Cork duo Green & Shine, husband and wife Mary Green and Noel Shine, have released their new album, Like Sweet Summer Rains. We asked Mary the BIG questions . . . We asked Mary the BIG questions . . .
Noel's is one of the founders of Cork Folk Festival and the couple's work with their daughter Ellie in the band Greenshine has been nominated for the RTE Folk Awards.
Noel and Mary have recorded with Republic of Loose, Christy Moore, Mick Hanly, Frances Black and John Spillane.
Like Sweet Summer Rains features six original tracks including one instrumental, one traditional American folk song and three covers, including Dylan's Man In The Long Black Coat.
Greene & Shine play: 23 May: launch of Like Sweet Summer Rains at The Corner House, Cork and their June concerts include the Galway Folk Festival, Lehanmore Community Centre, Beara, and Ionad Culturtha, Ballyvourney.
Tell us three things about yourself
After my family, music is the most important thing in my life.
Ironically, although music is really important to me, my hearing is poor since childhood.
I have written some of my most interesting songs at 4am.
How would you describe your music
Myself and my husband, Noel Shine, make music that's hard to pigeonhole, which can be both a blessing and a curse. The variety is what people love when they see us live but it means we have to pay more attention when sending music to radio stations to make sure it fits the various DJs' remit. I suppose you could say that it has elements of folk, country, indie, singer-songwriter, rock and Americana all stirred up together and we sometimes use classical instrumentation and arrangements, and traditional instrumentation like whistle, banjo and mandolin side by side with electric guitars.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Wow. How long have you got?! We listen to all sorts of music in this house. From a songwriting point of view, I love songwriters who tell stories like Mark Knopfler, Dylan, Tom Petty. I think Chris Whitley's voice, guitar playing and songwriting are totally unique. I love the rock sensibility of Chrissie Hynde and Dolores O’Riordan. They sing from the gut as well as the heart. Mik Pyro is a blast - he has a great way with contemporary imagery and words. Jimmy Webb opened my mind to pushing myself to broaden the chord scape of my melodies. I love a good melodic song. We record and produce all our own music here at home, so from a recording point of view, we study great recordings and production approaches to see how we can improve our own recordings. You're always learning.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
In my teen years my family had a music bar in Dunmore East and so I was lucky enough to see lots of brilliant acts from Christy Moore to Honor Heffernan and Louis Stewart. Anyone that was on the road at the time would include our venue - Jimmy McCarthy, Sonny Condell, Paul Brady, Mister Pussy! Finbar Furey lived just up the road so a brilliant session scene developed in the bar with people like Davy Spillane passing through and inevitably all-nighters would be pulled! The first big gig I ever bought a ticket for was The Police I think.
What was the first record you ever bought?
We had a huge record collection at home - from original Elvis Presley singles to David Bowie and all points in between so there was no shortage of music to listen to but I think the first album I ever bought myself was either Dire Straits or OUTLANDOS D'amour by The Police. They both came out in 1978.
What's your favourite song right now?
The album I'm falling asleep to these nights is Dirt Floor by Chris Whitley, and the song I can't get enough of is Accordingly. I usually press repeat on that. If we're talking about current songs, I love the latest single Breaking A Fever from Mayo/Carlow band Vickers Vimy.
Favourite lyric of all time?
It's so hard to choose one. I love Tom Petty's Free Fallin’: "All the vampires walkin' through the valley move West down Ventura Boulevard, and all the bad boys are standing in the shadows and the good girls are home with broken hearts." It paints a picture. But if I have to choose just one, the song THE PARTISAN was made famous by Leonard Cohen but was actually written by the French resistance organizer and poet, Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie, with music by Anna Marly. It's an extraordinary song of pain and loss and hope and resistance as relevant today as it was then: "Oh the wind, the wind is blowing. Through the graves the wind is blowing. Freedom soon will come. Then we'll come from the shadows."
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be?
Well if I could only listen to one song for the rest of my life it had better be an uplifting one, so After All by the Frank and Walters.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Greene & Shine's latest album Like Sweet Summer Rains will start its launch tour on Saturday, 23 May at 6pm at The Corner House in Cork, and can be heard on Bandcamp along with all of Greene and Shine and Greenshine's music (Greenshine is the trio we have with our daughter Ellie). People can follow us on Bandcamp to join our mailing list, and we can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Alan Corr
