Jack L gets fitted for a halo

Published Date: January 14, 2011, Leinster Leader

Interviewing singers, comedians, and writers, most of whom are Irish, you realise that there is an abundance of talent out there which is so often overlooked, or in some cases, simply taken for granted here at home.  Perhaps being tagged onto the edge of Europe means we’re always looking across the water for some kind of odd validation. For instance, it’s so much easier for an Irish artist to get air-play on Irish radio,  if you get played on UK radio first. It’s a strange thing. It seems the guardians of Irish radio, or perhaps the public at large, need reassurance which can be only gotten from our neighbours across the water.

Then there are the artists themselves. Many, while not exactly lacking ambition, seem quite happy occupying that space between international superstardom and obscure jazz quartet. Jack Lukeman, or Jack L as he’s more commonly known, is, as he says himself, “careerist”. He still lives in Athy, Co Kildare and admits that,”I’m thankful that I’ve survived as a musician for the last 15 years or so and that’s a charmed existence in many respects.  I wouldn’t say I had any master plan.”

Since the release of his first widely distributed solo album, the acclaimed Metropolis Blue in 1999, Jack L has won fans across the world – most recently winning the Best Music Award at the Edinburgh Festival – while never perhaps rising to the level of fame his talent deserves. In fairness, it’s not something that seems to bother him too much. World domination (musically at least) comes from “hard graft and a lot of luck”. It’s the luck part which perhaps Lukeman has missed out on. Not that he feels bitter about it, in fact, he says he’s been “lucky to be playing music for a few years now and getting away with it”.

His career thus far has produced seven studio albums and led to the release of The Story So Far, a collection of the essential Jack L tracks in October 2009. The album came about, quite by accident, when author Anna McPartland released her book So What If I’m Broken , which has characters re-united through a Jack L show and features his song titles as chapter headings. He was asked to do something to tie in with it the book.

Often artists have a problem playing their best known stuff and want appreciation for their less known “gems”.  Lukeman is not one of them. He has no problem with the Greatest Hits thing. “Growing up, the Greatest Hits stuff was how I got into a load of bands. It was kind of nice to do it.”

For his shows at the Riverbank on January 14 and 15, he’ll play all these “old favourites” while testing a few new songs which he hopes to record for an album later this year.”

The writing of new material is something he relishes.

“I’m always writing. At the end of the night I often empty my head out onto a page.”

Of course this process has changed over time. Over a career you learn certain things you wished you’d known when you were younger, but does the process of actually writing music really get any easier?

“It’s easy to put together the skeleton of a song. Sometimes a song comes purely in a stream of consciousness, other times it would take years to build a song. There’s nothing easy about it, unless you have those moments where you sit and play the guitar and, suddenly, there’s a song.”

He is a firm believer that as a writer you must first please yourself and admits that he writes songs solely for his own entertainment and hopes the audience will follow.

“I would try to write songs that would turn me on first. You’re trying to entertain yourself and people get off on that. It’s all about creating an atmosphere as much as a song,” he says “There’s a certain kind of hypnotism there that you’re trying to draw people into a story for a few minutes. I write lots and lots of songs and it’s like mining for gold. You see the ones that are shining out, that have something different.”

While he was forced to look back over his career while compiling The Story So Far (he chose the track listing himself), looking back is not something he wants to do as an artist.

“It’s always about the next song, the next album. You always think you can do things better”

If live performance is all about creating an atmosphere, then Jack L is something of a natural. Does he believe singing on stage is something anyone can learn or is it, like his versatile baritone, simply something you’re born with?

“It’s something you can only learn through experience. You learn you’re trade as you go along. It might look effortless but it’s just the knowledge of doing it for so long. Most things can be taught.”

For instance, for his own shows he doesn’t have a strict set-list, he has a beginning and an ending but the middle is determined by the crowd.

