Blog
Songs to Learn and Sing: 20th Anniversary
A few words on 20 years of Songs to Learn and Sing taking in: Dublin City FM, community radio, commercial radio, Irish music quotas, Little Steven and Bruce Springsteen, and John Porter producing ‘How Soon is Now?’.
Damien Jurado – Interview
Back in 2005 Damien Jurado played Whelan’s in Dublin in support of his sixth album, On My Way To Absence. He was a really gracious interviewee and happily chatted about how he got into music: “I stole my first bass at 13 from school and taught myself how to play an entire Black Flag record, that’s pretty much how it all started, I then started writing my own songs.”
Sufjan Stevens – Interview
From the Archives: I interviewed Sufjan on 27 October, 2004 prior to his gig at the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity College, Dublin. Seven Swans was just out and in this old interview for Songs To Learn And Sing on 103.2 Dublin City FM. Sufjan chats about recording the album with Daniel Smith of The Danielson Famile. Sufjan had moved to New York to complete a creative writing class but met Daniel and started focusing more on his music.
Richmond Fontaine – Radio Session + Interviews
I recently remembered that Willy Vlautin and Dan Eccles from Richmond Fontaine had recorded a radio session for Songs To Learn And Sing, my radio show on 103.2 Dublin City FM, back in 2010. I found the session on an old hard-drive and then found two other old interviews with Willy on an old mini-disc.