paul McCartney, Larry Kirwan, my niece Jennifer, and her daughter Anayis, what more excuses do we need. Maybe a Dylan song?
I will have a lovely baby grand Piano this time, looking forward to that. Your purchase of Virtual Tickets is really appreciated, and as you know, you can view it for free if you wish. Tickets are available at the link above. We will be on air at 7:45 so that you can relax. The cat will be in bed.
Pierce xxx
Cybernating with Pierce
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
T-shirts and merch available here
It will be Corona Concert #6 - I hope you are still with me, your generosity has been tremendous. This week I will seek to be summery, and Gemin-ish-multiple personality, eclectic like my bleedin mind. I have just coined a new word - we are Cybernating!
I attach a little story from last weeks People Newspaper.
I love you more than Albert the Cat, well almost as much.
Pierce xxxx
I am reading the Woody Allen autobiography; he says that he's often had a problem entering places, that he would get as far as the door and then have a fit of hesitancy. I'm sure that most people have experienced this at one point or another, but it became a kind of phobia for him. On one occasion he got himself through the door but then found himself sitting dumb struck on a couch. It was a ground floor apartment on Park Avenue and the couch was next to a window, he seriously considered climbing out on to the street. I could relate to this, and I am not sure why I share this fear with New York's most neurotic celebrity.
"We've been invited to go to the movies with Elton and David"
"Are you kiddin me, where? What movie?"
Clare was John Reid's personal assistant at the time; Elton John's very successful manager. Up to the recent past, I had just been the husband bloke who was invited as a straggler to the occasional event. Most of the time I hated the experience, listening to music business people talking about other musicians, while I sat there like a spare prick, eating fancy food and drinking expensive wine. Then one day while I was backstage at an Elton gig, he noticed me hugging the wall, knowingly staying away from the backstage B.S. Obviously this made an impression on him, and from then on, we were invited to the inner circle, not something I sought, but who would turn it down?
The Paris Theatre was booked exclusively for Elton and his hand picked friends. It was a luxurious cinema, in midtown Manhattan. Paparazzi's and snooping bottom dwellers milled around the entrance, they studied us and wondered if we were someone. Long tables lay ahead of us with every kind of Chinese food that you could think of, catered by an exclusive gourmet restaurant called Mr Chow's. I wanted to fill a plate and go home, but instead I was going to have to be self-conscious and appear like food was of no interest at all.
People were spread out all over the theatre, 50 or so of us with 300 seats to choose from. We sat at the back in the darkest corner. There I was, digging into my Chinese food, thinking this is OK, no one has noticed us. When I spotted Elton and David Furnish sitting alone, way down near the screen, they were smiling and looking around the room, were they looking at us? Nah, can't be. They got up and started climbing the hill, getting nearer and nearer, stopping at the row in front of us and shimmying in sideways. I felt my mouth go dry, and quickly hid my plate on the ground. Kisses all around and painful small talk, they wanted their friends to see how great this new movie "Trainspotting" was, I got the feeling that they were mining the field for non-superstar friends, longing for contact with the outside. If they went out, they would be mobbed by parasites. This is why I hesitate at the door, who wants to be trapped in that cocoon? I have been to many events inside the elite bubble, vetted, accepted, and allowed within two meters in a palace of opulence, and always been relieved to get out of there.
After the movie, Clare and I skipped down the road, hopped on the bus and mingled. I'm sure that Elton would give anything to get out and skip with us, but the virus of humanity would devour him, he is in a permanent cocoon – ironic, ha?
Next show on Sunday 28th
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
Donations through PayPal to piercenewyork@aol.com
T-shirts and merch available here
The last time I hit the stage with my friend Mick Egan was December 23rd 2019. That show was at the Wexford Arts Centre, and was sold out to full capacity. Now, only six months later it is unthinkable that so many people could be allowed into any closed space. But it hasn't stopped Mick and I from returning there (behind closed doors) and it won't stop us from performing with the same gusto on that stage - with the advantage of the house lighting, and the support of the Arts Centre. Of course the setting will be intimate and turned inward towards the camera and yourself.
Up to now I have been doing it all alone, with just Clare sitting at the laptop reading out the comments that come in and commenting in Brightonian droll. It will be a great pleasure to have my good friend Mick in the room with us, after weeks of being banished to solitude, it was getting a bit lonely.
The Arts Centre has a very sweet upright piano, it's one of my favourites. It won't be a Wexford audience, but just the same, from anywhere on the planet you can experience a Wexford Arts Centre performance, not possible ever before for those who aren't in my home town.
We are moving to Sunday, and to 9 p.m. Irish time, so that it will be a little easier for my American friends, though not much better for my Australian friends. I hope this change helps just the same.
I really appreciate your generosity and support. When I did my first Corona Concert on March 17th, it was all pretty new, now everyone is doing it. We musicians have to survive, this is our new world, and the world needs music.
Get your gear together, and see you on Sunday.
I love you more than Das Boot.
Pierce xxxx
Debuting a new song at tonight's gig
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
Donations through PayPal to piercenewyork@aol.com
T-shirts and merch available here
If you fancy buying a ticket at the store, it means a lot to us for our survival. The links are above, along with a new link for PayPal donations if you prefer. I will have one of my favourite upright pianos under my fingers. Don't miss the start! We begin with a new song.
Pierce xxxx
Next gig on Friday 17th
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
Donations through PayPal to piercenewyork@aol.com
T-shirts and merch available here
Now come on and get the gang together, let's have a cracker. Last show I began with a brand new song "Hymns are written by people" really glad that many of you liked it. Didn't do Snakes and Ladders, or Jazz, or Wicklow Hills, or Manana in Manhattan, or Moonbeam Josephine, or Not a Bad day for a Wednesday, or More or Busy Man, or One Minute More, or Snow, or Boy to be With. So there is plenty of room for change, spread the word, I'll see you there.
We will be on air 15 minutes beforehand so we can all settle in. I needn't tell you that the few bob that you have been so generous to contribute has been a heartwarming example of how much decency we still have in the middle of this turmoil.
Pierce xxxx
Hymns are written by people
They don't fall from the sky
They are written by us
Without much fuss
When we pause to empathise
Don't forget - live on Friday!
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
Donations through PayPal to piercenewyork@aol.com
T-shirts and merch available here
Time for another Facebook Live Concert lads - coming from the stage of the Wexford Arts Centre, behind closed doors.
Now come on and get the gang together, let's have a cracker. Last show I began with a brand new song "Hymns are written by people" really glad that many of you liked it. Didn't do Snakes and Ladders, or Jazz, or Wicklow Hills, or Manana in Manhattan, or Moonbeam Josephine, or Not a Bad day for a Wednesday, or More or Busy Man, or One Minute More, or Snow, or Boy to be With. So there is plenty of room for change, spread the word, I'll see you there.
We will be on air 15 minutes beforehand so we can all settle in. I needn't tell you that the few bob that you have been so generous to contribute has been a heartwarming example of how much decency we still have in the middle of this turmoil.
Pierce xxxx
Hymns are written by people
They don't fall from the sky
They are written by us
Without much fuss
When we pause to empathise
Live from Wexford Arts Centre to you, August 22nd
Donations through PayPal to piercenewyork@aol.com
T-shirts and merch available here
We have seen everything at my Facebook live concerts now, haven't we? The first ones in Manhattan were in my flat on the second floor with New York sirens screaming up along First Avenue behind me. All of us were on lockdown then, scared rabbits avoiding an invisible killer. Many of our good friends offered to evacuate us to their upstate homes. Eventually we fled for Ireland, where we had to self-isolate for two weeks before carrying on with the FB Concerts here.
Stressful it was though, with a new neighbour who doesn't like music (well mine anyhow) trying to sabotage the show by playing loud music in the second half. Then there was Albert the cat, who has his own indirect method of getting attention. If he wants to be fed, or let out against our wishes, he usually tears into something important like a noisy shopping bag or whatever. That night he decided to rub off my leg as I was playing the guitar, then he threatened to step on the guitar effects pedal - which put me in the position of having to push him away with my foot while trying to sing.
He then had an idea "I know" said he "I'll rub my head off the tripod which has the camera on it" I watched him while singing, and barely made it through the song before he could knock it over. You will remember his eviction if you were watching.
And then there was the night when I lost the camera holder, and we had to tape it on to the tripod, after holding steady for a couple of hours before the show, it fell off 30 seconds into the first song.
But we are progressing, because now I will have help. On August 22nd I will perform before an audience for the first time in 9 months, and we will be going on Facebook Live as well!! This will be a step above previous, FB Live shows, not only because there will be an actual audience, but because the video director Colin Murnane (also the maker of his critically acclaimed biography for moi ‘The song for the year") will bring in four cameras to capture all aspects of the show. One unusual aspect will be Clare, who will fulfill her usual FB duty of reading out the comments, of which there are many. The audience will be global because of this, Irene Luchitti in Australia has not missed one show, she has to set her alarm for the middle of the night!
Because we are restricted to thirty people, it's not very viable financially, and virtual tickets, from ten dollars up, can be purchased at the link above.
So you have to move things around to watch this, don't give me any shite about the time, this is just as pivotal as your first communion, or bar mitzvah or something, ye know what I mean. Live with 30 Wexfordians and four cameras! Get outa here.
I love you still, even more than my David Bowie mask.
Pierce xxxx
Tomorrow night, live from Wexford Arts Centre to you
Donations through PayPal to piercenewyork@aol.com
T-shirts and merch available here
We had found a way around it though, weddings can have 50 people attend, so we are having a wedding, David Nutley and Karen who had already booked a hotel for the gig and were coming down from Dublin, offered to remarry so that the gig would go on. We're sticking with it, in case they change the rules again. We have Rosemary Hartigan coming in to officiate a short ceremony, which will happen at 8.30 sharp.
It's all very good, because with a restriction of 30 people, the theatre needs something extra to bring it alive. Colin Murnane will have a 4 camera shoot. So this should be extra interesting for you out in Facebook land, on this page.
I will be looking out at you tomorrow.
Love
Pierce xx
When everything's remote control
Donations through PayPal here
T-shirts and merch available here
And to the audiences all over the world who looked at it, thank you. This added so much electricity to the already electrifying atmosphere. Knowing that the world was looking in on us, was like being on a major TV show, but better! Because this was my audience in the Wexford Arts Centre, not a pretentious TV setting, even at its best, they can't recreate this. So wonderful, thank you.
And giving Clare the mic, added even another element. It will be there in a time capsule forever to show live music in the time of COVID-19. Here is the link to the complete video. I have some wonderful live clips in the past. But this is different for a few reasons, first of all I planned my part so that it would be concise with the time constraints and size of the audience (only 30 people allowed) but Colin Murnane outdid himself by mixing 4 cameras himself live in his iPad, while he ran around like an acrobat handling it all. This I am proud to say is what I think my gigs should be always be like.
I ask you as a favour, please help me out, I need people to see this, and you can help me big time. If you agree that it is a special video, mail the link to everyone you can think of and recommend it, don't wonder will they like it, don't think of their age or history, just send it, I am hoping this will bring new people to my music.
In this time of zero live music, have a gig yourself, invite friends, have a few pints and some nibbles, put this video on the smart TV and blast it out like you're at a Pierce Turner gig. And let me know how it went, send photos to my facebook page. And if you can help out by "buying" a ticket for your own private gig here, that would be great.
I love you more than I think.
Pierce xxx
World Tour - Live from Wexford
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
Donations through PayPal here
T-shirts and merch available here
Colin Murnane will direct the visuals again, which will be broadcast to the world through Facebook Live. This time - instead of projecting photos of my Parlour on the stage backdrop - Colin wants Parlour shots from around the world, so that it will seem like I'm performing in your Parlour. We are looking for Parlours in far away places like Australia, and America, and seeing that we are not sure when I'll ever get to play for his Dublin or Cork fans, we hope to include them too. If you feel your Parlour is suited, please share a photo on the event page on Facebook. You can watch the August show on YouTube here.
This will be my 10th Corona Concert, great care is taken to make sure that each one is very special, and consistent with their historical importance from this extraordinary time, grab a ticket while you can.
Love
Pierce xx
Next Facebook Live show - October 24th
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
Donations through PayPal here
T-shirts and merch available here
So I'm going to do it anyway, it will be in an empty Arts Centre, but not an empty place, we will be together, and we need each other now more than ever. So ‘please, please, please' (as James Brown said) join us on October 24th on Facebook Live - I will have that lovely piano (my favourite) and even though I wouldn't be able to do this at all but for the Arts Centre – with a choice, I would still probably make something up, so I could play Boy To be With on that sweet upright. We will go on air at 8.15 for an 8.30 show.
I'm off to rehearse now, let's have our own gig, this is the only way. Remember, music is the great unifier, it doesn't matter what our politics are, we can agree on this. See you on Saturday 24th!
I love you more than Corona with lime.
Pierce xxxx
P.S.: if you want to contribute, you can buy virtual tickets on my website here or donate via PayPal here
Live on Facebook on Saturday!
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
Donations through PayPal here
T-shirts and merch available here
See you then, my little sausages
Pxxx
"I'm Irish too"
"Are ye?"
"Yeah my Mom is from Cork"
Bemusement crossed my mind, and I presume it reached my expression. Even though I had been living in New York for nearly a decade, I still hadn't adjusted to the idea that last names could be deceptive or that no one was really from America. But Pete was English, as English as Churchill! His band, The Who, even used the Union Jack in their logo. Now he was telling me that his Mammy was from Cork, it brought new meaning to their song Baba O'Riley.
Television monitors were all around us, this was the age of video - if a song didn't have a video, it didn't get played. Joy Division came on singing ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart', Pete's eyes lit up, and he recited the phenomenal statistics on the number of singles it moved in the first week. This surprised me as much as his Mom being from Cork, he saw it as a business, and took note of the sales figures. I didn't think that way at all, and I never have, wisely or not. I pointed out that the lead singer, Ian Curtis, had committed suicide before it was even released. Pete put his hand on my shoulder like an older brother: "Yeah well none of us want to do that, do we?"
I went to the Peppermint Lounge that night on 45th Street, to see Talking Heads perform. It was 1981, about fifteen years after I first heard The Who's debut album in our record shop on the Wexford Quay. Back then, they were some kind of mysterious Gods to me and my friends, untouchable purveyors of maximum R&B, and Pete Townshend was the genius behind their innovation. But that night at The Peppermint Lounge I was a completely different person, and so was he. It was a time of minimalist clothes and music, and it seemed like the only way to embrace this new period fully, was to reject the past. Larry Kirwan and I had formed a ‘New Wave' band called The Major Thinkers, and were seeking to become peers of bands like Talking Heads, playing in the same places, and embracing the same audience. The Who were not part of this scene, and it was clear to me that Pete Townshend wished he was, that night.
There I was - dressed in Doc Martens, austere black jeans and jacket, utilitarian to a fault - while, without me knowing it, Major Thinkers fans were at the other side of the room convincing Pete Townshend that he had to meet me. Soon they had him by my side, and doing his best to impress it seemed. This hugely successful musician, who had sold about sixty million albums, was trying to make an impression on someone who was struggling to get a record deal. Taller than I expected, about 6' 3", Pete turned out to be very charming and soft-spoken. This was another irony, he and the Who were the original punks, smashing guitars and crashing motor bikes into hotel swimming pools.
Those days I insisted on dancing up front, Pete joined me, and we sang along to Talking Heads 'Psycho Killer'. No-one even noticed the tall legendary Londoner dancing by my side. But this wasn't his time, and for some odd reason it seemed like mine, at least to Pete, who was not used to being out of time. Proof once more, that it doesn't matter what we accumulate, it will eventually become irrelevant, and that the present moment, is pertinent forever, here and now.
Live - in Wexford and on Facebook - on Sunday!
I feel distant from you now, everyone seems so far away, and I worry that when we meet again we will be uncomfortable, I also worry that when I try to make an arrangement to rendezvous with you, that you will feel too disconnected to move, and I'll have been replaced by a television program, or a dog, or a cat.
But there is hope on the horizon, yer man Johnson over in England is going to jab the whole country with his syringe, maybe the Covid bugger has had its day, this I pray, and say, good riddance.
This Sunday, Dec 6th at 7 p.m. Irish time I will be playing at The Sky and The Ground, Wexford's finest bar, named after my album of the same title. We can only have 15 in the audience, but that's better than one, that being Clare usually. Although she is a quality one, she will be even better joined by 15 randomly chosen ones, who bought tickets on their own volition. This will be broadcast on my Facebook page, fortunately, because then that 15 turns into 1500, or more, not at one time of course because many of them come in and out, and back and forth, as they buzz around chasing the bright elusive butterfly of attention.
