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October 29, 2008
It’s 5.23 am as I write this after getting home from Charlies, where we had a fundraising night for our good friend Claudio.
Bluntly honest, I feel f*cked, but very very happy the way the night went. There are two main reasons why I’m happy, the first being that we all achieved our goal for the night, which was to take some of the pressure off Claudio and his family, and the second – which is nearly as important – being that it was fantastic to see everyone pulling together when the chips were down on this small volcanic rock that we inhabit collectively.
All I can say is that it reinforces my belief in humanity, which some times can be difficult for us all to see, but even when I’m kicked I have this knack of refusing to accept that people in general mean the best, or at least the most of them. Then you see a night like tonight and the support that was given by customers, staff and musicians from all the bars, all of whom were friends of Claudio´s, and not just financially, but also of their time and talents, and it confirms to me what I try so hard to believe about the human race, even in difficult times.
On behalf of Claudio I want to thank you all for making this the night that it was. All from the Craic n Ceol, Buddy´s Bar, the American Indian Café, The Dubliner, Mulligans and last, but by no means least, the staff and musicians from Charlies, and everybody else who attended to support this event.
On a final note, before I hit the hay, I thank God that we are closed tomorrow and that we all get some rest. A night and time well spent. BED BED BED BED!!!
October 25, 2008
There have been some people who have said to me that the interview that I did with Scot on UK Away FM came across badly, for the following reasons…
This has to do with the fundraising event next tuesday night (28 October) for Claudio and his family. At one point in the interview Scott said that Claudio sometimes went “bananas” on the bongos and the musicians that he played with got upset with him. I then said that nobody could stay mad with Claudio for more then 3 minutes because he is always smiling, or something to that effect.
I just want to clarify something here that I know to be very true. First of all, Scott has nothing but extreme admiration for Claudio´s ability as a fantastic percussionist, and secondly, I know Scott for a while now, and I also know that he meant nothing sinister in any way against Claudio. What he said was meant in a fun loving, joking way, with absolute zero malice whatsoever. What he was putting across was that Claudio was one of the great characters of this island, as a person and as a musician, and that he had his moments like we all have, but first and foremost he is, above all else, an absolute loveable genius and anyone
who interpreted what he said in context in any other way must have f*ckall else in their own life to be concerned about, except trying to pick holes in what decent people like Scott say. People talking like this are only trying to hide themselves from their own failures and realities.
Stop talking sh*t and get down to Charlies on Tuesday night and help to support someone we all love as a person, who is in a serious bit of bother.
Here is a small story for you. I went down to Claudio with Andy the other day and Claudio was showing us his budgies, and the paintings he made for his beautiful daughter, and the puppet shows he was making for her as well. He was laughing and joking despite his poor health. He then said to us in his broken English that he was different now, and that his time was for his family above all else, and that he coudn’t and didn’t want to bother having a drink anymore, and that he was a different Claudio now.
The truth is that I saw no difference in him, regardless of what he thought himself. He was still as happy go lucky as ever I knew him, just as mad in the lovely way that he is, and never ever have I heard him say a bad word about anyone. I left his home thinking to myself “what a man, and what a human being”. His energy levels for what he was doing with his family were every bit as strong as any night he ever performed, even in these difficult times. He knows that he is very ill, but he is determined to make the best of any situation that he finds himself in regardless of how serious.
We could all learn a lot from that way of thinking.
Enough said.
October 17, 2008
Here is something interesting (to me at least) that you may or may not find interesting. When I bought Charlie´s Bar it was in my mind that I knew the correct formula for a very good music venue. I hope I was right about that and, as always, you (the customers) are the only judge of that. But the fact is that you (the customers) now see Charlie´s in a different light from how we do – and we see Charlie´s in a light that I would never have dreamed about, and didn’t understand, when I set about re-opening it.
Let’s try to keep this as short as possible by making two observations as I see them, whether right or wrong, and I look forward to your opinions. This is what I see from the customers´ side and from our side after two years now.
