Colobe, is?

Sure look.

[colobe]

Time for a post.

It's been a while since I wrote anything, so I suppose I should get back at it or else the blog will just go silent, as it has before. And we don't want that now, do we? (And by we, I mean I.)

So what's going on with Colin? Sweet fuck all! Literally, sweet fuck all. I'm not working in a call centre anymore and instead I'm selling sweets in a sweet shop. Happy. Fucking. Days. It was a good move for me, I'm on a little bit better money for an infinitely easier and nicer job. I appreciate it so much, nobody is screaming at me, calling me an Irish bastard, or asking to speak to my manager to file a complaint about me! Whoop!

On the musical front, things are a bit stale. Not for lack of want, just for lack of time. I moved straight from one job to another and it's taking up a lot of my time so I haven't really made any further progress with the EP, but I will soon. The time I have off I tend to spend sleeping, playing video games and generally avoiding the outside world. Not the most productive way to spend your days off, I know, but oh so relaxing.

Old brothers and sisters are returning to the Marble City and every day I see some old friend I've missed for a long time. The weather's getting better and people have smiles on their faces these days. What more could a young lad want? Not much going on with me apart from working, but one noteworthy thing is that I'm doing the 40 beer challenge in Brewery Corner. 40 different beers in 40 nights. No bothers. As of tonight I'm on number 18 and I have until the 10th of July, once I've the 40 in me, my name is going on a plaque for being fond of the drink. Un-rail... One could argue about how noteworthy that is though... 

Further updates when something interesting actually happens.

Also, planning another tattoo. Waiting to get my tax back to blow it on ink. We'll see what happens. G'luck.

-Colin.

[colobe]

Recording session two.

Nine hours. Much electric guitar. Much piano. Very drums. Wow, so shaker and snare.

Total recording tally for this EP up to around fifteen hours now. Two songs wrapped (just about), more still in the pipes.

Short and sweet update. Mup. Making tunes.

Also: Cowbell. So much cowbell.

[colobe]

Recording: Round One.

Yesterday evening I headed out to the studio with Geoff and got cracking on the EP. We went from seven in the evening until just before three in the morning, with only one tea break (but a fair few fag breaks). I am very tired writing this now after around four hours of sleep. (The joys of midweek recording)

I headed out and the first thing I did was lay down the acoustic guitar track for the tunes and worked from there. As the light disappeared outside, my songs went a completely different direction from what I thought they would eventually become (not a bad thing).

Myself and Geoff were on a massive creative buzz and we just kept adding more and more layers to the songs, more harmonies, more clapping, more piano, more tambourine, more bass, and more shouting as we worked on relentlessly into the night. Yeah, shouting. Didn't ever expect to shout on a track but fuck me... I shouted like there was no tomorrow. Reminded me a bit of Chuck Ragan listening back to it.

Being back in the studio after so long, back jamming with Geoff again, back busting out the tunes, giving it socks and destroying my voice; it made me long for the days of Alka Jessie to be back... So I suppose we're just going to have to get the band back together for one last project sooner or later.

Two tracks down. Two to go. And possibly a little musical interlude. Interlobe. Exitlobe.

Also, being able to faintly here me shout "Mup there it is ya boyo" in the background of one of the songs still has me smirking.

Round two: Next week. I'd say my voice will be recovered from all the shouting by then... but you never know... I did some amount of it.

[colobe]

Onwards, lad.

I think I've got my head back into some manner of creative space. I've been working away at keeping myself occupied with writing and making music whenever I'm not draining my will to live in an office.

So after really knuckling down to getting tunes and lyrics penned down, and trying to keep them all as diverse and dynamic as possible, I've finally got my EP's worth of tracks. (I say "really knuckling down", I've written four keepers for the EP, but that's more songs than I've ever had or ever dared to record).

Four tracks, all different themes I suppose you could say, though ultimately there's going to be a recurring theme of "shit that's happening in my life" (so expect all the songs to be about working for an evil corporation. Not really. The songs, that is, not the corporation. They're definitely evil... Pricks)

And: 

Tomorrow is the day I record the EP! Or as much of it as is humanly possible. I'll be heading out to my old comrade Geoff's studio once I finish work and ploughing straight into it. Aiming to get the full thing done tomorrow would be a bit optimistic, naturally, but I'll try to get this thing recorded, produced and released as soon as I can (without sacrificing any quality). We'll see how it goes!

