I started playing guitar and singing about two years before I recorded my first CD 'Ships Are Sailing'. I had been playing in the Irish pubs of New York with various people and I was writing, if not performing, my first songs. I also used to go into the New York City subway with my guitar and practise these songs as well as the Irish popular favourites which everyone likes to hear in the Irish pubs. And that's basically how I became a balladeer.
Anyhow, for the album I recruited Brian Tracey (drummer for The Prodigals, The Mickey Finns, The McCabes), Andrew Harkin (bass player for The Prodigals, Seanchai & The Unity Squad), Jon Garelick (mandolin\guitar for The Metropole Cats, The Prodigals, The Mccabes), Cady Finlayson (Violin player for Pierce Turner, The McCabes and Cady Finlayson Band). So as you can see, I had a first rate band for my first album. We scheduled two rehearsals the week before the recording dates, during which I showed everyone the songs pretty much for the first time. We recorded the album over a Saturday and a Sunday at Mark Dann's in Soho. We later did some overdubs later, including a few bars of Hammond Organ on a couple of songs, and the overall result we were quite pleased with. I think it proves the axiom: sometimes it's best to go into a studio with not too much preparation and not much idea of what one is doing.
Anyhow, the album has a country, celtic type of feeling, and I'm still proud of it. This is my preband album, made before I ever recorded with The Prodigals and my own band The McCabes, and I'm still proud of it!
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