Don
Mescall plays London's Troubadour, July 2005 
First of all, WOW! I'm not just saying that because Scott English
(the talented chap who wrote the classic Barry Manilow and
Westlife hit 'Mandy') has threatened to set his 9ft brother onto me. No, without any threat of violence whatsoever, Limerick Don Mescall's performance at The Troubadour was truly awe-inspiring. Mescall's voice recalls something of David Gray, but with a rare depth and character that Gray lacks.
With just his three guitars and a mouth organ to accompany some soul-stirring lyrics and what shall henceforth be referred to as 'the voice', Mescall played a (much too) short set offering a taste of his considerable musical talents. Playing a mixture of newly penned songs and more seasoned numbers, he showcased the lyrical skills which have led to stars such as Lulu and Frances Black to record his songs. Mescall introduced each song with a brief explanation in his strong Limerick accent, describing the wonderful
'New York City's Not My Home' as a reaction to his first visit to New York where, as an Irish musician, no one was interested in hearing him perform his own compositions, and he was forced to sing traditional Irish songs for the duration of his stay.
Mescall's undeniably has a way with words, a song he recently composed with an evocative chorus line "I never wrote this song to make you cry" almost had me shedding a few tears. Classic lines like "blessed moment before the pain" reveal Mescall's ability to pick up on a beautiful statement and use it to create something quite magical. Speaking to Mescall before the performance I asked him if, performing in the venue where Bob Dylan made one of his first UK appearances, he thought himself as a bit of a poet. He humbly denied the idea. I will have to disagree, having watched Mescall perform. There is something unavoidably poetic and beautiful about Mescall's lyricism.
Mescall will be heading into the studio in the next few weeks with songwriting assistance from the likes of lyrical heavyweight Mr. English, to work on his debut album, with the release date expected to be early next year. Until then I have a couple of EPs to satiate my thirst for 'the voice'. I highly recommend a taste of Don Mescall; check out www.donmescall.com to hear what I'm talking about.
by Lorraine Conway (The Irish World)
Don
Mescall supports Richie Havens on his Irish Tour (Whelan’s, Dublin July 2005)
The next act on stage was the Limerick born singer songwriter Don
Mescall who should have no problem solving the commercial nature of
his talent and deserves to be propelled into the public
consciousness on the strength of his hauntingly beautiful well
crafted tunes full of infectious hooks and memorable melodies, Don
is a serious musician who has paid his dues on a long trail of
destinations and collaborations and comes across as genuinely modest
and likable, that kind of person you meet in life who you feel
deserves to do well if there is any justice at all in the world.
Don Mescall’s personal songs capture attention easily,
supported by warm spontaneous storytelling skills and effective
humour as evidenced when dealing with a loud interfering
conversation chattering incessantly throughout the introduction of a
song in the crowd by inviting us all to listen to their conversation
instead.
Don has a voice that weaves the lyrics into a captivating
experience with a natural phrasing the real craft for me of a
songster, a voice so easy to listen to that it floats around the
room in waves that was most definitely born to be on a stage. Two
beautiful sounding Guild acoustic guitars were used and a harmonica
rack to produce excellent guitar and harp playing, aided by a superb
PA sound being engineered by Whelan’s sound technician to produce
an heartfelt performance by the artist and an eye opening
introduction for the audience to a great Irish talent right here on
our own doorstep. Don Mescall is without the slightest hesitation a
national treasure.
by Mick Kenny aka MTW
"You Don't
Love Me" EP by Don Mescall (Curb Records)
Review by By Noel Mullen, The Irish World - 03/02/06
There used to be a time when we
were way ahead of our Irish cousins. Going over on holiday we'd politely pretend
that their St Bernard trainers were as cool as Nike's and everyone in England
wants a pair. We'd marvel when Wayne's World would still be in the cinemas when
over here it was already shown on TV. Twice. And we'd smile and nod
appreciatively at their taste in music.
Ah, the music! If it was alive it
would be a giant weevil with large teeth that bit you incessantly. But times
they are a-changing. Our cousins are far cooler than us in every way possible. Their cars are cooler, they dress better and they have their finger on the
cultural pulse.
This is evident in the figure of Don Mescall. The Limerick
balladeer has been a favourite in Ireland for a few years now, and it seems like
only a matter of time before he becomes a global star. His latest offering, the
"You Don't Love Me" EP, preceding the album "Innocent Run", which is due out later
this month, contains three pieces of absolute country pop perfection.
The
title song is a beautifully penned ballad about losing the love of his life and
the mother of his child ''and I'm the one to blame.'' A country song catalogue
would reveal a library full of tracks about self loathing and loss, (if they're
not about chasing buffalo) but Mescall has a beautiful storytelling style; he
reveals the break-up in stages, and with a modern twist, he is the abandoned
father agonizing over what he is to tell his daughter. (Whoever you are, give
him another chance!)
"One Of Those Days" reveals Mescall has a voice to
match his songwriting talent with the range of an Olympic discus thrower. He
sings mostly in his lower range, rising with emphasis to the song words, not to
show the dexterity of his voice or to mask meaningless lyrics by launching into
lung busting soprano.
