Dylan (Shane Curry) and Kylie (Kelly O’Neill) lived in a poor neighborhood but they didn’t mind. What they were unhappy about was the fact that both of them had an abusive family. Dylan had an alcoholic father (Paul Roe) who beat up his wife (Neilí Conroy) and only child, while Kylie was sexually molested by his uncle (Sean McDonagh). When the violence reached a peak in Dylan’s home, the two kids ran away from their hometown and headed to Dublin with the help of a sailor (David Bendito) who introduced them to Bob Dylan’s music. The two hoped to find Dylan’s older brother who ran away two years prior. I was impressed with this coming-of-age film because it managed to do so much with so little. Its story was simple, the script was bare and the camerawork was relatively standard. However, it had moments of real poignancy when the lens would focus on the kids as it highlighted a specific emotion they were going through aided by an excellent soundtrack that allowed us to feel as we were with them. The city was a double-edged sword. During the day, it was a haven for Dylan and Kylie because their parents weren’t around. They had enough money to go shopping for new clothes, eat as much sweets as they wanted, and get to know each other. They learned that despite the fact that they were neighbors and friendly to one another, they weren’t really close. From an outsider’s perspective, it was obvious they liked each other, but they either weren’t aware of it or they weren’t willing to accept it. After all, they were just kids. I think we can all relate to the feeling of spending a couple of hours with someone and suddenly seeing that particular person in a completely different way. The film was successful in its mission of underlining that critical change without being melodramatic and cliché–something more mainstream romantic comedies commonly fail to accomplish. During the night, the city was plagued with monsters. Even people that seemed to mean well should be approached with caution. The characters were smart so they knew how to handle themselves for the most part especially when they were in a public space. However, dark alleys were abound and the most dangerous tend to hide in the shadows and await the perfect opportunity to strike. The bond between the two was challenged and ultimately strengthened. “Kisses,” written and confidently directed by Lance Daly, knew what it wanted to tell the world and it did so with elegance in just over an hour and ten minutes. It reminded me of Shane Meadows’ “Somers Town” because it was highly efficient and both stories’ root was a beautiful friendship. As for the film’s title, well, like best kisses, you just have to experience it.

Our Brownbread Players, Kalle, Sean and Brian (and special guest star Jessica Ryan),  just got back from performing at the Flat Lake festival in Monaghan. It was incredible amounts of fun.We managed to draw a wonderfully warm and engaged crowd for our sketch show, which grew as the show went on. Ripples of laughter became roars, small claps and whistles became hollers for more. It was a cracking night and we are most grateful to all who came to see us and for the kind, effusive praise you gave us afterwards. (Check out many of the sketches you saw on our YouTube channel!) Thanks also to the dude who critiqued our portrayal of German people, only to realize we were portraying a specific German director by the name of Werner Herzog. It was a really special night that had us buzzing for hours afterwards. High fives all round.

Overall, the festival is truly unique with a really relaxed, welcoming, familial atmosphere with quality performances aimed at both the heart and head. Where else would you be able to see John Banville, Sam Shepard and The Rubberbandits on the same bill? The Gonzo Theatre tent, curated excellently by Phil Doherty, was the focal point of much of our time there and we got to see outstanding poetry that silenced the room by Colm Keegan; a wonderful reading by ledgebag and icon Sam Shepard who recounted terrific tales of crystal meth, violin music and shooting films with directors in New Mexico; a fantastic musical performance by Pearse McGloughlin and his band (featuring our very own percussive pointman Enda Roche); a raucous and energetic gig by old school next-big-things Whipping Boy (whose singer is an incredible energetic frontman who sadly has about as many notes drowning in his head as he has teeth these days); and a madcap, magnificent poetry slam hosted by the comedic genius pairing of The Gombeens.

Much of the rest of the fabulous festival was spent soaking up the sun (or being slightly lashed by the wind and rain on Sunday) and lazing around, drinking quietly in the sweet sunshine, laughing and sharing moments, watching the kids play, eating delicious food, wandering through the Rose Garden and magnificent grounds of the house and estate, stumbling in to a reading or performance and smiling at the pure excellence of it, watching people dance in the halflight of a summer night, feeling the incredible goodwill and positive energy from all around. In other words, it is easily one of the best festivals in Ireland and it is an absolute must on everyone’s social calendar for next year. If we were to describe it to an outsider, we would say that it is like wandering through a particularly good novel – intriguing, inviting, delightful and when it is over, you wish you could start at the beginning again.

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The brownbread mixtape is a free monthly comedy, poetry & music show in the Stag’s Head pub in Dublin, Ireland.

Each  show has a theme. We all have loads of fun. Simple as that.

We can be followed & liked in these places:
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Ustream

Festival season has begun and we are proud to announce that The Brownbread Players will be performing a selection of their weirdest, wildest and funniest sketches at the Flat Lake Festival in Monaghan on the June bank holiday weekend. It is a delightful little literary, artistic festival with all kinds of oddities abounding. In fact, attending the festival feels a lot like being in a really good episode of Father Ted. And if last year’s festival is anything to go by, we expect a charming and inspiring mix of ideas and lunacy.

The Brownbread Players will be performing in The Gonzo Theatre tent curated by the mercurial Phil Doherty, which will also feature fantastic performers like The Rubberbandits, The Gombeens, Jinx Lennon, Ghost Train Willy and many others. Other stages will be hosting top writers like Irish legend John Banville and American satirist supreme Joe Queenan, as well as mellifluous music by Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies and The Blood Red Mountain Band. Some of the very best spoken word and poetry performers in the country will also be performing, including The Poetry Chicks, Dave Lordan and Stephen James Smith. In other words, a truly stellar set of performers alongside a whole host of other cool events and attractions. [Check out the loopy official Flat Lake Festival website here]

We are really looking forward to it and we really hope you can make it along. It is one of the most mellow, warm and good natured festivals we have ever been to and they really deserve your support. Weekend tickets are a steal and can be purchased online at the following digital emporium> [Flat Lake Tickets Available Here ]

See you  all there!

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The brownbread mixtape is a free monthly comedy, poetry & music show in the Stag’s Head pub in Dublin, Ireland.

Each  show has a theme. We all have loads of fun. Simple as that.

We can be followed & liked in these places:
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Ustream

No tickets this time folks. First come, first served, like the good old days!

resident MC and culchie Kalle Ryan will be in place again to host proceedings and wave his applause sign. resident sound man and fellow culchie Enda Roche will also be in the corner co-hosting and lowering the levels.

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The following incredible performers will be on the lineup:

MUSIC : 

THE BLUE CHOIR | 

The Blue Choir are a collection of musicians and vocalists with the same love of music. Currently residing between Dublin & Kildare the bands debut E.P ‘Get Ready For War’ was released earlier this year. the brownbread mixtape is all kinds of excited to have them with us. Masterful songwriting, artfully performed.

