Cork-based artist Caoilian Sherlock has released Teenage Jesus, the title track from his debut solo album, which is out on 26 May. We asked him the BIG questions .. .
Caoilian has over a decade of experience playing music and writing songs in various bands such as The Shaker Hymn and The Tan Jackets.
He has worked as a potato picker, a Santa Claus, a temp at an ill-fated music store, an "obscenely quiet" busker, a barman, a sexual health teacher and played the part of a "moving picture" at a Harry Potter themed wedding.
In 2017, he released his debut EP The Faraway under the name Saint Caoilian, following a successful year of support shows with artists such as Roy Harper, Ryley Walker, and Sean O'Hagan, as well as a tour throughout Ireland with Joan Shelley and Nathan Salsburg.
He has also released several singles with Brendan Fennessy of O Emperor, including Shades Of You, Sucker For Love and Don't Let Me Forget About Her.
Caoilian Sherlock plays Friday 26 May - Prim's, Kinsale. Saturday 27 May - In Store at Music Zone, Cork. Saturday 27 May - Levis, Ballydehob. Saturday 3 June - Pharmacia, Limerick. Thursday 22 June - Workman’s Cellar, Dublin. Friday 23 June - Fulacht Fiadh, Leitrim. Sunday 25 June - De Barras, Clonakilty. Saturday 1st July - The Green Room (Cork Opera House), Cork. Sunday 6th August - The Finsbury, Finsbury Park, London.
Tell us three things about yourself?
I'm getting nervous and excited to release my debut solo album Teenage Jesus on 26 May. I'm going on tour with my band The Big Children this summer, playing all over Ireland and then over to the UK in August. "Cavan Blood, Cork Heart, this is what I'm made of" - to misquote Morrissey.
How would you describe your music?
I think of it as a mixture of what's in my record collection. Mostly the classic 60s and 70s songwriters like John Prine, Bob Dylan and Carole King; the kind of indie rock I grew up on like The Strokes, as well Hip Hop and electronic stuff I got into when I started DJing in my early 20's. The production on certain Hip Hop records such as A Tribe Called Quest, J Dilla as well as electronic stuff like Animal Collective, Cate Le Bon and Stereolab are big inspirations on my first album.
Who are your musical inspirations?
I love everything from country music to house music to be honest. I play in a bunch of great bands which keep me busy and are all very different. The Tan Jackets do old school 60s garage rock, we have a country and western band called Moonshine Gladbach, I play Cajun and cumbia with the legendary Two Time Polka, as well as DJing at festivals and nightclubs over the past 10 years where I'll play everything from jazz to electronic. So, I hope that beginning to release solo albums will allow me to plough all of those different aspects of my musical taste and to collaborate with other Irish artists from different genres. I always return to John Prine as the biggest song writing inspiration, though because of his ability to get to the very heart of the matter in whatever he writes about. He is poignant even in his humorous lines and can just destroy you with his turns of phrase.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
I went to see Oasis for my 12th birthday in the Point Depot, on the Heathen Chemistry tour. I had actually been given Blink 182 tickets for Christmas but someone, who has still yet to come forward, threw them in the fire by accident with the wrapping paper. Instead, I got Oasis tickets as a replacement. Who knows I could have gone in a very different direction with my musical taste had I gone to Blink 182 instead and I would be wearing black and white checkered Vans and have stretchers in my ears, instead of Adidas runners and sideburns.
What was the first record you ever bought?
The first album I remember buying is Urban Hymns by The Verve because I loved the video of Richard Ashcroft bumping into people on the street. I must have been pretty young and impressionable because that album came out when I was eight years old. I started going into Plugd records as a teenager and just hanging around without any money and flipping through records. I distinctly remember the first actual record I bought was a 7" of The Rapture’s House Of Jealous Lovers, which was my big closer when I started DJing.
What’s your favourite song right now?
I'm a huge fan of Brigid Mae Power, and I've been playing her newest song Counting Down on repeat since it came out. I went to see Waxahatchee at the Pepper Canister Church in Dublin very recently and was blown away by her live presence and have come back to listen to her 2020 album Saint Cloud as well.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"How the hell can a person go to work in the morning, And come home in the evening and have nothing to say?" - John Prine, Angel From Montgomery.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If it was for the rest of my life it would have to be something groovy and uplifting, and maybe no lyrics. It might drive you crazy to hear the same lyrics over and over. Perhaps, A Love Supreme by John Coltrane.
Where can people find your music/more information?
You can listen on Spotify and all other streaming platforms, but you can buy my record on Bandcamp or from record stores on 26 May. I am doing an Irish tour starting on that date as well with tickets available from Eventbrite for shows in Kinsale, Limerick, and Dublin, and from venue website for shows in Manorhamilton, Ballydehob, Clonakilty, and Cork with more shows coming later in the summer. You can find more information by following me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
