Last week I sat down with Jimi McDonnell to talk about Dead Weight and the upcoming album launch (on Wednesday, July 13th). Here is the link to the more or less the printed version of our conversation (though with me doing proportionately more talking). Thanks again, Jimi.
Tomorrow, Friday the 8th, I'll be playing at CITOG in The Cellar Bar, but before that kicks off (at around 10:00) I'll be doing a spot for the Arts Show on Galway Bay FM. I should be on for a song and a short interview at about quarter to 8:00. Please tune in, and come down to The Cellar later if you're on for a free night of music and drink promotions.
Other than that, Margaret and I have been putting up posters of my mug all over town to advertise for the launch (on Wednesday, July 13th). So, if you happen to be walking home through a dark alleyway and you turn to find me (with a slightly smaller than life-size head) staring morosely at you through the glass, I hope it doesn't put you off from coming down to Busker Brownes next week. I'm not angry with you. The light was severely bright through the clouds on the day of the photo shoot, which made it difficult not to scowl.
Truthfully, this kind of promotional stuff always leaves me feeling a bit overindulgent and sick of myself, and I often have to remind myself that I'm not doing it for me. I'm doing it because I want you to come down and enjoy yourselves. I hope to see you there.....Wednesday....July 13th....that's all for now.
I found this pile of cherry blossom petals outside my door yesterday morning, and I thought I should take a picture...
On Thursday night I had the opportunity to share a set with Elaine Mai and Laurie Leech at the Roisin Dubh. I admittedly haven't been very good at notifying people about the gigs I've been playing recently, but in my defense, these gigs have generally been pretty abrupt and casual. I was happy to have taken part in this one, and for those of you who were there, thanks for coming and listening. It was a pleasure to play and listen all the same.
I spent most of last night and this morning making my way through the arduous task of typing up all of my lyrics from my previous 4 releases. As there have been requests for copies of my lyrics in the past, I took it as my duty to make them available. All of my lyrics are now available at Bandcamp. Click the link here, or you can alternatively click on the Bandcamp logo above to access them.
Needless to say, with the typing of the lyrics and other website maintenance over the past couple of days, I've spent entirely too much time on this computer. I think I need some fresh air, and it looks to be a nice day. I'm going to get out of here. I'll be back soon.
Below I've posted the translation of the Harmonie Magazine review. Thanks, Laurent. Even with the translation, I find it a bit obtuse....but I do appreciate (am even a little bit amused by) the way that he hammers home the fact that he has no idea who I am. There's something quite just about that. It reads....
I do not have the slightest idea of where Jon Hughes is from. It would seem that Dead Weight is his third album, the theme of which is a reflection on murder and the way it is dealt with in the media. Musically speaking, we are offered a collection of eleven intimist folk songs, with some country music tones at times. Sometimes we feel quite close to a melancholic Cat Stevens and often we recognize intonations in the style of James Taylor. It is finely put together but remains a collection of folk songs which seem to be granting more importance to the lyrics, the music only being an accompaniment.
In other news, I received a review from Scott Mertens on the website Phantom Tollbooth. I'll post a link shortly.
Nothing else for the moment, unfortunately,...except a lot of sneezing. More soon.
Maybe it's not the best move in regards to public relations to post a review that you don't fully understand, but there, I've done it. You can view it on my PRESS page; though, if you don't speak French, you might be in the same predicament as I'm currently in. However, a friend of mine is currently translating it, and hopefully I'll be able to put together some extracts in English soon.
Today, I was also fortunate to get a nice spot in The Galway Independent. If you didn't get a chance to see it, you can click on the link to view the digital edition. Thanks to Marie Madden for the interview and to Boyd Challenger for the photos.
Finally I just wanted to say thanks to anyone who came down to the Japan/New Zealand benefit show last week, and a special thanks to The Broken Heartbreakers for doing such a good and thorough job organizing the gig. It was a great night of music, and I'm very happy to have taken part in it. If you haven't check these guys out yet, you should. Click on the link.
More news soon...
