I've been a singer songwriter for more years than I care to remember. I was born in Glasgow Scotland and moved to England when I was nine, so although a Scot by birth I grew up with more of an English accent. Fast forward, I've lived in Canada for more of my adult life than I did in the UK, emigrating here with my wife Linda when we were in our 20's. Music has always been a passion of mine and I remember when I was a child sitting next to my mum in our front room and listening to her playing the piano and singing her favourite songs. She seemed to be blissfully in a world of her own and those times left a long lasting impression that has stayed with me ever since. 

 I consider myself an eclectic writer, creatively going where the wind takes me,  and I think that reflects in the albums I've recorded up until now. I started out like a lot of young guys  have done playing in cover bands and having fun and a few pints along the way, but somewhere down that road I felt the need to write my own songs, and so began the journey. After a number of years of honing my craft, so to speak which included living in Los Angeles for a time where I did manage to compose for a few movies that didn't really light up the world. I also did the rounds pitching songs to publishers and trying for a Major label deal without any representation, which I soon found out was a  fools errand, but being rather green I was completely oblivious to that fact. 

So after about a year or so of getting nowhere I decided to return to Canada  and record my first album “Eddie Carrigan” which I did by myself, because at heart I'm really a bit of a loner I guess. It's funny because the first album I released  saw two of the songs on it "Wish It Would End" and "Taxi" cab receive national radio play across Canada;  funny because I'd recorded that album at home in my studio and had to rent some equipment for the project, and somewhere in the middle of the recording of it we had a flood that left my studio, which was in the basement, under about an inch or two of water. Having only a certain amount of time on the rental of the gear I was using I had to push on with the project, and those two songs receiving radio play were recorded with me wearing rubber boots to keep my feet dry. Not quite the rock star image! 

The second album released was Universal Sign and the drums were played on that one by  Kevin Egan. That also saw the title track "Universal Sign" receive some radio play across Canada, but the politics of radio were changing especially for an independent artist such as myself, and the doors of opportunity to that particular avenue were slowly closing. I guess not being on a major label had it's drawbacks, as anyone in the business can attest to, on the other hand that in itself is a double edged sword and certainly not all sunshine and roses.

"Somewhere Over Mars" was my next album and I'd recorded and mixed it ready for release  as Eddie Carrigan, but at the same time I was in the process of putting a band together that I was thinking of naming Karigan, (a spin on my surname). So I called the album "Somewhere Over Mars" by Karigan, instead of  yours truly. Of course the band is no more and I'm left with a name on an album that I won't use again, brilliant move on my part. 

           "What distinguishes Somewhere Over Mars and in fact Carrigan's talent is a deftness for lacing memorable hooks and choruses in among               the layers of production polish. There are specific highlights that could be noted but to no particular end. The truth is that every one of                   the ten tunes have subtly infectious choruses that make themselves quite comfortable in the nooks and crannies of anyone's                                      cerebellum."                                                                Album Reviewer for Artscape Magazine     

After "Somewhere Over Mars" I released "The Mission Bell" album  once more as Eddie Carrigan.

            "The Mission Bell is a solid outing for Carrigan, one that deserves to be held up next to the biggest names in the genre.   The songs are                      craftily penned, creatively arranged and powerfully performed by a topnotch artist, everything that a record  needs to be successful in a                day and age when listeners are flooded with new music on a daily basis. Only time will tell if Carrigan will receive the international                            acclaim which he deserves, but regardless of where his life's journey leads him, this album is a testament to the talent and hard work                      that permeates Carrigan's musical output." 

             "There is also a strong message in Carrigan's music, in the same sense as Bruce Cockburn, Sting and Leonard Cohen bring meaning to                      their songs through lyrical storytelling"*            *Matthew Warnock (Editor In Chief for Guitar International Magazine)    Rating: 5/5 Stars

My follow up album to that was “Servants Of a Plan”, an album I really like but I never did any promotion with it for some reason.

So there you have it, a condensed version of my musical journey up until now. When I first started out I had the same aspirations as many young guys, dreaming of fame and success and playing in huge venues and arenas to a full house and although I have always believed that my music had the capability of holding it's own in those places it would have required a huge amount of financing and promotion,  there lies the rub. I'm a private person at heart always been a bit of a recluse, preferring to keep myself to myself and that is not a recipe for success, especially in a business like this one. Don't get me wrong, I made an effort to a degree from posing as a journalist to reach the Vice president of Capitol records, and even being told a particular song I played him was a "little too commercial"  (you see what happens without representation).  Well  I did !

 Having said that,  I've still continued  doing what I do, even if there were breaks in between. So something has kept pushing me to this point. I gave it quite a bit of thought before writing this because as a private person I  don't find it easy to express my thoughts to others like this.

 Truth is I just feel I owe it to myself and those around me who have always believed in my writing abilities to make a better effort than I have to this point.  It's going to take putting myself out there  more than I've been used to but I guess in the end we're all the sum of our own destiny. Or maybe our destiny is what we make it ?