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Miscellaneous

What I did in 2011

January 2, 2012 – 4:48 pm

I usually get depression pangs at the end of December because I start to worry I’ve wasted the entire year. I decided to make a list of all the cool things I did in 2011 to remind myself that it has actually been one of the best ever. Since this is the era of the internet and everyone shares everything online I thought I’d put it up for all to see.

This time last year I promised myself I’d do something class at least once per month. I think I’ve achieved this and more. The aim is to make this list bigger for next year.

A big thank you to all my friends and family who have shared these experiences with me!

January

  • Moved back into Belfast.

February

  • Recorded Mental Deficiency’s debut album, ‘..And Now For Something Completely Deficient,’ with Rocky O’Reilly at Start Together Studios.
  • First Mental Deficiency show in Derry.

March

  • Mental Deficiency – Management deal
  • Trip to Brussels.
  • Saw Warrior Soul at the Diamond Rock Bar.

April

  • Saw Earth at Auntie Annies.
  • Triumphant return for Mental Deficiency to The Ivy in Newtownards.

May

  • Another packed out stage for Mental Deficiency at Pigstock.
  • Saw My Dying Bride at the Spring & Airbrake.

June

France:

  • Travelled to Paris alone, met some cool Americans and visited the Eiffel Tower with them. Met more cool Americans at the top.
  • Travelled to Clisson, met some cool French guys on the train who shared their wine with me.
  • Arrived in Clisson, met some cool Dublin guys at the train station. Went for pints at nearby pub.
  • Went to Hellfest – three days of insane partying and metal with the Mid Ulster Hallion Battalion and friends.
  • Saw Def Leppard and Alice Cooper at The Odyssey.
  • Saw Bon Jovi at the RDS in Dublin.

July

  • Mental Deficiency – Album launch at The Black Box.
  • Supported The Rubberbandits at The Stiff Kitten.
  • Went to Glasgowbury.

August

  • Mental Deficiency – Played at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
  • Mental Deficiency – A packed out performance at Sunflowerfest.
  • Mental Deficiency – Helped launch Molten Magazine at The Limelight.
  • Saw Iron Maiden at The Odyssey.
  • Saw Henry Rollins at The Empire.
  • Met the lovely Michelle Mandipira, removed myself from the market.

September

  • Saw Warrior Soul at Auntie Annies.

October

  • Mental Deficiency – Played a great Halloween gig at Love & Death.

November

  • Mental Deficiency – Supported Electric Six in the Spring & Airbrake.
  • Started writing a column for Molten Magazine.
  • Saw The Answer and Therapy? at The Ulster Hall.
  • Saw and met Devin Townsend and Turisas at The Spring & Airbrake.
  • Saw Manowar at the Mandella Hall.
  • Saw The Sisters of Mercy at the Olympia in Dublin.

December

  • Saw Reckless Love at The Limelight.
  • Saw Skrillex in The Mandella Hall.
  • Went to Manchester to see Steel Panther, Motley Crue and Def Leppard.
  • Saw Saxon and Hammerfall in The Mandella Hall.

Other Highlights

  • Shifted another stone in fat, that’s two in total since I started eating healthily and going to the gym.
  • Edited Darkest Era music video – to be released soon.
  • Appeared in Mental Deficiency music video – to be released soon.
  • Successful year for my department in the day job.
  • Got ongoing nasal health problem fixed(ish).
  • Several successful magic performances.
  • Helped establish The Monday Night Gentleman’s club a.k.a. The Merrigle.

2012 is already off to a busy start – just the way I like it!

 

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Miscellaneous

How MCD and Shine Productions Should Proceed with The Limelight Complex

November 29, 2011 – 4:27 pm

After hearing rumours about it for the last few months it has now been officially confirmed that Shine Productions and MCD have bought the Limelight Complex in Belfast. I’m a longtime patron of this establishment’s club nights and gigs. I’ve also played there on numerous occasions with my band Mental Deficiency, most recently supporting Electric Six in the Spring and Airbrake.

These venues are and should continue to be a mainstay of Belfast’s nightlife. Hundreds of great live bands from around the world have played there and the general ambiance of Katy Daly’s and the club nights is a welcome alternative to the vapidness of the larger nightclubs like Box and The M Club.

Although it will come as a relief to many that no major changes in entertainment are planned for the venue, this is the perfect time to tell the new owners what improvements you do think can be made. Any criticisms I make are intended to be constructive, I’ve had many great experiences in The Limelight Complex both on and off-stage and I want to see it continue to be a success.

Here’s a few suggestions I would have:

Sort out the heat in the Limelight – I don’t know if they have air-conditioning in there but it definitely doesn’t feel like it, especially during summer. This may require some sort of wind-turbines to be built into the walls like in Total Recall’s Mars Colony.

If the heat can’t be reduced, pump a nice smell into the club – The smell of sweat and beer farts can be pretty horrific now that the sweet aroma of tobacco is no longer there to cover it up.

Mix up the playlists on club nights – I’ve been going to the club nights on and off in the Limelight for 8 years and the lack of variety in the music played in that time is ridiculous. The main problem appears to be that the DJs only know one or two songs by any given band. From the many times I’ve attended club nights there I have arrived at the following conclusions:

  1. Alice Cooper has only written one song, it’s called Poison.
  2. Rage Against The Machine have two songs, Killing in the Name Of and Bulls on Parade.
  3. The Smiths have one song called This Charming Man.
  4. System of a Down have two songs – BYOB and Chop Suey.
  5. The Prodigy have one song – Smack My Bitch Up.

The list could go on. I know you can’t please everyone and that a lot of rock sub-genres need to be included, but would it hurt to play different tunes by these multi-million selling artists?

Remove the pillar on the Spring and Airbrake stage – I know that this would require major construction work that could cost more than the building itself but you have to admit, that pillar is sooooo annoying.

Give James Loveday from the Distortion Project a full time job – He’s a one-man promoting machine and puts on dozens of great gigs every year, all around his regular job. Imagine what he could do if he did it full time!

Widen the selection of beers – This is a suggestion I would actually give to most bars in Belfast. Even if it was just in Katy Daly’s it would be a good start.

Hopefully the new owners already have plans to improve the service and entertainment provided by the venues whilst maintaining the aspects that make The Limelight Complex great.

What improvements would you suggest?

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