The son of musicians Don and Gloria Sherry (the latter, who had a number one hit with her cover of “One Day at a Time” in 1977), Paul Sherry spent a lot of his youth touring the country’s showband circuit, where he would rub shoulders with the likes of Joe Dolan.

“It’s a tough but great life, I thought,” Paul told Post-Burnout about these early years, when we spoke in September. “It was a great introduction, in a van as a kid, travelling around Ireland.”

Paul’s father taught him the foundations of guitar before he went to a guitar teacher to improve his skills. This teacher turned Paul onto dexterous maestros like Joe Satriani and Eddie Van Halen. At fifteen, Paul was inspired by their dedication to the craft and spent up to ten hours a day practising.

At fifteen, he joined a band and toured the country as a musician for the first time. But the commitment to his education was holding him back. “My mam came up to me. [I said], ‘I have to get out of school.’ School was not for me,” he says. “I was into art, into music, and my mam – when I was fifteen – I said, ‘I wanna do this; be a professional musician.’

“The best piece of advice I ever got as a musician [was from her]: ‘You’ve got to be good at three things: No sleep, no food, and no money!’ [Laughs] I’ll tell ya, that was a great introduction to being a musician!”

With his parents’ permission, at seventeen, Paul moved to the UK to study at the London Guitar Institute. “They were amazing,” he reflects on his time there. “Some of the best tutors in the UK were there, so that was a great foundation.”

After his time at the Institute, Paul moved home and met the person who would become his wife, the Americana-influenced musician Gráinne Duffy. “We played together, as well,” Paul says. “We hit the bars at the start, then started recording albums. I recorded mine, and she recorded hers, and we’ve been lucky enough to play all over since then. We’ve been travelling all over the world with our music since then, Aaron. So, that was pretty much the kick-off of how I started.”

Despite this success, what Paul really wanted was to document some of his own works. “I’ve always been a guitar player,” Paul says of this transition. “I’ve been a singer-songwriter from day one.

“I started as a guitar player predominantly. Playing guitar, that was my number one in my late teens, and, through my late teens, I started singing and playing solo. My first record was called To The Bitter End [released in 2007], and it’s a real blues rock, roots-y, raw album, and that was a trio. It was really in-your-face. That’s where I started.”

A huge factor for Paul as a solo artist is meditation, which gives him the drive to write, record, and release. “I’m big into meditation and Daoism,” he explains. “Meditation can be playing music. It can be when you’re sitting down. It’s being present.”

Paul’s latest album, Peace In Mind, was hugely influenced by Daoism. Dealing with the topics of renewal and change, the album reconnects Paul with some collaborators from his past.

On making the record, Paul explains, “I’ve been very lucky to work with Rocky O’Reilly on this record. He’s an incredible producer, incredible person. I really wanted to work with him. This is the record I’ve always wanted to make, and I’ve made that through Rocky O’Reilly.

“I’ve been very lucky with the musicians I’ve played with. Paul McCabe, my longtime bass player. He’s an incredible bass player. Incredible, incredible. He’s got it all, and I’m very lucky to play with him. He just excelled on this album.

“Also, Davy Cassidy, who is on the drums. Davy’s an incredible drummer; probably one of the best rock drummers around. Davy, I played with, years ago, in Million Dollar Reload. Remember those days? But Davy’s incredible. You’re in for a real treat. Listening to him playing on this record, it’s just something else.

“I played with Davy, years ago, with my first original band. So, that’s how I knew him. We didn’t see each other for years, then we connected again, and I was looking for the right drummer, and he was the perfect drummer.

“So, myself, Paul, Davy, and Rocky went in. We literally cut the whole album in two days. The boys did their whole parts in one day, and then I came back and did the vocals, backing vocals, and guitars all in one day. But, believe me, it took three-and-a-half years to make! It was a three-and-a-half-year plan done in two days!”
 
Paul Sherry’s latest album, Peace In Mind, is out now. You can keep up with Paul through Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews… tonight at 23:00 (IST) to hear this interview in full. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.

Aaron Kavanagh

Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.