The Brief Encounter Podcast with Johnny Boyle

Jeff Tripoli is an American musician raised in Syracuse, New York USA and has been performing drums, percussion and voice for over 30 years. He started making a living, playing in the nightclubs of Central New York, at the age of 17.

On the road and in the studio, Tripoli has performed with many groups of various styles including Rock, Funk, Blues, Soul, Alternative, Bluegrass, Zydeco, Americana, Celtic, Folk and World. His drumming reflects a wide background of independent musical influences. The root of his dynamic framework resides the passion to provide fresh rhythms and artistic perspective. 

Jeff's upcoming solo release, "Perspectives", is set to be his next record and will include 10 original percussion compositions. Each tune will feature a special guest collaborator as well as an accompanying music video. This full length album brings new additions of Tripoli's homemade instruments and found sounds. Everything from mixing bowls to spoons, soup cans to paint cans, groan tubes to toy drums, pickle jar lids to bicycle racks.... EVEN THE KITCHEN SINK!

Tripoli has toured professionally for over 15 years throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. He has also performed at several major music festivals including Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, The Great Blue Heron Music Festival, Fingerlakes Grassroots Festival, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival and The Dublin Ohio Celtic Festival.

Between 2015 and 2022, Tripoli performed full time with Vancouver, Canada based Celtic folk rockers, The Town Pants. TTP tours have spanned many major cities including Honolulu, Vancouver, Buffalo, Toronto and Dublin Ireland. Jeff also appears on The Town Pant's latest album "Something To Say", released in 2018. 

The Town Pants combine aspects of Irish traditional, folk-rock and roots-Americana. With decades worth of headlining Roots and Celtic festivals to selling out nights at rock venues, The Town Pants own brand of Celtic-Roots-Rock spans six studio albums and two live albums, backed up with a legendary live show that’s garnered them from New York to Norway. 

In 2021, Jeff began to study with renowned Los Angeles based drummer and percussionist, Butch Norton. Tripoli's mentorship with Norton covers many aspects of drum set and percussion composition. Several points of focus include groove, feel, creativity, active listening skills, improvisation, recording technique and critical self awareness. 

Jeff released his first full length solo effort called “Wabi Sabi”. Tripoli's 2022 album offers in his unusual manner a wide variety of original drum set and percussion compositions. The album takes you on a journey through Tripoli’s musical improvisations while experimenting with new sonic landscapes. It also reveals Tripoli’s explorations deep into found sounds and self made instruments created in Tripoli’s private studio. 

Personal expressions of psychedelic rhythms and musical collaborations are laid out in a pure and unfiltered form. The album was 1 year in the making and the production, performances and compositions are some of the finest and most detailed efforts captured of Tripoli’s solo career so far. Tripoli performs most of the instruments with special guest appearances by Butch Norton (Lucinda Williams) and Jeff Tortora (Blue Man Group Las Vegas). Furthermore the record features some of the beautiful audio mixing by Jeff Moleski (Smashing Pumpkins). 

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Paul has been releasing music since 1989 and on this Podcast episode we discuss his career as well as growing up in the 80s in Dublin. We also look a the challenges artists and young people are facing  with with rising cost of living here in Ireland.
Below are some links to Paul's music and website.
https://quinpaul.com/?fbclid=IwAR0gj9Bj7RIgd5p4iVIngF4r-8q_c6vvWxOH4sH65sFddosFYd5ta9bX-jg

https://music.apple.com/ie/artist/paul-quin/590997881

Paul Quin has worked in several musical genres since the 1980’s. Alone and in collaboration.

Considered a pioneer in the field of Irish electronic music, his first single was a radio hit in 1989. ‘The Colour Of Rain/A Better Place’, released by duo Biazarre hit the Irish charts and was played constantly on Irish radio stations.In the years following Paul has featured on Irish dance music compilations from Futuresque records (Music To Move To vols 1 and 2 ) digitally released an EP ‘Goodbye To Mandalay (2000) on the flagship online record label Peoplesound.com, a mini album ‘Future Songs’ (2011) – on Ninthwave Recordings, performed at numerous live performances, art installations and other cultural events as well as regular Dublin gigs.
Paul’s current musical genre centres on old Skool synth sounds, beats and melodies from electronica / electroclash together with live instruments- piano, cello, violins and sax.
The first full length album ‘Life On Earth’ is set for release on the well known Russian electronica label  Scent Air Records  in 2021.

