On Tuesday I drove from Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, to Dooagh on Achill Island, after having been live on Highlands Radio with Paul McDevitt the night before.
I took the scenic route through Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Cliffony and then turned left onto small country roads that brought me close to the mighty Benbulbin.
I passed through the bustling town of Sligo and continued on the N59 to Ballina, then Crossmolina and all the way to Bangor Erris before following what I consider to be one of the most spectacular roads South, to Mallaranny and finally to magnificent Achill, where a full moon was rising over the ridge.
It took me almost 8 hours. I took detours. I drove slowly. I stopped to take pictures, pictures that are nowhere near as beautiful as the real thing.
I have seen more beauty on that trip than one man can bear in one day. As I get older, I find it increasingly harder to not have someone in my life I can share this with. My heart overflows and I am overwhelmed. I see beauty in abundance, but don’t really know how to process it.
Usually I write, but I haven’t done much of that for more than two years. I am stuck in the production of this album, and I’m stuck because I’m not good enough for myself, neither artistically, nor sonically.
I must have done 100 takes of every guitar and vocal, 100 mixes of every song, but I keep changing them. I am looking for a “million dollar sound” but all I have is “junk yard equipment”.
I wish there was someone I could trust and who would take it away from me, because I have bad judgement about my own art.
This is the real reason why this album is not finished yet, apart from a few people I still have to ask for some tracks.If there is anyone out there in the pro audio world – preferably in Ireland – with a sane pair of ears, both musically and sonically, who would be willing to jump on board as a co-producer and help steer this ship into the waters I believe it is destined for, perhaps even a label and booking agency, I’d be more than happy to talk.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t go much further without some help.
If you have any leads that might be useful, please drop me a line.
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