Hello all. Welcome to this, the first posting on my first ever blog. I have to say I’ve been dragged screaming to this blogging business. I’m a man who lives in and is quite content in his own head. It’s just my make up. I love the world around me, and as my friends can attest to, I have a huge lust for life. I’m forever interested in and thrilled by the beauty of what happens here, but I’ve always been unsure of how to communicate with this world outside myself except, when I grew up a little, through the songs I wrote and the music I made.
If I didn’t have a strong ego and a need for approbation, I mightn’t ever have bothered to strive for acceptance as an artist. As it is, in spite of what many people see as a successful career in the public arena, I often struggle to see the point in selling what it is that I do and can find it hard to believe that anybody could be interested in what I have to express or how I express it. On the other hand I feel the gift, the talent I’ve been given is significant and, while I mostly feel undeserving of it, I’ve arrived at a point where I’m really afraid of no one and feel the equal of anyone at my game, anywhere in the world.…especially when I’m performing. Then it all comes together. Bit of a conflict here, you might say. You’d be right.
I seem to have lived my life so far in permanent incertitude and I don’t presently see that changing a lot. Everything around me seems continually moving, developing, changing. I feel these currents very strongly and have an instinctive comprehension of them on an immediate level which governs the way I behave on the surface. ..like I can somehow grab hold of thoughts and feelings for long enough to capture them in a song. But to deal with the world in a more obvious and direct way…which is what I feel blogging is…is a hard leap for me to make. Everyone who puts ‘pen to paper’ seems so certain to me, so opinionated and eager to use their intellectual athleticism to defend and promote what they think. I won’t say believe. It all seems mercurial. So often I feel they don’t really believe what they say…but are just psychically jousting with their peer group in a kind of knee-jerk power game. Then I figure that maybe the energy expended in that kind of social intercourse is the only fuel that gets anything done in this world and that I am, as Jimmy McCarthy said, just ‘the geek with the alchemist’s stone’ wherever I got it from.
Anyway, here I am. More of this stuff as I get my head round the concept. Welcome aboard! PB
First heard of you, I’m ashamed to say, when I viewed a Paddy’s Day special on TV you did with Bonnie Raitt. I had to find out who this guy with the unusual voice was. Since then I have acquired pretty much your entire catalog. I say I’m ashamed because as a native Newfoundlander, I should have heard of you long before that. Anyway, good to have you around and look forward to your posts. Cheers!
Hey Paul, great to hear this. You sound like you’ve been blogging for years. 😉 Keep it flowing man.
‘The World Is What You Make It’ eh? See you in Cardiff.
Best,
Mike
Paul, I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all things.
From talking with you over the years, your intelligence and observations on things social and political have always been very thoughtful and erudite.
I’m glad for the people who will learn from your particular perspective as a songwriter and citizen of the world.
Hello Paul, I love your music!! When are you coming back to the Boston area?
Peace and hugs,
Jacqueline 🙂
Hi Paul, I love hearing who you went to see, and who came to see you. All the stories of great craic you enjoyed (vicarious living…..)! Plus what you’re working on musically. What traditional tunes are catching in your head? What gigs are coming up? What’s your take on the world? It’s nice to hear your voice.
best wishes,
Trish currently just outside London
Nice web site, PB! Jogs memories of many concerts I was fortunate to experience.
Blog on . . . for the open road is waiting . . .
All the best, Peg
Hello Paul this c.d. is fantastic….my first encounter with youre music was way back early 70s in a basement off Parnell sq…. with Andy Irvine…..seen you perform many times …….met you briefly in Lisdoonvarna…. when I worked with J. Sh. & P.Dor……have listened to Hard Station maybe 1mill times……never tire of it…..Huba Duba takes the biscuit…..love it…. ….how about some gigs in north germany? slain go foil…Aine
Hi Paul,
Great website and great album. I have been listening to you since Johnston days. I love your gutar playing and have just started palying guitar. Ihave just bought your DVD to learn Arthur McBride!
Just to let you know the links you get to when you put your “paul brady” into Google are not working on my browser ie
http://www.paulbrady.com/biog/default.asp. You may wish to check this as it may be stopping people getting to the site … I tried a few round about ways before getting here.
Good luck with the new album and thanks for the music.
Michael
Thanks for the heads up Michael. We have just now changed from our old site to this new one so some of the old links are now inoperative. Google have been alerted but it will take a few days for this to reflect in the search engine. Thanks for the interest and support! Paul B
Hello from Canada, thanks for all the years of fabulous music. Looking forward to more blog posts. The new recording is magical, as usual. What are the chances of a stop in Eastern Canada, Cape Breton has many Paul Brady fans.
Moira
Wow Paul, been to your concerts over thirty years (or more !) and experienced the now legend Cohen and Stringsteen Dublin gigs recently . Without a shadow of a doubt the Hooba tour starting last night in Millennium Forum Derry surpassed all. The new material superb. Enjoy the Tour, everyone else will ….and hope you got to enjoy the champers too ! Mary
Hello Paul,and welcome to this blogging lark.I’ve enjoyed your music for many years(..ouch 30 perhaps) and had the privilage of seeing you live on a number of occasions-particularly while a student in Dublin during the 80s.Saw a contribution to a school in Derry in the last month(along with Seamas Heaney and a few other luminaries) and though you gave a bit of balance to the piece.Congrats on your beautiful art and I hope that the muses visit you for many more years.ps When are you coming down to play Glor in Ennis next?Regards,Seadn
Hello Paul from Sydney, i’ve only just started blogging myself and I love listening to your latest music as I type. Been listening to you since Lisdoonvarna (1981 I think) and have enjoyed your concerts as well, particularly last time I heard you play here in The Basement. Hope you return to Australia soon and give us a chance to hear you perform some songs from your new album.
Regards, PJ
Great info, thanks for useful article. I am waiting for more
Hey Paul..not a man for this type of thing either, I joined to ask you a question…are you with a band or solo at the gig in Dublin in July? P.S. New album is FAB!
A shout out from across the Pond. I first saw “Nobody Knows” in shop on a trip to Ireland. Did not know anything about you, bought the CD as a souvenir because I liked the cover design. Brought it home and put it on–the rest is hx. Keep em comin’
Cheers,
Bonnie
Dia Dhuit Paul,
Im trying to decide what album to buy of yours. Planxty is my favourite band and I think your a genius when I heard you with them. I’ve been listening to your songs for years. I sing and play a bit of Trad music and I was wondering where someone would point me to for great trad songs and music with Paul Brady. A best of album is maybe an easy cop out on this one but i dont mind. I want whats best. Please do a reunion with Planxty anytime and I’ll be the first in line. I would love to know what Paul Brady s favourite trad songs and music of his own and others is??????? Was in milltown mallbay and good as it was its crying out for the style you and planxty brought to it as far as im concerned anyway.
Keep up the genius work!
Johnny Mc Garry
Dia is Muire dhuit, Johnny. Thanks for your message which I’ve only just seen. If you’re a fan of Planxty then check out my cd ‘Welcome Here Kind Stranger’ which came out in 1978. It’s available either as mail order cd or digital download on my website. Also the record I made with Andy Irvine (Andy Irvine And Paul Brady/ Compass Records) is a good example. Best wishes,
Paul B
Hi P.B.
I first saw you in The Showboat in Malahide in the 60’s when you were a member of The Johnsons
Keep on rocking
Happy days
Hi Martin
Apologies for the delay. I’m just back from a break in NZ and dropped the ball for a while. Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Paul