” Superb, spooky, folk-fringed sounds from a five-strong Dublin/Kildare outfit who already have some deadly tunes in their knapsacks. Check out Barry Kirwan’s striking vocals.” – Jim Carroll, The Irish Times

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ROSS BREEN |

Ross Breen is a musician and songwriter from Kildare. He recently released his debut album, ‘When I Met The Devil’ in March 2011. He is a graduate of the Ballyfermot Rock School and has shared a stage with various musical luminaries on his travels, including Glen Hansard, Bell X1, Damien Dempsey, Sinead O’ Connor, Declan O’ Rourke, Mundy, Luka Bloom and Liam O’ Maonlai. Breen has also been included on various compilation albums, including Ceol 06 and a Rock School Best Of. the brownbread mixtape is delighted to welcome the Breen machine to our stage.

“… fresh, inventive and daring… The Irish music scene’s best kept secret? Maybe it’s time more people were told. (9/10)″ – Drop-d.ie

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SPOKEN WORD:

SARAH MARIA GRIFFIN | 

Sarah is 22 years old and hails from the north side suburbs of Dublin. She is presently completing her M.A in Writing in NUIG. She has only been performing in spoken word circles since late 2009, but since then she has performed at many events such as The Glór Sessions, Exchange Word and Milk & Cookie Stories. She recently had her first collection of poems, “Follies”, published by Lapwing Press and has drawn strong praise from critics and peers alike. the brownbread mixture is giddy with excitement to bring her to perform.

+

FERGUS COSTELLO|

Fergus Costello is a performance poet based in Tipperary and is the current Munster slam poetry champion. He was also the winner of the Cuisle International Poetry Festival Grand Slam held at The Locke Bar, Limerick in 2010. Fergus is also a highly regarded artist and his work has been displayed widely across this fair island. the brownbread mixtape is beyond excitement to welcome Fergus and his mercurial talents to the stage.

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SKETCH COMEDY:

THE BROWNBREAD PLAYERS |

Our very own hilarious sketch troupe will perform brand new skits and sketches on the theme of the night. The Brownbread Players for this month’s show are Sean McDonagh, Elderest McDonagh and Kalle Ryan.

+

OTHER COOL STUFF:

Barring any technical hitches, we will be broadcasting LIVE ON D’INTERNET here

We will be having our monthly RAFFLE with highy desirable and coveted prizes

And you can expect lots of surprises and silliness

It would be a pleasure to see you all there!

————————————————————————————————————————–

We can be followed & liked in these places:
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Ustream

————————————————————————————————————————–

Festival season has begun and we are proud to announce that The Brownbread Players will be performing a selection of their weirdest, wildest and funniest sketches at this years Flat Lake Festival in Monaghan on the June bank holiday weekend. It is a delightful little literary, artistic festival with all kinds of oddities abounding. In fact, attending the festival feels a lot like being in a really good episode of Father Ted. And if last year’s festival is anything to go by, we expect a charming and inspiring mix of ideas and lunacy.

The Brownbread Players will be performing in The Gonzo Theatre tent curated by the mercurial Phil Doherty, which will also feature fantastic performers like The Gombeens, Jinx Lennon, Ghost Train Willy and many others. Other stages will be hosting top writers like Irish legend John Banville and American satirist supreme Joe Queenan, as well as mellifluous music by Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies and The Blood Red Mountain Band. Some of the very best spoken word and poetry performers in the country will also be performing, including The Poetry Chicks, Dave Lordan and Stephen James Smith. In other words, a truly stellar set of performers alongside a whole host of other cool events and attractions. [Check out the loopy official Flat Lake Festival website here]

We are really looking forward to it and we really hope you can make it along. It is one of the most mellow, warm and good natured festivals we have ever been to and they really deserve your support. Weekend tickets are a steal and can be purchased online at the following digital emporium> [Flat Lake Tickets Available Here ]

See you  all there!

————————————————————————————————————————————–

The brownbread mixtape is a free monthly comedy, poetry & music show in the Stag’s Head pub in Dublin, Ireland.

Each  show has a theme. We all have loads of fun. Simple as that.

We can be followed & liked in these places:
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Ustream

No tickets this time folks. First come, first served, like the good old days!

resident MC and culchie Kalle Ryan will be in place again to host proceedings and wave his applause sign. resident sound man and fellow culchie Enda Roche will also be in the corner co-hosting and lowering the levels.

————————————————————————————————————————–

The following incredible performers will be on the lineup:

MUSIC : 

THE BLUE CHOIR | 

The Blue Choir are a collection of musicians and vocalists with the same love of music. Currently residing between Dublin & Kildare the bands debut E.P ‘Get Ready For War’ was released earlier this year. the brownbread mixtape is all kinds of excited to have them with us. Masterful songwriting, artfully performed.

” Superb, spooky, folk-fringed sounds from a five-strong Dublin/Kildare outfit who already have some deadly tunes in their knapsacks. Check out Barry Kirwan’s striking vocals.” – Jim Carroll, The Irish Times

+

ROSS BREEN |

Ross Breen is a musician and songwriter from Kildare. He recently released his debut album, ‘When I Met The Devil’ in March 2011. He is a graduate of the Ballyfermot Rock School and has shared a stage with various musical luminaries on his travels, including Glen Hansard, Bell X1, Damien Dempsey, Sinead O’ Connor, Declan O’ Rourke, Mundy, Luka Bloom and Liam O’ Maonlai. Breen has also been included on various compilation albums, including Ceol 06 and a Rock School Best Of. the brownbread mixtape is delighted to welcome the Breen machine to our stage.

“… fresh, inventive and daring… The Irish music scene’s best kept secret? Maybe it’s time more people were told. (9/10)″ – Drop-d.ie

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SPOKEN WORD:

SARAH MARIA GRIFFIN | 

Sarah is 22 years old and hails from the north side suburbs of Dublin. She is presently completing her M.A in Writing in NUIG. She has only been performing in spoken word circles since late 2009, but since then she has performed at many events such as The Glór Sessions, Exchange Word and Milk & Cookie Stories. She recently had her first collection of poems, “Follies”, published by Lapwing Press and has drawn strong praise from critics and peers alike. the brownbread mixture is giddy with excitement to bring her to perform.

+

FERGUS COSTELLO|

Fergus Costello is a performance poet based in Tipperary and is the current Munster slam poetry champion. He was also the winner of the Cuisle International Poetry Festival Grand Slam held at The Locke Bar, Limerick in 2010. Fergus is also a highly regarded artist and his work has been displayed widely across this fair island. the brownbread mixtape is beyond excitement to welcome Fergus and his mercurial talents to the stage.

————————————————————————————————————————–

SKETCH COMEDY:

THE BROWNBREAD PLAYERS |

Our very own hilarious sketch troupe will perform brand new skits and sketches on the theme of the night. The Brownbread Players for this month’s show are Sean McDonagh, Elderest McDonagh and Kalle Ryan.

+

OTHER COOL STUFF:

Barring any technical hitches, we will be broadcasting LIVE ON D’INTERNET here

We will be having our monthly RAFFLE with highy desirable and coveted prizes

And you can expect lots of surprises and silliness

It would be a pleasure to see you all there!

————————————————————————————————————————–

We can be followed & liked in these places:
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Ustream

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Hey folks, just a reminder that you can now download the limited edition brownbread mixtape CD for free from bandcamp below. It is a super little snapshot of the formative months of the show with memorable performances from incredible poets, marvellous musicians as well as hilarious sketches from our very own Brownbread Players.  Go on, give them a go. Slices of delicious brownbread that will melt like butter in your ears.

