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For Booking Contact Karin Ingram Northbeat Agency
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A Chàirdean It seems utterly unbelievable that another year has passed since I last wrote this message for the website - I can only hope and trust that, on a personal note, for each and every one of you, this year has been a good one and that as it draws to a close we can look forward to 2010 with hope and optimism. I would like to thank you all for your wonderful support at all the shows throughout this year. As you know, I have always believed that music is only really fully brought to life by the great chemistry of performer and audience coming together through live performance to share in the emotion and passion of the song and it is very much a two way process in which you as audience play a very major part. So without that interaction there would be nothing but the performance itself with all that emotion and energy simply disappearing into space. The thing that I love about live music is that each and every person participating in it brings something utterly unique to the experience as we all carry with us into that performance, band and audience alike, our own personalities, moods, ideas, thoughts and emotions and for that time it creates the space where the energy of performance is communal. When I write a song clearly it is stimulated by my own personal ideas and experiences but once it is out there then people take ownership of it for themselves in their own way and place it in their lives in their own way. I have spoken with many songwriters over the years and I think most agree that one of the most incredible rewards for any artist is to have their work taken on board by others and in doing so it is made the greater for it. I know from speaking with many of you over the years that songs can become very personal to people in many different ways - it may be that the first time you heard a particular song, something very significant was going on in your own lives, sometimes good, sometimes not but always in making that personal association with the song then you carry that with you and that is your ‘special energy’ which you share when we come together to share the song in performance and I think that is probably what makes the relationship between, performer, song and audience a very powerful and genuinely human experience. At this time I would like to thank everyone who contributed so much to the success of the year, to Karin Ingram at Northbeat Agency, in particular, who in her first year in this role has done such a fantastic job for the band, to Tomas for the wonderful shows in Denmark, to Kenny Kane for his shows, to Ian Green and all at Greentrax Records, to Ivor and Gaz for the sound at many of the concerts, to Richard for his great work with the website and to Jacky, Elaine and Catriona for all their help with the merchandising at the shows and fundraising for the various charities with which I have links. I would also like to pay a particular tribute to my friend Chris Harley, who as many of you know has been suffering a difficult period of ill-health and has been greatly missed by us all. Chris is now nearing the completion of a long and demanding course of treatments and is looking forward to joining us again on stage hopefully in the spring of 2010. Chris has been a wonderful friend, producer and musical mentor to me over many years and I know that you would all wish to join with me in sending him our best wishes for a speedy return to full health. All of my work as a writer of course would not really see the light of day without the input of the most amazingly talented group of musicians which anyone could have the good fortune to be able to work with. I am extremely fortunate to be able to work with such great musicians and players as, Foss Paterson, Chaz Stewart, Morph Dobie, Jim Drummond, Dougie Coulter and Chris Harley and I am greatly in their debt. On a personal note this has been a very hard year for my own family as we struggled to cope at home with the illness and tragically untimely death of a very dear member of our family and I would like to thank all who gave their support during that very difficult time for us all. I look forward to seeing you all in 2010 and as you can see the shows are already starting to appear. I look forward also to drawing this year to a close at Òban tomorrow night and hope to see many of you there. I wish you all the very best for a Happy Healthy and Prosperous New Year. With thanks to you all Donnie
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