In the leadup a series of singles/music videos will be released and feature on all social media platforms. ‘Life on Earth’ will be available in both physical and digital formats including vinyl.

This record has been crafted over a period of two years with House of Analogue’s Aidan Casserly ( Sebastian & The Dream , Silver Moon ) co-writing and producing the record.

Greg Malocca of Egoboo has recorded all the vocal layers and added additional production and as well as mixing the album 

Some great Irish musicians play on this release such as Rónán Johnston, Simon Quigley, Katherine Atkinson, Paul O’ Connel (who co wrote and produced the track ‘We Are Unbroken’) Gerard Farrelly, and Mick Mc Donnell.

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This was a great chat about the Dublin Singer Songwriter scene that began with a small group of aspiring artists in the late 80s early 90s. Glen Hansard, Mic Christopher, Mundy, Kila and many others were involved and the Irish music scene was incredibly vibrant post U2's Joshua Tree. I hope you enjoy my chat with Mark as we reminisce about a very special time in the Irish music scene as well as other topics about Mark's career.
Mark plays  The Scratcher Sessions on April 3rd at 8.15pm in NYC.

Mark Dignam was born in Dublin, Ireland, and raised for the most part, in Finglas, a working class suburb known for its rough and tumble character, soccer players, and some fine singers and musicians. His mother, Maureen, sang around the house a lot, and the neighborhood itself, was soaked in music; Irish Traditional, Pop, Rock, Punk, Ska and Reggae tunes seemed to be everwhere. 

In the late 1980s Mark and his fellow northside friend Glen Hansard, began busking on Grafton Street in the city center, meeting up with Mic Christopher, Kila, Miriam Ingram, Leslie Keye, et al, to establish a street performing phenomenon. It was a racous mix of covers and originals which garnered a staunchly loyal, weekly following over three to four summers. The group became a storied part of Dublins’s music history, and from the vantage point of their pavement stage, they were not unused to seeing members of The Waterboys, Van Morrison, or Sinead O’Connor in the audience. The police were also frequent visitors (not the band!).

 Meanwhile through the early to mid 90s Mark became a popular member of Dublin’s influential songwriter scene, most notably Dave Murphy’s legendary sessions in historic venues around Grafton Street: The Bailey, McDaids and the International Bar. After Mark’s first trip to the U.S in 1991, he began to hone his highly lyrical Folk-Rock sound, releasing Poetry and Songs from the Wheel in 1995. Ireland’s Hotpresss Magazine voted the record one of it’s top ten debut albums of that year, and hailed Mark as a powerful voice on the singer/songwriter scene. He toured extensively in western Europe and the U.S, along with opening for Glen Hansard, The Swell Season, David Gray, Billy Bragg, Joan Armatrading, Richard Thompson and Richie Havens, to name-drop but a few. The debut was followed by 1997s In a Time of Overstatement, And One for All in 2004, Box Heart Man, recorded with Detroit label Timesbeach Records in 2005 and “Rebuild” recorded with a live studio audience at Pittsuburgh’s Treelady studios in 2014. 

Mark currently lives around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States with his two, much adored teenage children, and is working with producer/engineer Steve Seel, on a new album, titled An American Tune. The album will reflect on his experiences as an immigrant (and now naturalized U.S citizen) and mix elements of both Irish and U.S musical cultures. 

 A highly poetic writer leaning into the folk-rock tradition in the past, Mark has intimated that An American Tune will also investigate the ideas of “historic” and “modern,” bringing together acoustic and electronic instrumention. “What I picture, is a record made by Leonard Cohen, The Waterboys, Peter Gabriel and if I can stretch myself, maybe a little of St. Vincent (Annie Clark).” 

 A single “Angels of Mercy” will be released in early Sept of 2021, with the full-length record following in the Spring of 2022. 

