First up, I’ve added my shots from the 25th One Take Sessions featuring performances from Harry Rambles, Michael Whelan, Walk Person and the debut performance by The Lions Mane, the progressive grunge experiment formed by KKM Engineer Alan Dawson. You can check out my shots from the sessions here.

I’ve been doing a lot of work with The Lions Mane over the past few weeks as they launched themselves onto the Kilkenny music scene. You can find brand new live shots from The Lions Mane gig in Cleere’s Theatre here and live shots from support band on the night; dublin-based progressive metallers Hero In Error here. A real flashback to the early days of KKM gigs, with the pub filling up beforehand, a huge crowd eagerly anticipating the gig and they were not disappointed. You can read an awesome gig review by threadhead here on the KKM Forums.

I’ve created a Promotional Section in the KKM Galleries, it’s still very much under construction but so far I’ve uploaded promo shots of The Lions Mane and 2007 Battle of the Bands winners Atrax Mantis. The “foul as fuck” metallers will launch their debut E.P ‘Condemned to Hatred’ at the Hype Entertainment Battle of the Bands 2007 Winners Showcase on September 14th in the Zoo Club.

I’ve also uploaded shots from the Heat 2 of the Battle of the Bands 2008 featuring; Promise to Odion, Chaotic Necropolis, Teratoria and Decadation. You can find all my shots here.

I’ve also added some shots of awesome dublin-based instrumental rockers Parhelia from their gig in the Zoo Club back in June. Sorry about the delay guys.

There’s plenty more to come with more promotional shots, more Battle of the Bands shots, news on the Hero In Error London recording sessions, the new Parhelia acoustic E.P and the return of the Sound System Podcast. For now, back to work…

KilkennyMusic.com is officially sponsoring the competition again this year, with full on-line coverage, Daw behind the desk and myself and Ken behind the judging table with organiser Andrew McGuinness.

Like last year, Oss237.com is sponsoring a photography package to the winning band and I’ll be snapping all the bands throughout the competition. I’ve just uploaded shots from the first heat featuring Jaded Aces, Modern Rik and Desecrate. Well done to all the bands, it’s not easy being in the first heat but good performances all around. As usual, all of the bands can feel free to use the shots on their myspace or bebo (click either link to add me).

Also like last year, I’ll avoid going into details about the band’s performances here on the blog, it avoids bitching, moaning, sore-losers and possibly hurt feelings. Just a reminder that the judges will be marking the bands on five categories; Musical Ability, Stage Presence, Originality, Crowd Reaction and Overall Performance.

If the bands have any questions then you can ask it on the forums, or come up and talk to us in the Zoo Club, we won’t bite, we’ve been warned not to after last year. There’s plenty more bands to come, a showcase gig from last year’s winners Atrax Mantis, and a performance by MikeGotSpiked at the final, things are only beginning to heat up, the battle has begun…

With the official launch of MyMusicPR coming up (more on that soon), more artists signed up and some more to be announced shortly, it means myself and The Chief will be on the road on a more regular basis in the future. So, I’ve created the new “On the road…” section. And what better way to start the section with a series of live shots of two internationally acclaimed artists!?

The new photos capture live performances from Clive Barnes & Jeff Lang (also featuring Grant Cummerford) during the tour, shot in Cleeres Theatre and in Barry’s, Grange Co. Sligo. You can read more about my on the road adventures here on the Oss237 Blog.

It’s hard to get time to post Staff Blogs on a regular basis at the moment but it’s only because I’m actually out doing things. We’re right in the middle of shooting posters and promo material for the upcoming Devious Theatre production of ‘Smitten’, as well as rehearsals. You can stay up to date with all the devious activites here.

As soon as I get the time I’ll be adding a new Promo-Section to the KilkennyMusic Galleries. I’ll also have news on the official launch of MyMusicPR. I’ve got upcoming photo and video shoots with the Lions Mane, as well as Chemical Addiction (who recently announced news on the Brian Jones E.P). I’d also like to post a review of their recent gig with Bad Mothers Union. Atrax Mantis have finished the artwork for the “Condemned to Hatred” E.P, I can’t wait to post my shots at this stage. And there’s the upcoming Battle of the Bands. Oh and 23 are STILL looking for a vocalist!

So, once again I’m trying to catch-up. I’ve uploaded a whole new batch of photos to the Kilkenny Music Galleries. The first set; my return to the One Take Sessions following a lengthy break due to the end of college. Much to my surprise to find that KKM have finally begun to build ourselves a collection of stage lights. So I spent the night playing around with settings, trying to get used to being able to see people on the stage, and with alternating colour! You can check out my shots of Evan Prendergast, the Joe Cleere Band, Travega and the Dirty Epics at the 6th One Take Sessions of 2008 here.

