There are two great things about volunteering for the JDIFF. The first thing is that you are virtually in the middle of things. One the one hand you are not really “working” (as you are not paid) for the festival, and do not have the responsibilites of all the volunteer captains, box office people and production managers -so there’s plenty of things to see and do in between your shifts. For example to see how tiny Colin Farrell is in real life (and I did not even had to wear a tie to be at the opening gala) And on the other hand you are not a visitor and member of the audience, so you do represent the festival and are involved in the realisation of the festival, which mosty takes place in dirty basemenst or boring break rooms without much glamour. Brilliant.

The second thing for me is the discovery of new films. I’m not that much of a film buff myself, but I’m always surprised of the quality of movies shown at the festival. And even though I have my main picks, I always discover new movies when on shift or through recommendations from other volunteers. My first discovery this year is the opening film of the festival, Neil Jordan’s Ondine.

Not that I expected the opening movie to be a total blackout, but the last Neil Jordan movie I watched must have been Michael Collins – so I was a bit unsure about the whole mermaid/fairy tale-story of the movie. But even as the unromatic naysayer that I am I have to confess I loved the movie. It thoughtfully plays with the whole idea of a real-life fairy tale, without ever becoming fantastic or supernatural – and the great cast, above all the brilliant Alison Barry makes the film really enjoyable. Plus, a movie that was scored by Kjartan Sveinsson of Sigur Ros and that features songs by Lisa Hannigan can’t be bad, can it?

In my opinion, one of the most interesting events that is currently happening in Dublin city is this monthly themed night of music, spoken word and performance: The Brown Bread Mixtape. Happening upstairs at the Stag’s Head is an evening full of great entertainment, prose, poems, song, laughter, fun and the odd Swedish pop song. MC’s, chief organisators and jacks-of-all-trades Kalle and Enda present a hand-picked array of artists, and are spicing it up with their own performances in between.

Dublinblog sent some questions their way, and here’s what the two main men had to say:

Tell us sth. about yourselves and how you came to organise the Brown Bread Mixtape:

Kalle: Well, I lived in New York City for about 7 years where I dabbled a bit in comedy and music. I had some poems published by Lilies & Cannonballs Review, which led to me performing poems at their launch events. They were pretty successful and I really enjoyed the energy of performance poetry. When I moved back to Ireland I was looking for something similar. Enda and myself had known each other a while and had been chatting about doing some kind of an event or gig that captured all of our interests (music, poetry, comedy, theatre). We put our heads together and came up with the brownbread mixtape!

Enda: I’m a session musician and a sound engineer. We are a couple of dudes who had a random idea, and a free night in a pub to try it out…

What is the story about theme for each evening? Why not have the artists decide for themselves what to perform?

Kalle: Because it was going to be a mixtape of different types of acts, we knew we needed something to tie the night together. So that was where the theme idea came in. We really liked the idea that each new brownbread mixtape was about a specific topic, rather than a standard gig or open mic which is more open-ended. But more importantly it gave us the opportunity to create a full show centred around the theme. We wanted to create a fully realised night of entertainment, like an old style revue show, where the audience was guided by an MC through a showcase of the best spoken word and music artists currently working. So, on any given month, once we’ve decided on the theme, we inform the artists we have booked to perform so they can prepare thematic material for the night. Also, for each new theme, Enda and myself will prepare an opening singalong segment for the audience to get them in the mood. I will usually write a new poem or two related to the theme as well as a bunch of sketches for our resident actors, the brownbread players, to perform. So, to answer your question, the theme is there to generate ideas for us all and the artists actually do have a lot of leeway in terms of choosing what they perform, we just ask that they perform at least one piece directly related to the theme of the night.

Enda: We call the theme, we set the stage, the performers take the mic(k)

Why upstairs at the Stag’s Head? Are there any plans to change venue?

Kalle: The folks at The Stag’s Head were incredibly polite, professional and simply willing to take a chance on us. We have a great relationship with them now. The upstairs of The Stag’s Head is a lovely room and when it is full on a brownbread mixtape night it has a terrific energy. It’s also one of the most iconic pubs in Dublin, which must make it one of the most iconic in the world! We don’t really want to move right now.

Enda: eh… yea what Kalle said

Do you think the web an advantage for artists, especially for people without record deal or published books?