I'll post an update tomorrow night or Thursday with how it's going on!

G'luck.

[colobe]

This is one interesting man. Got caught up in a revolution that wasn't his but fought like it was.

[colobe]

This weeks Kilkenny talent - Geoff Warner-Clayton. If you know the man; no more needs to be said. If you don't; do your homework.

[colobe]

Bukowski - We Must

Some man. Go and read Charles Bukowski, or if you're a lazy bastard, look up his quotes at least; that'll give you a taste of his genius. James Franco is writing and directing a film about him starring Josh Peck as the main man growing up. Could be very fucking good. I'm going to start occasionally throwing up quotes, excerpts and pictures of Charles B.

Fun fact, his grave just reads:

Don't Try. 

we must bring our own light to the darkness. nobody is going to do it for us. as the young boys ski down the slopes as the fry cook gets his last paycheck as dog chases dog as the chessmaster loses more than the game we must bring our own light to the darkness. nobody is going to do it for us, as the lonely telephone anybody anywhere as the great beast trembles in nightmare as the final season leaps into focus nobody is going to do it for us.

[colobe]

I'm going to start sharing good talent from the hometown. Kilkenny represent.

Volume 1:

Kingston. These chaps are going places. End of. 

[colobe]

Going nowhere slowly, but seeing all the sights.

So I'm back in that state of mind, that "It's two in the morning, captain, put the brain into overdrive mode" state of mind. You know the one, we all get it. I hope we all do anyway, or else there's probably something wrong with me. Actually, that's the case regardless of the late night brain activity, to be honest. So, "cad é an update, Lobe?", I hear you ask. There's not much of one.

But considering my usual routine of just going to work, depressing myself answering phones and crashing before midnight (what kind of fucking twenty year old am I at all, eh? Letting down the generation), I got a good bit done over the past few days.

So for the first time in years I've seen writing a song through from start to finish. The electronic stuff I've done doesn't really count as songwriting in my opinion, that's not to say I'm not proud of it though, I am. One man, One guitar, though: That's true songwriting and that is without a doubt infinitely more challenging and frightening and frustrating and leaves you feeling infinitely more vulnerable and exposed to criticism. So I know it's not a huge deal, but for myself it's a bit of an accomplishment. 

You see, I've been set a target: a gig. Not my own gig, but I'll be supporting Gary whenever he throws the gig for his EP launch (which is online for free now, check it out). A gig looming over me is exactly what I need to put her into fifth gear and get my shit together. I'm going to be on stage and I'm going to be on my own, so I'd want to not be shit for my own sake and for the sake of whatever poor souls have to see me play tunes. The goal is to get three new originals ready in time for the day, I reckon I can do it. Since I've gotten back into this idea of musicianship my guitar hasn't really left my hands that much when I'm at home (so much so that the father now calls me Bob Dylan).

On top of the musical update, here's what else is going on:

I got my new tattoo finished! Mup.

It's an ould shtag. It's two things for me. Firsty, I think he's noble as fuck. Look at him there; the wise old forest dweller. Some antlers on him. Jaysus. Secondly though (and the main point of it I suppose) is that the stag is the national animal of Ireland, so it's just a tattoo to celebrate my identity as Irish and my place in this sweet, sweet, shambolic joke of a country. But it's my joke of a country, so I love it.

Hurt a hell of a lot more than my previous tattoos when I was getting it done but I survived and only called the tattoo artist a cunt once or twice, which was good going. Connie Walsh did it for me and I highly recommend her for getting ink and also being a top woman altogether!

And finally, as a result of the late night brain activity, I've started an online course on Buddhism and modern psychology. Bit of a random one, I know. But my dear friend Ruth had been talking to me for a while to do it because she's doing it and honestly, the girl seems enlightened as fuck already, so I'll give it a stab! Maybe I'll become a Buddhist monk... or a psychologist.. Wait, I'd have to go back to college for that. Ah well. Monk it is, so.

I'll write more when I feel like it,

- Lobe

(What a shit way to end a post. Jesus Colin, don't be a prick)

[colobe]

There's Gary now.

[colobe]

This, again.

So it's been about four months since I said I'd start writing seriously, and I've written.. sweet fuck all. But I'm going to try and change that. 