Well, not really everywhere, but it is available on itunes, at CD Baby, and it should be up and selling on a number of other sites very soon. To buy Dead Weight on itunes, click on the yellow itunes box above, and you will be redirected to the itunes link. Alternatively, you can go to my page, where you can purchase a physical copy from CD Baby or from me directly (recommended).
I'll have more news soon on upcoming shows. I don't think I'm alone when I say January has been a very slow month. I'm looking forward to longer days and warmer weather.
Hello everyone. You might be able to infer what I've come here to tell you today from the rather conspicuous image and heading above, but for those of you who don't respond to visuals and cut right to the text, I'll tell you that my new album, Dead Weight, is now available for purchase from me directly.
A bit about this album....it was recorded over the past six months, both at home and in The Forge in Galway, though some of the songs were written as early as a year and a half ago (you might recognize a couple of these songs from the RTE sessions we did last January). Ray Diamond engineered these sessions at The Forge. The album was mastered at Gradwell House Recording in New Jersey, USA, by Dave Downham.
The players on this album include (alphabetically) Przemek Brosz on bass guitar, Michael Chang on violin and viola, Dave Deane on drums, Caragh Rotherham on backing vocals, and Geoff Ward on saxophone. Some of these people I've worked with before, others I had the pleasure of working with for the first time. They have all made essential contributions to this album, and their time and effort is much appreciated.
The artwork for this album was done by Maeve Curtis. After a very short discussion about the album, Maeve managed to produce an image that conveys the themes in an effective and subtle way. And it looks great, too.
Sam Zimman is responsible for the graphic layout of this album, as he is for the layouts of my previous two albums. While I'm here, I should mention that Sam has done an extraordinary amount of work for me over the years (including the design of my website and EPK). He has endured the flurries of niggling emails I've sent him over the course of these projects, and he has always produced nothing but quality.
Lastly, thanks to Margaret. Although she never worked directly on the album, she lived with it all the same, sometimes as closely as I was living with it. I've never lived with someone who was mixing an album, but I would imagine it could be quite torturous at times. What's worse, she had to live with me throughout the production of it!
While Dead Weight is only available directly from me at the moment, it should be more widely available in the next couple of weeks. Also, there will be an official launch and some shows to follow. I'll be posting again here very soon regarding both of these things.
I hope this year has been a good one so far for all of you. I'll be in touch soon.
A friend of mine--his name is Tim Parm--once told me that if I ever met another Tim Parm, I should kill him. He hesitated, then laughed after he said this, and I have a feeling his laughter was indicative of his sudden awareness of the severity of his own tone rather than, say, an instance of him laughing at his own joke. I never did meet another Tim Parm. He's still the only one, in my world, anyway.
I, however, have a much more common name, and as I use my name professionally and as a source of identity artistically, it has become problematic at times...
To cut to the chase, there is another songwriter named Jon Hughes. Around the time that I released my first album on itunes, he released an album on itunes as well, called "Subside". I've heard bits of his album from people who bought it thinking it was my album, and I must admit I liked it. If you happened to buy this album or songs off of this album (which I know that some of you have), I'm sure your weren't disappointed. BUT...this album is not my album. For a full list of my albums to date, click on the STORE tab above.
This is really a problem with the way itunes is not differentiating between us as two different people (two different Jon Hughes', that is), and it's something I hope to resolve soon. I wonder if this would have happened if my name was Tim Parm. Well, if that was the case, I might not be here writing this. And if you're out there Tim Parm, the real Tim Parm, that is (you know who you are), I hope you read this.
Which one of these is different? If you answered the one in the bottom right corner, you're wrong. The correct answer is that, as they're hand-printed, each one is different from the other.
If everything goes as planned, these envelopes will be filled with promo copies of the new album very soon. The album has been mixed, mastered, and is currently at the plant in New Jersey where it will be pressed. Everything is coming together very quickly.
Although I won't have the albums ready for Christmas, you are more than welcome to pre-order the album, and I'll personally send you a copy in one of these hand-printed envelopes. I think it would be worth the wait for a late gift. Contact me directly at jon[at]jonhughes.org for details.
