John Leighton

I started off playing a bit of guitar at age 14 learning rock songs and riffs and realised that I had an interest in music. I then decided to take music for GCSE and the course involved composing on the piano. My teacher at the time was Reggie Patterson and he was a 'dab hand' at the 'ivories', so therefore I had met my instrument.

After this I got a piano and started to take lessons in classical piano. After six months I did Grade 2, and the next year I did two Grade 5 pieces for my GCSE practical.

At this stage in was starting to get annoyed with the strictness and laws of my teacher so i decided to stop playing classical and instead enrolled at Derry Technical College to do a National Diploma in Popular Music. It was here that I got introduced to jazz and blues improvisation-I had found a new 'best friend'.

I then stared listening to a lot of blues and jazz and started to play endless 12-bar patterns and improvising with blues scales.

One of the modules on the course was functional harmony. It involved learning about chords and harmony, which I found extremely interesting.

After this I devoted most of my time to learning chord patterns and playing them in as many keys as possible. I started playing live gigs with a Rory Gallagher tribute band at 17. We played gigs around the Derry area most weekends, and also some small festivals.

Shortly after this I started gigs with an original band Aye McQuincy; with this band I have completed several recordings. We recorded a few songs in the NWIFHE studios in Queen Street, Derry. We also recorded a live performance in the Strand Bar, Derry which I mixed and produced at home, and are now selling at most of our gigs.

We play smooth melodic sweetness and a bit of funk, and it was in this band that I found another good friend, the organ. Little did I know that after a while this wonderful beast would become my name around the Derry music scene: 'Mr Organ'! Oh yes, whirling, screaming sounds would fill the ears of many most weekends in Derry!

Since I successfully completed the ND course two years ago I have started to teach piano, and have also started to play piano for anyone who wants it. I have also started to record singer/songwriters at my house -using Cubase SX- and other computer related programs.

At the moment I am playing in three working bands:

• 'Cradle Rock' (Rory Gallagher tribute): with this band we are doing a Rory Gallagher International Festival in Ballyshannon in June 2004. This is the second year that they have booked us to play in several different venues over the course of the four days of the festival.
• 'Aye McQuincy' (original wonderful smoothness), and
• 'The Plea'; with this band I was originally brought in as a session player for a recording, but I was asked to join the band. I have recorded a demo with them in a studio in Ballybofey, which has had a good review by several record companies.

I have also secured a place on the Jazz Degree course at Leeds College of Music which I am extremely happy about, and am due to start in September.

If I was to say what I it is that I aspire to, I would say that I would like to be a competent jazz pianist and have an album of my own music recorded by the age of 25, as well as working with as many professional artists as possible.

John McNicholl

26 years old; singer/songwriter from Derry.

I have been performing for the last ten years at concerts and shows throughout Ireland and the UK, and I have recently performed in both the 'Bluebird Café' and 'The Stage' in Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States of America.

After completing school, I enrolled and completed a course Performing Arts at The Playhouse Theatre in Derry, which was very enjoyable.

Two years ago I recorded my debut album, 'Someone Else's Star', which was a great success and was very well received. It was nominated for several awards in the Country Music UK and Ireland Awards, and in 2001 I received the award for 'Best Newcomer' from COUNTRY MUSIC UK and received 'Best Presented Male' from Country Music Ireland.

After receiving the awards I was approached by a Dublin-based management company (Andrea Reynolds) and later joined an acoustic boy-band, 'Kaos', based in Dublin.

For two years during my time in the band, we performed at various places and with various artists playing all our original music, and we also got to play support for Sir Elton John, which was pretty cool!

During my time in the band, I continued to write my own country songs, and also performed as a solo country artist, as this is the music that I longed to be involved in, although I had a great time in the boy-band and gained loads of experience.   

Country music was always calling me, so, just earlier this year I left the band and came back home to concentrate on my solo career. As a result of this move, I am now in Ashford Studios, Derry, recording a country album, and recently I've played support to various country music stars in Ireland and the UK. I have played support for Cliff Richard and Daniel O'Donnell, which helps me gain experience and helps me build up my fan-base, so that later on this year I will be launching my country music solo album which I am really looking forward to.

I am at present building up an original repertoire and co-writing with various artists-including Richard Abbott, Kaedo Reid and Ernie Migalia (USA), which I find very inspiring, as you get different vibes from various characters.

