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24/2/2022 1 Comment I have no talent. Part 2 I remember a History teacher once saying 20% of our class were more intelligent than him. I remember thinking had he lost his mind? Is he being sarcastic? Who can be more intelligent than the teacher? I remember handing in a decent honours mock exam (GCSC A Level or SAT) to that teacher and saying “I want to do a lower level. Because I'm afraid the wrong questions will come up”. The teacher said “you are limiting yourself, you are well able for it, but ok…”.
The Teacher was 100% in what he said. See, the school system taught us to believe that the teacher was always right, always more intelligent and always got full attention and respect. Now for another situation. Picture a girl growing up in a poor suburb of Toronto. Her promise to achieve what she is capable of depends on many things. Will her parents provide her with a steady moral foundation? Will her parents sustain her with good food and good habits? Will her neighbours cause peace or unrest? When her confidence is tested when she is asked to smoke a joint out on the street will she have the confidence to say NO THANKS? All of this feeds into whether or not her talent will be realised. School is a piece in the puzzle. But ultimately it comes down to everything else around her. I have no talent. I had White Privileges. I got handed a good moral compass by my parents. I had the chance to become educated. I took that before I pursued music part time after setting my career on the right path. I believe there are different types of intelligence. I believe that the arrogance the world once had is beginning to fade. Talent is a tiny part of somebodies ability. Talent doesn't matter as much as you think. It is hardly needed. Its a bit of good fortune. More on this in part three…..
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23/2/2022 0 Comments I have no talent - part one Imagine Grapes. Imagine how the same species of Grape have created Table Wines and Brandy for centuries. And imagine us. We all have these subtle differences between each other. How we thrive in Sport, Careers, Arts, Life depends on many things. Talent is only one thing. We cultivate many different things at the same time.
Something I used to always notice when I played Gaelic Football was how players that tended to get to County Minor Level (U18 regional teams) usually had support behind them. When I say support I mean they either had a parent following her or him everywhere, coaching them and taking on their commitment with them. I would say this is so important that County teams look for this in players as a means of assessing their character. Let's look at musicians now. Some of the most talented musicians are the ones who have built up the neuroplasticity and the familiarity with notes and music. She/He will find an escape in the intensity and endless satisfaction of it all. Music is so consuming. For some, the escape is craved due to their home situation or their struggles in life. For others, it is a course they have been encouraged to take on and love. In both situations, Nurturing a love of Music helps greatly. How about a Dairy Farmer? Does the Farmer Father look at his Son and say “Now Son, you are going to wake at 5am every day of your life for 45 years to milk Cows. Here are the keys to the parlour”. It doesn’t exactly happen that way. First, from a young age, the Son accepts the lifestyle of Dairy farming. Second, the identity as a Dairy Farmer is ingrained in him. Lastly, it is of course nurtured. This is what tends to happen in a family who are in the Circus or in a Food Business or Musicians. The money isn’t as important as the passion and the lifestyle and the identity of it all. This is why sons of Millionaire business owners get handed the reins - they too put in the 50/60 hours a week because they have been cultivated like the Grapes in the Vineyard. So personally, the energy I feel when I play music is different to the next person. Which is a good thing. I didn’t wake up with any talent. Many of the musical mistakes I have made had nothing to do with music when I delved into them. Should I have been advised and nurtured more of course it would have made a massive impact on me and I would have made less mistakes. But how I process the world has a lot to do with my environment. Like… There is an irony in why I am releasing an Album and Documentary about Ballsgrove. I didn’t always stay there because my musical friends weren’t from there. Music took me away from Ballsgrove. But the sense of right and wrong, the formative experiences, the big mistakes and the learning all happened in Ballsgrove. So I was a product of that environment from a young age. In part two I want to talk about barriers that dub people as untalented. Stay tuned, Seán 22/2/2022 3 Comments The Importance of Turning upYou say something to yourself. You decide you feel a certain way about something. You decide how to communicate to others about it. Sometimes you hold back a bit. Sometimes you don't. You set boundaries to know not to go too far. You craft!
