Mick Flannery

With a new album out next month, Mick Flannery has found himself working on an exciting stage adaptation of his first album, Evening Train. Here, he tells Jess O Sullivan about learning the ropes in theatre and overcoming new-album nerves

With a new album on the way and a new musical opening in Cork, Mick Flannery is a busy man. Jess O Sullivan spoke to him about music and theatre

You could say that Mick Flannery’s latest project was always meant to be. When the 35-year-old Cork native launched his debut album, Evening Train, in 2007, it was a critical success both here and in the US, drawing comparisons with Tom Waits, thanks to Flannery’s deep, gravelly vocals and lyrics that cast a spotlight on the more ignoble aspects of society. What the critics probably didn’t know was that at the time of writing, Flannery was studying a music and management course and had originally intended to write it as a musical, but failed. “I copped out because I couldn’t get the dialogue right. It was so cheesy,” says Mick, reminiscing on his attempts to bring his story to life. “So I copped out. I gave up and just wrote the music and lyrics and wrote a little narrative in the inlay of the CD.”

Fast forward 12 years and Flannery’s concept album is finally fulfilling its destiny. Clare writer, Ursula Rani Sarma and director, Annabelle Comyn, have transformed his tale of two very different brothers caught in a love triangle into the musical it was meant to be. Set in a remote West Cork village, the action takes place in a bar and poker den, the perfect backdrop for Flannery’s Waitsian stylings. Revisiting his first foray into music has been an odd feeling for Flannery, not only because recently he found himself listening

back to the album a lot and his voice annoys him but also because he feels quite different to the person who wrote those songs over a decade ago. “It feels kind of funny to me, because I feel so much older than the version of myself that was writing those songs. At that time I was only messing around. I knew I liked music and I was willing to give the music industry a tentative shot without wanting to embarrass myself too much in front of my friends.”

Though the songs will be sung by the cast, Mick will play with the live band, so he is very much involved in the production, which has opened up a whole new world of creativity to him. “I’m like a naïve little kid. When I see all the people involved and how pro they are – how much thought and experience goes into their craft – I find myself making these dumb suggestions, saying these really naïve things. But I’ve just learned to keep my mouth shut. It’s the wealth of a genre that I never knew existed and all very meticulously thought out.”

Despite adopting a watch-and-learn approach to the musical, Flannery says that in general, he is far more comfortable on stage. His years of performing live gigs have helped him to overcome his initial shyness and occasional bouts of stage fright. “I’m definitely more comfortable now. I used to be afraid of making musical mistakes and now I’m afraid of talking and saying awkward things.” With a thought for his band, he tries not to bore them by repeating the same stories again and again to his audience, but this attempt at thoughtfulness can sometimes lead to unexpected places, especially when he’s feeling philosophical. “The band has heard my various stories, so I try not to use them all the time. But it’s nearly for the worse, because instead of them being bored by the same story, they feel awkward and embarrassed for me because I’ve tried to drift off on some avenue that’s going nowhere. You go down some way that you haven’t thought about properly, and you end up rambling, so people feel uncomfortable.” When it’s put to him that even though he feels like he’s rambling on a bit, surely the life experience he has gained has made his musings a little bit more interesting than he gives himself credit for. “I wouldn’t say that I’m more interesting now. In my experience of being in my 20s, I was much more self-involved and unaware, and uncaring about the world outside. But I’m just as naïve and idiotic. There’s that quote from Bertrand Russell, ‘Is there any such thing as wisdom or is it just refinement of folly?’”

What is sure to be interesting for fans and critics alike is Flannery’s new self-titled album which is due for release on July 5, and takes his music in a slightly different direction, which has Flannery feeling a little nervous. “There are a couple of things on the album that I’m afraid of and I’m trying to be less afraid. There are a couple of songs that have choruses, so the cynics would be happy enough. Throw in an old pop chord and ‘he’s a sell out’, things like that.” However, he assures with a laugh that it’s just “a kind of faster misery.” Talking to Flannery though, you have to wonder whether he is his own biggest critic. Though a man of few words, he is fast with humility and a self-deprecating joke, and he acknowledges that the negative voices in our own heads can be the biggest critics of all. “We’re a complete a**hole to ourselves. Maybe in a way our internal negative voices are watching out for our own reputation by trying to look at ourselves in the most damning eyes of someone else. But really, I’m kind of optimistic. I’m fairly calm and easygoing. I wouldn’t be down on people or down on life in general. I guess I get a bit mournful in the songwriting, but I get that out of my system. During the day I’m a goof. I suppose it could be an Irish thing and it’s hard to break that.”

With that, he has a joke about lobsters. “So there are two lobster catchers on a pier; an American and an Irish guy. And the American guy puts a lid on his cage and locks it up to go for lunch, but the Irish guy leaves his open. So the American says ‘Hey Paddy, your lobsters are going to get out.’ Paddy says, ‘Nah these are Irish lobsters. If one of them tries to get out of the cage the others will pull him back down.’”

Evening Train is on at the Everyman Theatre, Cork as part of the Midsummer Festival 2019 until June 23. See corkmidsummer.com for tickets and info