#this album is my constant companion and i could probably sing it from top to bottom

[heckblade]

‘cause if i loved you at the start, then i would love you at the end

[mariadoylekennedy]

Maria, you’ve been fortunate enough to carve out a successful career in both music and acting. But if you had to pick just one…?

“The two artistic mentors in my life, Patrick Scott and Patti Smith, taught me that your whole life is your art. The songs you sing, the stories you tell, the meals you share, the people you love. Others may want to focus on one bit of it more than another, but from my point of view, it’s all coming from the same well: me.”

Who was the artist that made you want to become a musician?

“Hearing Billie Holiday’s voice sort of changed everything. I had always loved music and would sing along to the radio or whatever I heard. Music could cheer you up, console you or make you dance… but her voice explained deeper things about the world: pain and tenderness and absolute honesty.”

If you hadn’t pursued a career in arts, what do you think you would have done instead?

“My mother always thought I’d be a teacher. I’m an eldest child (code for ‘has the potential to be bossy’) and I have a big voice…”

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

“Desperate panic is my only constant pre-show companion.”

What’s top of your tour rider?

“We have just started to ask folks to write down some jokes. Arriving into a venue and reading jokes, no matter how long or awkward the journey to get there, is its own entertainment. Honey is also up there…”

If you could share the studio with just one of your musical heroes, who would it be?

“Mimi Parker, singer in the band Low. The most beautiful voice in the world.”

Which traditional Irish folk artist has had the biggest influence on your songwriting?

“I am just discovering the songs of Elizabeth Cronin and it is opening a new world to me, but probably Donal Lunny has been the closest and most consistent presence in our lives. Kieran, my husband, made an album with him in the Nineties and we’ve had the chance to perform and collaborate with him a few times since. I’m always interested in what he is making and the sheer joy of his bouzouki playing.”

Maria Doyle Kennedy is live at St Werburgh’s Church on Saturday, January 27 @ 8pm. Tickets: €21.99

[future-rp]

static’s main vocal & leader romeo

verve creative; song making, variety 13 vocal / 02 rap / 05 dance

1994. the son of a teacher and an accountant is born in culver city , california. he is a normal boy, bright for his age — “ he gets that from us , ” his parents coo — and altogether too ordinary to make much of a difference. but that’s what his mother and father wanted. a normal boy. the standard. romeo , named so because his parents wed in verona approximately nine years prior to his birth , lives unremarkably for the first decade of his life.

2004. after his third grade teacher , who surprisingly still remembered that he liked to sing when all he did was disrupt her class , lowers the microphone for him , romeo clenches his little fists , and begins to belt his heart out. eyes searching the dimly - lit crowd , he holds in his disappointment at not finding his mother within the sea of faces. but his little sister valentina , seated in their father’s lap , is there , and she claps so enthusiastically that it almost makes up for it.

romeo takes home a congratulatory certificate , his school’s budget unable to afford the gaudy trophy he might’ve gotten at the private academy his mother wanted him to attend.

2009. like his namesake , he falls hard , and he falls fast.

he’s instantly enamored by the offer of the older woman who approaches him and his friends while they’re grabbing a cup of froyo at yogurtland. his eyes are wide when she steps up to him , even wider when she produces a business card and tells him that he would be a very good fit in their company.

“ i saw you sing the other day on that corner over there , ” she says , pointing across the street to where he occasionally sat with a bucket and his dad’s old guitar. “ you have a very beautiful voice. with some training , you could make it very far in the entertainment industry. do you know what idols are ? ”

he does , his sister loves them. he’s more of an r&b type of person , but he’s … at least familiar with the occupation. thinking of himself as one of the boys valentina squeals over and plasters all over her walls , depleting their father’s wallet with constant trips to k - town , is a little strange. surreal , even.

his cheeks warm as his friends jeer at him , fists furiously pounding all over romeo’s back , shoulders , and upper arms as they shake him about. “ say yes , ” they tell him , cheering when a slow smile spreads across his face.