1. The customers´ side.
I feel that the customers of Charlie´s, or most of them, see the bar as a fantastic live music venue with a great band, a decent drink and a great atmosphere, and I’m sorry if this sounds cocky because I don’t mean it to be. I ask “why do people come to Charlie´s?” Is it because of the music? Maybe. But you can get good music on CDs and DVDs. Is it because of the drink? Maybe. But you can get drink cheaper in an off licence. So the only reason left is the atmosphere which we create and the new friends they might meet. There are people who will come for the music, the staff and the band for sure, but regardless of how good a band are, you can and will get fed up with them, and yet people come back very often time and time again. We have enough songs to be able to go at least 21 hours – which is a week without repeating one, but that’s not the reason either…
2. The band and staff side.
When I bought Charlie´s Bar I understood what I wanted to do with it, but I can honestly say I didn’t understand why, and never thought about it either. Now I can see why after two years. The truth is for all of us at Charlie´s (as I see it any way) something has emerged naturally and we see Charlie´s in a different way to the way customers see it. Charlie´s for us is about music of course, as you can see from the standard of musicians in Skin & Hide and the guest artists we bring over from time to time, but it is much, much more than music ability now. After two years, we learn new songs every week – but I have to tell you honestly that we do that to make it more interesting for ourselves just as much as for the customers, and maybe even more for ourselves, just to keep moving forward.
What Charlie´s really is for us is a theatre – and not a music venue that sells drink. We take great pleasure in watching people make new friends, enjoy their holidays or their night off, and just having spontaneous off the cuff fun, wherever the opportunity presents itself and, most importantly, not at the cost of others. We change around the songs all of the time, but they are still coming from a repertoir that we know well, and you could ask “is it boring?” The truth is that every night we go to Charlie´s we may have an idea of the songs that will be played which could change by the minute, but we don’t ever know what the night will hold for us and we don’t know who we will meet that we may or may not have met before, or what craic will come from where, except that there is a good chance it will come from somewhere, or someone, on or off the stage.
We have met great characters in the last two years who we are always in regular correspondence with and, would you believe, not all of them are of the opposite sex!!! It seems to me that we are a bunch of positive people with a wish to harm nobody, with a lot of energy and, as I write this, I have no f*cking idea how we all came together and ended up in this little 200 sq meter “asylum” called Charlie´s Bar on a volcanic rock in the Atlantic Ocean!!!
It’s funny, but if any one of us has a night off on the rare occasion, people ask “Where is Sarah? Where is Terry? Where is ….?”, and we can come up with some great answers!!
The conclusion is that I knew what I wanted to create and I now know that the reason was to create a good venue that would consistently attract decent, even if sometimes crazy characters (but not stupid ones), that keep life interesting and enjoyable for all of us.
Good Night Sisters, says Nell McCafferty!
October 3, 2008
Yes Taoiseach, this whole situation has come about by greed. The problem is, why this wasn’t seen long ago and that the relevant legislation wasn’t put in place to help those greedy bastards to control themselves, because they couldn’t contol their greed, and that should have been seen in advance.
On the other side of the coin, we, as a small nation, have no control over the world-wide situation, which is today at least the USA and the UK, and we are just riding along with what has gone on. Fair play to you for taking the plunge with this guarantee, but every leader in the future must understand that human greed must be controlled. I am totaly agaist excessive legislation, but why are ye after f*cking up the Irish culture with your legislation and forgot to control what really was important to control?
Aomeone, somewhere lost sight of the big picture and they were counting pennies with smoking rules etc. but forgot to control the f*cking *greed* properly – which has lead to, and will lead to more, deaths from stress and financial pressure than any smoking will ever do. It’s like checking the upholstery in the car and forgetting about the engine. Stick with reality Mr Cowen, drop the bullshit and know the difference, which is the most important part. It seems to me that you understand that anyway, thank God, even if a little late. When all is settled down a little and you have had a chance to have a week with your family, fly down here to Lanzarote and come to Charlie´s, and there will be a pint of the plain standing on the counter with your name on it. Cheers.
I genuinely pray to God for your health, Brian, and wellbeing in these difficult times. Head down, like a bull, and a*se to the wind. Blink for no one, trust your own instincts and drive on like f*ck, and it will all work out for the simple reason that I know you genuinely want what’s best for the Irish nation, above all else. Good luck.
Murphy
October 2, 2008
Following on from my blog post yesterday, now it seems that the Irish government has only guaranteed 6 banks and left out the other banks operating in Ireland, which is unfair competition – but nice try.
