WEBVTT - ITS Home Edition: Dermot Kennedy 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:04.360 Welcome to Inside the Studio presented by I Heart Radio. 0:00:04.840 --> 0:00:15.560 I'm your host Joe Levy. Okay, So, the guest on 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:18.680 this home edition of the show is Irish singer songwriter 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:22.799 Dermot Kennedy and he is having a pretty good run 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:26.119 right now. At the end of November, a song that 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:30.040 he sings on, a dance track called Paradise by Medusa, 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:32.960 went to number one on the Irish charts, which made 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.199 him the first Irish artist to have a number one 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:39.919 on the Irish charts in five years. And that is 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:43.120 a triumph that he repeated back to back the very 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:46.199 next week when his own song Giants went to the 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:48.240 top of the chart. So I imagine that he did 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:50.720 some celebrating, and I also imagined that it might have 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:54.480 been low key since he spent most of lockdown at 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:58.280 his parents house, which is surrounded by a forest and 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:00.720 some fields. You know. We started the home edition of 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:04.280 Inside the Studio to let you know how the pandemic 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:07.520 has impacted the lives of artists, and Dermott told our 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:10.720 quarantine correspondent, Jordan Runtalg that being back home for a 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:13.480 long stretch has reconnected him to the kinds of feelings 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:15.120 he had when he was just starting out, when he 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:18.240 was seventeen or eighteen years old and writing a song 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:21.280 was away he had of expressing himself. It was something 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:24.600 he had to do. It wasn't work, of course, something 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:27.800 a little less awesome that the pandemic has reconnected him 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:29.960 to when he was seventeen or eighteen. That was a 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:31.880 time when he could only get like one or two 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:35.039 gigs a year. He also talked about his love of 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:38.640 hip hop and Formula one racing and the Icelandic band 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:41.600 Seeker Ross and what those very different things have in 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:45.240 common anyway. As always, if you enjoy this episode, be 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:48.200 sure to check out the I Heart Radio podcast that 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:52.400 Jordan's hosts, which is called Rivals Music's Greatest Feuds and 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:57.600 which is available wherever you get your podcasts. Hello everyone, 0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:01.200 my name is Jordan Runtug. But enough about my guest. Today. 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:03.960 Got to start busting on the streets of Dublin, following 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:07.000 in the footsteps of musically minded countrymen like Damian Rice 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:10.400 and Glenn Hanson. Because life changed in when his song 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:13.600 After Rain became a viral smash, racking up millions of 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:16.919 plays on streaming platforms. Since then, he's put his classical 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:19.880 training the Good Use with powerhouse tracks like Power Over 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:22.800 Me and Outnumbered. His debut album, Without Fear made him 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:25.280 the first irishman the top the UK album charts in 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:27.840 twenty years. It also broke into the top twenty in 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:30.320 the United States, where he's earned a fervent following for 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.519 his soulful voice, deeply personal lyrics, and his hip hop 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:36.519 influence take on folky singer songwriting. I'm so happy to 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:40.120 welcome Dermot Kennedy. Of course, thank you. Well, that's so 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:41.480 much to talk to you about. But first off, you 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:45.120 just released an expanded version of your debut album, Without Fear, 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:48.000 which includes your new single Giants, which is the song 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:50.040 you said is about letting go of the past and 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.280 being comfortable with change. Tell me more about what that 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.679 song means to you. Yeah, I mean, it's an interesting thing, 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:59.680 right because so often when I write songs, it's kind 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:02.880 of it's a it's a very personal thing, and it 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:06.240 kind of feels like it's for my life, about my life. 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:08.720 It just feels like a very sort of internal thing. 