“ i need some time to think about it , ” he says , earning a chorus of disappointment from his companions. “ um … i need to talk to my parents … ”

“ of course , ” the woman says. “ we’ll be having an open audition this weekend. feel free to stop by with them if you need some extra convincing. i do hope you decide to join us at verve. ” she produces a flyer , which he reaches out to take before he even quite realizes it , and bows quickly before walking away.

his mother says no , immediately.

his sister , though dreadfully excited at the prospect , wilts under her mother’s critical gaze. his father , as usual , is neutral. romeo thinks he pleads his case well , sweeping declarations about how music is and has always been his passion , that he really feels like singing is something he’s always wanted to do. it’s an almost - truth ; nothing else he’s encountered has ever really captured his interest as much as music has. but he’s far from a prodigy , and he’s certainly not dedicated to it enough to convince the one major obstacle standing in the way.

sure , he knows how to play the violin. but what asian - american from la county doesn’t , if they aren’t already too busy with the piano ?

singing ? as far as his mother’s concerned , he’s … “ average. ” what , like winning an elementary - school wide talent show is supposed to mean something ? for all he knows , the lady at yogurtland could be a child trafficker. verve is brand new , with nothing to its name to prove that it’s a credible label and not a scheme designed to snatch impressionable young men just like romeo off the streets. and even if it was , they’d never take him anyway. what’s so special about him ? she can’t name a single thing.

“ i … ” valentina flinches when when all eyes suddenly land upon her , and romeo reaches out to squeeze her shoulder apologetically. “ i think he’d be really good … don’t you , dad ? ” she casts a look up at their father through a curtain of long brown hair , brows furrowed and the beginnings of a pout forming on her lips.

man , what romeo would give to be able to do that without getting smacked upside the head.

he ends up attending the audition , and he narrowly makes it.

his mother doesn’t help him pack , but valentina does , chattering in his ear all night long about how she’s jealous he’s going to meet all of her favorite artists. he thinks about telling her that it probably won’t be that easy , that her biases probably wouldn’t give him the time of day.

but he’s grateful that she gave him this opportunity in the first place —

( not resentful , not furious , not desperately heartbroken that little valentina born five years after him can flutter her lashes and get everything she wants. he’s not that kind of guy. )

— and so he smiles , gives her a noogie , and tells her that she better buy all of his albums , or at least get dad to.

“ of course ! ” she chirps at him , face splitting in a grin. “ i love you , romeo ! ”

he presses a kiss to the top of her head , murmuring an “ i love you too ” into her hair.

at least one woman in his family has said it.

2011. they break him , easily.

romeo’s always been a sort of ‘ go with the flow ’ kind of guy. perhaps a little cocky — he’s willing to admit that. being praised so often for one’s good looks and sweet , honey - like voice is bound to go to anyone’s head , and romeo is not extraordinary enough to avoid that.

but as it turns out , he may not be extraordinary enough at all.

his skin was dark , his nose a little too big , his american accent far too noticeable. he was lucky he had his voice , a natural talent , a killer smile , and a willingness to learn. he overheard whispers that he may not be worth the investment , that they were wasting their time when domestic talent was always going to be there.

that was year one , and he figures now that they were just trying to see how far they could push him.

by some miracle — spite , really , if he were pressed to think about it — he manages to hold on. to be perfectly honest , romeo’s not entirely sure when determination turned into something so … dark. where there was once dedication toward improvement festered a desire to be better than others. to put himself first , so that he’d be at least considered if nothing else.

it wouldn’t be correct to say that romeo snapped , really , because he’s still sane and completely aware of the change in his personality. but he’s still on the fence as to whether this is a good thing.

on the one hand , it seems that this may be what the company was looking for. soft romeo , who’d first come to seoul with only the vaguest idea of his dreams and aspirations , was not going to cut it. even after the skin bleaching and the nose job , he was just … not trying hard enough.

( “ you never try at anything , ” a familiar voice hisses in the back of his head. “ how are you supposed to become a doctor or a lawyer if you can’t even finish your homework in an hour ? you lack discipline and brains. you’re hopeless. ” )

so when he decided to try , he tried hard. and it’s been … starting to pay off. hours of practice consume him , and he tires himself out studying grammar books and dictionaries so that his korean is impeccable. his roommates tell him that he mumbles basic workbook phrases in his sleep , chuckling as they comment that his pronunciation has improved greatly because of his unconscious practice.

the company expresses surprise at the effort. romeo jung is not a lost cause. he just wasn’t taking things seriously before , but once they get a taste of what it’s actually like for him to put his mind to something , they are … pleasantly surprised.