Thanks for listening.

Last year we put together a really nifty limited edition CD of performances from the early brownbread mixtape shows. The pristine recordings were engineered by the inimitable Enda Roche and the superb cover art was designed by New York filmmaker & designer David Bagnall. The end result was a truly unique piece of collectible art. We gave one copy to each performer and then raffled the handmade, numbered editions at our gigs throughout the year. Now that all 39 CDs (three baker’s dozens) are out there in the universe (growing in value daily!), we felt it was time to release the tracks digitally for all to hear.

So, it is with great pleasure we offer you the opportunity to stream the album or download it in its entirety below (or just download individual tracks if you prefer to cherrypick your favourites). You can also find them at our newly established Bandcamp site!

The tracks are a really interesting snapshot of the early days of the show as we moved from our original home in the basement of Shebeen Chic to our current wonderful abode upstairs in the Stag’s Head pub. There are moments of madness, fluffed lines, rambling stories, hilarious outbursts and, above all, fantastic performances. The show has undoubtedly changed in form and shape but these recordings capture the essential part of the show that remains the same today – at its core the brownbread mixtape is simply a great night out filled with positive energy where the audience and the performers always enjoy themselves through a shared experience.

We hope that you like it and encourage you to share it with others. We are also grateful to all of you who continue to spread the word about the show.

Find us, like us and spread us like a socially networked virus from the following places online: YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

The Brownbread Players will be venturing out to The Complex venue in Smithfield (next to the Lighthouse cinema) this Friday to perform some of their funniest sketches. The good folks at Milk & Cookies Stories are throwing a big festive gig with a variety of brilliant acts from the world of poetry (Stephen James Smith, CAH-44 and Colm Keegan), the world of music (The Giraffes and Jazzberries), the realm of comedy (Gareth Stack and Noise Machine) and the world of live radio theatre coolness ( Roger Gregg’s Crazy Dog Audio Theatre ) and loads more besides. Should be a great evening.

We are delighted to be a part of proceedings. Doors are at 6pm. Show starts around 7pm. Only a mere 7 Europas to get in and it is BYOB (Bring your own Bourbon). Can’t beat that really.

For more great sketches by The Brownbread Players, take a peek at our bumper packed YouTube channel. Subscribe to it even. You can also be The Brownbread Players’ digital friend on Facebook by liking their page.

See ye Friday!

It’s election day here in Ireland and the country is abuzz with the prospect of moderate to negligible change. Fresh from our most recent brownbread mixtape show comes this prescient, profound current affairs broadcast courtesy of our very own Brownbread Players. As the news broadcasts battle for your attention this evening, you can smile happily knowing that you heard it all already because you heard our “News Night: Election Special” featuring interviews with Enda Kenny and Dylan Haskins, as well as regional reports from the Waterford and Tipperary constituencies, along with insightful vox pops on the streets of north inner city Dublin. Click, enjoy and pass on the link! In other words, vote early and vote often!

the brownbread mixtape #17 is on Wed, Feb 23rd at 8.30pm, upstairs in the Stag’s Head. the theme for this month is “fake”

resident MC Kalle Ryan will be in place again to hold up his high-tech applause sign and keep the night chugging along. resident sound man Enda Roche will also be in the corner co-hosting and making it all sound really really nice

the following stellar acts will be performing>

MUSIC

Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies |

Travelling folksters Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies present their intimate cabaret of joyful sing-a-long choruses and general participatory fun. Based in Bilbao, Dublin and Groningen they have spent the last three years touring Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe playing bars, cafes, theatres, circus galas, festivals and even punk clubs! Their debut album Long Way to Be Free, a home grown collection of songs exploring love, faith and displacement in a world of contradictions, has already picked up airplay on several international radio stations including RTE and BBC 2. The brownbread mixtape is delighted to welcome them to the stage and is certain that you will go home with a warm glow in your heart!

“a fantastically enjoyable chilled out mesh of musical culture.” – London Music Blog

Niall James Holohan |

Niall James Holohan, the lead singer of the brilliant Dublin band Reader’s Wives, will be joining us for a rare solo acoustic performance. Niall is a a smart lyricist with really catchy songs. the brownbread mixtape is delighted to welcome this Irish songwriter performing at the peak of his powers.

“A bit like a loved-up Joe Strummer fronting the The Smiths” – Daily Mirror UK

“Niall James Holohan emerges as a witty & amiable raconteur” – Irish Independent

POETRY

Raven |
An experienced and engaging performance poet from San Francisco who runs the monthly spoken word event TongueBox in the Cobblestone. the brownbread mixtape is delighted to finally present one of the stalwarts of the Dublin spoken word scene. Expect honesty, intensity and lyricism.

Megan Fox |
Dublin based performance poet, DJ and promoter Megan Fox, will be slinging some sweet words for us. the brownbread mixtape is thrilled to welcome her poetic presence to the stage.

COMEDY

The Brownbread Players |

Our very own hilarious sketch troupe will perform brand new skits and sketches on the theme of the night. The Brownbread Players are Eva Bartley, Gus McDonagh, Sean McDonagh and Kalle Ryan.

OTHER COOL STUFF

Barring any technical hitches, we will be broadcasting LIVE ON D’INTERNET here

We will be having our monthly RAFFLE with highy desirable and coveted prizes

And you can expect lots of surprises and silliness

It would be a pleasure to see you all there!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Until then, why not have a gawk at the best performances from 2010 below…

Poetry & Prose | Stand-Up Comedy | Sketch Comedy by The Brownbread Players | Music

And this is our most popular sketch of 2011…

One of the most enjoyable parts of the monthly brownbread mixtape show are the original sketches by our very own Brownbread Players sketch troupe (The Brownbread Players on Facebook). The troupe is made up of professional actors Gus McDonagh, Eva Bartley and Sean McDonagh,  as well as our own Kalle Ryan (and occasional guest star Dorothy Cotter). The writing team consists of Kalle, Sean, Gus and Eva, with additional material by Ken Rogan. All of the sketches are performed in the style of a live radio comedy show (akin to the classic Goon Show), complete with bloopers, giggles and audience interaction. They are consistently hilarious and are often the most popular element of the evening. For that reason we believe they are definitely worthy of a “Best Of” list of their own.

It is almost impossible to pick our favourites, so here’s a baker’s dozen of them in no specific order of funniness…

[See also : Best of Poetry and Prose 2010 | Best of Music 2010 | Best of Stand Up Comedy 2010 | Overview of The Brownbread Mixtape in 2010]

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An Actual Conversation on YouTube

One of our strangest but also one of our favourite sketches where we reenact a series of genuine loony YouTube comments posted in reaction to this rather silly video. You really couldn’t make this stuff up. (We performed the sketch again at the Imagine Arts Festival and it got a great reaction then too). Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Gus McDonagh, Sean McDonagh, Eva Bartley and Kalle Ryan.