Kalle: I think the web is hugely important for what we do. In fact all of our advertising and promotion is done on the web and by word of mouth. Sites like facebook and myspace are not necessarily my favourite thing in the world, but they are an incredibly rapid and powerful way to communicate with likeminded people, as well as being a brilliant way to network with performers for future shows. It also affords us the opportunity to showcase the brownbread mixtape gigs online for our friends and family outside of Dublin and Ireland. We are planning on setting up a webcast of future gigs, so the web will play a pretty integral role in the show down the line. If our web presence allows the artists who have performed at the brownbread mixtape to publish work or get a record deal, then that would be an incredibly huge honour and we would be thrilled that we played any small part in that

Enda: We give the performers a complimentary recording of their set, and ask them to choose one of the tracks for our facebook and myspace jukeboxes, which we showcase until the next gig. It’s a way of paying the performers, but most importantly they can use the recordings on their own webpage to promote themselves.

Where can we find more information about the mixtape?

Kalle: If you want more information about the mixtape, then point your browser here for our myspace page to sample audio of previous performers, or alternatively you can read reviews and find out about upcoming shows at our blog right here. If you wish to become a fan of ours then we have a regularly updated facebook page and the obligatory twitter page.

Enda: We’re on the Internet!

And, is there anything the world needs to know about you

Kalle: Most of all we want people to know that the brownbread mixtape is just great fun. And like all fun things it has to be a little mad and a little beyond your control.

So, we have to keep reminding ourselves that it’s the challenge of the theme, the openness to try out new ideas, the collaboration between ourselves and all the artists, and the audience for that matter, that makes brownbread greater than the sum of its parts.

Enda: Yep, what Kalle said…actually, i want to say also that the performers we’ve had so far have been amazing; they’ve either written material specifically for the gig, or creatively shoehorned their own material to fit the theme… as Kalle would say, “that’s some serious talent” (and i don’t mean that as in Kalle’s checking them out like he fancies them)

Kalle: I’ve heard it said that the recession brings about great art. Based on what I have seen it’s true. There’s a real buzz happening in Dublin at the moment and we’d like to think that the brownbread mixtape is right at the heart of that. Don’t take it from me, come along this month and see for yourself!

Enda: It’s FREE!

To sum it all up: it’s free, it’s great fun, and some incredible art is created there. The next mixtape takes place on February 24th. Be there.

There is a fan page on Facebook called Secret Dublin. Secret Dublin aims to provide a forum for Dubliners to share their insights on places and talent in Dublin to discover “hidden gems”. The idea is romantic, but sadly a short peruse of the page shows few suggestions. With this in mind, I am going to share my little bit of Secret Dublin I happened to stumble across two months ago.

Weeks and weeks ago, my French friend, Maryline, told me of an evening called Milk & Cookie Stories.

“It is a group of people that come together to tell stories and have cookies,” she explained. She described the event as if it were common place.

“What has cookies got to do with stories?” I asked in puzzlement.

“I don’t know, replied my friend. “It’s just what they do.”

“How much is it?”

“It is free.”

I was suspicious. I gave the first two events a wide berth by politely declining an invite. Then came a funny phase of mine; I realised I needed to be more open to new things and new people. When Maryline reminded me yet another Milk & Cookie Stories evening approached, I agreed to attend. I remained sceptical, but reminded myself of the new things and new people I craved.

On a wet Tuesday evening Maryline and I made our way to the Dublin Exchange, Temple Bar. We arrived to be greeted by friendly faces, most of whom –  I guessed – were students. We were early. Rows of seats and large cushions on the floor remained vacant. Across the open plan room were tables bearing baskets of biscuits. We were offered tea and helped ourselves to the fare on offer.

When I asked one of the organisers about the evening, I was told that it was an open mic evening where attendants were invited to share a story. The story could be anything from a lament to a personal experience. An emphasis was placed on first timers. Anyone interested in spinning a yarn was invited to put their name on the list. They would be called up when their moment came.

My friend and I warmed ourselves next to a solitary radiator in a remote corner of the gallery. We watched as the number of attendants slowly and steadily increased. We were both taken aback by the friendly atmosphere. I was introduced to a considerable number of people. I noted how simple it was to strike up conversation with relative strangers. My thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

“We will be starting in around five minutes,” a girl named Sarah announced to the eighty or so people gathered. This prompted a hush to descend on the room.

The first story teller was called up. He received a supportive applause from the congregation. He told his story. Following another round of applause, the next story teller was called. The most memorable performances from the evening were a recital of Arabian Nights, an Hungarian folktale and a Celtic myth. The featured performer of the evening – whose name has unfortunately slipped my mind – told a personal story that was both moving and humorous.

I went again last Tuesday and had an equally enjoyable experience. The featured performer, Clare Murphy, told two Irish stories and a Nigerian tale. Her performance was uniquely engaging and animated. Clare drew loud laughs and planted ideas in our minds. I would gladly have listened to her for hours had I the chance. Clare embodies the skill and art of storytelling that Milk & Cookie Stories strives to promote.