even more so when he tells them that he’s been trying his hand at composing. “ they’re mostly duds, ” he says at a monthly evaluation , scratching the back of his neck , “ but i think i’m improving , slowly. ”

it’s so easy to put it that way , as if he isn’t staying up every night staring at his computer and the midi controller propped up on his desk and the seventy - six files he refuses to let see the light of day. making them aware of his efforts is the first step , he tells himself. coming straight out of the gate would be coming on too strong. he’ll just lightly imply that this is the direction he wants to take his career , and the company will understand.

but it’s still not enough.

he was dumb to think that just two years of training would be enough for him to make the final lineup of leo. romeo’s cute and knows how to charm the pants off a person ( quite literally , it seems ) , but he just isn’t enough. and maybe he’s too young , too unrestrained , not talented enough , and most certainly not disciplined enough to maintain the level of self - control verve needed from its introductory group. there were perfectly valid reasons why he wouldn’t be included even when though he was with the company from the beginning. valid and logical , even in spite of his bitterness and slightly unhealthy competitiveness , both of which would refuse to let him accept that he just wasn’t the right fit. both of which also turned a perfectly kind boy into one who would let almost nothing stop him from clawing his way to the top.

it would take him a few years before he finally realized that mama isn’t actually as annoying as he thought.

2017. it has been eight years since he first signed a contract with verve. he used to get upset when people called him the “ dungeon grandpa. ” now , he just corrects them. “ i prefer to be called the dungeon troll. ”

a lovely title for an equally lovely man. one who’s only a few steps away from remembering people are people. that they’re not tools he can use to get ahead or to let out some steam. and really , romeo recognizes that — he’s not a complete and utter asshole. he understands the golden rule ; he’d hate it if people treated him like he was just something to be used , but this is what’s become of him after all this time. after spending over almost an entire decade training , well into his twenties , he knew something had to change.

just trying wasn’t enough. he needed to put himself first above everyone else , which was how the dungeon troll was born. a budding heartbreaker burning through fellow trainees like wildfire , the current reigning master of the stink - eye in verve creative. expert at casually implementing and improving ideas from others’ compositions , just different enough that he couldn’t be called out for plagiarism. if being nice was just going to earn him some consolation prizes instead of a place on the podium , then he’d just have to tear everyone else off of it.

and so it isn’t so fun to snicker at him in the hallways anymore — not when he’s eventually promised a fall debut and a whole group to lead himself.

the woman who scouted him laughs when she tells him the news. “ your eyes are as big as they were when i first saw you all those years ago. ”

if he were more coherent , he might’ve quipped back. “ i needed you to make sure you were talking to the right person , ” he might’ve said. “ that you meant to talk to romeo and not whoever reserved the practice room from nine to twelve. ”

but as it stands , eight years into training , all he can do is grab her hands and bow , fighting back the tears prickling at his eyes and the tremble in his voice as he thanks her and ceo oh and all the executives that made this decision.

an actual group. and it would be his.

he clings onto these phrases as he prepares for debut. even after listening to a demo of can you feel it , it doesn’t feel truly real. not until the pieces start falling into place , learning the choreography , stepping into the booth. though the song he’d submitted for a b - side was rejected , the reception to it was anything but negative. romeo may not be very fond of verve’s supposed promises , but when a producer brought up the idea of having later , improved work on their future comebacks ? romeo was euphoric.

finally , everything’s coming together. everything he’s worked for in the past eight years , the sleepless nights , the tears shed in the shower with his hands pressed to his mouth so as not to make a peep , the blisters and pulled muscles , it’s all come to something. it’s come to static.

and when they finally make it on stage , staring out all those people , when romeo counts down and leads the group in their introduction and synchronized bow , his heart swells.

it’s only a matter of time before someone pops that balloon.

[future-rp]

static’s main vocal & leader ROMEO

verve creative; song making 13 vocal / 02 rap / 05 dance

1994. the son of a teacher and an accountant is born in culver city , california. he is a normal boy, bright for his age — “ he gets that from us , ” his parents coo — and altogether too ordinary to make much of a difference. but that’s what his mother and father wanted. a normal boy. the standard. romeo , named so because his parents wed in verona approximately nine years prior to his birth , lives unremarkably for the first decade of his life.

2004. after his third grade teacher , who surprisingly still remembered that he liked to sing when all he did was disrupt her class , lowers the microphone for him , romeo clenches his little fists , and begins to sing his heart out. eyes searching the dimly - lit crowd , he holds in his disappointment at not finding his mother within the sea of faces. but his little sister valentina , seated in their father’s lap , is there , and she claps so enthusiastically that it almost makes up for it.

romeo takes home a congratulatory certificate , his school’s budget unable to afford the gaudy trophy he might’ve gotten at the private academy his mother him to attend.

