Gary Keane talks music, memories and the future

This week, Fergus Dennehy sat down for a chat with Tralee’s very own Gary Keane who is busy making a name for himself in the musical world for his producing, writing and singing abilities. In this weeks interview, Gary talks about his own music journey, the joy he gets from performing and getting dragged around the world with Stephanie Rainey.

AS someone who has lived most of his adult life in Tralee and Kerry, save for a few brief years of college in Limerick, it’s safe to say that I know the town pretty well and if there is one name that I have consistently heard mentioned in a positive tone over the past few years, it is that of the town’s very own resident multi-instrumentalist, talented musician, Gary Keane.

I sat down to chat with the now 30-year old Ballinorrig native this past week as he reflected on his musical journey, from first being introduced at a young age to the dulcet tones of the early Guns N’ Roses era to that all-important moment when he first picked up his very own guitar at age 12; he admits that it’s been an amazing and addictive ride and one that, by the sounds of his future goals, a ride that he plans on staying on for many years to come.

Gary has been a mainstay in the music world for the past number of years and even though he modestly describes himself modestly as a “jack of all trades amd master of none”, this writer, after seeing him play live in Tralee this past weekend, can atest that Gary certainly looks very much a master of his craft on stage, using his three preferred instruments, electronic keyboard, guitar and looping pedal to perfection on stage.

“I grew up in a musical family, my father was a professional musician when I was younger and my brother played guitar aswell; there was a big age gap between him and I, about nine years, so you know, I obviously idolised him a little bit when I was growing up,” said Gary, as he talks his own musical origins.

“He had a room down at the end of our house and he was in thick of this Guns N’ Roses era and so I would always walk into the house to hear all this rock blaring out of his room and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever; so, when I decided to take up the guitar at age age, there was huge support and nurturing for my music. My brother was always there to give me tips and my father was always playing aswell, it was a great environment to grow up in.”

Not content with both singing and playing, Gary says that the last few years have seen him extend his sphere of interest into the world of production, an interest which now sees him, in his own jesting words, being “dragged around the world” on tour, a life which he jokingly admits isn’t the worst type of life.

“Right now, I’m doing a lot of production; I have a studio at home and I’ve been playing, recording and producing with an artist called Stephanie Rainey who’s based in Cork. I’ve been working a lot with her over the past few months and I’m sort of being dragged around the world touring recently with her as part of her house band which has been absolutely great fun,”

“Stephanie was signed to the Warner label recently and she’s definitely on the rise so I’m delighted to be working with her at the moment, I actually produced one of her songs which will coming out on her album so I’ve been kept pretty busy with all of this so far and other than that, I’ve been writing a fair bit of my own music aswell. I was in a band last called White Stripes and we released two singles which made it to the top three in iTunes which was amazing, the support of the people of Tralee and places like Radio Kerry who helped play our songs was immense so Tralee, aside from being where I’m from, it is a special place for me for the help it has given,” he continued.

Speaking of that special connection to his hometown, Gary elaborated even further on his fondness for the town as he revealsed that his one of his fondest memories of plaing music came back in 2013, at the famous Rose of Tralee festival.

“I remember doing the Rose of Tralee, I think it was about three years ago now. I played just before ‘Walking on Cars’ on Denny Street and they just absolutely packed out the whole street; there were just thousands of people there. I remember getting out there and playing and I just was out there and it was just so special; there was so much support from the crowd, they were really behind me.”

“They were all just screaming and shouting their support and it was just so magical. I would have a really strong connection to the festival; my mother was herself a Rose back in the

day and my uncle was heavily involved in the organising commitee aswell so for me to play on Denny Street, it felt like this really special coming together of all of these elements, me, my own music and this festival that has been such a big part of my childhood and heritage,” he added.

“To top that whole experience off then, I got to see Walking on Cars play, I actually went to college with the drummer, and then the fireworks went off afterwards, from top to bottom, it was without doubt one of my fondest and most vivid memories of playing; it’s something that will stay with me for the rest of my life, I’m sure.”

Gary, who has just finished a support slot with the increasingly popular band, Hermitage Green in Fabrik in Tralee this past Saturday night, says that he is delighted to be able to support the lads and that he is grateful for all the help that they have given him.

“The Hermitage Green guys are just a great bunch of lads. They’re as down to earth as can be and what you see is what you get with them on stage, they’re great friends with great chemistry and I think that this really comes across in their performances; I’ve been lucky enough to secure a good number of support slots with them and they have been very good to me with their support for my music so I was delighted to be able to play with them again in Fabrik on Saturday night, there was a great crowd there, I had a blast.

Now, after all is said and done, where does Gary himself see himself in the future? Well, you can guess yourself, it’s definitely something music related!

“Man, music is a total addiction to me so it will most definitely be something along those lines,” he laughed.

“At the moment, I’m busy getting my own EP release ready and I’m hoping to have this ready to go, maybe by the end of the year; I’m going to be going into the first stages of recording this in the next two to three weeks so that will be the start of the journey and it’s something I’m really excited about.”

“My whole musical journey has been a bit of a crazy ride so far; I like to keep things varied with music so at the moment, I’m really into my writing and my production and I’m just about to do this really funky sort of electric disco collabroration with this dj from Amsterdam so that’s something to look forward to in the new year,” he continued.

“It’s an amazing time to be alive in terms of music and the tools that are available for us artists; I suppose my main goals for the year are just to climb further up the rungs of the industry and get my name out there even further. I’d love to maybe try and secure a record label for myself in the next year or two and maybe a little more unrealistically, I’ve always dreamed of winning a Grammy!” he chuckled.

“That’d be incredible but obviously that’s something down the line and something which is up in the air for now, but that’s a dream of mine,” he finished.

Well, if Gary’s journey so far is anything to go by, make sure to watch this space.

I remember getting out there and playing and I was just out there and it was so special; there was so much support from the crowd.