01.05.10  Hi everyone and welcome back to the monthly diary of all that's new in my world. I had some brilliant gigs in the last month and was possibly the only travelling DJ not to fall foul of the rash EU decision to close airspace over most of Europe for almost a week due to the supposed risk of planes falling from the sky as a result of volcanic ash from the recent eruption in Iceland. Despite the fact that pilots, aircraft engineers, airlines and airport authorities were virtually unanimous in their assesment that there was zero risk of aircraft engine failure, our masters in Brussells decided that they knew better and international travel chaos ensued, begging the question, what exactly DID they know..?! Nowhere was the effect of this decision felt more than in the clubbing world with DJ's being forced to cancel gigs across the globe, often after making huge efforts to seek alternative means of transport. Both my gigs on the week in question happened to be in Ireland so luckily I wasn't negatively affected and I thoroughly enjoyed my headline sets in The Vaults, Dublin and Savoy, Cork.

The Planet Love gig in Cork, apart from the unavoidable absence of Lisa Lashes who was stuck in London as a result of 'Ash Wednesday', was notable as i was the first time I had the opportunity to play alongside Scimon Tist who was drafted in to play before me as a last minute replacement from Lisa and on the evidence of the reaction of a hugely enthusiastic home-town crowd, his fledgling DJ career is set to take off very nicely indeed!

Other stand-out gigs included my first booking at the extravangantly titled 'Bamboozle' in Tel Aviv, Israel which boasted quite possibly the most astonishing quantity of amazingly beautiful women I've ever been fortunate enough to witness! Perhaps it's something in the water over there and if that's the case I'm ready to abandon Evian immediately (or Tesco 'White Pack' water, which in actuality is as far as my H2O budget currently stretches)! For those of you questioning why I don't just drink tap-water, my answer is simple - flouride. It's my belief that people should avoid ingesting flouride where at all possible, along with another (perhaps unwitting) staple of most people's food consumption - aspartame. Anyway, the gig was great!

Another great recent gig was a rare appearance at The Temple in my native Carlow. I really enjoy playing in Carlow and the reception I received was brilliant again. Also on the line-up were Paul Webb, the man who tries to emulate my barber-shop expolits (or lack thereof) Darren Rice and headliner Calvin Harris. Ricer played the standout set of the night in my opinion and is someone I feel deserves a more international stage for his DJ'ing talent - he absolutely rocked it!

The coming month is busy as always with some big gigs on the way, most notably on Bank Holiday Sunday, 2nd May with Wolfgang Gartner at the four-room 'Velvet Electro' extravaganza in the magnificent surrounds of Bellingham Castle in Co. Louth. I'm also really looking forward to my return to The Clarence, Sligo and an overdue trans-Atlantic visit to Passion in Montreal, Canada and Squeeze in Sacramento, California. I haven't been in the US for a while due to complications with my work-visa renewal but thankfully everything is sorted and I'm raring for action state-side again!

My syndicated 'Club Educate Global' radio show was recently snapped up by massive Northern Irish FM station Cool FM and to celebrate the launch of the show, Planet Love are hosting a huge Club Educate party in Mint, Bangor on May 29th. The night will be recorded for broadcast on my show and the excellent line-up includes DJ Mog, Mac & Taylor, resident Dru Wainwright and live performances from Ego Records stable-mates Mark le Sal and Sarah Lynn, as well as my own headline set.

Speaking of DJ Mog, the MG&T collaboration between myself, him and Scimon Tist featuring Mark le Sal, 'Feel' is receiving amazing support in the wake of its inclusion on Mog's debut artist album, 'Somewhere In Between' and has been playlisted on daytime radio all over Ireland and the reaction bodes well for its release later in the month.

This month also sees the release of the DJ Mog & John Gibbons Remix of Robbie Nelson's new track 'Shangri-La' on Crashing Waves and the John Gibbons & Scimon Tist Remix of 'Matt Everson - Down Under' on Vibrate Sounds, which has been receiving big support from Judge Jules on BBC Radio 1. My own Club Educate label is also ready for unleashing with the first release, 'John Gibbons & Scimon Tist - Maktub', scheduled for June 15th. The package includes remixes from Paul Webster, Layman & Rice and myself and DJ Mog and I'm hugely excited about finally getting things off the ground!

My radio show 'Club Educate' continues it's regular Thursdayand Saturday night slots on Dublin's Spin 1038 at 23.45GMT and can also be listened to on www.spin1038.com and NTL Channel 934. The show is also available as a podcast from i-Tunes. Tracklistings, downloads and details of all shows are available here. Recent guests included Armin van Buuren, Dave Pearce, Nick Sentience and John O'Callaghan - keep an ear out for plenty more surprises!

Until next time - see you somewhere... Bass Is Pumping!

JG