At Raw Refrains #8 at the Ship, a few years back, I bought a beautiful piece of artwork. (see “Raw Refrains – Integrating Artistry” on Facebook for more info)

This piece is called “The Wedding Song” and was created by Allison Rideout. There was something so unsettling, but strangely beautiful about the image, as you can see for yourself. The mermaid is striking, but she seems pretty bummed out. She does after all live in a fictitious world. She does not have a true identity.

OK, sure, she looks great right? Well yeah, but she is very lonely. Nobody likes to be completely alone and isolated. I write a lot of songs by trying to appreciate and express the perspective of the characters within. The verses of the songs are written from the mermaids perspective, but the choruses are from my view. I wanted to encourage the melancholy mermaid to let down her hair, relax and tell me what is going through her troubled mind.

Here is a video of a song I wrote completely inspired by this strangely beautiful mermaid.

Enjoy my friends. Patrick

www.thisdamnmachine.bandcamp.com.
Over our social networking networks lately I have told you about a couple of affiliates of The Manifest.

Well, here is some tangible proof! This affiliate goes by the name of “THIS DAMN MACHINE.” TDM is a large heterogeneous mixture of analog synths and crusty guitars for fans of industrial rock/metal. A Horror rock project that tastes like a NIN/Ministry/Rob Zombie omelette with extra secret sauce.

Eat your faces off for FREE! This one is on us for your continued support of the Manifest. Download and share! Just because we love you! Let’s just consider this one of the many good- karma initiatives from The Manifest.

Love,
The Manifest and affiliates

Greetings, readers of thy blog! Thanks so much for your patience during this transition period into fatherhood. Anyone who has been following my status updates may already know how things have gone over the last little while! For those of you who have not and for those who would like to know more…here you go:

After 10 days of my wife being on an induction list we got “The Call” on Mother’s Day – May 8th. We arrived at the hospital at around 3pm and got settled into the birthing room. About 40 minutes later the doctor gave Vicky (my wife) a certain cream to help catalyze labor. At the time my wife was just 3 cm dilated.

The catalyst worked immediately on Vicky and she thought that the side effects were intense. She was not looking forward to labour

A few hours went by of Vicky having extreme back pain, but she did not think she was in labor. I went to seek a nurse to check on Vick to make sure everything was cool. There just so happened to be a shift turn-around in progress and the new nurse (Shauna) came into the room with barely enough time to introduce herself.

After an examination she reacted rather frantically :-{ She immediately fetched another nurse to confirm her exam. “Vicky, I think you are dilated to 9 cm”, says Shauna.

Vicky – “can I still have the epidural?”

Shauna – “no, it is too late”

Vicky – “what? I can’t do it! I can’t do it!

Shauna – “you can and you will!”

….and did she ever! Vicky was a Super Trooper and after 2 hours of pushing, Cohen Martin Molloy was born at 9 lbs and 10 ozs at 9:54pm.

You may be wondering, “Dude, what does this have to do with your music career?” Well, my answer is nothing and and everything.

My life has changed in a very profound way and being a dad has further justified my existence. Anyone who truly cares about my music career may have some interest in who I really am as an individual; as a husband and a father of 2 boys ( 1 of which is a fur child, a silky terrier named Amigo).

So, there you have it. A glimpse into my entry into fatherhood! For reading this and showing interest into my life, outside of music, here is a gift. Head to www.YouTube.com/patrickmolloymusic. “Cohen” is a song I wrote earlier this year. I just recorded it on my iPhone, mistakes and all! I hope Cohen will one day see it as a gift as well.

Peace and hugs and poops and pees!

Patrick

I was hoping that all you musicians could give your opinion as well. Her deadline will have expired by the time most of you read this, but either way I thought it would be an interesting conversation to have. Please place your comments here.

Here is what I sent her off the top of my head:

Being a songwriter, musician, promoter, writer, publicist, manager and a million other things comes with many peaks and troughs. Here are some of the troughs.

TIME: To do a proper job representing yourself you need physical time to play with. It’s a LOT of work. When you have a 9-5 professional career, a wife, a dog, a baby on the way, the desire to be fit …time is not on your side. So, you have to use the time you have wisely.

When you have a label they have dedicated resources to do these things full time. Closely linked to time is the difficulty in building contacts.

CONTACTS: This is a very broad challenge. As a band utilizing self representation it takes a long time to build solid relationships. You have to prove that your music is worth talking about by creating special moments at gigs, rehearsing regularly with your band, having industry standard recordings and being totally professional with your outreach. That way you build one relationship at a time. There has to be more of a focus on the quality of relationships you have vs. quantity.