Also, just in case there's any confusion, the tree image has nothing to do with Christmas whatsoever.
I promised I'd have something for you soon. This is a song that I very recently recorded in my home studio. I've included the lyrics below. I hope you enjoy.
I watched this rainbow (and I'll say it like that--this single, particular rainbow--because that's how constantly it appeared) shift with the angle of the sun over a three hour period yesterday morning. The rain must have been somewhere behind me to the southeast, or at least I didn't notice it from the sunshine. Octobers have always been good to me, and I hope they continue to be.
Now, I would love to have the patience and peace of mind to sit idly and stare out the window for three hours, but, as you might guess, I was distracting myself with other things. Namely, the new album, and another musical project that I've been working on. So, here I am, writing to you again with nothing to show except a photo of a rainbow and some chimney birds. But what can I say? Part of my job is to come here and remind you that there will be more music on the way, possibly a video, and possibly a free EP...I've been a bit cagey about all of this new material for some reason.
We're making pretty good progress with the new album at this stage. The guitars, bass and drums are down, vocals are going down at the weekend, and in the following week we'll be putting down some strings and woodwinds. I've had an opportunity to work with a lot of very good musicians, artists, singers, etc. for this album, and I really look forward to the finished product. But I know better to give you a date for when the product will be finished.
In other news, I had the opportunity to open for the legendary songwriter Buddy Mondlock last month who was joined by Mike Lindauer on bass. He's an excellent songwriter and they put on a great performance. And what incredibly nice guys they are.
I hope everyone is having an enjoyable October. Please check back soon. I may have a couple of gigs coming up in November, and there should be a flurry of activity here soon.
There are still a few record stores left. Amongst these dead and dying businesses, there are those that had the vision of expanding their markets to tourist buyers looking for novelty t-shirts and shamrock mottled potholders. I'm not sure whether you would call this a strategic business move, or a last resort. I suppose time will tell. What is clear, and you can see it from the marginal record section in this photo, is that these 'record stores' are no longer record stores at all. I did on a recent occasion go to this record store (it's one of the two that I know to still be open in town), and I knew the minute I walked in the door that they wouldn't have the album I was looking for. They didn't. I had to order it online.
I have to admit that the photos here are not quite representative of this particular shop. The store does have a more extensive music section than pictured. However, the homewares and flat screen TV sections (not pictured) are steadily expanding, nevermind the umbrella and children's toys section....
I'm posting this now because very recently Road Records in Dublin announced that they will be shutting their doors for good in the coming week. These guys ran a small independent business, were passionate about music, and were always willing to stock my albums when the bigger, corporate places wouldn't. I appreciate the support they've given to me in the past and will be sorry to see them go.
What I especially liked about independent record shops is not just that they loved music, but that they really felt that it was important. Let's be honest. If you wouldn't pay the price of two pints of beer for an album, music isn't that important to you. You'd have trouble convincing anyone that you think music is worth anything if you refuse to pay for it. According to the business model of our extant record store, the average record store goer would likely prefer to spend more money on a t-shirt that says "Probably the best SHAG in Ireland" than on a record. That's kind of scary.
What occurs to me when I look at the first photo is that, if this trend continues, I could go back to this store in a matter of months or weeks, and the records section might have been replaced with t-shirts or fridge magnets, and that, eventually, provided these places are still open, the vestiges of these diminishing record sections will be wiped away completely. But as I said earlier, you might have trouble finding the album that you're looking for in a place like this. You won't find my album here anyhow.
Other than a cancelled gig this past June and some personal life changes, which I'll keep to myself, there hasn't been much news over the past few months. I've been continuing to work on the new album, which is slowly coming together. I'll admit I'm a little bit frustrated. Not with anyone or anything in particular. Just with the inevitable delays that come with making an album. I promise I'll deliver something tangible very soon, something more than just another post.
If you'd like a chance to hear some of the new songs on the album, I'll be playing a short set at the Roisin Dubh in Galway this Friday, July 9th. I'll be opening for a Canadian singer-songwriter named Jude Waldman who will be launching his new album, and Hally and the Thinkers will be playing as well. Admission is 5 euro. It should be fun.
