Far From The Stabbing Crowd

Cut Throat Lane is the old name for a road off Mount Brown in Dublin. It’s near Murdering Lane, which was also known as Cromwell’s Quarters and now The 40 Steps. The locals didn’t like the idea of it being known as Cromwell’s Quarters. They found Murdering Lane less offensive!” smiles Barry McCormack.

The singer is regaling Hot Press with tales of old Dublin, the chief subject matter on current album Cut Throat Lane and, indeed, a theme which has permeated his five solo outings. Launched recently at a sold-out show in the Kevin Barry Room in the National Concert Hall, the project is his most ambitious to date.
Amongst the capacity crowd were a large number of rowdy Venezuelans, McCormack’s TEFL students it transpires.
“They’re from South America, so they’re very excitable!” he laughs. “I’m Irish. I’m very shy of saying, ‘Yeah I do something and people think it’s quite good’. They’re like, ‘Oh my god, you’re famous here!’ They find Irish diffidence or taciturnity bizarre!”
McCormack says his new band has helped improve his songwriting. Gary Fitzpatrick from The Sick And Indigent Song Club is on banjo, Joss Moorkens of The Dudley Corporation on drums, Murph from The Chapters on bass and multi-instrumentalist John Hegarty on guitar and keys. Producer Steve Shannon also contributes in the studio.
“My songwriting has changed since the band came together,” he nods. “Steve and John would make different suggestions, ‘Make it more musical’, ‘give it a hook here’, ‘put a middle-eight there’. I hadn’t written a middle-eight in years! You don’t really have them in folk songs. That’s the reason the songs have gotten ‘songier’, so to speak!”
An impressive number of fellow musicians were present at the album launch. Does McCormack feel there’s a good camaraderie in the Dublin music community?
“There has to be as it’s a bit of a slog!” he says. “There’s a lot less obsession about who’s going to get the deal, who’s going to break where. Which, I think, is a good thing. There’s less competition between bands. Poets are notoriously always feuding. Musicians tend to be laid back. The idea of helping and playing together appeals to them.”
McCormack is frequently cited as a former member of Jubilee Allstars, the successful indie band he and his brothers formed in the ’90s. Does he tire of the reference?
“It’s a mixed blessing I suppose. It’s how people would know me but after five solo records it starts to get a bit... It puts fire in the belly to establish yourself I suppose!”
According to Barry the next album is well underway. Will the subject matter remain the same?
“The good thing about being obscure is you can keep repeating yourself and people will say, ‘Hey! He’s still doing it!’ I’m looking forward to working with the lads again as I think that’s developing well.”
We wholeheartedly concur!

Cut Throat Lane is out now on Hags Head