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:12.880 And and I've always looked at artists, say like artists 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:17.160 like Hosier who writes songs about protests, and world issues 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:20.040 and stuff. And I've seen that so many times, and 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:22.600 I thought, like, I'll probably do that at some stage, 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:24.440 but I certainly don't want to do it if it 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:27.760 feels forced, right, So I never had and then that's 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:29.959 not what this song is. But I just mean that 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:32.720 message of letting go of the past and moving forward 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:36.000 and stuff. It just felt in my mind. I was like, 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:38.760 just throughout this time, I was like, this feels like 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.000 a nice message to put out into the world at 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.320 this time, right, Like, I don't want to do something 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:47.680 that's overly optimistic, because this year just hasn't been great, 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:51.120 Like it hasn't yeah, yeah, and and and so I 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:54.160 don't want to seem oblivious to things. But then I 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:57.760 also don't want to sort of compound people's has come 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:01.960 out with the most morose thing. And so it felt 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:05.400 like it struck a nice middle ground for me. I thought, 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.800 I thought it had a hopeful message, but that it 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.400 was aware of the difficulties, you know, and and so 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:13.920 like I wrote this song a long time ago, and 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:16.120 and that's what it meant to me at that time. 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:19.560 So um, so it just felt like a nice time 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.560 to sort of say that to the world. I really 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:24.159 enjoyed how you described it on Instagram as as sort 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:26.640 of a tribute to how nature has inspired you. And 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:29.159 I imagine since the start of Lockdown, a lot of 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:30.760 people have been going back to the things that have 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:37.080 kept them grounded, like nature and family and things like that. Yeah. Absolutely, Yeah, 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:41.080 Like I'm always I'm reluctant to sort of celebrate this 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:45.520 here because like because it makes me sort of seem 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:49.360 like I'm dismissive of all the difficulties for people. But 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:51.719 like for me, there's been a lot of upsides there 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:54.119 just has in a selfish way. It's like I haven't 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:57.040 been at home for this long, in such a long time, 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:00.280 like years, and and so it's been view to ful. 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.320 I'm like I've seen my friends more regularly. It's like 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:06.479 all the it feels as though, like all these friendships 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:08.360 and relationships that have kind of just stretched out a 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:09.960 little bit, I've been able to just like bring them 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:13.960 back in and solidify them again. And I think that's 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:17.440 the most important thing. And so yeah, it kind of 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:20.480 feels like years ago when the industry was a bit different. 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:23.760 It feels like that break that artists may be used 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:25.920 to get between first and second albums, you know what 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.360 I mean. And so I was talking about this the 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:31.200 other day. It's like a lot of people get these 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:35.800 get this sort of like stick about bringing out second 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:38.240 albums that are disappointing, and it's like, yeah, but they're 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:41.120 probably on a bus for two years, right and then 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:43.320 and then you've got like a month or two months 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:45.400 to put your whole second album together, and it's like, 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:49.120 of course people fall short. Hey, they're probably exhausted, be 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.880 they've got nothing to write about, you know, Like artists 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:54.600 say that all the time. They're like, I've only been 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:57.400 in hotel rooms. And so in a way, for me, 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.200 I put my second album together. I feel like this 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:03.960 is a nice time for me to just reconnect. And because, 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:06.440 like they say, you spend your whole life making your 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:08.800 first album, and like where I am now is in 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:11.560 my parents house and and like the forest is up 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:13.480 there and it's all feels that way, and it's like 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:17.760 that stuff feeds my songs since I wrote my first song, 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:20.120 and so it's cool for me to reconnect. It really 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:22.000 really is, like it's important for me, I think, to 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:25.800 write decent music. Being back at your your your family's house, 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:27.640 does that almost put you does that almost put you 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:30.159 back to where you were at the very beginning of 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:31.960 your song writing, when you were writing songs in your 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:36.719 bedroom just for you and not even thinking about Yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:39.760 So my my drummer me Hall, he's from Dublin too, 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:43.760 and we both agreed that that's exactly what it feels like. 0:06:43.800 --> 0:06:46.440 