My ambition for the future is to have a band of my own, and be touring around the country performing country music, so I am slowly achieving my dream.

I have also performed on various television shows throughout Ireland-including 'Ireland AM' and 'The John Daly Show', and performed live on many radio stations-Highland Radio, BBC Ulster Radio Foyle, DOWNTOWN Radio-which were all great.

I have also recorded a duet with female country artist Kathy Kane which was a huge success in Ireland and the UK; also in Australia and parts of the USA, with a song called; 'Hopelessly Yours'.

I am a regular harmony/backing singer in recording studios for recording artists and I do really find this is great for honing my singing accuracy, and developing my ability.

I am going to be co-producer of my new album, which should enable me to create the required sound and style that I hope to achieve…

Marc Forbes

I started playing the guitar when I was thirteen years old, then I decided that I liked bass, so I decided to get a bass and learned how to play it. After I had been playing two weeks I played a gig with a band and haven't looked back yet. Since I was 154 I have played in many bands, and have found lots of work as a bass-player. I did a Music GCSE and then went to the North-West Institute and did a National Diploma in Popular Music. I played with a Rory Gallagher tribute band from when I was 16. With this band I have played many venues including Ballyshannon Festival and 'Rory' nights in Belfast ('The Empire').

I also play in an original band called 'Aye McQuincy', with other participants in the Rural Development course. I play bass and help to arrange the songs and add my own texture with the bass. In my own time, I love to listen to jazz, funk and easy listening as well as blues and rock. I also like to study jazz as chord theory really interests me.

Throughout the years I have done a lot of other projects, for example, I played with a band in a production of a play called 'Café Noir'. The play was set in the 1930's and the music was all jazz songs like 'Ruby My Dear' and 'Salt Peanuts'.

In the NWIFHE (North West Institute for Higher Education) I also sat in on a lot of recording sessions with friends and played on many recordings through the years. Also, with Aye McQuincy I have done recordings in studio, and also live recording. We have recently recorded a gig in the Strand Bar in Derry and are currently helping in the production side. In the Tech in Derry I have had lots of experience working in their studios both as a player and as an engineer. I am quite familiar with the Yamaha O2R desk, although I see myself more as a player.

Another thing that I have done is, I play with a band called 'The Plea' where I had to write out all of their songs for chord charts and make copies for the other players. I also helped with their arrangements. Other bands I have worked with include 'Chadsko', a local act from Derry, and also with 'The Surgeons'. 'Cradle Rock' is the name of the Rory Gallagher tribute band. 

Rachel Parkes

My father was a professional musician, who played keyboards and saxophone with 'The College Boys' show band.

My musical interests stared in primary school at the age of seven, when I began learning classical music on the violin, taught my Mrs Kate Keenan. From P7-5th year (age 11-18) I was a member of the North Eastern Education and Library Board youth orchestra. I then decided to change my playing style from classical to traditional playing with Ceoltas in Derry travelling from Coleraine.

I found traditional was more my thing as it was playing a lot 'by ear' which is one of my strong points. I entered several Derry feis's. I played in as many traditional sessions over Derry and Donegal as possible including the well renowned 'Killybegs Fiddle Weekend'.

After completing my Drama and Performing Arts BTEC in Derry Technical College, I decided that I wanted to concentrate a lot more on my voice and violin playing.

I have completed the 'New Deal for Musicians' course, which covers every aspect of the music business. I found the course books very helpful, but the practical work for me was non-existent, apart from practicing the scales on the violin and voice myself.

I sang and played the violin in a pop/country style band called 'The Shambelles', gigging around Derry, Donegal and Belfast. This gave me the confidence to play live and made me realise that I wanted to do as a career.

Since starting the course I have been picking up different instruments, such as the bass, piano and the guitar to help me learn different chords and to help me write songs.

I found all the classes very helpful and enjoyed recording and listening to myself for the first time. I felt that we all really crammed in as much as possible in the time we had every Tuesday.

Siobhan Pettit's class helped me a lot, teaching me that your voice is a very precious instrument and that needs protected and exercised every day. The tutors are all, very helpful and go out of they're way to help you as much as they can.