 Mark will begin to tour again as a solo artist and/or with a new iteration of his band The House of Song.

 www.markdignam.com

Https://markdignam.bandcamp.com/

Https://www.facebook.com/mark.dignam.5074

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I really enjoyed catching up with Keith. I'll let this Podcast do the talking as it was a great chat where we talked about growing up in South Dublin in the late 80s and how vibrant the music scene was back then.
Please see the links below to see what Keith has been up to over the last few years.
Phoenix Arizona 2000 - Present
The Bollox - Vocals/Guitar/Songwriter
https://open.spotify.com/track/2ftkqHtPfuYkyy0oy76qBq?si=uftymUSvQUmZ9WShTMpREg
Sister Cities - Drums
https://open.spotify.com/track/1abwVZjvYh35fDH2NyZSgN?si=JGB4jY3eT2iwtKuE2vyX0g
The Holy Coast - Production/Synths/Programming/Songwriting
https://open.spotify.com/track/53SYMngm4W52CXTNBuMtXj?si=0lzXqRmoSby7YTYv57BZyA
Snake Heart Society - All except mixing.
https://soundcloud.com/snake-hear-society/snake-heart-society-the-other-side?si=83aef8b9ce1f45e39e9e23c9b0eec353
The Deadlys Vocals/Drums/Guitar/Songwriter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msFw7aCFF9c
Baby Teith is an 80's Post Punk/New Wave influenced clothing brand I co-own/run here in Phoenix.
Baby Teith - https://babyteith.com

Power of Dreams released a new album in 2021 and have an Irish tour March 2022.
Press release and dates below.
Ausländer, the much awaited comeback album from seminal Irish indie band Power of Dreams is out now via The state51 Conspiracy. Thirty-one years since the release of their seminal debut album, Immigrants, Emigrants and Me, Ausländer is a vibrant and reflective companion piece to the earlier release; very much informed by songwriter Craig Walker’s Irish roots and years of touring living in England, France and Germany.
Recorded between Berlin, Bath, London and Arizona, Ausländer (the German word for foreigner) bears many of the hallmark sounds of one of Ireland’s most enigmatic bands of the 90s while Walker’s subsequent development as one of Europe’s busiest songsmiths is evidenced throughout.
Featuring original members Craig Walker, Keith Walker, Ian Olney and joined by producer / bassist  Erik Alcock (Pink, Celine Dion, Eminem) and on keyboard and mixing duties Ali Staton (Turin Brakes, Snow Patrol, Lightning Seeds, Madonna), Ausländer brings a wealth of musical talent to the table.
Tour dates
March 12th – Mike The Pies, Listowel.
March 13th – Cyr

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On this episode I talk with Helmet guitarist and frontman Page Hamilton.
Page has worked with David Bowie and on numerous movie soundtracks such as Michael Mann's Heat and Collateral, The Kissing Booth, Saw and The Crow.

Page is a straight talker bursting with humility and I can safely say it was a real pleasure getting to know him.

I hope you like our conversation so please leave a comment if you like what you hear.

Born in Portland, Oregan. He studied guitar at the University of Oregan before moving to New York  to study jazz guitar at the Manhattan School of Music.
Helmet were formed in New York in 1989.
Helmet has released eight studio albums and two compilation albums. After releasing their debut album, Strap It On (1990), on Amphetamine Reptile, Helmet signed to Interscope Records and released three albums for the label, including the highly successful Meantime (1992). Their next two albums ― Betty (1994) and Aftertaste (1997) ― were also successful, but did not match the critical or popular acclaim of Meantime. Helmet broke up in 1998, but reformed in 2004, and has since released four more albums ― Size Matters (2004), Monochrome (2006), Seeing Eye Dog (2010) and Dead to the World (2016). The band is currently working on their ninth studio album.

https://www.pagehamiltonmusic.com/

https://www.helmetmusic.com/

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/helmet/105500

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0qB0cTENhSUc0feov5qbg0?si=Bj_K23-EScyhZVu646Ktig&dl_branch=1

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What can I say about Bronagh Gallagher. She is one of the sweetest, most talented and humble people you could ever meet. Plus she is incredibly talented and great craic.
On this podcast we talk about her upbringing in Derry, her stellar film and T.V career as well her 3 solo albums.
Bronagh has just finished season 3 of Brassic for Sky TV  and has appeared in everything as far as I'm concerned. Just turn on your T.V and you will spot her in any things.
Recently she released a single with Noel Hogan from The Cranberries called 'CRYBABY'.