I feel like seventeen or eighteen again. And it feels 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:50.800 because like the situation when I was eighteen and nineteen was, 0:06:51.200 --> 0:06:53.880 I was just as determined as I am now, but 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:57.240 I couldn't get a gig like I would. I would 0:06:57.279 --> 0:06:59.279 play like two shows a year, you know what I mean, 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.080 because like no one wanted to there was just nothing 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:04.520 to do. And like I do like two shows a 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:06.920 year in Dublin, that type of thing, Like it was 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:09.280 just super I was just going through it. And I 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:12.000 would write a song whenever it felt right. I would 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:15.560 never ever ever sit down and just be like, all right, theremo, 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:18.440 just time to write a song. Ever, like I would 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:21.160 wait until I could not stay away from the song. 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:24.640 And so it was this lovely, really organic, authentic thing 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:28.640 and and so yeah, honestly, you're banging on. I think 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.559 I think it does feel like before I had any 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:33.920 sort of career. Yeah, and you still that way, do you? 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:36.320 Only it's not something that you sit down every day 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:38.600 and and have it almost like a daily practice. Are 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:40.520 you still? Do you only right when you feel like 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:42.840 you have something to say and you're inspired. No, it's 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.840 a bit different. It is training now. I think it's training. 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:48.760 I think I think I'd feel a little bit guilty 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:51.640 if I was trying to be like a top tier songwriter, 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:55.200 if I was, like, there is a lot of value 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:58.120 I think in treating it like a sport, you know 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:02.119 what I mean? There just is there no way. There's 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:06.040 no way I could not write all the time and 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.520 then get into the studio and expect it to be 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:11.160 there for me to access, you know. I think, I 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:12.840 think you've got to keep at it every day, and 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:15.040 I think you sort of you just have to show up. 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:18.640 I'm getting way more comfortable all the time with the 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.720 fact that there's good days and bad days, and and 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:24.280 like I used to get so hung up on the 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:27.160 idea that if I had a bad day, I'd be 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:30.000 like funk man, like this is that's a really bad song, 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:33.320 and that that should never exist. But nowadays I'm just like, yeah, 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:35.360 but it won't. It's all good, Like you tried something 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:39.280 and no one will ever find out, and and you're 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:42.360 not worse off for having tried it. You're probably better off. 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:44.640 You learned something about yourself, you know. So like I'm 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:46.640 just I'm getting more comfortable with it. The whole time 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:49.040 I think it was heading away, you said, always leave 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:52.040 something for the next day, because if you don't, then 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:54.440 you'll never come back. It's too scary to have sort 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:56.880 of nothing in reserve that you know, like a way 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:59.000 to find the path the next day. Is that something 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:01.920 for you where you sort of like always leave a 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:04.000 little bit for the next day so you're not completely 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:09.880 starting from from a blank page. That's interesting, Yeah, I like, Yeah, 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:11.840 for me, in the past, i'd just i'd be in 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:14.360 the studio and say, for example, if you're in the 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:17.680 studio from whatever eleven am until seven pm, I will 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:22.120 have like shut down so many cool creative paths by 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:24.400 one pm, you know what I mean. Because someone might 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:25.960 suggest a lyric and I'd be like, no, I can't 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:27.800 be that because my life is like this and this 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:29.719 didn't actually happen to me, and so I get so 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:32.040 hung up on everything to the point that it was 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:37.920 pretty counterproductive. And so nowadays, nowadays, I'm way better. And 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:39.880 I used to be so jealous, Like if I was 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:42.880 in the studio with other writers, I'd just be like, man, like, 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:45.319 how do you do this? Every single day? Like how 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:48.520 do you? Because for me, I try like I try 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:53.360 hard to access the most honest, most powerful parts of 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:56.400 my whole being and my soul and the good bits 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.440 and the bad bits. And that's tiring, I think. And 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.480 and so I've had days where we'd work on an 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:05.000 idea and flesh it out and then it's done and 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:07.440 say it's like six pm or whatever, and someone would 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:08.600 be like, you want to just like try a new 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:10.719 idea for the next two hours, as I fucking no 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:14.800 like about what it's like to me. It's like, I'm 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:17.520 like about what, Like, I've spent the last six hours 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:19.760 trying to relate this idea to my life in some way. 