DE BIG SESSION BOY!

Wednesday, 1st February 2012

Mark Geary and Ryland Teifi & Mendocino headline at The Gealach Gorm Singer/Songwriter Festival 2012 (Supported by The Arts Council)

Kill, County Waterford February 24th-26th.

Highly acclaimed singer/songwriter Mark Geary and internationally known singer/songwriter and BAFTA award winner Ryland Teifi together with Mendocino are set to perform at The Gealach Gorm Singer / Songwriting Festival 2012 - a weekend of live original music showcasing singer/songwriters from Ireland, Wales and The United States which will take place in the intimate atmosphere of The Gealach Gorm Theatre a 65 seater fully furnished theatre in Kill Community Centre from February 24th to 26th.

On Friday 24th February one of Ireland’s finest exponents of original music - Liam Merriman will host ‘Songs in The Round’ featuring :

Saturday 25th features the exceptional talents of artist Mark Geary in concert. Drawing from inspirations such as The Beatles, Nick Drake, Radiohead and Van Morrison, Mark has garnered respect and attention from both audiences and fellow artists.

On Sunday 26th Ryland Teifi and Menducino will perform an evening of original music which is sure to enthrall the audience. This festival is an event, not alone for lovers of original music but for all who enjoy entertainment in an intimate atmospheric venue, performed by artists with exceptional creative talents.

The festival organisers acknowledge the financial support of The Arts Council in making this event possible.

Weekend Tickets are priced at €20

For further information contact Angela @ 086-8569358 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On Saturday 18th February 2012, a very special event will take place at

THE FORUM, Waterford.

Inspired by a page on Facebook "Waterford Music Through the Ages", De Big Session Boy! will celebrate four decades of Waterford music, bringing you bands from the past and present and a lot more in between.

So, it will be a long time before we see such an eclectic gathering in one place.

The line-up for this year’s event is:

From the 80’s – Waterford Rockers TASC

From the 90’s – Psychedelic Celtic Rock - THE MADRIGAL

From the 00’s/present – Electro Pop from FIGHTING SPIDERS

From the present – Indie rock with AMBER JEAN

From the present – Indie rock with KODAKID

Tunes on the night will be provided by none other than two guys who have been synonymous with club nights over the years in Waterford. Very special guests on the night will be Paul Flynn (Flowmotion / 7th Heaven) and Louis Quinlan (Planet Mongo/ The Roxy)

Compere on the night will be Roddie Cleere

The inaugural event will see The Solas Centre and The Aplastic Anaemia Trust

as the beneficiaries.

THE SOLAS CENTRE Waterford provides much needed support and care to

cancer sufferers and their families in the South East. The staff and

volunteers of the South Eastern Cancer Foundation do absolutely brilliant work.

It is run purely on donations and depends on the generosity of the

general public and businesses alike.

THE APLASTIC ANAEMIA TRUST is dedicated primarily to research into Bone Marrow

Disorders but also to provide support and

comfort to sufferers and their families.

All involved in the event are giving up their time free of charge.

It’s down to you to help us raise as much funds and awareness for these two wonderful causes.

TASC : Founded in 1984, Waterford Rockers, TASC played everywhere from

Kildare to Cork and in the summer of 1987 they recorded their first and only demo, a 2 track recording. TASC were very well known in Waterford and had begun to make a name for themselves nationwide. It would be 20 years before members of TASC would take to the stage together again to play under the band name. In March 2008 Stephen O`Hanlon, Clive James Bolger and Anthony Brennan regrouped with friends Mick Wall and John Kelter to complete the 5 piece line to play a very memorable show in front of a very special audience and now, it’s going to happen again!

THE MADRIGAL : This five piece band enthralled audiences all over in the early nineties. Their blend of all things psychedelic with a heady mix of rock, trad and tribal airs thrown in ensured that one thing was guaranteed – entertainment. Born from the ashes of various local bands; the Keating brothers Mark, Tommy and Fran joined forces with Micko Roche and Mick Coady and what started out as a bit of fun at the legendary Sunday morning jam at the Back O the Mansion soon developed into a full steam rock n roll machine - In the mid-nineties, THE MADRIGAL parted ways with a farewell gig at the Forum Tommy, Micko and Fran are still going strong, Mick has forged a reputation on the world jazz stage and Mark is sticksman with UK band Black Bears.

AMBER JEAN : Early 2011, three close friends and long-time musical sparring partners Aidan O'Callaghan, Graham Clancy &

David O'Dwyer came together with no other plans than to write and record some songs. What came from these sessions was a brand of strong, driving and melodic indie rock, and a sense of enthusiasm and sheer excitement that resulted in the formation of one of Ireland's most promising new acts, AMBER JEAN. Debut recording "Morning Snow" showed a maturity and confidence, belying the group's infancy. The group cite common influences in The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Neil Young(of course), The Who and of contemporary artists such as Radiohead, Arcade Fire ,Fleet Foxes to name but a few.

With latest recording "Dullboy" just unleashed and many more waiting in the wing's AMBER JEAN are looking forward to a bright and busy future.

KODAKID’s latest effort starts out like the opening credits to a Guy Ritchie film before skillfully transforming into an explosive amalgam of blues, soul and good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. Swagger? This song’s (Low 7) got it in spades." Dan Hanratty Hot Press

2011 was a highly productive year for indie-rockers KODAKID with two single releases, a UK tour (including being

chosen as main support to The Noisettes at the Great Getaway music festival in Manchester) and numerous high profile gigs in some of Ireland’s top venues (Cyprus Avenue, The Village, The Forum) under their belt.

Not ones to stand still and admire their achievements, KODAKID kick-start the new year with the release of their latest single Shake Skin with an accompanying video directed by IMTV award winning director John Loftus.

Shake Skin will be available as a free download from the 9th of February via http://www.kodakid.com

FIGHTING SPIDERS: Hatched in early 2008, from bits and pieces of Ashley Sheehan & The Mute, Dae Kim, The Spikes and Ilya K. FIGHTING SPIDERS, from the darkness of their lair, spawned their own breed of electro-pop. Combining pounding electro beats, pulsating synths, and sweeping ethereal pads with live percussion, guitars and brass, FIGHTING SPIDERS have created a sound which is both epic and instant. These arachnids aim to take rock and roll, dismantle it piece by piece, load it onto the shuttle and set course for the sun.

Nature has seen fit to warn us. This particular species is brightly coloured, so you will not confuse them for something more mundane, something average. You will see them coming, but by then it may be too late. Their sonic venom is deadly.

2012 sees a new FIGHTING SPIDERS with a new direction. For the next twelve months the band grow in numbers and to accommodate this expanding sound the band have a new goal- twelve four track eps to be be released in twelve months.

No longer conforming to style or set sound, the project has no order other than to follow each song where it goes and film the entire process.at the very least , it's going to get interesting...