If you take a look in though, it will help our relationship for the next date, wherever that shall be. And for a smile, the turkey story should work.
I love you more than chestnut stuffing, don't forget. Write to me will ye?
Pierce.xxx
"A turkey?"
"He got a very good price off a farmer who used to supply him with cabbage when he was running the shop, and I asked him to get me one too, he's bringing it this morning"
"Why are we putting it out in the Yard?"
"Where else would we put it?"
"I don't know, in the back kitchen?"
"Well shur he would run wild"
"What! it's alive?"
"That's why it's so cheap"
"But who's going to kill it?"
"I don't know yet"
My Uncle Pierce was in a hurry when he dropped the turkey off. I held the large glass door open for him as he released the big white bird into the 6' square yard.
A couple of days went by while my mother looked for someone who was handy at killing turkeys. The bird seemed unaware, and looked happy enough out in the tiny yard, behind the net curtain. The cat would stare out at it and wonder if she was capable of getting the better of it, but the turkey was oblivious. My father didn't share the cat's curiousity at all, he just wished to Jasus me Ma had ordered a turkey from the butcher like everyone else.
As an active thirteen year old, I had a selection of best friends, some were connected to my musical interests and others, like my friend Jimmy, made model airplanes. One day, after he and I had been trying to get his plane into the air over in the Dairy Fields, we ran into the kitchen to warm ourselves up. As we stood there warming our red hands, Jimmy overheard my mother discussing the turkey problem with Hatty Foley, after she left, Jimmy shyly offered a solution.
"I'll kill him for ye if you like Mrs. Turner"
"Really Jimmy?"
"Yiss Mrs. Turner, all I need is a floor brush to stand on its neck"
"Is that so? Pierce, go and get Jimmy the brush"
I was surprised at this, lanky and shy, Jimmy was anything but aggressive. But he had been raised in the country, and I assumed now, that this skill came with the terrain. Jimmy gripped the brush like he was going to battle, and I opened the door for him as he slipped into the tiny yard, where the turkey became immediately suspicious of his intent. The three of us watched through the net curtain, my mother, myself, and the cat.
Jimmy went straight after the bird's neck, but unlike Jimmy's model plane, the turkey was able to fly a bit now, spreading its wings, he flew up on to the rubbish bin, a big mistake, now Jimmy was able to grab his neck. Wrestling him to the ground, he managed to get him under the brush, the turkey was not best pleased and attempted to scratch with his feet, Jimmy pushed the bird's arse down with his left hand, while he tried to keep the head under the brush, the head tried to bite him, Jimmy snapped his hand away, the bird got up and flew at him.
Jimmy fell against the door, his glasses were slipping off and feathers were flying, in a panic, he hammered on the glass. I let him in. Professing failure, Jimmy collapsed into a heap on a chair.
"I cu-ent geh him Mrs. Turner, flippin ell, he's quare n strong"
The turkey just shook itself, and gobbled on, he would live to fight another day. I got Jimmy a towel.
Christmas gig on Facebook
Virtual gig tickets and CDs available here
Donations through PayPal here
T-shirts and merch available here
Well, maybe not that bad. But even when I was a bit Scroogeeee, I still loved my Christmas gigs, so it's come to that time again. Last Dec 23rd we had a scorcher of a gig at the Wexford Arts Centre. That seems like decades ago now. But the Arts Centre is still just around the corner, and that sweet Yamaha upright is still on the stage, Olchan is still on the sound, we can still make magic. Colin Murnane is coming in to direct with his one man 4 camera shoot, he's a bloody magician, an octopus.
Clare will be fielding the comments, and all you have to do is turn on the computer (maybe put the speakers through bluetooth) and away we go. Get in the hooch and the nibbles, and I'll see you there. Please send in requests and thoughts.
You can purchase virtual tickets on the website or contribute through Paypal at the links above, and if you're broke, you don't have to pay anything at all. I truly believe that this will be our last Christmas under lockdown, so let's make it as pleasant as possible.
I love you more than Yorkshire Pudding. Merry Christmas to all of you sweet little precious things.
Pxxx
Sunday's gig is cancelled
I'm sorry to say that I have to cancel this Sunday's gig ( Dec 20th) for very personal reasons. Those of you who have purchased tickets will be refunded of course. I hate to cancel gigs, and very rarely do, but this one would be impossible for me to go ahead with. Thank you so much for your support, I am so grateful.
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
Love Pierce xxxx
We Shall Overcome
For me it all began on March 17th, when we were supposed to launch the album, ‘Vinegar Hill' at Joe's Pub in Manhattan. As we drew close to the night, fear of this pandemic quadrupled, yet we were hopeful that the gig would still happen. I kept rehearsing, while the tension built, I was ready, ready to go, and then boom! Gig cancelled. Money back.
Panicked and confused, I immediately gathered my techy friends, and auditioned all the different ways that we could stream. I went shopping for a video camera and a special stereo mic with my friend Mo Maloney, who drove me all over the place, decent soul that he is. We spent the whole next day experimenting with all the different formats, and in the end Facebook won out, to my surprise. Since then we have had 12 Facebook concerts, and thankfully you came along with me on the journey. I was concerned that it would be too weird for you, but in the end we had some really great evenings together. Clare became a star, reading out your comments, and the first show had over seven thousand views worldwide.
These concerts keep our rapport alive, and keep music in our lives. The year ahead is going to be a great one, the vaccinations have begun, and we will surely be nearly normal by the summer, just imagine, walking in the park without a mask and swimming in the sea, and maybe a gig? COVID has given me lots of time to write, and as far as I know, there's a good new album coming out of me, and a good few stories. The weekly column is doing very well, I am stopped all the time by people who can quote sections verbatim. I plan to compile them all in a book ultimately.
Some of you will be interested to know that Larry Kirwan and I are working on a time capsule of Turner and Kirwan of Wexford music. I'll keep you informed. Should it be a USB stick or a CD? (would love you to tell me) So we are coming towards March 17th again - and there is no doubt about it, we have to give Vinegar Hill another chance, it is an album of Irish Folk songs that I folked up. It is an orphan of COVID-19, let's adopt it, and embrace the poor divil. Those who have it, found that it takes them to work in the morning with a smile on their face. I plan to launch it again on Facebook live this St Patrick's Day, we shall overcome!!!
I love you more than you love yourself.
Pierce xxx Happy New Year!!!
New Album Coming
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While I was writing , Gerry's guitar playing hung out there in the back of my mind, and I mulled over how I could make it feasible. Normally, when I make an album, I keep the expenses to an absolute minimum. For Vinegar Hill, for instance, I hired just two people, Karl Wright on drums, and Tim Zamboni Funk on bass, and with tremendous support and contribution from friends like Fred Parcells on trombone, and Avon Faire on backing vocals, we managed to pull it off. It had to be planned to the second with the very reasonable cost of Roman Klun's studio, we kept everything uber-efficient, with me recording most of the vocals at home. This resulted in an album that should have cost at least 30 grand, coming in on our crowd funding of 12 grand.
You know the saying ‘what you give attention to expands'? I'm telling you it really works, because all of a sudden I find myself planning on making an album with Gerry Leonard co-producing and playing guitar. Fucking Bowie's guitarist man! I have written a heap of songs to match this exciting adventure, it will be an album that I have always wanted to make, but never gotten round to. The reason why this is happening, and happening fast, is due to a wonderful artistic-minded New York label called StorySound. They have offered to take this project on board, to hire publicists, make videos, internationally distribute, and press both vinyl and CDs. The label owner Dick Connette has tracked me down after years of listening to my stuff and made this generous offer. I can't tell you what a relief it is to have such support, after years of Clare and I working alone.
To pull this off I need to raise $10,000 to pull off my contribution of time and expenses. I hope I can persuade you to help as you so generously always have. We'll keep it simple, as elaborate incentives can take attention away from the urgency of this project. The links for the different levels at which you can support the project are listed above. The CDs and records will arrive through your letterbox, before general release, and of course you will be making this exciting production possible. Other than this, I leave it to you to make whatever contribution that you wish - for the minimum of $10 you will receive a download of the album (but not a CD copy).
As you can see, Gerry and I have already started work, and I'll be in touch with you regularly over the next month or so with updates on the rehearsal and recording process and on the fundraising.
Thanks for Your Support
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
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This is just a quick one to say thanks for your support so far with the funding campaign for the new album - we're off to a flyer since we launched on Friday.
If you can support the campaign, please click on one of the links above. The video above tells you some more about what I'm doing.
All the best
Pierce
Rehearsing with Gerry Leonard
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Thanks for all your support so far for this fundraising campaign. We'll be going into the studio shortly to begin recording the album - I'm busy with rehearsals at the moment. The video above gives you a preview of what to expect from my work with Gerry Leonard. You might know him already from his work with David Bowie, Suzanne Vega and Rufus Wainwright.
If you can support the campaign, please click on one of the links above. If there's any friends you think might be interested, please send them on this email.
All the best
Pierce
Gig on St Iberius Day
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Lots of people are used to going to one of my gigs on St Patrick's Day - but with COVID and rehearsals for the new album, it wasn't been possible to do it this year.
Instead, I'm doing a Facebook Live gig on April 23rd - St Iberius Day, and you can support the new album by getting a virtual ticket and pre-ordering the CD at the link above.
Who was St Iberius? Well, he was the patron saint of Wexford and he was preaching Christianity before St Patrick. But he was more chilled out about the whole thing and he didn't think up the thing with the snakes and that's why you never heard of him.
As I get busy with recording of the new album, I'm only going to be running this pre-order campaign for another couple of weeks, so if you want to support the campaign, now is the time to do it!
All the best
Pierce
News from the studio
Click HERE to pre-order a download of the new album - $10
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Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
Tony Shanahan is Patti Smith's musical director, he also plays keyboard, guitar and bass with her. Tall and thin, he is a non-stop, smiling, charismatic, force of nature. Turns out, both his Mammy and Daddy are from Cork! Gerry Leonard ( whose Mammy and Daddy are from Dublin) and Tony share a love for these cartoons on Youtube - Martin's Life.
‘Martin's Life' has become the theme of our banter, of course it is all set in Cork. Being in a room with Gerry and Tony means laughing a lot as well as brilliant musicianship, and worldly stories involving massive names like David Bowie, Patti Smith, Bono and the ins and outs of giant venues and music festivals. It seems like, at this ripe age I am back in the Rock n Roll world. Yuval Lion plays the drums, and he came here from Israel originally. I don't know why or how, but somehow, Yuval understands the Cork sense of humour and is bent over laughing most of the time. Of course that wouldn't matter if he wasn't such a great drummer.
Hector the recording engineer is originally from Venezuela, and for some odd reason, he also understands the Cork accent, as well as the humour. His father is a pilot, and Hector constantly flew through the clouds in small aeroplanes when he was a kid, even upside down. Hector also worked with David Bowie, and he has Bowie's upright piano over in the corner of the studio - I will play it for you one day. He is getting superb sounds.
We are up on the top floor of a building in Long Island City, just overlooking the East River, beyond that we can see an array of tiny sparkling windows speckled from sea to sky in giant feats of modern architecture, one building outdoing the other in inventive shapes and ambition for altitude. I am walking in a world that is suited to my ambition again, and thanks to StorySound and its owner Dick Connette for this opportunity.
The only downside to this is the fact that I haven't got the time at the moment for Facebook concerts, which have been my lifeblood in the last weird year, hence the need to do this crowdfunding campaign. I have been a bit remiss in my efforts to keep you abreast of things, so we are slowing down a bit in reaching our goal. Buying the album in advance at one of the links above, or whatever you choose to ask for, is what makes this all possible. As you can see I need to be in New York while I'm doing this, and man has it gotten expensive here. So if you have the time and love a bit of music, remember, the likes of moi would not exist but for the likes of thee.
I love you more than Spring.
Pierce xxxxx
Latest news on the new album
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
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Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
So I stopped moaning, and kept writing. Then came the pandemic, a dangerous time for self-discipline, a time when most of us wandered around without a compass, a dangerous time for the unfastened mind, and writing songs requires us to unfasten our minds. As you know, I had just recorded "Vinegar Hill", my interpretation of Irish folk songs, it was to be released on March 17th at Joe's Pub in New York (Considered to be one of the top 5 American venues by Rolling Stone) then everything was cancelled, including my launch. My plan was to re-launch this March, but nothing had changed, and now Joe's Pub is booked for March 17th 2022! (FFS)
So there I was, sitting on Vinegar Hill, and writing songs for myself. When out of the blue, a classy New York label called StorySound offered me a record deal, with three times the recording budget that I have been scrimping and scraping with lately. Did I have any songs? they wanted to know, yes, said I, it so happens I have, thanks be to Jasus, sez you and I. StorySound wanted ALL of their budget to be spent on the recording, no allotment for my living expenses. So that's why I appealed to your kind selves, once again, as I had to fly to New York and stay there while making the album. Unlike my other projects, this was a little hastily put together, because it came from nowhere, and we needed to get to work right away. The reason for that was the enlistment of the brilliant guitarist, Gerry Leonard (David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright) he and I have wanted to work together for a while. He mixed my sound when he went to New York first, I had no idea he was a musician, imagine my surprise, when I saw him playing brilliantly with Bowie twenty years later. We needed to jump while Gerry was available with the recording engineer Hector Castillo, who also worked with Bowie and T-Bone Burnett (and many more). So our funding campaign did not get the attention from me that it deserved, because I was busy rehearsing and recording. In the middle of it all, I had some voice problems (since fixed) that delayed things and made me have to cancel a Facbook gig.
I am so excited about the way this album is sounding, StorySound have also sprung for some string arrangements by David Mansfield. However we have gone beyond the schedule (and of course the budget) we are making a "Mutha" of an Irish Rock album. Gerry says that we have captured "lightning in a bottle" with Patti Smith's bassist Tony Shanahan also on board. Between now and my return to Ireland next week, we are shooting two videos and mixing the tracks as much as we can. We won't make it though - I will have to return for ten days in July.
This fundraiser was mostly based on pre-orders for the album, and many of you were very generous, thanks so much. It's now looking like we should wait until next March for the release, because there will be so much traffic this autumn with big shot releases, so please be patient, it will be a cracker.
So this is the last shot before we close the funding campaign, after this I am on my own, wish I didn't have to mention it, but getting back to New York is an unforeseen expense. We didn't reach our goal (we always do), but that's understandable under the hurried circumstance, any last minute contributors are very welcome.
Good days are coming, I can feel it, concerts, running on the beach, dinner out, hugging and kissing, thank you my sausages for your everlasting kindness.
I love you more than the full Irish.
Pierce xxxx
"Terrible Something" is coming
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Terrible something, is coming……
Hello you pretty things, thought I'd give you a little word on what's going on at this end and what I am feeling about my forthcoming album - a good bit ‘forth'. It is my first real electric guitar album, with Gerry Leonard on that instrument. The album is kind of Alt Irish Guitar Band I suppose. It's time to try - at least - and pigeonhole one's music, having purposely avoided it all one's life, but the pigeonhole was created by the music - not vice versa - and now I will be able to fill out my Spotify form.
While I was recording, this is the stuff that went through my little head. Firstly, I'm not interested in retro, I like to learn from the past, but not imitate it, take it somewhere else while using every lesson learned. Yes we referred to The Rolling Stones on occasion and thought of Pet Sounds (but didn't say). I also listened to BBC6 and WFUV from New York, and we also referred to The National, Fontaines DC, rap music, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, The Small Faces and Bowie, of course, we referred to him quite a lot. I couldn't believe my fortune to be working with Bowie's guitarist Gerry Leonard and being recorded by Hector Castillo, who also worked with Bowie. Bowie's old upright sat by the wall in the second room where the keyboards lived, including the beautiful vibraphone (featured on Tommy and Timmy and others) and a full size grand Steinway. I swear that Bowie's piano spoke in some way, it was not just a piano, I was almost afraid to play it. One day I just sat down and hammered out ‘let's spend the night together' it was perfectly suitable to its personality to play that.
We are toying with the album title, the main contender is "Terrible Good", we also thought of "Where it Should Be", the first track on the album, featuring David Mansfield's beautiful strings - he who did Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue when he was 17. Dick from StorySound Records (my new label) favours ‘Terrible Good', he loves the twist in its meaning, which is why I liked it first too, it is a very Irish thing, and other cultures do it too, to use a negative out of context with the positive. People use the word ‘Wicked' to describe something great for instance, or ‘Deadly'. In the rap world, ‘Bad' means ‘Good'.
