Forty Shades of Green - Adair Manor

The next destination was our "splurge" for the week..one night at Adair Manor; where legends like Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Tiger Woods, and now Gomez from Cobrakaineverdies.blogspot.com have rested their heads. We got their a bit early so we headed to town to find some lunch. The main street had some interesting looking pubs so we figured we may have headed back later that night. After lunch we were off to the manor and once we got on the grounds we figured we weren't going anywhere! It was a bit rainy but the weather fit the mood of the house. It was very welcoming but it could've also been used as a main character in a horror movie. Especially when we walked through the grounds to dinner that night with a full moon shining. I was just waiting for a werewolf to come out from the woods!

Upon check in we were asked if we'd like to be upgraded to a state room. We were told that it was in the old part of the house and there was no elevator (uh yes we would like to be upgraded) after that we were asked if we would like our champagne now or sent up to the room (ummm I guess the room?) wow I could get used to this type of service. The room was like nothing I've ever stayed in before. It was huge......after pinching ourselves my wife and I drank our champagne and then headed down to the lobby for a tour of the Manor. After that we were shuttled over to the spa for our massages...yeah it was a rough day.

After getting ourselves together we headed over to the dining room for an awesome meal (steak for me, salmon for my wife) then we headed back to the main house and went downstairs to the Tack Room (which at one point used to be the horse stables) we took a seat in the cellar bar, ordered a few drinks and were entertained by the piano playing of Johnny Dee. Johnny played an Elvis medley for the newlyweds (us) as well as traditional Irish tunes. After awhile he said the most beautiful song he's ever heard about Ireland was written by an American, and that American was Johnny Cash. So here's the song he played.....the next day we were blessed with sunshine so after breakfast we walked the grounds before it was time to leave. Kilkenny may have been my favorite town but this was my favorite "hotel" we stayed in.

Forty Shades of Green - Johnny Cash

Forty Shades of Green - Kilkenny II

I was a bit slow moving the morning after hanging out with our new Irish friends so we leisurely strolled the streets of Kilkenny checking out the shops, grabbing food, etc. Well by the afternoon I was back in shape so we decided to tour the Smithwicks Brewery.(one of my favorites..in fact i'm having one while writing this) As I mentioned earlier it wasn't high tourist season so the tour we went on had only two other people. Our guide for this journey was Rowan who had been with the company for many years. He had great pride in the company and informed us on the history of the town and brewery. After viewing the remains of the monastery on site (from the 14th century!) we were shown where the beer is brewed. If you've even been on a brewery tour before you know what comes next...the tasting.(which was of course delicious) After the tour we headed to dinner and one last bar and called it an early night.I enjoyed all the places in Ireland we visited but i felt most comfortable in Kilkenny. It kind of had a blue collar feel to it and you could tell the people were proud of their town.(and their Hurling team)

One thing we noticed about Ireland was that they seemed to love cover songs. When we checked into our hotel the song below was being played in the lobby. One of my favorite singers singing one of my favorite Dylan songs. My wife and I heard Jeff Tweedy play this live during the Solid Sound Festival. WE both had a smile on our faces as we reminisced about our special trip to the Berkshires. We also felt very lucky of the amazing things we've seen and were extremely grateful to be in Ireland. It felt like that song was played just for us during that moment.

Simple Twist of Fate - Jeff Tweedy

Forty Shades of Green - Kilkenny

So on the third day it was time to leave the city, jump in the rental car and head to Kilkenny. A few minutes after pulling out of the city we got our first glimpses of the beautiful Irish countryside. Once we reached our destination we hit the streets to find something to eat. We ended up in a pub called The Rafter Dempsey's Lounge (see picture) where we enjoyed the special of the day...Lasagna and chips. Sounds a little strange but with a nip in the air and our stomachs growling (and a few sips of Guinness in us) it was delicious. After leaving the pub we took a tour of Kilkenny Castle.(where construction was started in 1195!) The grounds and castle were in incredible shape.

We ended up grabbing dinner at Kyteler's Inn where the special was Shepard's Pie (perfect)which was a medieval style pub circa 1324 and at one time was owned by a woman accused of witchcraft. If you ever make it to Kilkenny check this place out. It has such a great look and feel. After dinner we decided to hang out with the locals at Tynans Bridge House Bar. A no frills watering hole where the locals hang. Since we were visiting in the off season we were the only Americans there that night.

After a few beers we engaged in conversation with some of the customers ( I believe our South Carolina accents stuck out a bit) and then the fateful question was posed.."May I buy you and your new wife a drink?" After saying yes i didn't realize that meant that whenever our beers were almost empty a brand new one appeared.(see pic with one our our new friends wearing my glasses. Notice the full beer next to my unfinished one) I had quite a few beers during our trip but this was the only night i got drunk. Not only was i drinking my beer but my wife kept pouring hers in my glass as well. Needless to say, we couldn't keep up with the locals. We had a great time that night and everyone was super welcoming. After awhile a guy got up and started playing guitar and singing songs. Well after a few drinks my wife for some reason requested the song below. the guy never had played it before but that night he obliged. So now every time I hear this song I think of drunken Irishmen and the smell of Guinness. Enjoy.

Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes

Forty Shades Of Green - Dublin II

Welcome Back. By day two we were a little more rested and adjusted to the time change. We started things off by walking the grounds of Trinity College. While there we popped in to see the Book of Kells. After that we headed over to St. Patrick’s Cathedral which was gorgeous. Lucky for us the choir was practicing for services so that definitely added to the ambiance. After we went to church we decided it would be proper to grab a pint so we headed over to the Guinness Storehouse. It was interesting learning about the history of the company but the best part was getting your free sample in the Gravity Bar. Awesome views of Dublin and great tasting beer. Tonight’s post was a bit of a no brainer. I remember seeing the movie Once and hoping someday to see the streets of Dublin. Well now I have and I can't wait to see them again. Here’s a song from the soundtrack.

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - When Your Minds Made Up

Forty Shades of Green - Dublin

Hello! Last time we chatted I mentioned that I had just gotten married. A week after the wedding we had the opportunity to take a dream honeymoon trip to Ireland. Ireland had always been on the top of my list of places to see and when my wife agreed that it would make a nice trip the planning began. Our first stop was Dublin. We only had two days in the big city so we made excellent use of our time seeing as much as possible while still finding time to relax in the pubs. On day one we strolled through Saint Stephen's Green, window shopped on Grafton Street and attended a literary pub crawl.(also took an awesome three hour nap..not much sleep on the overnight flight!)We also had out first taste (and definitely not last)of Guinness...and as everyone says it does taste better than in the states. While walking home from the pub crawl we stumbled upon the Phil Lynott statue. So to start off this week of posts let's hear a tune from the classic Jailbreak Album.

Thin Lizzy - Romeo And The Lonely Girl
BTW:from now on to download the song, right click on the link that says "click here to start download from sendspace" (in blue box) I'd ignore the other
ones that say "Download and Play Now."- Gomez

Drive Soundtrack - Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx

Drive will always be a special movie for me. It was four weeks ago tonight that I went to the theatre to see this flick. It was two days before my wedding. I had some friends coming in late that night so I decided to catch a 9:45 show so I could stay up to greet them. It was the perfect movie to see to zone out for a few hours after months of stress and pressure helping put the wedding together (which by the way went even better than expected) Anyway the move was a bit simplistic (and I don't mean that as a jab) It didn't have too much lengthy dialogue and after a bit of a love story the action kicked in, and yes as the reviews say it does get a little violent. One of the first things I noticed while watching the movie was the "throwback 80's feel" (and we all know how much I love the 80's!)with the satin Scorpion Jacket, sort of good guy vs. really evil guys and of course the music. I had never heard any of the songs from the movie till that night. They all had heavy synthesizers with mainly female vocalists. In fact I figured all the tunes were by the same band but when I checked out the album afterwards I was completely wrong. When I first heard the tunes I didn't really know what to think of them but after a few plays they started to grow on me and after listening to the samples on Amazon I knew that I had to have the album. Anyway I don't know if it was just the excitement and anticipation of my wedding day or if the movie and soundtrack were just that good. (Although I think the songs will have a bigger impact if you see the movie first) I guess you'll have to decide on your own, but for me this movie and soundtrack will always put a little smile on my face.

Nightcalls

Happy New Year - David Gray

Yeah I realize I'm a bit late with the holiday greetings but even your Sensei has to take time off. Since we last spoke I've moved into a new place and I'm still planning a wedding so I haven't exactly been resting on my laurels. I have had the opportunity to see a couple great shows this year. Back in March I was able to catch Prince on his Welcome to America tour. As you can imagine it was mind blowing...or as Prince told us before the show "We were about to witness a miracle." Well apparently the man in purple doesn't like his tunes posted on the Internet so I'll move on to the next show.



I heard about the David Gray show about 3 months ago and I told me fiancée that we would wait till the week of the show and if we could get good seats we'd go. Like most people I started listening to David during the White Ladder craze. It was a disc that frequented my CD player between 01 and 02...during that time I also picked up the Lost Songs CD which was also in heavy rotation. After that A New Day at Midnight came out. I picked that one up and it just didn't speak to me like the other discs so that ended my David Gray collection. Well the week of the show finally came and the tickets were towards the back so I kept waiting. Finally the day of the show came around (last Friday) and I went on ole Ticketmaster and still no luck. I left for lunch and figured we'd make other plans for the evening. I decided to try one more time when I got back from lunch and I couldn't believe my eyes...there they were, two seats in the pit, row AA seats 3 and 4. Wow I couldn't believe it front row seats! I immediately sent an email to my fiancée and said, "Looks like we're going to a concert tonight."



