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	Dee Kennedy on Dee Kennedy: Searching for my truth has brought me to this place, to this point in time. At age 4, on one of my first days in school, we were asked if we had a favourite song that we would like to sing for the class. As soon as I'd finished, I remember Sr. Rosary telling me to stay where I was in front of the class, she vanished momentarily and soon was back in the room with the teachers and nuns from the nearby classrooms, to see a spectacle she found hilarious... a small child standing up on a chair at the top of the classroom, hands in her pockets and giving a wink to the room as she sang the verse 'Well I'm off to Lisdoonvarna at the end of the year, I'm off for a bit of craic*, the women and the beer, I'm awful shifty, for a man of fifty, Catch me if you can, me name is Dan, sure I'm yer man' *Craic is a Gaelic which literally means fun and/or madness. Pronounced Crack, it is used in the context of greeting i.e. What's the craic? (Same as What's up?) As you can imagine, when any folks (that aren't from our magical Island) here us say 'Jaysus, I had great craic last night!' You can imagine what confused looks we Paddies sometimes get!
Oh you belong on the stage, Sr. Rosary said to me. From that moment on, I was her favourite little brat! The other teachers were in hysterics laughing and I, of course, had no clue what I was singing about, which made it even funnier to the grown ups, but I was just delighted that I was entertaining them all. My Dad was forever teaching us songs and having us sing at home, I was always surrounded by music. When I was 6, my Mother took me into Sr. Virgilius to start piano lessons, which I continued till age 18. At 15, I was given my first guitar at Christmas, taught myself and soon was writing songs, playing with friends and had dreams of the big stage. I moved to Dublin from Callan, Kilkenny in 1998, did a PLC in Film and Television at Marino College and one day, while doing a catering job at a VIP function at R.T.E. (Ireland's largest radio and TV broadcasting company), I got chatting to the right person Bill (blanking on his last name..oops), who was a high-up-the-ranks man. He and I chatted and talked about music and movies and when he found out that I was into performing and film/TV work, he sent me to Bob Moore, the then Director General. Not a bother to me, I called Bob, hung out at his office and within an hour of us chatting, he said no matter what, he'd find me something to do at R.T.E. and sure enough, within a week, I was hired and began training in Autocue. Working behind the scenes in television gave me an even bigger thirst for my dream, whether it be acting or singing or both, I'd make it there somehow. My final year in Dublin was an interesting one. The party scene grabbed a hold of my rebellious side and, in the blink of an eye, my first year at Colaiste Dhulaigh, doing a Film and Television Diploma, was wasted. So, I talked to my boss at RTE about a full time position, but there were others in line before me and he said it may be a year or more before he could put me full time. That's all I needed to hear, booked a ticket, packed me bags, next stop... San Francisco!
I grew up with pictures of the Golden Gate in my kitchen (my Uncle Bobby would send a calendar to us every year from Frisco), heard umpteen stories of my Dad's adventures in California and his love for the City by the Bay. And I was told years ago by an old medium in our town that I would be very successful in America and would meet my husband there... sounds good to me! No sooner had I stepped off the plane, the butterflies in my stomach told me that this was where I was meant to be right now, and it became my new home. The next se7en years proved to be interesting, amazing, heartbreaking, inspiring, spiritual, tragic, reflective, empowering, healing... a metamorphosis on so many levels I could write here for the rest of my life describing what I learned and who inspired me. But the bottom line is that it all the craziness and all the lessons lead me back to what I always wanted to be... that little girl smiling from ear to ear as she entertained an audience and influenced her peers. Over my time here in Frisco, I was cast in many plays and staged readings, short films and a feature film, studied at ACT, City College, Full Circle Productions and took to the stage whatever chance I got. Began painting, screenwriting, trained as a 2nd Degree Reiki healer, wrote poetry and stories every free second I had. I was lead singer in the duo Sedition for a year and a half with the wonderful Luke Thomas, who has since gone on to be a major success in the field of Photo Journalism and is now co-running the San Francisco Sentinal newspaper.
Getting cast as the lead role in Rey Carolina's Megan's Skin, alongside the lead male, Christoph, was Destiny's way of intervening in my musical dream. We teamed up as soon as the show was finished, and by March 05, had begun recording our debut album The Future's Presence Passed. Christoph and I work like a dream team, and I'm so grateful and delighted to have him in my life. Spirituality has definitely been the main catalyst for helping me get this far. Being an assistant Priestess in a Taoist Pagan circle, studying meditation with a Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Astral Travel and self-discovery with the people at Gnostic web and all the other spiritual schools of thought I have dipped my inquisitive fingers into, have taught me some interesting life truths... that we are all here for a reason. Every moment is an opportunity for change, a new beginning and the more that you stay in the present moment, the more you can tap into the universal magic that is everywhere and in everyone. We are here to follow our divine path, whatever that may be, and to help and learn from each other along the way. And most importantly smile, it's the most powerful weapon you'll ever have. The words of Max Erhmann come to mind 'Be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be; and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.'
Artwork by Dee Kennedy Photos by Joe Kennedy Website by Christoph All songs are Copyright 2005, 2006 and 2007 by think13 unless otherwise noted Logic, iMac, iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.