Well I Just Don't Know Who They Are, Lonely Supertramps or Superstars

About six weeks ago when it was just getting warm (only one extra layer necessary) I ventured out into the night to meet up with Simple Kid. Ciaran McFeely, a native Cork man who escaped to London ten years ago to live in the anonymity of his alter ego: a glam rocker (or something close)..he even had a made up name..which Ciaran would not tell me, no matter how many cheap German beers he had. Damn. He was in a band called the The V Necks, and resurfaced as Simple Kid, yay!

“I guess it’s kind of indie...with noises.”

He was in Berlin at the end of April last to support Erasure. (For some reason I want to say "of all bands" after I say Erasure). "We didn't really hang out much." Ciaran explained. How i discovered Simple Kid was in Berlin supporting Erasure of all bands : whilst wandering around myspace, i delightedly pounced upon a blog entry titled "80s pop sensations, ERASURE!!!!" on one of my sister's friend's pages..Gerry, (though his music page is up and running here.) He was a regular performer at Open Mic Nights in the Garavogue in Sligo that i used to go to all the time, also Ian, both have now got together for a joint effort Snow Collective. So, Gerry and his friends saved up all their pocketmoney to get tickets to the Erasure show in Edinborough, just so that they could see Simple Kid. It had been a long time since I'd heard anything and I was intrigued by his sudden reappearance on the music scene, supporting Erasure.

Anyway, as i approached our chosen spot for the evening, I realised that the only thing i could really bank on recognising about Ciaran was his trucker cap, or a ghettoblaster on his shoulder. This one time I went to see him play in Whelans in Dublin (I too went along that night not to catch the main band, but the Simple Kid opening slot) and after his funny, intrigueing show he happened to pass by and ask, "how do i get up on the balcony?" Well, I didnt know how to get up there..but i at least had that one memory of him...in a dark smoky atmosphere...

Somehow we locked eyes and I found myself sitting down with Ciaran...and his girfriend and his manager. Intimidated? Moi? ...Yes, muchly. I was all in worky work mode. I wasn't prepared to be asked questions about myself..I wanted to be nosy, i wanted to interrogate and pry mercilessly into Simple Kid's artistic depths, shake him by the shoulders and shout "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOR SO LONG???!!!" but it ended up being rather more like a cosy catch-up between old neighbours. I wouldn't go so far as to say our connection was akin to that of old bezzies, nonetheless Ciaran is really sound, and im not too bad either so it was easy for us to get along. 3 against 1 and all.

We sat outside Wiener Blut and it was a bit awkward. I just wanted to talk to Ciaran but that wasn't really possible. Plus, it would have been silly to pass up the opportunity, so turning to his manager, who was licking a paprika crisp, i ventured forth and asked about a new album. "In a while", grunted the manager. "Ahahahaha" laughed Simple Kid. "Typical manager speak. Ehh..September." Ok. Album in September! Woohoo! Whats it gonna sound like? I remember the key word of his reply was "pastoral". What does that mean? "ehh...". Well, he explained how much of a pain it was dragging around all this electronic equipment all the time. If he went with the traditional guitar and drums combo, he doesnt really have to explain to whoevers playing with him onstage on the night how to work them. Easy peasy no more dragging around electronic equipment all the time. He had electric drums! Every time he wanted those drums in a show and needed someone else to play them, he'd have to exxxxxplllaaaiiiin. Or else he would just do a show that was like one big drum solo. "Wait - youre a drummer???!!!" Ciaran explained how his parents wouldnt let him take up an instrument unless he did alot of practise. So from the age of about 10, the first three years of his drumming career were fairly rigorous and intense times. He would tuck himself into the smallest armchair he could find, so his arms would be stuck at his sides and he would practise on his knees. "ah, paradiddles" i say, pretending to know something abuot learnng the drums. "Double, triple and quadrouple paradiddles!" Ciaran shot back, his hands disappeared in a blurry motion of knee-drumming. My mind boggled. Suddenly, he got all animated. His London accent started to fade and the colourful rise and fall of his former lifetime in Cork filtered slowly back into his speech. "I remember being really selfish and doing shows where i'd just do big mad drum solos ahahaha!", he regaled. I was a bit sad i never saw one of those shows.

We moved to another pub down the street, sitting ourselves down close to the bar and opposite the fishtank that held a human skeleton. Probably real, knowing Berlin. I asked Ciaran about the cover of his new album. Its going to have a dog on it. When I asked him about it he was completely baffled as to how i was privvy to this smidge of information. "HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE DOG ON THE ALBUM COVER?!", he roared completely baffledly. "Eh, you sent around a myspace bulletin asking people to send in photos of their dog for it.." "Oh. Yeh". Anyway, he wouldnt really tell me what it was about. I supposed its going to be a dog, on the cover of the album. Nice. Then i found out that Simple Kid likes to read. Johnathan Safran Foer...and Dan Brown, by mistake sort of. We agreed that Zadie Smith is a ride "quite pretty". The night went on for quite a while. I spent alot of the time trying to persuade him to come back to Berlin to do one of his own gigs. Maybe in West Germany, i proffered. Simple Kid seemed pretty keen on the idea. I hope it actually happens...


i'm excited. Simple Kid II, the new album. Simple Kid: he is elusive (emigrated, changed his name, admitted to periods of spending years alone in his bedroom, wouldnt tell me hardly nothing, even the internets dont reveal much..) and lovely. Go to Simple Kid's Myspace for NEW SONGS and summertime TOUR DATES. Good dog..