Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen

Rambling a little further than usual

I first went to The Listening Room International Songwriter’s Retreat on Inis Oirr in October 2006 and have since taken part in several more - including one in California.

As Brett Perkins is now living in Denmark, many of the participants tend to be from there too and the first two songs I wrote there were with Danish co-writers.

Over the years, I’ve been invited out there many times to play and write and at long last, I made it. The 21st of July this year would have been the last day on which I could sing that old Beatles number, ‘When I’m 64’ with integrity and I thought that Copenhagen would be a good place to spend my 64th birthday.

I contacted some friends and was even told that a decent left-handed guitar would be provided for the trip.

I flew out on 19th and was met at Central Station by Jacob Svendsen who, after a quick kebab, brought me straight to a gorgeous little venue where, every Sunday, Copenhagen Listening Room Open Stage takes place. We were early as Jacob is relocating to Nuuk in Greenland in a month or so and was training in new people to take over the sound.

If only Ireland had such open mics. There was great teamwork in organising the venue for the night - tables and chairs, lighting and sound-checking. The venue, while not being a pub, can sell beer to club members and the club is joined by paying the cost of your first beer and writing your name in the members book - you then get your first beer free!

I found Copenhagen to be an astonishingly ‘inclusive’ society and venue (given for use by the local council) and the way the night was run echoed this ethos. People turning up by 7:30 could put their name down for one or two songs - depending on how busy the night was. Artists there for the first time had to put their name down BEFORE the regulars to ensure that they got to play. Wonderful Copenhagen. There is also a ‘featured artist spot’ in between the two halves (30 Minutes) and, I was delighted to be invited to do this for the following Sunday.

The standard of the performers - and writing too - was very high and the ’standard’ of listening, even higher.

My guitar was ‘on the way’ and Brett Perkins kindly offered his spot in the 2nd half in exchange for my earlier one and, even toward the end of the night, still no guitar and, instead of the two songs I’d planned on playing, I did two that I could just about manage on a wrong way around instrument - an old one on guitar and a recent one on ukelele. The audience were happy and I was very glad when my loaner guitar turned up on Monday afternoon.

Thankfully, Jacob put me up for a few days too - keeping my accommodation cost down - and we did some writing and shooting the breeze. Jacob also brought me to some other open mics - again, the standard was amazing, especially as most of the performers weren’t writing in their native tongue.

Some days, to keep my hand in and meet the place, I went out busking - definitely more fun than profit as Jacob pointed out, the majority of people no longer carry cash. It was during one of these sessions that I was invited to jam with a couple of buskers from Portugal with a dancer from Greece. I am not a good ‘jammer’ and suggested that I play a song of mine that seemed to be good to jam too.

Toward the end of ‘The Nice & Sleazy Caledonia Blues, I man who’d signalled for permission to film, asked if we could do it again - from the top - as he did freelance work for Danish TV and thought that they might like to use it.

The days went by way too quickly and, on my last night it was back to Listening Room and my featured artist spot - a great finish to a great week.

Next week , the Copenhagen Songwriter Festival is on and everybody said ‘You have to come back for this’ but unfortunately yet again, the lotto people picked the wrong numbers. Next year?

It’s been a while since my last post and lots and nothing going on. The day job is still on hold so busking most days with mixed returns.

Dribs and drabbs brought me very close to my €1000 target for Nepal and a guy I’m met in the Thatch a couple of weeks ago asked me to call into his adventure centre and pick up a donation. When I did, he asked what I was short and immediately wrote a cheque for the last €50 - Thanks Tommy, you are a gentleman.

When I have to go to Dublin, I like to have at least three reasons and, on Monday I was collecting my first Workaway guest from a late plane at the airport there and it was great to drop the buckets back to Concern along with the last of the money, have dinner with my daughter, a nice half hour with one of my sons and get to go to the Monday Echo at there lovely new venue - 5 things - all good.

My Workaway guest is getting to know my dog - she will be taking care of Clara and the house when I do my world tour of Copenhagen later in the month.

There’s a lovely lady who always stops when I’m in Roscommon Town playing on Fridays - market day there. Her name is Lillian and she usually has something for Clara and also puts a generous donation into my jar. She lives a bus ride away and surprised me last week when she introduced me to her son in law who is over from England - travelling around on a 900cc motorbike. Lillian, who I can only describe as a sweet old lady, had spent most of the week riding pillion and loving it.

At Carrick on Shannon farmers market last Thursday, I met an American lady who’s brother does a fair bit of songwriting and busking. We had a chat about my guitar - a Martin Cowboy IV - and today, she sent the photo her husband took and has promised to send on a video when she’s home and has better internet connection.

Busking, for me is as much about the people I meet as much as what goes into the pot and, last Saturday - playing at Boyle farmers market - I was really disappointed to find that even on a busier day than the only other time I played there - apart from the lovely ladies who run the shop and tourist office there, I hardly had eye contact, never mind a connection, with a single person over the age of 12. I don’t think it’ll be a regular in my calendar.