“If it’s going in an up-tempo direction you take it there, if it’s a nice relaxed atmosphere you take it there. That’s something you learn as you go along, how to judge the atmosphere of the room.”

Perhaps though, the key to any kind of performance is, as he puts it himself, not over-thinking things. You need to learn enough tricks to not have to consciously call on them at any point in a show.

“It’s like dancing, if you think about it too much you trip up. You find the centre of the song and try to get into it.” The dancer analogy is apt, you can’t of course switch off completely, it is a balancing act.

“I don’t think about it too much, I just do what I do.”

Jack L plays the Riverbank Arts Centre on January 14, 15. Tickets are €22 from 045 448327.

The writing side of me has made me think of where my love for comedy started.  As I know it wasn’t 4 years ago, Tripod were the stepping stone to live comedy, which I’d never really gotten into… I knew I enjoyed live comedy, but I’d never had the inkling to go, as I was so enthralled by the amazingness of muso’s.

I put the first foray’s into said love to when I was about 6 or 7, my brother got two copied cassette tapes from his friend.  The first had The Satanic Sketches by the D-Generation (it took me awhile to convince them to let me listen to it, I’m pretty sure my brother Corey and I snuck away with it at one stage), and the other one had Bill Cosby stand-up on side A (which is pretty family friendly), and on side B there was this reformed American Evangelical Priest called Mike Warnkie.
Looking back it seems that I have literally grown up the D-Gen in mant different forms, The Late Show, Comedy Company, Fast Forward, The Panel, Thank God You’re Here, and various other Working Dog Productions.  We all know these guys are my heroes, they have been for years, and I don’t think I would have loved sketch comedy as much had it not been for them.
The Bill Cosby stand-up is pretty stock standard comedy, jokes about his wife and family, my one stand out is a bit he does about not knowing what to give his kids for breakfast (because you know, woman are the only ones in this world who know how to cook *rolls eyes*), so he gives them chocolate cake that he’s found from the night before.  The kids decide that dad is great because of the chocolate cake and make up the song: “Daddy’s great, he gave us chocolate cake for breakfast”. So you know, now it doesn’t seem all that funny now, but to a 7 or 8 year old, that was HILARIOUS!
The last of the three is a little darker, I think my brother’s friend added this as his family were a little bit god fearing, most of Mike’s stories are about the Vietnam War, and his time in the Marine Corp.  One of the quotes my family still quote being “I spent three and a half years in the MARINE CORP”.  There is also the story that always reminds me of the teacher in “Dazed and Confused” which is when their Sargent is giving the “pep talk”.  It usually goes something like: “Boys, as my Sargent once said to me, you’ll all go in, and only half of you will come back”…

These days, my love for comedy exceeds what I ever would have thought it could or ever would have.

My indefinite heroes are two fine and amazing Comediennes: Gilda Radner (RIP beautiful girl) and Amy Sedaris (I can’t wait to meet Amy, she is AMAZING!)…

Please allow me to indulge you and myself with a few you of my Favourite Gilda and Amy moments…

Gilda Radner as Baba Wawa

Gilda Radner “Lets Talk Dirty to the Animals”

Gilda Radner “Honey Touch Me”

Amy Sedaris on “Watch What Happens L!ve”

Amy Sedaris giving us a tour of her part o the neighborhood: Greenwich Village

Amy Sedaris on “Strangers with Candy”

Amy Sedaris on “Exit 57″

Love or hate them, these ladies are Geeniouses!

…and as an aside, 2011 is going to be one hell of an amazing year in Australian TV (Offspring, The Librarians, and Laid to name a few) and film (25, I’m kinda excited about this one!), so PLEASE make sure you go out and support it, and local comedy for that matter…

I don’t really have the time to write here anymore, so you might find yourself wondering (or at least I find myself wondering if you’re wondering) why I’ve suddenly popped up here with a few words of my infamous (not) wisdom. Well, I’m sick. Sort of. I think. Hopefully not. Anymore.

