Playing Away:Like a Virginian

I was born in West Virginia in the town of Huntington near the state borders with Kentucky and Ohio in a family of nine brothers and sisters. With a population of 50,000 it’s the second largest city in the state. The climate is harsh, and I can remember as a child seeing snow three feet high lying on the ground for maybe three months. Summers can have temperatures of 90 degrees for a month or more. The state capital Charleston and the Appalachian Mountains are about an hour’s drive away. I lived in Huntington for about 25 years and later lived in Florida, Tennessee and Indiana before moving to Ireland about six years ago. I really left West Virginia because for me it offered nothing much in terms of a music career. It’s quite a poor, rural state with a lack of opportunities. I’d always wanted to see more of the world anyway.

It’s hard to be an original musician in Huntington or anywhere in West Virginia. The state didn’t offer any breeding ground for original music. That’s in contrast to somewhere like Georgia which has Athens – a college town with a music scene where things can develop. There wasn’t really a scene that catered for live and original music in Huntington. When I played in bands we were just the band in the bar. People were there to drink and shoot pool or throw darts. They weren’t primarily there to hear the music. So the pressure was always to play covers, not to challenge the listeners. One of the bands we covered was Cactus World News. It was hard for me back then, because I was writing my own songs from about fifteen. I always had to temper my own songs with covers.
Nor did we have the facilities to attract any significant acts to Huntington. We had a summer festival with bands that were years past their prime, like Jefferson Starship, with maybe one real member of the band actually in line-up. I drove three hours to see Elvis Costello in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1986. One of the few bright spots is a live radio music show from Charleston called Mountain Stage. It’s syndicated across the USA and some CDs have been made from their broadcasts. REM, Billy Bragg, 10,000 Maniacs and Robyn Hitchcock have played on it, as well as a broad range of folk, blues and jazz artists. In spite of the fact that this radio programme was popular all over, it was never a catalyst for local talent.  
But strangely, the longer I’m away from West Virginia and the older I get the more it comes into my music. I’ve been in Berlin for several months writing songs for my next album, and some of them are the rootsiest I’ve written. People have said that my music sounds outdoor and rural, and that’s probably fair in that that’s all I’ve ever known – Dublin is the largest city I’ve ever lived in for a long period.
The people in West Virginia have an eccentric streak. They’re very independent. Because of the rough terrain, the state is isolated and the people developed their own way of thinking and being. Having travelled a lot around the USA and elsewhere I think it’s to the credit of the people there that they can so easily tolerate such eccentricity. They’re very conservative on some issues that I would have had a problem with. There’s a very high gun ownership and they’re very religious.
On the other hand, it’s one the most militant areas in the US for trade unionism. People died in the coal mine wars, and there’s a strong sense of social justice. Part of the underground railroad, an escape route for slaves during the Civil War, ran though the region. West Virginia itself was created as a state during that war when the west part of Virginia ceded from Virginia when it became part of the confederacy. So that sense of rebellious independence was there even back then. My dad was a socialist – unusual for West Virginia – and a trade unionist. One Halloween when I was only ten he made us finish trick or treating early so we could go stand on a picket line where nurses were on strike. I stood holding my placard while dressed in my Batman outfit! Later I got into politics myself, and am a very pro-Obama supporter.
It’s an extremely inexpensive place compared to Dublin. You’d get a nice three-bedroom house with half an acre of land for $50,000. Food, drink, records and books would all be less expensive. But it’s a place I’ve had conflicted relationships with. It was quite backwards in a lot of ways, slow to take to new things that were happening in culture or music. As I get older I become more at peace with that and have begun to appreciate its beauty as well as its frustrations. I like that rugged sense of individualism. Nobody seems to conform to much. You can be as maverick as you want and they’ll tolerate it. I like that.” 

WHERE TO EAT
Huntington is known for its hot “dawgs”. The most famous is a slaw dog, which is a hot dog with mint sauce and coleslaw, as well as the obligatory onion and mustard. One great place to eat is Jim’s Steak and Spaghetti House at 920 5th Ave. It has pictures on the wall of well-known people who’ve eaten there, like John F Kennedy, Pavarotti and Billy Joel. It hasn’t changed in over 80 years. The staff even wear the same outfits.

TOP TIP FOR A DRINK
Jake’s at 1436 4th Avenue hasn’t changed in decades either. It fits no more than 20 people and attracts a local clientele.

WHERE TO STAY
There’s a Radisson on Third Avenue in the new downtown area which was very derelict, but is now enjoying a little revitalisation.

GETTING THERE
You can fly Dublin to Columbus, Ohio and drive to West Virginia. Flights can run from €500 to €700 return. Or you can go to Atlanta and fly into either Huntington or Charleston.