August 28, 2008

SHE WAS THE BIRTHDAY GIRL

Does everyone remember Dominique in the pink dress? Of course you do. Here are some pictures in case you missed it. I think it's safe to say she had a memorable birthday at Limerick Junction.

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August 26, 2008

JAMES WOULD BE PROUD

Tuesdays at The James Joyce in Avondale are starting to pick up nicely. Fortunately I have some good friends in the area that are loyal and enthusiastic. I have confidence that this will be my favorite place to play very soon. Thanks to all the new people I met tonight as well. Hope to see you there again soon.

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August 18, 2008

ROCKED THE TED AGAIN

I got the call on Saturday to come to Turner Field again and do the pre game entertainment. It was a day game on a Monday, so the attendance wasn't exactly high, but I did get to do some tunes with The Heavy Hitters Drum squad, and the Tomahawk girls danced for me the whole time, so it was GOOD! The game was not so good, Braves where shut out, but we had fun regardless.

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August 15, 2008

GOD SQUAD RETURNS!

So school is almost back in session and it's marked by the return of Ashley, the Dans, and Wiley (aka, "Black Angus") to Thursday night. I missed all you guys very much over the summer. Last night was incredible and thanks for bringing all the new pals! These pictures were taken by some of the future religious leaders of America, and God bless them!

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August 4, 2008

SWEATIN LIKE ELVIS

It was another hot one on the patio at Marlow's Sunday evening, but that didn't seem to keep anyone away. We had another full house of good and generous people. I believe I made some new friends that night. I hope to see you all again next Sunday.

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August 3, 2008

THE GANGS ALL HERE

Saturday was my official CD release party at the Junction, and I was joined by Neal and Joe for most of the night. Our trio sounded pretty good if I do say so myself. Neal suggested we close the show with Chasing Cars which went over very well. Also, two of my very good friends, Chad and his wife Sally, came to the show. The night ended on a great note with the staff and regulars descending on The Majestic for a late night grub fest. I don't think we stopped laughing the entire time, good stuff.

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August 1, 2008

FELT LIKE A FRIDAY

Had the best Thursday ever last night at the Junction. Packed house all night. I busted out Brave Sir Robin's theme song and virtually everyone got it. I gave a few people a generous amount of ribbing. They were all good sports and good people. I sold around 30 CDs as well. Couldn't believe it. Thanks everyone!

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July 31, 2008

THEY'RE HERE!

The new CD was released today. They turned out very cool. I sold a dozen or so tonight on what turned out to be an excellent Tuesday night at the Junction. I'll have them there the rest of the week for those of you who would like to pick one up. Hope to see you there.

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July 30, 2008

GOING WEEKLY AT THE JAMES JOYCE

After a very successful Tuesday night in Avondale, we've decided to go to an every week schedule at The James Joyce Pub. I'm looking forward to growing the business and increasing the happiness there in Decatur. I believe it will eventually be my biggest show. Thanks to everyone who came out. Sorry I forgot to get any photos.

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July 28, 2008

SHOT A 74 AT CHEROKEE TCC

Unfortunately, we only played 15 holes. It was just to damn hot to play golf, even with the beers. The golf was secondary to hanging out with my friend John Roux-Lough. He's a marshall there on the weekends and gets to play one Monday a month (and bring 3 guests!) He's about to celebrate his 88th birthday next month and he still hits a pretty good ball. God bless him. We had a GREAT time.

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July 26, 2008

JUNCTION IN THE TRUNCTION

Yes, I'm running out of puns, cut me some slack. Saturday night was great in its own weird way. Good audience, good energy, good time had by all. I should have Neal and Joe with me next. That ought to be a lot of fun. Hope to see you all then.

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July 25, 2008

PLAYED WITH A LEGEND

Seriously, a very cool thing happened Friday night at Limerick Junction. I was joined on stage for a full set with Mr. Dallas Burrell, who, at the ripe old age of 81, still plays a smoking hot fiddle. He quite literally stole my show, but I didn't mind a bit. It was one of my favorite moments even at Limerick. Thanks again to Annie Rumble for the photos.

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July 10, 2008

FIVE PACES, ONE GUY

Holy crap, Five Paces Inn is insane on Thursday nights. It was only the third time I've played there, but it was just like I remembered it, out of control. I really never have seen that many people crammed into such a tight space since frat parties in college. Well done guys. And thanks for the great gig.

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...AND BURIED IN KILARNEY

You should be hearing a tune called "Some Say The Devil Is Dead" from the upcoming live CD. I'm told I can expect delivery of them in about 8 days. Good audience participation on this one, great song.