On Thursday night there I started on the ol’ Biology papers, beginning the long trek through the light and dark phases of photosynthesis. Paul McLoone had this competition on his show where you could win two tickets to The National at Other Voices in Dingle. I got nervous and excited at the same time and hijacked all the mobile phones in the house to enter said competition. Around the same time I began to feel a bit crappy. McLoone announced the winner, and it wasn’t me. Or any of my family members who wouldn’t know a National song if it jumped up and hit them.

I abandoned the charming Biology papers and installed myself in front of Ros na Rún, bowl of Cheerios in hand. I think I’ve watched about three and a half episodes of Ros na Rún, but sometimes you get an idea into your head. Anyway, I thought I was developing ‘sensitivity’: a unique, hard-to-describe affliction that I sometimes develop for a day or two. I guess it’s like the flu, but then again, I’ve never had the flu, so I don’t really know for sure. It only lasts a day or two though, usually cured by two paracetamol and a night’s sleep.

But, on this particular occasion, WE HAD NO PARACETAMOL IN THE HOUSE. I’d like to pause here for a second and say the following: WHAT. THE. FUCK. What kind of house doesn’t have paracetamol? There was a few drops of Paralink in a bottle, so I downed that. It really didn’t taste like the claimed ‘strawberry’ flavour but I didn’t care. Ros na Rún was getting interesting.

I went to bed early and took up where I’d left of with The Secret Life of Bees, that ol’ Leaving Cert novel that I should have read over the summer but didn’t. Next morning I woke up none the better and stayed in bed for the day, awaiting a delivery of Panadol and Lucozade, which seemed to help things alright it has to be said. Within an hour of the sweet, sweet Panadol dropping into my stomach all seemed well again. I ate a bit f pasta, took a shower and went to a friend’s house to eat pizza and caramel slices while watching Tubs on the Toy Show.

Getting out of bed on Saturday morning was a bit of a trek, but I managed it, and off to town I went in my ridiculously stupid outfit of a little vintage cropped blazer, bandage skirt and pumps. It was bloody freezing. Did coffee, went home, went to bed. Felt mank, slept, listened to the radio, worried about my health, etc.

Sunday passed in much the same fashion, just involving Sunday papers and plenty of The Panel on RTE Player. Single Handed and a cup of tea perked me up a bit though. There’s just something about that Garda uniform..

Now it’s Monday, and I’m at home. The snow is melting and it’s all disgusting so I don’t want to go out and take photos because it’s frankly quite depressing. I’ve also given up thinking about all the study and homework time I lost over the past four days, and have instead turned my attention towards making it to Dublin on Friday for The National. Which I will. Fuck the Leaving Cert, fuck school, just once I get to listen to that beautiful music LIVE. Excitement is building. And I’d also love if Dublin was all snowy, but I hate slush, okay?

So off you go to cross your fingers, look for 11:11 on the clock, throw copper coins over your shoulder, pray, meditate, whatever you’re into, so that I can make it there.

I’ll bring you back a National badge, like. Now there’s an offer you can’t refuse..

Published Date: February 4 2010, Leinster Leader

Most comedians have a particular public persona: be it Dylan Moran’s articulate drunk, or “part troll” Bill Bailey. Neil Delamere’s is perhaps less prosaic. Looking much like the software engineer he used to be, he is a sort of comic everyman. Likable and quick-witted, he is not likely to court the kind of controversy that has recently gotten Tommy Tiernan into so much trouble. Like most comedians though, he does love to talk. Unfortunately this desire to speak is somewhat hindered when he speaks to the Leinster Leader, by the sore throat that reduces his broad Offaly brogue to something of a whisper, though that doesn’t stop him trying.

A TV star through shows like the Panel and most recently Republic of Telly, Delamere has made the transition from stand-up to the small-screen seamlessly, not that he ever had a career path planned out.

