Rockinpaddy (John Kelly) introduces himself to DAO readers. A musician, facilitator and vocalist who will be singing in Graeae’s latest production Reasons To Be Cheerful.

Rockinpaddy endeavours to keep grounded whilst caught up in a whirlwind tour with Graeae!

3 November 2010

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It’s hard to know where to start with this blog, locked away in my sparse white walled hotel room, with no tv (thrown out the window, rock and roll stylie), no corgi trouser press (dismantled in a moment of boredom) and no complimentary fridge (emptied and out the window with the tv). Hold on, no it’s not, it’s easy. I’m living the dream singing Ian Dury songs every night as a job!! And I’ve just been facebooked to say Time Out magazine have given Graeae's Reasons...

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Rockinpaddy hits the road with Graeae, but first a quick blog

11 October 2010

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Four weeks of intensive rehearsals and to be completely honest it’s been a ball. We have had a real laugh. It’s been hard work too, with times where we've really had to think through how a particular piece was going to work. This thinking through was often about how we were going to recover/survive from a fast past song with accompanying choreography to deliver the next critical line. Accessibility has been at the forefront of how we worked things. The pace of the songs and the...

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Reasons to be Cheerful is the new production from Graeae. Rockinpaddy (aka John Kelly) prepares to bring Ian Dury’s songs to life.

23 September 2010

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The significance of Ian Dury, a disabled man with lots to say is obviously important to my new journey. Yet I’ve been into him all my life and there is little doubt that he is an inspirational artist for many. Reasons to be Cheerful has a brilliant and strong narrative written by Paul Sirett and directed by Jenny Sealey, in which Dury’s songs play an integral part and provide the strongest backbone you could wish for.  In this production I’m the band lead vocal and we all...

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Rockinpaddy introduces himself as lead vocal in Graeae’s new production Reasons To Be Cheerful.

12 August 2010

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Oi Oi! And thanks to DAO for inviting me to join the prestigious band of bloggers. To be honest I’m a little over-awed by it. As a reader of DAO I’m an admirer of many of the featured artists and now I’m blogging here too. I’m a musician/singer and have been gigging since a wee lad. I grew up surrounded by music heavily influenced by the proud Irish roots of my family. That Irish passion for music and enjoying the craic has stayed with me throughout and is evident in my...

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