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Father Shivers and Marek

This sketch is centred around the brilliantly creepy, oddball priest Father Shivers that Gus had created a few months earlier. The sketch managed to capture a lot of what was going on culturally at the time, as well as being a good old-fashioned dig at the Catholic church. There’s also some lovely ad libs at the start about Downes Bar where we were performing when this was recorded. Written by Sean McDonagh. Performed by Gus McDonagh and Sean McDonagh

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Sales Meeting

A really funny sketch set in a booze company (cough, Diageo, cough) sales meeting, where a nasty maniac of a CEO demands answers and data about the latest disappointing drinking related sales figures. As well as being scarily accurate about big business, this sketch has a really brilliant energy. The CEO is definitely a character we would like to bring back in another sketch. Written by Ken Rogan. Performed by Gus McDonagh, Kalle Ryan, Sean McDonagh and Eva Bartley

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Commercial Breaks

There’s something really unusual about doing radio ads live but it seemed to work perfectly. In general, real radio ads these days are almost a parody of themselves , so we just went all out and conjured up the most ludicrous products, placements and companies with our own unique twist. They were so much fun to perform. The live sound cues always seemed to add to the madness a bit and they were very different from anything else we had done. Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Gus McDonagh, Kalle Ryan, Sean McDonagh and Eva Bartley

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The State of Our Relationship

We had great craic with this simple premise – What if countries were people and they were in a melodramatic soap opera called The State of Our Relationship? So, in Episode 1 we explore the relationship between Ireland and England. The sketch was so well received that we kept it going for more episodes (see below) Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Kalle Ryan and Eva Bartley

In Episode 2 we delve deeper into our country soap opera and explore the relationship in the British Isles. Broad caricatures, sure. Funny, absolutely Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Gus McDonagh, Kalle Ryan, Sean McDonagh and Eva Bartley

In Episode 3 we discover that Ireland and England have an illegitimate lovechild. A real little rebel. Who could it be? Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Kalle Ryan, Dorothy Cotter and Eva Bartley

In Episode 4 the excitable America arrives for the summer with suitably hilarious results. But what little secret is America hiding? Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Kalle Ryan, Gus McDonagh and Eva Bartley

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Regional Jokes

Strangely enough this is one of our most viewed sketches online. It seems that people stumble across it when looking for examples of certain types of Irish accent. They may have to look a little further as we loosely tackle various regional accents and stereotypes through the medium of classic jokes. The audience reactions on this one are so good they almost sound like they were added in. They’re not. Added in that is. Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Gus McDonagh, Kalle Ryan, Sean McDonagh and Eva Bartley

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The Secret Diary of Manchester United’s John O’Shea

Kalle is from Waterford. John O’Shea is from Waterford. So this sketch was destined to happen. No one really knows much about John O’Shea. Until now. One of the odder sketches we have performed and it has become a cult favourite. What exactly is a jar of crows? Written and performed by Kalle Ryan.

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Jesus and Lucifer

We had this idea to write a sketch for Gus as Jesus. Then somehow that got mixed through a filter of The Sopranos and other Hollywood mafia cliches. Christballs has never been funnier. Fuggedaboutit. Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Kalle Ryan and Gus McDonagh.

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Rest of the World vs Ireland

In Ireland our attitude to life and everything around us is distinctly different to everywhere else in the world. So we took that to the ultimate extreme. Really quickfire, quite silly, full of great gags and the audience seemed to really connect with it on the night. Many a true word spoken in jest. Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Gus McDonagh, Kalle Ryan, Sean McDonagh and Eva Bartley

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Celebrity Self-less-ishness

Self-important celebrities & their charity work were the main target here. It is an absolutely hilarious piece that also manages to savage those fluffy ‘Expose’ style interviews too. The best part is towards the end, as the sketch draws to a close, Sean and Eva start cracking up and it only makes the sketch even funnier. It is a great snapshot of a classic night at the brownbread mixtape where the cast fluffs their lines, laugh it off and the audience roars in approval. Written by Sean McDonagh. Performed by  Sean McDonagh and Eva Bartley.

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The New Day Job

So many modern companies like Boogle and Facebuke have ridiculous amounts of perks and freebies associated with the working environment, so we just took that to the most ludicrous extremes. Or maybe they are the reality? Either way, wouldn’t you love to have a unicorn racing room? Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Gus McDonagh, Kalle Ryan and Eva Bartley

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Do you speak my language?

Quite an unusual sketch utilising this gobbledygook nonsense speak that was centred around the idea that meaning could be inferred from almost any conversation really. The lines were almost impossible to say but really fun to imbue with meaning. Dik dak drak in de barsnak? Fair play to the audience for going along with it! Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Kalle Ryan and Sean McDonagh.

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Dublin Teenager of the Future

Eva had done a slightly toned down version of a character like this in a different sketch, so she really was able to bring this absurd speech to life. Something always made us chuckle at the silly slang and futuristic details as delivered by a vapid teenager from a future Dublin suburb. Would still love to know what a YouTube party is. Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Eva Bartley.

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BONUS sketch:

The Definitive View – Poetry Panel

This sketch was written as a silly way of making fun of pretentious arts shows, as well as “roasting” some of the many brilliant poets we have met during the year. The character of Sneachta Ni Mhurchu had always got a massive response when we performed the fake radio ads, so we just knew she needed her own sketch. Fair play to Colm Keegan (The Crackle) , Karl Parkinson (The Positivity Manifesto), Stephen James Smith (Signing Your Life Away) and Dave Lordan (Fearless) for being such good sports about the sketch. It requires a little bit of knowledge about their poetry and performance styles (click the links and listen), but hopefully it works as a stand alone sketch too. Join us for the definitive view! Written by Kalle Ryan. Performed by Gus McDonagh, Kalle Ryan, Elderest McDonagh, Sean McDonagh and Eva Bartley

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There are, of course, bucketloads of other brilliant sketches that didn’t make this list. They can all be found on our YouTube channel, so please check it out and if you dig what you see, we encourage you to subscribe to it. Every month the YouTube channel is updated with brand new sketches and more from our live shows. There are over 100 videos available for your viewing pleasure there already!

This year, The Brownbread Players will also be breaking free of their mixtape shackles and performing at other venues. Stay up to date on the blog and Facebook page about those shows! Exciting times up ahead!

We also hope to film some additional sketches & short films and post them to the channel, so keep an eye out for those. In fact, we have already added the short film “Modern Ireland” (Dir. David Bagnall & David O’Sullivan) which we are very proud of.

Kalle was inspired by the film to put together a sweet video for the Paschal Quigley song of the same name, which has also been uploaded to the channel. Worth a look too.

Thanks for your support. Please be our digital friend in the following places:

YouTube | Facebook | MySpace | Twitter

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Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

It’s the end of the year and time to be reflective, pensive and festive! So we thought we would take a peek back and celebrate the incredible year we have had at the brownbread mixtape!

The show has now grown into a remarkable event that is attended by 100+ people each month and our YouTube channel now has over 100 videos of incredible performances from the show too. Sincere thanks to every single performer and to every one of you who attended & supported the night this year. You make the show what it is.

So, please join us and take a quick look at the many cool brownbread mixtape achievements and delights in 2010.

[See also : Best of Poetry and Prose 2010 | Best of Sketch Comedy 2010 (The Brownbread Players) | Best of Music 2010 | Best of Stand Up Comedy 2010]

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FEB 2010 – Dublin Community Blog Interview

Back in February, Marcel at the Dublin Community Blog interviewed Kalle and Enda about the brownbread mixtape and it turned out to be a really great snapshot of the night, as well as being instrumental in drawing a new crowd to our shows.

