youbloom HEADROOM VIP : Stephen Kennedy from the Dublin Beatles Festival

16-Sep-2015 By Shannon Duvall

It may be nothing but a car park now, but the nondescript white building on Middle Abbey Street on Dublin’s north side was once Ireland’s premier art deco movie and live music palace.

It was a place abuzz with glamour and entertainment – and, on one particular night, the scene of riots, mania, and a singular music event the likes of which our Fair City will never see again.

It was called the Adelphi, and the night in question was November 7th, 1963 – the night the Beatles came to town.

Baby, you can park my car. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

It was the legendary band’s first Dublin show: the year of ‘Please, Please Me’, ‘Love Me Do’, and ‘All My Lovin”. Beatlemania was a fever rampaging through the record shops and bedrooms of teenagers everywhere, and Dublin’s fresh-faced were no exception.

As the band took to the stage, screams of overwhelming adoration were answered the length of Middle Abbey Street by hysterical fans giving the Gardai a run for their money as they vied for just a look at the foursome; later the band would be trapped on stage as the crowd of over 2000 inside the Adelphi grew insatiable, demanding more songs, more reasons to go bananas.

Eventually the four lads from Liverpool did escape, sheltering in the nearby Gresham Hotel, in for the night for fear of being overrun by the frantic fans in the street.

"I have the feeling we're not in the Cavern anymore." The Beatles in Wales. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons — “I have the feeling we’re not in the Cavern anymore.” Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

For whatever reason, the Beatles never did come back to play Dublin.

The anticipation of that night; the fascination and infatuation; the sound of a new era being cranked up to the max right here in our own city centre, is a feeling consigned to memory – to the tales shared over teary-eyed chuckles and conspiratorially-whispered confessions of those who were there – to those who can only wish they were.

52 years later, and the Adelphi is gone, its grandeur removed, the building now nothing more than a really, really, nice looking car park.

Well, we kinda dropped the ball on that one, didn’t we?

Take heart, music fans, it’s not all bad news.

Three years ago Stephen Kennedy – organiser, playwright, music authority, and general man of fun – decided that the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ only show in Dublin should be marked somehow. Not one to sit on his hands, he decided to throw a festival.

You can just up and throw a festival, you ask?? You betcha. The Dublin Beatles Festival is now entering its third year, having found such huge success and warm reception in 2013 that the organisers decided to do it again – and again! youbloom annoyed* festival director Kennedy until he gave in to our meddling and shared some of his DBF highlights for your pleasure.

(*annoyed might be a gentle way of putting it).

Hi Stephen! Thanks for leaving your back door unlocked. So, this year marks the 52nd anniversary of the Beatles’ trip to Dublin to perform back in 1963. Do you or anyone you know have any memories or stories from that night?

Unfortunately I wasn’t born when The Beatles played in Dublin – but I have met a lot of people who saw them when they played here. One of my favourite stories about that night was told to me by Catherine Hansard, the mother of Glen Hansard. Catherine was about 16 when The Beatles played the Adelphi in Dublin. She knew the layout of the venue very well, and on the day of the concert, she managed to climb a drainpipe with two of her friends. They hid in a room which turned out to be The Beatles’ dressing-room. Many years later Catherine found herself in LA when Glen was receiving an Oscar for the song ‘Falling Slowly’ (from the film Once). Catherine ended up meeting Ringo that night at one of the parties after the Oscars and she told him all about the dressing-room in the Adelphi in 1963. He (gave) her a Ringo badge when he was leaving the Oscars party!

Where did they perform?

The Beatles performed two shows in Dublin on the evening of Thursday, November 7th, 1963. Both shows were played at the Adelphi Cinema on Middle Abbey Street. It is now the car-park for Arnotts.

Were the Irish as screamy as other audiences, or was it more “Ah, sure, The Beatles, aren’t they just lovely?”

No – it was screamy. Very screamy. Beatlemania had hit its full stride in Britain by the autumn of 1963 – and Ireland wasn’t far behind. There were even riots on Middle Abbey Street when The Beatles played here. In fact, there is footage online of Frank Hall reporting for RTE in the middle of the crowd outside the Adelphi. It’s well worth looking up. And the Welsh writer Alun Owen travelled to Dublin with The Beatles in 1963. Owen used the Dublin trip as research into Beatlemania and he used it to write the script for the film A Hard Day’s Night.

Your favourite Beatles album.

