Musicians often say they get treated better gigging in mainland Europe than at home in Ireland or the UK. For Edel Curtin, a trained pianist, it was a particularly bad touring experience that lead her to her current calling: as manager and owner of Coughlan's Bar and Live venue in Cork city.
“We were treated extremely badly,” Curtin tells me of the touring stop. “I decided then that if I ever got the opportunity to open a small venue I would do it. Four years later, that's what happened.”
Curtin's parents gave her a small red piano when she was three, she attended The Cork School of Music and played live piano for a living. Apart from a year of studying psychology, everything pointed to music performance.
Curtin and her friends used to meet up on a Monday night in Coughlan's, a small pub on Douglas Street, in operation since the early 1800s, to play some tunes together. “I half-jokingly suggested that if the bar counter was made smaller it would be a nice little music venue,” she says.
Her suggestion was taken seriously, the room was coverted and Coughlan's Live, Curtin's new venture was born.
“I decided the best way to launch the venue would be to put on a small music festival there to show people we were serious about this,” Curtin explains. “The festival was a huge success and has since become an annual feature on the calendar.”
When Curtin became a partner in Coughlan's she had to make the decision to give up her live music vocation in order to make the venue a success. “I think it was the right decision for me,” she says.
Curtin's experience on-stage, and of of the negative side of playing venues as a musician ensures she knows exactly what musicians want which in her new role is “invaluable.”
“I think having come from that background, it's easier to understand the frustrations and challenges that musicians face,” she expands. “If we can change those in some small way then we are doing OK in my book.”
Curtin naturally faced some challenges herself in trying to establish a new venue without experience. Everything from booking to promotion to poster design is done in-house. “I had never done this before and didn't have very many contacts in the music industry,” she explains. “Coughlans was always seen as a backstreet old man's bar and to try to change that perception was going to be difficult.”
Winning IMRO Live Venue Of The Year in 2013 after just a year in operation helped in that regard, which along with local support has helped change that perception and put Coughlan's on the map as a place to go and for musicians to play in Cork.
“It really changed things for us as we are such a small and new venue,” Curtin says of the award. “This isn't an easy job, so to know you have so much support from so many people is a huge boost, especially the days that things might not be going quite as you would like. It gave us national recognition which obviously helped hugely in getting acts to play the venue.”
Since its inception, acts from the old-guard like Jerry Fish, Lisa Hannigan, Duke Special and Liam Ó Maonlaí have played the venue as well as upcoming musicians like Booka Brass Band, Wyvern Lingo and The Strypes.
“We were fortunate that the musicians that came and played enjoyed the experience and spread the word,” Curtin says of the first artists to play the venue. “It's always great to see their audiences growing each time they come back and eventually us promoting their shows in bigger venues.”
The word intimate is bandied about by promoters a lot these days, even if the venue they are describing as such are big enough to hide a large aircraft. Coughlan's is a genuinely small room and performers aren't separated from their audience. “There's a huge buzz in seeing people watch their favourite musicians play right in front of them,” Curtin says.
As manager and promoter, Curtin doesn't really get time off. "Between looking after the bar and then trying to keep the venue going, there aren't many free hours in the week but there are a lot of other positives,” she enthuses. ”The staff we have are fantastic and we're all close friends. They work hard and there's a real sense of teamwork; it's nice being part of that.”
“I think it's definitely something you have to be passionate about in order to keep going,” Curtin states. “There's a lot of behind the scenes work that goes on that I think people don't realise. I'm very lucky to have Brian Hassett working with us, he's my business partner in Coughlan's Live Promotions too. He's fantastic at his job and very passionate about making a change for the better within the industry. I really never know what the next day will bring, but you always hope it will be something positive.”
As for change Curtin would like to see in her industry? “It would be nice if there was a bit more support from the government for small venues, as long as the support is passed on to the musicians,” she reasons. “It shouldn't cost musicians money to play a gig, which is so often the case. Venue hire and gig costs can be very expensive. I'd like to see something happen to change this so that there's an actual incentive for musicians to go on the road.”