Turning up every day is a way to stay in touch with who you are. You have family, friends, work, passions. You knock in with each thing. Don't underplay the power of discipline. Of goal setting. Of Turning Up! Associating any creative pursuit with Immaturity, Laziness or Stubbornness is a mark of a dead generation on the face of the living. The dead generation who believed education was the new god. Who believed trades were a right of passage. Who believed Governments would look after us. The now widely accepted importance of Ethic and Attitude above everything have contradicted the toxic myth that hard work gets you everywhere. It doesn't. But, in every case, showing up is a must. Knocking in with all of your parts is a must. Surrounding yourself with people who accept what makes you tick is a must. Being your best self is a must. The eternal "rung up on the ladder" is a bloody smoke screen. We don't live in a sect. We just hamper ourselves with inferiority complexes. And in an effort to show people our siege minded optics we sometimes come across as populist or crass. Maybe it's just being anxious to come across well to everyone? Because you care? And that's good. Showing up assures you that it is good. And slowly, you can accept who you are, where you belong and what you want to become. Keep showing up 😊 18/2/2022 0 Comments Bad apples... Firstly, sorry if you have had trouble accessing my website lately. It was offline due to an issue with the service provider. This is my first blog post in 6 months.
Tolerance is a virtue. Think of a child learning to ride a bike. You can pretend you aren't watching when you really are. You have to. You have a sense of duty and care. But you tolerate them finding their own way to do it. Now I don't play Golf, but what about somebody who wants learn how to play Golf. A late comer. You see this new Golfer improve. When this new Golfer says something wrong about Golf, the Bad Apple in the Clubhouse dismisses and lampoons them. The question now is - can this cause much harm? Well, if you think about the golf courses, the golf shops, the restaurants etc then yes, there is harm done. Especially if the new Golfer has lost his zest and his confidence. Then the bad apple is malignant, isn't it? Look at a fresh box of Apples. Some people will only see the spotty rotten one at the top. Is it human nature? I wonder. For me it starts with who made us fixate on the Bad Apple. What makes folks always see the glass as half empty? Breaking that chain of negativity is a Stoic challenge. I believe this can stifle every community, village, town and city that wants to thrive. So I've taken the challenge to ignore all the bad apples... Will you? 29/7/2021 0 Comments An update on Welcome to Ballsgrove The beginning of 2021 was tough. Although I didn't publicly talk about it until now, I lost my last grandparent in the middle of the January Lockdown. Sheila was my Dad's Mam. She used to mind us when both my parents worked in the early 1990s. My Mother worked in Drogheda's "rag trade" in Ushers in Greenhills, making things like Golf Towels and Tea Towels in the trade that Drogheda's most prolific songwriter, John Shiels, had worked in over 130 years ago.
Most of my formative years were with "Granny across the Green", as we called her. It was across the Green because we all lived in Ballsgrove. Anybody who has seen Ballsgrove's Green would know that all 8 acres of it seemed like a considerable distance to young 4-year-old legs! And in a funny spin back to Sheils, my Granny originally came from Mell and she too worked in the Rag Trade in her youth. Sheila could well have been the "nice little neat little factory maid" that Shiels wrote about in his song "The Factory Maid". We miss her dearly. Despite all the January Lockdown gloom and the loss of a loved one, there was a song that held firm. It's no wonder that "The Hope that Hope will give" came your way. The song was intended to be a charge of Hope looking at better days. Andrea Delaney from Anúna reallly owned the song. Since the release of the song a few people have asked "what does the hope that hope will give even mean?". Well it's a bit like being at a party. Imagine everyone in the room waited for everyone else to say hello. It would be a weird party wouldn't it? Hope can be taken that way. If we start with a bit and share it with somebody else we can get the ball rolling and then its not too long until it rolls back! Welcome to Ballsgrove has been a pivot point for many memories. The title single was like all the planets aligning in a way. You all got it, and that was a thrill. In the same session as that title track, we laid down most of the other songs. Not alot has seen the light of day yet. There are loads of reasons for this. Not being able to travel freely was a drag. And so was getting people free on the days when everybody else was free! See, I work weekends. And have committed to minding my twin girls for most of the weekdays. So I am on those funny Soccer Mom hours! Consequently, simple things didn't happen as they should have, partially because of my work commitments and partially because of travel restrictions. Despite all that, we are getting there! As for when the Album will be out, the plot has thickened a little bit! There will now be a short documentary to accompany the Album. We have already had three amazing people take part in interviews. More are planned. The first day of filming suddenly made the Album and Documentary a work of great substance. It will mean the Album will have to wait a little while longer. I can't wait to share everything when its finished. Seán PS - if you have read and enjoyed this go ahead and Subscribe for more   I remember my first Drogheda United match in the 1990s. I went with a couple of school friends. Then from the stands, the chant ' he's fat, he's round, he bounces off the ground Seán Mathews, Seán Mathews! " rang out. My friends had a good laugh. I looked myself over and thought, "really?".
