i played guy in our community theatre performance of once: the musical in 2022. it let me do my favorite thing with fellow artists: play music, sing, and create deep experiences together.
it also introduced me to the art of the irish songwriter and brilliant musician, glen hansard. glen passed into the beyond this weekend. this episode mourns him.
when preparing for the musical, i didn’t know glen’s work. i watched once for the first time and was charmed by it. the stage music is different than the movie, though. one song, sleeping, confounded me. i found steve kazee’s broadway version unlistenable, much less did i find it enjoyable to learn and cover myself. nothing stuck as i tried memorizing this boring, soulless song. it felt flatter than a water-based pancake. it was the last song i memorized for the show. i, in fact, hated the song. i had glen’s versions of the other songs, and i can amplify the underlying emotions of them. not so for sleeping. so i went back to the drawing board: the other songs are in the soundtrack. glen and marketa wrote them. but not this one, the worst song in the play. where did this one come from?
i then searched. i then learned. the swell season. recorded before the movie was made. the moment i pressed play for the first time, the moment the guitar walked up the a string, the first time i finished hearing glen’s passion and voice express it, marked the moment the song was no longer a challenge to perform. in glen, i saw creativity flash and make the whole world a brighter place. i also fell in love with the song.
there’s something about the irish. glen. dolores. john o’donohue. my playing music in appalachia helped me learn the irish music history of the mountains. it is art. it is legacy.
rest in peace, glen. you made great use of your one wild and precious life.
i also give my appreciation to michael stipe, mispronounce dolores o’riordan’s name, and again sing of my love toward mary oliver.
this photograph i captured last week speaks to the energy of this event—a raging bull with lighting for ears.