Blog Awards Makes The Press

The Kilkenny People today carry an article courtesy of Edwina Grace in the ‘Up Close & Personal’ section. Thanks to Edwina for the coverage and if you can’t get near the paper, here’s the article itself…

A KILKENNY-based web journal has been shortlisted for a national competition. The 2007 Irish Blog Awards take place in Dublin’s Alexander Hotel on March 3 and KilkennyMusic.com has been nominated in the best music category.

KilkennyMusic.com is a forum for musicians and music lovers alike to highlight talent, herald gigs and offer interviews, podcasts and advice from within the industry.

The web-based company has expanded its remit and regularly organises gigs to showcase talent, both visiting and local.

This shortlisting in the blog awards will further highlight a service which has proved hugely popular.

Voting took place up to Friday evening with almost 5,000 voters from 67 countries casting their preferences in the contest’s 21 categories.

KilkennyMusic.com’s blog was then firmly positioned in the Clubbing.ie sponsored Best Music blog section. There it’s up against House Is A Feeling, Nialler9, Sinead Gleeson and Una Rocks.

Founder and driving force behind the foursome that is KilkennyMusic.com, Ken McGuire, is delighted with the nomination. He told Up Close and Personal that getting the site to such a level will “push it to the national side of things and help us break out of Kilkenny.”

The winner will be announced at a casual award ceremony on March 3. Four hundred people are expected to attend the bash which kicks off at 7pm and will continue into the wee hours of the morning in the theatre-style venue. An official photographer, podcaster and sound engineer will be on site for the gig. Entrance fee is EUR 5 and all door takings will go to Brainwaves, the Irish Epilepsy Association.

For all the details, check the Irish Blog Awards, and thanks again to Edwina for the plug

New Podcast Expected Today

Just a quick one on the morning break - there should be a new podcast up some time today. Was hoping it would be here yesterday but due to ‘unforeseen technical difficulties’ (he he) it wasn’t online.

The latest podcast features myself and the Reverend Mickey Boo on the mic as we take a listen to the One Take Sessions from last week.

Keep an eye on SoundSystemPodcast.com during the day or listen to some of the previous shows if you’re stuck for background sound in the office or at home!

Support Needed by Giveamanakick & Syrys

Syrys hit Kilkenny on March 10th, followed two weeks later by Limerick legends Giveamanakick and both bands are looking for a support act. If you think you’d be up for the job, leave a comment on the post here and I’ll mail you with some details.

I caught Syrys myself when they played in Kilkenny last year and thought it was a cracker of a kick and as for Giveamanakick I don’t think they need any real introduction now, do they?

Video: Engine Alley - Dancing Queen

Jesus, this one is going WELL back. Ray D’Arcy on the Den and who’s that around him only Engine Alley, in to perform ‘Dancing Queen’ with Zig and Zag in tow! Some laugh - enjoy!

Nina Hynes For Kilkenny This Weekend

This one comes courtesy of John Morton through the forum and should also be appearing the Kilkenny Advertiser this week.

Nina Hynes will play the Zoo this Sunday night in what promises to be an early frontrunner for Kilkenny gig of the year. Make no mistake, Nina Hynes is one of Ireland’s best kept musical secrets and hopefully the forthcoming release of her album Really Really Do will propel her into the stratosphere she deserves to be playing her fine tunes from. Far removed from the uniform singer songwriter scene that sprang from Dublin in the early part of this decade, Nina Hynes is a true Irish original and her fantastic 2002 debut Staros earmarked her as an Irish artist to watch.

A collection of fast paced sonically blistering numbers peppered with melodious heart aching songs about love, loss and longing, Staros was quite unlike anything that any Irish artist had done before or since even. Her voice has been described as ‘ethereal’ and ‘dreamlike’ and she certainly represents her own native Dublin accent readily at a time when most Irish female singers are becoming increasingly Americanised. Don’t worry though, by no means a female Damien Dempsey in the voice department, Hynes vocal range flitters between heartbreakingly delicate and wonderfully confrontational. The New York Times even went as far as to describe her as ‘an enchanting mix of Bjork and Massive Attack.’