We are at a peculiar crossroads with music listening devices, nowadays. The record shops are filled with records! Of course, I mean vinyl. Yet, only a handful of friends have high quality turntable stereos. I read that some of the sales are not even bought to be played, just college kids collecting these big square things with beautiful artwork.
How will you listen to this album? That is the question that arises. We mixed these tracks on very high end speakers, not huge ones, medium size with full range, state of the art. But you might hear it in all kinds of ways, it doesn't bother me that much, I love listening to tracks on my Mac, with its built in little speakers, it sounds like a small transistor! Clare thinks they sound terrible, but I love them. So how you listen, is not my concern, but how you will receive it? Will it be a download, a CD, vinyl, a dongle? Or will you stream it? It's all fine by me. But will I be able to get it to people? it could get lost in all these options. When sound was only produced by a physical object, turntable, cassette player, CD player, there was really only one road to take. The downside was, that very advantage, there was only one way to do it.
We are at present planning the first single and the lead contender is Tommy and Timmy. Here's what it's about, we have a video made by Declan St Onge:
Tommy and Timmy
(a hurling song)
"They used to come to my gigs in The Village. I played with a string quartet at the time. These two hairy guys, smiling and laughing, getting every little nuance of my Irish sarcasm, self-pity and humour – sat beaming before me like two Muppets.
Then one summer I was fortunate to be home from New York, where I emigrated to donkeys ago, and got to see Wexford playing hurling in Dublin's massive Croke Park. My sister Bernie had secured the tickets through a network of GAA (the Gaelic sport bosses) outlets, bars and supermarkets, or someone that knew someone.
After the match, we were flowing along with the sea of people, walking through working class Dublin, when we came to a low, stone bridge. There, leaning with their back to the river, leaned Tommy and Timmy, upon their elbows, upon the wall, beaming in the sun. I was astounded, and astonished, "What?? Tommy and Timmy! What are you doing here?" "Howzitgoin Pierce" yawned the two lads, smiling as always. I left them there and never got over how blasé they were, considering I only ever saw them in New York, although they were from Ireland. (Timmy's from New Ross, in Co Wexford).
Tommy was a musician and met his lovely wife in the Czech Republic, they raised a beautiful family. Sadly from out of the blue, Tommy died. I was asked to sing at his memorial, so I wrote this song, and sang it very poorly at Arlene's Grocery in New York that night. All I had to do was remember them. Favourite T and T memories included, that one night after my gig, when we were in a taxi heading west to MacManus's and I burst into song ‘Oh the cattle are standing like statues.' Tommy and Timmy howled with laughter. It was a line from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oh what a beautiful morning" I had learnt it for fun, and when I sang that line in the taxi, it was perfection, three Irish lads with agriculture and cow shit embedded in their roots, mixed with Broadway! It was our lives condensed in ten syllables.
I am proud to say Tommy and Timmy is a Gaelic hurling song, my favourite sport, dedicated to Tommy English, and Timmy from McSorleys.
I'm a Terrible Busy Man
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
Click HERE to pre-order the vinyl version of the new album - $40
Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
Dearest things, I am attaching a story from my weekly Wexford People newspaper column. We are working like buggers on the new album - Dick from Storysound Records ain't cuttin corners on the packaging. The demand for vinyl is so huge in America right now, the pressing plants are overwhelmed, they tell us that we won't get the vinyl until next July or August!
But the CD will be on time and the official launch will be at Joe's Pub on March 17th in Manhattan with the original band from the recording.
I love you more than navy blue.
Pierce xxxxxxx
I was halfway up a ladder, severing the artery of a very thorny bramble that had decided my new shed was perfect for habitation. Wrapped around the roof like fat around a heart, it had already penetrated the walls and was about to climb inside. I knew that gloves were needed, but it was too much trouble to look for them, so I went at it with the shears, bare-handed, thinking that it was only a small job. I hadn't counted on the severed bramble hanging around between me and the un-severed. Bit by bit, my hands were bloodied. It was with those mangled hands that I took the phone from Clare, as she reached it up to me "It's Padraig Grant, he wants to talk about a photo exhibition". I have always admired Padraig's photography, so I didn't hesitate to concur with his request, he wanted me to write a description of a photo that he had chosen for his window exhibition during the Wexford Opera Festival, a photo of Pub Meditation at Sammy Sinnotts of Duncormick. God knows that eastern meditation is well publicised, and is practiced day in, day out, from Kilmore to Blackwater. But little has been written about our own form of meditation, Pub Meditation. Or as Padraig calls this photo - ‘Splendid Isolation'.
Irish towns are full of Pub-Ashrams, many practitioners meditate behind those walls on a daily basis. They sit away from everyone, in a corner or on a stool, and just stare at the ceiling, for at least an hour at a time. I believe that (post-pandemic) this practice is on the rebound, the other night I glimpsed some people practicing it again at Dixie's on the Quay.
This the caption I wrote for Padraig's photo of pub meditation:
"He's gone! He might be aimed at the cobweb in the top left corner, or the plastic Guinness sign with a photo of The Chieftains illuminated by a nicotine coloured bulb. But he's not looking at them or thinking of them. He is ruminating his way through the corridors of silence and satisfaction, he's meditating in the temple of left-alone.
Sammy could be in the back kitchen watching a black and white movie on the tellee with the sound turned off. He knows Whit well of course, Sammy might even know his mammy. Although Whit is no kid, and he's far from his mammy now, and Sammy knows that, he is the master of knowing – he knows when to pour another and when to let it sink slowly in the glass, when to reach for a ball of malt, or when to reach for the electric kettle. Whit could sit there and dream until his cows come home. Sammy sees him as essential to the order of life. He is part of Sammy's home, as important as a Rolling Stone (Sammy knows them) or the frail string that holds the Chieftains light, tied to a nail up in the corner, where Whit stares. Whit's mind won't be on his home, or on the field where the cattle roam, or on his empty glass. What he has found, he will find nowhere else.
Besides the nimble and delicate Sammy Sinnott, it's actually hard to believe anyone else was even there to take this great photo!
I've got a gig!
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
Click HERE to pre-order the vinyl version of the new album - $40
Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
I got my guitar out yesterday and polished it, put on new strings and cleaned the fret board, put a new battery in the tuner, and checked to see if the arm was shooting straight. I am a retired gunslinger coming back out to hit the streets, get ready! Gigs will be rare at first, and the plan is to stream them as well.
The first gig will be my annual show in my home town - the Wexford Arts Centre on Dec 23rd at 8.30 p.m, book now!
The launch is set for March 17th at Joe's Pub in Manhattan, with the full original band from the recording, on sale soon.
I love you as much as peace and quiet.
Pierce xxxx
PS: In case you missed it, here's a recent feature from Hot Press magazine on the new album
Dublin gig coming up!
Wexford: Wexford Arts Centre, Thursday December 23rd, 8.30 p.m. Book HERE
Dublin: Whelans, Friday January 7th, 8.00 p.m. Book HERE
New York: Joe's Pub, Thursday March 17th - not yet booking
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
Click HERE to pre-order the vinyl version of the new album - $40
Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
A lot of things have come into question recently, things that we have assumed to be fact, or the rule of law. But there are some things that can't be disputed, the world is round, water is wet, and sugar is sweet. We can choose to disagree with the laws of the land, but if you are guilty of a crime, you have to pay the price, everyone! Otherwise we go back to the wild west, if so , we might as well assume that the world is flat. I was annoyed with myself recently, when it seemed like I was caught off-guard with the Irish gigs.
Everyone was booked up! I couldn't understand it, I had just heard that we could have an audience again, how did everyone get in before me? Finally I got Dave Allen from Whelans on the phone, and he explained that they had to honour all the gigs booked before the pandemic first, and that's why December is completely booked, except for Monday December 6th, "ye can stick that date up yer bum" sez I to Dave. Then he suggested Friday January 7th ……. I had to think, January?? I have had to cancel my wild New Years Eve party for two years running, I was planning on going ape shit this time, and that would definitely not be good before a gig, even with six days to recover. So I thought about it and decided that it was more important to see my Dublin gang, so….Friday January 7th it is. I will be joined by the great guitarist Sam Killeen on electric guitar, he has worked with James Vincent McMorrow, Villagers, Lisa Hannigan and Divine Comedy. And we'll have Siobhan Lynch on cello, who plays with the Irish Symphony Orchestra, that's good enough for me. Sam was suggested by Gerry Leonard, Sam is a fan of Gerry's and delighted to replicate Gerry's parts from the new album. We have our first rehearsal tomorrow, for God's sake, spread the word about this gig, or I'll have to pawn my wedding ring! The Irish Times said this about my gigs at Whelan's:
"Clambering across the tables to screams of adoration, Turner breaks down the barrier between audience and performer, and really renders himself naked. Pierce's gigs at Whelan's are legendary, expect to hear some of these great new songs, plus the Turner classics."
After Whelans, I'll be heading to New York to prepare for the album launch at the great Joe's Pub on March 17th. All my New York sausages, get ready.
I love you more than mushy peas (and chips) Pierce xxxx
PS: Here's a recent newspaper column:
But when we were in Greece on holiday, Harry, the guy with the English pub, had a Jack Russell called Jack, who was as smart as a whip. Harry picked him up like a baby with his belly an all showing, Jack just laid back there and laughed with delight. When I saw him the next day, Harry was walking along by the waterfront with Jack skipping around him, I saw Jack first, and called out his name, he came rushing over and jumped on to my lap. A few days later when I went to the pub to see a soccer match, Jack was tied to a stool, and at the sight of me, began doing a dance on his hind legs. So you see what I mean, I've had to change my mind about Jack Russells.
Tom is now on his fourth Jack Russell, this one has four legs, the last one had only three. This dog is called Misty, the last one was called Hopper, after Hopper McGrath, Tom's favourite hurler who grew up down the other end of Davitt Road where he lives. Tom is close to Hopper's age, and I assume that they are slowing at a similar pace, fit enough, but slowing. At least I thought Tom was, at eighty six, a few years older than Hopper. But this morning I heard someone whistling "Oh what a beautiful morning" accompanied by the regular blunt thud of his walking stick, and the rapid tiny ticks of a dogs toe nails, as he scuppered around the striding Tom. "Morning all" "Morning Tom" "Are ye off to the fields?" "Gob a man, it's a long time since they were any fields around here" I was talking without thinking of course, positive pleasantries. "Dat's a right fella you have there Tom" He stopped and leaned on his stick as a prop "Ye know what I'm gonna tell you now, he's an absolute topper" "No need for a lead even?" "Nottatawll, he never goes farther than a couple a yards, he knows where I'm going, before I do" And off they strode in the sun.
This is real success, an eighty five year old who still has the joy of life. We might be under the assumption that fame and fortune denotes success, and it can, but at the end of life when the real truth surfaces, those of us who still appreciate the joy of existence have achieved the ultimate success. Time is a great leveller.
Have you seen Tommy and Timmy?
Wexford: Wexford Arts Centre, Thursday December 23rd, 8.30 p.m. Book HERE
Dublin: Whelans, Friday January 7th, 8.00 p.m. Book HERE
New York: Joe's Pub, Thursday March 17th - not yet booking
Click HERE to pre-order a download of the new album - $10
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
Click HERE to pre-order the vinyl version of the new album - $40
Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
I was walking along the Main Street in Wexford, a misty Saturday, not so much rain as wet air. Huddled in my coat and scarf I spotted an acquaintance passing, I wasn't sure that she noticed me, or was she carrying on with the presumption that I didn't want to take part in small niceties. I reached for her. "How are you?" She seemed pleased, slightly reticent I suppose, but happy to engage. "I really love that new song of yours" said she with a shy smile. "Oh that's great" said I, delighted to get a reaction to ‘Tommy and Timmy' from a live human. "It's totally refreshing". I am not comfortable with compliments in the flesh, but more comfortable than I am with insults. "Do ye think so? It's odd because it was such a quirky story and idea, such a personal viewpoint, with no certain foundation in pop pedigree, I wasn't sure if anyone would get it". "That's what I liked about it, the world needs more music like this, music that is free of contrivances, I found it inspiring".
I was greatly relieved by this encounter, and thanked her for the compliment. It was a short encounter, and you might think that it was a small thing. It wasn't a review in the New York Times, or Rolling Stone Magazine, but it actually made my day, because I respect the woman in question and know that she is no pushover. This may be my downfall, deriving such pleasure and encouragement from someone on the Wexford Main Street.
I had a big time manager once who poo-pooed the value of a full page rave in the Tel Aviv Times for my debut album, the population was too small he declared, ye know this kind of stuff doesn't lead to world domination, he flippantly declared. And I knew there and then that he wasn't for me. I believe that If someone appreciates what you do, it doesn't matter who, or where they are. And if there are enough of them to keep you afloat, then you are solvent. Who needs to rule the world? It's impossible to keep your balance when you rule the world, inevitably it will kill you, when you fall off.
I should explain that the album is not out yet, that happens mid-February, Tommy and Timmy is an advance video-single, as soon as we have the finished album we will send it out.
In the meantime, I have two gigs coming up in Ireland, with Sam Killeen on guitar and Delia Lynch on cello. The tickets are on sale now, I really look forward to seeing you there. The new songs are great to perform live - some not so new also. Spread the word, we are about to be reborn again. I love you as much as Tommy and Timmy.
Pierce xxxx
PS - Please share the video, we need hits!
Where It Should Be
Wexford: Wexford Arts Centre, Thursday December 23rd, 8.30 p.m. SOLD OUT, streaming live on Facebook
Dublin:Whelans, Friday January 7th, 8.00 p.m. Book HERE
New York: Joe's Pub, Thursday March 17th, 6.00 p.m. Book HERE
Click HERE to pre-order a download of the new album - $10
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
Click HERE to pre-order the vinyl version of the new album - $40
Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
"I'm fairly sure I've listened to "Where It Should Be" ten or more times tonight - probably more" Sid Dansby (Facebook)
With comments like this from my Facebook, it seems like "Where It Should Be" is striking a chord. I hope you like the song as much as Sid.
It's a song that I can get my teeth into, like Orange Coloured Sun or Yogi With a Broken Heart. We can try as much as we like to write these kind of songs, but they don't grow on trees, they grow from time though, just like an apple or a pear. But unlike fruit, there is only one at the most on each tree. It's a rare tree, as rare as a person, each one has its own story, and each one is complicated. All kinds of wounds will lay bare, and all kinds of truth will be told. And if there is one iota of superfluous distraction, the fruit is hard and inedible. I am using my father's memory as the climax, and as an analogy for the promise of life, a promise that is driven by the sun, and the blue sky up above. Tragedy is often lurking, and we always have to deal with it, but then a new day dawns, and off we go again. "I assume the world will do a normal turn, and everything will be where it should be" And it is!
By the way, the booklet with the Terrible Good CD, is a beauty, 24 pages with words, photos, and yarns. I could not have afforded this without StorySound Records, they were absolute perfectionists, won't be long now.
The gig at great Whelans in Dubin, will be fully seated, except for those who can't sit still. With the new restrictions, we are allowed 90 people, seems enough to me. I've been singing to my iPhone for the last 2 years, and the biggest audience I've been allowed in front of me was 30. So 90 should be massive. The tickets are on sale now. The Wexford Arts Centre is sold out however, but put your name down, a few tickets are usually returned. It will be streamed live on Facebook on the night by the great documentary maker Colin Murnane. The Joe's Pub tickets for the March 17th launch in Manhattan are on sale now at the link above. This will be with the full NY Band of superstars - Gerry Leonard on guitar, Tony Shanahan on bass and Yuval Lyon on drums.
I'm sure you're aware how hard it is to get attention these days in the world of music. Ed Sheeran achieved in four years what took Bruce Springsteen thirty. How? Well, the powers that be - like YouTube and Spotify, they are so powerful on a global level, all they have to do is decide. And I'm guessing they are handsomely enticed by some kind of cut, or promise.
Needless to say, they won't be getting such promise from me. But I want to use these tools the fullest. So it's really important to share these videos with others, this is a major card, and I would really appreciate you sharing them around. You're my secret weapon, sweet, smart people that you are, as the cockle said to the mussel "Don't be shellfish!" share em around.
I love you more than my mother's Christmas Pudding!
Pierce
xx
Facebook Live gig tomorrow
Wexford: Wexford Arts Centre, Thursday December 23rd, 4.30 p.m. Book HERE, streaming live on Facebook
New York: Joe's Pub, Thursday March 17th, 6.00 p.m. Book HERE
Click HERE to pre-order a download of the new album - $10
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
Click HERE to pre-order the vinyl version of the new album - $40
Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
The gig in Wexford is now on with doors open at 4.30 p.m. on Thursday 23rd - there are a few tickets still available HERE if you are available to attend in person.