“I just wanted to make a living” he says. “I remember the moment I realised I could make a career out of it. I sat down one day and figured out I could make as much money from stand up as from IT… and I had no real interest in going down the IT route.”

It wasn’t easy starting out and without the conducive atmosphere of places like the International Bar in Dublin he might not have left the comforts of the IT department behind. There were also some odd venues along the way: places like Mountjoy Prison, a police station in the UK and someone’s living room which was filmed for the internet, “like a reality TV show”.

Of course what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, or at least hopefully leaves with enough of a pulse to take to the stage again. These early experiences of stand-up no doubt helped the comic develop a style which has consistently garnered rave reviews in recent years.

It is TV though, that he is most famous for and principally as the comic foil to Northern Irish funnyman Colin Murphy (or maybe it’s the other way around) on RTE’s The Panel, a show he clearly enjoys doing, not least of which because it is filmed in front of a live audience.

The show has had some criticism since its switch to RTE 1, – from its less serious sister station Network 2 – for being a little light on the laughs and more heavy on the current affairs. Delamere is surprisingly honest about the direction it’s taken. “It was a bit more current affairsy, but I think we’ve pulled back a bit from that since [the switch to RTE 1].”  Delamere is just a “sub contractor” on the show though and insists he has little say on its future direction.

Away from The Panel and with Republic of Telly off air until April, the comic is currently winding up his latest stand-up tour Bookmarks. Having toured the show since last summer, he is clearly restless to go back to the “little clubs and try new stuff out”.  Once the final gigs are finished the process of writing the bones of a new show and putting ideas “into my phone or notebook” begins again in earnest.

Of course comedians are in an unusual position when it comes to performing their new material for the first time. Where actors rarely air their work without the aid of a tightly edited script, comedians must present their new material not quite fully formed, to test what works and what doesn’t. Delamere enjoys this form of audience editing: “I prefer it half-formed and then to form it as you go.”

The comic has a busy few months lined up. The Republic of Telly is back in April, with the Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival in June followed by the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and he hopes to have the follow-up to his Bookmarks show ready to go sometime in the Autumn.

For my interview with Delamere’s fellow Panel funnyman Colin Murphy click here. He’s no fan of the interweb and fond of the odd swear word. Only odd ones mind, never even.

The Panel is a multipurpose LCD display that offers both consumer and business audiences a lightweight (2.2 lbs.), versatile and portable 13.3” display.

It’s entering a burgeoning market. With the IT industry recovering, IDC/Goldman Sachs Research predicts corporate PC unit growth increasing by 12% in 2010 and 16% in 2011, with over 85 million and 98 million PCs to be sold, respectively. Each of those needs a display. Over 160 million LCD monitors were shipped in 2009. DisplaySearch forecasts growth to 197 million by 2012.

Students, road warriors, and telecommuters can add more screen real estate to their computer’s desktops. They can travel without bulky hardware, and enhance productivity at home with the slim design and high-definition performance that’s been designed to work on desks or in conference rooms, and to slip into a laptop bag for easy travel.

Hong Kong-based MEDL Technology, the company behind The Panel, is self-funded to the tune of around $100,000.

The economy is still dowdy and it’s still wet, but The Panel is back.

New presenter David McWilliams is a strange choice. He’s well-versed in current affairs, but for a comedy show, where’s McWilliam’s comedic attributes?

He spent most of the first show explaining his comments about Miriam O’Callaghan in his new book and apologising, also clarifying the garlic eating minister who visited his abode late one night.

@McWilliams: We don’t care. We just wanna watch the show and laugh at the humourous side of Irish news as told by (and here’s the key) The Panel.

And another thing….

@Andrew Maxwell: Keep it up lad. How does someone so weird come out with such seemingly intelligent rants?

Chris Eubank and I

I did the Make-Up for Chris Eubank recently, he was really please with the Make-Up and said “you are really good at this you know”. Nice to get some positive feedback. However when he went on the show he said: “I don’t know what the Make-Up Artist has done, but she has made me look bald”. He is such a funny guy! I didn’t do anything to his hair…he doesn’t have any!