Here's a mini bio below as well as links to Bronagh's albums and movie and T.V credits.
Hope you enjoy this. Bronagh is always great to hang out with and we had a great conversation.

Bronagh Gallagher is an Irish-born singer and actress. Born in 1972 in Northern Ireland, Bronagh became involved in the performing arts, including music and drama during her teenage years. She later joined a local amateur drama group known as the Oakgrove Theatre Company. Bronagh made her screen debut in 1989, starting mostly on television series. Her first big feature film appearance was in Alan Parker 's _The Commitments (1991) _ followed three years later in Quentin Tarantino 's Pulp Fiction (1994). Five years after that she appeared in 'George Lucas' 's film prequel Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). Rolling into the 21st century, Bronagh's work balanced out evenly between television and film. Further film appearances included Tristan + Isolde (2006) and Sherlock Holmes (2009). Her additional television work included Holby City (1999), The Bill (1984), The Field of Blood (2011) and in 2012 Pramface (2012). Bronagh still remains active as a singer as well as a musician.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGTNOc0WfuY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronagh_Gallagher

https://music.apple.com/ie/artist/bronagh-gallagher/372667685

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0302345/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpMxpzfSRUA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2himU26oyKo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSXGeUQc0Co

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_wktVpKUNc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R42v5rt3

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It was a such a pleasure to catch up with my buddy Rob and it's safe to say that we did imbibe during this conversation. This Podcast is 2 hours in length but we did continue to hang out for another 3 hours. So great to catch up with Rob and his wife Cherie.

On this episode we reminisce about our time touring with The Frames and Rob talks about working at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studios.
Rob discusses his solo work as well as some of the notable artists that he's worked with such as Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova and the Smashing Pumpkins.

Here's a little more info on Rob....

Rob Bochnik is a musician, audio recording engineer, singer and songwriter. He honed his recording skills while working with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, as an audio engineer. In addition, Rob played an important role in constructing the studios and overseeing their maintenance. It was his audio engineering work on For the Birds (which was recording at Electrical Audio)  that brought him to the attention of The Frames.

He began playing guitar and touring with The Frames in 2002 and was asked to join the band the following year. He played on Set List, Burn The Maps and The Cost, as well as on all their subsequent tours. Additionally, he has toured and recorded as the guitarist and backing vocalist with The Swell Season and with Glen on his solo records.

Rob also records as a solo artist, having released his own records Blowing Out the Cobwebs in 2007 and Lovevolve in 2017.  For more info check out https://robbochnik.com

https://www.theframes.ie/rob-bochnik/
https://robbochnik.bandcamp.com/
https://blackspacealloy.bandcamp.com/releases

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This is part 2 of a conversation that started with Graham back in September 2019.
On this podcast we pick up from 2002 where Graham was playing with Gemma Hayes and formed his own band Halite.

We discuss his time with Glen Hansard after winning the Oscar back in 2008 with the song Falling Slowly from the film Once. Both myself an Graham played on this Soundtrack and it was great to see Glen finally get the recognition he deserved along with Marketa Irglova.

Both myself and Graham have shared drumming duties with The Frames, Q - Colm Querney, Pugwash and Lir.

Hopkins was born in Dublin and was brought up in Clane, County Kildare in a musical family (his father, Des being a jazz drummer). He was surrounded by music from an early age and began playing the drums at approximately four or five years old. In 1993, he left school to join My Little Funhouse, a band from County Kilkenny. The band had already released their debut album Standunder on Geffen Records, when Graham joined. The band toured for about a year in support of the album, mainly in the United States. Tours included support to Guns N' Roses and The Ramones amongst others. The band then lived in Los Angeles and recorded a second album for Geffen before imploding.


