Kilkenny adoptee, Jenny Huston, once Radio Kilkenny DJ, now 2fm DJ, has released her first book entitled In Bloom-Irish Bands Now.
The book features in-depth interviews with some of Ireland’s most successful bands who speak frankly with Jenny about their experiences in the music industry.
The book, launched last Saturday, is an in-depth look into Ireland’s most prominent music artists. Accounts are given from established artists such as Bell X1, Mundy, Mick Flannery and Lisa Hannigan about their struggles in the beginning especially with confidence issues. There are also anecdotes by up-and-coming artists and one of those featured is Kilkenny’s Jeremy Hickey aka RSAG.
Speaking to the Kilkenny Advertiser, Jenny, whose mum currently resides in Kilkenny, talked about her time in Kilkenny where she worked in Cleere’s Pub and in Radio Kilkenny. She came to Kilkenny in 1996 and began working in Bennetton.
“I began working in Benetton folding jumpers,” she laughed. “I was eventually told very nicely by one of my colleagues that this kind of work wasn’t for me and that I should head down to Cleere’s pub where John Cleere trained me in bar work.
“Working in Cleeres was brilliant, it was great to hang around in the local music scene and when I started working in Radio Kilkenny, I had loads of help getting records from the likes of DJ Cormac Battle.
Jenny started as a volunteer in Radio Kilkenny after the head of programming came in search of ‘the Canadian who worked on radio in Canada’. Eventually she got a few night time slots as a DJ and she also did a lot of work on the Cats Laughs Festival.
“ I used to do vox pops and then I was the venue organiser. That was brilliant, I love that festival,” she said.
When Jenny first came to Kilkenny, she was on her own and had no expectations. But after some time everyone seemed to know who she was.
“I’d be walking down the street and people would stop me saying ‘you’re the Canadian!’ I didn’t know whether to be scared or not. I used to love hanging around in the pub reading Hot Press or a newspaper. There was definitely no chance of me being lonely anyway.”
Speaking about the book and her time writing it Jenny said that her inspiration was the need to highlight Irish bands.
“I wrote this book as I felt that we need to celebrate Ireland’s bands more in this country. People can be quite begrudging and I wanted this book to acknowledge all of their achievements.
“ All of the bands featured were really honest about their struggles. It was great to sit down with them without having to rush and it has to be said that they were all really down to earth and are exceptionally hard-working.
“ That’s the way the industry is at the moment, you won’t get anywhere waiting for people to do the work for you,” she said.
Jenny Huston’s new book is definitely a must read for any young bands hoping to break into the music industry or for anyone interested in music in general - so keep an eye on the shelves for it. In Bloom - Irish Bands Now is retailing at €20.
