When I was 12, my Dad taught me four chords on the guitar… That was the start of it…
I practiced every day for years. My first recordings involved the use of 2 tape recorders with built in microphones and speakers. I’d often record basic chords onto one machine, and then playing it back I’d pick out melodies and tape both melody and chords onto the other machine…I’d layer up tracks like this until the tape hiss took over… It was magical…
In 1989, I left my home town of Newry, to go to Art College in Liverpool.
It was there that I started going to gigs and I developed a deeper interest in music, realizing pretty early on that I wanted to be a musician and not a graphic designer. I found myself gravitating towards and socializing with musicians mainly and this lifestyle really appealed to me.
I volunteered for a community arts project (Hope St. Ltd.) which took me to Spain and Germany with musician exchange schemes. On my return, I was asked to run music sessions for L.I.P.A. in its opening year. Both experiences were great training for my future role as a music producer working with creative groups and individuals.
For the next few years, I started playing guitar in any band I could find, everything from a 9 piece jazz band “The Doo Doo Chasers” to a female fronted punk band “Hoop”, playing all the usual haunts - The Cavern, The Picket, The Lomax, L2 etc.
In the late nineties I joined a band called “WOMO” (World of my Oyster) as lead guitarist. At the time they were working with producer Ronnie Stone (Mansun, The Pixies, The Christians, Throwing Muses…) and it was during this period of my life that I learned most about the ins and outs of the music industry. I also learned a lot about myself.
We signed to Phonologic records in 2000 and successfully released our debut single in June of that year. We recorded in Parr Street studios and Area 51 in Liverpool, played venues all over the U.K. and enjoyed the attention of major record companies and publishers, playing showcases in London with bands like Sparklehorse and Coldplay.
