Michael Brunnock
The Irish Emigrant
Showing posts with label michael brunnock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michael brunnock. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2008
FairplayCollective from Joe's Pub March 6, 2008
Here’s a little something for those of you who couldn’t make it to FairplayCollective at Joe’s Pub on March 6:
Michael Brunnock
Mark Dignam
Jenna Nicholls
Brendan O’Shea
Thanks to Li for posting these!
Michael Brunnock
Mark Dignam
Jenna Nicholls
Brendan O’Shea
Thanks to Li for posting these!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Just a link . . .
. . .to Michael Brunnock's permanent home on Fearlessmusic.tv.
And I never need another excuse to check out his wonderful performance of "Niagara Falls".
Keep an eye on this site (above link AND yours truly) for more appearances from Michael on Fearless Music TV.
In the meantime, check him out as always:
Myspace
CD Baby
iTunes
And I never need another excuse to check out his wonderful performance of "Niagara Falls".
Keep an eye on this site (above link AND yours truly) for more appearances from Michael on Fearless Music TV.
In the meantime, check him out as always:
Myspace
CD Baby
iTunes
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Michael Brunnock on fearlessmusic.tv
Michael Brunnock's performance of "Niagara Falls" is one of the Featured Videos on Fearless Music TV's website. Keep an eye on this one. He is SKYROCKETING.
Come on out to Joe's with me and see for yourself.
Come on out to Joe's with me and see for yourself.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Did someone order an extra helping of awesome?
Right here, folks.
Get it while it's hot.
HEAR MORE!
http://www.myspace.com/michaelbrunnock
http://www.fearlessmusic.tv
BUY THE CD!
http://www.cdbaby.com/michaelbrunnock
iTunes
Get it while it's hot.
HEAR MORE!
http://www.myspace.com/michaelbrunnock
http://www.fearlessmusic.tv
BUY THE CD!
http://www.cdbaby.com/michaelbrunnock
iTunes
Saturday, January 5, 2008
I am ridiculously excited despite living in one of those useless non-viewing areas
Check out MICHAEL BRUNNOCK performing "NIAGARA FALLS" on Fearless Music TV. It airs in NYC tonight, JANUARY 5, at 12:30am on Fox 5. Not in NYC? Not a problem! Click here to see the ever growing list of cities that broadcast Fearless Music.
Monday, December 31, 2007
wHole
The title track, "wHole," in its third-place position on the album, serves to define the entire tone of the album. The song "wHole," itself, is a play on words, and the songs you will find here are the stories of individuals who are anything but "whole." The songs collected on this sophomoric CD from Little Palace are all searching for those missing pieces to complete the self, the situation, the search. "Is this me under my skin?" The journey to find the self begins with this idea.
The most stand-out song is "Tourniquet," with its infectious bass line, superior percussion, and guitar solos that compel you to sit up and take notice. Combine this with melodic harmonies and the easy way that the lyrics spill from Brunnock's generous store of brilliant material and lines which seem plucked from the Theatre of the Absurd, and you have a song of unmatched caliber.
"End Game" finds Brunnock's usually tender voice stripped and raw. His voice digs its heels in the dirt and launches at you, quelled only when joined by Ann-Louise Mulvaney's chilling harmony. The strings which intro this song mirror Brunnock's voice, simultaneously course and refined. This piece is an instant favorite.
"Soft White and Indigo" is an earnest offering which on the surface seems so simple, but it is an exercise of both vocal and string feats of excellence.
It is clear from songs such as "Tourniquet," "My Way," and "wHole" that Brunnock is comfortable with language and that language is equally comfortable to pour forth from Brunnock like a stream running swiftly down a mountain, taking the curves where needed without missing a beat.
Percussion is a definite strong point on this album and its employment serves as the mortar the binds the ballads to the rockers.
One does not need to understand Gaelic to recognize the incompleteness expressive in the lonesome vocal strains of the beautiful elegy, "An Buan".
Invoking gems of wisdom ("Every path is the one when walked by companions," and the deliciously dual-meaninged, "pride is enough to bring a nation to its knees"), posing thought-provoking ideas with no explanatory redundancy ("Happiness was born a twin"), and lamenting the inevitable situations when "sympathy is a luxury," this is a thinking person's compilation.
