"A lot about the debut Cd surprised me. I was not prepared for the response it gets from fans." Songs about fading love, annoyed hippies, imaginary parties and blind faith, amongst other things. Good singing. Great lyrics. Great guitar playing, too. Catch Patsy on the road whenever you get a chance. An album of self-penned material that reflects his penchant for seamless genre-hopping, as well as showing off his critically acclaimed songwriting skills. Patsy has supplied the driving guitar rhythms on Irish/World Music diva Eileen Ivers' last European tour, and treaded the boards with Piping legend Paddy Keenan, who also sprinkles some of his own magic onto a few tracks on Patsy's album. Patsy's interest in contemporary songwriting as well as his Jazz influences are also apparent, and "WHAT YOU KNOW" his second solo Cd, is a 14 song testament to his abilities as songwriter, guitar player, singer and interpreter, the latter being most evident in a blistering jazz/blues version of "Star of The County Down" with Paddy Keenan on low whistle, an arrangement of the old Irish ballad that inspired Irish music critic Paul Dromey to declare Patsy "Ireland's best - kept musical secret." All three of Patsy's solo CDs funded "The Peru Project": From May 17 to May 31 2007, Patsy was in Ate ("at-aya"), a slum on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. He was one of a dozen volunteers who were involved in, among other things, building a communtiy center in the heart of the slum for the impoverished families. Each volunteer raised $1700 (EUR 1300) to pay for : bricks and mortar a social worker for a year basic vaccinations. 100% of the proceeds from Patsy's Cd sales, including the brand new Cd, "The Magician's Daughter", went towards raising that target amount. Also, 100% of all digital downloads went towards funding the project. Although that particular project has passed, 25% of anything you spend on Patsy O'Brien's catalog of work will go towards a new soup kitchen which will supply 180 children with one square meal a day. If you prefer, you can drop him a line with your snail mail address to receive details about making a donation. To find out more about how the Peru Project progressed, visit : www.bigskysmallworld.blogspot.coml Here's what the papers say about Patsy's songs: Patsy O'Brien's songs are sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, but always delivered with a strong sense of style and energy. (FREETIME NY) I can imagine a wonderful evening of stories, songs and good humour with plenty of time to admire the musicianship. (whisperinandhollerin.com) "An Irish Robbie Robertson" "Falls in the void between Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson....stomping and ocean breezy - sure footed and fragile." (New Haven Advocate) "Easily one of the best local releases of last year" (New Haven Register) Like a good wine, guitarist and singer/songwriter Patsy O'Brien has let his musicianship flourish.... throaty vocals, languid guitar. (Irish Times) "Ireland's best kept musical secret-CHECK HIM OUT!" (Irish Examiner) www.patsyobrien.com www.myspace.com/troubador