I'm Scared

To quote JOHN LENNON, "I'm scared", maybe as scared as I've ever been. Why? December 6th, CORK OPERA HOUSE is why.

My friend, B, has a 12 year old daughter, Sophie. I met Sophie back last August on my way to the IMRO writers collaboration. She asked me what it was all about and I told her that I'd be drawn out of a hat with a different person every day and write a song with them. Her eyes widened when I told her that MICKEY HARTE - or Mickey Joe - had been at two previous events and that, yes I had actually met him. My ratings soared. Of course, I told her, it would be very unlikely, with his post Eurovision schedule, that he'd be at the HOLIDAY INN.

Not only was he there but he asked to have a strum on my new MARTIN Cowboy IV guitar. For a SOUTHPAW (who actually plays guitar right-handed), he did very well playing mine - upside down - and even signed a hastily cobbled "Certificate of Authenticity", stating that he'd actually played on these strings - now in Sophies possession and in her Mickey Harte folder.

Subsequently, she gave me a letter to include with a demo I was sending to his 'homeplace'- I absolutely would not give her the address. When she got a reply, amazingly, the same address was included and being a very smart kid, the next time she got five minutes on her own with the phone, she dialed 11811 and got a Donegal phone number, but no reply.

Mickey's mum has caller ID, she explained, when she rang back, a half hour later. Sophie and Nora Harte had a long chat. Nora got to hear about the strings and certificate and the Mickey Harte folder (which would put any school project to shame) and lots more important stuff. She phoned again this week and told Sophie of a gig in Cork.

A Mickey Harte gig is not my natural habitat but how could I say no to a text asking that I bring her to the Opera House in December? I got two third row seats today along with a ticket to see MARY GAUTHIER tonight.

I heard, through GIGSMART, I think, that IRELAND has about five hundred people who will take the trouble to go and see artists they know little about. I am one of them. I've heard one track by Mary, from Louisiana, a few times over the past eighteen months, on MYSTERY TRAIN - Why have they taken JOHN KELLY off the Monday night slot? Don't we have enough sport at the weekend?

Fish swim - Birds fly
Lovers leave - By and by
Old men - Sit and think
...........................I drink

to quote Mary Gauthier ( pron. Go Shay)

It's just after two in the morning. I'm just back at my cottage in the middle of nowhere, listening to her DRAG QUEENS IN LIMOUSINES album, having thoroughly enjoyed the gig. I'm looking forward to seeing her again but I'm damn scared about December 6th at the Cork Opera House. It's not Mickey - it's the fans.

Ps. No, I'm not shouting. Everything in capitals was done to remind myself to do the stuff you need to do to create 'links'. As of now, I'm not sure how to do it and I'm posting this now or else it will be way out of date by the time I've figured it out.