Stevie G: You can get overwhelmed by other people’s opinions — trust your heart

If you really look at the music scene, lots of venues are inaccessible, there are door policies, people have to be over 18 and it's all so connected to drink - that's why I started the Everybody Dance project

Stevie G: "I’m learning life lessons every day, especially in my work with young people and with Down’s syndrome."

Sat, 20 May, 2023 - 02:00

Mary Cate Smith

I grew up in Grange. I’ve spent all my life in Cork. There would have always been music in the house but I grew up in a good time for pop music.

It was the 80s so we had Michael Jackson and Prince. I remember the transition from being a football fanatic to being a music fanatic — it happened when I was 12.

I remember going out to Wilton to Golden Discs, buying a couple of U2 records on vinyl, having saved up the money.

The music was one part of it obviously, but the whole procedure of it was something special and to this day, I still get that feeling every time I buy one.

I can’t buy as many records as I would have throughout my career because of financial stuff, and I can work digitally now, but when I do, it feels like a special occasion.

I used to buy records around the corner from Oliver Plunkett Street where Comet Records first was after school. I loved going home on the bus, looking at the cover, and taking in everything from the sleeve; that's how I learned about music in the pre-Internet age.

We've moved into this era where people are looking at vinyl and tangible stuff in a different way and appreciating it more. In the last 20 years, music has become throwaway. People are realizing how that demeans the industry.

Vinyl is very niche and quite a privileged thing for most people. If, when I grew up, I was in a kind of a different situation — if I was coming from total poverty — I wouldn't have been able to buy records. In that way, I like that music has become more accessible and democratic.

The greatest challenge I faced was when I ran a venue. It was a labour of love and I was never worried about making a profit but I certainly didn't want to go losing my house. We failed but I got my freedom back when I left it.

Stevie G: "I never wanted to hit 30 and be one of those people who was always looking back"

My proudest achievement is definitely my kids. Career-wise, when I was first on Red FM, we got an award in the first year for my Black on Red show in 2002. To recognise a local Cork station as the best weekly music show was a big thing because I’d come from pirate radio. I had to fight to get it recognized.

My greatest quality is that I’m open-minded; I just have that childlike hunger for stuff. I never wanted to hit 30 and be one of those people who was always looking back, so I’m looking constantly looking forward.

The best thing that I've ever learned is to go with your gut when it comes to your tastes. You can get overwhelmed by other people’s opinions. Trust your own heart. Even if what they're doing is the most unfashionable thing.

I’m learning life lessons every day, especially in my work with young people and with Down’s syndrome. I started the Everybody Dance project because everyone was talking about inclusivity on the dance floor but if you look closely, it doesn't practice that at all. It was a lot of buzzwords, If you really look at the music scene, lots of venues are inaccessible, there are door policies, people have to be over 18 and it's all so connected to drink.

Working with people with additional needs and from marginalized backgrounds, I’ve found that they aren’t always welcomed to the party. We all have different energy and you get something from other people.

It'd be cool to be remembered for the music we're creating. Immortality is one of the things that you can actually achieve through music. I won't quite be like Bob Marley but I’ll have my own little contribution.

I'm going to be the corny guy and say I’d change nothing from my past. I made tons of mistakes, getting involved in certain businesses, but I wouldn't change a thing because everything literally led to something else.

When you’re working in the community with young people who are more aware of these things like climate change, you're naturally going to do your bit. You try to economise and bring people with you when you’re driving to gigs.

There's a whole generation of people who think they can change things and know they have to do it. I grew up around apathy. It’s a total cop-out really. There's some great groups in Cork creating awareness not just of climate change but of multiple issues.

Nothing much really scares me but I do have these weird dreams where none of my equipment is working.

I never really thought about having a family. Everything changed when I had my daughter. When you have someone looking up to you like you’re the man, that’s responsibility. I never felt anything like that in my life before.

If I took a different fork in the road, I would have just ended up in journalism, which I still do a little bit freelance. It was such a fluke that I ended up doing this, but looking back, I think it was always meant to happen. I listened to my heart and then just fell deep into that.