Q1. How did you come up with the song DRINK FECK ARSE GIRLS ?
Well after the great Dermot Morgan passed from this world, I wanted to write a tribute to him, but I didn't know how I was going to do that, I also had a hankering to write an Irish style ballad around the same time because I could see from the pub scene how popular Irish songs were among the people, and after recording BLACK IS THE COLOUR I was in that frame of mind . I was listening to Bono on the radio one day and he was saying that when he is making music he is always trying to invent something new, well that's a loose translation but I thought God that sounds great, that's what I' d like to do. I don' t know if I did it or not but I sat down and started writing a modern balled about Father Ted and after I wrote the chorus I knew I had it. After that I figured well that song is mostly about Father Jack, so I'd try and write another song about Father Ted. I wrote YES HIS NAME IS FATHER TED next and then TED WILL NEVER STOP and I have an idea for another one but it hasn't manifested itself yet!

Q2. Who are your influences Tim?
I suppose any musician is influenced by the type of music they listen to and by the kind of music their piers are playing , I like a lot of different styles of music , it s the song I go for really more than the genre, also the sounds on the recordings , I like the sound of acoustic instruments and I find a lot of the electronic stuff kind of grates on my head , I suppose it's a matter of personal taste . Anything from The Clancys to Bob Dylan, The Dubliners to The Band, The Pogues , John Hiatt, U2 ,Steve Earle, Scullion , John Prine, Van the Man , Randy Newman , Christy Moore, Natalie Merchant ,Neil Young, Luka Bloom , Elvis, Rory Gallagher ,The Beatles, John Spillane ,Norah Jones, Jimmy MacCarty ,Johnny Cash, Sinead Lohan, Tom Paxton , and that's just a sample of what I might listen to . I could name a dozen people off the top of my head here in Cork who have penned great songs but they're not generally well known ,there are hundreds of artists and I know I can't mention them all . Ireland in particular is bursting with great writers and bands and not enough radio airtime for them all. Radio stations get tons of stuff every week in the post from all over the world . There are over 3000 writers in Ireland alone registered with IMRO , can you imagine how many songwriters there are in the world . National radio stations that would play a 100% of it's own country's music on the web would be a great asset for writers of all nationalities and genres worldwide and would certainly broaden the cultural pallet of what we do get to listen to and what ever your having yourself. Where was I ?, I'm starting to ramble!

Q3. How do you write a song ?
Where does inspiration come from ? How is that door in a persons mind opened ? That's deep , I wouldn't think to hard about that one . We are all still learning to write really ,at least I am ,I hope . Try contemplation on ideas for lyrics and messing about on instruments , a relaxed state of mind to let ideas flow , (drink and drugs wont work , that'll just feck your head up ). Don't think about it to hard, just do it , open your mouth and let words and melodies come out . Have confidence in yourself and don't be afraid to make mistakes . Experiment with it , practice at it , have some fun . There is a few recognised ways of putting things together practically

• First you write the music, then you come up with a theme or an idea for the lyrics and write them over the tune.
  Or
  First you have an idea for a theme, something that pops into your head and you write some lyric ideas on that, then you come up with a tune that fits the lyrics and rework it together.
• Sometimes words and music will come together in your head and you reach for your tape recorder and guitar or what ever instrument is to hand.
• Using drum beats to get a rhythm going,

There are as many ways as writers I suspect .Ask yourself how you feel and write about that, the trick is how do you write a good song and keep your audience interested, I don't think there is any real set of rules just keep learning about musical tricks and wordplay, and watch how others write. Enjoy it and keep writing but remember you have to eat because only 5 or 10% of writers will make a living at it. Eat first and believe in yourself after.