Interview: Inside Cork
Posted on 20. Nov, 2002 by admin in Damien News, Interviews.
If it doesn’t seem all that long ago since Damien Rice was playing The Lobby, well, that’s because it wasn’t that long ago. In the space of ten months (since his last Lobby appearance), Rice has gone from packed gigs in smaller venues to playing some of the biggest auditoriums in the country. With sales of his debut album, O, approaching the 20,000 mark, Rice has become one of the success stories of 2002 and is set to finish off his upcoming end of year tour at Cork Opera House.
“What’s the sound like in there,” he asks, “is it alright?” I assure him it’s fine. “Good, we really want to make that a special show. Apart from the Green Energy gig with the Frames we’ve never been able to bring the full band to Cork. It was a great night to play but I thought the sound was awful- I’d picked a quieter set and the acoustics didn’t really suit it. This one is going to be different though. We thought it would be great to finish the tour in Cork, we’ve always had a good rapport with the audience there.” Looking back on 2002, Rice has had his fair share of ‘moments’ that will stick in his head for a long time. O’s healthy sales in Ireland have been followed up by a positive reaction to its release in the UK. Combined with 3 top thirty singles, including the outstanding “Volcano”, there aren’t many other Irish acts that can claim comparable success this year. When asked to name the most memorable, he cites the serendipitous moments as being the most cherished. “The times when I didn’t expect anything, or wasn’t looking for gratification. Anything that was a surprise. When the album came out and went straight into the top ten was amazing. I wasn’t expecting that at all. Walking off the stage at Witnness was another. I didn’t really take it in while I was playing, it hit me as I walked off. I was blown away.”
O’s success in Ireland has afforded him the chance to travel a bit more and he has already made inroads into the UK market. The new year will see him travel to Europe and the US to launch the record and he is optimistic about his chances of success. “What I’d really like to do is get a support slot with a bigger band and do America that way. It’s a great way of reaching new audiences. We did a similar thing with Kathryn Williams in the UK. She’s amazing and will be playing with us on the Irish tour.”
Rice’s elevation over the last year has been due in no small part to the excellent band he has put together. Lisa Hannigan’s dulcet vocals stand out as something special, as does Tomo’s drumming and percussion. So good are his support cast that Rice recently did a gig simply playing rhythm guitar while Hannigan took all the vocals. “She actually quite shy about taking lead vocals but I encouraged her to do it anyway. I thought she was brilliant and it was nice for me to just sit back and play the guitar for a change.” Rice will be in command for the Opera House gig once again and will have anything up to six people with him. Was he concerned about David Kitt’s gig, which is taking place on the same night? “Well I’m hoping that people will want to see us both,” he says. The gigs will be staggered so when Damien’s finishes, the other will only be getting going. You can’t ask for more than that.