It changes from week to week, but I’d probably pick Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, if I really had to. It had a massive impact when it was released in 1967 and it still sounds amazing today.

Favourite song?

Again, the answer to that question is open to change, but today I’ll go with ‘A Day in the Life’. I think it’s a brilliant piece of music – written and recorded by The Beatles on top form. Every time I hear Lennon’s vocal on that song – I get shivers. Pure class.

And yes, favourite Beatle.

For this question I really will have to plead the Fifth Amendment – as they say in the US – because one of my plays (LENNON v McCARTNEY) is about two guys in a pub arguing about who is the top Beatle. So I try not to give my own opinion on that subject. I try not to give it away.

Leaving us in suspense, eh? This is the third year of the festival. What was the inspiration when it all began?

We ran the Dublin Beatles Festival for the first time in November 2013 – because it was the 50th anniversary of The Beatles playing at the Adelphi. It was only supposed to be a one-off thing – but I had so much fun I ran it again in November 2014. We have no sponsorship, and no funding, so I’m not sure how long I can keep going. But the crowds are still coming in big numbers every year, and the venues are packed, and I am still enjoying it, so let’s see what happens.

What can a first-timer to a Beatles Festival expect?

You can expect to have a lot of fun. I know it sounds corny, but most of The Beatles’ songs are upbeat and positive, and if you spend three days surrounded by that music, you’re going to feel upbeat and positive too. And that’s no joke. It’s like taking a happy pill for your ears. You simply haven’t lived until you’ve stood in the middle of hundreds of people and screamed along to lines such as “And when I tell you that I love you / You’re gonna say you love me too / And when I ask you to be mine / You’re gonna say you love me too”. You can get full details of events over at the website for the Dublin Beatles Festival – but, in short, we have Beatles gigs, film, theatre, free events, table quiz, public interview, art, memorabilia, merchandise… and whatever you’re having yourself.

The festival lasts three days. If you had to choose a Top 3 Must See for 2015, what would be on it?

Again – that is a very tough question for me to answer – but, feck it, I’ll give it a go. I think The Rockits at the Workman’s on Saturday, November 7th, is going to be one hell of a big party gig – so I’d definitely recommend that for a start. The Rockits are a resident band at the Cavern in Liverpool and they really know how to put on a show. Their first set on November 7th is going to be the Hits of the 1960s; songs from acts like The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, The Kinks, The Who and The Small Faces. Their second set in the show will be songs exclusively from The Beatles. I can’t wait.

The Rockits at the legendary Cavern Club.

The next event I’d recommend is the award-winning documentary Good Ol’ Freda, followed by a public interview with Freda Kelly herself. Freda worked as secretary for The Beatles for over a decade – and it really is an honour to have her at the Dublin Beatles Festival in November. As George Harrison pointed out, “Freda was there at the very beginning and she stayed until the very end.” This lady is one of a kind. It’s no wonder she is worshipped by Beatles fans all over the world.

And finally, I’m going to be selfish, and plug my play PETE BEST OF THE BEATLES. The full two hour play won’t premiere until next February at the New Theatre in Dublin, but on the afternoon of Sunday, November 8th, at the Grand Social, we’re going to put on a sneak preview of part of the play, and it’s FREE in for the public. The play is going to be performed by Padraic McGinley. I saw him in rehearsals the other day – and he is amazing. It’s going to be a good show.

Can you tell us a little about how Freda became involved?

I got Freda involved in the festival sort of by luck. Basically, there is a couple from England called Steve and Gloria, (who) trade under the name Beatlesdays (selling memorabilia and merchandise at festivals all over the world). Anyway, Steve and Gloria come over to Dublin a few times a year, and one night in the pub they mentioned to me that they knew Freda. I couldn’t believe it. I asked them if it would be OK for me to give Freda a call, and they arranged it. The lucky thing for me is that Freda is Irish, and as soon as she heard my accent, we got on like a house on fire. That first phone call was only supposed to be for five minutes – but it lasted over an hour and a half. After that Freda was more than happy to come to the Dublin Beatles Festival. Actually, I met her for a coffee in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago – and I think I’m in love!

Ticket To Ride or Day Tripper?

Both are amazing songs. But I think I’ll go with ‘Day Tripper’. Simply because I was in the Garage in Dublin last Saturday night and they played that song and the place went mad. It was great to see 18 year olds singing their hearts out to The Beatles.

Hey, Jude or Let It Be?