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:22.880 So but I am getting better at just going in 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:25.319 and being like, let's just do it. Let's like knock 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:27.520 a song out, not worry too much about the lyrics. 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:29.800 I can always fix them down the line, not fix them, 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:33.280 but just like make them mine and more so me, 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:36.520 And and that can always be done in the future. 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.640 So let's just write a song. Let's like try Dermott 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.360 to get to the point where you love music. That's 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.080 why you're here, that's the only reason you're here. Just 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:47.280 enjoy yourself, like, don't think too much, do not think 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.280 too much. And I'm getting better at that. But also 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:53.640 I am I am very aware of the potential trap 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:57.640 of like like slowly just like dulling what you do 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:01.080 and and and it becoming like low common denominator thing 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.080 because you're just like, oh, this doesn't make me feel 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:04.560 any kind of way. But I had phone in the 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:06.840 studio today, you know, I'm very conscious of not becoming 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:18.199 that personal. I'm always curious to know with people who 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.040 are are blessed with the ability to write music, what 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:22.920 do you get from it. Is it a desire to 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:25.160 connect with other people, or is it to sort out 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:29.199 what's going on inside your emotions your feelings and processing 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:31.840 that or is it a bit of both? And it's 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:35.000 a lot of different things. I Like, when you said 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.320 both of those things, I'm like, yeah, it's both of 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:39.600 those things. But I wouldn't I wouldn't be like it's 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:43.000 exactly that, you know, I think like I think it's 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.839 when say, for example, like the piano I'm sitting out here. 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:47.640 You can't see it, but it's a it's a big, 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:52.439 lovely piano, and and like if you hit like whatever 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:57.240 chord or like the fact that that through the strings 0:11:57.320 --> 0:12:01.000 and everything rings out and there's other notes in there 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:02.760 that I didn't even play that you can kind of 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.720 hear and stuff like just all like I remember when 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:06.960 we were going on tour the first time we had 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:08.360 to get an electric keyboard, and I was just like, 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.520 oh man, Like I didn't realize that that was a thing, 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.080 and but it is. It's just practical. But like what 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:17.200 I'm saying is like when I'm sitting here at this 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:20.680 piano and I and I dig and dig for a 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.320 while and then I hit a lyric that I know 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:27.560 is special honestly, Like that's what it's all about for me. Um, 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:30.559 And I know your question is kind of like yeah, 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:32.560 but like why does that feel so good? But I 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:36.040 mean it's very very exciting to me when I do that. 0:12:36.080 --> 0:12:38.160 I'm like, oh man, I can do this. Like like 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:41.040 I I there's a huge part of me just wants 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:43.160 to wants to leave a legacy, and I want to 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:45.320 be respected by other lyricists and stuff. So when I 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:48.360 nailed something special, I'm like, oh cool, like any sort 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:50.800 of It's like the second I hit a good lyric, 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:53.720 I feel all my insecurities just like go away and 0:12:53.880 --> 0:12:56.200 like and I'm just like, oh cool, that was special. 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:59.839 But why do I write music? It's it's it's for me. 