Despite the excellent musical talents that contribute to make this album, the vocals of the three members of Little Palace are what really define this band. Their voices rise together, pass through one another, become one, and just as easily return to themselves like beams of colored light crossing and changing and separating again. Occasionally, a guitar will sneak itself into the trio to become the fourth vocalist.
Unfortunately, Little Palace disbanded in 2000, but Brunnock has continued as a solo artist, releasing his solo debut, the brilliant So I Do, in June of 2007. It is a slight departure from his work with Little Palace, but continues in the same vein of imaginative and intelligent songwriting found on Whole. On one point, Brunnock hits the nail on the head: he is, indeed, on his way.
Buy wHole at CDBaby
Buy wHole on iTunes
http://www.myspace.com/michaelbrunnock
The most stand-out song is "Tourniquet," with its infectious bass line, superior percussion, and guitar solos that compel you to sit up and take notice. Combine this with melodic harmonies and the easy way that the lyrics spill from Brunnock's generous store of brilliant material and lines which seem plucked from the Theatre of the Absurd, and you have a song of unmatched caliber.
"End Game" finds Brunnock's usually tender voice stripped and raw. His voice digs its heels in the dirt and launches at you, quelled only when joined by Ann-Louise Mulvaney's chilling harmony. The strings which intro this song mirror Brunnock's voice, simultaneously course and refined. This piece is an instant favorite.
"Soft White and Indigo" is an earnest offering which on the surface seems so simple, but it is an exercise of both vocal and string feats of excellence.
It is clear from songs such as "Tourniquet," "My Way," and "wHole" that Brunnock is comfortable with language and that language is equally comfortable to pour forth from Brunnock like a stream running swiftly down a mountain, taking the curves where needed without missing a beat.
Percussion is a definite strong point on this album and its employment serves as the mortar the binds the ballads to the rockers.
One does not need to understand Gaelic to recognize the incompleteness expressive in the lonesome vocal strains of the beautiful elegy, "An Buan".
Invoking gems of wisdom ("Every path is the one when walked by companions," and the deliciously dual-meaninged, "pride is enough to bring a nation to its knees"), posing thought-provoking ideas with no explanatory redundancy ("Happiness was born a twin"), and lamenting the inevitable situations when "sympathy is a luxury," this is a thinking person's compilation.
Despite the excellent musical talents that contribute to make this album, the vocals of the three members of Little Palace are what really define this band. Their voices rise together, pass through one another, become one, and just as easily return to themselves like beams of colored light crossing and changing and separating again. Occasionally, a guitar will sneak itself into the trio to become the fourth vocalist.
Unfortunately, Little Palace disbanded in 2000, but Brunnock has continued as a solo artist, releasing his solo debut, the brilliant So I Do, in June of 2007. It is a slight departure from his work with Little Palace, but continues in the same vein of imaginative and intelligent songwriting found on Whole. On one point, Brunnock hits the nail on the head: he is, indeed, on his way.
Buy wHole at CDBaby
Buy wHole on iTunes
http://www.myspace.com/michaelbrunnock
Thursday, December 20, 2007
That voice can melt the ice
STAND performs on BalconyTV 12/19/07
What a song and what a voice, right? Amiright? I'm right.
And the beautiful thing is that Michael Brunnock (I knew you were waiting for me to mention him) is playing to support them at the Bowery Ballroom on 2/23/08. (The Blue Jackets are also support)
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
So I Do
One does not simply listen to a Michael Brunnock song – one experiences it. Michael Brunnock's songs, while pleasingly smooth and unobtrusive, somehow refuse to remain "background music," and they pull the listener in to their ephemeral existence. So it is with So I Do.
Mournful without being sad. Emotional without being "emo". Evocative without being self-indulgent.
I first heard "Fallen Leaves," about four months ago, and before the song was even complete, I knew that I had to become familiar with the entire music catalog of this artist whose name I did not yet know. More than a hundred listens later, "Fallen Leaves" is both completely ingrained in my mind and brand-new simultaneously. Each listen is as the first; the string solo employed in lieu of a bridge held me captive, and when the drums returned with brilliant force, I found myself struggling to catch the breath that I didn't even realize I was holding for the past four measures.