With today’s world of social media outreach is really intrusive and any industry representative who is worth sending anything to are completely bombarded by hungry artists trying to make an impression. You have to constantly be creative and interesting. You cannot steadily ask people for their money. (Buy my album, Come to our show, join our mailing list…). Mix it up by writing reviews about your favorite bands, share awesome youtube videos on facebook, retweet other people’s cool blogs and give away stuff constantly (contests for free albums, free show tickets, video’s of live performance, free demos…).

There is a very fine line to building and breaking relationships. You have to be careful because there is too much awesome music out there for you to offend people.

When you have a publicist, which could be through a label, they have relationships built with journalists to review your album, play your album on radio, set up tours, take care of your social media presence, etc. With a label you most likely have a Manager who seeks opportunities on your behalf. They utilize their teams of professionals to get tv/film licensing opportunities, apply for grants (recording, touring, music videos), apply for Industry Event Showcases (MUSICNL’s, ECMA’s, CMW, SXSW, NXNE, Festivals…).

Without relationship’s you have nothing as an artist. Of course the music should speak for itself, but that is simply not enough these days.

MONEY: I don’t think people realize how much it costs to be a professional musician. Besides your actual instruments, cables, strings, amps, guitar straps, picks….there are a ton of other expenses. You have to front your own $$$$ for recording, rehearsal space, manufacturing, touring vehicle, licensing opportunities, performance opportunities at festivals and music industry events, printing posters, investing in merchandise inventory and another gamut of things I am forgetting.

When you are on a label they may front money for the marketing, radio ads, posters, vehicle, touring, manufacturing, recording and all the other things that go along with being a full time musician.

Another main obstacle that I have faced personally during the launch of an album was the loss of creativity. When you launch an album you have a time frame of about 3 months following its release to create hype around the release and make it exciting. After that window the album just becomes another one in the millions of albums being created around the world.

There is an insane amount of work to be done before an album can get to the launch stage. There is the grant writing, pre-production, band rehearsal, vendor research for merchandise, manufacturing, artwork, web-design, recording, mixing, mastering, press releases……….the list goes on.

I took on most all of these tasks myself besides the technical recording side of things, which completely drained my creative side. I was 90% business and 10% artist. I had no light or clarity inside of my spirit to be able to write something new, which really left me in a dark space for a while after the album was released.

Fortunately, the hard work paid off and the album has been successful, but not without a shit load of hard work.

My band is now at a point where we are more creative and synergistic than ever. We are much more collaborative in the writing process and FUN is the #1 priority. Our live show has become way more powerful because the pressure of pushing an album is gone!

Even though I have pointed out mostly obstacles of representing yourself as a band, there are a ton of benefits to having total control over your career, but maybe that is another assignment and another blog.

Until then…

Patrick
www.patrickmolloy.ca
www.twitter.com/patrickmolloy
www.facebook.com/patrickmolloymusic

Hello Manifestation’s and Raw Refrain’ers,

If you would like a history of the evolution of RAW REFRAINS, please read further. Freelance writer Johnny Hodder asked me a few questions. The article was not published, but here is it just for you anyway. Thanks Johnny!

WARNING – DO NOT Read Further if you want to be inspired.

Where did the name “Raw Refrains” come from?

Raw Refrains was ultimately the result of playing with some words to do justice to the event. Alliteration always helps makes things a little catchier and I still think it is representative of what the show is all about.

“Raw” because the show is very intimate and stripped down. The songwriters share inspiration behind their songs, which can show a vulnerable side of artists. The same goes for the other artists involved in the show. We are all putting our art out there, which is ultimately placing our souls on display for public consumption.

“Refrains” – In music, a refrain has two parts: the lyrics of the song, and the melody. That is a text book definition from Wikipedia, but for me it is a little deeper. In my opinion our arts scene is incredibly humbling and beautiful, but also tragically sad at the same time. Humbling – in the sense that our artists are creating because they have no other choice but do so. We have so much to give and share with no expectations of anything in return. Sad – in the sense that the majority of our artists are struggling to get by. Refrains also means “to repeat”. St. John’s artists will always create over and over because it has to come out! It something happens great. If nothing happens, well, great. At least we will have evolved artistically and created something new.

2) What was your inspiration for this project?

I have always loved songwriter’s circles/lines. There is something really magical about the energy of artists sharing their love/hate all together on stage. There is a true synergy and respect that happens and I always felt that sincerity was translated into the audience. For me at least anyway!

After travelling Canada and Europe for around 5 years my wife and I decided to move back to NL. I had been in and out of the scene for a number of years, but I never had the chance to build strong relationships with the arts community. I felt this was a perfect way for me to network with the artists of St. John’s.

The show started as a songwriters circle and as I met more and more people I realized that I could completely integrate our arts scene by gradually implementing other forms of art.

I find that each art form has its own clique’s, so I thought it would be cool to bring everyone together under one roof to break down the barriers. I get the personal satisfaction of showcasing other people’s art and helping them gain recognition for their artistic expression of choice.

