INTERVIEW: Mick Flannery

Last Friday night the very lovely Mick Flannery played another great gig in Dolan's Warehouse. Never one to disappoint, the Blarney native once again had a crowd of avid fans hanging on his every lyric. I sat down for a beer and a very interesting and amusing chat with Mick before his gig; here's what the quiet, but very intriguing, songwriter had to say for himself.

Elaine: Right Mick, first things first; where did it all start for you with music?
Mick: Well I'm from a musical family. My mother's side would be all singers. They're from Killarney, actually, and when they got together they'd bring out the guitars and get drunk. Everyone would sing I suppose. They'd all be singing songs from Tom Waits.

E: Well, now that you've mentioned Tom Waits, you've been compared to him quite a lot haven't you?

M: Yeah, yeah I have.

E: How do you feel about that, about being compared to him?

M: Ah, well it's true like. I've listened to a lot of him through the years so I was bound to pick up on that and sound a bit like him.

E: Many musicians don't like being compared to other people. They feel that people then expect them to sound like that person and that there's a lot of pressure on them then to live up to them.

M: Pressure...yeah. There can be. I guess some people don't like who they're compared to but I'm a big fan so I'm alright.

E: What other kind of music are you into? Who would you generally listen to?

M: Ah...Leonard Cohen, Neil Young...all those old fogies. Depressing music...

E: Yeah you say that a lot at your gigs about your own sound, that people are in for the most miserable time of their lives...

M: Yeah I know, I should stop saying that actually!

E: Well there's a reason you have the following you do; sometimes people just like depressing music.

M: Ah well it's the recession, you know.

E: But you do sing about things that people can relate to. Your music is really honest in the way it speaks about emotion.
M: Yeah, I don't know. I guess I just like that style of songwriting. I like that kind of sound. And it's real.

E: Tell me about your time in New York.

M: Oh yeah, well it was a good few years ago at this stage. It was good craic really. I was working. I was just finished this music course in college and I'd been toying around with the idea of playing gigs and that. I think I kind of had a naiive view of the thing; I thought it would be bohemian New York with people just going around the place naked. But that wasn't what I found. It was a lot different, ah...you know, there wasn't much going on. I didn't write any songs while I was over there. I was just drinking really.

E: What kind of impact did it have on you?

M: Well I just realised how big a deal music and the music industry was over there.

E: You wrote Evening Train when you were quite young. Where did you get the idea for a concept album like that?

M: Yeah, well  guess that could be kind of beginners luck as well, you know, that kind of thing. I'd started it up about two years before I went to New York and I finished it about a month before I left. I finished recording it actually a month before I left. It came as a project really. I had written one song and that was about two brothers...that was the first song on the album. Then I was in the music course and I was writing nothing and I didn't have any kind of subject matter. It was going to be a musical and I was trying to write the dialogue between people and it was just so corny, I just couldn't do it. So I decided to do a concept album instead. That was just a little bit corny but then it came together. Lately I've been thinking I might do it again.

E: What about when you sit down to write a song, Mick, where do the ideas come from? What are your inspirations for your music?

M: Well in that time I had a stock story and I was kind of shoving things into it here and there. Ideas here and there.

E: Well a lot of your songs, like "California", "Goodbye" and "Safety Rope", are emotional songs. Many of them are...

M: They're like break-up, lonely songs...

E: Yeah exactly! Where do they come from? Have you had your heart broken a lot or what's the story?

M: Ah, well I've been in a couple of relationships. I was seeing someone when I was moving off to New York and things weren't going well. And then it happened again two years later. Ah, it's just one of these things I suppose. I wouldn't say my experience is very different from anyone elses but, yeah, I guess you could say I'm writing from my own experience. Especially in the last album [White Lies] you know.

Photograph courtesy of Other Voices

E: Ok, the stonemason thing...
M: Yeah...

E: When was your eureka moment where you said to yourself, "Screw this working malarky- I'm just gonna make beautiful music".

M: There actually was never one. Am...well the guy I was working with was great, I don't know, he had terrible taste in music in a way, but he kind of liked what I was doing with music and he used to push me. He used to say to me, "Why aren't you doing this, and why aren't you doing that you lazy git? Why haven't you got this done or that done so far?" And he was great to let me off days to do my music, he didn't insist on me working five-day weeks so he was very supportive. Even when I was going to college he'd let me have a Saturday so then I could kind of keep doing my music. And if I just had gigs to keep me going he'd always give me two or three days if I rang up and asked him. But I always liked it, you see, so I didn't really have any grá to give it up. It used to get me up in the morning and thinking about songs and music. It's easy to think of other things when you're working at stonemasonry; you're just doing stuff that doesn't take any of your attention really, you just kind of do it automatically, so your mind is free to wander off.