I’m not a huge fan of either (sorry), but I’d probably side with ‘Hey Jude’.

Something or Yesterday?

I’d probably go with ‘Something’. It’s surely one of the greatest love songs ever written. And it’s nice that it’s a George song.

Help! or We Can Work It Out?

I think I’d go with ‘We Can Work It Out’ because it’s got a killer middle eight (“Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting, my friend”). By the way, Lennon once claimed that he’d only ever written two good songs: ‘Strawberry Fields’ and ‘Help’.

Haha. Good choice. I think so, too. Finally, were the Beatles bigger than Jesus?

It’s very hard to judge that now. I mean, McCartney was the tallest Beatle, coming in at just under 5 foot 11 inches. How tall was Jesus?

*****
Stephen Kennedy is the Director of the Dublin Beatles Festival. It runs from November 6th – 8th. Full details at www.dublinbeatlesfestival.com. Stephen’s play JOHN LENNON’S LAST DAY will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 at 10pm on October 8th. And Stephen’s new stage play, PETE BEST OF THE BEATLES, will premiere at the New Theatre in Dublin in February.

youbloom artist spotlight: Trevor Lyon

14-Sep-2015 By Amy Van Daele

Introducing Trevor Lyon:

I had the pleasure of hearing Trevor Lyon’s performance last year at Griffin’s of Kinsale in South Pasadena, CA for youbloomLA 2014 and recently reconnected with him to find out more about him as an artist and what has been going on since the festival.

Both a solo artist and a band contributor, Trevor considers his music a “robust blend of Reggae infused with elements of Rock, Blues, Hip Hop and Jazz.” A Napa California native, Trevor can be found performing locally with his hometown band, The One Little Story Band—a collection of musicians he has met over his years of playing in Napa. It consists of a guitarist, a keyboard and flute player, a drummer, and Trevor contributes bass and vocals. But, because his band can generally not travel far or stay on the road for any length of time, Trevor often performs solo acoustic or even track shows (shows with a DJ instead of a band) when he is not in the Napa area. This freedom allows him to collaborate with other bands when he is on the road. This is how he first met Mendo Dope in 2012 when they approached him after a solo show in Ukiah, CA. They began performing together, which exposed the Mendocino County area to Trevor’s music and grew his fanbase there.

In 2013, Trevor joined the band, Mystic Roots as a backup bassist and special guest artist. He toured with them for about 8 months, traveling around Oregon and California and even opening up for Ziggy Marley at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. During this same time, Trevor played bass for a world fusion band called Cosmos Percussion Orchestra, playing many festivals including Bottlerock (Napa Valley, CA), Earth Day (San Francisco, CA), and Ashkenaz (Berkley, CA).

In the Spring of 2014, Trevor joined up with Irie Fuse from Marin County, playing bass for about 4 months in a ton of different shows in the area. But, Trevor began feeling the pull to focus on his own music again. He slowed down the rest of the year, playing with his own band and attending a few festivals (including ours!). After the festival, Trevor took some time off to enjoy some family time for the holidays. Nevertheless, he was able to push his holiday single (“Happy Holidays”) by Christmas (which you can find here).

In February of this year, things kicked back up for him and he played some acoustic gigs around the San Francisco Bay area. The momentum continued into Spring when Trevor played with his full band in venues including the Legendary Ashkenaz in Berkeley, CA. This summer, Trevor’s gigs ranged from playing solo acoustic shows to playing festivals with his whole band. The venues ranged from The Shrine World Music Venue in Harlem, NY to the Napa Porchfest in California. Now that the summer season is ending, Trevor has returned home and is focusing his attention on the studio.

One of Trevor’s studio projects began on September 7th in Mendocino County and took place (get this…) in the world’s first Ganja Tree recording booth. This is not the first time he has collaborated with cannabis culture Hip Hoppers, Mendo Dope. Trevor will be contributing guitar, bass and vocals on their album. This will be the first ever hip hop album that’s recorded inside a marijuana tree. We can’t wait to hear this one…

Additionally, Trevor is excited to begin recording his next EP entitled, “One Little Story.” This album will be a collection of reggae songs that Trevor has been playing live for quite a while, but has yet to lay down in the studio. He also has a second project in the works which is slightly more acoustic and has less reggae overtones. Though this project (tentatively called “When It’s Good) is currently an EP, Trevor explains that he is writing songs at such a rate, it may end up being an album. Besides recording and performing, Trevor is also working on branching out from his own merchandise items into building his own clothing line. And (as if that’s not enough), Trevor is working on building his own studio. “My main focus at first will be to have my own space to record anytime I wish, but I also want to write for and produce other artists.” Trevor knows it will take some time, but he is happy to begin the process and use the industry resources he has gathered over the years to make it happen.