“…one of the most interesting events that is currently happening in Dublin city is this monthly themed night of music, spoken word and performance…” Read the full article here

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MARCH 2010 – The Best of the Batch: A Baker’s Dozen of Brownbread Mixtape Tracks

In March we compiled and designed a seriously cool collection of our favourite performances from the brownbread mixtape shows thus far.

Filmmaker and designer David Bagnall from New York City put together the brilliant cover art.

We then made up a limited run of 39 copies (3 baker’s dozens) and each one was handmade & numbered. They were subsequently raffled off at our shows and are destined to be collector’s items!

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APR 2010 – Our Blood Is Boiling For Ireland!

Kalle wrote a song entitled “My Blood is Boiling for Ireland” and recorded it at Enda’s studio in Leixlip. He submitted it to the Irish Times for their alternative Irish national anthem competition and then promptly forgot about it. Then something amazing happened!

The competition, judged by members of the Duckworth Lewis Method and staff of the Irish Times, deemed Kalle’s rousing anthem to be the winner! COME ON IRELAND!

The new alternative Irish national anthem had been given a stamp of approval (as well as prize money and Electric Picnic tickets!) and a blood-boiling new Irish beast was born!

“It was somehow angry, fun and patriotic all at the same time.” – Shane Hegarty, Irish Times (Read full article here)

Following airplay on Today FM and a positive response from so many of you, it has gone on to become a cult hit on YouTube, clocking up thousands of hits. BOOM!

Of course it has since become the signature closing number at every brownbread mixtape show, usually delivered raucously and fervently in true drink-taken style. It will continue to be our unofficial Irish anthem and we fully endorse the Facebook campaign to make it an official anthem at Irish sporting events.

Spread the word. Sing it in pubs. Shout it at matches. Roar it in your sleep. Maintain a constant rolling boil!

COME ON IRELAND!

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JUNE 2010 – Bubblin Dublin and the DIY effect!

In June we were honoured to be included in a fascinating article by Davin O’Dwyer in the Irish Times that took a look at the growing trend of “DIY events” in Dublin. The wonderful, collaborative spirit that currently abounds in the arts scene was nicely captured and gave readers a real insight into the wealth of affordable and free high quality gigs that are happening around this fair city.

“…a decidedly more freewheeling atmosphere, is the Brown Bread Mixtape, a monthly blend of Scrap Saturday-style sketches, poetry, music and stand-up comedy hosted by poet Kalle Ryan and musician Enda Roche in the Parlour Bar above the Stag’s Head pub…” Davin O’Dwyer, Irish Times (read the article in full here. It also features brilliant photos from the May gig, taken by the talented Jessica Ryan)

Kalle’s poem, The Reformartists, that is mentioned in the article was performed several times during the year at the brownbread mixtape and can be viewed below. It contains references to many of the individuals and gigs mentioned in the article such as the Glor Sessions, Nighthawks and more. See if you can spot them.

Something is really happening!

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AUG 2010 – The Guilty Folk sees Brown Bread Rising

The fantastic musicmakers The Guilty Folk also have a very nifty and often humorous blog about contemporary music and arts. (As an aside, band members Aidan and Sarah met at one of the first brownbread mixtapes and have been collaborating ever since) In August, Aidan wrote a glowing review of the brownbread mixtape. It was the first ever review of the night and he did a terrific job of capturing the essence of the night. In fact, he was generous, cool, insightful, witty and absolutely correct.

“There’s nothing quite like it in Dublin, and it should be considered a treasure”  ( Read the full review  here )

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SEPT 2010 – Who’s that on the horizon? Why its Jeff Nelson of course!

In September we had a raffle as per usual, but it was no ordinary raffle. It created a legend. The theme of the night was “Secrets” and in keeping with that, we had a secret grand prize contained in a brown envelope marked “Top Secret”. When the winner was announced, we asked him to approach the stage to open it in front of everyone. That winner was called Jeff Nelson. The crowd began chanting his name continuously throughout the night. He was mentioned in song intros and outros by all of the acts onstage. A legend was born.

Cut to one month later, EleventyFour was on the bill at the brownbread mixtape. She had been in the audience the previous month and had chanted “JEFF NELSON, JEFF NELSON…” along with us all. In a lightbulb moment of inspired musical brilliance she had composed a song entitled “Jeff Nelson” to honour the mysterious legendary figure. The song is a classic and unsurprisingly it was emphatically and instantly embraced by the adoring crowd. A truly magical moment!

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OCT 2010 – The brownbread mixtape on tour!

In October we were thrilled to take the brownbread mixtape on the road for the first time ever.

We loaded up the old brownbread tourbus and took our show down to the wonderful Imagine Arts Festival in Waterford

On Halloween night we packed a large crowd in to Downes Bar (possibly the greatest pub in the world) for an amazing show. Some of Ireland’s best new acts were on the bill including Pearse McGloughlin, Elder Roche, EleventyFour and Stephen James Smith.

Locally based poet Edward Denniston performed some excellent poems and local musician and writer, Stephen Walsh regaled us with a brilliant prose poem about the vagaries of working life, and Waterford musical hero Deaf Joe Harney also made an appearance to accompany Pearse McGloughlin on clarinet on the song “Mercedes and the Kingfisher”.

The Brownbread Players took the opportunity to reflect on a years worth of sketches and present the best of the bunch. They went over a storm with the crowd and were described in the Munster Express as being “zany, fresh, exciting and of broadcastable quality”

In fact, the local newspapers were effusive and extremely generous in their praise of the night, and for that we thank them:

“(An) energetic performance (that) showcased a witty range of comedy music and poetry (which) makes you understand why the act have gained a reputation in the renowned Dublin spoken word scene”- Waterford News & Star

“I loved the hi-energy excitement of the event. (…) It was a great blast of freshness and inventiveness” – Liam Murphy, Munster Express

We absolutely loved the experience and hope to take the show out on tour again next year. Keep an eye out for us!

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OCT 2010 – Uiscebot calls us “the best night out in Dublin”

Influential blogger Uiscebot (aka the poet Colm Keegan) hailed the brownbread mixtape as the best night out in Dublin. He listed the top ten reasons to go to our show, which were funny and heartfelt. It’s wildly flattering as he runs Nighthawks at The Cobalt Cafe with Stephen Kennedy, which is actually the best night in Dublin.

“They have the most electrically charged room I’ve ever been in…” (Read the full article here )

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DEC 2010 – Little films and musical videos on the YouTube channel

This December, Kalle has started posting up original content to complement the live footage and clips from the monthly gigs. The first of these is a curious, yet cool little short film entitled “Modern Ireland” that Kalle made last year. [directed by award winning directors, David O'Sullivan ( Moore Street Masala) and David Bagnall (Getting Out )]. Inspired by the Paschal Quigley song of the same name, it takes an oddball look at modern ireland. It has received really warm praise and kind responses from all who have seen it, with comparisons even the ledgebag Samuel Beckett.

