Posted 8:40 PM by sport

I emailed a handful of people about my Dad, hoping that they'd pass the news around. My current email arrangement does not allow for large bulk mailings so I did a quick guesstimate on who might be able to tell whom. I also skipped people whose current email addresses are not in my "book." Apologies for any seeming snubs.

If you know anyone I may have neglected to contact, please pass the news along.
Selfish as it is, I do need friends right now.
Looks like tomorrow night they may have a "Hibernian Service" with a piper, etc. My Dad's old pals at the AOH Division 8 have offered their hall (where we had the wedding) for a post-funeral gathering on Wednesday. Anyone able to attend is very welcome.

Posted 5:56 PM by sport

My Dad will be waked at Moloney funeral home,
132 Ronkonkoma Ave, Lake Ronkonkoma NY 11779.
631 588 1515

Times: Monday and Tuesday 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm
The funeral will be on Wednesday at
St Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Ronkonkoma,
(time, etc. tba... you may call Moloney tomorrow for info)

I'm not expecting or requesting any condolence visits or gifts; this is just FYI since several people have asked.

We're in very bad shape right now; apologies in advance for any oversights regarding this, baby gifts already received, etc. We love you all and thank you sincerely for all considerations.

The greatest man I'll ever know is gone, and this miserable fucking world just got even darker.

Posted 7:33 PM by sport

Seamus (James) Murphy
born 12-20-18
Dublin, Ireland

died 11-29-03
Ronkonkoma, NY, USA

"I will arise and go now
And go to Innisfree..."

I love you Dad.

Posted 10:53 PM by sport

January 23 - 30
New York, NY
The Juilliard School
Focus! Festival
ALL ABOUT CHARLES IVES

Jan. 23
New Juilliard Ensemble, Joel Sachs, conductor
Four Ragtime Dances
Three Places in New England (chamber orchestra version)
Selected songs with chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 3

Jan. 26-29
Four chamber music concerts, to include:
Piano Sonata No. 1, Concord Sonata, String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2, Trio,
Violin Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3, Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for two pianos, Largo for clarinet, violin and piano, Scherzo: Over the Pavements

Jan. 30
Juilliard Orchestra, Anne Manson, conductor
Juilliard Choral Union, Judith Clurman, conductor
Psalm 90
Washington's Birthday
Emerson Concerto
Symphony No. 4

http://www.juilliard.edu

Posted 4:57 PM by sport

Did the David Garland show on Friday. The place was a gallery and the event had that whole artsy sort of feel, which is a nice change from the accustomed skeevey rock joint. The Four Bags are a nice group of guys with a great sound: trombone, reeds, accordian and guitar. The bass clarinet... damn. Meredith was as great as always, bowing and plucking, trilling and gently guiding the ether, and David got the too-rare chance to enjoy applause for his outstanding music. I sang my one number well enough, despite retiree stage fright, but collaborating with Garland is like collaborating with Matisse... I'm way out of my league. David's new album "The Other Side Of The Window" is as imaginatively rich as his other albums but somehow - probably a more "accessible" approach to rhythm - it comes together as a more obvious whole. I believe he did this deliberately; few listeners can or will extend their minds to draw the connections between things as varied as David's, so here he's helped the process along. I can't say his work is "eclectic" since that implies a pastiche of styles (like my shit) and Garland has his own definite style full of impossible new harmonic colors, lyric / melodic wit, and surprising forms. David's appreciation for (and understanding of) all kinds of music certainly figures in (a coy Wilsonian change here or a cowboy song quotation there hints at how fully he draws from the entire universe of music all the time), but he's always at the wheel. I'm big on all his albums, but these songs are particularly killer-diller.

My minor involvement with the album is one of the honors of my creative life, and guest-performing at the show was humbling. I sure hope the new album gets noticed; David puts more inspiration, consideration and craft into a song than most musicians milk over a career. It occurs to me that the real reason I ever made music - not the reasons I intended, but the real benefit and purpose - was to experience true musicians like David and Meredith.

Afterwards was a jolly hang with those two along with Irwin Chusid and my nephew David. I was the usual whiskey-soaked blabbermouth. Great to see Irwin, who has agreed to organize another Incorrect Music Videos show: stay tuned. It was a nice break from babies and household (though I was delighted to get back to them). David (nephew) and I wound up the night at Farrell's, then back to his apt. to listen to Polnareff's original "Ame Caline" over and over and over again. Sorry, David.