Raw Refrains provides me with the opportunity to work with artists that inspire me and I get to learn from them. In turn I get their respect and the opportunity to work with them on their own artistic ventures.

I also gain experience in furthering my planning – marketing – promotion – organizational skills for future events on a larger scale. With a Business Degree and lots of ideas, this allows me to exercise my entrepreneurial spirit with no over head costs.

What were some of the previous venues? And who were some previous performers?

RR1 – The Fat Cat
Jill Porter – www.jillporter.com, www.myspace.com/jillporter
Trevor Bennett(Catcher) – www.catcher.ca, www.myspace.com/catcherband

RR2 – The Fat Cat
Ian Foster – www.ianfoster.ca
Blair Harvey – www.myspace.com/blairharvey

RR3 – Pier 7 Boat – Nouvelle Orleans
Liz Solo – www.lizsolo.com
Chris Kirby – www.chriskirbyonline.com, www.myspace.com/chriskirbyandthemarquee
Neil Conway – www.neilconway.ca
VA’s – Catherine Marshall, Mark Hearn, Kate Dyke, Chris Darroch Biggs
Comedian – Pat Dempsey
Illusionist – James Hawksley

RR4 – The Fat Cat
Michael Bursey – www.myspace.com/michaelbursey
Adam Baxter – www.myspace.com/adambaxtermusic
VA’s – Libby Nunez, Catherine Marshall

RR 5 – The SHIP
Kalem Mahoney, Melanie O’Brien
VA’s – Steve Thorne, Nicole Button, Allison Rideout

RR 6 – The Rabbittown Theatre
Greg King, Sherry Ryan
VA’s – Ashley Babb, Catherine Marshall, Chad ????, Kendra Miller, Julie Whalan (caricaturist)
Hula-hoop comedy – Sherri Levesque
Theatre – Aiden Flynn
Short Film – Monica Walsh
Illusionist – James Hawksley
Poetry – Anthony Brenton

RR 7 – The Rabbittown Theatre
Jerry Stamp, Colleen Power
Theatre – Phil Goodridge & Amy Anthony
Juggler – James Burke
Poetry – Vanessa Mary Wade
VA’s – Greg Blackwood, Christelle Bishop Hamel

RR 8 – THE SHIP
Maggie Meyer, Kirk Penney
Contemporary Dance – Meghan McCabe
Juggling Art – Highie Newman
VA – Chris Darroch Biggs, Alison Rideout

RR 9 – THE SHIP
Sean Panting, Rick Lambe
Illusion – Peter Duchemin
VA’s – Julie Whalan(Caracaturist), Sophia Marie Meyer

RR10 – THE SHIP
Chris Kirby, Jenny Gear, Sandy Morris
Prose reading – Ian Foster
Belly Dance – Rhonda Barrett
VA’s – Corrine Coleman, Silver Lotus

RR 11 – THE SHIP
Band Edition with Jay Spectre and The Manifest
VA’s – Khagan Aslanov
Spoken word – RN Wagner
Improv Belly Dance – Rhonda Barrett and Andrea Roberts

4) Who else is involved with organizing/launching the event?

Up until present day I have been on my own with the planning. I have had some help from a friend of mine, Kelly Molloy. She has helped get some door prizes and poster printing along with spreading the word. I have not done a show in almost 2 years because I wanted to focus all of my energy on completing my album, “Who Will Listen?” with The Manifest. I wanted to make sure the re-launch of Raw Refrains was tight this time around so I have included some other people.

Mel Smith from www.melsmithstudios.com is curating the art exhibit. She is an incredible artist herself and she understands how to do justice to an art exhibit. Previously, I left it to the artists to set up their work, which was OK, but I have no background in curation. I just love art. Now I have someone in charge to take the exhibit and run with it. It is quite refreshing actually.

I have Kevin Kelly from the Newfoundland Herald hosting this show as well, so I do not have to worry about playing that role as well. I can now focus on being the artist and exercising some general quality control instead of being the founder, organizer, promoter, artist, producer, exhibit curator and host…HA! Kevin is a great fit for the show because he gives back to the music scene of NL like no other!

5) With the abundance of talent flooding St. Johns’ streets, how did you choose your performers/artists/presenters?

That is a good question actually. My selection process starts with people that inspire me. Some are established artists that I have been looking up to for years or others who are emerging artists who have made an impression on me.

There are also other people who approach me with interest in taking part as well. I always ensure that the show is well represented with a combination of both established and emerging.

With the Visual Art, Dance, Poetry, Illusion and other forms of art, I used Facebook. It is full of artists; it just takes time to filter out who is who. I would then solicit people to seek interest. Having Mel on board this time around really helps since she really knows who the VA’s are in the city.

