[28 oct 2008]
Mark Geary reschedules Irish tour to support The Swell Season in Europe...
Mark Geary is (in one way) delighted to have to reschedule a number of dates on his forthcoming Irish tour as he has been offered the prestigious support on the forthcoming Swell Season European tour !! We apologise for any inconvenience caused. All these dates are in support of his latest album Opium which features the singles Tuesday & Angel.
Shows from the 27th November on are unaffected but anything before that (except Mullingar) has either been rescheduled (with previous tickets valid) to February or cancelled until we can book a new date in the year.
After the Swell Season shows, Mark will also head to Norway for his first headlining dates.
Friday 31st October - The Stables, Mullingar
05 november 2008 :: le bataclan, paris, france (support to The Swell Season)
07 november 2008 :: Berlin, Schillertheater germany (support to The Swell Season)
09 november 2008 :: Denmark, Copenhagen, Pumphusset (support to The Swell Season)
10 november 2008 :: Sweden, Gothenberg, Stenhammarsalen (support to The Swell Season)
11 november 2008 :: Norway, Oslo, Rockefeller (support to The Swell Season)
12 november 2008 :: Sweden, Stockholm, Berns (support to The Swell Season)
14 november 2008 :: Finland, Helsinki, The old student house (support to The Swell Season)
16 november 2008 :: Germany, Dresden, Kino (support to The Swell Season)
17 november 2008 :: Germany, Munich, Postpalast (support to The Swell Season)
18 november 2008 :: Germany, Cologne, E-Werk (support to The Swell Season)
20 november 2008 :: Belgium, Gent, Handelsbeurs (support to The Swell Season)
Thursday 6th November - Empire, Belfast - refunds from point of purchase.
Friday 7th November - Whelans, Dublin - RESCHEDULED for Thursday 5th March
Saturday 8th November - Pavilion, Cork- RESCHEDULED for Saturday 21st Feb.
Wednesday 12th November 2008 - Kenny's Village Inn, Lahinch, Co. Clare - RESCHEDULED to Thursday 4th December.
Thursday 13th November - Dolans, Limerick - RESCHEDULED for Friday 27th Feb.
Friday 14th November - Spirit Store, Dundalk RESCHEDULED for Thursday 19th Feb.
Saturday 15th November - Roisin Dubh, Galway - RESCHEDULED for Saturday 28th Feb.
Thursday 20th November - The Greystones Theatre, Co. Wicklow - being rescheduled for 2009
Friday 21st November - St. David's Church, Naas - rescheduled for Friday 19th December
Thursday 27th November - Sol y Sombra, Killorglin, Co. Kerry
Friday 28th November - The Blackbird, Ballycotton, Co. Cork
Saturday 29th November - Moka Live, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
Thursday 4th December - Kenny's Village Inn, Lahinch, Co. Clare (rescheduled date)
Friday 5th December - The Thatch, Rahan, Co. Offaly
Saturday 6th December - Passionfruit Theatre, Athlone, Co. Westmeath
NORWAY SHOWS
Thursday 11 Dec 2008, 09:00 PM - Kraga, Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norway
Friday 12 Dec 2008, 09:00 PM - 2nd Etage - Lille Lungegardssang, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
Saturday 13 Dec 2008, 08:00 PM - Cafe Akvariet (8pm) - Folken, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway
Saturday 13 Dec 2008, 11:00 PM - Tou Scene (11pm) - Tou Natt, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway
Friday 19th December -St. David's Church, Naas (rescheduled date)
2009 IRISH HEADLINE SHOWS (tickets from 2008 postponed dates valid)
Thursday 19th Feb. 2009 - Spirit Store, Dundalk (rescheduled date)
Saturday 21st Feb.2009 - Pavilion, Cork- (rescheduled date)
Friday 27th Feb. 2009 - Dolans, Limerick - (rescheduled date)
Saturday 28th Feb. 2009 - Roisin Dubh, Galway - (rescheduled date)
Thursday 5th March 2009 - Whelans, Dublin - (rescheduled date)
www.ticketmaster.ie
Whew, thanks for your patience on that one.
[19 aug 2008]
New album Opium out 16 September 2008 in the USA
"So you tour two records, see the world and you build up, somehow; a fanbase and some records get sold. Had I been on a major label, I would have been dropped by now, or shot in the head or whatever happens to those poor bands who don't make money for their labels. Bye bye time. I would love to have a comfortable life etc, but at what cost... so I never took the fast money and artistically speaking at least seem to have lived to tell the tale?"
Instead its 2008 and Mark Geary is releasing a new album, Opium, on 16 September 2008 on sonaBLAST!/ 30 Tigers.
His third record, to date, it will be preceded by a single, 'Tuesday', which tells the story of "the day all the shit changes! The guy in the song maybe me? has to change all the shit and the baggage he has been dragging around. But change brings uncertainty that can be so scary that maybe you're better off just living a kind of quiet hell?!"
So begins the tale of Opium, an album which has taken Geary through places in his head that he didn't know existed in a processes that has infused the new album with an energy and an emotional power that is barely contained within the melodies and instrumentation of each song. But he tells the story of Opium better than anyone else...
"It's about escape and the notion of consequence. All of that plays a part in what I think about or was thinking about when I was making the record. I think sometimes I kinda like to torture myself with these dark thoughts and in so doing reveal some of my demons and drugs of choice.
"I started writing this record over two years ago. I had written a song called 'Maid Of Gold' that seemed to me to be the advent of something new and I had the beginnings of the song 'Tuesday'. At that time I had being reading Robert Fisk's books and the 'God Delusion'; the 'war on terror' was on the news every night and I became aware of my discomfort with people on telly using 'God phrases': 'With God on our side'; 'In God we trust'; 'With God¹s help we will prevail'...