My email situation is FUCKED. Optimum Online, which was a true pleasure for a few years, now officially BLOWS. I cannot access my "Webmail" at all, so reading my mail will be intermittent and burdened with unbelievable heaps of spam ...it averages about 100-150 pieces a day. So if you need to reach me, call me. Or use the "sport at sportmurphy dot com" address. In the meantime, apologies for the many lapses in contact. Apart from the inability to read my mail usually, I've learned that many of my sent messages have vanished into the cybervoid, without so much as a bounceback to let me know there's a problem. This is really a drag with eBay transactions, as massive misunderstandings occur. I also wonder how many friends feel like I've just ignored them entirely.

Rest assured, I'm well and probably wiping something wet off someone cute as you read this.

And maybe you should go get Garland's new album. No, skip "maybe" ...go get it.
Visit http://www.3garlands.com/davidgarland/

Gotta go... Lily's crying.

Posted 1:49 AM by sport

Interacting with these babies is a twofold pleasure, like Razzles, and I don't mean "double the fun" I mean there are two kinds of pleasure modes.

One is that sort of observational thrill where you don't know what to do with yourself. I get this looking at my current favorite book, "Bizarro Postcards" (Taschen). The book just shows unattributed and un-commented-upon images from 30 year old postcards intended to advertise clothes, restaurants, etc. Really cheezy pics with a luminous "8 Seasons of Chromolox" vibe which I DO NOT find "campy" ...I sort of yearn for a dose of whatever quality of naivete, calm, strange "lostness" a given image seems to possess. I feel this way staring at Miles and Lily; it's a mystified wonder at their inscrutable perfection. You get all jumpy inside and just enjoy that agitaion for what it is. It's mad love. "I could just EAT THEM UP!" That kind of shit.

The other is the more viscerally satisfying feeling of experiencing real-time happiness with no goal or point and no caveats or codicils. I get this listening to my current favorite record, "Soul Coaxing" by Tony Hatch (an instro version of "Ame Caline" by Frenchman Michel Polnareff). The song is like a hybrid of every great 60s pop tune: the changes and big shuffle of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" ...the gorgeous string melodicism of "Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus" ...the intro of "Galveston" ...The big room sound of Quicy Jones' productions for Lesley Gore ... the groovy nerdiness of "Classical Gas" ...etcetera. I play it OVER AND OVER again, bouncing in sheer glee and total release. That's how it feels when I'm laughing at some infant insignifica that nobody else would even notice.

It's a candy AND a gum.

Posted 12:41 AM by sport

Busy busy and blogless. The kids are home, and I have a lot of people to thank and things to do and so forth, but it's rough and also my email situation is kind of fucked right now. So quickly:

Next week I am stepping on to an actual stage to actually sing. One song in David Garland's set. If you can go, do so. The man is brilliant and his music is ambrosia. And it's one of the few times I'll actually be out of the house in the foreseeable future. So come down and buy me a cocktail. I will paste his own gig announcement copy below. Meanwhile, I plan to get more disciplined on blogging, if only for the practice. See you again soon. Now... read this and attend:

Concert in NYC November 21st

I'll be singing new songs from my recording "On the Other Side of the Window" with The Four Bags (Mike McGinnis, clarinet, saxophone; Tom Aldrich, accordion; Sean Moran, electric guitar; Brian Drye, trombone) and violinist/vocalist Meredith Yayanos, with Sport Murphy, guest vocalist.
The concert is presented by Roulette ( http://www.roulette.org ) and will take place Friday, November 21st, at Location One, 20-26 Greene Street (just above Canal St.). Performance begins at 8:30pm. Admission: $12, Roulette members free. Reservation/info call: 212-219-8242 or e-mail info@roulette.org
Earlier this year I sang with The Four Bags in Symphony Spaces' "Wall-to-Wall Joni Mitchell," and the "Loser's Lounge" tribute to the group XTC. We so enjoyed working together that we're continuing the collaboration. The Bags are a young, genre-defying, talented band, and with Meredith Yayanos adding her violin and more, it's like working with a mini-orchestra. My friend Sport Murphy, a tremendous songwriter and singer, will join us for a song we collaborated on.

So what kind of music is it? If there's such a category as Downtown Indie Singer/Songwriter, maybe it's that. Who's it sound like? I admire Robert Wyatt, Brian Wilson, Nick Drake, Wilco, Kevin Ayres, and Sigur Ros, among others, but don't sound like them. They are originals, and they inspire me to be original. It's been a while since I last sang my songs in New York, and I'm very excited about debuting this group and these songs. Please come!