It’s the Saturday night of the Hard Working Class Heroes festival and the conversation is flowing at this table of HWCH attendees.
We’ve already had The Tea Before The Dinner and then The Dinner and now, it’s The Mint Tea After the Dinner. We’ve discussed Sally Rooney’s Conversations With Friends, Donald Trump’s latest tantrum, S-Town and some other topical themes.
Then someone asks if we’ve ever going to see another Hozier come out of the HWCH pack and that kind of put a halt to our gallop. Back in 2013, Hozier played the festival and he stunk the place out. On that particular night, he was a bad cabaret act, a lanky dude with too much in his head and not enough heft or talent or grit on the stage to allow him bring it to the fore. But he had The Song and The Song was enough to convince the A&R hordes present that this was worth a punt.
History records that Hozier hit the jackpot with The Song. But it was more than The Song : he found a mojo, put a great band together, tapped into some useful industry networks, toured like it was going out of fashion and stood tall in every sense. And fair play to him.
But the macro question remains: where’s the next Hozier? There are as many answers to that question as there are bands who’ve played HWCH since Hozier. Some would think that four years would be long enough to produce another star with The Song. We’re impatient pop consumers and we kind of expect new stars to come along with same speed as Irish politicians hobnobbing backstage with reformed American punk-funk bands with expensive wine habits and strong views on contentious issues.
However, music doesn’t always work with that kind of speed. It takes time and sometimes, that time was just not worth taking when the smoke clears. You can have all the ingredients in the mix and the recipe just doesn’t come together in the oven. There may be kinks or twists or conks in the fabric which aren’t clearly apparent to the casual observer which prevent the act from soaring high.
The beauty of this business right now is that much is achievable.
The act may have The Song or a version of The Song but they’re nixed by circumstances beyind their control. They may have backed the wrong horse in the music business steeplechase. They may have, as is often the case, got into a game that they didn’t really want to play in hindsight.
But it’s worth noting that the Hozier playbook is not for everyone, as much out of choice as anything else. I spent the weekend at HWCH – declaration of interests: I co-programmed and hosted the conference side of things – and it was apparent throughout that there is no such thing as an one-size-fits-all plan because not all the acts here are after the same thing.
HUGE 💛 to all the amazing artists who played #HWCH17!! Dublin was 🔥🔥 this weekend!! Here's @bitchfalcon closing the festival last night pic.twitter.com/pmk6TdzpqU
— HWCH Festival 2017 (@hwchfestival) October 1, 2017
The beauty of this business right now is that much is achievable. Once upon a time, there was just one true path which involved major record labels, marketing plans, permanent establishment connections and the like. Now, you can go your own sweet way without having to kowtow to anyone or anything mentioned in the last sentence. You pick your path and you head for the hills. You can give it a right lash.
There were some fascinating conversations, workshops and discussions happening all over the gaff at HWCH last weekend which made you realise just what was possible. I liked how the panel with the music supervisers talking about their craft turned into a bunch of music fans geeking out on a sunny afternoon about getting the music they dug onto a TV show or film.
There will always be those who yearn for the next Hozier because he’s the one, lets face it, who pays the bills and end of year bonuses and commands the headlines and bold print.
The festivals’ panel featured four women who had lots to say about new ways of creating great festival experiences – Sounds From A Safe Harbour and Haven’s Mary Hickson told a lovely tale about a friendly kidnapping and a solo performance from Justin 'Bon Iver' Vernon at one event. The panel on ticket touts was a heavyweight one with notable contributions from Alan Milton from the GAA, Adam Webb from Fanfair Alliance, Noel Rock TD and Tickets.ie boss John O’Neill.
There were also a couple of really interesting keynote interviews where experienced coves showed their hands. Richard Jones told the tale of his career, from being a member of Frank Sidebottom’s band and taking care of the Spice Girls to his current gig as manager of Pixies, Agnes Obel and others. Rough Trade’s Geoff Travis outlined a beautiful throughline of a life in love with magic, while New Yorker writer John Seabrook took us behind the music when he talked about The Song Machine, his book on the machinations of the modern pop industry.
Perhaps the cherry on top for many of us hard chaws was provided by RTÉ stalwart Ian Wilson. The recepient of the festival’s Hero award, Wilson’s lengthy and colourful interview took in promoting The Clash in Trinity College, joining RTÉ and kickstarting the Fanning Sessions, the Larks in various parks, Cork Rock, Eurosonic, the birth of streaming and beyond. There were, I think, a few references to Maoism in there too for good measure, though his grá for tractors and calving did not feature. To be honest, he were only getting going when he had to stop and we could easily have put down the rest of the day with him.
As HWCH goes, so goes the rest of the music world. The swings and roundabouts which were experienced in the discussions over the weekend are the measure of where we’re at right now. Again and again, you realised possibilities beyond the usual yardsticks and plans. There will always be those who yearn for the next Hozier because he’s the one, lets face it, who pays the bills and end of year bonuses and commands the headlines and bold print. The truth is, though, there’s plenty of room in the tent for everyone.