Short selected discography

• Therapy? – Semi-Detached (1998)
• Therapy? – Suicide Pact-You First (1999)
• Therapy? – So Much For the Ten Year Plan (2000)
• Therapy? – Shameless (2001)
• Therapy? – Music Through A Cheap Transistor (2007)
• The Frames – Dance the Devil (1999)
• The Frames – Burn the Maps (2004)
• The Frames – The Cost (2006)
• David Kitt – Square 1 (2003)
• David Kitt – Not Fade Away (2006)
• Pugwash – Jollity (2005)
• Pugwash – Giddy (2009)
• Dolores O'Riordan – Are You Listening? (2007)
• Jape – The Monkeys in the Zoo Have More Fun Than Me (2005)
• Miriam Ingram – Trampoline (2006)
• Boss Volenti – Boss Volenti (2006)
• Ann Scott – We're Smiling (2006)

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It was great to chat to Lesley about her career. We've both had a similar professional trajectory with our careers and are both currently focussing on teaching.

Below is some information about some of Lesley's past achievements and current projects.

Altered Images

I have been playing drums for Clare Grogan and her new all-girl line up since 2012. We play regularly all year round across the UK and beyond, bringing hits like, I Could Be Happy, Don't Talk to Me About love and of course Happy Birthday, back to life. 

Here is clip from the BBC Quay Sessions  in December 2019:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8hU-Z0Cn6s&feature=emb_imp_woyt
Lola in Slacks

5 piece Glasgow band fronted by Lou Reid. We've been together since 2013 honing our sound. Louder Than War music magazine summed us up perfectly,  "Like the Mary Chain, Lola in Slacks are classicists, consciously part of a lineage that takes in 70s New York, French chanson, and maverick individualists such as John Cale and early Roxy Music."

 We released, 'Postscript in Blue' on limited edition vinyl & digitally  in 2019 and it has been very well received. More releases to come and you can check my "Gigs" section for live dates also 

The Hedrons
The first band I was in that gained a record deal and commercial success. I had an amazing journey with The Hedrons, a punk/rock band that formed in 2005 in Glasgow

We released three singles on the Glasgow based label, Measured Records. Two singles went top 5 and one went top 20 in the Scottish Chart. Our debut album One More Won't Kill Us was released on 5 February 2007.

 Live & Tours
I have played at several UK music festivals including Download Festival, T in the Park and Isle of Wight. I  also have numerous UK tours under my belt. I toured America three times also appeared at SXSW, Canadian Music Week and Quebec City Music Festival. In 2007 I toured Germany alongside the Pigeon Detectives and The Wombats. In California, I toured with Social Distortion playing sold out shows at House of Blues venues across the state and Las Vegas. During my stay in America I was part of a series of Club NME gigs and featured in an article in NME (UK) written by Alan McGee of Creation Records. I also appeared on the catwalk at Dressed to Kilt in New York in 2007 with my band mates.  

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I have been lucky enough to support the Sex Pistols, Rolling Stones and Alice in Chains and played to 15, 000 in Quebec supporting Billy Talent - all with The Hedrons.

Awards

In September 2007 The Hedrons were nominated for a BT Digital Music Award and we found ourselves in the same category as Dave Gilmour, Robbi

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It was so great to catch up with Caroline before last Christmas. I did a number of tours opening up for The Corrs with my band Picturehouse and we played a lot of great rooms including Wembley Arena, The Royal Albert Hall and Landsdowne Road, Dublin.

These were great times and we both reminisce about some of the gigs as well as the bands success. With over 40 millions albums sold the band's 2nd album 'Talk On Corners' was the biggest selling album in the U.K in 1998.

The band has released seven studio albums and numerous singles, which have reached Platinum status in many countries.

Their most recent album 'Jupiter Calling' was prouced by T-Bone Burnett and released in 2017.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corrs

https://www.youtube.com/watch/vzerbXFwGCE

https://twitter.com/corrsofficial?lang=en

https://www.facebook.com/thecorrsofficial/

https://www.instagram.com/thecorrsofficial/?hl=en

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