Interview: Gavin Glass On Opus Pocus And His Adventures In Music Making

Gavin Glass – studio maven, singer/guitarist/songwriter, radio host – Goes For A Few Jars With Pat Carty To Celebrate The Release Of His New Album.

Mr Glass has seen his share of ups and downs. He first came to public attention as part of Lisa Hannigan’s band, with whom he toured America several times. “Yeah, eight or nine months of the year. I loved my adventures with her. We did a morning TV show in Philadelphia, after travelling overnight, hanging around the green room, suited and booted, with five minutes to spare, so I nipped out for a smoke. I came back in to this queue of dudes, one dressed as a tennis player, another in double denim, another with the polo neck. This clip board person starts freaking out “come on, get out there!”, so I’m walking out and I can see the band in the dressing room. It turns out I’m in a line-up for father’s day gifts, live on the telly in my cravat and gear, in rag order. Disaster!”

Glass has nothing but good things to say about his time with the fêted Ms Hannigan. “I've read in other places that I was Lisa’s “musical director”, but that was not the case, let me put that one to bed. She’s just a world-class singer, one of the greats, I just wanted to be doing other things musically, and the studio was starting to take off."

The studio he’s talking about is the rightly-famed Orphan Recordings, where he’s steered a myriad of Irish and international acts. “The Eskies, The Young Folk, The Sprockets, anyone and everyone. My favourite is probably Billy Bragg and Joe Henry. They came in to record alternative studio versions of their Shine A Light album. That's an LP of recordings they had made all along the Great American Railway, and they wanted to have alternative studio versions should they be needed for soundtracks, etc. that didn't have the background ambience of the field recordings. They set up facing each other and banged the thing in a day. If I could have borrowed your DeLorean, I’d have gone back to my 15 year old self and told him everything is going to be alright!”

The vagaries of economics meant a recent change of location to Joe McGrath’s Hellfire Studios in Rathfarnham, which has, in Glass’ opinion, made things even better. “It’s already flat out with bookings. It’s a much better situation, a better deal, it’s now viable to go do other things. There won’t be another studio like it in terms of gear or location.”

Gavin is back in action with his new loud, proud, grown-up rock n’ roll, eh, opus, Opus Pocus. It’s a change of tack from 2015’s rootsier Sunday Songs, which didn’t really get its fair shake due to lousy circumstances. “The distribution company went into liquidation the week it came out. The stock was returned, straight to a liquidator, so it disappeared. There was airplay, but it was too expensive to press more, so I started thinking about another album. It was a heartbreaker although I had no huge expectations, records just don’t sell anymore. Sunday Songs to me is the sound of someone who’s a little burnt out. It was a case of ‘the cobbler’s kids always have the worst shoes’ with my own stuff anyway, I had to keep the wolf from the door with other work.”

Other work like getting tapped to help out on John Carney’s rock n’ roll coming-of-age movie, Sing Street. “I was the on-set music direction, so the kids who were in “the band” were sent to me for “Rock Lessons” and music appreciation. I showed them period stuff – Duran Duran, etc. - but Iggy Pop is the stage master, so I was trying to get them to drink from that well!”

High-profile sessions included working with Chas N’ Dave in, of all places, Abbey Road. “Seriously hallowed ground! Warners threw a lot of money at that anniversary record, but they were in a bad place, Dave had just lost his wife. Chas was especially bristley - “Who’s this fucking Irish lad?” - so it was tough. Day three, we thought “this is gonna get pulled”, we started doing ‘Ain’t No Pleasing You’. Chas didn’t want any piano on it, and this is from one of the great players, so they’re rolling take after take. I just couldn’t help myself, the “Lady Madonna” piano was there, it wasn’t miked up but I put it in. It turned the session around, it was a dream after that.”

Glass is less than impressed with Carty's familiar "I left my wallet in my other pants" gambit.

It took some big personal news to finally get things rolling on the new record. “I started writing this album when my partner Amy got pregnant, I thought “I’m never going to be able to do music again!” so when we were in the “incubation period” every spare minute was spent writing and recording.”

The new album sees a change of direction, which Glass describes as “Elvis and Roy Orbison in a room with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.” Why the change of tack? “I wanted to shake off this “country singer” tag. My second album The Holy Shakers was a roots record, and it got me noticed, but I was sick of being asked to headline anything with ‘Roots’ in the title. This is more like my first record, I’d Like The World To Teach Me To Sing. I went in with no restrictions, the title Opus Pocus is about attempting to conjure magic” Painting on silence, if you will? “Exactly! I always say to young bands in the studio, freaking out over a hi-hat pattern, that we’re losing the big picture. Does it make you feel good, are the hairs on your arms standing up?”

“I tracked about twenty songs, including the “Opus Seeds”, the interludes between songs” Inspired by Aerosmith’s mighty 1989 masterpiece Pump perhaps? “Eh, no, it was a record by Dylan Tighe. During the recording, I just kept going, there was more I wanted to express.”

First single, ‘You’re Gonna Break Your Daddy’s Heart’, does look back a bit, however. “That was written the night Emmy Mae was born. They kick you out of the hospital, I picked up the guitar, I couldn’t sleep, and it came flowing out. The sound isn’t completely different from what went before. It’s about the world my daughter was being born into. I’m telling her how this world can hurt you.”

‘Thirty Somethings’, documents some hard times too. ”That’s about having to go back and live with my parents in my thirties because I was flat-ass broke and going nowhere.” Did you ever consider saying “fuck this altogether”? “Totally, I just felt defeat, I had walked away from a business career, and I was miserable. It’s impossibly hard for anyone to make a living at this, I know plenty of well-known musicians who are flying by the seat of their pants. We’re making records to give them away.” Glass’ back is up now. “I think the vinyl revival thing is a whole lot of fucking bollocks. Unless you’ve a really good valve amp, it doesn’t sound better on vinyl. So hipster kids buy a €120 turntable with shitty little speakers and go “man, I love the sound of vinyl”? Spare me.”

This time around, his plan is a different one “I’ve pressed 500 records and I’m going to sell them myself. If I can ship a couple of records every week, then fine. I’ve had 40 or 50 pre-orders, and most of those are outside of Ireland. I’m 42, I don’t want to tour America for months, I’ve done that. I want to get played on the radio, so people come to the gigs, and I get to continue and make more art. Would I like Hozier level of success? Sure, but the celebrity stuff doesn’t appeal at all” But it would have twenty years ago? “Oh, absolutely!”

Apart from his own music, Gavin has also been working with the highly-fancied David Keenan. How did that come about? “David had some songs he wanted to try in a band setting, so I slowly became a band member as well as producer. I’ve been on stage with some major artists but he’s got an intense fire in his belly. He’s the whole package. I swore I’d never back up anyone again, or get back in the van, but I want to try and help in any way I can to get him where he’s going.” And what if he asked you to go back to America and slog it out? “I might do it, if the logistics were right, and Amy said it was ok!”

Glass’ radio career is going well too. After the much missed The Pick Up on TXFM wound down, he moved to Nova, hosting Sunday’s Locals Only, a show dedicated to Irish music. “I love doing it. Half the show is stuff I think is great like BellX1 or The Fontaines, the other half mightn’t be to my taste, but we need to support independent artists. The station are expanding it to two hours, so I must be doing something right.”

It sounds like you’re in a good place, a long way from those days of doubt in your parent’s house? “I’m very confident for the future. Things are looking good.” Magic work indeed. Opus Pocus is out now.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6GkJQ4KenCmT9lqve6lDzt?si=pV8H4dQRSF6ur07MjRIS3w