Ryan O'Shaughnessy

Just had to pop this in. Wow. Really love his voice, and I admire him for speaking so openly about the story behind his songs. Not the easiest thing to do at the best of times!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tuV6BHOXiI&fb_source=message

She Speaks: Sunsets and seaside!

Last month I met a lady named Mandi J Nelson, who was here on a family vacation all the way from Australia. During our conversation at till point (where I work), I discovered she worked for a production company. She explained that they do documentary type films, but also shoot music videos for up and coming bands. So I told her about She Speaks.

A few days later I found myself doing a photo shoot with the band, by the seaside in Portmarnick, Co. Dublin, where Mandi and her family were staying. We arrived fashionably late! But just caught the sunsetting and the light was perfect for the shoot. We had an amazing evening with the lovely Ozzy couple. Our first full band shoot, but not the last!

http://www.facebook.com/cherish.film.production

Inspired: Rita Ora and Beatrice Eli

You may have heard about singer Rita Ora. She has been compared to Beyonce and Rhianna, lets just say, she is 'Hot right now'..... She also auditioned to be a contestant for the Eurovision song contest in 2009. To be honest, I hadn't payed her much attention until this months release of her newest song RIP, featuring Tinie Tempah. The song was for me, a grower, and soon was imbedded in my brain 24/7. (Thanks IRadio!) Now slightly obsessed with how stunning she looks in the video, I feel I should share......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1l9WST5lXM&ob=av3e

Next on the list of inspiration for this month is singer Beatrice Eli. Stumbled across her while flicking through Topshops blog, and soon found myself searching youtube for more wonderful music from this lady. To my great disappointment there were no more songs to be found, BUT there was an acoustic version of her song ' The Conqueror' on her channel and I just LOVE it! Have a listen;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qmGWbp2yoo

Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser Kicks off Electric Picnic Weekend for SheSpeaks!

Friday, September 2nd, Judge Roy Beans, Newbridge. Three bands take to the stage in aid of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. Mairead Corley and Jennifer Florence are the organizers of the night, two lovely ladies that I know from back in the day at the Holy Family Secondary School. Plenty of prizes were won, many raffle tickets sold! There was a great atmosphere and it was actually one of the more fun gigs we've done! It was our first time to play JRB's, and maybe not the last! Loads of fresh faces looking like they were enjoying the show (always a good sign). Sound was provided by the lads from Frantic Jack, who also put on a crackin show on the night, and we finally had the pleasure to play a gig with the lads from Burstberry. Eleven songs and a few drinks later, most of She Speaks (Tim, Jonny and myself) made our way to Electric Picnic, chauffeured by our driver, who also happens to be my mam..down to Stradbally for some more song and dance!

Photo's from the gig coming soon (hopefully)..

 

We arrived at Stradbally about 1am, in the lashings of rain! I was very grateful that I had my recently purchased waterproof jacket from Tog24 in Kildare Village!! Tim had an all in one biker suit, completely waterproof, so we were fairly prepared for it. We were lucky enough to have our good friend Sinan, set up our tent for us earlier that day, so all we had to do was find them! Which wasn't to hard either. We were greeted by some very merry friends down at the Andy Warhol campsite, this was going to be a good weekend! 

The artwork was amazing as usual, I am a bit of a tourist at these things, so I always have a catalog of photographs! It's a magical place in my eyes, full of happy people, great music, and sparkly fairy lights all round! There is something beautiful at every corner. Here are a few snaps that capture the atmosphere of the weekend;

 

We saw some great acts, including; Public Enemy, James Vincent McMorrow, Cast of Cheers, Moths, and a a few new bands also. Although I am a big fan of James V McMorrow, I was surprised to see the sheer amount of people packing into the tent to see him. His music was a little lost in the noise from the crowd unfortunately, id like to go see him at a smaller, more intimate venue, where the beautiful harmonies and emotion could be appreciated to the full. Until then, my ipod will tide me over. 

