INTERVIEW:Gentry Morris cut his musical teeth in Nashville, but the cut-throat lifestyle of the country music capital meant he relocated to the bright lights of Bangor, Co Down, where he's been planning his campaign to conquer the Irish musical market, writes Roisin Ingle
GENTRY MORRIS HAS been delayed. A few hours before his first Dublin gig, the young singer calls with the news that his car has been clamped. Arriving at Whelan's an hour later, green-eyed and baby-faced, he apologises in the kind of magnolia-tinged accent that could make you forgive anything.
"The hustle and bustle of big cities really doesn't suit me," sighs the 25-year-old from America's deep south. "I saw the space painted on the ground, so you think you should be able to park, but apparently there are other magical rules involved. There was a sign but they should really make them bigger, big enough for stupid Americans to read."
Since leaving his adopted home of Nashville last year, Morris has lived in Bangor, Co Down, in a house by the sea where the living is easy and finding a legal parking space is much more straightforward. He lives there with his wife - he got married before coming to live in Ireland - and has gotten used to local reaction to his marital status. "It's funny, some Irish people are so amazed that I am married, they say it in a sad voice like they feel sorry for me, as though I am missing out," he says, clearly bemused. "Where I'm from, I was one of the last among my group of friends to get married, it's quite normal."
Growing up in a Christian family near the buckle of Georgia's Bible belt, he started writing songs as a teenager. "I wrote some really awful stuff, realised it was awful and tried to do better," he grins. As a student he dabbled in a few different subjects from marketing to history "but I always knew deep down that I wanted to do music, so that's when I moved to Nashville. My parents didn't mind, they were paying for my tuition fees and I think they got fed up with me changing so much," he says.
His first album, Daydreams, was released when he was 20 and he describes it as a "very immature album, very pop-driven. When I moved to Nashville I thought I should have something to sell at shows." He is much happier with the The Bare Bonesand Bad IdeasEP he recorded two years ago in a home studio. There is a pile of them in a torn plastic bag sitting beside his guitar on the ground - they've been selling well on the back of his support slot with Juliet Turner, which is taking him around the country. Highlights are songs called The Waltzand a dark little ditty called My Heart Can Surely Hurt.
So, how did he end up here? "Nashville is a tough town," he says. "I'm way too laid back for the cut-throat lifestyle, I started looking to move here because I wanted a fresh start. And a lot of the music I grew up listening to was from the UK and Ireland. I always liked Josh Ritter a lot and I know he goes down very well here so I thought, well, maybe they will like me too."
A youth worker in Nashville, he was offered a job in a Christian youth camp in Newcastle, Co Down, and alongside his music career he now works with young people across the county.
"I fell in love with the way of life here and I'm hoping I can develop a fanbase. I plan to stay at least five years," he says. The idea that Morris might eventually manage a Josh Ritter or a David Gray - both artists used Ireland as a starting base at the beginning of their careers - seems plausible when you listen to his music. It's simple, heartfelt fare delivered in an original voice that commands attention.
His memorable name can only help. "Gentry was my mother's maiden name, so I've only ever heard of it as a surname," he says. "There was one guy who e-mailed me through my website and said 'my name is Gentry Morris and I play music too'. For a second, I thought it was me sending me messages from the future so it was interesting. I didn't really know what to say to him."
He was in the US on holidays when he got an e-mail from Juliet Turner asking whether he wanted to support her on tour. "I e-mailed her back and said I'm in the States, I'm not going to be able to do it. So I paced around the house for 45 minutes until my wife said 'just write her back, you know you will be miserable for the rest of the holiday if you don't'. So I did and it's been wonderful," he smiles.
Ireland suits him. "It's a pretty simple life I have. I like Bangor because it's a really quiet town. It's peaceful there. If you go outside in the States at night you can always hear something, aeroplanes going over, or sirens, or even if there's none of that, there are crazy crickets chirpin' all night long. I like the quiet here," he says.
His Christian roots are important to him but he's no Bible basher. "There's a song on the EP called Thank Godbut it's not religious exactly, it's about appreciating the people in your life and not getting caught up in material things or money or beauty or work, just being conscious of what's important," he says.
"It's a big part of my life, just wanting to do what's right for the people around you, treating people the way you would like to be treated, that seems to be the most important thing for me," says Gentry Morris - a southern gentleman, songwriter and clamper's dream.
Gentry Morris supports Juliet Turner tonight at Lawless' Hotel, Aughrim, Co Wicklow, and the tour continues nationwide. www.gentrymorris.com