If you'd like to catch the gig on Facebook Live, you can do that HERE from 4.45 p.m. local time (or 11.45 a.m. New York time).
I love you more than my mother's spiced beef!
Pierce
xx
Facebook broadcast of Wexford gig
New York: Joe's Pub, Thursday March 17th, 6.00 p.m. Book HERE
Click HERE to pre-order a download of the new album - $10
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
Click HERE to pre-order the vinyl version of the new album - $40
Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
As you might have heard, my gig in Wexford before Christmas had a few challenges!
This is the gig that was handicapped at every turn. Colin Murnane has edited it and turned it into something kind of special. Set yourselves up, arrange a party, it's my first live show in a long time. He had to edit out the tech problems, and it's only about 50 minutes or an hour. We had a sold out show of 120 that was halved by the government restriction of 50% and then it was lowered from 60 people to about 43 when they changed the finishing time to 8 p.m. So this show was at 5 p.m. Meant to be the great Sam Killeen on guitar and Delia Lynch on cello. Sam caught Covid, and then there were two! But it's an interesting line-up and sound. Have fun. Thanks so much to Colin Murnane above all of us.
You can watch it on my Facebook page HERE at 9.30 p.m. (Ireland/ UK time, 4.30 p.m. New York time) today, Friday 7th. It's free if you want or you can go to the one of the links above to preorder the new album or donate to support live shows.
Pierce
xx
Missing you - see you at Joe's Pub?
Click HERE to pre-order a download of the new album - $10
Click HERE to pre-order the CD version of the new album - $25
Click HERE to pre-order the vinyl version of the new album - $40
Click HERE to support the new album - $100
Click HERE to support the new album - $500
Set A Few Things Up featured on the New In Rock playlist on Apple Music
Interview with the Sunday Times (paywall)
Interview with It's Psychedelic Baby magazine
Interview with The Aquarian Weekly
Interview with Broadway World
I miss you.
Here I am sat upon my bum in the kitchen, thinking: what can I do to rebuild the bridge that has been knocked down between you and me, we and they, way and no- way, every which way!
It seems to me that one war is definitely coming to an end, the Covid war (I know that we still have other wars brewing, but they have always brewed) and now we have to engage in the post-war rebuild. If that is not done properly we will not recover in a therapeutic way.
The glue that holds us together has been severed by Covid, the tiny nerve ends that connects our hearts and minds. The amount of time we spend together has been almost abolished, so therefore we know each other less, and when we know each other less, we care less. As I have often said, what you give attention to expands. And we have given our entire attention to avoiding each other, for a very long time. So now we have to counteract that by doing the opposite, and it will require an effort, as much effort as it took to avoid each other for the sake of Covid. But the reward will be great, the reward for avoiding each other was loneliness, and staying alive of course, if we reconnect, we will find great pleasure, and stay alive too, more alive!
I genuinely miss you, I am sick of myself, and bloody Netflix, sick of that television news, and most of the irresponsibles who control it, power is a beast of low intellect. In a recent interview I went so far as to say ‘without music and art, the world would be eternally at war'. it was a reaction to talk radio, which now dominates in Ireland. Wars are started with words, not music. Studies show that listening to music can benefit overall well-being, help regulate emotions, and create happiness and relaxation in everyday life. You know that feeling you get when music takes you to an indefinable place? And when we are in that place with other people, it is pure felicity.
In spite of Covid, this has been an amazing year for me. At this point in my life, I could easily pronounce that the jury is in, I have not made it, and I'm not ever going to, so chuck it in for Christ sakes! To which I would probably I reply to myself, ‘made what?' Or something smart like that. But when Dick Connette from StorySound, a classy Manhattan label, offered me a record deal at the beginning of 2021, I readdressed that question, and answered differently. "Wait a second, I still have all these lovely people who support me through thick and thin, and now this man has offered to invest tens of thousands of dollars in my next album, surely this is ‘making it' in some way? That after all these years, I am still encouraged to do it.
As you know the album is done now - ‘Terrible Good' - and there are three great videos out there, the album will be released on February 25th, and headed your way. The advance tracks are available on all the streamers, like Spotify etc - you can get the links here. It's being playisted by Apple and we are getting great reviews. In Ireland, the Sunday Times has done a feature and we are launching it officially on March 17th at Joe's Pub in Manhattan with the original line-up from the album Gerry Leonard, guitar (Bowie, Rufus Wainwright) Tony Shanahan, bass (Patti Smith, Beck) Yuval Lion, drums (David Byrne) and my brother Fred Parcells on bone and vocals.
I am a little scared that we have been separated for so long, that you won't come to the gig, or that you are still nervous about Covid. I promise you that Joe's Pub is run like a well-oiled machine, you will be safe, and at the rate that we are going, the infection rate will be way down by March 17th, that's what my doctor says too. My sister is coming from Ireland for Christ's sake, and my nephews and all kinds of other people who feel deprived from the Christmas clampdown.
Pierce Turner performances with this line-up of superstars will be as rare as hen's teeth, book now, is it time for us to enjoy ourselves again?
I love you more than Saturday.
Pierce xxxx
It's Here
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Hi there
Delighted to announce that Terrible Good is released today on StorySound Records! Thanks to everyone who made it happen, I hope you enjoy it.
I love you more than the album of the week
Pierce xxxx
Terrible Great!
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On streaming services
Well it's March and a stiff Nor- East'r is cutting through New York City, but the sun is shining with a promise of spring. Terrible Good is off to a great start: Two page spread in The Sunday Times, four star review in The Irish Times, and album of the week on RTE (Ireland's BBC). In the U.S I am doing a pile of podcasts, and the album has had raves in the cyber media "a cross between The Cure and Johnny Cash" The Aquarian. N.J. That's one of my faves.
The CDs are here and ready to go, you will have them soon, with that great 24 page booklet that wouldn't be possible without the wonderful StorySound Records. This is such a cyber world that we live in, we are sometimes overwhelmed with physical reality, the boxes of CDs are not living in the clouds. We are presently having them shipped to Ireland from the UK where the European distributer is situated, and mailed out from Kildare where my friend Paul Darby sits with pen and envelopes, ready to pounce. I am sending downloads to those of you who are too far away, just to hold you over. But we do have them, and the package is beautiful, with a 24 page booklet, including the lyrics and little anecdotes, mailing them from NY would cost $14 each, unreal, so we have to do it this way. Won't be long now, I am sorry for the delay, and very grateful for your support, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Now, we ordered the vinyl the same time as the CDs , yet they are not here! Why? You might ask, and bejasus, you'd have every right to ask too. Well what happened, happened a long time ago, in the early 80s or so. Around that time a digital disc called a CD came on the market, and within very little time at all, took over that same market. This caused all the vinyl plants to go out of business, because millions of silly buggers threw out their record players, and dumped their vinyl, or at least abandoned it. Well guess what, we now we have this new craze called VINYL! that has come upon us, and the plants for making it, have nearly all disappeared because people threw out their record players. So, when we went to order vinyl they informed us that we would be having to wait! If you know what I mean. At first I was told May, and then they said, May, if I was lucky! then they took a huge leap (or the piss) towards the other end of the summer and proffered August! I am sincerely hoping that they are being pessimistic, but I honestly don't know. So if you have ordered vinyl, it will be a while, I'm really sorry. As a consolation we will send you a download code.
A gang of people are coming to New York from Ireland for the launch gig on March 17th. I am so looking forward to playing with this crack band who played on the album, I need not worry about reproducing the sound, this IS the sound. And even Timmy from "Tommy and Timmy" will be there. Martin Mills the boss of Beggars Banquet is flying in from London for it (now perhaps the biggest Indie record group on the planet) I hope it's going to be jammed, we will fly away together.
If you want to come tickets are still available HERE, and you can pick your own seats in this wonderful intimate venue, rated one of the top five in America by Rolling Stone Magazine. If you can't get there book your own party at home, we are going to do a three camera professional stream with hi-fi sound on YouTube – more details next week.
My love for you is not cyber though, it comes from passion, blood and eternal gratitude.
Pierce xxxx
Gigs coming soon in New York and Dublin
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Dublin launch gig for Terrible Good on July 7th
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I'm writing from Wexford, and I'm absolutely knackered from trying to adjust. I swear the bloody pandemic still has us all confused in some way, it's like we've had a big storm and the trees are all down, and blocking the road - the wind has died down, and the rain has stopped, but we can't get around properly. Of course it's not as obvious as that, but there is a subtle shift in our priorities or something, and we have designed a new way to live. So I have decided to ignore it all, and just drive around the hurdle that's in front of me, because up ahead I've got my first proper Irish gig since Covid began.
When you think of what we've been through, it's a huge deal, that the very fine Sugar Club on Leeson Street is ours to enjoy. Imagine if two years ago when I was performing to you from my sitting room with the cat trying to knock over the tripod, I was able to say that in three weeks time ,I will be performing with a full band on July 7th in Dublin. Cillian Byrne and his brother Lorcan will back me up (guitar and drums), with Mary Barnecutt on cello and Bill Bergen on bass, the Byrne Brothers also sing like birds, we'll be doing the new album ‘Terrible Good" and a bunch of ones from before, not telling ye which ones.
At this point in my life, it's more than a gig, I miss you guys, and want to see you, let's have a pint after the show, we do have a bar at our disposal. Please make an effort to break the hold that Covid has on you, shake yourself and come out, bring your voice and lets sing, walk around the blockage, for now is heaven.
I love you more than the last time.
Dublin launch gig for Terrible Good on July 7th
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Hello, it's me, how are you? We now have these pretty, bloody good videos from the launch of Terrible Good at Joe's Pub in New York. We have edited them down to single songs so as not to wear you out. This one is of the song "Rocket Man" with my NYC intro - I am backed by the original band from the recording. Give it a gawk,I think you'll like it, would love to hear your reaction. By the way, I read them all and I answer them all, ask anyone who wrote.
I had my first rehearsal with the Irish line-up for The Sugar Club yesterday, and ‘Terrible Good" is gonna be mightily good. Next week we'll have another video.
And here's a little story for you. Spread the word, will ye, I need more of you, and love you more and more each day.
Pierce xx.
I grew up with this sea; it lived across the road from us on the Quay. Upstairs in that sitting room with a blazing fire at my back. I often peeked past the curtains at its commotion; it spat up massive wooden sleepers like matchsticks, and threatened to cross over the road to us. By the fire, my Mother knitting, me Da, still in his blue overalls from the factory, taking the occasional gawp over the paper at the T.V. His ill-fitting spectacles stopping short of outsize ears. Next to him, a sofa full of sisters, maybe a boarder or a brother or two.
For me though, the performance of the sea outdid any drama that the television could offer, as we sat there in the sanctuary of our home with the waves bashing the bridge, and the continuous wind building with each reproach.
Oddly enough, that wild cacophony only served to increase our comfort and security as we sat beside the fire in that solid house by the sea. Even though this sea was there then and was part of our home, a neighbour, it was also a mercurial friend, and tonight it shows its dark side.
There are four of us here, two of us will leave, and the other two will go back home. We are wordless, having talked all the way down from town, politely searching for something pertinent to say amidst the pleasantries. Now we are here, and the need for that has passed, we tacitly agree that it's okay to brood. My six foot four brother-in-law, sporting his Elvis quiff, sits behind the wheel of the tiny Volkswagen Beetle, to the left his wife, my sister Bernie, casting her head downward, resigning to peripheral vagueness. I am saved from melancholic gloom by the presence of my friend Larry, who is squashed behind the driver's seat, for we are bonded by the adventure ahead of us.
It was a cold and lonely feeling to get dropped off on that rainy Monday at the tall wall of Rosslare Harbour by big Dave and Bernie. It was good of them to take us there, but we had already said goodbye to everyone and now we just wanted to pursue our dreams and forget the lament of leaving for England where we would hop on a Freddy Laker flight to New York.
We waved goodbye from the lofty gangplank, my heart in my boots, and seeing in my sister's brave smile the childhood that made me what I was, our deep fervour and closeness as a family, yet another tear in the umbilical chord - a step further away from the womb.
Once we got inside the brightly lit Boat, the sadness began to ebb and soon enough we were making jokes, yapping to strangers and eating our cheese sandwiches. We are animals after all, and after we are pulled away from our loved ones, we soon look around for the nearest comfort. I never wanted to leave Wexford, but what I needed in order to pursue my dreams; lay elsewhere.
Now, having returned home, I like to sit on Rosslare Strand and watch that ferry parked by the great wall, waiting to take someone else to the moon - and hopefully back.
Dublin gig next Thursday - and a new video for More
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It was the first time I invited someone to a Zoom call, usually someone else invites me, and it's easier that way I can assure you. I wanted to run through the arrangements with Mary Barnecutt by Zoom before the band rehearsal, so that she wouldn't be coming in cold. After fecking around with Zoom for a couple of hours, computers eat hours like my cat eats chicken, I finally succeeded in sending Mary an invite.
Everywhere I looked they told me that a Zoom call was infinite so long as no more than two people participated, Mary and I were cut off after twenty. Unfortunately we were out of sync when played together, so I turned Mary off on my end and she played away while I listened to myself. It was disconcerting to watch her obviously playing out of sync, but it worked. Sometimes we would discuss tricky bits, and Mary would play them on her own, I could see she was bloody good, that was a relief, as I had never even met her, she did come recommended by a reliable friend though. Mary is a character, I casually asked did she have any effect pedals, and she pulled out a rake of them, this is not normal for classical musicians, she's a woman after my own heart.
On Wednesday Mary joined us with Cillian on guitar, Lorcan on drums and Bill on bass for a rehearsal in Harolds Cross, it was a new studio own by a couple of brothers with Australian accents. Mary fit in like a hand to glove, I was glad that we had gone through the parts though, these bloody songs are deceptively complicated, and we are having to add another rehearsal next Tuesday, so that we are completely tight for the Sugar Club. Colin Murnane is coming with video expertise, we are bending over backward to make this a great gig, and we ain't kissing no Blarney stone.
I love you because you're mine, come to Leeson Street next Thursday.
Pierce xxxx
Us humans are addictive, when we experience something that we like, we keep doing it, until eventually it's almost all that we do. It becomes safe and easy. "I only eats chips" is a famous line from Billy Roche's play "The Belfry" the character is a young boy who has been living on a narrow diet, and is fearful of veering away from it. But, we are what we eat, is surely the truest of all truisms - and no one wants to look like a chip, do they. But the more chips we eat, the more chips we want, and soon it becomes difficult to eat anything else. That's how the mind works, it becomes acclimated to patterns, and the longer a pattern is practiced, the deeper the ridge and harder the change.
This week I went to the Wexford Races, it wasn't hard, but it took a little bit of effort, ‘cos it meant changing my nightly routine. Clare and I were across the road from the racecourse a couple of weeks ago, and after noticing the sign, agreed to go. So that we wouldn't wiggle out of it, I put it into my iCalendar right away. When Wednesday June the 15th arrived, it wasn't as convenient as it seemed when it was just an idea. I knew that the races started at 5.30 but Clare and I weren't even in the same place at that time. Eventually we ate our dinner together at 7 and I proposed that we stick to the plan. "Let's go to the races," I suggested with all the certitude I could muster. To my surprise, Clare was up for it, even though she was tired and the evening news was on the television, beckoning attention.
After entering the racecourse the first thing we were drawn to was the ground-shaking thud of horses hooves coming from the right beyond the stands. My heart began to quicken as we rushed towards the excitement, unknowingly we had arrived right by the winning post. Pieces of turf flew into the air and glistening manes sweated in the sun as passion, blood, and muscle tore by. Satin shirted jockeys rose from their saddles in blind fervour, urging their charges to victory. It was the end of a heated contest that had begun miles ago with careful manoeuvres, we had luckily arrived at the precipice of their hard earned challenge. The visceral sensation ran through my body with such electricity, it felt like I was witnessing reality for the first time. Now we found ourselves wallowing in the scent of turf and roaring for the victors.
The air cooled, some punters rushed excitedly to collect their winnings, while Clare and I hurried to the paddock where the saddles were being removed and the steaming horses spoiled with pats of affection. Like two excited children, we watched in awe, an awe that we have been lacking of late. Awe doesn't come without variation, a little bit of everything.
