Moze Jacobs chats to Seamus Poillot who runs Qualiphaunt, an initiative offering inexperienced players or musicians the opportunity to perform on stage at the renowned DeBarras Folk Club in Clonakilty
There is something about DeBarra’s Folk Club in West Cork that stirs up echoes of a glorious rock music past. It could be the shiny double platinum record, framed, behind glass, on one of the walls. It’s not fake, not a replica, but very real. The title of the record? ‘Are You Experienced’, released in 1967. A colourful photo of three young men, also mounted, confirms who recorded this album: The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Guitar genius Hendrix (who died aged 27 on September 18, 1970) flanked by his two sidemen, Mitch Mitchell (drums) and Noel Redding (bass). The latter, as many people still remember, an often taciturn but constant musically-vibrant presence in Clonakilty until his untimely and unexpected death in 2003. He had arrived in the market town (and settled in the small village of Ardfield, a few miles outside it) in 1972. Rumour has it that the location was a random choice. The drummer Les Sampson, who played with Redding when the decision was made and also moved to Clonakilty – where he still lives and plays in Stephen Housden’s Kings of Kudos, Noel Redding – “stuck a pin in a map and it ended up in West Cork” while they were both in Hollywood. Definitely true is the fact that Redding’s 31-year stay in Clonakilty added enormously to the status of DeBarra’s as a serious rock music venue (with a knock-on effect on other pubs in Clonakilty such as Shanley’s and likely, West Cork as a whole). As well as the platinum plaque, he gifted guitars, did weekly residencies, gigged across the town and took part in informal jam sessions, sometimes joined by the celebrities that he attracted, including David Bowie and Paul McCartney, and threw parties at the house where he lived with his wife (until her death in 1990) and subsequent partners and later, his mother. Perhaps the most important legacy is that he inspired a lively local music scene that continued to thrive for a good while, even after his death from cancer.
The website of DeBarra’s Folk Club is graced by a long essay about Noel Redding by the poet Dave Lordan, who grew up in Clonakilty. He is also mentioned in the blurb, written by Ray Blackwell, of a rather mysterious musical entity, Qualiphaunt, which plays DeBarra’s in September. It’s described as a, “smoking hot, rock solid house band … under the guidance of Seamus Poillot.” The band, which plays most months, operates, “in the same spirit of generosity and stewardship that Noel Redding afforded many when he first came to West Cork and began to play music again. This is a valuable opportunity to showcase local talent and encourage and nurture youthful rock ‘n roll exuberance for the future!”
Seamus Poillot (31) has been working at and with DeBarra’s Folk Club for about 10 years. Among others, as a sound engineer. Too young to really remember Noel Redding as a famous musician, he smiles a little at the comparison. “Those aren’t my words but I think the idea is that Noel brought a lot of people together to play music. And I guess I’m doing something similar.” Seamus is also a musician in his own right, unstoppable and talented, who ‘got the bug’ when he was about eight. “My older cousin was about 13 or 14. He was the coolest person on the planet as far as I was concerned as he happened to play a bit of bass, which made me want to play it, too. A friend of his was in a few bands and I asked him to teach me. Straight away, I just loved it. I would come home from school and play for hours.” Earlier his grandfather, Brawny (John) Wycherley from Ring, with a passion for classical music and brass bands (he initiated the South of Ireland Band Championships) had tried to teach him to play the piano. “He’d always be playing and gave me a few lessons back in the day. Where to put my fingers, how to read. It didn’t resonate much with me; it felt a lot like schoolwork.” He joined a band in secondary school and fairly soon afterwards figured he didn’t really need to do his leaving cert until his family intervened. After studying music for two years, he decided to focus purely on writing songs. He recorded everything himself and then got people together to play them live as The Big Lovin’, a six-person band that recorded four singles, made a few funny videos, was well-produced and eventually put on a backburner. “It is hard to get paid for performing original music. And when you’re offered a gig at a wedding where you get good money and they want covers, it’s difficult to turn that down.”
His next group was Black Apple Bastards (or, Bastrds, as Spotify euphemistically chooses to call them). “One day, a band which was due to play suddenly cancelled, and Ray asked me, could I quickly come up with something else?” So I asked a few people that I knew and had played with before. We weren’t very good but managed to get through the gig. I kept it going for the years and we slowly got better. Black Apple Bastards is the very first cover band that I’ve played with regularly in DeBarra’s.”
And then there is Qualiphaunt, which is a different kettle of fish. “In the last four or five years, while working as a soundman, I started to notice that there are plenty of really good players and singer-songwriters around but I am not seeing many real bands. Which is a bit of a shame for that’s how I learned to play music, live and at risk of messing up on stage. Qualiphant is very much aimed at inexperienced players or musicians who have only been playing solo. I guess it’s a band but at the same time, a revolving door of different players. It’s a pleasure to give people the opportunity to perform on a stage with such a reputation, where they may not have played before, and to get them to play songs that wouldn’t be their first choice just to push them out of their comfort zone for a bit. I feel that is the best way to learn. Just get up on stage and play the wrong chords and watch everything magically falling into place nonetheless.”
The next Qualiphaunt gig is on September 7 (6-8pm) in DeBarra’s Folk Club, 55 Pearse Street, P85 RH95 Clonakilty.