For a moment, I thought my friends had set it up. You see, there were a few of us Sean Matthews lads. First, my parents' Insurance Broker, Seán P Matthews. Then there was a pal of my Dads at the office, aka the local pub. And then that night, I learned of a third Seán, a Drogheda United stalwart who alongside me was taking a bit of slack that evening in United Park! It was a funny old world back then without Google or Mobile Phones. You learned these things slowly. Then there was a Seán Mathews that was related to me. It took us a few months working together to realise this! He was a Clogherhead man and belonged to the same clan of Mathews as my Fathers Grandparents had who lived on the Big Strand in Clogherhead. They all used one T in Mathews as far as I know. So I reclaimed that. Funny Story. So this Seán Mathews had found out I was going out to sea on a 10 day trip for the first time. He said, "don't worry young sham, you'll be grand, make sure you eat plenty, you'll be feeding the seagulls as soon as you turn out the pier! '. In fairness... He was nearly right ! In the musical world, I share my name with a popular DJ. This Seán Mathews has a large following and some high-quality material. He is also verified on Facebook and ranks higher than me in any search online. It seems I am overshadowed. But am I? I have recently made an effort always to spell my name with an Irish fada. Seán. In the past, I didn't use a síneadh fada. I didn't like how the Irish Language was taught to me in school. So you could say I rebelled a bit, and I dropped it. I was always a Seán because I pronounced the fada, I didn't say "See an". I've realised I was wrong not using the fada all along despite what I thought of my teachers. "Shawn", "Shaun" or "Shon" are all pronounced in the same way, but those spellings support the pronunciation in English. Mine doesn't work without a fada, so it's essential! The Irish Government has drafted legislation to solidify the fada in legal documents, computer keyboards and IT systems. With this, I believe some distinction will be more visible, at least in Ireland. So there's hundreds in the Seán Mathews club anyway.... maybe more? Get in touch ! Are you one? I could have been born a John Smith. Millions of me in the world. Fortunately, I'm not. Luckily there aren't too many Folk Musicians in Ireland called Seán Mathews with albums called Dreaming is Allowed and songs like Welcome to Ballsgrove. I can live with it. Do I think I am the next Declan O'Rourke? Not me, not ever. Commercial acclaim for me is like going into the Newsagents and doing the lotto. You think about winning it, but you think more about getting 4 or 5 numbers because it is much more possible. Grand. Keep calm and tip on. If you are reading this far, you are a part of a small thing. You will take the time to find me and my next single or album. And if you want to help me out, tell a friend about me. Torture them with my tunes. And oh yeah, use the fada! If you are another Seán Mathews reading this, I feel your pain but remember there is enough room in the bed for everyone! Talk again soon, Seán 27/5/2021 0 Comments Music: the gift that keeps giving  I can't stop listening to 'Penguin Eggs' by Nic Jones. The whole album flew over my head over the years. About a year ago, in the space of a few weeks, a load of Artists just clicked with me. Townes Van Zandt, Jon Prine, Gordon Bok, Blaze Foley, Chris Wood, Show of Hands and the absolutely incredible Nic Jones have made the past year an enjoyable one as a music lover.
On long walks with the girls (see photo to the left) I get completely immersed in this beautiful music. The delicate cuts of vocal timing, tone and tempo all skimming their way over everything I have ever heard. When you hear "that" album you never know when something great comes again. And then it comes. And all the zest is back. And all this music has already been made! What a time to be alive. All of this material available at a touch. New music has come too. Yaron Pe’er, Lankum, Kris Drever, Xyloris White, Zohar Fresco, A lazarus soul, David Keenan, Matt McGinn, Daibhidh Stiubhard and even Declan O’Rourkes latest album have all haunted my brain. And local music has busted through as well. Kern have continued to create hand warming music. Paddy Goodwin had a fantastic single called ‘Harvey’. Jim McHugh is making foot stomping rock music that I really like. The Mary Wallopers are cleverly placing themselves for success with a big soul and a small care for people who ask them if they are still at the music. Jinx Lennon is still deflecting his reflection as the cool Uncle of Urban Folk by creating even better music every time he puts something out. Everything is fantastic, kids. It’s a great time to be alive! Culture: Drogheda's strongest currency