The next Meet at the Wexford racecourse is 1
Gigs in August in Ballydehob and Wexford
Ballydehob: Levi's Corner House, Saturday August 6th, 8.00 p.m. With Tony Shanahan on bass. Book HERE
Wexford: The Riverbank Hotel, Thursday August 18th, 8.00 p.m. With Cillian and Lorcan Byrne, on electric guitar and drums, Bill Bergin on bass, and Mary Barnecutt on cello. Book HERE
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The story behind the cover of Terrible Good
Michael Quilligan had asked me to take three different photos in Manhattan as part of my fund raiser for an up and coming album. I had been offering photos that I had taken of Manhattan and that's where he got the idea. He wanted one taken on Ninth Street and Avenue C – a lyric from one of my songs, one taken up town at a spot where one of his favourite bands Blue Oyster Cult had their photo taken and one taken at a spot where Bob Dylan had performed or been to.
Not so long after Michael (who is also responsible for holding my IT world together) asked for these photos, a photographer friend offered to help by taking some photos for me, as a contribution. I told him about Michael's request, and Frank, being a gung-ho character, said ‘yeah, let's do it, I know the perfect place for the Dylan shot, Great Jones Street where he shot the cover of ‘Freewheelin Bob Dylan'. So off we went to the West Village to begin the beguine.
Unfortunately it was Spring when we shot the photo, as opposed to a snowy winter's day, but Michael just wanted a Dylan spot, he didn't mention the weather. Frank and I strolled slowly down the quiet West Village street looking in our minds eye for which angle the Dylan photo had been taken from. When we got to the bottom of the street, an elderly woman in a raincoat, approached us with the certainty of experience "It was there!, the photographer stood here, and they stood there" said she. We were genuinely surprised that she knew what we were looking for, and then realised how stupid that was, after all Frank had a professional camera in his hand, and of course it was a legendary spot. "And over there, down below, there is a basement record shop with the album in the window" Jesus Christ, talk about service.
Over we went and studied the cover. I noticed that Dylan hunched his shoulders, so I did the same, not a normal stance for me, and Frank took several shots of me there, in the end we took one of me kicking my shoe up in the air, a favourite stage antic.
After that we took the other photos and I sent them to Michael. He said they were ‘grand' and then went silent, I asked was there something wrong with them, and he slyly giggled, "well I didn't ask for you to be in them" This sent me into a fit of convulsive laughter, needless to say. I actually thought he was kidding, he has a warped Limerick sense of humour, but then realised that he wasn't, and that was even funnier. Of course, I had been taking street photos of Manhattan and selling them, and that's what Michael had thought I would do. But Frank came on the scene offering to take photos of me, and I joined the two ideas together.
So hey, accidents can create opportunity. Three years later when we were looking for the cover for my new album ‘Terrible Good' I suggested that shot, and everyone loved it. Thanks Michael, and thanks Frank, and thank you, lady in the raincoat.
Wexford gig coming up
Wexford: The Riverbank Hotel, Thursday August 18th, 8.00 p.m. With Cillian and Lorcan Byrne, on electric guitar and drums, Bill Bergin on bass, and Mary Barnecutt on cello. Book HERE
Terrible Good featured an all star line-up of New York musicians, and was produced by fellow transplanted Irish man, Gerry Leonard. The album strongly features Leonard's guitar work, not that dissimilar to his work with David Bowie, whom he played with for his final five years. This sublime guitar work will be brilliantly replicated at the Riverbank on August 18th by the Dublin/Wexford guitarist, Cillian Byrne, a thrill for all you guitar aficionados. Cillian and his brother Lorcan Byrne (drums), also known as Basciville, are the core of Pierce's band, both of them also providing perfect backing vocals. Mary Barnecutt from Hull is featured on cello and virtuoso Dublin bassist, Bill Bergin finishes out this perfect line-up. The highly respected engineer, Olchan Kirwan will mix the sound out front.
Wexford gig coming up, and a new video for Love Never Fails
Wexford: The Riverbank Hotel, Thursday August 18th, 8.00 p.m. With Cillian and Lorcan Byrne, on electric guitar and drums, Bill Bergin on bass, and Mary Barnecutt on cello. Book HERE
"We are playing at the London Palladium tonight, and next week at the outdoor arena in Pompeii where Pink Floyd performed". The bass player, Tony Shanahan is calling me from London.
"That's amazing, how are the tickets going?" "Sold out, all the shows are sold out" Tony is talking about Patti Smith gigs, he is her bassist and musical director, I can't imagine more disparity between two artists as people, than Patti and myself. Yet Tony finds himself comfortable with both of us, and us with him.
Tony has a hundred cousins in Cork - where his parents emigrated from - and a good few of them made their way south to see their American cousin performing with me in Levis of Ballydehob. Levis used to be one of those Grocer/Bar establishments that were common in Ireland. Now it has been taken over by Joe the nephew, and because he was the singer in a band called ‘Fred' he chose music as a way to draw audiences to the business left behind by two grand aunts.
Joe pestered me for years to play there, and I kept saying ‘Where?' And Joe being the great character that he is, convinced me that Levis was essential, he didn't mention that it could take me six hours to get there from Wexford. He also neglected to mention that the capacity of Levis is about forty, or forty-five at a push.
The first time I played there was a bit confusing. "Where do I play Joe" "Well most of the bands play behind the grocery counter" I looked at it, the shelves were filled with oddities, Bisto tins, tinted bottles, and Irel coffee posters colourfully etched into tin, rusty tools and bad paintings hanging off kilter. The counter on the opposite side was the bar, and in between stood an old upright piano, out of tune but playable. Joe had thought twice of taking it for nothing off someone, because it took up precious space. I didn't have a band, so I chose to perform outside the counter, the audience could go behind if they wanted.
It's at the foot of a three-storey house that is filled to the brim with furniture, holy pictures and lots of beds. Joe invites the musicians to sleep upstairs. I chose the attic, and got myself ready for the gig. Clipping the little window open, I looked down at the colourful Main Street as it curved up the hill, and wondered who the people out there were? Would they care about me performing downstairs? Two attractive young women stopped to look in the window of a small art gallery across the street, I wondered where they were walking to, and they seemed dressed for something.
Joe said to come down around 8.30, I waited in the kitchen as he introduced me, then I walked through the frosted glass door to the roar of a crowded bar, I panned the room of heart warming smiles, and amongst them spotted the two women who had been across the street, this was where they were going. Later I was to find out that people had come from as far away as Belfast.
Last Saturday night we sold so many tickets, Joe had to put Tony and I out in the back, where he has created a tiny amphitheatre. Tony Shanahan was beaming from ear to ear, and his cousins were everywhere. Tony, who played on my new album, journeyed from New Jersey to Pompeii, and from that hallowed venue to the back of Levis with me, he is a true soul brother. And Ballydehobinners do make one feel loved.
Turner and Kirwan of Wexford
Gigs to be confirmed soon for Dublin and Wexford
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Turner and Kirwan of Wexford
Hello one and all, it's been a while. I was in Greece for a couple of weeks, went there after the Wexford gig - a great gig. I am now browned like a turkey.
More gigs coming soon - looking at Whelans but not set yet. But Dec 22 at the Wexford Arts Centre is set in stone-our annual Christmas gig at home, with the full band. book it now.
People are truly loving this band, you can feel it in the air, no hardship, just sing the songs, and it rolls like a Riverboat Queen.
It was also wonderful to be a guest on Newstalk's Moncrieff show the other day, the day after I arrived back from Greece. It went well, they have been promoting it on air very regularly, with a clip of me going on about how odd Wexford is, and how we are part Norman, and part Dane, also anglophile, as well as anti Anglo, meaning contrary I suppose? Obviously Newstalk found it all greatly amusing. Of course I love Wexford. Here is the link.
But back to Wexford, this is why I write. Many of you will know that I first went to America with another Wexford fella called Larry Kirwan, of Black 47 fame, and recently the composer of a Broadway musical. Together as Turner and Kirwan of Wexford, we made one official album, and one bootleg of ourselves. The offical record company album "Absolutely and Compeletly" caused a bit of a stir.
We have decided to put an 80 minute CD together, including as many early tracks as possible within the space limitation of a CD. It has the complete unabridged "Absolutely and Completely" Also included are the bootleg tracks, and a never before heard track called Adoremus. (I found it on a shelf in Neil Stocker's house on a cassette)
You can order a copy of the CD in advance here. It will make a great prezzy for all kinds of souls that are in need of replenishment. I hope you find it as interesting to hear these songs again, as Larry and I did. This is a huge sounding album.
I love you more than De Purple and Gold.
Pxxxx
Tickets now on sale for Whelans
Dublin: Sunday, November 20th, Whelans. Book HERE
Wexford: Thursday, December 22nd, Wexford Arts Centre. Book HERE
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The Wexford Opera Festival is on as I write this. Fireworks flew above the harbour last night and even the main Wexford Bridge was pedestrianized. Thousands of people coming from all over the county to see the spectacle, cars are parked everywhere in higgledy- piggledy fashion.The Spiegeltent is erected for live music, and carnival rides glow like something from an American movie. It's so weird for me because all of this happens on the Quay, right in front of the house where I grew up, which stands there now filled with offices.
I just got off the phone with Tony Shanahan the bass player on my new album, he has just come back from Paris where he performed with Patti Smith. We laughed about our gig in Ballydehob last summer, and began planning the band for my annual gig at Joe's Pub in Manhattan next March 17th. But first we have a couple of very important Irish gigs. It is literally years since I played in Whelans. Before the pandemic it was my yearly Mecca, so I couldn't resist the opportunity to perform there on Nov 20th with the full Terrible Good Band through that great sound system. Those of you who were at The Sugar Club, will remember the great video back drop by Colin Murnane, we are lucky enough to have Colin again on Nov 20th at Whelans, with plenty of room to move for the movers.
So don't deprive yourself, get yourself over to us, we will have the new album in vinyl form and CD, so bring a few bob in cash, we won't have a card machine, not that industrialised yet. Really looking forward to playing with this band again. And don't forget my Wexford gig on Dec 22nd! By the way, I saw a clip of half of this band with Susan O'Neill on the Late Late Show last week - so I'm on the pulse! Here's a little story for you from my boy soprano days.
I love you more than the Bread of Angels.
Pierce xx
"Mammy can I have four shillings, I'm not sure if this is enough" "Just get another sixpence from my bag then" Me Ma knew that I hated being given the exact amount, it would be so embarrassing if it wasn't enough. When you are twelve, standing in a shop full of big people can be overwhelming, the last thing I would want is to be calling any undue attention to myself, the shop assistant might say it was three and seven pence. To which I would go all red, and have to say I was a penny short. I dove into her handbag, the waft of perfume hit me again, the purse was still handy, sitting on top of her crumpled hankie, the lipstick and powder compact had weighted to the bottom and God knows what else was in there, it was her portable world.
The world was a perfect place, I was on my summer holidays, nothing short of a death in the family could quell my enthusiasm for life. I sped out that door on the Quay and swerved around the Friday crowds as they busied along the main street. I was galloping up past the Protestant church with such haste, that I had no mind for what was ahead of me. If I had, I might've dodged behind one of the cars or something, not that I didn't like Miss Codd or anything, it's just that I was in a hurry, and she was from the slower world of candle wax, church choirs, weddings, and funerals.
My head hadn't been in that world since June when I sang with her up in the organ loft at my sister's wedding. But suddenly my face was in her stomach, while dodging a messenger boy's bike, I had made a hasty manoeuvre and nearly swallowed a mouth full of her buttons. "Just the boy I was looking for, come on up to the friary for benediction, you can sing Panis Angelicus" "But I wouldn't be able to Miss Codd, I'm on a message to buy Hazlet" "Listen to me, you won't get anywhere if you say no to God" "But me Mammy has to have the tea ready for me Daddy" "The bread of angels, that's what Panis Angelicus means. Which is more important? The bread of angels, or Hazlet?"
It was Hazlet.
Turner and Kirwan of Wexford
Many of you will know that I first went to America with another Wexford fella called Larry Kirwan, of Black 47 fame, and recently the composer of a Broadway musical. Together as Turner and Kirwan of Wexford, we made one official album, and one bootleg of ourselves. The official record company album "Absolutely and Completely" caused a bit of a stir.
We have decided to put an 80 minute CD together, including as many early tracks as possible within the space limitation of a CD. It has the complete unabridged "Absolutely and Completely" Also included are the bootleg tracks, and a never before heard track called Adoremus. (I found it on a shelf in Neil Stocker's house on a cassette)
You can order a copy of the CD here. It will make a great prezzy for all kinds of souls that are in need of replenishment. I hope you find it as interesting to hear these songs again, as Larry and I did. This is a huge sounding album.
Whelans gig next Sunday
Dublin: Sunday, November 20th, Whelans. Book HERE
Wexford: Thursday, December 22nd, Wexford Arts Centre. Book HERE
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A full Moon stood motionless over Wexford Harbour, a thin veneer of mist blurred its definition, I stared at it and wondered will my friends come out on Sunday night. In the back kitchen I can hear our Stiff clock, it sounds like it's in a fog too. It reads, "when you kill time, you murder success". Clare got it when she was in the music business in London, you name it she got it, if you work in the music business, you don't have to pay for anything. Free concerts, free T shirts, free albums, and free clocks! Record companies are very generous to their employees, but they will fight tooth and nail to stiff musicians, no pun intended.
Night-time entertainment must be suffering very badly in Ireland, the government just handed out hundreds of thousands to night clubs, including Whelans! Does that mean you're not coming on November 20th ? I hope not.
I'm all revved up here. Got me cello, guitar, bass and drums, and if you were at the Sugar Club, you know how good they are, the tables and chairs will be pulled out from behind the curtain, and I have lost a stone so that I can mount them.
Tell everyone for God's sake, there may not be too many more gigs with this band, Take advantage of it, you will leave with a smile on your face. How can you put a price on that? It will save you a fortune in doctor's bills.
I love you more than Moonbeam Josephine.
Pierce xxxx
Also - Wexford's annual Christmas gig on Dec 22. And if you're in Wexford on New Year's Eve, come to my house for the party of your life.
Wexford gig on Dec 22nd (and New York confirmed for Mar 17th)
Wexford: Thursday, December 22nd, Wexford Arts Centre. Book HERE
New York: Friday, March 17th, Joe's Pub. Book HERE
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I've got me hands full here, I went to the shop and got my breakfast, made a flat white coffee on the machine (for those of you living in other lands, a flat white is a strong short coffee with hot milk, you might like it, like a small strong latte) picked up the Sunday Times, a couple of fire logs and stood behind a man buying lottery tickets, and enquiring after yesterday's winners, and buying a separate lot of tickets for his mother, and….make a long story short, I had to rest the hot coffee on a nearby stand while waiting impatiently. It was freezing outside and I had my New York coat on, it is so big it has a mind of its own, it really should have its own car, there is barely room for the two of us in the front seat.
Finally after standing there all hot and bothered while the woman behind the ‘fast check out' was labouring over a thousand small questions, the man picked up his shopping bag and moved on. I knew the woman behind the counter, we had been through this before. We went over the lunacy of it all once again, turning our eyes towards the sky in sequence. I finally got out of there, put my bag on the roof of the car and opened the door.
After throwing my coat off in the house, it was like wrestling a person off my back, I stuck some bread in the toaster, emptied my pre-cooked sausages on to a plate, sliced a tomato to go with it, laid the paper out on the table before my eyes and reached for a sip of coffee while awaiting the toast. But it wasn't there, was it? No!! it was still back on that shelf in the shop.
So Christmas is coming, and I wish I could play everywhere at once, because it's the first open Christmas since the pandemic, I want to be in the same theatre with all of you, but unfortunately I can only be in Wexford. So if you are around here, grab your tickets fast, as it's almost sold out. And if you are in NY you should grab your tickets now for Joe's Pub on March 17th at the link above.
We'll have a get together after both gigs - for Wexford, just pop around the corner to Mary's on Johns Gate Street. I'll tell you later where the NY one will be, but be, it will. Both gigs will have the full band, so get it while you can. I'm a busy man, and I love you more than my breakfast.
Pierce xxxx
PS - here's a recent newspaper column:
The camera gets in close to his face as he waits for the referee's whistle. Ronaldo appears to be in a trance as he phases out everything beyond his aim. He will make a decision, and stick with it, everyone knows that's the secret, and that he mustn't look in the direction he intends to shoot. His face fills the TV and Clare is studying him. "I can tell ye, he gets his eyebrows done " I try to direct our attention back to the penalty, his first in this World cup. With all this negative stuff about his age and failure at Manchester United, can he still do it? Clare has another observation "And I can tell ye, he's no stranger to fake tan" Ronaldo hits the ball so hard the goalkeeper can't save it, even though he's dived the right way. He slides across the field on his knees in celebration, the crowd goes nuts, and the man is still a god, with not a hair astray.