Inspired by the reception the film received, Kalle pieced together an original music video to accompany the original Paschal Quigley song “Modern Ireland”. At times humorous and at times deadly serious, it seems suitably apt for the times we currently find ourselves in. We hope you enjoy it.

Next year we hope to create more original films, sketches and more for the YouTube channel, as well as post performances from each show. Thanks to all of you who have subscribed so far! To the rest, we say, what are you waiting for!

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2011 – What’s next?

We are really excited about what 2011 will bring. We have grand plans, wild ideas and open minds. Whatever comes along, we look forward to it all and are happy to have you along for the journey!

Stay tuned to the blog in the coming days for a series of Best-Of posts from the year gone by. See you all in January for a brand new show!

Our good friend Frederik Pferdt from the Learning Design Lab has put together a super cool timelapse video of the show from August 25th 2010. He used two different cameras and edited them together seamlessly to give us a 90 second snapshot of the night. The soundtrack is provided by The Blood Red Mountain Band with their song “13 1/3 bar Blues” recorded live at the show.

We think it is really cool. We hope you do too!

Please pass on the link to others if you dig it. We would also love it if you subscribed to our YouTube channel (featuring over 90 videos of past performers).

We were bowled over by the warm reception we received in Downes and we really hope that we can take the show on the road again in the new year to more locations around this fair country, as well as further afield. We also hope to be back in Waterford again. Let us know if you are interested in the brownbread mixtape coming to your town (thebrownbreadmixtape@gmail.com)

The local newspapers were also effusive and generous in their praise of the night:

“(An) energetic performance (that) showcased a witty range of comedy music and poetry (which) makes you understand why the act have gained a reputation in the renowned Dublin spoken word scene”- Waterford News & Star

“I loved the hi-energy excitement of the event. (…) Throughout the evening the topical sketches with pre-recorded links were zany, fresh, exciting and of broadcastable quality. (…) The quality and exuberance continued (…) and it was a great blast of freshness and inventiveness” – Liam Murphy, Munster Express

Below are a series of audio and photo montages of the different performers on the night. If you like what you see, please pass on the links to others and sign up to our YouTube channel for more past performances.

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The delightful EleventyFour opens the show by regaling us with a list of all of her cool types of friends. We are so delighted to be her friend.
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Poet Edward Denniston regaled us with a terrific tale of his eccentric uncle in the poem “Odd isn’t the word”
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Kalle read us hilarious extracts from the secret diary of Waterford’s favourite son, John O’Shea of Manchester United and Ireland fame.
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The Brownbread Players (Gus McDonagh, Eva Bartley, Sean McDonagh and Kalle Ryan) dipped back into Internet waters for their classic sketch about vitriolic YouTube commenting conversational behaviour. LOL
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The Brownbread Players performed a hysterical sketch about the differing attitudes in Ireland versus the rest of the world, which was described by Waterford News & Star as “hilariously accurate”.
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Pearse McGloughlin (accompanied by local artist Deaf Joe) performed the delicate “Mercedes and the Kingfisher”, taken from his current Twine EP
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Pearse McGloughlin closed out his set with his fantastic song “Morning Mist”, also taken from his current Twine EP. We dare you to listen to it and not sing along to “the birds, the birds, the birds…”
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Dublin poet Stephen James Smith delivers his powerful poem “Ticking Clock” to a captivated audience. Word.
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The Brownbread Players tackle the wonders of God in their guises as Father Shivers and his Polish trainee Marek

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The Brownbread Players treat us to a madcap commercial break unlike any you’ve heard before. Hasta la vista baby back ribs!
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Stephen Walsh took us on a tour through the quirky kingdom of his mind. Knockout performance!

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Elder Roche opened up his set with a marvellous rendition of his Brecht-Weill-esque song “Figures Dressed in Black”

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Elder Roche then mesmerised the audience with his wonderful song “Time Will Tell”.

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And that, as they say, was that. It was a truly emotional night with so many magical moments. Thanks to John De Bromhead at Downes bar for putting on the show, thanks to Imagine Arts Festival for bringing us down to perform and thanks to all of the performers who are all destined for greatness.

See you all at the November show where the theme is “A Hero of Mine”

Our web based presence comes in the following flavours. be our friend:

YouTube | Facebook | MySpace | Twitter

The gig was so bumper packed and brilliant we ran out of recording space and so the last song of the night is cut off, but there are hours of delicious audiovisual delights to be had.

Make a cup of tea, click that link, sit back and enjoy the wonderful EleventyFour, Stephen James Smith, Enda Reilly, Elder Roche and our very own Brownbread Players.

See you all this Sunday in Waterford at the Imagine Arts Festival

“There’s nothing quite like it in Dublin, and it should be considered a treasure” - The Guilty Folk Blog

The brownbread mixtape is going on tour to the Imagine Arts Festival , but before it does, we will bring the show to our beloved brownbread homeslices in Dublin city.

brownbread mixtape #14 is on Wed, Oct 27th at 8.30pm, upstairs in the Stag’s Head. the theme for this month is “Imagination”

resident MC Kalle Ryan will be in place again to deliver some one liners and hold up an applause sign. resident sound man Enda Roche will also be in the corner ringing the decibels.

the following stellar acts will be performing>

MUSIC

Elder Roche | http://www.elderroche.com/

Elder is a true musical poet who has shared the stage with many of Ireland’s best, including Damien Rice, Paddy Casey and Damien Dempsey. His slapping grooves and roots overtones have seen his concerts gain a legendary, almost cult status. Elder recently released his magnificent debut album “Nobody Knows” to huge critical acclaim, with reviewers likening him to legends like Tom Waits and David Bowie. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Elder’s deft and delicate piano songs to the brownbread mixtape stage. Get ready to hear a real troubadour at the peak of his powers.

“Manly vocals and powerful storytelling songs bring to mind the genius of Leonard Cohen” – News of the World

EleventyFour | http://www.myspace.com/eleventyfour

EleventyFour came into the world backwards and has done things in her own way ever since. She drove her stolen forklift onto the Dublin music scene in 2008 and since then has built a loyal following. Jim Carroll picked her as one of his 5 Future Sounds in The Irish Times ‘The Ticket’. Since then she has received oodles of radio airplay and recorded an acoustic session for the Green and Live show on Limerick’s Live 95FM. The brownbread mixtape is excited to bring EleventyFour’s inimitably charming tunes to the stage. She is quirky, cool and her stage banter is warmer than a yuletide fire.

”…cute as a button Kimya Dawson-like songs…” – Jim Carroll, The Irish Times

Enda Reilly | www.endareilly.com

Enda Reilly is an alt-folk songwriter hailing from Tallaght in Dublin. The music he makes has been described as Christy Moore maybe mixed with a bit of Syd Barrett. Whatever way you want to describe it, he is a bloody fantastic musician with a terrific staple of songs, who performs weekly with The Lazy Band in Bewleys Cafe Theatre and also gigs regularly as a solo performer. Enda is as adept singing in English as he is ‘as Gaeilge’ and his debut album “Oxygen21″ was released last year to serious acclaim. The brownbread mixtape loves him. You will love him.

