Ian profile picture

Ian

If life breaks your heart, you needn't fall apart

About Me

Live just outside brighton, bit of a music freak - listening to it, watching it, writing it,playing it. Oh and drinking far too much ale / guinness / cider.

My Interests



Playing guitar / bass / mandolin / banjo, writing songs, reading, having a few beers, going to gigs - seeing some random band is where i'll be found - theres nowt better than live music. I spend far far too much money on music and seeing bands and refuse to buy anything from the overpriced fatcats like virgin and hmv. Am quite into the whole music promotion / PR / management business and the odd bit of sound engineering here and there. Aside from all that i also occasionaly write music articles / review for a few websites and papers (the Irish Post paper, Twisted Ear webzine etc). You can read a examples of my work up there somewhere in the blog section.

I'd like to meet:

music related people mainly...specially those from & around the Brighton area.

Music:

This lot i like more than most:
The Wedding Present, Neil Young, Teenage Fanclub, The Pogues, Tom Waits, The Band, Spiritualized, Stephen Malkmus, Euros Childs, Siobhan, Townes Van Zandt, The Fall, Sparklehorse, Nick Cave, Hefner, Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, Cinerama, Animal Collective, Wages of Sin, Thirty Pounds of Bone, The Poppycocks, Bouncing Souls, Pavement, Shellac, Frightened Rabbit, Lonnie Donegan, Uncle Tupelo, Actress Hands, Half Man Half Biscuit, Gram Parsons, Grinderman, Mercury Rev, Beta Band, Andy Irvine, Gorkys Zygotic Mynci, Richard Hawley, Steve Earle, Tunng, The Tossers, Syd Barrett, Jesus & Mary Chain, Ballboy, Dinosaur Jr, George Harrison, Kevin Ayers, Brakes, Iron & Wine, Christy Moore, Electric Soft Parade, Espers, The Great Park, Battles, Belle & Sebastian, Sandy Denny, Two Cow Garage, Evan Dando, Grandaddy, Edwyn Collins, Tindersticks, Singing Loins, Dubliners, Lou Barlow, Mazzy Star, British Sea Power, Sharon Shannon, Birdengine, Bruce Springsteen, Diamond Family Archive, Laura Cantrell, Planxty. Bert Jansch, Mogwai, Super Furry Animals, The Cramps, Lo Fidelity Allstars.....all that stuff. You get the idea

Movies:

Not really

Television:

Rather not ta

Books:

I read lots all sorts but i do like alternative thinking, psychology books and autobiographies. Currently reading 'Shakey - Neil Young biography'.

Heroes:

wouldnt call them heroes but i think the following are a bit special: George Harrison, John Peel and for their wonderful songwriting - Shane MacGowan and the man David Gedge.

My Blog

Antarctica Takes It - 'The Penguin League'

ANTARCTICA TAKES IT!  'THE PENGUIN LEAGUE'  In today's music scene it's seen as an increasingly good thing to produce albums with a distinctly lo-fi, home recorded sound. Ok, so it may have b...
Posted by Ian on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:41:00 PST

Aidan Moffat - ’I Can Hear Your Heart’

Album review here....
Posted by Ian on Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:12:00 PST

The Wedding Present - George Best

The Wedding Present - George Best Gruff Yorkshire tones? Check. Bowl haircut? Check. It's reappraisal time for Dave Gedge and co.The Wedding Present - put simply, four ordinary looking blokes hailing ...
Posted by Ian on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:50:00 PST

Iron & Wine - 'The Shepherds Dog' album review

IRON & WINE  'THE SHEPHERDS DOG'   Iron & Wine is one man  Sam Beam. Sam knows how to write songs. Stripped down, delicate and beautiful songs. The kind that make you want to run away,...
Posted by Ian on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:05:00 PST

Great Escape '07 review

Twisted Ear's review of the Great Escape is now online. It lives here: http://www.twistedear.com/index.php?option=com_content&t ask=view&id=884&Itemid=29 Included are British Sea Power, Act...
Posted by Ian on Sun, 03 Jun 2007 10:52:00 PST

Grinderman - London HMV live review 09/05/07

GRINDERMAN  HMV OXFORD STREET, LONDON; 09/05/07 Real men hunt in packs It's HMV in London's Oxford Street. It's lunchtime. Sponsored by Mojo magazine. Not an expected setting for a first meeting wi...
Posted by Ian on Sat, 12 May 2007 01:12:00 PST

Wild Billy Childish - 'Punk Rock At The British Legion Hall' album review

WILD BILLY CHILDISH & THE MUSICIANS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE  'PUNK ROCK AT THE BRITISH LEGION HALL' "We're a garage band / we come from garage land", snarled Joe Strummer on The Clash's classic s...
Posted by Ian on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 01:44:00 PST

Euros Childs 'Bore Da' review

EUROS CHILDS  'BORE DA' Euros Childs has always been a curious fellow. For many a year he has been busy quietly ploughing the fields of rock with his own hearty blend of psychedelia tinged folk pop...
Posted by Ian on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 03:47:00 PST

Drift Night 3 Review, West Hill Hall, 10/12/06

DRIFT NIGHT 3 - WEST HILL COMMUNITY HALL, BRIGHTON 10/12/06 A blustery and stormy December night, tucked away in the backstreets of Brighton in a small community hall  that's where they'll be found...
Posted by Ian on Sat, 13 Jan 2007 06:13:00 PST

Shite n' Onions Top 10 Records '06

Shite n' Onions Ten Records of 2006   If you like your Pogues type Folk / Paddy Punk then have a listen to some of this lot - theres some mighty good records here:   1 - The BibleCodeSundays...
Posted by Ian on Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:50:00 PST