6) Can you tell me a little more about the people/organizations taking part in the show?
Not sure exactly what more info I could provide here. The line up speaks for itself. Jody Richardson is someone I have wanted to work with for a long time. His energy through performance is just incredible. I can’t wait to share the stage with him and have fun with the banter among the other artists.

Sean Panting has been an influence of mine for years. He fits so well in the songwriter’s line environment. He is just hilarious and his stories add a great flow to the show.

Rozalind Macphail is a roaming artist who arrived on the rock a few years ago. I first saw her perform at the Rockhouse for a benefit show. She is about as unique as it gets in this city when it comes to songwriting. She implements electronic loops into her show with claves, snyth sounds, guitar and plus she is a Music Major in flute. Very intriguing performer!

Colleen Power has been a staple in the St. John’s scene for years now. She adds to the hilarity and has some really killer songs. Her presence is always a bonus on any stage.

I have also looked up to Liz Solo for so many years for what she has given back to the arts scene in St. John’s. I asked her to share some of the theatrical side of her artistry for this show. She will be performing with her hand puppet side kick Newf the Baby Harp Seal and Robot Comedienne.

In the past I have typically worked with Belly Dnacers for the dance component of the show. However, this time around I am working with contemporary dancers. Andrea Tucker for the first show and Lynn Panting for the 2nd. I am very excited to see some new performances.

I am also pumped to bring Short Films into the Raw Refrains spectrum. The Brimstone has a great set up for showing films on a great projection system. Roger Maunder, first time filmmaker of NIFCO (Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Cooperative) will be showing his film “Swallowed”.

The April 2nd show is equally as exciting for me. It is also unique in the sense that it is a female dominated songwriter’s line with Sherry Ryan, Janet Cull and Natalie Noseworthy. Andrew James O’Brien will be adding some testosterone with me as well.

Janet and Natalie are Diva’s and have put off some really incredible shows as of late. I have not worked with either of them in the past, so this thrills me! Sherry and I have done a show or two together before and I just love her gentle folk style to add a rootsy element to the show. Andrew James O’Brien is really exploding on the scene with his band the Searchers right now and his debut album has a lot of hype surrounding it.

Adam Clarke will be providing the comedy for RR#13. He is a referral from funny man Brad Hodder.

Roger Maunder will be having some of his film peers showcase for the second show and Lynn Panting will be showcasing her dance artistry for us. Lynn has her own dance company and is also an amazing actress and musician as well!

7) What do you want people to get out of Raw Refrains? (yourself, other performers, the audience, and community)?
As mentioned previously, I get the pleasure of fostering our arts scene and bringing MORE appreciation towards the talent at our finger tips in this city. I think because St. John’s is so flooded with talent that the general public takes it for granted.

I also get to network and be entertained by new artists. I am here to stay in NL, so the more people I can meet and share wonderful shows with, the better!

For performers I want them to experience true appreciation for their art foremost. Eventually I would like to get into corporate shows so artists can move some of their products and receive some financial return from their performances/showcases. I want the artists to feel the synergy created from the diversity of the art surrounding them as well. We are all artists after all, whatever the medium.

For the audience – I want them to experience how profound our arts scene is. With the diverse array of art happening at the show, the audience will see what exciting projects are happening in their own city. Plus, they get to take some very precious moments that will be created. After all that is what we all crave; memories that we can all cherish through our lives. I think art has that effect. Whether it is a piece of art that they have on their wall for 30 years or the story that a songwriter tells that touches their hearts.

I have explored the arts scene of a number of cities in Canada and Europe and I have never seen anything as profound as what we have to offer in St. John’s. Sometimes I think our people forget that!

The Fine Print: How much are tickets? Can people buy them in advance (where)? When is showtime?
The venue is The Brimstone Public House on George Street. It is the old O’Rielly’s and is located right next to the old O’Rielly’s. The price is $10.

There are no tickets and this is not a huge venue, so I would strongly recommend getting there early and getting settled in. It is going to be a full house.

Doors open at 9PM for a meet and greet with the artists involved in the show.
__________________________________________________________

Congrats folks! You made it. Thanks for supporting local art

Patrick Molloy
Founder, Raw Refrains
www.patrickmolloy.ca

Hey folks,

Leading up to Raw Refrains Freelance Writer, Johnny Hodder, asked me a few questions about Raw Refrains. The story did not publish, but I figured I would give you the oppotunity to really get to know where Raw Refrains has come from. It is in a very RAW format of Q & A. Enjoy!

WARNING – DO NOT read any further if you want to be inspired

1) Where did the name “Raw Refrains” come from?

Raw Refrains was ultimately the result of playing with some words to do justice to the event. Alliteration always helps makes things a little catchier and I still think it is representative of what the show is all about.