Frere Jaque and Two Tigers

Among the many cultural differences between East & West, it can be amazing and puzzling how some things are universal.

Once I mentioned Frank Sinatra to a lady from China. Who, she wanted to know is Frank Sinatra? I played her a record and, while it was new to her - and she’s a lady who has been travelling outside of China for 10 years - she liked the sound a lot. I mentioned lots of other names of people who are icons - Marilyn Monroe - no. James Dean - who?

Last week I was travelling with another Chinese girl who happens to have the best voice I’ve heard - in a Chinese girl and while she was learning to sing Sally Gardens - having only just learnt that the tune she’d fallen in love with on hearing it in China also had words - and by Yeates (who she had heard of) - I suggested we try a round - Frere Jaque and said I’d teach it to her.

Suprise! As soon as I began, she joined in - but in Chinese. I asked her where she knew the song from and she told me it was a children’s song and taught in schools in China.

We sang as I drove and then, curious, I asked her if she could translate the Chinese song and……..

Two Tigers are running
They are running very fast
One has no ears and the other one has no tail

Banksy, Melting Pots, Ghosts and 102nd thing to do with a dead Cat

What a week!

Wednesday while busking with and amazing couchsurfing musician in Drumshanbo, we were invited by Asha, to have dinner with herself and Banksy (in his own words - the greatest living artist in Europe), and we could only say, ‘Maybe’ - for reasons I won’t go into now.

Thursday, Maija found The Melting Pot while I was busking in Roscommon town. What a find. A initiative to support mental health where as well as internet cafe with great food at good prices, there is a 2nd hand clothes and book shop. It’s been going strong for 10 years and at the door, there’s a sign welcoming you in - whether you want to buy anything or just sit and be comfortable. Again, I won’t go into it all in this ‘round-up’ of the week but will write more about some of then lovely people I’ve met though this place.

Friday was the big busk day for Nepal and I had, as well as some friends, the bucket-shaking champion, Cathryn from China (also a couchsurfing guest), a couple of people from a Roscommon Christian church and between this and the online donate page - as well as a couple of buckets passed at local pub sessions - we have almost raised €1000 - and hopefully over the next few days will get the remainder in.

We were invited for tea by Richie who happened along and after the busk, Cathryn and I went to the most amazing group of houses built by hime over the last 20 years - all built from scrap and leftover materials. Ritchie worked as a stage builder for festivals. A new friend.

Saturday was my friend Martin’s housewarming and there were a lot of people and much music. On our way home from Ballaghaderreen on Friday, Cathryn was listening to a tune on her phone - Sally Gardens. She come across it in China over 10 years ago and one of her reasons for visiting Ireland was to learn to play it on a tin whistle. She was surprised when I began to sing along - she didn’t know there were words - and by Saturday night, she was singing it - beautifully - accompanied by an excellent guitarist at Martin’s party.

Sunday, a trip to Roscommon with Cathryn and a French Canadian couchsurfer, Maude. I’d planned to do a bit more fundraising in the courtyard of Gleeson’s and a few miles before Roscommon, I saw someone coming from a side road and recognised him as Gerry from The Melting Pot. He’d been about to hitchhike and I saved him the trouble of sticking out his thumb.

After Gleeson’s, Gerry invited us back for dinner and what an amazing Alladin’s Cave his cottage turned out to be. I found myself holding a guitar that had been given too him by Philomena Lynott, Mother of the late Phil of Thin Lizzy - how it got there, is another story and Gerry is a BOOK.

The story-teller harper who Cathryn sang Sally Gardens with in Gene Anderson’s Thatch bar with is also another story - I now believe in ghosts, as is the stuffed and very dead cat which Gene totally confused my dog, Clara with for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, I need €150 more to reach my target. Can you donate a couple of Euro here

Today's the day.....

Today’s the day of my fundraising busk for Nepal. I’ll be ‘Singing on Solid Ground’ in Duffy’s SuperValu in Ballaghaderren in Roscommon from 1 o’clock till…. Friday is the busiest day there and they tell me that from one till four or five is the busiest time of the week.

Since arranging it with the Duffy family, I’ve been lucky to have found some lovely people who will help out with collection buckets and even have a Minnesotan couch surfer staying who, apart from harp, cello, banjo, guitar and tin whistle, plays Hardanger fiddle and Maija is actually staying on an extra day to help out on the busk and so it should be an enjoyable day for everyone there.

A couple of bucket collections, one in Cryan’s in Carrick on Shannon and another in Anderson’s Thatch on the Elphin Road, together with the direct donation page I set up with Concern, have brought in over €400 so my target on a thousand should be possible.

Busking has been very interesting, if difficult in the last month - I will write more in other posts - and we are all looking out for better weather.