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July 7, 2008

LOVING THE LIMERICK

The weekends at Limerick Junction are better than ever. I had a lot of friends come out this time. People I hadn't seen in a very long time. Really great catching up with everyone and I hope to see you all out there in two weeks.

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June 30, 2008

DECIDED TO GO NUTS ON THIS ONE

You should be hearing a new version of "Caledonia" that I recorded over the past two days here at home. The file of the live recording turned out to be too corrupt to work with and I really wanted the song on the new CD. I think it's the only one I have to re-record. The others are coming out fine. Hope you like it.

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June 24, 2008

LIVE CD IS ALMOST READY

I've spoken to dozens of you over the past few weeks inquiring about the live CD. Well, the tracks are done and off at mastering and you can see below that the design work is done for the cover/back, so we are looking at a late July release when the units come back from duplication. Stay tuned, kids.

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June 21, 2008

EVERYTHING'S BETTER IN TEXAS

Last week I was in Dallas for a few days and had a chance to play at Trinity Hall. It worked out perfectly and I had a great time. Also got to reconnect with an old friend who lives in Houston. He made the treacherous 4 hour drive in a truck with no AC! Now that's a good friend.

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June 16, 2008

BIG WEEK AT LIMERICK

I had Neal with me this week at the Junction. Good shows for the most part, and nothing really weird happened. What's up with that?

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June 11, 2008

CAN'T PUT THIS ONE ON THE RECORD

You should now be hearing a song called "The Hills Of Donegal". It's not in the public domain and they want too much money for the rights to it, so it's not going on the record, but I liked the way it turned out on the recording, so here ya go!

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June 5, 2008

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Well, you should be. I've embedded a song from the live recording last week at Limerick Junction. There is still a lot of material to through, but this one sounded decent, so I put it up. Hope you like it.

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June 2, 2008

IT'S ON THE RECORD

We now have the second of our two nights of live recording in the can. I would estimate about 3 or 4 weeks of mixing and mastering, and another 2 weeks for printing, so look for the CD to be on sale about mid August. I had some excellent audience participation, which is what we were counting on Saturday night. Great crowd and overall a good show.

My friend and drummer, Neal, was there for recording night as well. Hopefully some of the stuff we did together will make the record. I BARELY lost a car bomb shoot out to Neal that night, but I whipped his butt on the golf course today, so I feel alright about that.

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May 29, 2008

LAYING DOWN SOME TRACKS

Had a great night Thursday at a recording studio over near Dunwoody. My friend John Rowland is friends with a producer named Jaywil (I hope that's right) and they wanted me to lay down some guitar and vocals for a hip hop version of "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover", the old Paul Simon song. We ended up staying for hours and listening while he laid in drums, organ, synth and bass, even another little bit of my guitar that he liked. I think I'll be using that studio for some of my own projects in the future.

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May 25, 2008

ANOTHER WILD WEEK AT THE JUNCTION

Well, we didn't get to finish the live record on Friday, my friend and engineer Bill had to tend to some urgent business, so we've decided to shoot for Saturday the 31st. I hope as many of you will show up then as did on Friday, that was very cool.

There was yet another car accident right outside of Limerick on Wednesday. This time my friend, Ben's vintage motorcycle got run over while parked in front of the door. Pretty bad damage, but he says he can fix it. Forgot to get a picture.

Last night the girls of the Atlanta Roller Derby League stopped in to say hi and hand out flyers. Had to get a picture of that, right? Then, the Falcon's Joey Harrington showed up at the Junction with some friends from Oregon. It was pretty cool meeting him and playing his multitude of requests. (He was quite generous with the tip jar.) He was even going to get up and play the piano, till we all discovered that the piano they have at the pub is rotted and useless. Too bad, apperently Joey is an accomplished pianist. It would have been cool.

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May 20, 2008

THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER DONE

If you have two and a half minutes, I'd like to show you the second greatest moment of my entire life. It happened yesterday at Turner Field before the Braves game. I was selected for The Delta Fly Ball Challenge where you have a chance to catch three fly balls and min 25000 sky miles. Yes, I tripped over the cameraman on the second ball, but they gave me another chance. On my last ball, the guy launching them turned the machine on full blast and shot it into right center. I caught it in a dead sprint, the fastest I've ever run in my life.

I caught all three and won the miles, but what was really cool was the hundreds of people who stopped me over the rest of the night to say "nice catch, man". I don't think I will ever get tired of telling that story. My thanks to my buddy David Lucado for the fine job of recording my moment. Click on the pic below to watch the video.

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May 19, 2008

PLAYED THE TED

So, many of you expressed your anger at me for not telling anyone about the show at Turner Field. I was not sure what it was going to be like or if I would do well. Well, I did do well and now regret not having told my peeps. If they give me another chance, I'll make sure you all know about it. Take a look at the photo. The name in lights was pretty cool.

