Galway Advertiser 2007/2007_08_30/GA_3008_E1_043.pdf 

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Th W e e ek
BY KEVIN MCGUIRE The name Foy Vance may not ring bells with a great many of the general public bu1t in recent months Pete Townshend of The Who has described him as `a giant' and Bonnie Raitt has said that he's "one of the most soulful and powerful singers and writers I've heard". Press reviews have compared him to everyone from Richie Havens to Stevie Wonder and from Van Morrison to Pearl Jam. Yet the recent release of Foy's debut album Hope shows that he is very much his own man with his own distinctive sound. As part of an Irish tour Foy Vance plays Roisin Dubh Sunday September 9. Foy's early life was spent travelling around the United States with his preacher father spending much time in the south in places such as Oklahoma, Alabama, and New Orleans. Soon after the family moved to Belfast in Northern Ireland but young Vance could not forget the soul, blues, and gospel music he'd heard during those early years. "I'm not very good at putting music into genres or defining influences," says Foy. "When it comes to music I either like it or I don't. I'm not sure what sort of effect each of the different traditions have had upon me, apart from the Belfast accent coming through occasionally, but it definitely stirred something within me that I can't really explain." In the early 1960s a boy from Belfast emerged with a soulful voice that captivated the world. Van Morrison had endlessly listened to the blues and gospel vinyl records that his father had brought him from America, and then as part of Them and as a solo artist he made their sound very much a part of his own music. Foy Vance sees a lot of similarities between him and Van. "I guess our sources are quite similar," he says. "I had already developed an affinity with black music long before I'd discovered Van's music. When I heard his records I understood that we'd both been influenced by similar people and I could understand that I'd be likened to him. I'm happy though to be mentioned in the same breath as him. I think it's a good comparison." Van has long been known for his grumpy demeanour but Foy's impression of the man has so far been very positive. The two artists even met up for a cup of tea in Hollywood! "That's Hollywood, Co Down - rather than the other place," says Mr Vance. "It wasn't glamourous or anything like that. We met for about a half an hour and I found him a very likeable guy. I didn't really ask him for any advice or what

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Galway Advertiser
August 30 2006

Page 43

Son of a preacher man Foy Vance brings his soul and gospel to Roisin Dubh
learned an awful lot from her." The last two years have seen Northern Ireland earmarked as the place to watch for emerging musical talent with acts such as David Holmes, Snow Patrol, Duke Special, and now Foy Vance coming through. Is there something in the water or in the air up there? "When Snow Patrol got the break it sort of blew the roof off what's been happening up here," says Foy. "What you have to understand is that all these people have been doing their thing for many, many years. Snow Patrol has been gigging for about 13 years and Duke Special has been going for about 10 years so it's always been there. The stuff that David Holmes did on the Ocean 11 soundtrack also shed a bit of light on the music scene." Foy points to acts such as Oppenheimer and Cashier No 9 as the ones to look out for next. "It's such a small place that you get to know who's about very quickly." Foy Vance states that he's been gigging in Belfast for many, many, years and that there's a "very tight scene" and "a real camaraderie" among the musicians. In recent years he has ventured south and the reaction he has received so far has been a real eye-opener for him "I always kind of assumed that I'd go away to London and something would happen there and then I would come back to Ireland and it would be quite difficult," he says. "It's sort of like the old saying that `a prophet is never welcomed in his home town', but I've found the exact opposite in that everyone, north and south, has been incredibly supportive. Gigging in Ireland has become the most important part of what I do at the moment and long may it continue." The music that Foy Vance plays has a much wider appeal beyond these shores and he will eventually return to America to play his new songs over there. Vance says "After I've toured Ireland and the UK the next few months there's a short tour of the US lined up then. I've also been invited to play a few shows in Australia so I think we'll head out there for a month next year. I'm enjoying it at the moment and I've got my guitar in my bag so I just want to go for it." `Hope' is definitely a word we would attribute to this new artist and it seems that his religious upbringing has instilled that belief in him. When asked what it was really like to be the son of a preacher man Foy says "Well, as the song says `the only boy who could ever teach me was the son of a preacher man'. So, it wasn't all that you would expect!" Tickets available from Roisin Dubh, Zhivago and Redlight Records.

was his favourite colour. He probably would have told me to `f*** off' if I had." Apart from singing the praises of Foy Vance it seems that music legends such as Pete Townshend and Bonnie Raitt have been there to offer advice and even a place on stage with them. "I think Pete Townshend has

always been the driving force in The Who and has been the one to move things forward. When he started to give me his support and asked me to join him on stage a few times it was great and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I remember watching Tommy and Quadraphenia, when I was far too young to be watching them, and

being really effected by the vibe and the landscape that Pete Townshend created. He's given me a lot of good advice and has just been incredibly supportive." Country legend Bonnie Raitt has equally been a good person to call upon for words of advice "She's really been there and done it and I've