2009. like his namesake , he falls hard , and he falls fast.

he’s instantly enamored by the offers of the older woman who approaches him and his friends while they’re grabbing a cup of froyo at yogurtland. his eyes are wide when she steps up to him , even wider when she produces a business card and tells him that he would be a very good fit in their company.

“ i saw you sing the other day on that corner over there , ” she says , pointing across the street to where he occasionally sat with a bucket and his dad’s old guitar. “ you have a very beautiful voice. with some training , you could make it very far in the entertainment industry. do you know what idols are ? ”

he does , his sister loves them. he’s more of an r&b type of person , but he’s … at least familiar with the occupation. thinking of himself as one of the boys valentina squeals over and plasters all over her walls , depleting their father’s wallet with constant trips to k - town , is a little strange. surreal , even.

his cheeks warm as his friends jeer at him , fists furiously pounding all over romeo’s back , shoulders , and upper arms as they shake him about. “ say yes , ” they tell him , cheering when a slow smile spreads across his face.

“ i need some time to think about it , ” he says , earning a chorus of disappointment from his companions. “ um … i need to talk to my parents … ”

“ of course , ” the woman says. “ we’ll be having an open audition this weekend. feel free to stop by with them if you need some extra convincing. i do hope you decide to join us at verve ” she produces a flyer , which he reaches out to take before he even quite realizes it , and bows quickly before walking away.

his mother says no , immediately.

his sister , though dreadfully excited at the prospect , wilts under her mother’s critical gaze. his father , as usual , is neutral. romeo thinks he pleads his case well , sweeping declarations about how music is and has always been his passion , that he really feels like singing is something he’s always wanted to do. it’s an almost - truth ; nothing else he’s encountered has ever really captured his interest as much as music has. but he’s far from a prodigy , and he’s certainly not dedicated to it enough to convince the one major obstacle standing in the way.

sure , he knows how to play the violin. but what asian - american from la county doesn’t , if they aren’t already too busy with the piano ?

singing ? as far as his mother’s concerned , he’s … “ average. ” what , like winning an elementary - school wide talent show is supposed to mean something ? for all he knows , the lady at yogurtland could be a child trafficker. it doesn’t matter that the company seemingly checks out , that their official sns accounts have announced that the casting is happening. they’d never take him anyway. what’s so special about romeo ? she can’t name a single thing.

“ i … ” valentina flinches when when all eyes suddenly land upon her , and romeo reaches out to squeeze her shoulder apologetically. “ i think he’d be really good … don’t you , dad ? ” she casts a look up at their father through a curtain of long brown hair , brows furrowed and the beginnings of a pout forming on her lips.

man , what romeo would give to be able to do that without getting smacked upside the head.

he ends up attending the audition , and he narrowly makes it.

his mother doesn’t help him pack , but valentina does , chattering in his ear all night long about how she’s jealous he’s going to meet all of her favorite artists. he thinks about telling her that it probably won’t be that easy , that even if black beat were still together , they probably wouldn’t give him the time of day.

but he’s grateful that she gave him this opportunity in the first place —

( not resentful , not furious , not desperately heartbroken that little valentina born five years after him can flutter her lashes and get everything she wants. he’s not that kind of guy. )

— and so he smiles , gives her a noogie , and tells her that she better buy all of his albums , or at least get dad to.

“ of course ! ” she chirps at him , face splitting in a grin. “ i love you , romeo ! ”

he presses a kiss to the top of her head , murmuring an “ i love you too ” into her hair.

at least one woman in his family has said it.

2013. they break him , easily.

romeo’s always been a sort of ‘ go with the flow ’ kind of guy. perhaps a little cocky — he’s willing to admit that. being praised so often for one’s good looks and sweet , honey - like voice is bound to go to anyone’s head , and romeo is not extraordinary enough to avoid that.

but as it turns out , he may not be extraordinary enough at all.

his skin was dark , his nose a little too big , his american accent far too noticeable. he was lucky he had his voice , a natural talent , and a willingness to learn. he overheard whispers that he may not be worth the investment , that they were wasting their time when domestic talent was always going to be there.

that was year one , and he figures now that they were just trying to see how far they could push him.

by some miracle — spite , really , if he were pressed to think about it — he manages to hold on. to be perfectly honest , romeo’s not entirely sure when determination turned into something so … dark. where there was once dedication toward improvement festered a desire to be better than others. to put himself first , so that he’d be at least considered if nothing else.

it wouldn’t be correct to say that romeo snapped , really , because he’s still sane and completely aware of the change in his personality. but he’s still on the fence as to whether this is a good thing.

on the one hand , it seems that this may be what the company was looking for. soft romeo , who’d first come to seoul with only the vaguest idea of his dreams and aspirations , was not going to cut it. even after the skin bleaching and the nose job , he was just … not trying hard enough.