I wasn't sure what to expect because aside from the CD's I bought almost ten years ago I'd only heard the radio hits he's had. He came out and performed the title track from his new album Foundling. After hearing the first song and seeing how tight the band was and how incredible his voice was I knew we were in for a special night. It was pretty surreal being in the front row. It almost felt like I was watching it on TV. I didn't recognize a song till about the fourth tune in but it didn't matter. Usually I don't have much fun at shows that I'm not familiar with the songs but this time I went to iTunes after the show to download them (one of the perks of sitting in the front row was getting a copy of the set list so it made it a bit easier to hunt down the songs) David alternated between the piano, pump organ, and acoustic guitar. A lot of improvisation was done at the end of the songs with the band just jamming with David free styling lyrics, repeating phrases over and over, softer and slower. It was very calming. Mix that in with the colorful images on the back drop and I was super relaxed. It was almost like slipping into meditation with David providing the mantra....or it was the effect of the giant beers I had at the Mexican restaurant before the show...but the first idea sounds more romantic.



Anyway I went into the show as a casual fan and come out a "born again fan." I honestly think he's getting better with age. If you haven't given David Gray a listen for awhile I recommend checking out his new CD and definitely getting tickets to his current "stripped down" tour. The song tonight is from his new album and was the third song from the set. It was one of the many tunes that I was hearing for the first time but it stuck out to me just a little more than some of the others. Hope you enjoy. - Gomez


Davy Jones' Locker

Sounds of the Season - Vince Guaraldi Trio

I'm heading out of town tomorrow so this will be the final "Sounds of the Season" post of 2010. What better way to end the posts than with a song from this solid soundtrack? If I had to pick one, this is my favorite cut from the CD. Merry Christmas everyone!

What Child Is This

Sounds of the Season - Gladys Knight & The Pips

Hello again. I hope you've been enjoying this month's posts. I've got a few more goodies up my sleeve before the "big day" so please check back soon. Let's cap off the week with some class from the men and woman pictured to your left. I don't know about you but I wouldn't mind finding one of those suits under the tree this year. Till next time.....

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Sounds of The Season - Willie Nelson

I couldn't find a picture of Willie in a reindeer outfit so I decided to use this pic instead. I'm sure everyone knows this one. Enjoy!

Frosty the Snowman

Sounds of the Season - Wham!

Happy holidays everyone! We're going to be putting up the tree today so I figured we'd pull out some of the classics to get in the spirit. I've got a few goodies that I plan on sharing with you in the next few weeks. Let's kick things off with a gem from the 80's. This tracks been covered by everyone from Hillary Duff to Jimmy Eat World to Taylor Swift.....but none compare to the original. Enjoy!

Last Christmas

Rocky IV Flashback Scene

Soundtrack Saturday - Rocky IV

There are five movies from the 80's that I specifically remember going to the theatre and remember being blown away. In no particular order they are The Goonies, The Karate Kid, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Return of the Jedi, and Rocky IV. I remember heading to the theatre around Christmas time with my dad and brother.(back in '85, wow!) Like Bob from Office Space celebrates Michael Bolton’s entire catalogue I celebrate the entire Rocky catalogue. If I had to pick favorites I'd say 1, 3 and 4. I'm 32 now so I'd say if you're a male between the ages of 28 and 38 this movie still holds a special place in your heart and makes you feel like working out after watching it.

This particular track (as most of you know) is used during one of the famous 80's flashback sequences that fills you in on the previous three Rocky movies.(see above) I don't know about you but I plan on watching this classic sometime over the holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving - Gomez


No Easy Way Out - Robert Tepper

Sunday Morning Coming Down - The Autumn Defense

"Hello. Is it me you're looking for?"-L.Ritchie

Hey everyone. Sorry for the brief absence but October was quite a busy month for me. I got engaged, started planning the wedding, got our house ready to put on the market, and I had to work on my Halloween costume (see picture below...yes that is a homemade Skeletor costume)

Well i figured this was an appropriate band to play this time of year. As I told you before I got to see these guys live @ The Solid Sound Festival back in August. This particular track is off their newest album that came out earlier this month called Once Around. I've been enjoying it on my way into work the last few weeks. It has a laid back sound with catchy lyrics....perfect for cold, lazy Sunday afternoons. These guys are currently on tour (including some dates opening for Jeff Tweedy) so I highly recommend giving them a shot. Alright I should be back sooner than later. Hope you enjoy the song - Gomez

Every Day

Click here for more info on The Autumn Defense

Wild Card Wednesday! - Mulatu Astatke

Have you seen the movie Broken Flowers? If not I highly recommend it, if so you'll probably recognize this tune. This song was featured on the "mix tape" that Bill Murray's character (Don) received from Winston for his road trip. If you're unfamiliar with the flick here's a quick synopsis:


The resolutely single Don Johnston has just been dumped by his latest lover, Sherry. Don resigns himself to being alone yet again and left to his own devices. Instead, he is compelled to reflect on his past when he receives by mail a mysterious pink letter. It is from an anonymous former lover and informs him that he has a 19-year-old son who may now be looking for his father. Don is urged to investigate this "mystery" by his closest friend and neighbor, Winston, an amateur sleuth and family man. Hesitant to travel at all, Don nonetheless embarks on a cross-country trek in search of clues from four former flames. Unannounced visits to each of these unique women hold new surprises for Don as he haphazardly confronts both his past and, consequently, his present.

Anyways I don't know too much about this artist (only that he's from Ethiopia and he plays jazz) but I guarantee you'll be humming this tune after a few listens. Enjoy.

Yekermo Sew