Milk & Cookies Stories meets on the first/second Tuesday of every month at Dublin Exchange, Temple Bar. The atmosphere is friendly, the stories are entertaining and the cookies are tasty. The event is free, but the organisers do encourage attendants to make a small donation when the “cookie jar” is passed around.  Should you find yourself available from six o’clock Tuesday, 9^th February, you should come along.

What’s the worst that can happen? You enjoy a unique experience and open your mind to some new ideas? Come along, it’s a great evening.

If you share the same Ebenezer Scrooge-approach to Christmas that I have, I’ve got a little something for you. For us Christmas-dislikers, the Bewleys Cafe Theatre is doing something nice: they are running the Santaland Diaries.

It’s a classic story – one man suffers for our sins, and we are all saved. This year, that man is an elf. Based on David Sedaris’ own experience, THE SANTALAND DIARIES divulges the wickedly funny journey of Crumpet, a 33-year-old starving artist turned Macy’s Santaland elf. At first the job is simply humiliating, but as he contends with cranky parents, badly behaved children and colorful career elves, Crumpet becomes battle-weary and bitter.

As I’m reading Sedaris’ “Holidays on Ice” most festive seasons to not get in the right mood, I can thoroughly recommend this play. It is running until December 22nd, and bookings can be made via the website. In addition, admission will also get you a light lunch. But please note: as the theatre rightly states, this is a Christmas show for adults and contains lots of bad words. Lots!

Sending Letters to the Sea were already introduced in Brandon’s recent post; but I’d like to use the opportunity to feature the two ladies and four gentlemen in this month’s Discovered in Dublin. After a successfull release-show in St. Columba’s Church in Swords last week (were some of the material for the debut album were recorded), Dublinblog spoke to main main and initiator Mark Garry about future plans for the project and the reason to merge visual art and music in this band/collaboration.

Tell us sth. about the band and how you started making music individually, how you write your songs, and maybe a bit about yourself-titled album.
Nina and Karl and I had a band called A=apple, we mainly played improvised music (Guitar and piano based ) in Art galleries such as Project Arts Centre ,The RHA and the Irish Museum of Modern Art; we also played in the Temple bar music centre and Whelans. We released a 10” as part of an exhibition I curated .

About 2 years ago I got a visual arts commission and suggested I would like to make an album of music as part of the commission. After a period of research to try and find an interesting conceptual approach to the project , I decided it might be interesting to make a record about faith but not in an organized religious sense . I asked Nina and Karl and Sean Carpio and Fabien Leseure if they were interested in the project, thankfully they all were . We spent a period of time coming up with ideas that we all brought to a week long recording session in Berlin we also came up with some new ideas during this session . Nina and I also wrote some lyrics that we brought to this session. Fabien then wrote strings and choir parts for a number of the pieces and we recorded a string and choir in a beautiful church in Swords.

Would you consider Sending Letters To The Sea more as an once-off project, or are there any future plans in a band-related enviroment?
It is sort of a once off project, but we are bringing the participants to a Museum called The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania next summer to collaborate with a number of amazing musicians from Pittsburgh and this will culminate in a second release. There are also some film ideas in the pipeline .

Do you think it is an advantage to hail from Dublin (or at least being labelled so)?
I personally think it is an advantage . From an international perspective we are still recognized as a serious musical city and we have all in different ways been part of great Dublin based musical circles and have learned lots through this connection.

How important is the live performance for you?
It is very important to me and we had an amazing performance in the church we recorded in last week , unfortunately we all travel quite a bit with our careers and some of us live abroad (Berlin , Belgium) so it is difficult to play consistently. I think this is why the internet is amazing in terms of spreading the word about the record and we will post a live video and musical recording of this gig in the next week or so.

It seems the visual aspect of music is also important for you – considering your background. Will this be incorporated in the live-performance as well?
Not really. I wanted to keep it as much about the music as possible , but we have some film ideas in the pipeline. Nina has performed live to film in the past and this is something we are interested in .

What do you think about the current discussion about downloading, filesharing and copyrights? Is the web an advantage for new artists/bands (with or without record deal)?
I think in general the web has been amazing for new unsigned bands and I think that downloading & filesharing really only effects the top end (corporate) of the industry, I don’t think it will be much of an issue for us.

