What Influence Are You Going To Have On The People Who Matter To YOU?
Let's Make Friendship, Music, Memories and A Whole Lot of Love Build A Better World For Those Coming Next!
Last night I attended a gig in Dublin City and it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. For ten years of my life, I worked tirelessly in the music industry as a music promoter, a music manager and wore about a thousand other hats in the industry. And yet those years were not today or yesterday, they played a pivotal time in my life and definitely contributed hugely to the person I’ve grown into. Music in any shape and every shape is one of my most loved facets of this world. Whether I am in good form or bad, music will be playing. There is no doubt music is an intrinsic and integral part of not only my life but my soul. Music has helped me carry heavy times and has also helped me make the most amazing memories too.
From a very young age, I’ve loved music. My aunt in Dublin, auntie Ro ( her full name is Rosemary), she used to send me tapes in the post, back when I was a young one. See she lived in this far away placed called Dublin (Dublin is about 50 km away from where I lived haha) but back in the early 90’s and to me, that was like another country away. Ro was so good to me and my siblings. She was definitely one of our favourites - she would come down and stay with us at the weekends and sure the excitement knowing Ro was on the bus on her way to us was always something to look forward to. She really was so good and I will never forget the unconditional generousity she showed us, not only monetary wise but with her heart. She gave us her full attention when in our company and continued that attention and care even when we were not sitting beside her. Packages and letters would be sent to our home, one weekly specifically for me. It was my weekly music hit - a tape with a song from the charts - it could be anything but mostly I had an idea. We would have discussed what was hot and what was not at the weekend together and then within a few days, Ro would have went to the music store and bought something for me and then sent it in the post. Honestly I cannot even explain the happiness I felt when opening these envelopes. The shape of the envelope - very clearly a tape wrapped up in brown paper - and then the excitement of seeing Ro’s heartful handwriting on the front, always including a little note for me inside too which was just as important as the gift.
I was so blessed to have such an amazing childhood. My parents - Joe- my dad - who passed away over ten years ago - and my beautiful mam Olive (Ollie) to this day is known not just by me and our family as one of the most generous and kindest people but anyone that has met her, they instantly feel her beautiful heart reach out to them. She is one of the softest and warmest souls I know and equally she carries inspirational strength. She is a one of a kind human just like her mam was too (Granny Nancy).
So not only did I have the best childhood because my parents were so wonderful to us but I also was blessed with so many wonderful influences - in this instance - my beautiful aunt Ro who helped grow, support and encourage my love for music. I completely believe the reason I’ve turned out the way I have - with what I believe is a soft heart and a huge love for music - is down to the memories and unconditional love I was shown as a child.
This is exactly why, since I became an aunty myself, eighteen years ago, I try my best to be a good aunty to my nephews and nieces. I try to share the type of magic and love I was shown as a child - as I know how important and impactful that specific, thought out love and effort pays off when you grow older. I believe that this specific kind of attention and kindness really helped me recognise the power of giving to others and as my nephews and nieces grow up, I want them to feel that support and to know they always have someone on their side. Someone supporting them in their passions and loves and with that type of support, the best results are possible. The strongest hearts are built. And its the kind of thing you cannot describe where you got it, but when you reflect back on your life, you know it was all those tiny yet huge moves made by the people who loved you in those early years, that make you the person you turn out to be.
The reason I am sharing this part of my life with you is because my love for music and my grá for the industry brought me back to a very specific music gig in Dublin last night and the person I brought with me to the gig was very important. The venue - The Ambassador Theatre - is a very historic location - over 250 years standing tall - and in recent years had been closed so I was thrilled to see in being reopened and back on the gig listings and I was thriled to bring a very special guest with me to this specific thought out gig.