The second set; my shots from last weeks One Take Sessions featuring Odi, Gary Stewart and once again the return of Jimi Cullen (he’s going for the record!). I have to say thanks to Jimi for the free copy of his new album “The Junkyard Poet” but unfortunately as of yet I haven’t had a chance to listen to it. You can check out my shots from the 7th One Take Sessions of 2008 here.

Myself and the Chief were on the road this week, travelling quite simply put in the company of legends. I’ve got a ridiculous amounts of shots to go through from the Clive Barnes (Legend) and Jeff Lang (Australian Legend) tour. I also have to give a mention to Jeff’s bassist Grant Cummerford (Also an Australian Legend). I’ll blog more about this as soon as I get through the shots and of course have time.

No sooner than a junkie needs another shot, had Trainspotting ended when Devious Theatre went straight into rehearsals for our 4th production; ‘Smitten’. Written by KKM Forum regular John Morton, here’s the official Devious statement on the show;

“Smitten depicts a tragicomic series of loosely interlinked vignettes set in Kilkenny City over a succession of rainy summer nights. The play takes its cues from the short stories of Raymond Carver and the films of Woody Allen (the early funny ones that is). The characters at the core of Smitten are trying to get their bearings in life, each stuck in their own limbo. The realities of adult life are dealing a harsh blow to the best laid plans, in a way that leaves them totally smitten… in all the meanings of the word.

Alcoholism. Pregnancy. Testicular Cancer. Apathy. Doomed Relationships.
Sock Puppets. Those elusive mystery girls. How to dance to Bruce Springsteen. And rain. Lots of rain. Smitten functions as a theatrical collage, with intertwining narratives and varying forms of narrative giving life to the comic and often tragic stories that litter the rainy streets of Kilkenny City…” Read More

Here’s my two words on it; “It’s awesome!”

We’re already knee-deep in rehearsals and pre-production for the show and I’ll hopefully be blogging throughout, over on the Oss237.com Blog. I’ll also be giving an update on Vultures Episode 3, as we head into shooting the next adventure of the three hapless detectives of VPI.

Keep on eye on the Chemical Addiction MySpace over the weekend. The lads have told me they’ll be making some interesting announcements about the fate of their upcoming debut ‘The Brian Jones E.P’ sometime over the weekend.

That’s it… so much more to come.

Oss237@work (Photo by Sean Dempsey)

This past week has been nothing short of hectic, it has passed by so quickly, leaving little time for blogging.

Last Friday night saw Laminate return to Cleere’s Theatre for their farewell performance, with support from The Skins. It’s way too late to go into details about the gig but as expected it was awesome. The Skins have come along way since I first shot them a couple of years back at Guitar Wars and Laminate once again delivered an unbelievably energetic performance. An awesome set from the lads, with the crowd singing along throughout, they’ve always been one of my favourite bands to shoot. The worst thing about shooting them is that there’s three of them, you’re pretty much guaranteed that when you’re snapping one of them, you’re missing two other great photo opportunities.

I’ve uploaded some shots of the Skins in the KilkennyMusic Galleries, unfortunately my flash batteries went half-way through their set and by the time I got back they were finished. But I’m sure I’ll catch them again. I’ve also uploaded my latest and last series of shots of Laminate in action and you can download their farewell E.P here on the Laminate MySpace.

Sunday saw the Thermal Detonators, Control Freak and Parhelia hitting the Underground stage in the Zoo Club. A good set from the Thermal Detonators (cheers for the copy of the demo guys), they’re heavier and tighter than before and they’ve improved their sets greatly by not swapping over instruments all the time. I do however think they need to find a vocalist. As for Control Freak, well I’ll leave it at “not my cup of tea!” (and I love tea!).

Parhelia are awesome! I’ve been waiting months to see them live and I was not disappointed. Daw introduced me to their second E.P ‘Oceans Apart’ a couple of months back and I’ve listened to it constantly ever since. I had to buy my own copy when I got the chance and much to my surprise the lads were selling it along with their also awesome debut offering ‘First Light’ for only €5!?! They were throwing in another CD from a previous band (I haven’t checked it out yet) and large Parhelia stickers as well!?! All for €5!?! I’m not sure these guys know how good they are!? I would have paid double that, for each E.P! I can only describe their songs as a journey, if you get a chance to see them live then check them out. Hopefully we’ll be seeing them back in Kilkenny very soon and hopefully they’ll have t-shirts with them!