Where can we find more information about you? And, is there anything the world needs to know about the project?
We are really proud of it and feel it is beautiful and hopeful record and we hope people enjoy it. Here are some links to my other works:
http://www.kerlin.ie/artists/Garry.aspx
http://www.friezeartfair.com/yearbook_2009/artist/mark_garry1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattressfactory/2533271759/
http://www.mattress.org/index.cFm?event=ShowArtist&eid=86&id=403&c=Past
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU1wz1cw6iI

If you are an artist/musician/band/busker who wants to be featured on “Discovered in Dublin”, please send an email to authors@dublinblog.ie

I have to confess that I completely nicked this off the good people over at culch.ie, but this is so incredibly good it has to be reposted. Visual artist Eoghan Kidney’s video for Underworld vs Mark Knight and D.Ramirez, played “on” Liberty Hall. Could someone please convince Dublin Tourism to make this the official video representing our city?

As Roseanne stated in her comment last week, the weekend definitively has not enough days. And I would even go so far as to say that this year the October has not enough days. After last weeks HWCH-Festival, and the 10th Darklight-Festival before it, tomorrow marks the beginning of another staple of the Dublin event calendar: this years Dublin Electronic Arts Festival.

DEAF returns with our most extensive programme to date, including films, gallery installations, workshops, live gigs and club events. We ask you to glance through the programme at the more than 150 events on offer, confident that you’ll find something in there for you

Again I am astonished by the broad palette of events: not purely electronica-based standards such as DJ-Sets and club performances (though there are aplenty), but also exhibitions, installations and screenings.

Dublinblog was able to talk to Festival Director Eamonn Doyle about the highs and lows in running such a festival. Having started in 2002 as a spinoff of Eamonn’s D1-label and meant to be a platform for Irish electronic acts, the festival has developed into a showcase of Irish and international artists, and is most definitively going beyond the limits of the word “electronic” in its title. Though lacking a big commercial sponsor, the line-up this year is one of the biggest and most diverse ever; and handing over certain parts of the planning and booking to local promoters has helped to increase the choices of shows and events.

Some of Emaonn’s favourite picks this year include:

- The opening night of the festival featuring the young Austrian artist Soap & Skin.
- David Rodigan at the Sugar Club, described by Eamonn as the “elderly, school teacher-type godfather of (UK) Reggae and Dancehall”.
- The only D1-feature at the festival, the Naphta album launch.
- “New Spaces for Music” – a series of live performances staged in unusual spaces around Dublin, including shops, empty offices, a van, an apartment and a train station.

By all means go and you’ll be able to find something extraordinary for yourself to see, and please support the artists and the festival itself.

My personal picks this year include California’s finest Isis; Relay, a sound project initiated and curated by John Lambert (aka Chequerboard); Goldie’s History of Metalheadz set and last but not least the Egyptian/Middle Eastern documentary short films at the Odessa Club.

Isis – Not In Rivers But In Drops from Kostas Tsikrikes on Vimeo.

Almost October, but still time to squeeze in the September-”issue” of Discovered in Dublin. And this time we are featuring a young lady whose hypnotic sounds are quite fitting for the upcoming autumn season – and who likes knitting. Abigail Smith is a singer/songwriter hailing from Dublin, has played the Electric Picnic in 2008 and has recently released her debut album  “Night Time Walking”. And she’s also the sister of Dublinblog’s very own Roseanne.

Without further ado, here’s what Abigail has to say:

Tell us sth. about yourself and how you started making music, how you write your songs, and maybe a bit about your debut album “Night Time Walking”:

I started writing songs when I was first able to write music. I had a little manuscript book. My first song was about seagulls. Night Time Walking is my first release. It consists mainly of songs arranged for voice, piano, viola and cello. I wanted to do one take on each song and release this rather than doing take after take. I think this can take away the edge. I love the connection between musicians in a group setting and how we all move through the song together. When I was a kid I loved hearing the musicians humming along to their improvisations or the chair squeak of a musician recorded on my Dads jazz records. These days recordings can be so clinical. I wanted this album to have a real human feel to it. The songs have always just come into my head. I write lyrics quickly without thinking too much about them as this often blocks the flow of ideas. Then I go back over them. I try not to be a perfectionist because the perfectionist in me would never let me do anything! Then I arrange the music for the instruments I want and we rehearse together. With any creative work you have to just let it all go at some point. It’s not the finished piece that has as much interest to me to be honest. I am always excited by the song or music I am working on. Putting music out is all part of the process too so I am very excited to have the album out now.

The musicians on this recording are Gráinne Deery on piano and Lioba Petrie on cello. Aaron Faye produced it. When I play live Niamh Loughran and Maeve Buckley often join me on violins with Andrew Cooke on bass and Andy B Clarke on drums.

