When The Band Played Spanish Harlem - Music

I Was Born In Belfast In 1952 And Have Been Writing Songs Since I Was 14 When My Mother Bought Me My First Guitar. I Spent The Later Years Of The 60's Working On Building Sites In London Before Moving To Dublin For Work In The Early 70's. Writing A Song In A Cheap Bedsit Far From Your Home And Comfort Zone Is Different From Scribbling In Your Comfy Familiar Bedroom At Home. However The Experiences I Had Living In These Cities Have Added Certain Sentiments And Tinges To My Songs Over The Years. Sometimes The Lonesomeness Of Where I Was Touched Me Sore And Sometimes The Longings For Home For Friends - Good Friends Gripped Me Changed Me And Moulded Me And Influenced Me Greatly How And Why I Wrote. I Say Now I’m Not Claiming To Be Good Or Bad At What I Do But I’ll Keep Doing It Whatever. . After Dublin I Moved Back To Belfast And Met And Married Kathleen In 1977. We Are Blessed With Four Amazing Children Gerard Kathryn Kristea And Lauren - All Of Whom Think Their Dad's A Bit Crazy. Probably True. Over The Years I've Done A Great Number Of Things To Earn A Living - All Of Them Have Been Merely A Distraction From My Music. The Irony Of It All Is I Don’t Listen To Music I Stopped Listening When I Realised I Wasn’t Hearing The Songs Anymore I Realised Was Hearing Was Someone Else’s Technique And Presentation And It Was A Strange Place To Be It Still Is - And I Can’t Enjoy A Song Now The Way I Once Did But I Get It Just As Much As I Always Did I Just Get It Differently Now - I Suppose I Endure Listening To Music But Hey I Can't Do Without It. I'm That Nerd Who Can’t Just Sit And Absorb Music As Background Stuff Ala The Hotel The Bar Or The House Party Thing. I Really Believe That When A Song Is Played You Should Stop Listen And Enjoy It. Remember Please Someone Somewhere Took The Time And Sweat To Create Develop And Suffer Its Birth And The Least We All Can Do Is Listen Simply Listen. Music Tortures Me Wonderfully And Beautifully! And It Should Be Like That For Everyone. I Had Long Ago Given Up On The Living- The-Dream-Place Where I'd Spent Most Of My Life And Just Quietly Wrote. Why? Well Because It's What I Like Doing And Besides It's A DNA Thing. So We Kicked Off With The Americana Style Collection We Call Brand New Beginnings And Since I Have Been As Busy As Ever Writing And Will Continue To Post New Songs On Here Whenever I Can. read less