One Take Sessions

Waterford based Ross Kearley plays the One Take Sessions on March 8th. Here’s a little about him…

Ross Kearley is a singer-songwriter based currently in Tramore/Dublin and has played the gig circuit in the South and East for a number of years. As a solo musician he has won over many fans along the way and is well known and respected in his local area. He plays a variety of instruments including guitar, piano and harmonica and is very much involved in original music in the Waterford region and has been in many bands over the years, he has just finished his debut album titled The Fall Of Icarus.

The Fall Of Icarus has ten tracks comprising acoustic melodies and thought - provoking lyrics. Influences for the album include Leonard Cohen, James Taylor, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, David Gray, Jack Johnson, Jose Gonzalez, Ray Lamontagne and Damien Rice to name but a few. Ross has been writing songs for many years and finally put together a collection of his best works after much pressure from fans and friends alike, eager to put real meaning back into music. In these songs honesty is the key, every song is not just a story but a personal experience brought to life through melody, poetry, passion and pain. This is reflected in his passionate and intimate live performances, which have included Eamon Dorans (Dublin), Music Factory (Carlow) and recently a great show in The Forum (Waterford).

Favourites from the album include Demons an intriguing guitar line with Flamenco rhythms, Darling a powerfully emotional piano piece and Lullaby with its beautiful melody and entrancing lyrics. All the songs are composed, arranged and produced by Ross so to keep the songs fluid and to make each song a journey through the heart, soul, mind and importantly the conscience of the listener. The Closer we come to our dreams the further we have to fall.

So brings the end to the January One Take Sessions, a great month it’s been with 6 acts in total across two nights (Kieran Byrne, Lighthouse Jacksons, David Thompson, Innate, Ken McGuire, Adela Meally). Apologies to people who were looking forward to both James O’Toole and Linda Coogan, both of whom were removed from the lineup for last night but hopefully we’ll see them again later in the year.

Those of you who weren’t there last night missed two fantastic performances in Ken McGuire (Kilkenny) and Adela Meally (Laois). Next month sees one Session on February 15th and we’ve got Matt & Robbie from Original Lineup (Kilkenny), John O’Hanlon (Waterford), Run On Air (Drogheda) and Frantic State (Kilkenny) on the bill.

Onwards towards February!

Apologies to those looking forward to his performance tomorrow night but James O’Toole has been withdrawn from the billing and will hopefully be replaced for tomorrow’s gig. Of course, we also hope to have James down again later on in the year - he does make exceedingly good cakes (or just plays damn nice music).

The latest Sound System Podcast, show #7, is a One Take Sessions special and is now available on SoundSystemPodcast.com and on iTunes. We’ve reduced the length of the One Take podcast’s to concentrate more on the music so for 20 minutes of highlights from the January 4th One Take Sessions, click to download now or visit SoundSystemPodcast.com.

Wexford man (Gorey) Jimi Cullen will join the One Take Sessions on March 29th. Jimi has a fairly hectic gig calendar so far for 2007 including support slots to Aslan, Mary Coughlan, John Spillane as well as releasing his band’s album in March and playing numerous other slots.

For all Jimi’s details check his official website here.

Based in Kilkenny,Ireland,Frantic State are a band who work hard for what they want and have proved themselves as one of the hardest working upcoming acts around with excellent energetic live shows and their never-say-die attitude. The band exploded onto the scene in May ‘05 where they supported the legendary John Martyn and since then have gone on to support the likes of Snowpatrol,Republic Of Loose and Eugene Kelly formerly of The Vaselines.

They have also played some of the countries top venues including Eamonn Dorans and The Sugar Club.The band have also had recording sessions in Powerswood Studios,The Shed Studios in Somerset,England and have rehearsed in Real World Studios where the likes of New Order,Stereophonics and The Cooper Temple Clause have all worked.

To say that this band have done alot in the short time they’ve been together would be an understatement but ask them about what they’ve achieved so far and they’ll quickly shrug it off by simply saying that,”they’re having a great time doing what they love best”,and ask us politely if we’d,”like to join them on the ride!”,needless to say they’re a band who have a target and a target they’re going to work hard for if it ever comes their way!

The lads join the One Take Sessions on February 15th to complete the lineup. Now is your chance to get your bookings in for March and April. For more, see Frantic State on MySpace.

Waiting To Explode, who feature on the latest Sound System Podcast and were one of the highlights at the KilkennyMusic.com Christmas Party in December just gone will be featuring at the One Take Sessions on March 8th. Definitely not a Session to be missed.

Drogheda acoustic outfit Run On Air, comprised of Niamh Mullen, Jack Ledwidth and Andy McDonagh, have been added to the February 15th One Take Sessions along with Original Lineup and John O’Hanlon. Playing together since June 2006, they’ve just set up their MySpace profile where you can get a listen to ‘Lonely City’ from their debut EP.

The 4th One Take Sessions passed off last night with some great music. Kieran Byrne stepped up first with some original material and a fantastic rendition of Van Morrisson’s ‘Astral Weeks’; The Lighthouse Jacksons made their Kilkenny debut mixing guitar and a standing conga/bongo combination, rounding off with a great conga solo by Gary McGuire; David Thompson made a lasting impression with some terrific solo material, opting for an electric performance instead of acoustic while Innate took to the stage last bringing with them two guitars, an acoustic base a scaled down kit, a violin and a cello - absolutely fantastic performance by the lads from Mullingar to round out the night.

Watch out for January 25th and keep an eye on KilkennyMusic.com for photos from last night. If you’re not yet registered don’t forget that you can sign up for KilkennyMusic.com for FREE to get access to the member-only areas of the site.

From all of us at KilkennyMusic.com and those involved in the One Take Sessions, Happy New Year! We wish you all the very best for 2007 and hope that you’ll join us this Thursday, January 4th, for the first ‘Sessions of 2007.