Hank Wedel & Roy Buckley

This week I was joined in the studio by local legend, singer songwriter Hank Wedel. Hank took time out of his busy schedule to sit down and have a chat with me about his music, his songs, and of course his new single. As we sat down to start our conversation, the door opened and Cork born singer, songwriter, Roy Buckley, complete with guitar, joined us. I made a mess of the diary and the two lads arrived on the same day. What was even funnier, the lads had spent the previous evening gigging in Cork together and neither mentioned that they were coming to Youghal to talk to me. Once things settled down we started talking, I asked Hank what brought him to Ireland.

“I was born in Ohio in 1963, raised in Queens, New York City 'til age 11 when my parents decided to move to Mallow in Co. Cork, where my mother was from. Growing up Hank always loved music and started out with a band called Princess Street in 1984 and played with them right through till 1990. Hank put the group, Open Kitchen, together with Billy Attridge a long time friend from Mallow and Open Kitchen started up a three-year residency in The Lobby from 1990 to 1993. "Chance Meetin'" recorded by Princes Street at the very last gig ever at The Lobby Bar in Cork City in 2005 was released on the Lobby Sessions album in 2006.

During all this time Hank was writing songs and touring. Proof of this is on Youtube check it out. Hanks song "Global America" reached No. 40 on Neil Young's "Living with War Today" song chart. In 2009 Christy Moore, recorded a song called "Listen" written by Hank, which went to No.1 in the Irish Album charts in April 2009 and has since been awarded platinum sales status in Ireland.

At this point I asked Hank to sing, I had heard Hank sing live before, but was still caught unawares by the rich, deep, melodic, mature, strong voice. Each word crisp, clear, the melody strong and the gentle rhythmic picking on guitar, so constant soothing and solid. Hank, live is better then radio or on CD. His songs tell a story, His voice a projector pushing the words out like images on a cinema widescreen, full of colour, light and shade. The sound becomes an image before your eyes and takes you on a journey for 3 1/2 minutes. The song “I‘m afraid of you” live is one of the highlights in my years of interviewing great singer songwriters.

I then spoke with Roy about his music and life and the sessions he has coming up in the Pavilion on the last Wednesday of each month (more about that next week) when the clock on the wall announced time was up. Before I finished the interview I played Hanks new single “Mighty Fine” which was taken from an Irish singer-songwriter compilation on which he recently featured, Songs from the Cornernote, which was recorded and produced by Dublin-based Larry Hogan. “I recorded it and when I heard back what Larry had done with the song, giving it a country, rock, pop and traditional style to it, I decided to put it out as a single,” he says. “It all just kind of landed in my lap. However, the single is proving so successful that I may have to consider releasing other songs that way.” Mighty Fine is available from www.itunes.apple.com or www.cdbaby.com.

Shane Supple interviews Hank Wedel and Roy Buckley by Shane Supple on Mixcloud