She’s played with artists across the board including Jeff Buckley, The Frames, Joan As Policewoman, Jane Birkin, Stereolab and David Gray. Be assured, Nina Hynes live is a rare and absolutely enticing proposition so do yourself a big favour and make sure you visit the Zoo this Sunday night.

Support on the night is from Kilkenny’s own David Thompson in what promises to be further proof that one of Kilkenny’s best musical talents is taking some serious strides. After spending some time tinkering and toiling with his array of instruments in his trusty garage, Thompson quickly made himself noticed on the Kilkenny music scene late last year with an astounding range and a fine catalogue of well brewed songs.

Slots with the likes of A Safe Dry Place, Majella Murphy and KilkennyMusic.com’s One Take Sessions quickly won him over an army of followers and he’s carved out a reputation as a fine singer and dazzlingly inventive wordsmith since then. Don’t be mistaken, Thompson is not in the vein of the usual singer songwriter product who tend to shake their heads and spout the same dirge ad nauseum until they can’t be told apart. He is truly a man obsessed with his craft who doesn’t ignore that one vital aspect of a fine musician, performance. Equal parts troubadour, jester and as he likes to proclaim himself ‘a man singing songs’, Thompson produces performances that are exactly that and delivers his songs with full gusto.

He’s backed up by his wonderfully eclectic band which consists of Jane Murphy, Conor Brett and Danny Cody. This is one that you’ll miss at your peril. Doors at the Zoo are 9pm, tickets on the door and the jaw droppingly funky Soul Kitchen will follow afterwards. More value for money you couldn’t ask for.

As Promised, More Music To Blog By

As promised, there’s now more music to blog by starting with an additional four tracks. You’ve got

• Down On The Madman (New York Fashion Week)
• Dear Spartacus (New York Fashion Week)
• Fairground Attraction (Ken McGuire, Live at One Take Sessions)
• What Have We Done Now (James Doran, Live at One Take Sessions

To start playing music just click the song in the player on the right of the site to starting things off.

Video: Mantra - Suffer

Mantra performed towards the end of January with Itchy Trigger Finger on the Cavern Stage in Radio City for Blast gig. While Ross did some great coverage here in a feature article on the gig, there hasn’t been any audio or video footage to surface until now. So here, on KilkennyMusic.com, enjoy ‘Suffer’, performed live by young Kilkenny band Mantra.

KKM Going Back On The Radio

*Note - mild language contained in the above clip!

We’re going back on the radio, all stealthy and in a sneak attack on the KCLR 96FM studios here in Kilkenny. Do they know what they’re in for? Well, I guess so otherwise we wouldn’t have been asked back on! I think we should start campaigning to have our own show on the radio - whaddya think?

We were kindly asked back on air following last summer’s show (which lead to the start of the Sound System podcasts). The phone had been ringing and emails coming and going about our nomination for the Irish Blog Awards - nice to get a bit of local interest in there - and one of the calls was from KCLR for a news pop and an invite back onto the air. We’ll turn up armed with music from the KKM archives but if there’s anything you would like to hear covered on air then drop us a line.

Anyway, myself (Ken), Ross and Mickey will be live on KCLR next Tuesday (27th) night between 8 and 9pm so there better be loads of texts and calls coming in I tell ya!

We’re Going To Dublin

I think the KilkennyMusic.com team will be invading the 2007 Irish Blog Awards - we’ve officially made the shortlist for the ‘Best Music Blog’ category as sponsored by Clubbing.ie.

To say we’re delighted to be nominated is an understatement! Thanks to everyone who voted from the long-list stage over the past week to get us to this stage of affairs, hopefully something good will come of it all!!

800 Members And Counting…

Spending an awful lot of work on the blog and site in the background over the weekend (including an extended run until about 4am earlier this morning) but I noticed that we’ve now got 800 members registered for the forums…. pretty good going!

Hopefully we’ll be able to build on those numbers over the coming weeks and months. A small ‘ace in the sleeve’ is about to be played…

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