( “ you never try at anything , ” a familiar voice hisses in the back of his head. “ how are you supposed to become a doctor or a lawyer if you can’t even finish your homework in an hour ? you lack discipline and brains. you’re hopeless. ” )

so when he decided to try , he tried hard. and it’s been … starting to pay off. hours of practice consume him , and he tires himself out studying grammar books and dictionaries so that his korean is impeccable. his roommates tell him that he mumbles basic workbook phrases in his sleep , chuckling as they comment that his pronunciation has improved greatly because of his unconscious practice.

the company expresses surprise at the effort. romeo jung is not a lost cause. he just wasn’t taking things seriously before , but once they get a taste of what it’s actually like for him to put his mind to something , they are … pleasantly surprised.

even more so when he tells them that he’s been trying his hand at composing. “ they’re mostly duds, ” he says at a monthly evaluation , scratching the back of his neck , “ but i think i’m improving , slowly. ”

it’s so easy to put it that way , as if he isn’t staying up every night staring at his computer and the midi controller propped up on his desk and the seventy - six files he refuses to let see the light of day. making them aware of his efforts is the first step , he tells himself. coming straight out of the gate would be coming on too strong. he’ll just lightly imply that this is the direction he wants to take his career , and the company will understand.

but it’s still not enough.

silver debuts instead , the day before his nineteenth birthday.

a few years later , he finally starts to realize that i don’t know isn’t actually as annoying as he thought.

2017. it has been eight years since he first signed a contract with verve. he used to get upset when people called him the “ dungeon grandpa. ” now , he just corrects them. “ i prefer to be called the dungeon troll. ”

a lovely title for an equally lovely man. one who’s only a few steps away from remembering people are people. that they’re not tools he can use to get ahead or to let out some steam. and really , romeo recognizes that — he’s not a complete and utter asshole. he understands the golden rule ; he’d hate it if people treated him like he was just something to be used , but this is what’s become of him after all this time. after spending almost an entire decade training , well into his twenties , he knew something had to change.

just trying wasn’t enough. he needed to put himself first above everyone else , which was how the dungeon troll was born. a budding heartbreaker burning through fellow trainees like wildfire , the current reigning master of the stink - eye in verve creative. expert at casually implementing and improving ideas from others’ compositions , just different enough that he couldn’t be called out for plagiarism. if being nice was just going to earn him some consolation prizes instead of a place on the podium , then he’d just have to claw his way up to a gold medal.

and so it isn’t so fun to snicker at him in the hallways anymore — not when he’s eventually promised a fall debut and a whole group to lead himself.

the woman who scouted him laughs when she tells him the news. “ your eyes are as big as they were when i first saw you all those years ago. ”

if he were more coherent , he might’ve quipped back. “ i needed you to make sure you were talking to the right person , ” he might’ve said. “ that you meant to talk to romeo and not whoever reserved the practice room from nine to twelve. ”

but as it stands , eight years into training , all he can do is grab her hands and bow , fighting back the tears prickling at his eyes and the tremble in his voice as he thanks her and ceo oh and all the executives that made this decision.

an actual group. and it would be his.

he clings onto these phrases as he prepares for debut. even after listening to a demo of runaway , it doesn’t feel truly real. not until the pieces start falling into place , learning the choreography , stepping into the booth. using a song that he’d made in his free time , one ( out of a hundred or so compositions ) that he’d nervously submitted for consideration , as a b - side ? romeo’s positively euphoric.

finally , everything’s coming together. everything he’s worked for in the past eight years , the sleepless nights , the tears shed in the shower with his hands pressed to his mouth so as not to make a peep , the blisters and pulled muscles , it’s all come to something. it’s come to static.

and when they finally make it on stage , staring out all those people , when romeo counts down and leads the group in their introduction and synchronized bow , his heart swells.

it’s only a matter of time before someone pops that balloon.