the gig was in Greenwich Village, New York, and we arrived early for > soundcheck. There was a great house band there to back all the acts > on the bill that night, and when we entered the building we heard > them already rehearsing. We looked out onto the stage area to see > …
Dear anyone, I’m writing this from my room in the Columbia Hotel, London. It was a gruelling journey getting here. Traffic jams. Human jams. Delayed flights. Lost luggage. Packed train journeys. You name it. The gods were surely crapping on me. But a shining light came as I was checking into the Columbia and I …
Obituary. The Basement, band. (1997-2007). Members: John Mullin (35), Mark McKowski, Declan McManus, Graham Hassle. Formed in the halls of st. Patricks High School, Omagh before moving on to the glamorous surroundings of Johnny lomax’s garage, they honed their “craft” to a semi-tolerable racket. Ambitions were high. Outlook however remained bleek. They moved to Liverpool, …
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 …
I stumbled into the cafe in Montreal to get away from the snow. It was up to my shins. I found a corner seat by the bar and ordered a coffee. Looking around my surroundings, I noticed a photo of leonard Cohen. I quizzed the waitress on its significance. She informed me that Lenny used …
Above the guitar shop on Eggy Road is where Jongo and Honza lived together for 10 years. Jongo was the Belgian gypsy who owned and worked in the guitar shop. Honza was the Czech giant who busked every day from morning until night on Bold Street. They first met many years ago in France at an all …
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 …
While on the road, I often find myself in small towns that resemble home. I could be in Germany, but I’ve somehow wound up in their version of omagh. In fact, sometimes it’s even more like omagh than omagh is. These traps are all over the world. You could be anywhere. Then you walk into …
“Hello mister mark?” The voice at the end of the line was scratchy, but familiar. “This is your Arizona offices. We’ve been receiving some complaints that there’s been no complaints. Can you ruffle some feathers and start shaking things up a bit? It’s too boring. We need some action.” He was right, of course. He …
an observation..