Public Enemy on the other hand definitely managed to fill the tent, with their old school rap, and I was kinda shocked to see that Flava Flav actually had some real talent! I only knew him from his TV show...and it's always a good thing to be able to get your dance on at a gig! This was one I'll remember for a long time.

Cast of Cheers are definitely tight, and I could see they have a big following, and I admire them for that. But there are dozens of bands out there doing the same kind of thing. So I wont be going out to purchase their Cd. Although I would probably go see them live again.

Over in body and soul, I stumbled across Moths, I only caught they last 10-15 minutes of his set, but I was impressed with what I heard, and proud to see a local up there doing us proud. At only 18, he has already accomplished what most up and coming musicians are yearning for. To be acknowledged, and for your music to be recognized, and enjoyed. **Dreams** One day!! But seeing Moths up there doing his thing, gives me hope, and keeps me motivated to keep doing what I'm doing. 

Every band I saw over the weekend, inspired me in some way or another. Even when I don't particularly love a band, I can appreciate things like, confidence, being tight, putting on a show, appearance, originality, and potential. I find myself to be a bit critical sometimes, but I think its important to locate the flaws in what your doing so that you can improve on them in the future. Same goes for the positive things, maybe you can learn a thing or two from other acts, that will help improve your future performances. 

www.facebook.com/shespeaksmusic

Contact: shespeaksmusic@gmail.com

Stranded in Paradise, doing what we do best!

What great night! Intimate venue, familiar faces, and positive feedback all round! We saw, most of the bands on the album take to the stage. We had performances from bands that haven't gigged in a long long time, and bands who have had there fair share of gigs, locally and beyond. Any nerves that may have existed, disappeared amongst the music played. Despite a few last minute changes in line up.... Substance, Dave Aspell (Appo), Go Funk Yourself, Athma, Band on an Island, Sedna, We Are Loosers, my own band She Speaks, and local legend Luca Bloom, provided 4 hours of entertainment for all who came to see. Talk about great value for money! I personally was very proud to be part of the night, which was to raise money for housing for the youth. But also, just to share such a modest stage with some of the most talented people around.

Every time I play a gig, I learn a little more about what works for us, and what doesn't! This time, I learned the importance of breathing! We squeezed four of our own songs into a 15 minute set, but by the time we reached the final one, 'Park Song' I was a little out of breath!!! Lesson learned. Luca Bloom said we had a lot of potential, and that I was a 'Star'! amongst other lovely things. It meant a lot to hear this from a professional who has been there, done that, and gave me hope for the future. Sometimes I feel invisible in the industry, in the shadow of all the other talented musicians that exist! But Luca says there's no way I could be invisible, he advised me to keep doing what I'm doing and said not to worry, all our hard work will pay off. It is also always lovely to hear my band receiving compliments, I heard numerous people talk about how talented they are, which made me so proud, and so lucky to have them, backing me up on stage. They certainly are my back bone.

The Culture Factory team deserve a lot of credit for what they managed to achieve, I'm very thankful for the opportunity to play this gig, and I wish them all the best in their future projects. Onwards and upwards!! 

http://culturefactory.ie

http://facebook.com/shespeaksmusic

Contact: shespeaksmusic@gmail.com

Culture Factory Album Launch 'Stranded in Paradise' (Aug 20th 2011)

"Culture Factory is a voluntary group of young people who are attempting to establish a creative and social centre, not only for ourselves but for future generations of young people of Newbridge."

So about a year ago, we were asked to put a song forward for consideration for the culture factory Cd. We were exited to be part of it! So off we went to yew wood recording studio, where Peter Lee took us into his capable hands, and helped us to embellish a song that had great potential (If I do say so myself). It was the first time I ever recorded one of my own songs, so the whole process was very exciting for me. It was a revealing experience, and one that I will never forget. Hearing my song, guitar, bass, drums, piano and backing vocals intact was just incredible. It seemed that 'Park Song' had come a long way from a 16-17 year old school girls bedroom. When I wrote it, I rang one of the girls and sung it down the phone to her, at the time, it was just some lyrics, a melody and a few badly played piano chords bashed down on my Yamaha! So it was a proud moment all round, to hear the finished version of the recording.

