Make Your Sound Heard- By Rory Kavanagh

Make your sound heard

It's time for us to take responsibility for bringing more diversity into the Irish music scene.

Were you a teenage rocker, with your long, greasy, unwashed hair and your baggy jeans that nearly engulfed your entire lower half? Were you one of those adolescents that would head bang for hours and hours, even if the music had stopped? Were you one of those children, who even at a height of 4 foot nothing would take on anyone who dared to belittle the world of rock and roll? No…..just me then.

Well anyway, music in Ireland is becoming an everyday commodity that we are just taking for granted. The conventional, lowly and mundane sounds that can be heard on our radio stations today are destroying our youths yearn for music. The days of bands with members all being under the age of 13 is completely unheard of now. Our generation would much prefer to sit inside by themselves and chat with their bebo friends about that girlfriend they had that one time or watch repeats of two and a half men on comedy central.

My question is where has the good music gone? The 60s and 70s were blessed with artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. Even the 80s and 90s had Alice in Chains, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. These bands changed the lives of that decades youth. These bands gave an identity to their fans and their legacy has lived on because of their impact on the youth of their day.

I have walked down Grafton Street and my ears have been treated with the sweet sound of elegant voices from young teenagers. I have heard mind blowing guitar solos from people younger than myself and I have encountered drummers that caused an avalanche in my body. The talent is out there. The creativity is out there. However, the inspiration is not.

Teenagers want to see Irish musicians making strides in the music world and inflicting their mark on the lives of others abroad. Thin Lizzy and Rory Gallagher are still massive icons in rock and blues scenes across Ireland. However, as the sand of time ticks away their influence on modern society is seen and heard less and less. Bands such as The Thrills, although having significant mainstream success in the charts and album sales, failed to match this impression on the gigging arena.

I propose that a music festival be set up in Ireland dedicated to broadening the spectrum of music. It is often forgotten that Oxegen and Electric Picnic are indeed music festivals, and are often used as drinking sessions which have been conveniently organised for the participants. The Rory Gallagher festival, while a fantastic venue to hear some of best blues players Ireland has to offer, is too small and limited to a particular sound.

We must augment and develop a music festival for the music lovers of Ireland; for the musicians out there, craving to hear a sound so pure and unique that it will guide them to write and play their own songs. We must ignite a fire under the music scene hear and wake up a dormant body of music enthusiasts. We must step into the future and create sounds and music that break the shackles of musical apathy. This will enlighten their minds and being to brew their creative juices once again so we can rejoice in the sounds of musical progression.

Maybe these are the crazy thoughts of a teenage rocker who refuses to be subjected to world of musical blandness. But I believe that there is a population of people out there who want the change. So you are one of these people, make sure you are heard.

Rory K