At half time an ad comes on, it's Sandra Bullock with a different face "is that?... what's her name ?" "Yes, I think it is" "What? She has a new face? " "What a shame, she had such a unique face, it was her trademark, I thought she was beautiful" "I mean, ye can't just change your face and expect us to know you, it's not a masked ball!" Poor Sandra.
My cousin, the playwright Billy Roche says that we often hate about ourselves the very thing that others like. I loved Renee Zellweger's Inuit eyes for instance, it seems she didn't, she doesn't have them any more. Everyone seems to be asking for Face #1, or something, they all look the same. Ashley Judd was so beautiful, now she has Face #1 too. It's confusing, since when did high cheekbones and huge lips solely define perfection?
After the ads, Ronaldo returns to the field, we look at his close-up to see if he had any "work" done, I mean it's possible. Look at Bruce Springsteen FFS! He was on The Jimmy Fallon show last week and was so perfect looking it was odd. Clare was able to spot what he'd had done. "Wrinkles, he's had wrinkles removed from his forehead, it's a shame, he didn't need to" I found myself giving him the benefit of the doubt, after all it was Bruce, and we all want to love him. He danced in a blue steel mohair suit, with an open neck shirt, and I found myself wondering why it mattered if he removed his wrinkles, at least he still had the same face. This is the new pastime, "Spot who's had work done" even when they are taking a penalty in the World Cup.
Joe's Pub on March 17th now on sale
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Hi folks
I'm looking forward to seeing some of you at my first New York gig of the year - on St Patrick's Day, March 17th at Joe's Pub. You can book your tickets HERE
I'll have the Terrible Good band with me, with Tony Shanahan (Patti Smith, Beck) on bass, James Mastro on guitar (The Bongos, Ian Hunter), Fred Parcells (Black 47) on vocals and trombone, and Jay Dea Daugherty (Patti Smith) on drums
Pierce xxxx
PS - here's a story of when I was a punk:
It was a big responsibility to take a full band from New York City to Ireland for two weeks. Most of the gigs would be meaningless financially, any logical business mind would look at the plan as senseless. But musicians are romantics who love what they do, all ye have to do is throw us a crumb.
Of course we had a major advantage in the fact that Larry and I were Irish, and were known to the media here, as well as having families and friends who would help us out. Annie would let us stay with her when we were in Dublin, and other than that, we based ourselves at home in Wexford.
Our Drummer Hammy was a working class character from Queens. He fired from every sinew as he lit along with an easy smile and a hearty laugh. He was openly fascinating to the Main Street and gave it back with equal delight. Peter Collins the bassist, originally from Boston, came across as cooler than any of us, he had been playing with numerous respected bands in Boston and New York. Admired for his driving bass, and his Clash-like aura, Peter was a man of few deliberate words. But beneath his cool exterior he was respectful and mannerly. Coincidentally, they were both Irish-Americans, but were only mildly connected to that sentiment. It was clear to everyone that the two lads were the real deal.
Our second gig after a great one at the Parish Hall was in a popular venue on the outskirts of Dublin. My brother-in-law Joe Doyle, an electrician by trade, was responsible for the Parish Hall lighting, he put on a light show that no one thought possible, we were positively luminous.
One evening my sister-in-law, Patty, who was a hairdresser and a good sport, got into a conversation with the lads about dying their hair platinum, the following day they were up at her house in Mary's Street chatting away while their hair developed.
By the time we hit Dublin the boys were blonde and were looking more like The Buggles than The Major Thinkers. We left New York as struggling penniless musicians, and with each day in Ireland we appeared more and more illustrious. We were still penniless.
On our last night in Wexford we had a party, and decided to just stay where we were for the night, which was our sitting room on Commercial Quay. Me Da was to wake us up at 7 for the train. But to his horror he overslept, and burst through the sitting room door in his pyjamas "I say, ye'd better hurry, the train is going up the kay" Bags and instruments hung from us as we ran against the train while still buckling our belts and buttoning our coats.
After travelling the length of Ireland from Wexford to Waterford, to Arklow, to Wicklow, Dublin, Dundalk and Belfast, we returned to New York, and deemed the trip a great success. Still penniless however. Peter was in a hot relationship with a Boston girl - she broke down crying at the airport when she saw what he had done to his auburn hair.
Moe says: Book your tickets for Joe's Pub on March 17th
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Moe's ancestors are from Newfoundland. They are a different breed those Newfies. They will bend over backwards so far for a friend that they will kiss the ground, and laugh at the taste. Nothing keeps Moe Maloney down, he is eternally positive. I have known him for so many decades it's not worth saying, cos we are timeless. He also knows everyone, if he doesn't know them, he will in the next five minutes. When I need help in NYC, Moe is the first person I call. He has brought so many beautiful people into my life, and they all come with a smile. Richi and Genie for instance, Richi has driven me all over the place, he is as smart and talented as a whip, Genie has sold CD's and helped organise in any way that she can, and is a great performer. And then they carry my feckin gear without an ounce of ego. Of all the crews in the world they have the highest IQ, and of course they are not really my crew, they are friends.
So when I passed this space every day on First Avenue and wondered if we should use it, I immediately thought of Moe. The next day he was there, and well the rest is in the photo with Moe and the poster. Right in the middle of First Avenue between 17th and 18th street, across the road from Stuyvesant Town, where half my fans live, just down the road from the United Nations Headquarters. And ten minutes from Joe's Pub.
C'mon friends. Let's sell it out on Friday March 17th at 7 p.m.
I love you more than Moe. Pierce xxx
Last orders for Joe's Pub on March 17th
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It's exactly one year since I played in New York City - ridiculous really, which is why it's essential that we have a killer gig this March 17th at Joe's Pub, we must not waste these opportunities - Joe's Pub was voted in the top five American venues by Rolling Stone Magazine.
If you are around here somewhere, you better get your arse over there. We can all meet up afterwards at the Pub in the legendary Theatre 80 on the corner of St Marks (8th Street) and First Avenue - the charismatic proprietor Lorcan Otway will greet us with open arms, this place is a NYC landmark, perfect for landmark people like us. The actor Matt Dillon will embed his hand print in the cement there, with the likes of Bette Davis at the end of this month. I will play a couple a toons on the piano that night, Matt has been a PT supporter for years.
I love you more than NYC.
Pierce xxxx
P.S.: This is my latest article from my weekly newspaper column HERE, it's causing a bit of a stir.
YouTube Livestream of tonight's gig
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Hi there
Just a quick one to let you know that Joe's Pub will be showing the gig tonight in a livestream on their YouTube channel. You can watch it by clicking on the image of Moe above,or right HERE.
If you feel guilty and you want to pay for the privilege of watching the gig from the comfort of your own home, you can buy a virtual ticket HERE - standing room only, and you have to get your own drinks
I love you more than green beer
Pierce xxxx
More shows added in NY and NJ
New York: Saturday, April 29th, Ulysses Folk House. Book HERE
Asbury Park, NJ: Sunday, May 7th, 7 p.m. Transparent Clinch Gallery. Suggested donation of $20 at the door.
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March 17th was a great gig at Joe's Pub, and because so many of you couldn't be there, it's great that Joe's Pub has made it available on YouTube.
I don't where I will play in Ireland this summer. The city venues say that their summer gigs are down by 50% because of all the festivals. For those of you not living in Ireland, this may seem confusing, because Ireland isn't exactly known for its blistering heat. In some countries people have to vacate the cities as much as possible during the summer heat. But that wouldn't be so necessary in Ireland. There is another phenomenon that non-Irish residents may not be aware of; the copious amounts of Irish Festivals. Every little fecking village in Ireland has a festival now. There is even a jazz festival in Ballydehob, West Cork - not exactly a jazzy town like New Orleans. Then there are the big festivals, sometimes called arts festivals, because they have government backing. But the word ‘art' is only a word; the actual headliners will usually be a major contemporary rock band, the kind of band that could get a gig at the non-art festivals. The really big festivals like "The Electric Picnic" don't even have to say who will be on the bill when they put the tickets on sale, they will sell out handily without that information.
To make a long story succinct, suffice to say that it's almost pointless to chase these festivals down. Firstly you can't get through to anyone, and secondly should you be that lucky, you better be willing to play on a little back stage somewhere for very little money. So I don't know yet what my approach will be this summer, but I will invent something. But I have a couple more gigs around here. Saturday April 29th we'll be at Ulysses on Pearl Street, a five minute walk from the Wall Street subway stop. Some of you will remember the great Sunday afternoon gigs at Puck Fair. It doesn't seem so long ago that David Bowie was in the audience. I played there with a string quartet. We closed it not so long ago, because the lease was up. Frank Casano, an owner at Puck Fair, is now involved with Ulysses, and Frank, a massive music fan, has made a music room at Ulysses. To start the ball rolling he had his favourite band (and one of mine) the Beach Boys play there, it was a thousand dollars a head! Packed of course.
However we will only charge $25 you'll be glad to know. But I will have the same band I had at Joe's Pub, an amazing band; Tony Shanahan (Patti Smith and Beck) on bass and vocals, Fred Parcells (Black 47) on trombone and vocals, James Mastro (Mott the Hoople) on guitar, and Stephen Goulding (The Rumour, Elvis Costello) on drums. Tickets are on sale now at this link. If you live in New Jersey, we will be performing at the Transparent Clinch Photo Gallery in Asbury Park on May 7th at 7 p.m. - suggested donation of $20 for admission.
I love you more than the song with the funky break
Pierce xx
Join us at Ulysses on Saturday 29th
New York: Saturday, April 29th, Ulysses Folk House. Book HERE
Asbury Park, NJ: Sunday, May 7th, 7 p.m. Transparent Clinch Gallery. Suggested donation of $20 at the door.
Culdaff, Donegal: Saturday, August 5th. McGrory's Hotel. Booking details To Be Confirmed.
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I still can't believe that Leonard Cohen went up there in the snowy mountains of California for five years, no wonder he could perform for three and a half hours when he was 76. I woke up this morning at 8 a.m. and lay there drinking tea for a half hour, when he crossed my mind. He would awaken at 3 a.m. and start meditating with some bloke watching over him with a stick to make sure he stayed awake. I imagined that happening, even at 8 a.m. and I couldn't find a reason to get out of bed. So I had to tease myself by promising me a cup of that great coffee in the Portugese place over on 7th. If I knew that I was heading for the meditation and the stick, I don't know how I would've gotten my arse out of the sack.
I have begun booking Ireland in the summer, the first gig is at the very top of the country, I mean the VERY top, a place on the Inishowen Peninsula called Culdaff. Larry Kirwan and I once wrote a song about the place "Or could it be he in Culdaff, who'll have the last laugh" We were living in a bedsitter in Rathmines at the time, culchie teenagers. So I'll be at McGrory's Hotel in Culdaff on August 5th.
But for now the final U.S gigs are around the corner Ulysses in Manhattan on April 29th and Transparent Clinch Gallery on the Jersey Shore May 7th - these are with the full band...man.
And this week we are recording a new single which will be out in the summer, it's going to surprise you. Here is the link to a recent column I wrote for the Wexford People newspaper about Leonard.
I love you more than you love yourself.
Pierce xxxx
Summer in the country with Pierce
Culdaff, Donegal: Saturday, August 5th. McGrory's Hotel. Tickets HERE
Garrylough, Co. Wexford: Saturday, August 19th. The Nock Tickets HERE
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Join me on my top to bottom Irish Summer Tour. McGrorys in Culdaff has had the cream of Irish talent, The venue is a custom-built music room which has housed a wide variety of gigs over many years: Damien Dempsey , Kila , Cassandra Wilson, Femi Kuti, John Martyn , Townes Van Zandt, Horslips. I'll be launching the new single, the gloriously rewritten "Hail Glorious St Patrick", recorded with the Terrible Good Band in New York.
People are even coming from Australia for this unusual location, that's a good bit further than Dublin, but I understand that the difference in distance isn't stopping Dubliners from coming anyhow, even if it is closer than Australia. Ye never know it could be a heat wave, and we'll all be swimming off the top of Ireland in the dark, on the Inishowen Peninsula. I'm staying over, and well up for the craic.
Then on August 19th- we will be in Co Wexford, near Blackwater, a seaside town with loads of accommodation. The venue is a little jewel owned by the DJ Nigel Quaid, a magical barn with full lights and sound. Nigel built it during the pandemic when he had nothing to do A festival venue fashioned along the lines of a festival, this is a glorious way to spend a summers evening in the South East. It has a cool bar which is decorated with farm machinery - the Quaids are lovely people who just love music, All they want is is to have good music, and to see you laugh and smile, and sing. Hopefully it will be a clear night and we'll have the stars overhead, and a roof just in case, and it's BYOB.
You will find it with Eircode Y21 Y8A0. It's in Garrylough Co Wexford. It's 17 minutes from Wexford Town, across the Bridge, past Castlebridge out the old Dublin Road.
See you down the road
Pierce
Cork gig now booking
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Thomas stands above me with tray in hand, beads of sweat glisten in the scorching sun. We are amidst the beachfront bustle at the foot of an ancient castle in Greece. Beautiful bodies are everywhere, some aware and some innocent, the new fashion is dangerously necessary, and some would do better to be unfashionable. My mother Molly used to run up her own swim suits on the Singer sewing machine - there is a miniature snap of her with two friends, three fat ladies laughing their hearts out on Curracloe beach. The swimsuit was large and covered a lot of skin, it got heavy when it was wet though, and she'd need to be met with an overcoat. It's hard to imagine her making one up for today, I can't see her in one of those cheek-baring thong-like things. Not much compunction for cheek-baring around here though.
I ask Thomas how much the deck chairs are. "Three", he said. "Three Euro?" "No, FREE!" he corrected. ‘You just have to buy something from the menu' "Won't be a problem. We'll start with one fredo espresso, no sugar, and a hot latte" "Do you work here all year?" "Only in the summer" he was smiling and grateful to communicate. "In the winter I work in a factory" "Which do you prefer?' "Ah it's good to have a break, but I would rather be on vacation" "This is a better job for meeting girls though?" He giggles and asks where I am from. I tell him. "Does the IRA still exist?" I can't give him the full answer, it's too complicated. So I try to talk about Sinn Fein by pointing him towards an analogy. "George Washington was once a terrorist ye know". He's surprised.
Joseph came from over the mountains in Albania, he was very proud of his uncle who had leased the naff end of the harbour front on the island of Paros.We liked Joseph and rented his beds.It was a good deal, twenty euro for the day, you just spent it on food and drink. When we went there first, at the beginning of September, most of the beds were taken, and Joseph ran back and forth with orders to the kitchen on the far side of lazy road behind us. Clare and I got all his info out of him, he would sit next to us when he had time. He planned to go to university, this was a chance to save up. Barely eighteen years old, mannerly and earnest, he took every single thing to heart. Ye had to be careful what you said, he was sensitive.
We began to feel pressured into going to Joseph's, even though we had found an oasis called Pisa Levardi on the other side of the mountains.If we missed him for a day, Joseph would want to know where we had gone. We told him of course, and he tried to appear magnanimous, not too disappointed. They seemed to be doing well, but he mentioned that it was difficult, he had some concern, the summer was almost over. On our eighth day in Paros the winds began to blow. Bad weather in Greece means wind. Joseph's beach was lashed with stinging sand.We took the bus across the mountains. The next time we saw him, he appeared jealous of where we had gone to avoid the wind. His young face carried the weight of the fading trade. He seemed to envy us and think we lived a life beyond his grasp. So many places of beauty, yet it's the people like young Joseph who take precedence in our memories.
See you in Coughlans of Cork?
Cork: Thursday, November 9th, Coughlans. Tickets HERE
Wexford: Friday, December 22nd. Wexford Arts Centre. Tickets HERE
On Amazon.com
On Amazon.co.uk
On streaming services
When I first came back to Ireland from New York, my first gig was at An Beal Bocht in Dublin, a great little venue. There was about twelve people in attendance, and even though Christy Moore and his family were among them, and it turns out Liam Fay from Hot Press too, it was not a very encouraging beginning to an Irish Tour in support of my first solo album.
My second gig was a complete surprise to me. I hadn't been to Cork for ages, so I knew nothing about The Lobby, where my second gig was booked. I don't know how many copies my album had sold in Ireland at that time, but it seemed, that night, like everyone of them had been purchased in Cork.
The Lobby was a long narrow place owned by an absolutely passionate music lover called Pat Conway. Not sure what the capacity was , but we couldn't have fit any more in, that's for sure. That was the first surprise, but the greatest surprise was the audience's knowledge of the songs. Young ones and young fellas that knew every word! It frightened the shit out of me, I was afraid that I might forget some of the words myself. It was totally sublime, and it changed how I felt about the album. Maybe it was good I thought, and maybe not as obscure as I feared.