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:02.480 I don't know, in the least corny way possible. I'm 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:04.440 just like, I just gotta do it, you know, I 0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:06.520 just have to. It's a very important part of who 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:09.679 I am. I think sometimes I find myself feeling pent 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.080 up in a little bit stressed, and I'll check in 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:13.560 with myself and I'll be like, oh, you haven't played 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:16.559 the piano and five days, you haven't written in a while, Like, 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:20.720 don't underestimate how important that is to you. So honestly, 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:24.440 like talking about like connecting to others and stuff, Yes, 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:27.960 that's a really beautiful part of touring. But now that 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:30.920 I don't have it currently, I'm like, I'm still good, 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.080 like I I still feel good like I do this 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:37.800 for other reasons too, And and it's been a nice 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:41.360 sort of reassurance in this time to be like, Okay, 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:44.520 touring has been taken away for the time being. And 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:46.800 you can't get in the studio people, and you're not 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.240 doing like promo all over the world. You're not jumping 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:52.400 on planes. It's not that life right now. And so 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.880 are you good? Like all the baggage, everything that isn't 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:58.240 it at its core has been taken away from you. 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.040 So how do you feel? And I'm still completely fulfilled 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:03.440 and so I'm like, oh, sweet, I haven't lost my way, 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:05.240 Like this is still the most important thing to me. 0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:09.840 So everything else is not superfluous, but everything else is 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:11.959 is it's just part of it, you know. But the 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:14.200 core has to say the same. It just has in 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:16.240 your mind. Are you writing at all times? Because I 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:19.320 know a lot of writer friends both you know, novelists 0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:22.360 and songwriters who you know they could be getting broken 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:24.480 up with and in that moment, there's still a part 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:26.640 of them that's thinking, oh, this is like this is 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:28.840 going to make a great song or something. Do you 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:33.080 find yourself ever doing that in in your life? Yeah? Yeah, 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:38.120 for sure. Yeah. And it's and it's a nice comfort 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:40.400 blanket too, because there be times where I'd be like, 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:42.800 you're not especially through this time when you're like, oh, 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:46.160 you're not being very disciplined. You're not like writing every day, 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:47.960 And then in my head, I'm like, no, you're writing 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:51.400 all the time. Like it's like I'm never not thinking 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:54.720 about whatever demo I was working on last or lyrics 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:58.360 that might show up, and blah blah blah. I guess, yeah, 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:03.120 it's just never off. And and so it's nice, honestly 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:04.800 when I feel a bit guilty about like, oh, I 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:07.000 haven't sat down and written for like three hours a 0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:09.560 day for the last week or so, and it's like, no, 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:13.160 you you're thinking about it constantly, you know. Yeah, So yeah, 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:15.560 I don't turn it off. Yeah. There's definitely like life 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:18.600 events and stuff where I'm like, this is a tune. 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:23.720 You studied classical composition in college and you also busted 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:26.200 for a long time in Grafton Street in Dublin without 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:28.600 throwing any any teachers under the bus. Which of these 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.640 was more of an educational and helpful experience for you 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:36.760 or both in different ways. Yeah, it seems like sure, totally, 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.640 certainly for what I do now. Yeah, I think I 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:41.960 think if I went back and did that degree that 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:44.000 I did, if I did that now, I'd be in 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:47.960 a far better position to actually benefit from it. You know. 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:51.400 I went when I was eighteen, like eighteen nine, twenty 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:54.800 years old, and I was just constantly like, oh, this 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.200 is so uncool. I just want to go and play, 0:15:57.240 --> 0:15:59.600 and I just want to go play in a dingy bar, 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:03.160 and I just don't play my guitar, and and I 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:05.320 was singing all this incredible classical music, and I was 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:08.320 surrounded by musicians like the caliber of which I haven't 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:12.240 come near since. But I just I could not appreciate it. 