“Raw” because the show is very intimate and stripped down. The songwriters share inspiration behind their songs, which can show a vulnerable side of artists. The same goes for the other artists involved in the show. We are all putting our art out there, which is ultimately placing our souls on display for public consumption.

“Refrains” – In music, a refrain has two parts: the lyrics of the song, and the melody. That is a text book definition from Wikipedia, but for me it is a little deeper. In my opinion our arts scene is incredibly humbling and beautiful, but also tragically sad at the same time. Humbling – in the sense that our artists are creating because they have no other choice but do so. We have so much to give and share with no expectations of anything in return. Sad – in the sense that the majority of our artists are struggling to get by. Refrains also means “to repeat”. St. John’s artists will always create over and over because it has to come out! It something happens great. If nothing happens, well, great. At least we will have evolved artistically and created something new.

2) What was your inspiration for this project?

I have always loved songwriter’s circles/lines. There is something really magical about the energy of artists sharing their love/hate all together on stage. There is a true synergy and respect that happens and I always felt that sincerity was translated into the audience. For me at least anyway!

After travelling Canada and Europe for around 5 years my wife and I decided to move back to NL. I had been in and out of the scene for a number of years, but I never had the chance to build strong relationships with the arts community. I felt this was a perfect way for me to network with the artists of St. John’s.

The show started as a songwriters circle and as I met more and more people I realized that I could completely integrate our arts scene by gradually implementing other forms of art.

I find that each art form has its own clique’s, so I thought it would be cool to bring everyone together under one roof to break down the barriers. I get the personal satisfaction of showcasing other people’s art and helping them gain recognition for their artistic expression of choice.

Raw Refrains provides me with the opportunity to work with artists that inspire me and I get to learn from them. In turn I get their respect and the opportunity to work with them on their own artistic ventures.

I also gain experience in furthering my planning – marketing – promotion – organizational skills for future events on a larger scale. With a Business Degree and lots of ideas, this allows me to exercise my entrepreneurial spirit with no over head costs.

3) What were some of the previous venues? And who were some previous performers?

RR1 – The Fat Cat
Jill Porter – www.jillporter.com, www.myspace.com/jillporter
Trevor Bennett(Catcher) – www.catcher.ca, www.myspace.com/catcherband

RR2 – The Fat Cat
Ian Foster – www.ianfoster.ca
Blair Harvey – www.myspace.com/blairharvey

RR3 – Pier 7 Boat – Nouvelle Orleans
Liz Solo – www.lizsolo.com
Chris Kirby – www.chriskirbyonline.com, www.myspace.com/chriskirbyandthemarquee
Neil Conway – www.neilconway.ca
VA’s – Catherine Marshall, Mark Hearn, Kate Dyke, Chris Darroch Biggs
Comedian – Pat Dempsey
Illusionist – James Hawksley

RR4 – The Fat Cat
Michael Bursey – www.myspace.com/michaelbursey
Adam Baxter – www.myspace.com/adambaxtermusic
VA’s – Libby Nunez, Catherine Marshall

RR 5 – The SHIP
Kalem Mahoney, Melanie O’Brien
VA’s – Steve Thorne, Nicole Button, Allison Rideout

RR 6 – The Rabbittown Theatre
Greg King, Sherry Ryan
VA’s – Ashley Babb, Catherine Marshall, Chad ????, Kendra Miller, Julie Whalan (caricaturist)
Hula-hoop comedy – Sherri Levesque
Theatre – Aiden Flynn
Short Film – Monica Walsh
Illusionist – James Hawksley
Poetry – Anthony Brenton

RR 7 – The Rabbittown Theatre
Jerry Stamp, Colleen Power
Theatre – Phil Goodridge & Amy Anthony
Juggler – James Burke
Poetry – Vanessa Mary Wade
VA’s – Greg Blackwood, Christelle Bishop Hamel

RR 8 – THE SHIP
Maggie Meyer, Kirk Penney
Contemporary Dance – Meghan McCabe
Juggling Art – Highie Newman
VA – Chris Darroch Biggs, Alison Rideout

RR 9 – THE SHIP
Sean Panting, Rick Lambe
Illusion – Peter Duchemin
VA’s – Julie Whalan(Caracaturist), Sophia Marie Meyer

RR10 – THE SHIP
Chris Kirby, Jenny Gear, Sandy Morris
Prose reading – Ian Foster
Belly Dance – Rhonda Barrett
VA’s – Corrine Coleman, Silver Lotus

RR 11 – THE SHIP
Band Edition with Jay Spectre and The Manifest
VA’s – Khagan Aslanov
Spoken word – RN Wagner
Improv Belly Dance – Rhonda Barrett and Andrea Roberts

4) Who else is involved with organizing/launching the event?