The album soon began to gain ground. On an independent label in England, Beggars Banquet, it was picked up by a major label, BMG, and began to receive serious radio play on the BBC and RTE. John Peel picked the single Wicklow Hills as one of his top ten singles of all time.
Now I am sorry to say that that The Lobby is gone. But there is a very near equivalent, and again, is only possible because of the Cork spirit. That is Coughlans of course, and it's where I will be after a long pandemic-enforced absence on Thursday Nov 9th with the great Aongus Mac Amhlaigh on cello and vocals. We plan to start with my forthcoming single, a total re-write of the hymn ‘Hail Glorious St Patrick' and along with the new songs from my latest album, Terrible Good, we will whip out a horde of songs that have risen to the surface through live performances.
Ye can't beat Cork, boy!
I love you more than Beans on Toast.
Pierce xxxx
Coming… The Wexford Arts Centre with full band on Dec 22nd.
New Yorkers, put this date in your diary, March 17th 2024 at Joe's Pub.
PS - here's a recent newspaper article of mine
The royal family for instance, are a good example of the most extreme level on the spectrum. I'll leave it to historians to figure out why, something to do with power I'm sure, but they never can be seen crying. And you have to come down the social ladder a fair bit before you find a class that encourages the flow of tears.
It doesn't matter whose funeral I am at, if the organist plays "Goin Home" as the coffin is moving down the aisle, I am definitely going to cry. So I usually try to stand so far back that all I have in front of me is another back. I don't want anyone to see me shaking and blubbering. It's an embarrassing thing to attend the funeral of someone you barely know, and find yourself crying more than their calm and collected son, it feels so undignified.
Sometimes I find myself crying without really knowing why, but it doesn't really matter if it makes sense or not, it's the same outcome; a very messy affair that I find impossible to control.
Clare finds it endearing when I cry, she thinks it's "lovely" and the more she says that it's lovely, the more I protest, "I'm not crying, I'm pissed off that you caught me!"
I remember calling a male friend one day when I hadn't slept very well and felt raw with emotion. My mother had just died, and so had his. I wanted his opinion on something, and he asked me a couple of personal questions that hit the nerve, I just started crying uncontrollably, there was no hiding it. We didn't have that kind of a relationship, but I was gone and couldn't stop myself, I revealed all my weaknesses, it was mortifying, he saw a different person than he knew. He was totally compassionate and generous with advice, but I still feel like I ran into him on a nudist beach. In the end it seems that there are some situations when crying is the only thing left to do.
In 2013 my sister Bernie Lloyd, organised a Gathering Weekend for me in Wexford town. We would have a gig with the string quartet at Greenacres on Friday, a forum at the Arts Centre on Saturday, brilliantly compered by Jackie Hayden. A mass on Sunday morning in Bride Street church. And Sunday night the final gig, at The Sky and the Ground, fittingly, because the bar is called after my album.
The mass would be the jewel in the crown I suppose. But crying after your own mass is not what composers usually do. When the mass was finished and all these faces came towards me, people with faces I seldom see, people who wouldn't go to one of my gigs in a month of such days. There they were, finally, they came out of their sitting rooms, and I knew I would probably not see them again.
We finished with the whole church singing "Faith of our Fathers" . It was like a celebration for hungry souls. Roisin Dempsey sang like an angel, she actually is one. I sat beside her on the altar playing the keys and singing, while Kapellmeister Ger Lawlor conducted the thirty piece choir in the organ loft. Afterwards, the first hand I shook made me blubber and shake. I made a holy show of myself, literally.
See you in Cork on Thursday?
Cork: Thursday, November 9th, Coughlans. Tickets HERE
Wexford: Friday, December 22nd. Wexford Arts Centre. Tickets HERE
On Amazon.com
On Amazon.co.uk
On streaming services
I have to scribble this out really fast, I have a rehearsal with Aongus the cello player at 10.30 AM – need to get ready, it's half eight now. How are you?
This week I'm playing in Cork, and thanks be to Jasus, it's sold out. After that my annual Wexford Christmas gig in Wexford on Dec 22, and then my annual New Years Eve party, which you're always invited to, at my house. If I was Daniel O'Donnell you'd all be here drinking tea. But I'm not, and you're not inclined that way I know, so there's slim chance of that kind of carry on with you and me, dear sausages.
I've been playing the piano a lot lately – working on a new project: Baroque Manifesto is the working title, songs with a baroque pop lilt have always been my style, and when I play like this it's very easy to find songs that fit from my older albums. I plan to begin performing this stuff sometime next year.
But first. I think I've told you about recording the ancient hymn ‘Hail Glorious St Patrick' Well we're releasing it for next March, before my annual gig at Joe's Pub on March 17th with the band of superstars. The video for ‘Hail Glorious' is amazing, I'm including a clip from the last section of it that you can watch HERE. We are also planning a classy t-shirt for the occasion. It's hard to know how many shirts to order, so I'm asking for pre-orders now, would you be interested? Of course we will make them way ahead of March, and you will get it weeks before St Patrick's Day. I'm attaching a photo of the shirt.
We have secured a very powerful publicist for the single, she loves the track and the video, it will be streamed on every port, please help me to make a stink with this, it should be our anthem. I've written new lyrics, anti-shit-stirrer words. Right now the shit-stirrers are getting too much air time again, just like they did in 1938, and we know what happened then. Would you like one of these shirts?
I love you more than my piano
Pierce xxxx
New York for St Patrick's Day
Dear sausages,
Congratulations, you have made it to 2024. I have lost some of you for using the word sausage as a term of endearment. A very supportive couple from Kildare made sure to make it clear one evening after a gig, "Sausages" he quoted with clear disdain, I shrugged my shoulders and found myself dumbstruck. I have not seen them since, what a shame, but I am who I am, and ‘Sausage' is a term of endearment to me.
I still find that it's better than the more serious and mature terms that pop into my head, suppose I don't want you to take me or yourself too seriously. Apparently that's not the way to become a seriously taken singer-songwriter. But like who we are. And soon I will want you now I want to read my stories in a book! Holy Christ, I will surely not get away with the "Sausage" salute then.
I have a few yokes going on here. Firstly I'm back in NYC and my feet are wet from walking in this morning's slush, an aborted Snowstorm. The single of "Hail Glorious St Patrick" comes out very soon, and will be at full speed by the time we reach March 17th . The video is stupendous, thanks to StorySound Records once again for producing it. The t- shirt seemed essential for this song, as it goes along with the day that's in it. If you want to celebrate March 17th and look cool, this could be your gear for the day. With a colourful frame of St Patrick from the video, it's as rich as the Sistine Chapel, if you fancy having one and being totally unique, now is the time to order.
The sizes are Medium, large, XL and , XXL - they are $35 each plus postage, so let's say 5 dollars for postage. We will celebrating the new single with a live performance at Joe's Pub in Manhattan on Sunday
March 17th at 6 pm (warning-not at the usual 7 pm cos it's a Sunday). Ticket available here.
To order the t-shirt:
- Send the payment through Paypal to piercenewyork@aol.com
- Email me with your size and address to pierce@pierceturner.com
As they say in Ireland, "keep in by the wall"
See you on March 17th .
I love you more than St Patrick loves you.
XXXX Pierce.
Hail Glorious St Patrick!
It's the 21st of February, and I wake up at 6,30 each morning The apartment building next door that was burned down about four years ago, is now being rebuilt and turned into a monstrous expensive apartment building. They have extended the back so that it blocks a quarter of the light coming through the back window. In Ireland you're not allowed to block the light at all, but in America, you're allowed to block 25%! That's the difference between the countries. It will cost a fortune for one of those flats, at least a million each, generally, if someone can afford that, they are a pain in the arse, there goes the neighbourhood.
I have booked the Nock - Pierce's Picnic - for July 27th this year - that's the great location that you can only find by postal code, it was sold out last year in a nanosecond - great night, I'll tell you more about it later.
But now it's all about the gig at Joe's Pub in New York, I have written a new song for the occasion, and we will debut the forthcoming single 'Hail Glorious St Patrick' and I'm excited about the way it all sounds. This is a killer band - Patti Smith's MD Tony Shanahan (bass and vocals), Fred Parcells (Black 47)-of course, James Mastro (guitar), Stephen Goulding (drums - he played on Watching the Detectives). Can't wait to hang out with my NY sausages. We'll go for a drink nearby after - I've found a place on the west side of First Avenue between 9th and 10th I'll get the number. Get one of these t-shirts, they are f*cking gorgeous, and look at the video for my new single. The release date for the single "Hail Glorious St. Patrick" on StorySound Records is March 5th and the track will be streamed on all formats. Here's the pre-save link https://ffm.to/hailgloriousstpat
I love you, you'll see on March 17th - the gig at Joe's Pub will be streamed for those of you who are so far away on their YouTube channel
XXXX Pierce.
Getting ready for Joe's Pub, March 17th
Every gig is a major production nowadays, if we were to go on the road for a world tour, it wouldn't be a whole lot more work. Organising a rehearsal for five people, for one event isn't any easier than organising the rehearsal for several. We finally nailed down a date for March 14th from noon to 5 p.m. - I booked the studio - online of course with a credit card - no human contact. We all agreed on this arrangement, one more issue solved, back to other ones, dealing with the merch. Everyone says you've got to have merch man!; So now we have a t-shirt, and CDs, and vinyl, and where the hell will it all live? Not to mention the forthcoming book, and the writing of it FFS.
A website isn't a place ye know, it's just another occupant of cyberworld, and in reality, there is no such thing. Someone in Kuala Lumpur looks at the website and says, I think I'd like one of those Hail Glorious St Patrick t-shirts. But the shirts don't live on the website, or in the clouds, they are either in Ireland or New York, if any are left. But still bejasus, we are managing it! Just sent two to England from NYC, yeehaw, we're merching baby.
As soon as March 14th was set for rehearsal, James Mastro the guitarist in our band, was called up for jury duty on the 14th! So then we had to work out an alternative, after his jury duty, so on March 12th between 6 and midnight we will be slaving for you in a basement somewhere. That's if you live near New York, and not in cyberworld. A heap of you bought your tickets right away, and the rest of you got out of bed, stretched, yawned, and said "definitely, maybe, going to buy a ticket immediately, after I have breakfast" So now you're awake, get a ticket for Christ's sake. We have the full ensemble from Hail Glorious St Patrick: French horn, two trombones, and the band of superstars.
I love you more than you think. Pierce xxxx
P.S: There'll be an INTERVIEW with: Patrick Johnson, Host of The Irish Music Cafe, Detroit
When: Monday March 4th at 4:30pm ET
Where: https://irishmusiccafe.com/ It will also be up on the show's archives after the interview
See you at Joe's Pub?
French horn, two trombones, bass guitar, electric guitar, drums, keys and meself, that's the line-up that are playing on my new single, "Hail Glorious St Patrick" released this week, and streaming everywhere now, also the line-up for Joe's Pub on March 17th at 6 p.m.
Meanwhile I'm still being awakened every morning by a construction company called Shannon Builders who are next door turning that building into an apartment building for rich children from California. It sounded like they ran a wheelbarrow into my wall this morning at 7 a.m. and now they are drilling into my ear with a pneumatic.
If you are in the vicinity of New York next Sunday, March 17th, get yourself over to Joe's Pub at 6 p.m. to hear this beautiful line-up. Tickets are available here. Fortunately it's a Sunday - and the boys next door with the sledge hammers wont be working, so I'll get to sleep late!!
Afterwards we are going to The Holiday Cocktail Lounge, 75- St Marks Place (8th St) after the show, come join us, we are expected.
I'm off to Hoboken now for a rehearsal - I will love you more when I get some sleep.
Love Pierce x
- Send the payment through Paypal to piercenewyork@aol.com
- Email me with your size and address to pierce@pierceturner.com
Remembering Shane and Sinead
Wexford: Saturday, July 27th. Details TBC
After the tremendous success of my St Patrick's Day gig at the ultra-classy, Joe's Pub I was asked to partake in a memorial concert for Sinead O'Connor and Shane McGowan with a line-up of amazing Irish artists. It gave me a chance to re-connect with my friend Glen Hansard. We had met in Clonakilty a few years back, when a shared fan, booked us both for her fiftieth birthday. David Gray, Billy Bragg, Imelda May, Lisa Hannigan, Floggin Molly, The Dropkick Murphys, Glen Hansard, the list goes on forever - it's a yearly concert for charity, this was an Irish night. I was asked to be "the Voice of God" so called, because every year they have a mystery voice read informative and well written introductions off stage and this time it was me.
It's funny, It has caused more intrigue and interest than if I was on stage. People are writing to me on Facebook, wondering if it was my voice. I got a kick out of it, and slipped in my own opinions, favouring people like Kirsty McColl, who deserved as much fuss as Shane McGowan when she died.
- Send the payment through Paypal to piercenewyork@aol.com
- Email me with your size and address to pierce@pierceturner.com
Pierce's Postcode Tour
Wexford: Saturday, July 27th. Details TBC
The Quaids are fanatical music lovers, who are also loved by their entire community. Everyone helped, and over a hundred cars were parked safely without any fuss by friendly people, no brusque security guards. With decorations like a DJ booth in a combine-harvester, and beautiful lighting by Nigel and his son, the lights came to glow and illuminate even greater as darkness fell, the atmosphere was gentle and
exhilarating. The sound by Olchan Kirwan was perfect.
So we are repeating this event on July 27th , the tickets are on sale now HERE. Bigger production this time, with The Terrible Good (orchestra) including the infamous Byrne brothers (from Basciville - you may have seen them on Other Voices and The Late Late, backing Susan O'Neill) Cillian on Guitar and vocals, Lorcan on drums and vocals, Aongus MacAimhaile (again) on cello and vocals and Bill Bergin on bass.
You can bring your own drinks and samwiches, comfy chairs will be laid out for everyone. Just put Y21 Y8AO in your Google Maps and you will be there. Tickets are on sale now at Eventbrite. This is my first date of this year in Ireland - part of the Pierce's Postal Code's Tour, we are still adding dates, but I can tell you that Nov 17th is booked for Whelans of Dublin, tickets on sale soon. More gigs to come soon. But I recommend this amazing venue at Y21 Y8AO to my Dublin friends, only an hour and a half from Dublin!
BTW, I have been stopped by people on the street here to talk about the winter that they had so far in Ireland. "It rained so much, we couldn't cut the grass, the ground was like sponge". Lavender Legs, a friend of Clare's from Dublin who now lives in Wexford, was growing lettuce in his garden, but the rain was more suited to the slugs than the lettuce. The lettuce did grow, but unfortunately, the slugs grew quicker. Referring to the slugs as guinea pigs at first, he eventually decided to omit the ‘guinea" and said they were as big as real pigs. In the end he had to give up on the lettuce, abandoning the whole area to the slugs. After growing to accept defeat, he went to Pettit's and bought them their own head of lettuce; saying "knock yourselves out, it's all yours" It reminds me of a Dublin friend of mine called Paul Darby, who on a previous Irish winter of rain, had a problem drying his clothes at his house in Inchicore. His clothes were out on the line for so long, there was a bird's nest in his underpants.
But the rain is gone, and now there have been signs of an approaching summer. And on July 27th , we are having the 2nd annual Pierce's Postal Code Picnic at Y21 Y8AO. This amazing magical barn created by Nigel Quaid and Breda Quaid is such a pleasure, no rip-off promoter taking a cut of the door. See you there.
I love you more than the beach.
Pierce xxxx
PS: The last show in NYC is permanently available on YouTube now- here is the link – the quality is super - have a few over and watch it.
See you on Pierce's Postcode Tour? Wexford, Cork and Dublin
Cork:T12 DX39 (Coughlans) Thursday, October 1th. Tickets HERE
Dublin: D02 H527 (Whelans) Sunday, November 17th. Tickets HERE
Wexford Y35 X5HF (Wexford Arts Centre) Sunday, December 22nd. Tickets not yet available
Today is July 7th - 20 days before my first Irish gig this year. I have been informed that The Irish Times will pick it in The Ticket, so I imagine it will be as successful as last year's show in this amazing venue. I have been working up more songs with the band, including ‘hail glorious' ‘you can never know' 'Mayhem' and ‘Wicklow Hills'. There goes the surprise, but you are in the know, aren't you.
I am told that the wine bar which has been put in our old house at 2 Commercial Quay has a little spinet piano. That's where Rec-Pho was, our record and photography shop, where I spent manys a teenage year listening to every record on the planet, regardless of the genre.