You can stay informed of upcoming shows, albums, and other news here:

And you can find Trevor’s music on Itunes or Amazon

The Five Strangest Stories From Musicophilia

02-Sep-2015 By Shannon Duvall

The combined worlds of psychology, medicine, science, and music lost a true master last week with the passing of Oliver Sacks. Sacks, perhaps best known for authoring books in which he chronicled the accounts of some of his most interesting and inspiring patients, was particularly taken with music, using it in his personal recuperation methods and, of course, never failing to detail the results.

"Music is part of being human" Oliver Sacks. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons — “Music is part of being human” Oliver Sacks. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In his U.S. best-selling book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, the infectiously curious and observant Sacks investigates how music has affected the neurological workings of the human brain, uncovering some remarkable tales as he goes.

It makes for a compelling read; there are stories here which will stay with you long after you’ve finished the book. In homage to the loss of a man who made it his mission to understand how we work – and in this case, how music makes us work – here are five of the strangest stories from the book.

The man who was afraid of music

In the nineteenth century, a prominent music critic by the name of Nikonov published a pamphlet entitled The Fear of Music. In it he described how, although incredibly knowledgeable about music and not at all new to it, he began having seizures whenever he heard it. The more seizures he had, the more and more terrified of hearing music he became, until he had developed a full-blown phobia.

The deaf woman with musical hallucinations

Loud ones.

Although neurologically and psychiatrically normal by examination, a woman by the name of Mrs. C., who had experienced progressive and rather grave nerve damage hearing loss for fifteen years, began one day to hear what sounded like bells clanging. Within a few minutes, as though a radio dial had been turned, fragments of songs began to play, clearly enough to be distracting. Songs played in what her mind identified as her “ear” day after day, from waking to sleeping, unless her mind was “intellectually engaged”.

When she was finally fitted with a cochlear implant, the modulated tones of actual music playing, being nothing like the melodies that had been keeping her company for so long, were so harsh that she developed a distaste for music altogether.

The man who had no emotions – except when he sang

Harry S. was one of Oliver Sacks’ favorite patients. An MIT-educated mechanical engineer, Mr. S. was rendered almost entirely emotionless after a brain aneurysm ruptured, leaving him in a coma for weeks, with a severely impaired set of functions when he awoke.

Post-stroke, although he made some progress, Harry failed to show empathy or response to the emotional expressions of others.

EXCEPT.

When Harry sang – in particular, Irish ballads – his emotive capacity was off the charts.

The man who sees a different color for each note

Synesthesia is a curious psychological phenomenon, typically characterized by the blending of two senses in unusual ways.

Michael Torke, a notable present-day composer, has experienced synesthesia when listening to music for his entire life. Each note has a color. Combinations of notes, such as scales and arpeggios, have distinct color patterns, and they have remained the same since he was young. His musical synesthesia is so sophisticated that the colors of major and minor keys are even related: different shades of yellow are seen when he hears G minor and major, for example.

The man with absolute pitch

Forget perfect pitch. Folks with what is known as absolute pitch are able to identify, without comparison or hesitation, the pitch of any note.

Gordon B. was a professional violinist who had been gifted with this ability. In the later part of his career, he developed tinnitus, and when he consulted Dr. Sacks about it, stated rather casually that his ears rang in the key of “high F natural”.
What about you? What’s your strangest experience with music?

Hey Lana Del Ray, there’s a new girl in town.

02-Sep-2015 By Ciara Sheahan

This year over sixty bands played at our youbloom Dublin music festival. You name it, we had it. Indie rock ‘n rollers, heavy metal moshers, earnest singer songwriters, feisty folksters and electro pop synth wizards. Hidden in amongst this treasure trove of unsigned talent was a wee lassy from Cavan. She arrived unassumingly at the youbloom tv pop up studio in Musicmaker. Herself and the inimitable Paul Cox, he of Cavan TV fame were ready to shock and awe us.