Up until present day I have been on my own with the planning. I have had some help from a friend of mine, Kelly Molloy. She has helped get some door prizes and poster printing along with spreading the word. I have not done a show in almost 2 years because I wanted to focus all of my energy on completing my album, “Who Will Listen?” with The Manifest. I wanted to make sure the re-launch of Raw Refrains was tight this time around so I have included some other people.

Mel Smith from www.melsmithstudios.com is curating the art exhibit. She is an incredible artist herself and she understands how to do justice to an art exhibit. Previously, I left it to the artists to set up their work, which was OK, but I have no background in curation. I just love art. Now I have someone in charge to take the exhibit and run with it. It is quite refreshing actually.

I have Kevin Kelly from the Newfoundland Herald hosting this show as well, so I do not have to worry about playing that role as well. I can now focus on being the artist and exercising some general quality control instead of being the founder, organizer, promoter, artist, producer, exhibit curator and host…HA! Kevin is a great fit for the show because he gives back to the music scene of NL like no other!

5) With the abundance of talent flooding St. Johns’ streets, how did you choose your performers/artists/presenters?

That is a good question actually. My selection process starts with people that inspire me. Some are established artists that I have been looking up to for years or others who are emerging artists who have made an impression on me.

There are also other people who approach me with interest in taking part as well. I always ensure that the show is well represented with a combination of both established and emerging.

With the Visual Art, Dance, Poetry, Illusion and other forms of art, I used Facebook. It is full of artists; it just takes time to filter out who is who. I would then solicit people to seek interest. Having Mel on board this time around really helps since she really knows who the VA’s are in the city.

6) Can you tell me a little more about the people/organizations taking part in the show?

Not sure exactly what more info I could provide here. The line up speaks for itself. Jody Richardson is someone I have wanted to work with for a long time. His energy through performance is just incredible. I can’t wait to share the stage with him and have fun with the banter among the other artists.

Sean Panting has been an influence of mine for years. He fits so well in the songwriter’s line environment. He is just hilarious and his stories add a great flow to the show.

Rozalind Macphail is a roaming artist who arrived on the rock a few years ago. I first saw her perform at the Rockhouse for a benefit show. She is about as unique as it gets in this city when it comes to songwriting. She implements electronic loops into her show with claves, snyth sounds, guitar and plus she is a Music Major in flute. Very intriguing performer!

Colleen Power has been a staple in the St. John’s scene for years now. She adds to the hilarity and has some really killer songs. Her presence is always a bonus on any stage.

I have also looked up to Liz Solo for so many years for what she has given back to the arts scene in St. John’s. I asked her to share some of the theatrical side of her artistry for this show. She will be performing with her hand puppet side kick Newf the Baby Harp Seal and Robot Comedienne.

In the past I have typically worked with Belly Dnacers for the dance component of the show. However, this time around I am working with contemporary dancers. Andrea Tucker for the first show and Lynn Panting for the 2nd. I am very excited to see some new performances.

I am also pumped to bring Short Films into the Raw Refrains spectrum. The Brimstone has a great set up for showing films on a great projection system. Roger Maunder, first time filmmaker of NIFCO (Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Cooperative) will be showing his film “Swallowed”.

The April 2nd show is equally as exciting for me. It is also unique in the sense that it is a female dominated songwriter’s line with Sherry Ryan, Janet Cull and Natalie Noseworthy. Andrew James O’Brien will be adding some testosterone with me as well.

Janet and Natalie are Diva’s and have put off some really incredible shows as of late. I have not worked with either of them in the past, so this thrills me! Sherry and I have done a show or two together before and I just love her gentle folk style to add a rootsy element to the show. Andrew James O’Brien is really exploding on the scene with his band the Searchers right now and his debut album has a lot of hype surrounding it.

Adam Clarke will be providing the comedy for RR#13. He is a referral from funny man Brad Hodder.

Roger Maunder will be having some of his film peers showcase for the second show and Lynn Panting will be showcasing her dance artistry for us. Lynn has her own dance company and is also an amazing actress and musician as well!

7) What do you want people to get out of Raw Refrains? (yourself, other performers, the audience, and community)?

As mentioned previously, I get the pleasure of fostering our arts scene and bringing MORE appreciation towards the talent at our finger tips in this city. I think because St. John’s is so flooded with talent that the general public takes it for granted.

I also get to network and be entertained by new artists. I am here to stay in NL, so the more people I can meet and share wonderful shows with, the better!

For performers I want them to experience true appreciation for their art foremost. Eventually I would like to get into corporate shows so artists can move some of their products and receive some financial return from their performances/showcases. I want the artists to feel the synergy created from the diversity of the art surrounding them as well. We are all artists after all, whatever the medium.