The truth is if the EU or the UK did the same to any Irish bank abroad, the Irish would have gone mad in Brussels, and rightly so. The opposition in Ireland are trying to dance all over the government, with easy hitting, claiming they (the government) are not sure of what they are doing. They are probably correct to some extent, but we are in uncharted waters here and the government should be supported in every way possible, and for sure they are doing the best they can. Even Cameron said in the UK yesterday that they have to row the boat together with Labour, because this is an unreal situation and there is no room for politics. He will be the next Prime Minister of the UK, and the sooner the better!
As regards the EU, now you can see how important it was to vote “NO” to the Lisbon Treaty. The EU are right to take the government to task about the foreign banks operating in Ireland, and I would hope that whether they had control over us or not, we would support all the banks operating in Ireland equally, just to be right. We should be happy to do what is right regardless, but the thought of having to get permission from the EU to wipe our a*se, well, f*ck that!
This is a classic situation where we are happy to co-operate with our EU neighbours, even at our own cost from time to time, for the benefit of the common good, but if it comes to your a*se or ours, good luck son, and definitely when there are important decisions to be made in a hurry and stupid EU bureaucracy is standing on the fence thinking “too slow Brussels and Adios”, if it comes to it. Brian Cowen, as I said before, should stand up and say:
“We (the Irish nation) are happy to work with Brussels to a point, but if that´s not possible, we will, and are not afraid to, work on our own. We have enough wealth and talent to survive and a great belief in our own best asset (our people, and their strength).”
David Cameron also said today that if the Irish haven’t ratified the Lisbon Treaty before he gets into government, he will also put the Treaty to the English population – and I will bet any man that if that happens the English will vote “NO” as well. The sooner we get Obama and Cameron into office, the better for the world as a whole. Not HOLE!!!
October 1, 2008
We are f*cking geniuses. I read a book in a day written by a City analyst by the name of Geraint Anderson in the Square Mile, and it’s brilliant. Probably the best book I’ve ever read. The book is called ” Cityboy“. Of course, he has Irish descent in him as you can tell by the language he uses and some of the phrases. It’s very funny, very real, and extremely human, and tells a lot of which I already knew/suspected, but it’s great to get it confirmed.
Anyway, the reason I think we are geniuses is because I was thinking with my stupid brain that it would be a good idea to open a bank where you could deposit money with no interest paid on it, and you would actually be charged a nominal fee for storing your cash. This bank would not lend your money to anyone but would simply store it for you safely and you could withdraw it at the drop of a hat. Then you know that the bank won’t go bust and that your money is dead safe. The negative side would be that you won’t earn the 4% or 5% or whatever it is today in interest, and you will have to pay a small fee for leaving it there.
Along comes the mighty Brian Cowen and guarantees that the Irish government will stand behind all money deposited in Irish banks. One of the lads told me last night that 50 odd million had been withdrawn from Irish banks in the last few days. Now there will be millions, if not billions, pumped into the Irish banks because of Cowen’s guarantee. There are calls all over the English newspapers today for a*shole Gordon Brown to follow suit – but he won’t. I presume Cowen checked the risk to the tax payer on this one and did his homework, and realised the Irish banks were healthy enough to be able to take this risk, and the only reason that Brown won’t follow is that he knows some of the English banks are f*cked big time. I was also told today by a colleague in France that the Irish bank shares jumped 55%. If this goes wrong in Ireland there will be a lot more than just the banks f*cked, but I presume that Cowen has some type of agreement with what the banks can and can’t do with the influx of money they are going to see.
We had funds coming from China in my own business and they were being sent through a USA corresponding bank, and we were advised to get that changed in case the USA bank went bust. This means that the Irish banks trust the Chinese banks more than the New Yorkers. What a great day for the balance of humanity!
My own instinct is that you should never give your money to someone else to invest, given the fact that they can gamble your money. If it comes good, they will make money as well as you yourself, and if it goes bad you (and only you) will lose. Stick your money into a business that might create jobs for people, or if you’re not into that, stick it into property. And even if it falls it will always come good again, but some of these companies fall and stay dead forever. I’m
certainly not clever enough for the stock market (except I was in that wonderful world of being a stockbroker where I couldn’t lose), and I know that nobody is. I wouldn’t want to be in that world because I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I thought I was making decisions with someone else´s money, who broke their back to get it in the first place. I’m only clever enough to stay away from it.
Spend more time drinking, having sex and singing. And f*ck ´em all! 
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