It’s nearly that time of year again and two acts getting straight into the festive spirit are Windings and Crayonsmith who are offering up a split Christmas single for your listening pleasure. Windings will cover ‘The Night Before Christmas’ and Crayonsmith will do a version of The Flaming Lips’ ‘Christmas At The Zoo’. You can catch both acts at The Sallyport, Limerick on December 7 and The Lower Deck, Dublin on December 9. The single is an independent release available nationwide…
...In Dublin news watch out for the only headliner of the year from the multi-talented Neosupervital who plays Crawdaddy on Wed Dec 8. Over the last few months Tim has been busy on drum duties with Paul Noonan et al but has managed to lend his remixing skills to Life After Modelling’s ‘December 21st’ and BellX1’s ‘Next To You’.
2005 sees Mr O’Donovan releasing his debut long player, following on from 2002’s Use What You Got and 2003’s Focus EPs. So head down to Crawdaddy to see this one-man electro-pop powerhouse in action...
...Trip Hazard have been busy recording their first album which hits the shelves in January. The band had toyed with the idea of releasing another EP after the critical acclaim of Stumble but due to the number of amazing tunes in stock they opted for an LP. Get a taster for what’s to come at their show in the Temple Bar Music Centre on December 12...
...Dublin scrufftronic band Groom, have released their CDR-only album, Stitch, on Fairview House Records. Well, when they say CDR only, they mean CDR and mp3. You can download the album for free and for a limited time only at www.gettaroom.com, on the Sounds page…
Groom is a three piece, featuring Michael Stevens on guitar and banjo, who formed the band out of the semi-warm ashes of Settler, and Wil McDermott, also a Settler member, who plays keyboards and bass. Liam Dunne, of LMD64... uh, fame, plays keyboards, guitar and mini korg, as well as handling all the beeps, boops and beats. The music is a mixture of indie songwriting, warm folk and glitchy electronica. Stitch was recorded in Fairview House Studios, and features guest appearances by Derek McCormack from Settler, Ian Lawton from Omelette and Fiachra McCarthy from House of Mexico (and also Groom for a while - until his really cute daughter, Eala, arrived and love tore him away)...
...Chris Morrin who is busy touring in Germany at the moment will be bringing his show to London shortly. The Kiss me, I’m Irish London Tour will take place from December 7-13 and joining Chris on the road will be Niall James Holohan and Aoife McElwain. The tour will include two dates at the Acoustic Club, Clapham on December 7 and 12 and also a double whammy at the Hammersmith Broadway on Thursday December 9 and Saturday December 11. Other dates include The Play Room at Chez Steilos on December 10 and Spice Of Life on Romilly Street on December 13. So if you’re in the area get along to lend some support!
...Some good news for younger readers... Matty Carroll has set up more All Age Gigs around Northern Ireland. Check out www.allagegigs.tk for details. The website is trying to get bands, gig-goers, councils and gig promoters onboard to put on shows to expose some of Northern Irelands great talent to those too young to go to their local bars.
A similar initiative in Galway is the Gaf Battle Of The Bands which takes place at Galway’s Black Box Theatre on December 6. The Gaf Youth Café on Eglington Street has been very active over the last couple of years promoting non-alcoholic gigs for teenagers and the annual Battle Of The Bands has proved to be one of the most popular events. Enjoy!

For live updates tune into The Last Splash, Sunday nights 9-11, with Alison Curtis on Today FM email: [email protected]