I just turned 22 years old. I’m studying English and Spanish for a year in Málaga. This is my third year, just one year left back at home after this. I’m from Galway, Ireland. I grew up there. It’s on the west coast of Ireland on the Atlantic. There was pretty much no music in my family. My parents always said there’s not really anybody who’s ever done music in my family.

Maybe about 8 ish years old was when I started getting into Green Day. I think that’s around the time I started playing guitar. We got a cheap nylon-string guitar, and I started going to a couple of lessons and shortly after piano as well. I remember a guitar teacher I had started encouraging me to sing when I was about 10 or 11, and once I started singing, I didn’t really care as much about the guitar. It’s only in recent years that I’m starting to catch up with the guitar a bit. For someone who’s played for so long, I should be more technically adept at it.

I started writing songs at about 13, and that was my main focus for a while. I was always on my own musically. Even in my school, I never ended up making any music friends. None of my friends were musically inclined then. I do kind of wish I could have had the experience of playing with people more.

Busking in Ireland is kind of a common thing, so I always knew about it. The first time I ever did it I was 13. I went up to see a concert in Dublin with my mom and dad I think. At the time I wanted to busk, but I was too afraid. I definitely didn’t want to do it in my own hometown where people would hear me, God forbid! I did an hour unplugged acoustically there near a corner with a Brown Thomas or a designer shop, and I remember I made like 80 Euro, and I was like, “This is amazing!” And I did that a handful of times every time I was able to get up to Dublin. One of the other spots I played was right outside St. Steven’s Green Shopping Center. I was just singing and playing mostly covers all on Grafton Street. That’s the main busking street.

In Galway, there’s just one street called Shop Street, and I usually play across from Eason’s bookstore or in Eyre Square. At the end of the road there’s a fork in the road at Mainguard Street and Quay Street with some Irish pubs, and when there are people sitting outside the pubs, that’s a really good spot.

I remember being terrified to play for a long time. When I was setting up, I remember spending like 20 minutes just opening the case of the guitar. I remember how terrifying that was and then thinking, “This is just so ridiculous. I’m just gonna just start singing on the side of the street?” Because when you stop to think about it, it is a bit insane! But I remember once I started and getting a reaction, it just felt really good. I can just do this any time, and there’s no obligation for people to listen and it’s so direct.

I’ve played in a lot of pubs in Galway for a few years now. It’s a good income, and it’s a good way to get paid a certain amount for a two-hour gig, but when I’m in there and there’s a load of drunk people and I’m sober playing cover songs, it just sucks.

The one thing about the gigs in Ireland is that it’s cold in Ireland, so at least you’re inside. But at the end of the day, I’m just not playing what I really want to play in those pubs. It just becomes second nature, and I’d switch off my brain for the two hours and really wouldn’t be too present, and you have attention from the wrong people who think you’re just some kind of jukebox, or I’ll be in the middle of singing a verse and people try and come and talk to me in the middle of singing, and I don’t know what to do. Once people are in a pub and they’ve had enough to drink, all common sense goes out the window.

That’s what I love about the street. Everybody is so respectful. I mean I am posted up in the street with a speaker, but people are very accepting of it. I definitely much prefer the busking, but in Galway, it’s cold and rainy and it can be kind of insane standing out in this weather. Málaga beats that for sure.

I think it was one of the first times I ever went busking up in Dublin, Bob Geldoff walked by. That was pretty cool, but one time I had another busker come up and just hit me. I was in the middle of singing Hallelujah, and I had my eyes closed and there were like 20 people there, and he just came over and hit me complaining that I was too close to him. I was so confused. You just meet some interesting characters when you’re out on the street.

One woman recently asked me if I could sing some happy songs. I didn’t really understand. I don’t actually like singing too many happy-pop songs. They don’t seem so real for me.

Realistically, I’d like to pursue music or something in music. I know that’s what I really want to do with my life. It’s just a matter of having an approach where I can still earn money and still enjoy it and not have to resort to cover gigs. It’s just not what I want to do as much anymore. I want to do my music.

I brought all my recording equipment here. That was my main focus because I assumed the busking wouldn’t be the best over here, which is actually not true. Owing to the weather, it’s so easy to do it here. When I think about how much hassle it is back home to do it when I’m always trying to make sure the whole time that I’m not going to get the expensive equipment I have fucked up. I’m glad I brought the busking equipment too, but I didn’t really do anything for the first month because I didn’t really see anyone doing it. I was just waiting and really just making excuses. Then one day, I was actually pretty nervous, and I set up at the port and it was such a scenic view. Early October with a sunset and cruise ships. And I got a really good reaction and made a bit of money, and I got a lot more followers on-line and I thought, “This is sick!” So I’ve been trying to do it as much as I can when I don’t have college stuff. And I am here to go to school on this Erasmus program. Some of the classes are in Spanish and I’m failing one of them, so I need to get back into that, too.

There’s like a mini-Red Rocks theater in the park right down there with outdoor tiered seating and a cool stage with a canopy. Technically you’re not allowed to busk here, and the police have been moving me along from certain spots, but the one place they say you can play is in the park, and that theater is in the park. So, I’m thinking it would be worth a shot to just set up on that stage one day, draw a bit of a crowd. It could become a cool thing. I’ve never seen anyone play there. I’d like to do it on my last day in Málaga and give it a go.

The police have actually been very respectful here. I’ve played at the port and the police come up and say, “You can’t play here. You can play in the city center.” Then I come up here and the police say, “No, you can’t play in the center you can play in the port.” And then recently a few police came up and said, “No, you can’t play anywhere except in the park.” They say it’ll be a 100 Euro fine if they find me again, and it’s in their power to confiscate my equipment. I’ve been moved on 4 or 5 times, but it’s always been different officers, so I’ve been lucky.

I need a bit more experience trying to hold an audience, but honestly, I do love the busking because I can see a live reaction to one of my own songs in real time, which is quite a rare thing. You know, I can see a guy walk by and take off one of his headphones and listen and not be into it or maybe stop and listen. That’s kind of what I like about it. When I’m playing my stuff on the street, it’s just the perfect place because it's just people wandering around and sitting and relaxing.

I rarely play over 2 hours. I feel like I’ll always make at least 30 Euros. There were a couple times when I would make 80 Euros. I feel like I spend most of it on food honestly! My brother says, “Why don’t you just do an 8-hour shift?” It’s just not practical. It might look like easy work, but it’s exhausting. People don’t know this.

As a street performer I’m actually a bit reserved, which sounds strange. I’m a bit of a people pleaser, and I don’t really want to bother anyone, but I’m not too nervous. It takes me a couple songs to feel completely comfortable. It’s funny because I did an open mic a few weeks ago in front of 20 people, and I was very nervous. I could hear it in my voice, but even if there were 50 people here on the street, I wouldn’t really care because there’s no expectation. Maybe that’s it.

After college I want to go somewhere where there are more musicians like me around and meet people in the industry. I really like songwriting and producing and just working in a studio setting. Obviously, I’m going to release albums anyway, but I’m just focusing on making the best music I can and making money out of that as well. In actuality, I don’t really know what the fuck I’m doing. I’m just trying to figure it out.

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