The bone collector
An interview i did with Record Collector Magazine.. Mark McCausland is a guitarist/writer who lives in Omagh. If he is known at all, it is for his work as one half of The Lost Brothers, who have released 6 albums to date. He was also the lead guitarist in The Basement, who were signed […]
a note from jolie holland
This week’s very special guest columnist comes all the way from Houston Texas, via Los Angeles and everywhere in between. Jolie Holland is her name and if you don’t already know her music then you should go dust off the record player and immediately purchase a copy of her album Escondida. You need her music […]
Blind Blake’s grave, Milwaukee
Dear Mark. Listen! Spent my entire shift, a little over six and a half hours, listening to the complete recordings of Blind Blake. Listened to the last CD twice, which included his final recording session up in Grafton, Wisconsin. Please make a pilgrimage to his gravesite, if you can manage it. I understand how tight […]
“How one discovers Scranton ( or Arizona)”
When we were 15 we hung out at a local pizza parlor on Friday nights and used up all our quarters ( coins ) to play illegal pinball in the back room. This was ceremoniously done while playing Sticky Fingers on the juke box and sparking up a Marlboro. It was 1972. Socially, we were […]
PRAYERS FOR THE OPEN ROAD
WORDS: Mark McKowski & Howe Gelb. MARK WRITES: SCRANTON TIMES I have returned home to Scranton. But yet I haven’t returned. A large chunk of me is still out there on the road. Somewhere behind me. Aren’t there certain cultures who wait at the airport for a day after they fly so their […]
Celticly Connected
Ok. Bear with me on this one. I’m about to go deep. But theres a point in here… somewhere. This stuff has been circling in my mind for some time now.. I’m trying to figure out the formula, or the recipe. The ingredients are all there, stewing in the brain. I Just need to write […]
Loser breaks
Some people were born to lose. It’s just the way it is. They never quite get those lucky breaks that other people get their entire lives. They only get loser breaks. At school they were the last to get picked for the football team. They got detention after class for getting caught doing what the […]
So now what?
For a couple of days I’ve been an empty shell. Waking up and jumping out of bed at 5am with a sense of urgency, only to realise that there is nothing to get up for. The circus has left town. The movie is in the can. Everybody is gone. So I go back to the […]
Awkward but social