Musicians popping in from Cork
WHAT Irish singer-songwriter Mick Flannery knows about New Zealand could be captured on a postcard – but perhaps one day we may hear it in a song.
He has never been to Aotearoa and his honesty is somewhat endearing. ‘‘I’ll have to plead ignorance. I only know the scenery is nice, and it’s got a good rugby team.’’
The Cork man admits he doesn’t know much about Kiwi music either – but pleads guilty to also being ‘‘ignorant to the Irish scene’’.
The former stonemason is renowned in Ireland for being shy and retiring. He is a refreshingly unassuming artist, whose sole focus is on his craft of heartfelt, honest songwriting.
Flannery is the furthest thing from outlandish – with no superficial gimmicks, his gigs feel intimate.
The quietly spoken folk singer’s lyrics have won him comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and his own inspiration, Tom Waits.
‘‘It’s not exactly chirpy music,’’ he admits, but he is keen to expose Kiwis to his melodies.
Most of his good songs usually come late at night, which means getting out of bed to record them.
He’s taken a leaf out of comedian Mitch Hedberg’s book: ‘‘Sometimes, I convince myself the idea in my head is s... so that I can go back to sleep.’’
Flannery has made four albums since 2007, but says he never counted singing as a job until he experienced the ‘‘psychological difficulty’’ of jet lag on a tour of Australia last year.
‘‘I count it [his career ] as a fortunate chain of events that led to making money from singing songs about my feelings. I shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that.’’