“I truly cannot think of another Irish solo artist who’s even close to creating the type of music he is.” – Aoife Barry, The Event Guide

POETRY

Stephen James Smith | http://www.StephenJamesSmith.com/

Stephen is a remarkable performance poet and a bit of a legend in Dublin. Not only is he a former Cúirt International Literary Festival Grand Slam Poetry Champion, he is also the MC and organiser of the excellent weekly Glór Sessions in the International Bar. Last year he proudly represented Ireland at the Vilenica Literary Festival in Slovenia and is currently recording an EP of Irish poems with musician Enda Reilly. Stephen is a truly hypnotic presence onstage and is one of our most popular past performers at the brownbread mixtape. Poetry that rages far from the page.

“Stephen James Smith is a ball of hydrogen gas that should be pumped into every household across the land. He knocks seven shades of shite out of all the usual “birds and bees, whey and cheese” nonsense you find at poetry readings” – Jinx Lennon

COMEDY

The Brownbread Players | http://www.youtube.com/thebrownbreadmixtape

Our very own hilarious sketch troupe will perform the best skits and sketches of the past year. The Brownbread Players are Sean McDonagh, Eva Bartley, Gus McDonagh and Kalle Ryan.

OTHER COOL STUFF

Barring any technical hitches, we will be broadcasting LIVE ON D’INTERNET here> (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-brownbread-mixtape)

We will be having a RAFFLE with highy desirable and coveted prizes

And you can expect lots of surprises and silliness

It would be a pleasure to see you all there!

MORE INFO

Our web based presence comes in a variety of forms:

blog>brownbreadmixtape.wordpress.com

video> youtube.com/thebrownbreadmixtape

fanaticism> facebook.com/thebrownbreadmixtape

audio> myspace.com/thebrownbreadmixtape

chirping> twitter.com/brownbreadmix

“(a) freewheeling atmosphere […] a monthly blend of Scrap Saturday-style sketches, poetry, music and stand-up comedy” – Davin O’Dwyer, Irish Times

For one night only, Dublin’s premier monthly arts night, the brownbread mixtape is coming to the Imagine Festival in Waterford!

Each brownbread mixtape show has a theme. We invite the best contemporary Irish poets, musicians and comedians to perform. They do a performance related to the theme. We all have loads of fun. Simple as that.

The critically acclaimed show is hosted and run by resident MC & Waterford native Kalle Ryan, along with trusty sidekick and multi-instru-mentalist Enda Roche.

The theme for this unique brownbread mixtape show at the Imagine Festival will be “Imagination” and we have a truly fantastic lineup of artists on the night>

MUSIC

Elder Roche | http://www.elderroche.com/

Elder is a true musical poet who has shared the stage with many of Ireland’s best, including Damien Rice, Paddy Casey and Damien Dempsey. His slapping grooves and roots overtones have seen his concerts gain a legendary, almost cult status. Elder recently released his magnificent debut album “Nobody Knows” to huge critical acclaim, with reviewers likening him to legends like Tom Waits and David Bowie. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Elder’s deft and delicate piano songs to the brownbread mixtape stage. Get ready to hear a real troubadour at the peak of his powers.

“Manly vocals and powerful storytelling songs bring to mind the genius of Leonard Cohen” – News of the World

Pearse McGloughlin | http://www.walkperson.net/

Pearse hails originally from Sligo and last year he released his debut album “Busy Whisper” to huge critical acclaim. The album offers beautifully haunting songs of forgotten moments and quiet reflection. Dreamy and atmospheric, ghostly but tender, Busy Whisper explores the themes of memory and longing, and has an organic aesthetic reminiscent of Grand Salvo or Red House Painters. Busy Whisper made many prestigious ‘Best Albums of 2009’ lists while the video for ‘Ways to Kill a Werewolf’ won an IMTV Award in the Best Male Video category. Pearse performed at the recent Hard Working Class Heroes Festival and recorded a 2FM session earlier this year. This year has also seen him tour in Ireland, Spain and France, while also finding the time to record a batch of new songs for his highly anticipated upcoming EP. the brownbread mixtape is delighted to bring Pearse’s finely crafted songwriting to the stage.  Knockout songs from an immense talent.
“An immediately engaging performer, whose natural demeanour and soft-spoken asides offer little indication as to the extent of his talent, both as a musician and songwriter” – Art and Soul UK

EleventyFour | http://www.myspace.com/eleventyfour

EleventyFour came into the world backwards and has done things in her own way ever since. She drove her stolen forklift onto the Dublin music scene in 2008 and since then has built a loyal following. Jim Carroll picked her as one of his 5 Future Sounds in The Irish Times ‘The Ticket’. Since then she has received oodles of radio airplay and recorded an acoustic session for the Green and Live show on Limerick’s Live 95FM. The brownbread mixtape is excited to bring EleventyFour’s inimitably charming tunes to the stage. She is quirky, cool and her stage banter is warmer than a yuletide fire.

”…cute as a button Kimya Dawson-like songs…” – Jim Carroll, The Irish Times

POETRY

Stephen James Smith | http://www.StephenJamesSmith.com/

Stephen is a remarkable performance poet and a bit of a legend in Dublin. Not only is he a former Cúirt International Literary Festival Grand Slam Poetry Champion, he is also the MC and organiser of the excellent weekly Glór Sessions in the International Bar. Last year he proudly represented Ireland at the Vilenica Literary Festival in Slovenia and is currently recording an EP of Irish poems with musician Enda Reilly. Stephen is a truly hypnotic presence onstage and is one of our most popular past performers at the brownbread mixtape. Poetry that rages far from the page.
“Stephen James Smith is a ball of hydrogen gas that should be pumped into every household across the land. He knocks seven shades of shite out of all the usual “birds and bees, whey and cheese” nonsense you find at poetry readings” – Jinx Lennon

COMEDY

The Brownbread Players | http://www.youtube.com/thebrownbreadmixtape

Our very own hilarious sketch troupe will write and perform  brand new funny skits and sketches on the theme of the night.  The Brownbread Players includes well-known television, radio and film actors Sean McDonagh, Eva Bartley and Gus McDonagh, as well as chancer Kalle Ryan.
OTHER COOL STUFF

Barring any technical hitches, we will be broadcasting LIVE ON D’INTERNET here

We will be having a RAFFLE with highy desirable and coveted prizes

And you can expect lots of surprises and silliness

It would be a pleasure to see you all there!