Aine Cahill stunned the room into silence as soon as the first note of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” hit.
She’s twenty and writes all her own songs. She’s a shimmering little songbird with powerful polished vocals and a penchant for writing tales of glossy melodrama.
Believe it or not, this is the girl who couldn’t get into the school choir. At Loreto College, Cavan they was told her she wasn’t good enough. She never sang at all till she was sixteen. Her pivotal moment happened when two pupils sitting at the school piano were struggling to hit the high notes of an Adele song. Aine walked over and started singing. She hasn’t stopped since. She did a music course in Cavan five years ago, just as she started writing her own material. She gets inspiration from artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Melody Gardot, Lana Del Ray, Marina And The Diamonds and Lady Gaga.

We discovered Aine in June. Since then she has been chosen by 2FM to play at Ireland’s biggest festival Electric Picnic. She’s playing three stages over three days. She’s performed her new single “Black Dahlia” live for Ian Dempsey on national commercial Irish radio station Today FM. She wowed crowds at the boutique Ballinamore Fringe Festival. She’s turned up at secret gigs and is set to headline her own gig at Whelan’s in Dublin on September 27th.
Here’s a link to her new song “Black Dahlia”. A tale of Hollywood murder mystery from the 1950’s. If chocolate was sonic, it would sound like this… (but that’s just my opinion).

Morals and Music: Where Do You Draw the Line?

26-Aug-2015 By Shannon Duvall

Last week’s apology by rapper and world famous record producer Dr. Dre to the women in his life he has “hurt” has stirred a hot debate in the music world.

Dr. Dre. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Dre issued the expression of remorse publicly when the release of the much-anticipated film Straight Outta Compton, which chronicles the early history of his former rap group NWA, was followed by the publication of a story by Dee Barnes, a journalist who says she was assaulted by the rapper in 1991.

She’s not the only one to blow a whistle on Dre; several women have have alleged that they, too, have experienced violence at the hands of the musician.

It’s a story that doesn’t surprise many of us. We’ve been here before. We watched it unfold in the sixties and seventies with Ike and Tina, Phil Spector, and country music “sweetheart” Glen Campbell. The eighties and nineties provided no shortage of domestic abuse, with repeat offender James Brown, and practically all the members of Guns’n’Roses leading the charge.

And everyone knows about the extremely poor choices made by the likes of 50 Cent and Chris Brown.

Chris Brown. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

But the weird thing is: not every celebrity with a penchant for abuse is treated the same way by a quick-to-appall public. Following his seemingly heartfelt apology, the media has, for the most part, been fairly forgiving toward Dre. This, in stark contrast to the rabid vilification of Chris Brown, whose career has arguably faltered irreparably since photos taken of Rihanna’s badly-battered face leaked online in 2009. Jay-Z called Brown “a walking dead man”.

So the question for music lovers is: how much should our moral compass guide our choices about whether or not to like a certain artist? The answer might not be as easy as you think.

Many of you would avoid spending money in a restaurant or cafe where it was observed or otherwise discovered that staff were badly treated. This makes sense, because not many people wish to reward a business for being abusive or taking unfair advantage of someone. We all know that when we spend, we’re voting for something over an alternative; letting the gods of commerce know what we want, what we value.

But how a musician behaves behind closed doors is very different to our experience of them on an album, or in concert. Alcohol and drug abuse is pardoned when it comes to musicians, as long as it doesn’t affect their output, so why not also systematic aggression toward a partner?

Guns'n'Roses guitar man Slash. Photo courtesy of Andrejk via Wikimedia Commons — Guns’n’Roses guitar man Slash. Photo courtesy of Andrejk via Wikimedia Commons

It seems to reason that any behaviors which aren’t directly related to talent and performance ought to be dissociated from whether or not we enjoy someone’s music. After all, bad behavior as an adult doesn’t negate the merits of a lifetime of musical training and the honing of raw talent.

But many people – from the people who protested sales of Chris Brown’s album with warning stickers, to Jay-Z – don’t think so. And Dr. Dre’s former girlfriend Michel’le, who also accuses him of assault, isn’t buying his apology.

“I don’t really think it’s a sincere apology,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live. “He’s selling a movie. I just think it’s good PR at the moment.”

What do you think? Should artists have to pay for assaulting women by losing fans and sales? Or should we keep our feelings out of it? Let us know in the comments below.

youbloom HEADROOM VIP : Stephen Kennedy from the Dublin Beatles Festival

youbloom artist spotlight: Trevor Lyon

The Five Strangest Stories From Musicophilia

Hey Lana Del Ray, there’s a new girl in town.

Morals and Music: Where Do You Draw the Line?

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