Michael Brunnock's performance is straight-forward and unassuming. However, don't be fool enough to dismiss this artist as a simple countryman; his lyrics reveal an intelligent and well-educated man behind his gentle melodies. Listen carefully and you will hear literary allusions, complex metaphors, and well-placed puns along with political commentary and disdain for mindless militancy.
"Little Boy Blue," perhaps the most political song in his repertoire, is also the most evocative. It employs strong imagery both lyrically and musically – one can almost picture the small orchestra backing him as he sings his complex simplicities.
"Dance to the Wind" is a beautiful piece which displays both Brunnock's impressive vocal diversity and his imaginative lyric writing; the anthropomorphic song is told from the point of view of a wise old tree in a tale reminiscent of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax.
Not to be dismissed as a minstrel, Brunnock pulls "Born Again" and "Niagara Falls" from up his sleeve, showing that he can rock with the best of them.
Jenna Nicholls's backing vocals on "Man Overboard" and "Breastplate" both blend with and complement Brunnock's voice seamlessly. Nicholls's airy vocals at the end of the penultimate of the original tunes somehow punctuate the mood of the album.
Michael Brunnock revamps "Secret," a powerful song from his days with Little Palace, to round out the CD, convincingly evidencing that he is fully capable as a solo artist.
One would be hard-pressed to find a more well-pieced collection of songs that satisfy both the spirit and the intellect. So I Do does so both humbly and almost with a shrug. Brunnock is not out to please anyone with his offering – it is clearly a labour of love.
For more information, see:
http://www.myspace.com/michaelbrunnock
http://ww.cdbaby.com/michaelbrunnock
Little Palace - Whole
Little Palace - Beekeeper
http://www.myspace.com/jennanicholls
Mournful without being sad. Emotional without being "emo". Evocative without being self-indulgent.
I first heard "Fallen Leaves," about four months ago, and before the song was even complete, I knew that I had to become familiar with the entire music catalog of this artist whose name I did not yet know. More than a hundred listens later, "Fallen Leaves" is both completely ingrained in my mind and brand-new simultaneously. Each listen is as the first; the string solo employed in lieu of a bridge held me captive, and when the drums returned with brilliant force, I found myself struggling to catch the breath that I didn't even realize I was holding for the past four measures.
Michael Brunnock's performance is straight-forward and unassuming. However, don't be fool enough to dismiss this artist as a simple countryman; his lyrics reveal an intelligent and well-educated man behind his gentle melodies. Listen carefully and you will hear literary allusions, complex metaphors, and well-placed puns along with political commentary and disdain for mindless militancy.
"Little Boy Blue," perhaps the most political song in his repertoire, is also the most evocative. It employs strong imagery both lyrically and musically – one can almost picture the small orchestra backing him as he sings his complex simplicities.
"Dance to the Wind" is a beautiful piece which displays both Brunnock's impressive vocal diversity and his imaginative lyric writing; the anthropomorphic song is told from the point of view of a wise old tree in a tale reminiscent of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax.
Not to be dismissed as a minstrel, Brunnock pulls "Born Again" and "Niagara Falls" from up his sleeve, showing that he can rock with the best of them.
Jenna Nicholls's backing vocals on "Man Overboard" and "Breastplate" both blend with and complement Brunnock's voice seamlessly. Nicholls's airy vocals at the end of the penultimate of the original tunes somehow punctuate the mood of the album.
Michael Brunnock revamps "Secret," a powerful song from his days with Little Palace, to round out the CD, convincingly evidencing that he is fully capable as a solo artist.
One would be hard-pressed to find a more well-pieced collection of songs that satisfy both the spirit and the intellect. So I Do does so both humbly and almost with a shrug. Brunnock is not out to please anyone with his offering – it is clearly a labour of love.
For more information, see:
http://www.myspace.com/michaelbrunnock
http://ww.cdbaby.com/michaelbrunnock
Little Palace - Whole
Little Palace - Beekeeper
http://www.myspace.com/jennanicholls
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
MUSIC = LOVE
If you are in or about the Boston area, check out Michael Brunnock, supporting Ari Hest, on December 5 in Club Passim.
Also, come get me here in Florida and TAKE ME WITH YOU.
Kthnxbye.
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