For the audience – I want them to experience how profound our arts scene is. With the diverse array of art happening at the show, the audience will see what exciting projects are happening in their own city. Plus, they get to take some very precious moments that will be created. After all that is what we all crave; memories that we can all cherish through our lives. I think art has that effect. Whether it is a piece of art that they have on their wall for 30 years or the story that a songwriter tells that touches their hearts.

I have explored the arts scene of a number of cities in Canada and Europe and I have never seen anything as profound as what we have to offer in St. John’s. Sometimes I think our people forget that!

The Fine Print: How much are tickets? Can people buy them in advance (where)? When is showtime? The venue is The Brimstone Public House on George Street. It is the old O’Rielly’s and is located right next to the old O’Rielly’s. The price is $10.

There are no tickets and this is not a huge venue, so I would strongly recommend getting there early and getting settled in. It is going to be a full house.

Doors open at 9PM for a meet and greet with the artists involved in the show.
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Congrats! You made it to the end. Thanks for supporting local art!

Patrick Molloy
Founder, Raw Refrains
www.patrickmolloy.ca

As mentioned in my most recent Newsletter, I am bringing a very special piece of my heart back to the surface.

It’s called Raw Refrains, which is an inspiring event/brand that integrates the many facets of the St. John’s Arts Scene. I launched the show in October of 2007 with a simple Songwriters Circle set-up and it has since evolved into something pretty special.

The show now houses songwriters, visual artists, comedians, filmmakers, dancers and other forms of art all under one roof. The experience of the event is quite profound and I cannot wait to share it with you again.

Besides an event, Raw Refrains goal is to become a Universal Network of Artists who feed off of each other. Let’s make films, write songs, share art ideas, share resources and ultimately support each other through our love of art.

I will not go further into detail about the show’s origins and such right now. Stay tuned for that at a later date. For now, I simply wanted to introduce you to Raw Refrains and share the line-ups for RR#12 and RR#13. Here are the details:

Raw Refrains 12 – Feb. 26th – The Brimstone @ 9PM (Hosted by Kevin Kelly of the Newfoundland Herald)
Songwriter’s Circle: Patrick Molloy, Jody Richardson, Rozalind Macphail, Colleen Power and Sean Panting
Art Exhibit: Curated by Mel Smith (Featuring Greg Blackwood and many more)
Dance: Andrea Tucker
Short Film: Roger Maunder (First time filmmaker mentor of NIFCO – Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Cooperative). Showing the short film – “Swallowed”.
Comedy: Liz Solo

Raw Refrains 13 – The Brimstone @ 9PM – April 2nd
Songwriter’s Circle: Patrick Molloy, Sherry Ryan, Natalie Noseworthy, Janet Cull, and Andrew James O’Brien
Art Exhibit: Curated by Mel Smith
Dance: Lynn Panting
Short Films: Facilitated by Roger Maunder (First time filmmaker mentor of NIFCO – Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Cooperative).
Comedy: Brad Hodder

For now the home of Raw Refrains resides on Facebook. Simply search Raw Refrains- Integrating Artistry or use the link here, http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=728627551&sk=info#!/pages/Raw-Refrains-Integrating-Artistry/133993183327214. While there you will find videos of some of the artists involved in the show.

I’ll be in touch soon with more inspiration behind Raw Refrains. It is late now and I lost my initial drafted message for this blog Nighty Night!

Patrick
www.patrickmolloy.ca (5 FREE songs available for download)

Shortly after I wrote the last blog post our lead guitarist, Josh Noble, announced to us that he could no longer commit to The Manifest. After 8 months of constant jamming and comradery it came as a shock. On the same day that Josh delivered the news the storm IGOR came barrelling through Newfoundland and caused severe damage. Mark(drummer) and I still headed to Mike’s (bass player)house to discuss our fate, which seemed equally as vicious as the storm all around us.

As Mike boiled a pot of tea over his fireplace, we gawked at each other across a candle lit room. Similar to the circumstance of having no power, we were having issues turning on the switch of enlightenment. I broke out my book of songs and started a brainstorming session, “OK guys, if we could pick any guitarist in this entire city who would we ask to become a part of The Manifest?”

We had just played a show with a band called “The Need”, which contains St. John’s very own guitar God, Chris Kearsey. Chris is a fierce player and sees all musicians in the city as his children. He takes care of our guitars and makes them sound even better than they did before we brought them to him. I sent him a message to seek interest and he agreed to jamming to see how it felt.

He immediately gelled with the Manifest vibe. Jamming in that little rec room all of a sudden felt like we were playing for 80,000 at Wembley Stadium. We have been jamming ever since and The Manifest are a tight machine like never before. More than anything, playing with The Manifest has returned to the origins of why I started playing music in the first place……………..FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!

