I write for Acoustic magazine (yes, guitars. Sorry!), and on Tuesday night, I went out to see Flook live, and interview them. Great gig, the addition of Damien O’Kane on tenor guitar and banjo was wonderful, and they were in good form.
Afterwards, Sarah had to leave to get back to her baby daughter, but we were able to interview the rest of the band. All the pubs were closed, and we ended up sitting in a bowling alley (I conducted the interview, but a friend and colleague is writing the article, as a step on the way to her doing the whole job next time!). Anyway, got to hang out with Brian Finnegan for an hour or so, and whilst a lot of the questions obviously rotated around the guitar and banjo, we also talked about the band and their approach and relationship to folk music a lot. I’m very interested in folk instruments getting out into circulation in other types of music, and think Flook’s freethinking approach is an interesting bridge. Lovely guys, and the most interesting thing I learned is that they never, ever practise. They soundcheck together, and that’s the only chance they ever have to work on new material. Extraordinary musicians!