I grew up in Cabra, on Dublin’s northside. Both my father and mother had very little money growing up, so they were always very careful with it. They definitely passed this on to me and it’s actually something I’m grateful for.
I love treats and small indulgences, but I’ve never been a huge spender and I have absolutely no desire to have an ostentatious lifestyle. When I went to New York just after college. I had no job lined up, so I headed into Manhattan with a subway token and my violin and started busking.
New York was very dangerous in the late 80s. It just felt very tough, very scary, and very lonely playing on the streets on my own. I didn’t know it at the time, but it turned out to be a Monday night gig I did at The Baggot Inn.
Tom Zutaut, an A&R man with David Geffen’s record label, saw me and signed me to an international recording contract. It was fairly catastrophic. The onset of the pandemic happened just as I was beginning an Australian tour.
As an independent artist, I “float” the tours myself, so I typically have to pay all the costs upfront. When the tour was cancelled, I lost most of what I’d paid out without getting any income whatsoever. I then had to spend thousands of euro trying to get a seat on one of the last flights out of Australia.
Little did I know that that concert I did in Melbourne in March 2020 would be the last time I’d stand on a stage for 520 days. Many years ago, I worked as a violinist in the National Symphony Orchestra and lived in a bedsit in Rathmines. Over a few years, I’d managed to save up a small deposit to buy a house.
After many, many sleepless nights, I made a decision not to buy a house, but instead use the money to start my career as a songwriter/artist. It was a gamble for sure and everyone around me told me I was nuts. I’m so glad I chose to invest in myself back then.
No, not at all! I used to always have a small amount on me for emergencies, but now I just use my phone. I’m sure it’s going to land me in trouble one day soon when my battery runs out and I end up stranded somewhere. Deciding not to shrink-wrap my album Yola when it was manufactured.
Just as the album was released and shipped, the anthrax attacks happened in the US. North America was my primary territory at the time. Most of my albums had to be binned or destroyed.
I have a very small pension. I’m trying to put as much in as I can now..
