A question of taste - Ken Griffin

Thu, 06 Apr, 2017 - 01:00

Des O’Driscoll

Best recent book: Raymond Carver’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.

Best recent film: I just watched Robert Altman’s 3 Women for the first time, it’s a great unhinged masterpiece. I have always loved the way he uses sound in films too, and its been an occasional influence on my approach to music.

Best recent gig: I finally got to see Willie Nelson play in Coney Island. Aged 83, he just walked on stage played 29 classics and then sent us on our way. I think his guitar playing is really underestimated.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old): Donald Byrd’s ‘Cristo Redentor’.

First ever piece of music or art or film or gig that really moved you: Neil Young’s After the Goldrush.

What’s the one thing you’d change about the Irish music scene: I would just play more Irish acts on the radio.

Tell us about your TV viewing: It mostly happens in bed on my computer; I am the perfect customer for mysteries with a conclusion.

Radio listening: I listen to Paul McLoone’s show online.

You’re curating your dream festival – what three artists are on the bill: John Coltrane, Nina Simone and RL Burnside.

Best celebrity encounter: Through a bizarre set of circumstances i ended up holding Meryl Streep’s hand at a dinner party and talking for a while.

You can portal back to any period of human cultural history or music event — where, when, and why: Probably the late 1950s early 1960s when so much innovation and excitement was happening in music and art.

Do you have any interesting family or ancestors: My great grandmother was one of the first women to own a car in Ireland.

Unsung hero: I think Brian Mooney is a really gifted songwriter; he will be opening for us at the Sirius Arts Centre on April 5th in Cobh.

You are king for a day — what’s your first decree: Let’s all take a week off and really think about the road we are blindly running down.