I suppose a lot's happened in the blank space between my first and second post here. Job, arguments, reconciliations, plans, attempts, failures. Life goes on. Finding your feet in the real world isn't too hard, but finding the right state of mind, the right approach to living is. I haven't found it yet, but I'm on the right path I reckon. If I'm not, I think I'm at least pointed in the general direction of the right path. I picked up a job easily enough once I moved back to Kilkenny, as a result all my plans for glorious creatives endeavors got put on the backburner. The snag to getting a job easily, is that the job is not an easy one. Shit hours, minimum wage and strict rules, but it keeps a few sheckles in my póca and that's enough for me for now. Well, it's not really... But it's better than nothing.

Falling back into the Kilkenny way of life was beautiful and not once have I regretted making the decision to move back. It's fairly shit most of the old friends are off in Dublin most of the time, but when I see them I make it count. And the people who remained in Kilkenny all this time, have yet to bother leaving it, or have pulled a Colin on it and dropped out/were kicked out of college (buachails) welcomed me with open arms and a love-buzz fit for a king.

The thought had always been on my mind that the army would be a good move for me, follow in the footsteps of the grandfather, the father, and the brother. But the Defence Forces don't want me. (Not this year anyway). So my goal for the past few months wasn't reached and it's time to refocus on the creative side of life: the side with the slightly to severly insane people. The poverty, the poetry, the misery, the love and the camaraderie. I may achieve nothing, but I'll experience something. As Frank Turner says: "I'm definitely going to hell, but I'll have all the best stories to tell". Time to find my own stories worthy of that statement.

The plan is now to get back into music. Big shtyle. I had been trying to write and write but no avail for so long now. The voice of inner judgement always held me back. You know that prick that lives in your brain and goes "Ah here, what're you at, man? That's shit"? Well that little bollocks has been sreaming at me every time I tried to put a pen to paper, or my hands to a keyboard or a guitar. Well when I had a good talk with my old friend John Kennedy yesterday he gave me some wise words about that voice. To put it simply, the general lesson I learnt from him was "fuck the voice". So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to fuck it. Hard. In the past 24 hours a lot has changed: in my plans and my mentality. I'm getting back to producing music. I'm getting back to the guitar. I'm writing music and words and not letting myself stop because I think they're bad. Somebody, somewhere might like them, even if it's only the mother.

I'm starting a new collaborative project with the one and only Gary O'Neill who I've written with (somewhat) effortlessly before, but whenever I tried to harness the creativity that man has from my own soul I've failed. Working with him again will hopefully bring about the birth of songwriter Lobe. Folklobe. I'll put up some of Gary's stuff in a separate post because I can't make head nor arse of how to work tumblr.

So on top of Folklobe, here's the only other plan I've got. Africa. Myself and Gary are aiming to get out to Africa this year, build some shit, try to make the world a little bit of a better place and record an album on the way. It's going to be a long road to walk, but we'll walk it together. To Africa or to creativity. I've found my feet, now it's time to start walking. And writing. And living. And maybe I'll get off the fags. (No promises).

[colobe]

Back to the drawing board

Well fuck me sideways, it's been a while. About a year and half to be precise, and has shit changed since.

I'm going to give another stab at this lark, with intentions of actually keeping it up this time. I reckon it'll serve as something to do anyway. I plan on just tipping along and writing about whatever the craic is. Whatever it is, it's not going to be "today I had chips for dinner. It was nice. So many things happen in Kilkenny. It is not just a one horse town. Santa brought be the dole."

So anyway, since I wrote anything last for the good people of the internet (it's funny because nobody reads this) I got into college, spent a year and a half in college, didn't particularly like college, and now I'm leaving college. That's the update anyway. So for now I'm gathering my thoughts and my things and getting ready for what Gary calls the bauld move back to Kilkenny. And it is in Kilkenny I shall remain indefinitely, except for stalling it up to the big smoke for the occasional session, naturally. New year, new start.

Is it going to be shit being in Kilkenny while loads of people are in Dublin having all time craic? Yes. Will I go insane? Most likely. But am I better off here than I would be in one of the few courses in the country where entry points are consistently dropping, therefore leading to lower expectations from staff who don't really give a fuck about you anyway and ultimately a pretty vague degree? Most definitely.

But sure look. This is it. Fuck it. Be grand.