Nicky Scott recommended Martin Norgaards Jazz Fiddle Wizard book after I explained that I wanted to use my classical and traditional influences together to play a different style of music. It has been very good so far, taking me right down to basic scales and arpeggios with the chords A, C and D that you play with. I hope to get more recording done in the future, really pushing my vocal range and style. I jam once or twice a week with a well-known singer songwriter (Johanna Fegan) from Derry. She teaches me a lot about song writing, i.e.: breaking songs down to make them simple and effective. I have quite a deep 'bluesy' voice that if worked on, could be marketable. I hope to be a well-recognised singer/songwriter and jazz violinist-with a touch of smooth bass-for a completely different style of music in Ireland today.

Ronan Kearney

My name is Ronan Kearney and it's about time that I admitted to myself that I am a musician. I've been hiding the truth for years.

Since I moved up to my fathers house when I was 15 years old (nine years ago) my enthusiasm for music grew. Not only was I listening to the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam but with my Dad's record collection at my disposal jazz and blues oozed into my bloodstream and infected me with the best musical disease I've ever got. I never got lessons, my dad showed me three chords and a blues standard and that was that.

Even though I have been writing songs since I was eighteen, and my first band was an original act called 'Underhill' (we played a handful of gigs locally), I didn't use any of my songs…a confidence thing.

Practicing instruments is a hobby of mine and at one stage I was trying to learn the trumpet, violin, flute, mandolin, classical and jazz guitar, all at the same time, which was stupid of me. To think that I could learn them all! Stretch myself this will, thought I. So I then decided to put all my efforts into singing and playing the guitar.

When I was twenty, I went to the Tech to find a band and I did. The band is called Aye McQuincy and features:

• John Leighton: piano/organ
• Marc Forbes: bass
• Ronan Kearney: guitar, vocals, composer
• Mark O'Doherty: drums

We have played so many gigs that I can't remember, and from being an idea in my mind, I've made the lads and me thousands of pounds from my songs.

I felt that the Dungiven project was great for us because we needed a demo to progress as a band. We must expand to the next level, get out of Derry and play gigs in other cities. It will happen.

I've learnt about recording in a professional environment, discipline, and that there are many corners cut in the studio when an engineer is pressed for time.

Musically I learnt nothing, but my sense of harmony has been increased-I can 'hear' it better. Harmonies are the key to my music.

The Dungiven project has been a great experience. Siobhan Pettit showed me the way of the harmony GOD. I feel that the only thing wrong with the course was the people on it. Most people didn't come back after the first day and I would have liked to meet more musicians, but The Dungiven Project was still brilliant!

Patrick McBride

I started singing lessons at the very young age of six. I began singing at festivals around the same time. By the age of twelve I had stopped doing this and didn't start sing again until 1999 when I auditioned for the Ulster Youth Choir and gained a place.

From this I worked with other companies such as the Ulster Theatre Company, New Lyric Operatic Company and the Ulster Operatic Company. In 2002 I was crowned winner of a singing competition on the BBC 1 John Daly Show, by public voting. A few weeks previous to this a road safety advert which I stared in was launched, both of these events have got me recognized for what I do. in 2003 I became the winner of the Fanta Academy of Performing Arts show "Fanta Fever Nights", which I was voted again the winner by public voting. After this I got to play on City Beat FM.

Since being involved in the workshop, a fellow musician and I headed out to New York to play a few gigs and to do some busking. Now that we are back we hope to expand our acoustic set and recruit a drummer and lead guitarist. Since coming back from the States I have had the opportunity to play live on the BBC radio Ulster's John Bennett show and have again recently won the Fanta Academy.

Currently I am playing the part of "A-rab" in the musical "West Side Story", in the Island Theatre in Lisburn.

When I started this course with the workshop, I was excited about the things we would be doing over the weeks from song writing to setting up pa systems, as I was going to be able to learn new things which would help me chose my path within the music industry.

I felt very lucky to be a part of this course because not only did we have the best tutors, but the other guys on the course were very talented and enthusiastic, especially when it came to writing music.

As a song writer I like to experiment a lot with different chord structures and melodies. I felt I benefited by being taught how to come up with various different chord structures. Another part of the course with I felt was of great use to me was being able to write and understand charts, which I feel that with my new band, this experience will save time us time at practices with everyone being able to read charts.

I can't find any bad points about the course, as I said I had a great bunch of guys to work with and I gained valuable advice from the tutors.

I would recommend this course to anyone who is looking a career in any aspect of the music industry. It helped me learn so much and understand the affairs of the music business better. all the tutors specialize in what they do and are great fun guys to work with.