It seemed that people were using God as an example of rightness - their rightness and I was just really interested in how people find themselves with this kind of 'faith' and 'crusade'. All fun stuff that led on to thinking about all the things we do to fill the void or the hole in us: God, money, sex, religion."
"For the record I had definite ideas about how I wanted it to sound. It needed a band and because some of the songs would be pretty heavy and dark it needed lots of instrumentation. And rather than hiding behind melody and being obscure I wanted to try write as directly as I could. I was working with this drummer Eric Gebow, from New York. and Irish producer Karl Odlum who had done some great records with his brother David and had worked with me on some soundtrack stuff. So we all got together in Dingle and played for three weeks. It was amazing and I found a real confidence in writing and playing because I trusted them so much to tell me if things weren't working".
So I came back from the session in Dingle with about 16 or so songs and for the next year and a half worked on vocals, guitars and over dubs. Month after month after month. Adding new songs, new vocals... I've never spent so long listening to and changing a record.
Then I sent a few songs over to Sam from Josh Ritter's band to have a listen to. And he put strings on some and some piano on others... and then Karl and I just deleted parts that didn't work and mixed the record.
11 songs and then off to Abbey Road for one day of mastering. Job fucking done! Haha!
Opium is Mark Geary's 3rd record. His first, 33 1/3 Grand Street was released in 2003 ['Grand street was kinda the diary, the whispered words in an attic. Confessional kind of album.'] Ghosts followed a year later ['Ghosts was like stepping down from the attic, over some skeletons and bones and into the day light.']. In 2005 Mark wrote the soundtrack to the feature film Loggerheads.
Opium is released on 16 September 2008 on sonaBLAST!/ 30 Tigers.
[28 feb 2008]
New album Opium out 11th April 2008 in Ireland
"So you tour two records, see the world and you build up, somehow; a fanbase and some records get sold. Had I been on a major label, I would have been dropped by now, or shot in the head or whatever happens to those poor bands who don't make money for their labels. Bye bye time. I would love to have a comfortable life etc, but at what cost... so I never took the fast money and artistically speaking at least seem to have lived to tell the tale?"
Instead its 2008 and Mark Geary is releasing a new album, Opium, on 11th April 2008 on Independent Records.
His third record, to date, it will be preceded by a single, 'Tuesday', which tells the story of "the day all the shit changes! The guy in the song maybe me? has to change all the shit and the baggage he has been dragging around. But change brings uncertainty that can be so scary that maybe you're better off just living a kind of quiet hell?!"
So begins the tale of Opium, an album which has taken Geary through places in his head that he didn't know existed in a processes that has infused the new album with an energy and an emotional power that is barely contained within the melodies and instrumentation of each song. But he tells the story of Opium better than anyone else...
"It's about escape and the notion of consequence. All of that plays a part in what I think about or was thinking about when I was making the record. I think sometimes I kinda like to torture myself with these dark thoughts and in so doing reveal some of my demons and drugs of choice.
"I started writing this record over two years ago. I had written a song called 'Maid Of Gold' that seemed to me to be the advent of something new and I had the beginnings of the song 'Tuesday'. At that time I had being reading Robert Fisk's books and the 'God Delusion'; the 'war on terror' was on the news every night and I became aware of my discomfort with people on telly using 'God phrases': 'With God on our side'; 'In God we trust'; 'With God¹s help we will prevail'...
It seemed that people were using God as an example of rightness - their rightness and I was just really interested in how people find themselves with this kind of 'faith' and 'crusade'. All fun stuff that led on to thinking about all the things we do to fill the void or the hole in us: God, money, sex, religion."
"For the record I had definite ideas about how I wanted it to sound. It needed a band and because some of the songs would be pretty heavy and dark it needed lots of instrumentation. And rather than hiding behind melody and being obscure I wanted to try write as directly as I could. I was working with this drummer Eric Gebow, from New York. and Irish producer Karl Odlum who had done some great records with his brother David and had worked with me on some soundtrack stuff. So we all got together in Dingle and played for three weeks. It was amazing and I found a real confidence in writing and playing because I trusted them so much to tell me if things weren't working".
So I came back from the session in Dingle with about 16 or so songs and for the next year and a half worked on vocals, guitars and over dubs. Month after month after month. Adding new songs, new vocals... I've never spent so long listening to and changing a record.
Then I sent a few songs over to Sam from Josh Ritter's band to have a listen to. And he put strings on some and some piano on others... and then Karl and I just deleted parts that didn't work and mixed the record.
11 songs and then off to Abbey Road for one day of mastering. Job fucking done! Haha!
Opium is Mark Geary's 3rd record. His first, 33 1/3 Grand Street was released in 2003 ['Grand street was kinda the diary, the whispered words in an attic. Confessional kind of album.'] Ghosts followed a year later ['Ghosts was like stepping down from the attic, over some skeletons and bones and into the day light.']. In 2005 Mark wrote the soundtrack to the feature film Loggerheads.
Opium is released on Independent Records on 11 April.
[20 feb 2008]
new album on the way...
it's been kind of quiet around hear lately but it hasn't been in vain... mark has been in the studio working on his third album which will be released in early april. full details to follow shortly...
[20 feb 2008]
czech dates
mark willing be doing a short tour of the czech republic in march with brendan o'shea...
[10 mar 2008] divadlo dobeska, prague, czech republic
[11 mar 2008] Experimentalni studio, lidove sady liberec, czech republic
[12 mar 2008] solnice, ceske budejovice, czech republic
[13 mar 2008] m-klub, valasske mezirici, czech republic
[14 mar 2008] Konvikt, divadelni sal, olomouc, czech republic
[15 mar 2008] stara pekarna, brno, czech republic
[16 mar 2008] galerie m, milevsko, czech republic