CM Trio at Ross's Dockside

Here's a few pics of the Trio playing at Ross's in Sea Bright. Once again, I want to say how great a time it was. The place has a great vibe and I think we fit it really well. I also want to especially thank Junior Pauls for sitting in on guitar and doing a helluva job.

Joey P. and I have been playing and rehearsing for a few months now. Joe also gigs with Paul every Thursday and Friday night at Cask 591, but, because of a family emergency I had leading up to the gig, we were never able to all get together for a rehearsal. So, most of the gig was the 3 of us flipping through charts and calling songs out as we went.

It was very seat of your pants, and I was really nervous about doing a set where I wouldn't know how a song was going to end until we got there and where I was unfamiliar with some of the keys the songs were in. Fortunately, I had two great professionals backing me up, and I even surprised myself with my abilities. All in all, it was a great start to this new direction I'm heading in musically, and I couldn't be more excited.

Hopefully, I'll have some more gigs at Ross's, as well as a few other places, to announce soon. As of right now, my next scheduled gig is at DeVino's Bar and Bistro on Rte 35 in Hazlet on Friday April 18th. That will be with Nick Esposito on guitar. The following Saturday, the 26th, I'll be playing with both Nick and Joe.

Jeter and Gehrig on Etsy

Hey, I haven't been able to post in awhile. Had some family matters to attend to. But, that's all done, and I'm back at the drawing board and booking more gigs.

For those of you who missed the Trio at Ross's on Saturday, it was a really great time. Joe and Paul played great and the crowd really seemed to dig it. I had a lot of fun and, hopefully, I should have some more dates to announce soon.

In other news, I'm currently working on two different Eli Manning pieces I hope to post a little of by tonight, then Ive got a few commissions to get out of the way before I finally get to a bunch of Yankees stuff I want to get done.

Speaking of the Bombers, I'm all jacked up for the start of the season tonight, and I hope to do a lot of blogging about them over the summer. In addition to the art and music stuff, I'll also be sharing my opinions on the Yankees' season as it rolls along. And, to celebrate the beginning of the season, I've put some prints of my Lou Gehrig "Bad Break" drawing and my "Pinstriped Dreams" Jeter collage up for sale at my Etsy shop. Check 'em out here.

Dispatch from the Dockside

Man, I meant to post these pics from St. Pat's at Ross's later on yesterday, but, somewhere around 4 o'clock, the innards of my stomach transformed into a raging torrent of hate and anger. I spent more time in the bathroom last night than a stripper looking to make it through her second shift.

I enjoyed myself so much singing these ol' Irish ditties that I've decided to see if I can make it a year round thing. So, in addition to booking the jazz standards act, I'll also be trying to book some gigs doing the Irish stuff. Stay tuned for more news on that, and maybe even some audio in the near future.

Anyway, onto the sweaty, bearded pics of Irish drinking and rebel songs:

St. Pat's Hangover

I'll post pictures from the St. Pat's gig at Ross's later on. Everything went well and it was a lot of fun being able to spend a day performing genuine Irish music on St. Pat's. It's nice to be able to cut through a lot of the plastic Paddyism and general ignorance that surrounds the holiday and give people a wee bit of my own culture.

One of the surprise outcomes of me working on St. Pat's is that instead of being terribly hungover yesterday, I was just really tired. So I put a few projects on the back burner for the day and went over to the West End for a sammich and cigar, accompanied by a few beers. Of course, I wanted to get a little something done, so here's an oil pastel sketch I did of some of the old timers at the Celtic Cottage here in Long Branch.

Happy St. Pat's Day!!!

Hey, kids! A very happy St. Patrick's Day to you all. I hope to see a few (or more) of you over at Ross's Dockside this afternoon in Sea Bright. Settle in for a few pints and listen to me belt out a few old rebel and drinking songs. My aim is to keep the whole thing as Irish as possible and to steer away from all the plastic Paddyism you see run rampant today. I want everyone to be exposed to bits of Irish culture they might otherwise not be, all while having a helluva time. So, if you like good food, waterfront views, drinking, and singing at the top of your lungs, you should definitely swing by.

In the spirit of the holiday, I give you a little photo sequence of the last 5 days of my life. My friend Mark is turning his basement into an Irish Pub, and asked to me throw a mural up on the wall. It's based on the one in the movie 'The Boondock Saints'; from the scene where they load up on all that fine weaponry. It really shouldn't have taken me as long as it did, but I was going for a bit of a faux finished look to give it that worn, rustic feel. And, being that it was my first time trying something like that, and that I'm a perfectionist, and that there was a lot of friggin' letters, it took me a long time.

Well, I'm off to drink a pint and dance a jig. Not because it's St. Patrick's Day, mind you. That's just what I do on Monday mornings. Slainte, all.

Eli's Great Escape

This is the first step for one of two Eli Manning Super Bowl pieces I'll be working on in the next two weeks. It's the rough for a 36"x24" painting of Manning escaping all those Pats defenders before making the pass to Tyree, now known as "The Greatest Play In Super Bowl History". The other is going to be a colored pencil job of Eli pumping his fists and screaming in triumph, very similar to the Tyree piece that I did. It's a nice pose and a rare bit of heated emotion from Easy E.

I'll be posting updates as I go. Also stay tuned for some pics of a nice Irish mural I'll be doing this week as well.

Autographed Giants Super Bowl Art

I finally got those Tuck and Tyree pieces autographed this Sunday. They're currently up for sale at my Etsy.com shop. Throughout the next week or so, I'll be putting all kinds of artwork up for sale there. Some of them will be quick sketches that'll go for about $10, and on the other end of the spectrum you'll have some large paintings autographed by famous people that could go for as much as $1500. There'll also be plenty of stuff in between. If I think it's good enough to hang on someone's wall, and I don't mind parting with it, I'll put it out there. Beer ain't free, you know.

Please, head on over for a look-see. Even if you have no intention of buying anything you might see something a friend would like, and then you can do your old pal Craig a favor and e-mail that friend a link to the product. Your friend gets a nice piece of art to hang on his/her wall, you get praise for thinking of your friend, and I get money. It's win-win-win.

Below are pics of those two Giants pieces with details of the autographs and pics of them signing.

Down Goes Brady

Here's the "Justin Tuck sacking Tom Brady" piece I posted the rough of earlier this week. I finished it off in oil pastels. On Sunday I'll be heading up to Rahway to get this and a "Tyree's Catch" piece I'm currently working on autographed by both players. The two autographed pieces will then go on sale at my new Etsy.com shop.

T-Shirts and More!

I just renovated my Zazzle.com store with a bunch of new t-shirt designs, including one for St. Pat's Day and another honoring David Tyree's a-MAZ-ing Super Bowl catch. Check them all out at zazzle.com/craigmahoney* I'm hard at work on my Etsy.com shop, from which you'll be able to purchase original art. Hopefully, that'll be up by tomorrow with my new website making its debut at the end of the week.

I'm Back, Suckas!

Wow. Sorry I've been away from this blog so long. I had good reason, though. There were a few different things going on in my family that needed to be taken care of and kind of distracted me from my work a wee bit.

However, there is news. You can see, and more importantly hear, me at Ross's Dockside in Sea Bright singing a ton of Irish songs on St. Patrick's Day. I'm working on some new pieces (like the sketch of Justin Tuck sacking Brady you see below), but first I have to get a couple of commissions out of the way which I can't post yet since they're gifts. Finally, my new website will be up by the end of the week, as well as my shop on Etsy.com, from which you'll be able to purchase all kinds of original art, from finished canvas paintings to quick concept sketches.

I'll be back with more throughout the week.