There is an integrity to everything he does that
just makes you think he wouldn't do it if he didn't mean it. With
"More Than
Miles", Mescall slows it down just a tad, and it's another song of loss, but if
loss is what inspires him, we hope he never finds what he's looking for. With
Don Mescall, we have all missed a trick.
This EP works as an excellent
introduction to Mescall's music, so do everything you can to get your hands on
it. You Don't Love Me? We will Don. We will.
by Noel Mullen - The Irish World
Read article online
here.
Buy your SIGNED copy of
"You Don't Love Me"
here.
Sept
2001 RTE Guide - Passion and Peeves
ALL
ABOUT EVE - Singer-songwriter Don Mescall tells Maxi about his likes
and dislikes.
Since my daughter Eve was born almost three years ago my passion for life has unfolded. She’s at an age now when she has just mastered the art of conversation. She comes out with lines like "Daddy what's a planet?", or even "Daddy look at this ladybird, it's so
pretty!"
I am suddenly starting to see the world through the eyes of a child. Everything is "why?" and it makes me question so many things I take for granted. Her sense of innocence and confidence about the world seems unlimited and I worry about the day when I have to explain and protect her against the darker side of life's reality.
Music obviously plays a big part in my
life and she seems to have picked up on this. She's sometimes in my studio in the house just watching me playing guitar or listening to music. Lately I was listening to
"It Ain’t Me Babe" which she instantly took a liking to. Some time later I asked her who her favourite singer was, and I was thinking secretly that it was going to be me. She replied "Bob
Dylan".
Nothing could ever have prepared me for the moment when I first heard her singing
"Lucky Star", one of my more recent songs. She was just after her bath and humming in her bed before sleep, when the melody came out so sweetly, just like she was singing the Tweenies song. I felt really elevated!
Along with the joys there are also the tears. Eve has sometimes found it difficult to cope with my lifestyle as a touring musician. Several times as I have prepared to leave for a gig or a tour she spots the signs - the bag packed or the guitar case in the hall. The tears start - she wants to come with me.
I explained to her that this was my work and after buying her a child-size guitar of her own I
said that when she could sing and play a few songs on the guitar, she could come with me. Little did I know. On leaving for my last tour in Ireland, with the van loaded, I called upstairs to Eve to say goodbye. She quickly appeared on the landing in her pyjamas with one yellow welly on the wrong foot and her guitar in hand saying "Daddy I'm ready and I'm coming too".
PEEVE A HAON
Maxi, one of my peeves is that being a vegetarian is perceived as a hassle. Some people still believe you only eat a lettuce leaf, wear open sandals and go on walking holidays. I suppose where I want vegetarianism to be is more a mainstream choice. It drive me nuts to go to a restaurant and choose the vegetable soup only to spot the floating bubbles of the chicken stock on the top, or to be offered the vegetarian option on the menu, which is the main course without the meat.
I still find it funny when people say I'm also a vegetarian, I only eat fish or chicken! For me, I sum it up quite easily - "I don't eat anything with a mother or a face!"
THANKS TOM
It would be somehow unfaithful of me not to mention music as a passion. I remember when I was about fifteen and Tom, my brother, came back from College with music tapes that I had never heard before.
"A Case Of You", sung by Joni Mitchell awoke a real passion in me - the purity of her voice and her words and phrases somehow opened some secret door inside me. Right at that moment I knew that if there was anything I was going to do with my life in some way it would be connected with music and writing.
Tom, without knowing it, introduced me to a whole new world of Jackson Browne, Joan Baez, Crosby,
Stills, Nash and Young. I remember also the power and anger of Richie Havens' song,
"Freedom". The soul and emotion that he could convey, even without the visual. Little did I know then that fifteen years later, not only would I perform on stage with him in London, but also he would record one of my songs,
"Paradise Is A Hard Place To Find"!
Maxi, song writing is now part of my soul.
The biggest buzz I get is when I can touch someone in the audience, a stranger to me, yet bound by the words I have written.
Thanks Tom.
PEEVE EILE
I really notice lately the changes in Ireland and I know a lot of it is really positive - Celtic Tiger and all that. But I also see massive cultural changes. At the best of times I suffer from paranoia (a condition familiar to most musicians) but is our island turning into a 'Little America'?
It's all the change in language and concepts and signs for Retail Parks, Chill Out Bars and Drive
Ins. The move away from villages and towns into faceless mega stores, where the Malls rule OK. Maybe I am being too precious about this but it peeves me that we are starting to lose whatever it is that makes us uniquely Irish. The stuff that in the past protected us against the naked consumerism that one finds in America and the UK.
I remember as a child going out for the Sunday drive,
down to the lake or the 'look-out' as it was known locally, and that
was the highlight of our week. Now it seems every day is nearly the
same, with retail therapy replacing the Sunday drive. Are we going
to get to a stage in Ireland, as it is in America, where it's shop
till you drop 24/7? Oh maybe I just get scared that the new
generation will embrace only the glitz found in the retail and theme
parks. But then hey, as I said, I'm just paranoid! |