I'll be in touch soon with more news. Oh. And it's been raining horizontally every 15 minutes for the past 2 hours.
I see now that it's been about six weeks since I last posted something. What can I say? The better part of the past six weeks hasn't been too eventful. I've been spending most of my time writing what hopefully will be the new album, and I fully realize that writing about writing doesn't make for very interesting reading; though there are a couple of recent developments that I think you might be interested in hearing about.
I just got word that I will be in session on Cormac Battle's program this evening at midnight on RTE 2FM. By clicking on the link, you'll be directed to the 2fm website where you can listen live. And if you don't get a chance to listen tonight, I believe the show is archived on the website, so you can listen back at a more convenient time. Remember, it's at midnight Irish time..
In other news, I'll be doing a short tour with JT Songs in April, accompanying him on bass guitar (and if there's time, I might play a short set myself). Our first rehearsal was really good fun. I'm looking forward to these shows. I'll have more details when they emerge...
I'll hopefully have more news soon. Take care.
On Tuesday morning, we arrrived at Heuston Station with everything you see here. Then we piled all this stuff into a taxi and made our way over to RTE Radio to record a live session in Studio 8. Thinking back on the experience, it still seems a bit surreal. We accomplished a lot more than I thought we were able to in two weeks time, and I think we were all pleased with the way the session turned out.
THE BAND
Przemek Brosz
Dave Deane
Me
A big thanks to Przemek and Dave for doing their homework and helping to make this happen. I don't know what I would have done without them. Also thanks to Andrew Kane who engineered the session, and Ian Wilson for giving us this opportunity to begin with. And of course, thanks to Ben's Taxi Service for getting us where we needed to be. I'll have more details on where you'll be able to hear these recordings in hopefully very soon.
In other news, I received a very nice review from Russell Hill of Maverick Magazine. You can read it by clicking HERE
I should have some more updates for you shortly. Stay tuned.
So the holidays have come and gone once again, and once again, I find myself trying to remember what happened in the past month. What I do know is that I thoroughly enjoyed myself spending time with friends and family. It just happened so quickly. A month and a week passed, and I realize that I have neglected to post anything. So here's a belated gift...
If you've been following these posts, you'll know that I released the b-sides to Voices From a Broken Window back in November on a disc entitled Nobody's Friend. This collection of b-sides is now available to stream and download here. All the songs are posted below, as well as the cover art. Go on and have a listen. You have nothing to lose!
As I've been laid up at home with a head cold for the past week, there's nothing else to report at the moment. The heaters are running constantly at maximum in a futile attempt to warm this place. I often have a suspicion that it's warmer outside than in. Anyhow, I'm not going to die waiting for these days to pass. Stay warm and I'll speak to you again soon.
At the beginning of this month, I was starting to get a bit worried about these November shows. I took a walk around town one night, and the streets looked as desolate as I had ever seen them. I'd heard that gig attendence has been down this year, and things were looking grim. Luckily, I had nothing to worry about thanks to those of you who braved the wind and rain to come down to these shows. Thank you for your support. I hope to see you again soon.
For those of you who didn't get a chance to pick up a copy of my new album, check out my STORE page. You can buy a copy there.
I should have a lot more to post here in the next few weeks so check back soon.
Over the past few days, I've been making the final touches on a new collection of b-sides that I plan on releasing at some upcoming shows (see EVENTS) this November. This disc, Nobody's Friend, will be six tracks that I couldn't include on Voices From A Broken Window, and it has been a lot more work than I had anticipated. I spent many hours cutting and glueing to produce the sleeves, and making the prints (each sleeve is hand-printed) was a meticulous and grueling process.
These CD's will be available for FREE at each of the four shows I'll be playing, but, as production is limited, I can only release about a dozen copies at each show, so get there early to get a copy.
For those of you who had the chance to come down to the show on Tuesday at The Old Oak, I hope you enjoyed yourselves. I certainly did. If you couldn't make it down, hopefully we'll do it again soon.
