Question of Taste: Pat Carey, Cork singer-songwriter

Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Second Captains and Pearl Jam feature in the Corkman's selections

Pat Carey, musician. Picture: Bríd O'Donovan

Pat Carey is a musician from Cork, who is also involved in arts management and marketing. Formerly singer and songwriter with The Hard Ground, Carey recently released his debut single as How I Became A Wave, with a debut album to follow in the autumn.

Best recent book you've read:

Doireann Ni Ghriofa’s A Ghost In The Throat – it’s absolutely unique in terms of voice. Every single sentence counts and it flows from the corporeal realism to soaring imagination from moment to moment. It’s a work of art. Notable mentions too for Doireann’s new book of poetry To Star The Dark, Eilean Ni Chuilleanain’s Collected Poems and Paula Meehan’s As If By Magic: Selected Poems.

Best recent film:

With two small children it can be hard to make the time for full films but I quite liked Kodachrome. I’ve always had a penchant for road trip films and I love anything that Ed Harris is in.

Best recent show/gig you’ve seen (perhaps a streamed option?):

Obviously a very tough one given the last 12 months, but I very recently watched John McCarthy’s CITY streamed online in the Everyman and really enjoyed it. He’s a fabulous performer and a brilliant writer.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old):

I’ve been listening to Adrienne Lenker quite a bit lately – there’s a dichotomy between her strength and vulnerability in her voice and writing which I love. But apart from that, my tastes are quite eclectic. In any given day I could pop in and out of Radiohead (Moon Shaped Pool at the moment which is incredible), Nils Frahm, The Gloaming, This Is The Kit, John Prine and that’s before we even get to musical theatre….

First ever piece of music or art that really moved you:  

I’m a child of the 1980s so my teens were all about '90s grunge. I absolutely fell in love with Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy. Everything from the music itself to the gorgeous inlay booklet. That was my ‘in’.

The best gig or show you've ever seen (if you had to pick one!):

Really difficult one to pin down. Bon Iver in Cork Opera House was a huge high point, but Pearl Jam and Radiohead in the old Point were also amazing. Loch na hEala, which I saw as part of Clonmel Junction Festival, and then Sounds From A Safe Harbour Festival, is also one of the most amazing pieces of music/dance/theatre that I’ve seen.

TV viewing:

Up until about 8.30pm it’s essentially a mix of CBeebies, Hey Duggee, Tee and Mo and Little Baby Bum nursery Rhymes. After that, I love a good box set as I don’t have the patience to watch one episode a week of anything. Peaky Blinders has to be up there, although I always feel as though I want to smoke cigarettes and drink whiskey when I’m watching it. I’m a fan of a good Nordic crime series, as well as anything about the Italian Mafia (Zero Zero Zero, Gomorrah). For lighter viewing, I have to say that I keep coming back to the American Office – it’s like getting a hug in the evening time.

Radio listening and/or podcasts:

Second Captains is an absolute must. The Stinging Fly podcast is great, as well as the Paris Review. Love RTÉ Documentaries. The Kate Brenning-Harding Podcast is a great new Irish music podcast. Radio-wise, I’m in and out of all of the great local Irish music radio shows around the country – they’re the first to really give support to upcoming artists and they do an outstanding job. And I’m a divil for Sunday Miscellany, The Late Date and Simply Folk with Ruth Smith on RTÉ Radio 1. You can’t beat quality radio, I think.

You're curating your dream festival – which three artists are on the bill, living or dead?  

Tom Waits, Anais Mitchell, David Bowie. Wouldn’t half mind having them do a musical theatre collaboration as well. Reckon it would be a cracker.

Your best celebrity encounter:  

Myself and Marlene Enright (The Hard Ground) sang alternative verses of Hadestown with Anais Mitchell in Coughlans a few years back and it was one of those pure magic times. She’s a huge hero of mine – I think she’s the best songwriter of her generation – so to share a room, not to mind a song, was incredibly special.

You can portal back to any cultural event or music era – where, when, and why?  

O’Donoghue’s pub on Baggot Street in the 1960s. Between Luke Kelly and The Dubliners, and Patrick Kavanagh, I’d say the craic would have been hard to beat.

You are king of the Irish music scene for a day – what's your first decree?

Basic living wage for artists. In a country as small as Ireland, we need to subsidise and support artists. Forcing them to feed from the scraps of a dog-eat-dog market doesn’t allow for artists to develop their craft. Making music and writing songs is a craft and a trade, and we should treat it as such.