E: And do you still dabble any little bit?
M: I'm supposed to go down to Yvonne's [Daly- on vocals in Mick's band and also his Aunt] house to build her fireplace. She's getting a new stove in monday I think...

E: Well you better get down there and get to it...
M: Yeah, I know.

E: What do you make of the Irish music industry at the moment?

M: Am...well I suppose the whole music industry is being affected by what's going on at the moment. The whole CD vs. downlaod thing is a major problem at the moment. They're trying to put a stop to the whole illegal download thing but I don't know if they can really. That has an effect on musicians obviously.

E: What about the gig scene? I've called you a "trojan tourer" on my blog because everytime I check your website you seem to be gigging somewhere!

M: Yeah I have done a lot of gigs actually, for Ireland I suppose there's a lot of gigs.

E: Is that important to you? Is that the way you wanted to get your music out there, touring around the country, playing in venues all over?

M: Well I never really expected to get any radio play. That was a surprise. I just expected to play a lot of gigs and not get anywhere. I didn't know what I was doing. I still don't know what I'm doing... There's no plan or anything, and it's hard to make a plan because nobody knows what's going on with the music industry at the moment. Like Lorcan [Mick's manager], you might have been speaking to him, he's never seen the industry in this state before. People are afraid to put money into projects now, they're holding back because of the way things are.

E: For emerging singer-songwriters or musicians, what are the obstacles they face at the moment do you think?

M: Well there's what's going on with the industry at the moment I guess. I always thought things started getting better for me when I had a manager in place; it's easier when you find a good one. To get that far is a good step. It's hard to know what to do. People tell you "you should be doing this, you should be doing that", you don't know who to listen to. To be honest I'm still shocked at all this. I still don't know what I'm doing.

E: You seem genuinely shocked at the attention you're receiving. When I found out I was doing this interview I emailed a load of my friends, who would be big fans of yours, and a huge number of them got on to me asking me to put all kinds of funny questions to you...

M: Really? Like what?

E: Ah, ones I wasn't going to ask you, like your favourite ice cream, why you wear so many flannel shirts...

M: Ha-ha...that's a good one.

E: You don't have to answer them, it's ok! But people really got on board and were interested in the interview and hearing what you had to say so it just goes to show- you're popular!

M: Oh, don't say that...

E: You're very modest Mick! It's hard for you to admit you're doing well...

M: Ah, it's good.

E: You were featured in Jenny Huston's book In Bloom. That was quite cool.

M: Yeah, that was good. I didn't know that was happening for a while or what exactly she was doing. I read...you do read the bit about yourself like. Well, she gave me the book because I was at the launch. It was lovely like.

E: Well it's good to be included in something like that.

M: Yeah, it was. It was nice, it was lovely. It's a good book, a good idea.

E: Who do you think is out there doing a good job on the Irish music scene at the moment?

M: Am...I like the O Emperor lads. I like Villagers. I like their stuff and the lead singer guy, Conor O'Brien. I like what he does. It's hard to think. I don't go to a lot of gigs anymore. Am...Lisa Hannigan.

E: I love Lisa. You sang with Lisa on your song "Christmas Past".

M: Yeah. She's fun. And Lisa has let us support her before which was great.

E: Sea Sew was great. I always thought she was too talented to be someone's back-up singer...

M: Well maybe she was just biding her time really. But yeah, she's great.

E: You won Best Irish Male at the Meteors last year; what do you make of the award show?

M: I didn't like it to be honest. It was too networky or something. It was kind of annoying. I mean, I'm sure there were some lovely people there! I don't know, I just didn't like the whole spectacle thing of it. But it was nice that people voted though, that was good.

E: Do you ever read reviews or articles on yourself Mick?

M: No, I try not to. I just don't like it. I don't like to hear what I'm blabbing on about like.

E: So you've never Googled yourself then?

M: No I've never done that! Some people have told me to watch certain things on Youtube where I make a dick of myself, and then I watch them.

E: Ha-ha, and then that makes you feel bad...

M: And that makes me feel bad.

E: I have to ask Mick, because people do tend to talk about it; you're quite a shy guy aren't you?