The band we were going to see are one of my favourite bands. They are called ‘Amistat’ and I’ve been following them for a long time now. They busked on the streets all over Europe for seven years and it’s only in recent times that they are finally being recognised for their wonderful gifts. Like many artists, creatives and the majority of musicians in this world, it takes years for anyone to truly notice the magical gifts that they possess. Creatives have to continuiously turn up to their craft and their gift even when nobody cares about them, even when nobody sees them. Even when they feel nobody notices them or even appreciates them. Sadly this is just the story of success for any creative. Because as we know the only real way for creatives to reach true success is through the long hard days when it feels like you are not being seen. I understand this feeling well as an artist and a writer myself and even though it is very hard to push through the isolation and the unusal way in which we live our lives, I know this is my calling and I know that this feeling is what all creative people feel. This is my life’s purpose so I must never give up on it or I. If anything I must push on through the quietness and believe that I am reaching the people I need to reach in the order in which I need to reach them (you know how I believe in fate - the people who are reading this are my people- you are my people and I am so grateful for YOU) and this truly is the consistent and persistent climb up the creative mountain. For Amistat, their story alligns perfectly in what I am speaking about here. They shared at the gig how on numerous occasions , they didn’t know were they going to make it and only now they feel they are getting there. They shared how grateful they were for us, their audience and how in this moment they recognise all who have been with them since the start and how they are finally feeling close to the top of the mountain :)
So now to reveal who my company was for this magical gig!! :) :) So as I mentioned I became an aunty eighteen years ago and to introduce that child to you, who no longer is a child, he is officially now an adult, his name is Anthony. He turned eighteen over an month ago and I wanted to do something special with him. Just me and him. I have a few special adventures planned for the summer ahead for us but since he has his big end of school exams coming up in a week or two, I just wanted to mark it in a way that he would remember this time in his life.
So it was Anthony who I brought to the gig in the Ambassador theatre and this whole trip down memory music lane was for Anthony. I was very lucky that so many people brought me to gigs when I was young and introduced me to so much live music and of course the influence of my aunt Ro in the early days of my life introducing me to Irish artists of all kinds and really establishing in me, a love for the art of music which in turn has played a pivotal and hugely positive part to who I am today. And it was that art, that special feeling you get when listening to a talented music act live in front of you, that is exactly the magic potion I wanted to introduce Anthony to.
See in this modern life in which we have created… the younger generation are not experiencing music the same way we did in any part, in any way nor in any knowledge of what its truly like to experience live music being ingested into your soul before the whole world is singing your favourite song. They are now the Tik Tok generation and Spotify plays whatever they want whenever they want without ever having to earn that experience nor truly experiencing how that music made its way there. This is not their fault but it is our responsibility to show them more than just a play button on an app - that’s just my opinion but I do truly strongly feel that to be the case.
The feeling of patiently waiting for your favourite band releasing a single song on a tape or even the pure bliss of an album being announced is not something they will ever understand. They also are now exposed quickly to big stadium high end production concerts and they have instant insider access to the personal stories of band members from a very early age and even though I know this is a great experience and so called a wonderful time to be alive (that is something I question btw), I actually think they are losing out in a big way when it comes to true joy. They are skipping about twenty steps of how a passion grows inside your soul and most importantly they are missing that beautiful gentle appreciation for the art that is music. They do not see artists on stage. They see performers. They see the people they see everyday on their phones. It is not a special experience no more but a quickly added, quickly forgotten post on their socials. I believe they are a generation that has access to everything in a blink of an eye - what seems like a great progression in a fulfilled life but I actually feel they are losing out on so much. It is not their fault but our responsibility to rectify this aspect of modern society and the only way we can do this is by encouraging our younger generations to feel things differently through our very unique and important influence.
We the older generations are not mobile phones, we are humans with hearts. With minds. With the magical gift of memory reminding us of what they are missing. We can help redesign their core memories by creating them with them. Listening to music on your phone is an amazing modern thing but there is nothing like finding a band in their early days and turning up to gigs where the crowd is small and the songs are bigger than you could ever imagine. The musicians are testing and trying out every chord and vocal range on stage right of front of you, mistakes made yet you know no difference becuase its all real and raw and you are their witness. You then go on to watch that very band try and try and try again out in the real world and in endless venues where they succeed with the audience but might feel like their fail on their climb up the mountain. Of course that is not the case and that is the magic of being an audience member witnessing the sweat beads dripping from the lead singers forehead and the mic stand wobble as the energy from the stage is felt in every heart beat dancing in front of them. Genuinely nothing lights up my soul as much as watching a band work from the ground and rise to the top.
