Songwriter Leap Year Live 2004 CD
The 1st Ever Irish Midland Songwriter Showcase
Recorded Live. Leap Year Night, 2004 in the Palace Loft, Athlone
It was February 29th at The Palace Loft in Athlone. A fistful of local musicians had dreamed up a night of completely original music.
The plan was to get up there, throw down some raw tracks solo and then have the band join in at the end of the night. The whole thing was to be captured on tape and maybe pressed to CD. Long hours of rehearsal and preparation preceded the event and hopes were high for a good night. Even so, the 6 songwriters and 5-piece backing band never imagined the response: a packed, enthusiastic crowd cheering along into the wee hours of the morning.
Two months later the results of that effort came to fruition: on May 13th, the cd was launched at a release party in Rayner's, and a whole host of folks came out to support the songwriters themselves and local music in general. The night featured live music from local band DAZE as well as guest performances by the songwriters.
As for the CD: you can hear the crowd, you can hear the energy - the songs are presented raw and live - warts and all, but with all the honesty and intensity that live performance creates. The CD boasts 10 original tracks (two per artist) recorded live at the concert. Fergal Cox, Brian Dolan, Maggie Dunn, Bobby Hewitt, Eddie Keenan and Sean Lightholder are the songwriters featured on the CD and Willie Dunne(keyboards), Shane Gough(drums), Tony Henshaw(bass), Willie Kiernan(guitar) and Kim Lightholder(vocals) join in as the backing band on a few tracks as well.
Please check out local Athlone music outlets, Red Hot Records and Musicworld who have agreed to carry the CD following the release party, as well as Songwriter.ie in the future for on-line purchasing.