We Were the Rock 'n' Roll Kids

With less than a week to go for my Singing on Solid Ground busk for Nepal, I was delighted to get to chat with Charlie McGettigan (he of ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Kids’ Eurosong winner). Also in studio for the second hour was a very talented young singer/songwriter, Ultan Conlon.

It’s rare that 2 hours in a studio have gone by so quickly. Charlie met me in the canteen at Shannonside’s Longford studio and asked me a couple of questions and decided not to ask too much till we were on air to keep it fresh.

The focus was my Wandering Minstrel days, who I met, what sort of reactions I got and the first hour flew by so fast that I barely got time to cover the fundraiser and just about got a mention in for the school visit project that I hope to get underway very soon - Garda vetting is slow and essential for external facilitators going into schools. Next time around.

I really need to learn to talk a bit less too as, instead of the three songs Charlie was hoping for, I only got two in and I don’t get royalties for talking.

Ultan had the 2nd hour and, having heard hime now and then on the radio, it was a pleasure to meet him in such a convivial atmosphere. Charlie does an amazing job of juggling, sometimes in the middle of a sentence he’d realise that the ad break is over and go straight into talking on air - often continuing with something we’d got to discussing and taking off in a new direction but always getting back to what he’d planned to discuss and so, what seems like 10 minutes, can be a half hour in real time.

Most of the music on the station - and in the bars - is what’s known as Country & Irish - (think ’60’s country and western - leaving out the quality stuff). Someone in the room (and I won’t say who - it might have been me) summed it up by saying something like, ‘They really like shite around here - throw enough shite on the floor and they’ll dance in it’ - Yup.

Of course that’s an entirely subjective opinion but - there was no one in the studio this morning argued with it.

Couchsurfing....

Tomorrow, I will be hosting my first Roosky couchsurfer.

Since late 2009, I’ve been hosting and have lost count of the number of guests who passed through my house in Dublin - it must be over 100 - and I still haven’t met the ‘axe-murderer’ many of my friends have expressed concern about.

For the guest, couch surfing is a great way to meet a country and opposed to just passing through and for the host, a good way to travel, without going anywhere. Ideally, it’s a cultural exchange and the majority of guests have been wonderful positive people with stories of their travelling and often a meal cooked in the style of their country.

On the couch surfing website, you set up your profile, giving whatever information you can about yourself and the accommodation you offer and, if you are an axe-murderer, then you should put this on your profile.

Some site users simply don’t have space for a guest, are sharing living space with others and can’t host or are on the road themselves and there’s a choice of three status buttons on the site to make it clear by stating, ‘Couch Available’, ‘Maybe host’ or, ’No couch available’. You can always meet a surfer for coffee before offering your couch - not that practical - or offer a couple of nights with an option for more once you’ve met and get on.

When I joined, Couchsurfing was a not for profit organisation and had over a million members around the world. I’d heard about it some years earlier but at that time had no couch and didn’t look further into it but, in 2010, I was planning a trip to the USA. Nashville, Northern California, Flagstaff, Arizona and back to Nashville for the last week of the month long trip. I realised that I’d bed spending a day and a night in San Francisco, a place I’ve wanted to see since the ’60’s and felt that a hotel in SF, might as well be in anywhere in the world.

My brother and I were talking about this and Philip asked me if I’d thought about couch surfing and I set up my profile the following day. I found a host, Casey, fairly quickly and as it turned out that Casey lived at the actual CS bat-cave (not Casey, the founder, though I met him while there). Toward the end of 2009, I hosted a couple of people, one girl who looked remarkably like a young Joan Baez actually decided on an impulse to leave Greece for a while and actually sent me a request from the airport before getting on the plane for Ireland. She stayed for a week or so and I thought she was daft enough to fit in and work with a fried who has a crazy hostel in Co. Clare. She did - for several months.

I saw CS pass the 2 million mark and 3, 4, 5 and 6 but also saw the quality of couch requests suffer a bit - people who’d heard ‘free places to stay - yay’ and who’d send requests like ‘Hey man, you look like a really interesting person to stay with and we’re coming to Ireland and we love everything Irish’ and such, cut and pasted to just about everyone listed as having a couch available in Dublin. Funny thing is, if they bothered to fill out their profile with some solid info about themselves - their interests and philosophy, then I might take a gamble and offer a couple of nights - usually with a positive outcome.

For about a month before moving to Roosky, I’d changed my settings to ‘couch not available’ but, once settled a little here, I put it back up but had difficulty changing my location on my profile and in the first four days, got about a dozen request from people who hadn’t read even the first line on me edited profile which stated boldly, ‘READ THIS BEFORE SENDING A REQUEST: I no longer live in Dublin!!!’

It was a pleasant surprise to receive a lovely request from a traveller looking for a quiet place to stay and enjoy country life. She also has more references than I do - all positive. (references can be left by hosts and guests on each others profiles) - Perhaps she’ll turn out to be the axe-murderer but I doubt it and look forward to meeting my first Roosky surfer.