"You'll be some pup when your tail grows!" - Old Irish Anecdote. In a way, I muse about Drogheda as if it was a person. So much promise stunted by policy and politics. Culture is an unstoppable driver, though. So let me share reasons why this old pup's tail is growing! Coffee culture It finally hit Drogheda in the past three years. There are new places like Epik, The Coffee Box, West Gate Coffee, and Ariosa when you want a coffee in an Independently run business. The emerging quarter around the Mathews Bus Stop at the Fairgreen is promising - a space to watch. Because most of the more prominent traders in Drogheda moved out to the M1 retail parks, the whole town dynamic has changed. There is now ample parking for friends to meet up for food and coffee. There are too many restaurants to mention now - the rising tide has lifted the boats in this regard. When things open up, go try somewhere new. You will be pleasantly surprised. Park culture In preparation for the Fleadh Cheoil, a lot of money was spent on getting the riverside lit up around St Dominics Park. The result is a bustling park atmosphere to be proud of. It's no longer a handful of dog owners and winos on the benches. All ages and ethnicities are drawn to the park. The Skate Park within the park is possibly the most significant Cultural change the area has ever had. The result is a safety that skaters feel in numbers. So a whole scene happening in front of us there. The playground attracts families. The path to Oldbridge House attracts everyone from competitive runners to people strolling with a coffee from Town! Music culture Sometimes you can be so close to something that you see every minor imperfection. Look at the wood in the slideshow pictures above this blog post. I want to use this as a way to describe how you could create your own culture. Up close, we see imperfection. It's confusing and frustrating. Where do you start? A little bit further away, things appear more uniform and smooth. Less imperfect. A little stronger. As the wood is combined together in a fence, it gets substantial, uniform, and far-reaching. Appearing together is the core of every good scene in every area, like those skaters in the park! Maybe then the Bandstand in St Dominics Park will be built with enthusiasm. In Louth, there is an opportunity. I'm open to helping any musician out there in whatever way I can. Because building fences is worthwhile, even if you will never reap the benefits. Arts culture There are 3 government-supported hubs in Drogheda. The Droichead Arts Centre, Barlow House, and The Highlanes. Year after year, they stoke the curiosity of the Town's residents. Is the curiosity net wide enough? It will always be - so long as we build enough fences! Drogheda is blessed to have these facilities. Art and Theatre have a strong base in Drogheda with lots of success stories. Keep your eyes peeled for those Programmes, especially Droichead Art Centre's Traditional Music Weekend. Sports culture Drogheda United is a reasonable force. They are back in the Irish Premier Division. In Inchicore in Dublin, St. Patricks Athletic has seen an uplift in grassroots supporters. Alongside this, the local brewery, Rascals Brewing Co, has seen an uplift in business on Match Days. What I see is the seeds of a robust and long-standing idea being sown yet again. Support local means, support local. I expect Drogheda United to grow as a club organically if the Culture in Drogheda is nourished. Would a song for the stands from a local fan be welcome? Of course! So why not a Craft beer? Dundalk Culture (yes, Dundalk Culture!) Dundalk, ever Drogheda's rival, is the best example of a town that supports local producers. To drink Harp Lager and smoke Carrolls Cigarettes meant you would "smoke the town, drink the town." Harp Lager, Mcardle's Ale, and Carrolls Cigarettes are no longer produced in Dundalk. But the culture of Local support is embedded. And people from the top to the bottom of the social ladder in Dundalk still smoke the Town and drink the Town. The success of Dundalk FC is built on supporting locals, just like they do now in St Pats in Dublin. Food culture Everything is more bespoke today. From cakes and Balloons at a party down to the little ribbons around a present. So when you see Wholey Cow milk in Dromiskin or potatoes from Ballymakenny Farm, you see a price tag that's, as we say in Drogheda, "a bit dearer." So the phrase "a bit dearer" is accurate. But is it just dearer in a precious sort of a way? Because it supports a community, the one you live in. This is why I like buying a roll in Hurley Brothers. It has nothing exclusive or expensive about it. But it's the support you can see. Of course, more expensive doesn't mean better. But it can mean more trade, more jobs, and more business feeding a more diverse net culture. We can all be sure that thinking this way would create a cultural transformation in Drogheda really quickly! Culture is currency So off we go. We read this and think, "it has nothing to do with Sean's music." Well, maybe not right now. Just keep building those fences. Eventually, they will pave the road forward. All the best, Seán 20/4/2021 0 Comments The Story of the Commuter Song Taken from Dreaming is Allowed, my debut album, The Commuters Song has been a polarising song for reasons that I understand and acknowledge with respect.
