I'm sure like ourselves, you have been trying to keep yourself busy during this lockdown period. What exactly have some of PB's members been up to? Perhaps you have seen their latest releases on Facebook. If not, I've included their links at the end.
Andy:
I have been keeping myself busy with developing an online teaching platform for the Bagpipes and Drums. I have also been sourcing traditional tunes which can be played on Smallpipes and a bit of instrument maintenance.
DJ:
As a Nurse and a front line worker, free time has been difficult to come by, but in the evenings and when I do get a few days off, I like to relax with a few Guinness' and keep myself busy writing and recording Demos. I also enjoy editing the band's social media, recordings/audio and video. We’ve been really busy adding to the set and have a few more excellent projects in the pipe line so watch this space...
Richard:
Isolation, as it turns out, isn't vastly different to my normal life. We homeschool our kids anyway, I do most of my work from home, and I try and avoid contact with humans as much as possible.
The great thing has been that the Pure Blarney alumni along with alot of my past colleagues and friends also have more free time. So I have been writing for a new solo release and collaborating with PB and reconnecting with other great musicians on making songs, recordings and videos. And being generally creative. Because of this workload my exercise regime now consists of the occasional walk to the end of the garden to get my recommended 14 seconds of sunlight per day.
To make things both easier and absurdly frustrating and difficult, I've been teaching myself home recording with a 'computer' (which I believe is what the kids are calling them). I've been old school for a long time, enjoying the tactile experience of an actual mixer/recorder, which has now been demoted to the humble 'interface'. DAW recording is fiddly business but certainly makes my plethora of mistakes easier to deal with. My first go at mixing a new release of mine for you all to give a listen - https://soundcloud.com/richard-murray/hard-love-master-2
Being on the vulnerable 'home arrest' list certainly has had its challenges, but the burden has been eased by a couple of vastly differing care packages left on our doorstep last week from a couple of Pure Blarney folk. No matter what everyone says about them, they can be reasonably palatable at times. Looking forward to getting back out with the lads soon.
Stay safe errbady.
Gerry:
So, in these times of the unprecedented use of the word “unprecedented” and with Pure Blarney having zero gigs to play, I thought I’d share what I’m doing instead…
As far as making music is concerned, we have been working remotely and expanding our repertoire via the wonders of technology. Pure Blarney have had a “nice problem" to have in the recent past due to the sheer number of gigs we had in the diary. This of course resulted in less time to add new songs to our set and to write original material. We have now worked together and in isolation to address that by suggesting new material and recording/sharing demos.
In addition, I have been learning to read music (as opposed to playing by ear). They say that learning musical notation is like learning a different language. If that is the case, I can now say, “Halo, cane eye half a punt of bore, peas”. I’ve got some way to go….
Beyond the music I have been running everyday (once) but before you think that I am going to retake the stage all buff n fit etc…. the running has given me the excuse to eat my body weight in chocolate biscuits- Wagon Wheels are great (other chocolate biscuits are available). I anticipate that when we do get back on stage, my rounded figure will give a whole new meaning to the line, “Rock me baby, like a Wagon Wheel”….
All things must pass - so stay safe and as sane as you were previously..
Links to latest activity:
Homes of Donegal - https://www.facebook.com/pureblarney/videos/143985720390345/
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