shadowplays.com

Mark McAvoy’s new book, Cork Rock: From Rory Gallagher To The Sultans of Ping, does just that: it rocks! The book is filled with countless anecdotes and interviews of the famous and the not so famous Cork rock stars over the past 40 years, and succeeds in giving the reader a thorough look at the nascent rock culture as it played out in County Cork. From Rory Gallagher to the “Frank and Walters” to the “Sultans of Ping”, McAvoy makes a strong case for placing Cork’s rock legacy on equal footing with the more heralded Irish music meccas of Dublin and Belfast.

And who better to lead the charge than Irish legend Rory Gallagher! It was Rory Gallagher who put Ireland on the rock and roll map. In a time of showbands, it was Rory Gallagher who blazed the trail for other Rock bands to follow.

At the very start there was only Van Morrison and then myself and Taste. Everything was controlled from London then. The attitude towards Irish musicians wasn’t very high; they thought we were all folk musicians. Once Van broke through, and then we broke through, it opened up the doors later on for Thin Lizzy and the Boomtown Rats, and then later on U2 and various other people. — Rory Gallagher, Interview by Judy Black of The Cleveland Scene

So it’s not surprising that Rory takes up the first couple of chapters in the book, and McAvoy does an admirable job filling in some of the gaps left in other biographies of the Irish guitarist, in particular Rory’s early years growing up in Cork.

One of the most iconic figures to emerge from Cork, it was Rory who put the city on the world stage with his distinctive abilities as a blues and rock guitarist… Rory was the first rock musician to capture the imagination of many Leesiders, as he lived out many a boyhood dream, rising from humble beginnings to take his place in the annals of rock history.– Mark McAvoy

The mark of any good book is the author’s ability to hold the interest of the reader and make him want to know more about the subject at hand. To his credit, first time author, Mark McAvoy succeeds in doing just that despite a subject matter exceedingly provincial in nature — the history of rock music in Cork. While many readers will know of legendary blues-rock guitarist, Rory Gallagher, the names of many others will be unknown to the casual reader, yet McAvoy does remarkably well in kindling an interest in these lesser known bands and musicians that comprise the Cork rock culture from the late 70’s onward. Clearly, the author holds a deep respect for the many musicians who have called Cork home, and his love of the subject matter shines through.

Mr. McAvoy’s passion is contagious and I found myself wanting to know more about these forgotten Cork rock stars and near-rock stars of the past 40 years — searching the internet for bits of their music. This despite my usual animosity towards those from the punk era. Truth to tell, I just never “got” that substitution of guitar mastery for frenetic mashing of power chords that enamored the press so completely. The punk movement may have been a breath of fresh air to a rock scene mired in synthesizers and a lot of meaningless guitar solos, but it also effectively marginalized many solid blues, progressive and r&b bands. Where once DJ’s such as John Peel championed the guitar licks of the Blues-Rock explosion of the late 60’s and early 70’s, they now moved on to the fast strumming of 3-chord progressions punched up with meaningless, reactionary lyrics. And the post-Punk era was even worse with it’s unwholesome marriage to fashion and video! Still, the port city’s take on the various rock genre’s that succeeded the Blues-Rock era had a quirkiness and originality that you can’t help but find endearing, and thanks to websites like youtube you can listen to these forgotten bands from Cork. Below is just a sampling:

• Five Go Down to the Sea?
• The Frank and Walters
• Microdisney
• Sultans of Ping
• Fatima Mansions

Mr. McAvoy’s attempt at keeping the memory of such talented and iconic musicians as Finbarr Donnelly alive in some ways mirrors my own reasons for maintaining this blog. For while Rory Gallagher is remembered in his native Ireland and to a lesser extent the European community, his name is all but lost here in the U.S.   Towards the end of the book, McAvoy quotes Cathal Coughlin from “MicroDisney” describing how inspirational characters like Finbarr Donnelly are lost to the next generation. At least on this side of the pond, he could just as well be talking about Rory.

I have gone through various phases of music making and seeing people appear and disappear without trace. Finbarr Donnelly died before people had a chance to appreciate what he did. I will always remember it because it was through ‘Nun Attax’ that I first thought the whole music thing might be possible to enter. But even his work can just vanish. Don’t expect people to know about you or remember you.

It is books like this that “raise arms against” that profound sense of hopelessness at the fleeting nature of popular music. Despite Rock music’s many evolutions and revolutions, despite the media’s need to move on to the “next great thing,” there will always be writers out there to gently remind people of what came before. It’s a Proustian sort of thing, this remembrance of rock bands past, and Mr. McAvoy has done well in remembering them.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS