Interview After a particularly successful year during which he’s played the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, The Grazia Magazine Fashion Awards, The Scottish Fashion Awards and the Q Awards Nomination Ceremony at London’s O2 Arena alongside Athlete, Hard-Fi and the Manic Street Preachers, Eoghan has decided that his career lies in the music industry. Eoghan plays guitar and piano competently during his sets, but his vocals are his main strength. He has a strikingly melodic voice, which has been compared to the late Jeff Buckley, and he has been championed by Scottish radio personality Jim Gellatly. Jim just added him to his 29th collection of ‘New Music’, which is available for free from iTunes and Radio Magnetic. Now spending his time touring and producing an album, which he hopes to have completed by the end of the year, Eoghan believes he’s made the right choice by giving up medicine: “I’ve always been more artistic than academic – when I was at school I was massively into sport, but I gave it up when I was about sixteen for reasons I won’t go into, and it was about that time I picked up the guitar so that then became my new outlet.” Whilst many see medicine as a vocation, Eoghan finds it hard to get enthusiastic about his academic achievements: “I was one of these annoying people that always did ok in exams, and I did study, but my heart wasn’t really in it.” The high-profile gigs of the past year, on the other hand, have encouraged Eoghan’s ambitions for his new band: “We’re just always looking for new bigger venues. In Glasgow I’d like to play the Barrowlands, but going ridiculously big I’d have to say somewhere like Slain Castle in Ireland, where I’ve seen big bands like Coldplay and U2, I don’t want to set my sights too high.” Far from suffering from stage-fright, Eoghan says venues are his biggest concern before gigs: “I don’t worry about the performance, I’m always confident about that. You just have no idea how ticket sales have gone and I always think it’s great if there’s a big crowd when you come on stage.” Eoghan has been touring Scotland and Ireland over the last couple of months with his new band – a tour which he has had to fund himself after several disappointments within the industry. When talking to Eoghan the passion for his music and his self-belief is quickly evident, and he’s clearly frustrated by his lack of success with record labels: “You can only rely on yourself, I’ve been let down so many times, I’d rather do it myself so I know where I stand, I know what I need to organise and when I need it organised – I’ll just do it on my own.” Going out on his own isn’t a decision he’s taken lightly but, whilst he’s disillusioned with record labels and music managers, Eoghan still has enough confidence to believe he can make it as a musician: “I’d been struggling my career for a few years, I wasn’t that far developed and they said “you’re very good but we just want to hear a few more songs and see what happens” and I thought I’m sick of this s***, I’m not getting any younger, and I think some of my songs are good enough that I could put them out myself.” Whilst Eoghan’s medical qualification hasn’t led him to a lifelong career it’s given him the ability to become musically independent: “ I’m fortunate because I have a good job and I earn a decent wage, and at least I can afford it, so I thought
I’ll set up my own label and just do it for myself and I’m really working b***** hard. I’m tired out, I’ve been working twelve hour days every day for months on end but it’s really rewarding – I’ve learned so much and made so many contacts and really enjoyed it.” It’s hard to believe that a career in music could be more taxing, or more rewarding, than a career in medicine, but Eoghan’s enthusiasm is unquestionable. From giving up a safe career in medicine to managing his own music career, his ambition is unwavering – although he admits to having limits: “I don’t think I could continue doing it forever, actually the music side of things has suffered. I haven’t written a song in months. I just have no time - I’m either working to pay for it or I’m on the phone booking dates, or PR people, or organising videos, so I don’t think you could do it well forever – but just for this short stint it’s been brilliant.” Eoghan’s boy-next-door looks and ability to converse easily with everyone around him offsets his determination and almost intimidating self-belief. He manages to pass off his self-confidence as charming rather than conceited, and finds no shame in self-promotion – vital capabilities now that he’s doing it all on his own. This ex-medic even has a musical remedy for the recession: “I’ve never sat down and thought ‘I’m going to write a song about such and such’, Dream Satellite came out of the credit crunch - it was something very much on people’s minds, and we thought people want something to give them a lift, something happy. If their mood’s down they don’t want to switch on the radio and hear down music and just be down all the time. They want a bit of escapism I guess.” His choice of subjects for songs reflect things which affect him, whether they be political or personal: “I wrote a song about Barack Obama three years ago before anyone had ever heard of him, I wrote a song about the Tsunami disaster, and Hurricane Katrina, and it can get a bit emotional but there’s also a lot of love songs, a lot of upbeat songs – it’s a mixed bag.” Whilst Eoghan has been recognised as a talented songwriter by several critics and radio personalities, he confesses that it’s not something that comes naturally to him: “I find it all monotonous and quite a chore; it’s lovely when you get the final song but sometimes you can bash your head against a wall and it gets frustrating.” However, whilst he may struggle sometimes with the composition, the performance is what makes it all worthwhile. When talking to Eoghan about playing gigs there’s a distinguishable excitement which makes it a bit easier to understand why he’s given up a secure, well-paying career for the unpredictable and uncertain life of a musician: “There’s nothing like getting up onstage when the songs are all there and you’ve rehearsed them and there’s a room of people in front of you, there’s no better feeling in the world.” Eoghan’s belief in his own ability to succeed is contagious, and whilst he has a good profession waiting for him if he doesn’t make it in the music industry; it’s obvious which job he’d rather be doing. Eoghan’s single, Dream Satellite, is available to download from iTunes and other music sites.
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