I did get some shots of Parhelia in action but unfortunately I haven’t had time to get them online yet and it’ll now have to wait until Trainspotting finishes up next week. We’re deep in the final stages of rehearsals for the show at the moment, endless hours of blocking, researching drug-use, learning monologues, perfecting Scottish accents and bombarding all forms of local media.

If you’ve seen any(or all) of the local newspapers over the last three weeks you’ll find Devious Theatre lurking around the pages like a junkie trying to score some scag. As Ken pointed out we hit the KCLR studio this week to do some interviews. You can’t walk the town without seeing one (of ten) awesome Trainspotting posters, once again thanks to the “photoshop wizard” Paddy Dunne. They’ve been raising eyebrows and lowering frowns, creating a bit of controversy and a huge buzz about the show.

They’re hanging in any establishment that would allow them and my mother hates them (with no offence to Paddy of course)! If you get a chance then make sure and check out the awesome display in the Credit Union window featuring a series of behind-the-scenes shots by photographer Shane Hatton. And if you haven’t booked your tickets then you should do so now with sales picking up fast; Watergate Theatre 056 77 61674. We enter the Watergate on Sunday and the show runs from Tuesday 24th to Saturday 28th.

Having received my college results on Tuesday, I’m very proud to announce that I now hold a BA Honours Degree in Communications & Public Relations, receiving 1st Class Honours. You can read more about that here on the Oss237.com Blog. Although I refrain from going into any details about the expectedly insane celebrations that took place in Carlow on Tuesday night as myself and fellow graduates are currently seeking employment. Parties that wild could in no way help us in the current age of employers figuring out how to use the internet/nosing into people’s private lives.

On Wednesday, Atrax Mantis sent me on the latest versions of artwork for their upcoming E.P ‘Condemned to Hatred’, the “foul as fuck” grindcore metallers have begun releasing tour dates and I can’t wait to release the photos from the shoot very soon.

Dublin based hardcore outfit 23(who rock!) are still searching for a new vocalist and as I’ve pointed out in the previous post, “this is a great opportunity to join an already great band!!!”.

Local grungers, Chemical Addiction should be announcing some very interesting news and developments concerning their upcoming release very soon. If you check out the latest edition of HotPress you’ll find one of our press releases for the upcoming Clive Barnes & Jeff Lang Tour (more on that very soon!).

Last night saw the 6th OneTake Session of 2008 (I’ve lost count of the total number) in Cleeres with Dirty Epics, Evan Prendergast,who apparently likes “big butts”, the Joe Cleere Band (I’ve never seen a 9-string bass before!) and Travega, who played an awesome cover of “Gangsta’s Paradise” and raised the interesting point of “whatever happened to Coolio!?”.

With KKM receiving some funding for lighting equipment it was a chance to test out the new lights. Unfortunately, I won’t get around to uploading the shots until after Trainspotting finishes next week.

For now, I’m off to talk Scottish with a devious bunch; tapping our veins, handling syringes, messing the bed, listening to 80’s music, searching into dirty toilets and taking the use of “the C word” to a whole new level and meaning. BOOK YOUR TICKETS FOR TRAINSPOTTING!!! Watergate Theatre: Tuesday 24th to Saturday 28th.

I’m not entirely sure what happened with former vocalist Matt, but it’s not important. What is important is that the band find a suitable replacement and quickly, because damn it we’ve been waiting for their album ‘Share the Pain’ for long enough.

According to sticksman Joey, the rest of the lads will be hitting the studio as planned to lay down tracks but then it will all go on hold until they find a replacement. Having had the pleasure of seeing the guys live twice, they are a force to be reckoned with.

The new singer would not only have to be a good hardcore vocalist but have high-energy stage presence in-line with their fast, frantic, chunky, extremely high-energy and tight performances.

If you think you’re awesome enough to be 23’s new singer then get in contact with them here on the 23 MySpace profile or the 23 Bebo profile. This is a great opportunity to join an already great band!!!

When I arrived there was a trad session in the centre of the pub, a band setting up in the front and Problems at the Pancake House had Hola Manana and The River Valley Band in the back room. The River Valley Band have been gigging around the town a lot lately but I missed all the gigs because of my exams. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them and after hearing some of their early E.P mixes I wanted to check them out.

Knowing that the back room in Ryan’s has crap lighting and we were celebrating Daw’s birthday, I didn’t bring my camera with me. In the end, I spent most of the night moving between the back room (it was way too hot) and listening to the covers band in the front bar (it was just as hot but had a bar!). I’ll definitely go see Hola Manana and the River Valley Band again. Hopefully somewhere with lights and air conditioning.

Hola Manana are only together a couple of months but they’re pretty awesome. They have a real Album Leaf sound, keyboards, a flute, xylophone. I was pretty surprised to see former Slave Zero guitarist John Roche playing bass. I’m not sure if he’s a full time member of the group!? Check them out here. The River Valley Band are awesome, end of story. I’m really looking forward to hearing the E.P and hopefully shooting them in the future. Check them out here.

Sunday morning (or mid-afternoon) came too early. Memories of last nights adventures continue to resurface in flashback form. At some stage myself and John Morton transformed into Rentboy and Sickboy, well… very drunk versions of the Scottish junkies anyway, ranting away in Scottish.

Following on from my less than favourable review of Cronus when they played support to 23 (who rock!), I was surprised when they added me on MySpace earlier this week. Then when vocalist Joey said to come along to their Underground gig I figured the lads wanted a second chance, I was quite happy to check them out again. I don’t like writing bad reviews but at least the lads from Cronus took my criticism and realise it wasn’t a personal attack (unlike other bands).

First up were Dublin grungers TwentyPercentDead, but it clearly wasn’t a good day for them. On the way down the bassist took a wrong turn and so they had to do their sound-check without him. When the time came to take to the stage, they were still waiting. With a lot of people in the middle of exams and the sun shining outside, there was a small crowd in the Zoo, mainly kids. Everyone waited. By the time he finally arrived and they got started attention spans were low. Musically, they were good although the guitar sound was “wimpy” and every time he stepped on his pedal it became muffled with static. And it seemed like they just weren’t into it. Clearly influenced by bands like Kyuss and Nirvana (it’s okay, they’re old enough to have listened to Nirvana before they were completely over-rated) but they just didn’t have any stage presence. The crowd stayed away from the stage, the band seemed more like 90% dead and with nothing to take photos of I found myself growing bored very quickly. I’d like to catch them again when they’re not having “one of those gigs”.

Next up were Teratoria. I missed the start of their set, I was outside talking to T from Atrax Mantis, trying to figure out what we were talking about outside the Watergate at 5am and what was the deal with the cute American chick who’s eyes looked in different directions!? When I went inside the crowd had moved right up to the front of the stage and they were doing that “arms around each other mosh thing” that they do. It’s like moshing for beginners or something!? Teratoria’s set was okay, better and tighter than the last time I saw them. Their songs are catchy, they’re tighter and the vocals have improved with nice harmonies from the drummer too. But the solo’s are pretty pointless, seeming more a formality of following a generic song structure. I’m not sure they know what type of music they want to play, with songs varying from radio-friendly rock (one sounded very like that Eagle Eye Cherry song ‘Save Tonight’) to faster, heavier, chunky-riff metal songs. But they are young and certainly making progress. Still lacking in stage presence, I didn’t take any shots of them.

Finally, Wexford thrash metallers Cronus took to the stage. In typical Kilkenny all-ages gig fashion most of the crowd left after seeing their friend’s band. But that didn’t stop Cronus from taking things up a notch and slamming out a good performance, despite technical difficulties with the bass amp continously cutting out. Those who bothered to stay around enjoyed the set. With the band in constant states of head-banging and windmills, finally I had something to take pictures of. I stopped taking notes so don’t know the song titles but their set was a far cry better than last time. The songs are less drawn out and tighter, they’ve got plenty of stage presence and they’re confident. Joey’s mic technique has improved greatly (I’m just not really into that style of vocals) and he interacts well with the small crowd. Last time he was also playing guitar but not today, with only one guitar their set seems a lot tighter. Not that he’s a bad guitarist, I heard he was great at the One Take Sessions and he gets lessons off the legendary Clive Barnes, but for Cronus, one guitar works. They’re hitting the studio in a couple of weeks to record their E.P and they’ve changed my mind, I’m looking forward to hearing it when it comes out.

For now, I’ve added my shots of Cronus in action to the Kilkenny Music Galleries, again playing around with a studio style series of live shots. Check them out here. It feels good to finally update the galleries, adding another band, and getting some practice in for next weekend, which is surely going to be one of the Summer’s best weekends gig-wise, with Laminate playing their farewell gig and releasing their E.P on Friday night in Cleeres and then Dublin instrumental band Parhelia in the Zoo Club on Sunday. Both these bands are awesome and if you miss these gigs, then well, you’re an idiot.