And that is exactly why I brought Anthony to his first proper proper gig in the Ambassador. I wanted him to witness Amistat through his own eyes before they become everyones favourite band and to know he saw them at the start of their rise will be a memory I hope he will treasure. I’m pretty sure a lot of his generation neither know what the Ambassador Threatre is nor would they understand the story of how a band fails a million times before they succeed. Again this is not their fault, this is all to do with the time they are living in and even though it is slick and smooth, it is fast and aestic, I believe the world our younger generation is growing up in, has never needed us more. Social media may have a power card of influence on our younger people but we have something the phone nor social media has, we have real life influence. And in no world will that not be the most influential wave of redirection. We must not hide from them, we must not be too busy, instead we must put in the effort, we must embrace them. It is now they need us most.
Last night was everything I hoped it to be. Amistat played out of their skin. We were five rows away from the stage and we couldn’t have had a more perfect seat. Anthony is a quiet soul. And as the support act finished, he seemed to really be relaxing into the vibe of the room. The energy of music flowing all around him and us.
Next up was Amistat. The band I couldn’t wait to see. And the band I couldn’t wait for him to see. I felt a little nervous, like I was about to introduce a canvas I just painted and I was hoping he would like it.
“These are the next big thing”, I say to Anthony as the lights start to dim. “Here we go”.
A soft but firm voice could be heard all around the theatre as a recording of what sounded like a speech played out. Thoughtful. A provoking reflection as each word arrived. Next out are the lads landing on the stage with their sidekick star drummer and off we go. An hour and a half of pure magic released to this very enthusiatic audience. Lyrics being sung back to the boys like we were the extended part of their band. Irish crowds are famous for this element - lets just say we like to be involved in the party ;)
The brothers Josef and Jan not only bring the music but they also bring the chat. Their endless tale telling stories have us all smiling from ear to ear and they constantly thank the crowd for sticking with them throughout the years and how the long days of busking and believing had led to this moment. They are not only very happy and joyful personalities but they are also very funny which is something you do not get from streaming a song on your airpods ;)
They play slow songs and fast songs. They ask us to stand up for a few songs and then encourage us to sit back down and relax once again. They mention that they usual go into the crowd but they didn’t think there was enough room in this theatre and in true Irish fashion, lots of voices make it known that there is lots of room as we move chairs to guide them to the middle of us. Me and Anthony were very lucky as the lads literally jump from the stage positioning themselves right across from us. I turn to Anthony to see his face and at this stage, he is electric and clearly is in full live music mode. His heart is full and its in his eyes. I say to him, “This is very special isn’t it?" He agrees and says “God they are awful happy lads aren’t they? They are so good.”
This intimidate moment with the lads and the audience is the stuff that makes live music the magic that it is. It was my dream for Anthony to experience a band as talented and as passionate and as sound as Amistat to sow seeds in Anthony’s mind that anything is possible in life if you work hard and that true dreams are made from those early days of seeing people believe in you. You always only need a few people to believe in you. And that goes for everything in this life, if your circle of believers are tight in this life, you will never be lost, and that goes for work and life in general no matter what age you are but also and as importantly in relationships and friendships too.
The big stadium gigs are just a pay day in the end for bands & their dedicated teams (and so well deserved) but the hard graft of pushing up that mountain in those early days (I know all about it- I’m on that mountain pushing forward) is where the energy and excitement really lies. To see the potential in what you are offering. To feel the opportunity in what you are. To dream big and to feel every fibre of it. For Anthony to watch the creative and the crowd come together as one was my dream and it was just as I hoped for. This core memory will never not play a part in his resilience and joy even if he doesnt know where it’s feeding from and I just felt so lucky to be able to repay what my parents and my aunt Ro had given to me in my early days of figuring out the world. Their special form of love was passed to me as a young person and here I was passing it on to a young person I love dearly.
To recognise and to always remember that we are all one on this earth and we are all just trying to find joy and that by working together, the magic really does happen in front of your eyes. That nobody is more special than anyone else and that we all come from the same ground. And we will return to that same ground when our day comes. And in between those times, we must stay grounded and connected to each other to truly experience what this world has to offer us. To see its natural beauty comes from what we build together not from standing separate to each other.