The song is about having the craic with friends down the park, in this case the park in Newbridge, the spur of the minute gigs, the dancing, the singing, the smiling and laughing, the 'Memories of the summer days' and all that. Its just a fun, sing along song that everyone can relate to. So it was the perfect choice for this Cd, seeing as though it is all about the locals, the youth in this case. So long story short...the song was chosen, to our delight! A year on and we finally have the Cd in our hands. I am so proud to be on this Cd, to represent local talent. The Culture Factory have done a great job putting this together. The Cd looks very professional, from front to back. The image on the cover was a photo that was taken by Niamh Mahon, a very talented 17 year old student from the Holy Family Secondary School, where I also studied, (back in the day). She won the Culture Factory Photo Competition last year. The photos on the inside, are from various events run by the culture factory locally. All reminiscent of the good times within the local community. And finally, the other artists that contributed to the album, all local. Including two great tracks Bridge of Sorrow by Luca Bloom, and Strike Weapon by Christy Moore.

A lot of time and effort has been put into this Cd, and the launch, which is to take place on August 20th, 8pm in Sarsfields Gaa, Newbridge. The Culture Factory is all about supporting each other. It cant succeed without your help. Tickets for this event are €10, or €15 with Cd included. You will have the pleasure of hearing most of the artists on the Cd perform live including a performance from special guest Luca Bloom, and of course my own band, She Speaks! Im very excited, and very proud of this Cd so please do come and support, its a great great cause. For more info on the culture factory and the artists involved, AND if you'd like to check out my band, see links below.

http://facebook.com/shespeaksmusic
http://culturefactory.ie

Stage School

When I was in sixth class in school, just twelve years of age, I was asked if id like to join a local stage school. It came about when the mother of a girl my sister went to drum classes with got chatting to my mam while they waited for the two girls to do their lesson. One day I went along with my mam we got into a conversation about music and drama etc so she knew it would be of interest to me. One thing led to another and I joined.

Between the time I joined in 1999, and the time I left in 2009 I think...I took part in a number of shows there. Including 'Cinders', and 'Dream Catcher', which we did in a local secondary school, as well as The Olympia Theater in Dublin. During my time with the school I had the privilege of taking on some of the lead roles in the shows. My dance teacher Pamela Keeley thought a lot of me, and she really nurtured my 'talent', giving me every chance to shine. There were always talent spotters at the shows, and they were very interested in me at the time. They wanted me to go to London, for what I'm not actually sure! But my parents had a secret meeting with Pamela and they thought I was to young to make the trip over to London. I only discovered this within the last year, when my Pamela was reminiscing on old times, and she mentioned it. I was quite annoyed, but I'm sure they thought it was the right thing to do at the time....Boo.

Some of the songs I sang included; A whole New World (Aladin), Rich Girl (Gwen Stefani), Sway (Pussycat Dolls), Somewhere over the rainbow (Eva Cassidy), amongst others. Sometimes we would be asked to dance at events like, shop openings, fashion shows, and a select few of us were asked to dance at Pamela's wedding! I was hugely honored to be asked to do this! Originally I was asked to sing at it, and when I arrived at rehearsal, there was a group of older girls there, and Pamela asked if id join them also. It was a spontaneous decision as far as I know! We performed at a fashion show at which Sinead O' Carroll (Former B- Witched member) was MC for the night, (Not to be name dropping...)

My time with the stage school really gave me the foundation I needed to deal with the ins and outs of 'the business' as they say. To this day I still refer back to things I learned there. Also, Pamela has been a huge inspiration to me. I'm still in touch with her, and I call her when I need a professional opinion or advise on all kinds of matters. I cant express enough, how extremely happy I am to have her a phone call away.