Oss237.com - Ross Costigan Photography celebrates it’s 2nd Birthday today. It’s been quite an adventure behind the lens so far and you can read more about it here on the Oss237.com Blog. I’ve also just posted a shot from Behind the Scenes on the Atrax Mantis ‘Condemned to Hatred’ E.P cover shoot.

He’d probably prefer for this to stay under the radar, but Kilkenny Music Engineer Daw also celebrates his birthday today, Happy Birthday dude. We’re currently working on lots of little projects which should begin surfacing in the next week or so.

Finally, a belated Happy Birthday to the Chief. We’ve also got lots of news and projects about to launch in the next week or so, taking things up a notch once again.

For now, I really should stop typing and go buy some presents…….

Following on from my promo-shoot with Clive Barnes a few weeks back, myself and the Chief will be providing P.R services for his tour with Jeff Lang this July. More on that soon.

This morning I met up with T from Atrax Mantis to deliver the results of our photo-shoot for their upcoming debut E.P ‘Condemned to Hatred’. There is still a bit of work to be done but the “foul as fuck” metallers should be releasing the artwork for the E.P very soon. The photo-shoot was part of their prize for winning the Battle of the Bands last year and my first opportunity to work with Make-Up/Special Fx artist Carey Harte, who I’ll be working with again on some more projects. I’ll have more news on that and ‘Condemned to Hatred‘ soon.

I’ve also been working closely with Chemical Addiction as the lads prepare to launch ‘The Brian Jones E.P’. They will soon be taking things up a notch with the release of their debut recording, an official website, videos, photos and merchandise. More news on all that soon, along with news of the upcoming Battle of the Bands and more.

Aside from the KilkennyMusic side of things, I’ll also be posting news about new photo-shoots, more Vultures news, new online t.v shows, new podcasts and updates about Devious Theatre’s ‘Trainspotting’ on the Oss237.com Blog. Tickets for the show are currently on sale and booking fast so don’t miss out, book your tickets now: Watergate Theatre 056 77 61674.

Okay so I’m back in the game, if any bands or musicians are interested in working with me, or you’re playing a gig, want me to shoot it, have some recording you want me to check out, need P.R advice, press-packs, videos, anything then give me a shout, but give me some notice, ringing me at the last minute means chances are I’m already doing something else.

Yet another week goes by in a blur and not a single blog post!? With my thesis due in less than two weeks now, chances are there won’t be too many posts for a while. But for now there’s plenty of news.

Check out the promo trailer (above) for Vultures episode 2: The Scarlet Lady Vanishes. Mycrofilms are currently shooting episode 2 in and around Kilkenny and it’s shaping up to be hilarious. The second adventure for the three hapless detectives of Vultures Private Investigators will see them caught up in all sorts of hilarious situations and fans of episode 1 will not be disappointed. Keep an eye on the Vultures bebo page for updates and behind the scenes photos.

If you weren’t a fan of it then you’re probably one of those really annoying idiots who have plagued filming in town by doing stupid things like walking into shot in the middle of a scene, staring at the camera and saying “now, there’s a nice picture for ye lads!” or trying to push crew members out of the way so you can look through the viewfinder on the camera!? It never ceases to amaze me how rude, obnoxious and ignorant some people can be!

As I mentioned on this weeks podcast, Atrax Mantis were back out in the studio working with Daw, for their upcoming E.P ‘Condemned to Hatred”. We had announced an invitation for somebody to be on the cover of the E.P and already the lads have found somebody suitable. We’ve been working on the concept of the artwork for weeks now and I’ve recently been in contact with an awesome Special FX artist who will be working on the shots with us. More news on that very soon.

Other random news and bits; myself and the Chief will be providing P.R for Clive Barnes and Jeff Lang as they tour around the country this summer. I’ll be doing a photo-shoot with Clive (the legend) this week. I’ve come 2nd in the ‘Life at ITC’ photography competition. There’s brand new tattoo shots and random captures up on my bebo photography account.

I’ll be hooking up with the lads from Chemical Addiction over the next week or so to do some promo-shots and work on the artwork for ‘The Brian Jones E.P’. My important message to local media received quite a good response and I’ve even been talking to some journalists who agreed with me (yet declined to say so on the blog), maybe I’ll get a job out of it yet!?

Devious Theatre announced that we’ll be doing Trainspotting in the Watergate Theatre this summer! I can’t wait although I’m struggling with my Scottish accent! Check out the awesome new Devious Theatre website and stay tuned for updates and news.

I caught the end of Ghost Town’s set upstairs in the Pumphouse last night and from what I can remember it was awesome. Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera with me, I was taking a night off.

Other than that, it turns out it’s Easter, maybe chocolate will cure my hangover!?