He was really impressed with the finish that an airbrush gives and is thinking about getting one. I use the Graftobian walk around system.

It is a water based make-up that gives the skin a flawless naturally matte finish. It is particularly good for television as a lot of the cameras are HD and pick up every detail!

In these internet days, how important is a physical CD release?
“I don’t know anybody who respects or treasures MP3s. If CDs weren’t important, major labels wouldn’t bother. They have physical releases because it’s a considerable part of the revenue. A CD with quality sound, artwork and liner notes has status, commands respect from consumers and will last longer than any MP3. It’s one way to separate men from boys, because anyone can upload an MP3 onto MySpace. A CD is a tangible piece of musical history. How many MP3 collections will exist in 20 years? An accidental click or a virus and a collection is gone. And vinyl is for life, MP3s are for Christmas.”

Nik Daftary: CEO of Turn2live.com

John Hime: Austin VC 

Rob Adams: McCombs Professor and Director of Moot Corp

Sam Decker: CMO of Bazaarvoice.com, manager of Capital Factory

Hall Martin: Central TX Angel Network 

Rony Kahan: Founder and CTO of Indeed.com

Adam Dell: Impact Venture Partners

Dr. William Cook: UT Computer Science professor

Frank Quatro: Central TX Angel Network, Quatro Consulting

Josh Baer: founder of Other Inbox, managing director of Capital Factory

Robert McKee:  The Launch Team, RICE alliance

UK cats answer the hot topic of the day. This month: In this internet age, are physical CD releases still important?

Million Dan: “CD singles have recently died like the dinosaurs! As technology and evolution locked horns, the CD has suffered. We [the industry heads] have had to adjust, then re-adjust to contain those changes. However, CD albums seem to be coping and somehow justifying their existence, but for how long? On a personal level, I would love to see a return to the heyday of vinyl, cassettes and big record sales. Somebody find me a magic wand!”

(Check the first issue of HHC Digital to see answers from the rest of The Panel: Low Key, Kashmere and Sarah Love.)

Tommy G (The Real Tommy G) selling cars as well – Plum Island. MA – 1990s

There’s a long story attached to this re-meeting of the minds – I tracked down an old friend in Australia I’ve never met last week. Confused? – the story is after the break.

I came across a videotape I made in the late 1980′s, and it made me smile. Mainly because it was the result of a total chance internet email connection from around the world in 1990.

I used to run an old style BBS, or Bulletin Board System, out of my house I rented on Plum Island. It was dial up, and you literally would be connected to my old 286 PC where you could leave messages, browse games, and generally be a computer geek like myself. One of the neighboring BBS’s had an internet connection, and a e-mail portal to Australia. That’s where the fun begins.

I didn’t know anyone in Austrailia, but thought it was cool you could send a note there for nothing. So I started a conversation with someone, who was convinced that I was the doppleganger of another Tommy G in Melbourne. The similarities were quite striking.

He worked in morning radio with a group of friends. – I had just done that at WJPZ, and was working at WHEB producing comedy bits.

He was starting a video series on the local TV channel with those friends – I had started ‘Bent!’ on access cable with my pals.

It started getting freaky when we connected with each other and swapped tapes – some of his material was strikingly similar in a few of the skits. Very freaky.

So, somewhere along the time we were doing the BYD ‘Live at the Grog’ show, I decided to edit what it was like in the USA for him to see… basically a day in the life, with us hamming it up. He sent back a tape of the best of his late show, and we did chat long distance once before we lost addresses in a move. I haven’t heard from him in 15 years – but since I’m starting to do the things I always never got back to now, I decided to try and find him. He’s been a bit of a busy beaver, according to Wikipedia and IMDB.