It's been a while since I've been to Cork, and I had forgotten how much I liked it. Good food, nice people, nice city. We were well looked after at The Old Oak. Maybe the best part was the life-size statue of Captain Morgan above the stage, which none of us got a picture of, but you can see the pedestal at the top of the above picture. Or there was that strange painting...
It was great to hang out with Andy and Jess. I might not have noticed half of the bizarre things around me if it hadn't been for them pointing these things out.
I'll try to post the new show dates as I have them. Keep an eye on my events page. There should be more to come soon.
I just received a review in STATE magazine, which you can read by clicking on the link. Thank you to Sophie--if she reads this--for taking the time to listen to and review the album. Please have a look at it, and leave a comment.
I was a little surprised when I saw this review, as my head was elsewhere, my attention focussed on the new video that we had shot a couple of weeks ago. It was in the editing stage and going through the expected delays, Friday to Saturday to Sunday, etc. That's generally how these things go from my experience. What I hadn't expected was that the director would now be on a plane to the US and won't be returning until next Spring. He and the editor will have to edit the last minute or so transatlantically. That said, you can now start anticipating the release of this video. My anticipation is already exhausted. It will be finished, and I think it will be beautiful. I have a lot of faith in the guys who've been working on it.
I'll be posting links to all the other reviews for Voices From a Broken Window on the PRESS KIT page, where you can read them and post comments if you haven't already...if you don't think I sound at all like Rod Stewart, then state your disagreement. If there wasn't enough credit given to a particular song, then say so. If you think the review is dead on, then why not say that, too. This is a numbers game here, people. Help me out by joining in.
That's all for now. More news very soon.
Yes, Voices From a Broken Window is now available on itunes where you can listen to samples, download it, rate it, write a review. You can access the site by clicking on the itunes logo on my STORE page.
On Thursday, July 30th, Voices From A Broken Window will be featured in Jackie Hayden's "First Cuts" Column in Hotpress as his "Pick of the Fortnight". For those of you who don't read Hotpress, I will post a link after it's been published if there is one available. Otherwise, I will copy the text and post it here in the news blog. Thanks very much to Mr. Hayden for his interest and support.
I also received a review from Drop-D.ie which you can read HERE.
Lastly, for those of you who have been checking this page on a regular basis, you may have noticed that a large portion of the news is missing now, and even if you hadn't noticed this, I figure I should explain. While I was recently saving an update, the program shut down as I was saving the update. Somehow, everything got erased; however, I had backed up a couple of the most relevant, recent updates, so all was not lost. Let this serve as a reminder that when you command your computer to do two things at once, things can go terribly wrong.
The new album, Voices From A Broken Window, is now widely available. Here's a short list of places where you can listen and buy.
Ireland, UK and the EU
1. Road Records on Fade Street in Dublin. You can buy a copy in the store, or otherwise follow the link to their online store. They ship anywhere in the world, but if you're ordering from the US, I would go with one of the options below (the shipping will be cheaper).
USA
2. CDBaby Portland, Oregon based online music store. You can also write a review for the album if you like (wink, wink)
3.Indie Rhythm An Acworth, Georgia based online record store that specializes in independent music.
Again, if you're ordering from Ireland, the UK, or the EU, stick with Road Records.
Lastly, you can buy the CD from me. Email me, text me, stop me on the street. If you buy it from me, you spend the least and I make the most. It works out the best for both of us.
The album will eventually be available on Napster, itunes, Amazon, Payplay, Tradebit, and a bunch of other downloading sites. These will be updated in the STORE section of my website. However, I suggest you buy a physical copy. There may be no difference as to how you hear the music, but it might affect the way you feel about the music.
More news soon....
Last Tuesday, I spent an hour of a pleasant afternoon with Vanessa Alami, the photographer who took my new press photos, which can be viewed under my IMAGES link. We started at a shoe shop, then went to a book shop, and then to an Asian food shop. It was interesting experience. Trying to explain ourselves to the woman at the Asian grocery store proved difficult. When we asked if we could take photos in the store, she could only respond, "But we sell FOOD here."
Vanessa takes very nice photos, and I am happy to be represented by this new collection. Please take a look if you have a moment...
