About Rockinpaddy

Born to be a Blockhead

I’m not too sure where this journey will take us (assuming you are coming along?), so lets make it a good one, just in case its rubbish when we get to our destination!

The views on this blog are my own, they are not necessarily representative of those I work with or for. I endeavour to be objectively passionate through-out though.

This is a place where I reflect on my experiences and test out what I’m thinking & feeling as a result. You can view this place as workings in progress. It’s me thinking out aloud & hopefully in an interesting way? .

I’m a professional vocalist, musician and song-writer. I’m also a qualified facilitator and coach with a long background in youth work and inclusion. I’m ablover and a (non-violent) fighter for Equality, inclusion, Disability Rights and a better deal for young people.

Here we go…………….

My Biograhy:

I’m a self taught musician playing my own designed guitar, keyboard & using some other bits of music technology along the way. I’m basically a singer songwriter with over 30 years experience of playing live. I’m influenced by my Irish family roots and Irish music. Also artists such as Billy Bragg, Woody Guthrie, Elvis, Gene Vincent, Christy Moore, Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, Bob Marley, The Saw Doctors, The Pogues, Kirsty MacColl to name just a few. Influential genres include Punk, Ska, Rock & Roll, Classic Metal, Blues, Reggae and of course Irish folk and trad.

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I have both recording and live experience from small scale to large festivals and stadiums. I feel I am on a continuous journey of learning in all I do & I’m committed to my work and always see opportunity to improve. I have some good material that reaches & makes connections with audiences and this is so important to me as a working artist.

I am very lucky to play with many other great musicians and I learn and enjoy from that experience of music making with others. After a few bereavements which have had a massive impact on my life, I feel ready to get back to steering the direction of my work. I feel that once again I am at a very exciting point in my life as a singer/songwriter/performer trying to grow & write better & better.

As a freelance artist I get to work with lots of amazing organisations such as Drake Music, Graeae Theatre Company, ExtraOrdinary Bodies and Goldsmiths to name a few. I am a National Associate Artist for both Drake Music & Extraordinary Bodies and I work all over the UK and internationally as an artist, vocalist, workshop leader and performer. I am a qualified facilitator and coach too. I also perform informally regularly for fun with friends in our band Rockinpaddy.

In 2010/11 I turned professional as a musician and performed as lead vocalist in the world premier tour of Graeae’s musical Reasons To Be Cheerful, (Live performance recording: Wake Up & Make Love With Me https://vimeo.com/16662941

2012 was a massive year for me, starting with a second UK tour of Reasons to be Cheerful. I then went on to record Spasticus Autisticus & perform live to 80,000 people (4.7 million watched on television and there was a global audience of millions) at the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfmpxaLl6c4. This performance received global critical acclaim from both audiences and critics.

In November of 2012 I had the honour to perform with The Blockheads at the legendary jazz club Ronnie Scotts, a historic occasion, as the Blockheads had not performed Spasticus Autisticus since Ian Dury passed away over a decade ago. I have guested with the Blockheads at various gigs since 2010.

Last year I also did a recording of “Hit Me” with The Blockheads for a limited venal project the band were doing at the time. For the final UK tour of Reasons To Be Cheerful in 2017 I got to write ’If It Can’t Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong’ with Chaz Jankel and Derek Hussey https://youtu.be/YRSxq6Z7O0s which was published with Peer Music, an amazing experience.

In 2014 I completed a third full UK as musician/vocalist and narrator of the Threepenny Opera and also got to perform Reasons in Germany. Internationally as a musician & singer I have performed in Russia, Germany, Estonia, Brazil, Poland, Mexico, Greece, France, America (where I was given the key to the city of Memphis and Nashville for services to rock & roll!), all over the UK and of course home in Ireland.

As part of my work developing Music Technology, with Drake music, in May 2019, I performed & worked in Hamburg and Dusseldorf. I then took a trip to Rotterdam to explore some new technology & record a live song with friends from My Breath My Music and with The Kellycaster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLJ-tJgUeu4. I couldn’t resist the temptation and bought a magic flute out there that I hope will now add yet another dimension to my singing and playing of The Kellycaster, performing on my own or with others.

I’m lucky to have had experience performing to many great audiences in some amazing venues including at The South Bank, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Dundee Rep, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Hackney Empire, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Birmingham Rep, Nottingham Playhouse and Trafalgar Square to name just a few. I started out in youth work and continue working with organisations developing creative & inclusive practice. In 2017 with Drake Music we launched The Kellycaster, redefining accessible guitar with bespoke technology.

The guitar is now integral to my material and performances and survived its first tour recently. In 2018 I completed my 7th Irish/UK tour with Extrodinary Bodies, the UK’s first professional integrated circus company.

I’m a Disability and Human Rights Campaigner (although I’ve never asked for that job title) and have appeared on TV, radio and national press with my music and most recently fighting for our rights to Independent Living. This work and my music are very much linked together as one. My music reflects this as well my wider story, experiences, emotions, feelings and audiences feedback they relate and identify with it too.

I have more recently received a number of successful songwriting commissions, most recently writing for Drake Musics Launch of We All Make Music in 2018 & in 2019 for Access All Areas premiere of Winged in February 2019 (writing the whole music for this production) and now the new Production of Buck A Brenda for Wild N Beets Theatre Company to be premiered at this years GDIF’19 in June 2019.

I was also invited to perform for Creative United’s Take It Aways 10th Anniversary at the beautiful Shepherds Bush Hall and recently helped relaunched Drakes London DMLab programme with a performance. I am a member of the Musicians Union serving on the Equalities Sub Committee. My music and work around Disability and Equality are very much intertwined and interrelated.

I have extensive live performance experience nationally and internationally, gigging regularly playing great music of other artists, my own material and with great musicians and audiences.

Music is my life and so I feel lucky and privileged to work at doing what I love.

Thank you for your support.

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