MORE INFO

Our web based presence comes in a variety of forms:

video> youtube.com/thebrownbreadmixtape

fanaticism> facebook.com/thebrownbreadmixtape

audio> myspace.com/thebrownbreadmixtape

chirping> twitter.com/brownbreadmix

the brownbread mixtape is a brilliant free monthly gig. each gig has a theme. we invite poets, musicians, comedians. they do a performance related to the theme. we perform some funny sketches on the theme. we all have loads of fun. simple as that.

brownbread mixtape #13 is on Wed, Sept 29th at 8.30pm, upstairs in the Stag’s Head. the theme for this month is “Secrets”

we have a truly stellar line up of performers, who you would normally have to pay loads of cash to see, but for one night only, they come together and perform for art’s sake. for free. for you.

resident MC Kalle Ryan will be in place again to deliver some zippy quips in liminal spaces. resident sound man Enda Roche will also be in the corner playing mouth trumpet.

the following world class performers are now confirmed>

MUSIC

Rook and The Ravens |

Rook and The Ravens are a band from the Dark Peak, near Manchester, UK. In their short time together, they have clocked up appearances at: Glastonbury, Summer Sundae Weekender (Main Stage) and Wychwood Festival, sharing stages with Supergrass, Macy Gray The Futureheads and Franz Nicolay (The Hold Steady). In 2009 they were invited to headline the main stage at international music festival ‘Tbilisi Open Air Altervision’ in Tbilisi, Georgia, playing to 40,000 people. Regarded highly as an active part of a new Manchester scene, they have already sold out Manchester Academy 3 twice and legendary Teenage Fanclub, Clapton, and The Who producer Andy Macpherson has chosen to work closely with the talented quintet. the brownbread mixtape is absolutely ecstatic to welcome Rook and the Ravens back to the brownbread stage. This is your chance to get a taste of their songs prior to their single launch in Crawdaddy later in the week. Sweeter, pitch-perfect harmonies you’ll not hear this year. These guys are one of the best bands currently working. Be prepared to be knocked out!

“Articulate, edgy, blistering and self-assured” – BBC

SPOKEN WORD

Colm Liddy |

Colm’s acclaimed first book, “40 Fights Between Husbands and Wives” was published by Penguin Ireland in 2009 and is available now in all bookshops, whether good or bad. Colm is a writer, musician, pharmacist, father of five, but most importantly, a husband. Thus he often irritates his wife in a variety of ways, including but not limited to… forgetting her birthday, driving too fast, reading the newspaper when he should be mowing the lawn, playing with the children in a reckless fashion, always wanting more sex, never bothering to wash the grill, doing what his mother tells him rather than what his wife advises, and refusing to even discuss a vasectomy. His wife is a very patient woman. the brownbread mixtape is absolutely thrilled to welcome Colm to the stage to read his humorous tales in his trademark mischievous manner.

“…a wonderfully diverse collection of stories, vignettes and ideas told with humour, but with enormous insight too” – The Irish Examiner
COMEDY

The Lonely Schizophrenic |

The Lonely Schizophrenic are Dublin’s very own comedy trio serving up a delicious serving of comedy/parody songs. Anto Kane, Andy Delamere and Vladimir Pavlov have been gigging together regularly, creating and writing tracks that are just for the craic. the brownbread mixtape is delighted to welcome back the hilarious schizos to the stage. Not only are their songs hysterically funny but they are as catchy as an STD.

“Think Bill Bailey and the Dalai Lama joining Snoop Dogg for a collaboration in a crack den” – Guerilla review

THE BROWNBREAD PLAYERS |

Brand new funny skits and sketches on the theme of the night as written and performed by our resident brownbread players (Gus McDonagh, Sean McDonagh, Kalle Ryan and Eva Bartley).
OTHER COOL STUFF

Expect a SECRET SURPRISE musical guest on the night!

And a RAFFLE with highy desirable and coveted prizes

Barring any technical hitches. we will be broadcasting LIVE ON D’INTERNET

It would be a pleasure to see you all there!

For more info, our web based presence comes in a variety of forms:

words> brownbreadmixtape.wordpress.com
audio> myspace.com/thebrownbreadmixtape
video> youtube.com/thebrownbreadmixtape
fanaticism> facebook.com/thebrownbreadmixtape
chirping> twitter.com/brownbreadmix

Yet another storming and hugely enjoyable brownbread mixtape with truly stunning performances by one and all. Huge thanks go out to all the performers who knocked it out of the park. And maximum respect to you, our wonderful audience. We really appreciate your incredible support. Now you can go back to the future because here are some YouTube clips with photo montages & audio of all of the performers on the night.  Please subscribe to our woefully undersubscribed YouTube channel and please share the links if you enjoy them. We need your help to get more people to see these!

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Comedian Rory O’Hanlon kicked the show off with a really funny set about all things Irish. Rory is well on his way to being a future comedy star, catch him now before he hits the big time and ends up in Copperface Jacks of an evening.

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Pearse McGloughlin then performed “Twine” as the opener in a stellar set of songs taken from his future EP (accompanied by Christophe Capewell on violin and our very own Enda Roche on percussion). If there is any justice, Pearse will be massive. For now, he can content himself with being one of our best-kept-secret Irish songwriters. For more on Pearse’s upcoming releases and tour, please visit his official website.

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The resident Brownbread Players (Eva Bartley, Kalle Ryan, Sean McDonagh and Gus McDonagh) perform a brilliant new sketch outlining facts about the future. You might be laughing now, but all of it will actually happen in the future. FACT

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A decidedly surreal but very funny futuristic sketch was up next from The Brownbread Players. They sent a reporter into the future to interview Robbie Keane (Future Mayor of Dublin) who spoke briefly about things that are obviously terrific in his role.

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The wonderful poet and pure gentleman, Phil Lynch, led us out of Side A with a wonderful batch of poems both new and old, all focused firmly on the future. This opening poem, “Progress” is as lyrical as it is inventive.

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Side B kicked off as per usual with Kalle reading out audience submitted anecdotes and stories about the theme in question – “The Future”. Unusually enough though, the trumpeteer who had been playing outside the window at odd intervals all night got a welcome surprise when the entire brownbread audience paused for a moment and joined in on a rendition of Happy Birthday.

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Dublin poet and rhapsodic rhymer Karl Parkinson brought down the house with his dizzy mix of rhythmic poems and witty lines. He closed out his electric set with one of his best new pieces entitled “The Positivity Manifesto”. Definitely a 10.

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The Brownbread Players returned with some of their strongest sketches to date, beginning with this clever take on the banking crisis in Ireland, where bands of financial peddlers roam the streets of Dublin in the near future with an arrogant swagger…

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The Brownbread Players then returned to their time machine and gave us a glimpse of a radio show in the future, featuring an archaeological discussion about a series of mis-identified artifacts from our present day. Perplexingly, a (literally) robotic Pat Kenny is still hosting shows in the future…

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The Brownbread Players closed out their magnificent set of sketches with a new classic. Courtesy of their time machine, a Dublin teenager from the future dictates an email outlining her average day to a Dublin teenager in the present. This is, like, her day, like, every day.

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Resident MC, Kalle Ryan, wrote a poem for the theme that was in it. An ode and a warning to the advancing future we are creating. That and USB cables.

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The wonderful Leanne Harte closed out the evening with her beautfully crafted songs, backed up with glorious harmonies. She has just released an acoustic album entitled “An Irish Girl in Paris” and it is a stunner. Find out more about the album and upcoming gigs from her official website

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Another kickass month of amazing performances, wild fun and a deadly audience.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support the night. Thanks also to all the viewers who tuned in online .

We will see you all on August 25th for the next brownbread mixtape. The theme of the night will be “the day job”

(photo: Jessica Ryan. messing with the photo: Colm Keegan)

Cheers! – Kalle and Enda

“The turbines we are building will fill a niche in the market.

“You could be running your house or business premises from the power created by these blades.

“Vestas was all about going bigger and bigger but we are looking at the smaller end of the market which we think has great potential.”

Sean hopes to employ some ex-Vestas workers:

“For some companies it is a disadvantage being on the island but the skill pool that is still here is why we are here.”