INSPIRATION: EUGENE MCGUINNESS

hugenemcguinness:

By: Mike Harounoff

Eugene McGuinness has returned with his genius new record The Invitation To The Voyage, the acoustic guitars been ditched along with the fringe and shy boy demeanour - McGuinness is now an indie-pop powerhouse and has the songs and style to justify such a tag. We asked McGuinness exactly what it is that inspires him to make the music he does, as well as trying to get to the bottom of his aforementioned transformation. 

Seamus Heaney

Firstly, I’ve got to say I’m uncomfortable talking about poetry for two reasons - It’s a field that enters pretentious areas extremely quickly and also I’m no expert on it. I have this obsession with Seamus Heaney that started in school and continues today. He’s from a part of Ireland very close to where my parents are from and i’ve always connected with him. I like many poets but he exists far from the trendiness of Ginsberg or Bukowski and resonates on a human level…see what i mean about pretentious. But you need minds that you aspire to, and i’m always going to his, he’s so far ahead of anyone else walking around today. There is a book of interviews with him called Stepping Stones by Dennis O’Driscoll that i’m always ploughing through.

The Beatles Anthology CD

The music speaks for itself, but i’m inspired by anything that shows the characters who created those songs. There was a cassette of theirs in the car turning constantly when i was growing up, hearing them dicking around, taking the piss or fucking up in between bits of genius. Also, that book, Revolution in the Head…I’m beatles geek NUMBER ONE and I welcome all challenges to that. 

Alfred Hitchcock

He’s from Leytonstone too apparently. iI could’ve said films by other directors (The Night of the Hunter, any of the Al Pacino/ Robert De Niro bunch) but i love the glamour of movies like Rope or Vertigo…James Stewart, Cary Grant…all that…

Ireland/London/Liverpool

I grew up in all these places. When i was a kid it was between two extremes, the beauty and slowness of ireland and the roughness and speed of london. And then i was in liverpool which is a cultural juggernaut itself. So there’s a bit of displacement but i’m adaptable and i’m shaped by all three quite evenly, with no regrets.

Dominic McGuinness

My snotty little brother, this is all getting a bit personal but I’ve got to be honest. There’s nothing more scary than having an upgraded version of me waiting in the wings. Dominic is in a band called Swanton Bombs and they’re better than everybody -  he’s completely his own thing, all sorts of strange influences and he shreds like psychopath. Very annoying.