On Saturday I drove down to Macon, GA to survey the tornado damage and help my sister and her husband clean up the mess around their home. The photo is from a near-by college campus where the twister must touched down in a big way. I'd say there were at least 300 trees snapped off at the trunk. Incredible sight.

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May 16, 2008

HEY, YOU CAN'T PARK THERE

It was an unbelievably strange night at Limerick Juntion. About an hour and a half into the show, we hear screeching tires and I turn around just in time to see an SUV barreling into a parked car (the one parked directly in front of mine) and send it crashing through the window of the restaurant right next door to Limerick. The car that rear ended the SUV came to rest less than 5 inches from my truck! I just had to get some pictures of that, right?.

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May 15, 2008

Playing The Ted!

I forgot to include this in last weeks news, but I've been added to the Atlanta Braves roster of entertainers! Yeah, this is big. I'll be performing in the grotto behind center field at the main entrance for one hour before game time. My first appearance is tomorrow (Friday 16th) from 6 to 7. I hope to see some of you there.

In other news, last night we started working on a live CD at Limerick Junction. Now that I've worked out all the sound issues with my equipment and the house PA there, I felt like it was time to give it another shot. My friend, Bill, is engineering it and I believe we got some good stuff last night even though the crowd wasn't huge. We are going to do at least one more full night of recording on Friday, May 23, so I will need as many of you there as possible. Below are some pics from last night's show. Notice the tall stands at the sides of the stage.

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May 14, 2008

It Was Once New Amsterdam

Alright, I'm just back from New York City where I had one of the best trips ever. My old friend Brett and I took in a Yankee game, where they won (4 homeruns) great seats and excellent ballpark food. Even the weather was perfect. I think the photos says it all.

This wasn't just a pleasure trip though. I got to play music, both Irish and contemporary in a few places and set up some awesome contacts for my next trip there, probably in the fall. I didn't get any photos of the Irish jam, but below is a picture of the two lovely ladies that let me take the stage at The Village Lantern on Sunday night. They were both extremely talented and I'm hoping to get them down to the ATL some time soon. See if you can guess why I took the last picture posted here. Do you recognize it?

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May 6, 2008

Cinqo Swim

It was a busy Cinqo De Mayo for your truly. First there was the 7am wake up call for the Wild Wing Weed Hockey Tournament, where my friends, Chad, Dave, Don and myself were defending champs. Unfortunately we not in as good a form this year, but we really did have fun. Pretty cool sombreros, right?.

Later that night I was back at Limerick Junction for the Cinqo festivities, which turned out huge. I sold about half a dozen CDs and made a lot of new friends. I'm off to New York later this week, so I'll check back in here when I get back. I should have some good pictures to share. See you all soon.

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May 4, 2008

Craicin' Good Time

Finished up to the weekend and ended up having a great time Saturday night with my friend Neal Lee on The Bodhrán. We had some very good moments thoughout the night. Enjoy the photos.

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April 30, 2008

No Nay Never

First night back at the Limerick in a few weeks. Was a good night. Most of The Bastards showed. Many car bombs were consumed. It should be a good week.

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April 25, 2008

Trying To Keep Pace

About once every 4 months I get to play the 5 Paces Inn / One Pace Over club in Buckhead. It's always an energetic crowd and last night was no exception. Met some cool people and made some friends. A pretty good singer chick, Samantha I think, got up and did a few tunes with me too. Sounded good. Here's some pics.

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April 21, 2008

Spring Has Sprung

We had some great weather and great friends come out to Marlow's yesterday. The outdoor music season is finally here. Beside the crowd shot, there's one of me with my newlywed friends, Nick and Summer Horton. Thanks for coming guys. It was a lot of fun.

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April 11, 2008

Ask And You Shall Recieve

Very cool! Last week I came here and complained about my lack of photos from St. Patty's and yesterday someone sent me one! It's a good one too. Say hello to Martin, Alexis, Monica and Denise. The hairy overly tan guy in the middle? Well, that's me. Thanks guys!

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April 3, 2008

Recovered From St. Patrick's Day

It was an amazing week and it nearly killed me. I'm only exaggerating a little here. It was so busy and crazy, I completely forgot to attain any photographic evidence of the proceedings. I would invite anyone who may have taken pictures of me or my band or the crowd from Limerick Junction, to e-mail me with them and I'll be happy to post them on the site. In the mean time, I've resolved to check in more often on the blog and keep everyone updated on what's happening. See you soon.

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January 28, 2008

I'M BUSY! OKAY?!

