"I, not events have the power to make me happy or unhappy today.." Groucho Marx

I have always been a great believer in having the right attitude. My first single release 'Moody Blues' is inspired by a Groucho Marx quote: "I, not events have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrrived yet. I have just one day, today and I'm going to be happy in it."

Working alone in the music industry is not easy but I love a challenge. The most important thing in getting through each day is attitude. You meet industry people along the way who tell you that you are "nobody" and that the music industry isn't looking for people "like you." That's great, they are fully entitled to their opinion! It would never affect my love or my commitment to what I do. It all comes down to what you believe yourself to be and an essential ingredient to being successful is how you react to all the negatives and the positives that come along when you are starting out. Treat them both the same. Don't over-analyse the negatives, take what is important from them and equally don't brag about the positives but have gratitude for them.

"Woke up this morning, feeling kind of low" (Moody Blues) I regularly wake up and feel unable to face the day ahead knowing that I have to send a dozen cd's with personalised letters, compose 50 odd emails that may or may not get read, organising gigs whilst also trying to be creative. On days like that, I don't give myself a hard time. I just do whatever is possible and trust that tomorrow I will have my enthusiasm back. And that trust never fails me.

It was exactly a year ago this weekend that a number of Irish radio presenters put their trust in me as an artist and gave my music a chance to get heard on the radio. It's not an easy thing for a presenter to put their neck on the line like that and I am very grateful to the guys who did do that for me and have being playing my music ever since! Of course, you won't crack every radio station straight away or even attract the attention of the industry people you believe will make the difference to your career. The important thing is to work for yourself, to commit to the career you want for yourself and to be prepared to go through every emotion under the sun along the way. Don't let the negatives put you off track and don't let the positives lead you astray...stay true, humble and grateful and most importantly stay creative...




A special thanks to all the folks in LMFM, Spirit Radio, Dundalk FM, C103, South East Radio, Northern Sound, KFM for being the first to introduce my music on Irish radio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgYJ1aUwbWA
www.facebook.com/sineadmcnallymusic
www.twitter.com/SMcNallyMusic1

I've decided to name my first blog 'Showtime'... It is the name of a song I wrote in November 2011 and it is very significant to where I am in life right now. The song itself came from a lot of places. The feel of it, the key, the tempo all came from one of Mendelssohn's Song Without Words pieces (Opus 30 No.1) that I learned when I was studying piano at the College of Music in Dublin and I literally fell in love with it. I remember learning it to perform at Feis Ceoil, a significant competition for musicians and singers in Ireland. I loved it as I learned it and never complained about practising it and played it with such ease. Unfortunately being a child that did not know how to handle nerves, I wasn't able to perform it with the ease that I played it at home or in my lessons and participating in the Feis only reduced me to tears and upset. It was important to me that I found a special place for that piece in my life again. A place where I could perform it in public but without the nerves. So I took a section of the piece and used it as the introduction piece that led into 'Showtime'.

'Showtime' is a song about being in place that I had worked hard to get to for the best part of my life. It's about being 'ready' to finally show the world who I am as a musician and writer: "this is my showtime, gona take it gona make it mine"(Chorus). It also addresses the position I found myself in pursuing my dreams: "I found a bubble and I made it my home, And in that bubble, I kept everything that I own" (Verse 2). That 'bubble' is hugely significant for me setting out as an independent. You literally have to find a space that is completely yours to grow and develop whilst protecting yourself from many exterior pressures and influences.

So here I am..at the beginning of my journey as a 'blogger'. Along the way I will share the good and bad experiences of living out a dream. Hope you will enjoy the adventure and become part of it along the way...

Sinead x

"This is my showtime, gona take it, gona make it mine.."



SHOWTIME LYRICS - COPYRIGHT SINEAD MCNALLY 2011
www.youtube.com/glossnglitter