Modern society, our phones and a whole lot of money hungry organisations have really achieved the separation of us as humans on so many levels. But when we come together in an intimidate theatre on a Thursday night, sharing the same air, listening to the same music and feeling our hearts rush forward towards joy, I know that no matter how many people try to destroy human connection in this world, we must not let them. We must be the greatest human influencers of this time. We the people of this earth, who know what this world was like before this madness, we must hold onto our younger generations tighter than ever.
We must show them the way. We must open doors to memories that they know nothing about nor could they know they need. We must bring them into spaces of old and let them see the real magic of music, the real gift that is created when we are all at the beginning together and that no matter what if you work hard at something you love, you will always feel the reward right there in that moment. It is not in the future. It is there and then. It is the greatest frienship you will ever create within yourself and with the people who really care for you - it is the now. The memory. The magic.
These core memories are vital for your life ahead. They make you who you are in the days that will come and in the days when you will not know how to take the next step. They will help keep you strong when you feel weak. They will remind you to not give up no matter how hard things get. They will make your heart move in ways that you will not be able to explain with AI nor by a snapchat feed. Instead it will sit inside your spirit and it will remind you to return to the well of music, the well of live artists, the well of creatives, the well of experiences that are to be shared with others and to be felt right in those moments.
After the gig, we had nearly no words to say. It was beyond both of us to explain what we had just happened in the two hundred year old theatre yet we knew. And I know you know too. Its that magic that cannot be explained. I am listening to Amistat as I write this piece and I can feel the feeling, it is not the exact same but is relit from listening to them again. The only way I can describe it is something similar to when the sky opens with rain and its just beautiful. The kind of sky that impresses you and then when the rain started to lighten, the glow of colours start to fade into sight. A rainbow. The magic of a rainbow appears in front of you. There is nobody with you to see it but you can see it. You don’t know how long it will stay but it feel everlasting. It feels like home. It feels like Heaven just for a moment longer than your breathe exhales. And as you let your lungs release, you watch your rainbow fade away, inch by inch and within a blink, it’s gone. And then you smile because that is what magic feels like. You saw it. You witnessed it and even though its gone, its not really gone at all. Instead it has transferred to somewhere inside you. That’s what that evening with Anthony felt like, it felt like magic and I inhaled every musical moment and every magical memory with him and my favourite band combined. This is what the best parts of my life will look like when I look down from that heavenly rainbow in my next life.
Here’s to a lifetime of standing together inhaling the wonder that is live music and making core memories together with the people that matter to us. Memories that will take us all forward through our lifetimes.
Make those memories with the people you love and keep looking up. There might just be a rainbow trying to catch your eye x
PS. You might be wondering what the word ‘Amistat’ means and you wont be surprised why I tell you what it is. Amistat means ‘FRIENDSHIP” x
Thank you for being my friend, my believer and my guiding hand as I travel up the creative mountain in which I climb. Thank you for reading my words. You the air to my writing lungs. I will never forget that you were with me in every step I take and you were here when so many others did not see me.
Lots of Love,
Lou x
Facebook Home where I spend a lot of time living and laughing: www.facebook.com/livingandlaughingwithlou
A HUGE THANK TO MY LATEST YEARLY PAID SUBSCRIBER- KATHLEEN FULLERTON - THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN AND SUPPORTING MY WORK X
THANK YOU TO ALL MY PAID SUBSCRIBERS - I WILL FOREVER BE SO GRATEFUL TO YOU - I SEE YOU X
ThanK YOU to you my readers. I have been quiet of late as a number of personal worries got the better of me but I’m so happy to be back writing for you. This is a serious return with over 4200 words so hopefully you have enjoyed this rather long letter to you my dear friend x Please do leave a comment if this piece of writing moved you and made you smile. That is my aim and it’s always so great to know you’re here x
This Substack is dedicated to my nephew and godson Anthony and to my aunt Ro - both who have inspired and influenced me to be a better Lou x
Thank you Amistat for making that very special gig everything it was x
Hi Louise it's great to make memories with these me love and love read as always. I haven't been on much lately as I lost my beautiful mum back in January 😭 x
Hi Louise I've listened to your podcast & it's outstanding & to be at a music gig with your beloved nephew is awesome. You are one great person to be admired & a inspiration to others . Thank you for all you do .