I did a search and did find him last week. He’s now an author and also keeping busy writing and producing tv shows and movies. His latest is called The Hollowmen – looks quite cool, even though many local references on us are lost – think the US version of The Office meets The West Wing, with a little Jimmy Kimmel in there as well.

He also produced this series – ‘Thank God You’re Here‘ – it’s a improv skit show, where comedians get thrust into a scene with actors, but no idea what it’s about, and have to come up with something off the cuff… ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ with the twist that everyone else is in on the joke but you. 

Check them out if you get a chance. Now I feel like I have to get off my ass and produce something for a change… At least I’ve mastered ‘The Butties 25th Anniversary Tour – Set One’ finally… 

I think I might have found the motivation to bring a few new projects on the front burner again…

Enjoy.

The Serious Fraud Office has decided to launch a full investigation into Winston Peters, and will use its powers to find out whether donations from Sir Robert Jones and the Vela brothers reached his New Zealand First party as intended.

SFO Director Grant Liddell said he had enough information to suspect the investigation may reveal “serious and complex fraud” the threshold for the statutory powers which can force documents to be produced or people involved to answer questions.

Mr Liddell has been assessing a complaint from Act leader Rodney Hide for the past month.

He said he did not believe there was enough evidence to use the SFO powers on the Owen Glenn donation, because it was clear from both men’s accounts the money was donated to Mr Peters’ legal costs.

And while the allegations concerning the scampi select committee were serious, Mr Liddell said “seriousness of allegation alone is not enough”.

He said it may be that further information was uncovered on these allegations that gave him “reason to suspect” and use the powers.

Keep in mind though, as Matthew Hooton pointed out on The Panel  this afternoon that legislation abolishing the SFO is pending; and that if an election was called the priviliges committee would go too.

But even Helen Clark wouldn’t rush through the legislation then call the election so that both inquiries were aborted, would she?

Imperious self-assurance. Charismatic. Thick, curly black hair. An expansive smile. A love of performing.

 These were descriptions of Harry Houdini, the great Hungarian-American escape artist who thrilled audiences 100 years ago. Today they sound uncannily like our own great political trapeze artist, NZ First leader Winston Peters.

… As he prepares for today’s parliamentary showdown with Opposition MPs, Mr Peters must feel as hogtied as his famous doppelganger. If he manages to wriggle free he deserves to be listed up there with Harry as one of the great escape artists of all time.

The trouble for Mr Peters is that he is being pinged in at least three directions about quite different sets of donations to his party, and questions about where the money went and why it was not declared. That’s like being handcuffed and straitjacketed inside the water torture cell.

…IT MAY well be that Mr Peters has adequate explanations for how such donations have been used, even if there has been a failure to declare.

He may have felt boxed in last week with the visit of United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and failed to concentrate sufficiently on explaining rather than attacking his critics.

But he will need to do better with the answers this week, although he will be tempted to continue the counter-punching role, in which he revels, rather than giving explanations, which he hates.

Apart from his political opponents, Mr Peters is facing an increasingly exasperated prime minister who watched as the undeclared donations saga last week upstaged what should have been a major political showcase in the visit of Dr Rice.

… She will not want to precipitate an early election, but if she cannot coax suitable explanations from Mr Peters and, if she calculates her image as a strong leader would be enhanced by action, she could strip Mr Peters of his portfolios.

NZ First would be sealing their own death warrant if they responded by bringing down the Government over that.

Mr Peters would, in these circumstances, portray himself as the injured innocent and go on an all-out campaign for the pensioner vote. With Tauranga being a lost cause, he needs a focused campaign to get his party vote over the 5 per cent threshold. Presently it is hovering nearer four.

Harry Houdini, the escape artist, would no doubt approve.

But Peters isn’t supposed to be entertaining us, he’s supposed to be hleping to run the country which puts his antics in a very unfavourable light.

P.S. Long discussed this issue Jim Mora and his guests on The Panel  this afternoon.