I am still adding dates to the Pierce's Postal Code Tour - some are on sale at the links above. Make us look good, book em now.
I love you more than boiled chicken.
Pierce (and Albert) xxxxx
See you on Pierce's Postcode Tour? Wexford gig on Saturday 27th
Cork:T12 DX39 (Coughlans) Thursday, October 1th. Tickets HERE
Dublin: D02 H527 (Whelans) Sunday, November 17th. Tickets HERE
Wexford Y35 X5HF (Wexford Arts Centre) Sunday, December 22nd. Tickets not yet available
"That dog is getting shorter, yer walking him so much"
"he's sixteen now, he's stopped growing"
I mentioned that the breeze was still a bit northerly.
"Ah we don't want it to get too hot, a little breeze is grand"
It's true really, we should be grateful for the wind coming in off the Atlantic. But yesterday evening it was perfect. So perfect that we even heard wrens in the garden. Clare says they are little beautiful birds, really tiny, and she says - rare! I know nothing about these things, but I am fascinated. Clare's garden is gorgeous, and we are now raising a family of blackbirds. They walk into our kitchen through the door and eat the cat's food In front of him! All this here in strawberry country, big juicy strawberries. Everywhere ye go there are stands selling Wexford strawberries and new potatoes.
Next Monday I go to Dublin for a rehearsal with this full band of superb musicians, and lovely fellas: Cello/ Bass/ Drums/ Guitar. July 27th is almost upon us in the Strawberry Sun. I know you're relaxed, and I want you to stay that way. But when this gig goes in the Ticket (Irish Times) this weekend, it will sell out, so time to get the finger out.
I love you more than strawberries. Pierce xxxxx
See you this Saturday in Wexford?
Cork:T12 DX39 (Coughlans) Thursday, October 1th. Tickets HERE
Dublin: D02 H527 (Whelans) Sunday, November 17th. Tickets HERE
Wexford Y35 X5HF (Wexford Arts Centre) Sunday, December 22nd. Tickets not yet available
singers.
So instead, here is a story about my evening with Lou Reed and Philip Glass, and meeting Paul Simon.
I love you more than Paul Simon.
Pierce xxx
Never one for small talk, Phil sat there silently and appeared to be taking in the size of the crowd, at least that's what I thought, but that assumption probably comes from the conversation that we had had once with him and Candy about an evening they had spent over in Paul's house, wherever in the heavens that is.
"Paul picked up his guitar after dinner and serenaded his latest song to us both while we sat next to him on the sofa. Can you imagine it? Candy asked. Paul fucking Simon cooing into our ears! Phil interrupted Candy, his future wife, to point out the astonishing opulence with which Paul effortlessly lived "Ye see, a hit pop album can sell ten, even twenty million albums, whereas a classical hit will sell about fifty thousand at best"
Phil, who had worked in his father's record shop back in Baltimore, may have been fascinated by that disparity way back then, but still chose to be a classical musician. Music chooses us I suppose, some people are chosen by Himalayan mountain music or atonal experiments, thanks be to Jasus I wasn't afflicted with that trial, it's challenging enough to exist with the pursuance of some kind of innovative pop music that is true to my Irish folk origins - Gregorian chant - showband sensibility, and the expansiveness of mind altering LSD influenced artists like Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd and Philip Glass, f*ck sake, it's hard enough!
So I had known Lou Reed from as far back as then? I believe I was about sixteen when I heard that Andy Warhol produced album by Velvet Underground. I remember a lazy dream-like soundscape of glockenspiel and reverbed electric guitars, Cale's viola floating beneath Nico's rich alto voice interspersed with the occasional maverick song sung by Lou. From those songs I would never have guessed the craziness that lurked beneath in Lou's world, some of them were just gently sung, catchy little songs. Now he sat next to me and I had not one astonished bone in my body for the irony of it.
Paul was off form that night, he later told me that he knew it when we spoke at the after-party. He seemed road weary, I found the whole thing irritating, that bloody fretless bass sliding up and down and the perfection of African musicianship and vocal harmonies seemed to throw this astounding musician into a light where he was too far out of his own element. Of course I didn't mention that to Paul, I am capable of saying stupid things, but I see no reason why those observations would be productive to Paul within a five - minute chat amongst New York's musical elite. He was a delightful conversationalist, and had an aura of normalcy that banished the pong of fame. Mary Ellen had brought me to him "you have to meet Paul, he is so, so, nice." During my youthful days of uncontrollable mood swings, self-inflicted yearning, and perforated heart, his stunning songs had been fuel for my lost soul, this would be like meeting a Beatle or Brian Wilson! I ran behind her, past the canapés and wine, to gratefully find that he hadn't moved.
Finding it impossible to speak truthfully about Graceland and feeling the need to say something about what his music meant to me, I mentioned an experience that I had with a Simon and Garfunkel album. When I was working in my family's record shop, Frank Sinnott (Declan's younger brother) ordered "Bookends" and I loved it so much, I wouldn't sell it to him. Frank eventually heard from others that I had been playing it in the shop and complained about it, I still wouldn't sell it to him.
Paul's eyes glossed over, I had lost him, he immediately excused himself and left me there thinking about it. I wondered was that like saying to John Lennon after his solo album "Imagine" that I loved Revolver? But wasn't he the author of all the Simon and Garfunkle material! Anyway I apparently said the wrong thing: to this day I keep that in mind when people say the wrong thing after one of my shows. I suppose I was unintentionally saying that his songs used to be better, not a pleasant post gig celebration. But "Bookends" was better.
See you tonight?
Cork:T12 DX39 (Coughlans) Thursday, October 1th. Tickets HERE
Dublin: D02 H527 (Whelans) Sunday, November 17th. Tickets HERE
Wexford Y35 X5HF (Wexford Arts Centre) Sunday, December 22nd. Tickets not yet available
Love Pierce xxxx
PS - I'm attaching part two of Phil and Lou.
Philip Glass is known for his prodigious output, when asked in a documentary about his secret to success Phil answered, "I work bloody hard." It’s fascinating to observe his methodology, he is basically saying that any good musician can succeed if they work hard enough. I’m not entirely convinced, but I do look at my own self and wonder if I am lazy. I can be obsessive too of course, but I do believe that there is nothing to write about, if all I do is write. That can be interpreted as a cop out of course, but ask my wife and she will tell you that she is a music widow. Maybe Phil’s partners have thought this too. I am generalizing here, but what I have seen in New York of the Jewish work ethic has been consistently constructive and impressive. Phil once asked me "How often do you make an album?" "About once every three years" I replied "Oh everyone is different" said he " I like to make three or four a year" As far as I can see he doesn’t care a jot about what the critics think, or anyone else. During an interview that a friend of mine conducted with him for the Irish magazine Hot Press, Phil paid no mind to the suggestion that his latest album wasn’t up to his usual high standard "I just do my best at the time" was his reply. It’s a noble idea that music is just another job, like making tables or beds, you don’t stop on uninspired days, you just make the best thing you can.
Phil was pulling away from us as we neared the northern corner on Avenue of the Americas leaving me with Lou who was firing up another cigarette, his second one since leaving the theatre. Nothing was being said about the Paul Simon concert at all, so I thought it best to keep my mouth shut, even though it was the elephant in the air, and there was fuck all else to talk about, well not in that cautious atmosphere. Lou was wearing a short leather jacket with the collar pulled up around his ears, he appeared uninspired, bored. His curly hair grew high on his head adding altitude to his middling height, he sucked in the nicotine and began to speak during exhalations.
"This is the last thing that I can do, I’ve given up everything now, this and coffee are all I have left"
I didn’t have a useful reply to that, so I just smiled.
"You don’t smoke?" He profferred.
"No, I managed to avoid that one"
Obviously he wanted to finish the cigarette before we got to the party, so he was dictating a slow tempo.
"Where do you live these days?"
"Oh I live over by the West river downtown"
He was being extraordinarily normal, speaking in a soft bass range I could hear the voice that had saved my sanity during the seventies while driving through the American mid-west in the 70’s – that old Dodge Polara with the FM radio built into its ornamental dashboard "Holly came from Miami FLA" In the middle of all that 70’s drivel Lou’s deep voice singing about a transvestite moving to New York was a beacon amidst the most banal American shite from a prodigious industry of shallow shite, "knock three times on the ceiling" if you want me, twice on the pipe… Captain and Tenille – You light up my life by Pat Boone’s daughter Debbie – Wings Silly Love Songs - Sunshine on my Shoulder and Hey Won't You Play Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song. It was a festival of anaemic music from a music world that was entirely alien to Larry Kirwan and I, I remember feeling so far removed from it, that it scared me. But then on came Lou singing "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" causing hope to find a sliver of space in my frightened heart. Now the protagonist of that magic was wondering aloud about where the world was heading, to me!
"My apartment is upside down right now because of the plumbing, these new low flush toilets are such bullshit" said he.
"Low flush toilets?"
"Yeah, some kind of new regulation to save wawde"
"I wansn’t aware, I just use whatever toilet my landlord chooses"
"Lucky you"
He was becoming a little whiny with this subject, I couldn’t believe the mundanity of our conversation, but liked him for not pretending that his exalted stature didn’t protect him from the doldrums.
"Being your own landlord is a pain in the ass"
When we rounded the corner, Phil was waiting for us at a single glass doorway, looking none too excited about pursuing the next phase of the evening. Look at this trio, two famous New York musicians with more than enough money coming in and an unknown Irish guy still struggling to reach what they had achieved, but I was the happy one, enjoying the prospect of a free drink and fancy finger food. Even when Phil raised his voice it was as smooth as velvet.
"Hey Lou…… Do you know which door it is?"
A tall black bouncer wearing a bow tie pushed down the bar and allowed us in, no questions asked. I was about to meet Paul Simon a musician I had idolised, had once listened to on a suitcase turntable in my Dublin bedsitter while sat upon a candlewick bedspread at a two bar electric fire. The magic that pored from that single speaker took me to a world that I could never imagine touching, on the other side of that door I would touch the hand of genius from which it had sprung. Only the teenager sat upon that bed back then could appreciate what was to unfold now, and that cannot be. There lies the denial of absolute perfection, the little flaw that keeps us searching for more.
Appearing on the John Creedon show on RTE - Friday 9th
Dublin: D02 H527 (Whelans) Sunday, November 17th. Tickets HERE
Wexford Y35 X5HF (Wexford Arts Centre) Sunday, December 22nd. Tickets not yet available
Trad music was pouring out of every orifice, even yesterday in the rain. This afternoon the rain stopped and the sky acted like it had never known a cloud. I popped over to the library to hear Martin Hayes play his fiddle today, tell stories and answer questions. He is a very likable man, and a fine musician, they seem a bit calmer over in Clare, less uptight. He was absolute zen. He also plays everything slower he explained, and in a lower key, given us more time to hear the melody.
Now I don’t really belong in a Fleadh, but I do belong in Wexford, and this is where it is. So John Creedon is bringing an RTE truck to Wexford’s White’s Hotel this Friday, and has asked me to perform live on his show, and have a bit of a chat. If you do listen in, and I hope you do, please contact us and say what you think, it will earn me kudos at RTE. TEXT John 51551 and you can listen online HERE from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday night.
Coughlans tickets are on sale now, and Whelans of Dublin, it would do my heart good if we sell them well ahead.
I love you more than didly aye, and as deeply as Martin Hayes is at that.
Pierce xx
There's a book!
Dublin: D02 H527 (Whelans) Sunday, November 17th. Tickets HERE
Wexford Y35 X5HF (Wexford Arts Centre) Sunday, December 22nd. Tickets not yet available
I’m finally really doing it, publishing a book of short-stories. I’ve had to rip out what’s left of my hair to do it, but now I am actually happy, and can’t wait to see what you think. Just below there is a taste of one, so you can see what you think. You can put into the fund raiser whatever you like, every penny counts. The book will be ready on the 1 st of December, twill make a good Christmas pressy.
I love you more than words can say.
Pierce
xxxx
The link to my fund-raiser for the book is HERE
These stories are already inspiring new songs, which you will hear soon enough. Here is a taste of the stories.
My parents bedroom sits above the kitchen in the rear extension building. It was erected by the original owners a long time ago. It's a proper building with its own gable roof, and would seem like a small house attached to the rear of the main building, if you could get far away enough to see. But there is no latitude; this is the quay, the commercial district of Wexford Town in the south east of Ireland. The houses here have spread themselves into every available space. The tiny yard has barely enough room for the rubbish bin and washing line. The line runs to the receiving hook which is hammered into the underlying brick of the main house.
The Kennelly family run The Corner House, next door, a busy Bed and Breakfast fronted by a popular victualler shop. Their kitchen, which has consumed their whole yard, runs parallel to ours, and their conversation above the soft cupping of plates has become a pleasant background to my mother singing along with her transistor radio.
Behind both houses, on Charlotte Street, Mary Goulding lives with her elderly father and John the lodger. Because they are on the side street, they don’t have a shop front. Perhaps that is why they were able to leave their yard alone (shops have a way of taking up the whole ground floor). It’s easily the biggest yard around, but their two-storey house is small. My mother says that they have no bathroom, and you have to be as thin as Mary, or turn yourself sideways, to get up the stairs. On warm summer days, Mary can be heard talking to her chair-bound daddy while she hangs clothes on the washing line, her voice getting deeper and deeper from successive cigarettes. Eventually, Mary and John the lodger plan to get married, but not before her dear father dies, an inevitable fate that comes to be, not long after his eighty sixth birthday - when the probable is no less painful for being expected.
See you in Cork on Thursday?
Dublin: D02 H527 (Whelans) Sunday, November 17th. Tickets HERE
Wexford Y35 X5HF (Wexford Arts Centre) Sunday, December 22nd. Tickets not yet available
There are still some tickets left, and we can’t have that. Last time it was sold out - but it’s Cork, they’re not in a hurry. Also Whelans - Dublin is on sale now for November 17th and the Wexford Arts Centre on Dec 22.
The GoFundMe for my book is going really well - thanks a million times all of you. “Living by the River” should be ready for an end of November launch, and I’m very excited. We still have to raise more funds to print it up, but we are more than half way there. We are including a new video made on the Wexford Quay by our old record shop,where we will launch the book late November.
I love you more than yesterday. Pierce xxxx
The link to my fund-raiser for the book is HERE
Dublin and Wexford gigs now on sale
Wexford Y35 X5HF (Wexford Arts Centre) Sunday, December 22nd. Tickets not yet available
So we put the clocks back last night - Fall back and Spring forward, goes the saying, very catchy and easy to remember, and could just as well be an epitaph for a life. Forward is springing, and backward is a falling, after all. But it’s not that, that amuses me. it’s the deduction of time by one hour, just like that! We’ve decided to do that, just to suit ourselves. Well why not. After all we are the ones that made the clock, and decided how to make measurements.
I was just reading about Napoleon and his supposed height. He has a reputation for being diminutive, and is partly responsible for the derogatory term “small man syndrome”, a ludicrous prejudice that Randy Newman wrote so funnily about. Well apparently, Napoleon wasn’t even small, by the standards of the time. But what’s most amusing is that the size of a French inch, was different in the 1800’s. We are told Napoleon was 5’ 2” then because their inches were bigger, but by today's equivalence that adds up to 5’ 6”, which is slightly above average for that time. So in the stroke of a pen, Napoleon has risen in height by four inches. And by our decision, the time right now in Wexford where I am, is 8.00 AM when it was 9.00 A.M. at this time yesterday!
So it’s a world of straw, we decide what is, and even how long we live, how far we are away from dying and how tall we are. Of course that’s not true, you are the height that you are, and you are the age that you are. But the number isn’t necessarily true. That’s something the powers that be, can change any time they like. So if you feel younger or older than you are, then you are. And if you feel taller or thinner than you are, you are. If we can deduct an hour why not deduct a year? It’s all made up, just like Donald makes up his own truths, and no-one seems to mind.
I will impart more of this wisdom to my beloved Dublin friends on the altar at Whelans of Wexford Street, on Sunday Nov 17th.The beautiful Aongus Mac Amhlaigh will be with me on cello and vocals - I’ll fall back on lots of favourites, and spring forward to Terrible Good songs. It will be our pleasure to measure it as the best venue in the world, filled with the best people and the best singers.
The GoFundMe for “Living by the River” is still going, we are close to printing time, the quality of the paper etc. depends on this. I will spend every penny on it. Thank you for your generosity, we are at €5,200. Amazing support and encouragement, thank you.
I love you more than Jaysus - well at least as much, I have looked forever for you, don’t let go of me now.
Pierce xxxx