It seems like now is the right time to talk about the song in the context I intended it. A couple of years ago I remember doing an interview for Irish Music Magazine. Seán Laffey (from the Magazine) called me up and we spoke for almost an hour about a varying degree of things! Then Seán mentioned the Fado Musicians in Lisbon. These Musicians were early European songsters who wrote Urban Folk songs about their world, their city. A sad fact about these musicians and this genre is that the Touristification of Lisbon has gotten so huge that most of the musicians now have to be BUSSED IN to play their gigs to the Tourists in the City. The Fado identity is being changed by poor policy decisions in Lisbon. Above: Fado Sculptures in Lisbon, where Female Fado singers do most or all of the singing Back to Dublin. And to Drogheda. When we fly into Dublin Airport we are struck by the green fields of Fingal, the area North of Dublin Airport. How beautiful it is. Has anybody wondered why Ashbourne, Rathoath, Drogheda, Laytown and Bettystown have thousands of homes with no amenities built around them? When there is practically no development in places like The Naul and Balrothery? There are some big additions like Balbriggan / Millfield and Rush / Lusk - all are close to the Railway lines. All are good for the commuter. There are reasons for this. But that’s a whole different can of worms I won’t open here! Ultimately it was our Government who decided how to develop Dublin during our last great housing boom from 2003-07. People like O’Donnell, the character in The Commuter Song, ended up having the unique opportunity to buy back his rented house from Dublin Corporation for a really good price. People like O’Donnell then sold their houses on the private market for up to 100% more than what they paid for the house originally - because they wanted a bigger home with all the mod cons. But the bigger home came with a catch. It was miles away. Just like the Fado musicians, they traded off the local knowhow, the friendly faces and the childhood haunts for lower rents, bigger apartments/houses and for a fresh start. How many families in Glasnevin or the now gentrified Stoneybatter hold all their identity and their childhood memories there? How many reluctantly traded it off for a move to another Town? That's what the song is about. It’s about the common irony of convenience. There always seems to be a price on things. Bitterness? Drogheda's property inflation has effected my life. And it has effected all my friends who I grew up with and friends who I played GAA with. If I moved to Dundalk for example, I would pay about 60,000 euro less for a modest three bedroom home. Thats because of external bidders, not local demand. So when I ask O’Donnell, “are the hours on the road worth your big Semi - D?", I am saying to people who move to Drogheda - move and be a part of the community. Move and take an interest in Regional Town life. Move and tell your children they were born in and are from Drogheda like Jim Gavin's Co Clare parents did when he went on to play for and manage Dublins Football team to unrivalled success in the GAA. Move to and spend your money in Drogheda. Move here and increase the value of life here. Create your own Culture around you. The price isn't so high when you do those things. Christ, why do you think I call my music Urban Folk? It is what it is. I'm writing about things that are actually happening in my town, Welcoming you to Ballsgrove on my next album! Move here if you want all those things. Thousands of you did. Thousands of you didn't. O'Donnell was one who didn't... but there is a happy sequel to The Commuter Song... and it's coming soon to you! PS - on the subject, look up the Instagram page “Crazy house Prices”. This profile is run by a Dublin couple with an amazing attitude. They want to remain in Dublin. And they want to highlight the lunacy of the Dublin Market. David McWilliams (Irelands most renown Economist) had them on his podcast a few weeks ago and they really won me over. Go Follow them! All the best, Sean The Guardians article on the Fado musicians https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/jul/17/lisbon-back-alley-fado-legends-photo-essay The Commuter Song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkEclGasIQo  Over the past three months nearly a dozen people have asked me about my live streaming setup. So I am going to talk to you about my journey and hope it helps yours.
Live streaming is a minefield. It’s all we have at the moment. And it’s dependent on technology. To help with live streaming I did this little online course in it. The course was useful but it was clever too because it kind of sold an unachievable dream. Ireland hasn’t got a culture of tipping musicians. Nor has the UK. Monetizing a live stream is really difficult without making it an exclusive ticketed link. So don't worry about this unless you are Jim in Lanzorote playing "Grace" for Margaret in Youghal or something to that effect! My experience is from doing live streams to find more people who are interested in my Original music. and some Cover songs So what could i do? Well firstly I asked around for help. The first person to help me was Uilleann piper Darragh O Heiligh. Darragh gave me a loan of a Zoom H6 portable recorder and interface. There are a few things this allows. It can be used as an external mike on a smartphone. It also has a built in compressor or limiter depending on what you need. All of my best live streams with Breifne were with an SM57, Rode NT1 and the stereo mikes on the Zoom H6, ALL of these location streams were on 4G (I use Wifi at home). Tips for streaming with 4G or 5G:
I’ve seen government funded venues and arts centres, a few savvy graduate bands and well backed label acts pre-recording live streams professionally and then interacting with fans as they play them live. Some have even managed to do it with a 2 minute delay which is amazing and I would love to take part in something like that. The kind of equipment you need for this are:
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