Do you think it is an advantage to hail from Dublin (or at least being labelled so)?

Yes. Dublin is a great place for all kinds of creativity and there is a great mixture of cultures from all over the world. For example I heard an amazing Klezmer group busking on Talbot Street last week. We have a great tradition of storytelling and sing songs here and music is really part of the fabric of this brilliant city. I love it here.

How important is the live performance for you? And do you always work with a band or do you do solo shows as well?

Live performance is very important to me. Anything can happen and the audience and the musicians really communicate in the live performance environment. Music changes the energy of a room. I think it helps me as a musician to become truly aware of the present. I can only ever be with the note I am playing or singing. I have to let go of what has come before and not worry about any tricky bits coming up! Music is part of time having a beginning and an end. It is an incredible process and so exciting. I love to perform with the full band as we all bring something to the sound we are creating together. I have performed solo but I do love the experience of performing with a large ensemble. I will be singing one of my songs with a full guitar orchestra in the next few months. I can’t wait to try that!

It seems the visual aspect of music is also important for you – New York Tisch Film School made a video for you, and you wrote the music for “Trolley Boy”. Coincidence, networking or planning?

Winning the Tisch Film Music video was a real boost. I was very lucky that the director I worked with, Adena Rice was really on the same page as me creatively. We are both into craft and making things. She is an incredible knitter. One of her dreams was to create a knitted world so we went from there. It was a brilliant process and we had half of Dublin knitting leaves for us. I had great fun making some props for it too.

Teemu Auersalo, the director of Trolley Boy, heard my music through Andy Clarke who plays drums in my band. Andy is also a very talented animator and digital graphic artist. Writing and performing the music for this film was also a very interesting process. It was great to work as part of a team and try to get across the directors vision through the music. I think like everything in Dublin music is a small group and we all get to know each other and support each other.
http://www.glimpsefilms.com/trolleyboy/?page_id=5

What do you think about the current discussion about downloading, filesharing and copyrights? Is the web an advantage for new bands (with or without deal)?

I think for unsigned bands the whole file-sharing thing is great. I personally don’t part take in it but it’s more because I never got into it. I love going out and buying the cd. The artwork and lyrics are another aspect that I really enjoy. I think it is great to support new music and the likes of my space is a brilliant way to hear new sounds. Radio can be good for discovering new music but the Internet is just an incredible resource for music fans and new bands. The spotify idea sounds pretty interesting to me.

Where can we find more information about you? And, is there anything the world needs to know about you?

You can read all about me and hear some songs on my myspace page www.myspace.com/abigailsong

I am playing in the Button factory on the 20th of October. A short documentary called ‘The City of the Dead’ by Alessandro Molatore, which I did the music for, will be screened and I’ll be performing with the band after. The film is about people who live in graves in Cairo. It is an amazing film and I loved writing and performing the music for it. http://www.cactifilms.net/city-dead.html. It’s definitely worth checking out.

My album, Night Time Walking is available in Tower Records and Road Records. You can also download tracks on http://www.downloadmusic.ie/abigailsmith.

All the world needs to know about me is that I am very happy to be living in the world!

If you are an artist/musician/band/busker who wants to be featured on “Discovered in Dublin”, please send an email to authors@dublinblog.ie

The free Mind the Gap Operetta will be running again next Friday night, as will a few other public art exhibitions in conjunction with Fringe Fest. And yes, there will also be plenty of buskers and stag do/hen party folks around next weekend. Can’t guarantee that we’ll see another group of Austin Powers look-a-likes running around (anybody else see Elvis suddenly appear in that video?), but in Temple Bar, you just never know.

Early September marks the beginning of the Dublin Fringe Festival for fans of all things “artsy.” Fringe Fest tackles artistic expression in both traditional forms (theatre, comedy, music, painting, etc.) and non-traditional (give aforementioned categories a creative twist and then add some improvisation and/or quirkiness of one sort or another.) The festival returns this Saturday and runs through Sunday, 20 Sept.

This year, Absolute vodka are sponsoring the festival and tomorrow evening is the launch of Absolut Original, from 6-8pm in the Smock Alley Theatre, Temple Bar. Sixteen Irish artists have been given the same brief that the legendary Andy Warhol was given in 1985: “Be inspired by the Absolut bottle.” The Absolut Original exhibition will be curated by The Small Print for the duration of the festival. After the festival, each piece will be submitted for inclusion into the international Absolut Art collection in Stockholm.

Here’s a video of one artist’s preparations for the exhibition (Irish street artist, Asbestos):