The Banks Of The Ship Canal Listening Party & Seattle Cd Release

Join us for Sunday Happy Hour at Conor Byrne for the Seattle CD release listening party for The Banks of the Ship Canal, Songs of Cyril Barrett. The Banks of the Ship Canal, Songs of Cyril Barrett is a tribute to a friend and prolific singer-songwriter who left this world too soon. The project began as a simple gesture from Gabriel Sullivan, a friend and musical collaborator, who wanted to record The Gentle Kind, a song they had performed but hadn't yet recorded, for Cyril to listen to during his extended hospital stay. When many others expressed desire to record a song, the idea of creating an entire album was born. Cyril was excited about being able to focus on new project; designing the cd cover, assigning some of the songs to specific artists, and contributing the title track, which was recorded before he fell ill. The initial goal was to provide an outlet for Cyril and his friends to focus on a creative endeavor in a time when we all felt pretty helpless. It was therapeutic and it was necessary. As it grew, he was able to hear and offer feedback on some of tracks in progress, and appreciated many as they were completed. He commented at one point, with his unmistakable sense of humor, that the downside of having others cover your songs is they often do them better, which of course no one could. The enthusiasm and comfort he found in this process was inspiring during a tough time. When the cd finally began to take shape, Cyril wanted it to be not only a tribute to his work, but a fundraiser for No More Deaths, a humanitarian aid group that he had volunteered much of his time to during his years in Tucson. With 75% of the proceeds being donated to No More Deaths, the cd has raised over $2000 to date. Find out more about the important work they do at: nomoredeaths.org Cyril passed on September 1st of last year and wasn't able to see the release come to life in its final form. With 18 tracks, including the last song he recorded and many previously unrecorded new(er) songs, the cd is now here. Beautifully designed by Michael Serpe at Heathen Call Records (the packaging doubles as a candle box), the cd is being released in a limited edition of 400 numbered copies. It available online at heathencall.com. Links to other recordings can be found at www.cyrilbarrett.com. Tom Moore