John Callaghan Music
I'm a songwriter and performer, model and extra.
Contact: JC at JOHNCALLAGHAN dot Co dot UK
Let the Path Grow Over - John Callaghan
So do yourself a favour - and let the path grow over.
Let the scum settle at the bottom of the kettle.
Easier said than done, of course, to wipe the only past we have away.
[Caption (tweet by @johncallaghan): Here’s my song about being aro - Truly, Madly, Just Me!]
Like a place I can’t go
Or a colour I can’t see
Is...
Lockdown was a strangely contented time for me. I returned to my family home in Birmingham so my mother and I could keep each other company. There was a sense of being removed from the world. I had my friends in a little box I could open up from time to time, and I knew that much of the rest of the world was in a similar situation. I even enjoyed the quizzes! It wasn’t ideal, of course, and I had an easy ride compared to most people. Many people cited the resemblance to the premise of E. M. Forster’s ‘The Machine Stops’, with everyone compartmentalised into individual boxes, communicating via screens.
Now my world seems to have woken up from a strange dream. Lockdown is just a memory. Everything’s fine now, isn’t it? Hmmm.
This made me think of Duke Ellington’s song 'Don’t Get Around Much Anymore’. I filmed the video on a train in January 2022 on my way back from a modelling job (hence having the sheet). I’m supposed to be a ghost, you see, and the sheet was supposed to be transparent. I couldn’t get that to work well enough - hence the alternative treatment.
Then I shelved it as life returned to normal. Tonight I found myself in the unusual situation of having accomplished everything on my to-do list for the day, but still with the motivation to finish something. And so…
The excellent Andrew Huang (andrewhuang.bandcamp.com) invited submissions of tracks incorporating the chord C major with 9, 13 and a sharp 11 with no 7 (C, E, G, D, F#, A) in this here video:
youtu.be/zbu1wnkTJjY
I decided on a three-time song which begins with C major for the first beat, Dm for the second and then both together for the third, and subsequent chords following the same pattern… and this is what I ended up with. A racket… but a *fun* racket.
It’s appropriate that this won’t be the final version of this track about change.
https://www.brightonfringe.org/whats-on/john-callaghans-cabaret-electro-135657/
I’m delighted to be returning to the Brighton Spiegeltent Bosco to perform my Cabaret Electro show on May 17th 2022 at 7.30pm!
Here’s a new video to celebrate.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/everbodys-friday-63364651
I made a mash-up and Professor Elemental liked it so much he put it on his Patreon. In the mix are his track All In Together, Daft Punk’s Harder Better Faster Stronger, the Stereo MC’s’s Connected and Run DMC/Aerosmith’s Walk This Way.
New video! Well, sort of. This song from 2001 or thenabouts was originally me trying to sound like Curve. Instead, the track meandered off in this new direction and it’s one I’ve always particularly enjoyed, with its lovely ending. I did a video for it for my 2020 online Fringe playlist (and you can watch the whole show here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8eUN4CD82V7dWVYZFI1U4ma1kpNNoGRG).
My editing computer is more powerful now so I was able to create a better slit scan effect and here’s the result.
https://youtu.be/XGQ736rMUfU
I’m planning another half-hour video show for the Brighton Fringe 2022!
https://www.brightonfringe.org/whats-on/john-callaghans-cabaret-electro-135657/
Writing blurb is one of my weak points, so I’ve done a trailer this time with clips from, and links to, previous shows:
I directed the new Professor Elemental video!
Quite a few assets in the video are from free libraries of models and images, and the contributors ask for nothing except a credit for their use.
Cheering from Music & Sounds Effect Library - YouTube
Applause from Ultimate Free Sound Effects Channel - YouTube
Ticker tape from Jamick CG - YouTube
Car from https://www.turbosquid.com/Search/Artists/evilvoland
Vinyl record from https://www.turbosquid.com/Search/Artists/Dark2Sanity
Stock images from https://pixabay.com
Cartoon from https://videezy.com
Bubble texture by Decoded DECODED - YouTube
City by https://leszczynski.gumroad.com/l/ntdTs
Cake by https://blendswap.com/profile/304
Pumping station by https://blendswap.com/blend/8274
Dancers from https://mixamo.com
HDRIs from https://polyhaven.com
Dr Syntax footage by Ellis Meade
NEW VIDEO! A duet with Professor Elemental! We answer the question… what do toasters dream of?
Half-hour show prepared for the Fringe! Full of incomparably interesting new material!