M: Am...yeah... I mean I guess it's just me. I don't think it's something you could put on like. It depends on the situation. I mean I wouldn't be shy with any of the lads [Mick's band]. You saw yourself when we came in here I told them to fuck off out 'cos I know them so well. And here now with you, this feels like we're having a normal conversation here. When it's not a normal conversation, like after a gig, when you meet someone you don't know but they know you.

E: Does that freak you out?

M: Yeah. I don't...yeah. It's not funny. And even being on stage I think, I'm not that good at that and I don't know if I ever will be like. It's not what I imagined when I was young. I can't even make eye contact with people while I'm singing. No matter how may times you play, sometimes you just revert back into yourself and you can't talk that much.

E: I think it's great that you don't know how good you are; I think it's endearing.

M: Do you?

E: Yeah. But you'll probably have that moment someday where you wake up and go...

M: And be a cocky prick?

E: Yeah and be like, "Man, I'm class!"

M: Ha-ha, I don't know... It's weird. I mean, I guess it's flattering and all but... I don't know. I suppose if it wasn't there you'd miss it. Maybe it's just like everything; it just takes a while to get used to. It's all new. I don't know how to act.

E: You've done gigs in small intimate venues, like the Jean Monet in UL recently (minus alcohol), and larger gigs in venues such as this one, Vicar Street and Electric Picnic last year. Where would be your favourite place to play?

M: The smaller venues where there is alcohol. Dolan's is a great place to gig, it's a pretty big venue but it's nice. We've been up and down the country and McCarthy's bar in Dingle is lovely, it's cool. We're in Charlie's Bar in Cork on Thursday [15th], a little dive of a bar but it's good.

E: What do you like to do when you're not gigging?

M: Am...just this really [Mick looks to his beer]. Just relax and have a beer.

E: What's your favourite album of all time?

M: Ooh...favourite album... Can I name a few?

E: Go for it.

M: I like Van Morrison's Tubelo Honey, Tom Waits...well any of his really, Ryan Adams' Heartbreaker, Bob Dylan's Street Legal... What would you pick?

E: Am...well Jeff Buckley would have to be in there, Heartbreaker too, and something from Nirvana. Maybe Unplugged in New York?

M: Yeah I'd go with Unplugged.

E: Boxsets count!

M: Oh well that changes everything then...

E: Have you any plans to tour around Europe.

M: Well we've tried. Ah...we've tried to get into England and that but it's hard enough. It costs a lot of money to bring a lot of people around. I've been thinking of going over to Europe on my own and just doing a few shows, because it's cheaper to just go alone. But no real plans yet; nothing's really popping up at the moment.

Mick and I

E: Ok, what about the rest of this year and into next year- what's in the pipeline for Mick Flannery? I heard one or two new songs at the UL gig...

M: Yeah, we've been doing a good few new songs, which came about just with the band in a room. I haven't really been writing a huge amount of lyrics lately, except some self-involved drivel about life and travelling, which is not much of a departure! I'll work on it but then might just turn around and scrap it all because I'm sick of it. Just start over.

E: You could do what Jeff Bukley did when he was working on Sketches for my Sweetheart the Drunk and was unhappy with the material; he just took off!

M: That's right, yeah.

E: You could head off to Memphis!

M: I could...

E: Well, just to work on the music; not to head off to Memphis and, you know, drown...

M: Yeah, but then the album wouldn't be that good...

If you haven't picked up a copy of White Lies (or Evening Train for that matter) or caught Mick Flannery live yet then you are missing out. The deluxe re-release of the album contains the bonus track "Christmas Past", performed with Kate Walsh, and Mick's entire live performance at the Cork Opera House. Below is a list of Mick's upcoming tour dates (more info available on his website); get yourself along to one of his gigs. And in the meantime, check out his lovely music on his MySpace page. 

04/15/10   Charlie’s Bar, Cork

04/16/10   The White Lady, Kinsale, Co Cork

04/17/10   Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh, Co Cork

04/29/10   Breakers Kavanagh’s, Portlaoise

04/30/10   Vicar Street, Dublin

05/01/10   Vantastival, Co Louth

05/02/10   Hook Light House, Hookhead, Co Wexford

05/07/10   Inishbofin Arts Festival, Inishbofin, Co Galway

05/08/10   Abbey Mill Theatre, Tipperary

05/12/10   The Yard, Wexford

05/20/10   Bee for Battens, Savoy Theatre, Cork

05/28/10   The George Bernard Shaw Theatre, Carlow

Here's "Christmas Past" live from Dolan's. Sorry again for the slight shaking; I think we all know at this stage filming is not my thing...