Honestly, where is the time going. Ah well, not much to report anyway. Baby boy and mother are fine, I'm healthy and solidly booked through most of 2008. Still get to do a little live TV once in a while. Life is good and getting better all the time. Thanks for checking in. Here are a few self explanatory pics.

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HEY, BUY MY NEW CD!

November 6, 2007

It's A Boy And A CD!

I'm not comparing these two events in my life. I'm just saying they've both happened since the last time I checked in with you. I'm sure you understand why I've been out of communication for a while. At any rate, my son, Austin, is doing well, as is his mother, and we are as happy as we could be. I've posted a few (believe me, only a fraction) of the photos we've taken of him to this point. Isn't he awesome?

In other news, my long awaited (mostly by me) CD is finally out. It's called Light And Shadow and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I think there is something on it for just about everyone. I'm selling it at my shows as well as on my Myspace page (myspace.com/galencrader). It will also be available on ITunes and Rhapsody in January, but that announcement is for another time. In the mean time, enjoy some samples here on my site, and buy the damn CD if you're not too cheap! I've got a kid to support for cryin out loud!

August 2, 2007

I'm Not Quite Dead Yet

But I have been out of touch way too long. I've been obsessing on this album for the last several months as well as being occupied with some personal matters, and the other parts of my life have been suffering for it. On the bright side, I'm applying the finishing touches to it this week, and should have it off to mastering by the end of the month. We are shooting for some kind of release party in September so keep an eye out for the invite to be coming soon. See you then.

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May 12, 2007

Okay, Now It's Finished!

Well, I think I rushed to get that first song on the site before I was really happy with it. I've reworked that song and recorded a second one called "Wasn't This Love?" which seems to be a favorite among my regulars. That should be what you are hearing now. If you'd like to hear the new improved "Girl" just go to the Samples page and click the link. Remember, there are still no bass tracks laid down on these songs, but that's coming soon.

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April 27, 2007

Hey, I Finished A Song!

If I've done this right, you should be hearing a home studio recorded version of "The Girl She Used To Be" playing on this page. I just finished mixing it yesterday, and I play all the instruments, so forgive my simplistic drumming. Hope you like it!

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April 07, 2007

They Were After Me Lucky Charms

What a night! Two nights actually. Limerick Junction, one of Atlanta's most authentic Irish Pubs, is out of control on Wednesday nights. Big thanks to "The Bastards" for knowing all the retorts to all the choruses of every song I did. Really good people. See you back there in a couple of weeks guys.

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March 30, 2007

Gone Fishin', Bass Fishin'

My buddy Shannon and I went up to Lake Lanier today for some afternoon bass fishing. It started pretty slow, but before long we were pulling in fish left and right, then left again. The pic below is one of the better ones I landed toward the end of the trip. The video is from the ride back where we were doing about 55mph over some pretty choppy water. The last few seconds of the video are pretty out of control.

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March 28, 2007

St. Patrick's Day Goes On

I got some good news yesterday. Gordon Kerr, from Limerick Junction, agreed to book me there for a few dates in April. I was in there a few nights ago and did a tune with the great Barry Nelson and I think I impressed the right people. Word got back to Gordon, and there you are. Look for the dates on the "Gigs" page and join me for an evening of traditional Irish folk music, with some other stuff thrown in for fun. See you there!

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March 9, 2007

Still A Mile High

From the trip that is. What a week, one of the best ever. I arrived in Denver on Friday afternoon, after working at Headline News all morning, and went straight from the airport to the Toad Tavern thanks to my buddy Jason. We arrived in plenty of time as it turns out, because the second act had cancelled, moving my time slot back a bit. A bus load of my friends and family showed up to see the show and spend some time together. It was truly a great night.

On Sunday the boys and I headed off for Steamboat Springs. I had never been there myself, so I was constantly in awe of how big this place is and how well it's run. I snowboarded till I could barely walk, but I think I made some progress. The guys on the trip were all good friends and we had an absolute blast. The captain never turned on the "no drinking" light apparently and unfortunately. The last picture is taken just before we hit the tubing run. We were subsequently asked to leave the tubing area after taking the run all at once, a giant screaming mass of tube fury, something we were of course specifically asked not to do. Hilarious!

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February 16, 2007

There Are Fado's and Fadon'ts

Alright, that's not a very good pun, but it was a good gig. Drummer Dave and I rocked out at the Buckhead landmark Thursday night to a very enthusiastic crowd. We always have a good time there, but last night was awesome. Thanks to everyone who came out.

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January 10, 2007

Video From Puerto Blues Fest

Most of this footage is from my digital camera, so the sound quality kind of blows, but you'll get the idea. I tried to keep it short enough that it would download in a reasonable amount of time. It's about 9MB, so it shouldn't be too bad. Just click the photo below to start downloading the WMV format video.

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