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:15.440 I couldn't. I was too impatient. But I'm very glad 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:18.040 I did it. For sure. It's a beautiful thing to 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:21.440 have done. But the buskin was a proper education. Yeah, yeah, 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:23.960 the buskin was cool because like you could just be 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:27.560 doing it and no one cares all day and you're 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:29.520 just like, still did it, you know, and you're like, 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:32.920 I still tried, and blah blah blah. Honestly, there's there's 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:34.920 multiple ways in which bus can set me up. So 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:37.360 it taught me how to project my voice, which is 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:39.800 so important because I'm trying to compete with like a 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:43.480 full street full of people. And also it taught me 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:45.880 like a valuable lesson that was a little bit hard 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:48.840 to take. But basically there was the first few times 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:52.360 I went, I sat in a chair and I wore whatever, 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:55.480 and my CDs were just blank CDs, like they didn't 0:16:55.480 --> 0:16:57.840 have an artworker anything. I probably have one here, but 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:00.920 they they were just like you know, like when you 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:04.320 buy them wherever target anything like that, like just blind 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:08.359 CDs with my name on them and sharpie. And I 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.160 had them out in front of me and I had 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:14.359 a really crappy amp and I was just like, no, like, 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:16.719 if I'm good enough, this will work out and and 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.000 it will be this magical thing where people got around 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:22.560 because they're hearing something special and and it just didn't 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:23.960 work like that. I would make a bit of money 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.439 and there was some nice experiences, but it never like 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:29.520 worked worked. And then I bonded to this Australian guy 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:34.560 who was like this busking expert and he just had 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:37.280 this incredible setup and I was like, oh my god, 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:39.600 this guy gets a crowd in like ten seconds and 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:41.919 he has this huge crowd. And so I spoke to 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.919 him and he told me, basically, you should treat your 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:46.800 busking set up like a shop front. He was like, 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:50.199 get a much better speaker, get a big sign. He 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:52.560 was like, take up as much space as you possibly can. 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:54.960 So I got this big, beautiful rog. I got my 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:57.240 friend who's an artist to make this huge sign for me. 0:17:57.280 --> 0:17:59.879 I've got artwork on the CDs, and I started standing 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:03.040 up instead of sitting down, and I like quadrupled what 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:05.080 I was making. And I was just like, oh, it 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:07.199 kind of hurt the artist in me because I was like, 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:09.480 I thought if I just sat and played, people would 0:18:09.480 --> 0:18:13.359 be like into it, but now it just showed me 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:16.640 like and then that lesson It is the exact same 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:19.080 time and time again, you know, like I had a 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:22.280 whole ten years of bringing out my own music, uploading 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:24.159 to Spotify and all that stuff by myself, and it 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:28.440 never ever worked out. And ultimately it did in the end, 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.480 but like I see nowadays with a label and and 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:34.160 and all that stuff and and just how songs get 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:36.320 rolled out, and I'm like, Jesus thermat no wonder it 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:38.320 didn't work out, Like you didn't know what you were doing. 0:18:38.720 --> 0:18:41.880 But it was interesting to me to see. It's like, 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:44.119 of course it's always about the music, but I was like, 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:46.240 you got to think about other stuff too. What were 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:48.560 you playing back then when you weren't playing your own stuff? 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:50.760 I was never playing my own stuff in the street. 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:53.679 It was all yeah, it was all covers. If I 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:57.680 played my own stuff, I would get discouraged because people 0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:00.840 didn't know it and so they wouldn't stop. And if 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:02.800 I played all of Me by John Legend, I would 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:05.199 have like five people. And I was like, Okay, well 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:07.359 of course I'm gonna do this every day. That's that 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:10.480 I struggled with that too, because I just didn't like it. 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:12.480 I was like, I know, I can make certain choices 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:16.040 here that will make me more money, and if I'm 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.200 being callous about it, that is why I'm here. I'm 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:20.320 trying to get into the studio. So I need to 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:24.240 make X amount quicker to get into that studio. And 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:27.200 that's I mean, like, there's so many things that correlate 0:19:27.280 --> 0:19:29.240 between Buskin and what I do now. I know for 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:31.000 a fact there's certain things I could do now that 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:34.520 would guarantee me more income and radio play and blah 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:36.160 blah blah. And it's like I can't do it because 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:38.359 I gotta hold on to who I am. But Buskin 0:19:38.440 --> 0:19:41.320