I had been so caught up in recording “Who Will Listen?” and getting it OUT THERE that I forgot about fun. I had become about 90% business with social networking and grant applications that I was becoming jaded and no creative juices were flowing at all. In fact, I brought my guitar amp back from our jam space and realized that I had not played my electric for pleasure in about 2 years at home. Crazy!!!! Since then I have bought a number of pedals to play with and finding some juicier tones with my beast. Creative writing has come back to the surface and I have played a bunch of acoustic gigs to get back to my roots as well.

So, before I depart from cyber space I wanted to share the exciting news of my soon to be Fatherhood! My wife Vicky and I are so excited! I will write a full blog post on this wild ride soon.

In closing, I have decided to share some Christmas Spirit and make 5 song downloads available for free from “Who Will Listen?” If you are already a member of the mailing list then you have access to the song downloads. That being said, please feel free to invite some other people to the mailing list and share the Christmas cheers. Just head to www.patrickmolloy.ca .

Merry Manifestmas to all and to all a brilliant New Year!

PM&M
www.patrickmolloy.ca

It has been so long since I wrote a blog post. So, I thought that I would get back on track by sharing a new old video for you. This is volume 3 of “In the Studio with Patrick Molloy and The Manifest”.

As some of you may know we had a keyboard player named Tom Davis, who left the band shortly after tracking in June of 2009. Tom was with the Manifest for over a year and he added such an amazing element to our new album, “Who Will Listen?” Tom decided to move to Montreal on an adventure for a while. He has since moved back to the Rock, but has on some level retired from performing. We really missed Tom but certainly treasured our time sharing music with him.

So, this video is sort of a tribute to Tom. His stamp is on this record forever even though the bands direction has already flown off into a different direction.

You will also see some random footage from tracking at Henge Studios. We had an amazing time recording this album and we hope you feel that energy as you listen to the album and check out this video.

If you would like to see some other videos head to www.reverbnation.com/patrickmolloy and check out the video’s section or head to www.patrickmolloy.ca and click on the music page and the video’s icon from there.

We have a show on Sept. 11th at the SHIP and we are super excited to have The Need and Jerry Stamp joining us. The show starts at 1030PM. We hope to see you there friends.

Peace and good vibes.
Patrick

I am back on the Rock here in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada and as usual things are pretty hectic.

I am not really quite sure where to start based on my last blog/update. Let’s start with CUBA.

Well, CUBA was supposed to be a nice wind down and recharge after the busy-ness of releasing a new album and all that stuff. Unfortunately, I took sick a couple of days before I left and it stayed with me until a couple of days into the trip. I am not going to get into details of the sickness, but the song title “Ring of Fire” should say it all.

Anyway, we met some great people that we will hopefully stay in touch with and had a few good days of drinking in the bar pool and socializing. The day before we left we noticed that neither one of us really had a tan because of our constant reapplication of SPF 50, 45 , 30. So, we decided to apply some 15. We lay in the sun for no longer than an hour and got completely baked in the sun.

I got back to our room and I started to shiver like crazy. To warm myself up I decided to get a hot shower, which i also hoped would take away the sting of the sunburn. BAD IDEA! I got pretty light headed and almost passed out in the shower. I managed to stumble out of the shower and rush to a bucket where I started vomiting violently. My wife was feeling pretty off as well and we have heard horror stories of people dying with heat stroke, so she called the resort doctor.

He came with his assistant and they applied some cream to help ease the pain of the burn and also gave me the good ‘ol needle in the behind. Man that hurt. It still feels kind of numb there. Anyway, that helped curb my fever a little bit and get a wink of sleep.

We checked out the following day at noon-ish and basically hung out in the internet café until the shuttle came for us. Why? Because it was the only place on the resort that had air conditioning besides the rooms. We arrived in Toronto airport at 1AM and stayed there until 6AM to get our connecting flight back to St. John’s, NL. I then started feeling sick again for a week or so and am only now feeling back to myself again.

I know the sickness may have added to the negative experience, but I think it also made my wife and I realize that maybe we are just not resort people. Over the years we have been to 10 countries in Europe and completely explored each culture and met so many amazing people. On a resort there is only so much drinking and eating you can do before you start feeling like you are going to blow up.

We agreed that next time around we will save a little extra and head back to Europe or California and rent a condo or something.

Other news?

Well, as you may have noticed from our gig calendar, it is pretty empty. Due to weddings and holidays and the like, we do not have a band show booked until September 11th. The good news is that this will be a tour kickoff party. We are planning to hit the maritime’s in mid-September. Stay tuned to www.patrickmolloy.ca for details. I will also be adding a couple of solo shows and Raw Refrains showcases.

We are also writing a lot of new material and practicing weekly to stay on top of the game and get another album written. We have started bringing some cameras to jams and taking some pretty raw footage. In due time we will post some of it for you loyal manifestations.

So, that’s all for now. Stay real and manifest your own beautiful reality.

Peace

Patrick
www.patrickmolloy.ca