CPI Archive 2008: Changing lanes Shy, modest and unassuming - Cathy Davey is the most unlikely of superstars. She chats to Andrew Hamilton about conquering her crowd fears, speaking from the heart and finding a brand new approach to making music.
IT’S NEVER been easy for Cathy Davey. As one of music’s most shy performers she has had to force herself every step of the way - and success, when it came, came only after a fight. Though critically praised, her 2004 debut Something Ilk, never really managed to make the cash registers ring. There were many, even in those early days, who thought that we might have heard the last of Cathy Davey. But those people were wrong, and after Tales of Silversleeve became the Irish album of 2007, there were few who could begrudge it. Mission accomplished, hard work rewarded. So, after waiting five long years to catch the public eye, why then would she choose to suddenly change lanes and take a different tack? The answer, quite simply, is that that’s what artists do. Once one challenge is overcome, the buzz is gone and the time is ripe for something new. Over the next two month Cathy Davey will be playing a number of Bare Bones gigs in tiny venues all over the country. The idea is to challenge herself in stages, to give herself no place to hide, to crank the emotional resonance up a notch or two. And so far at least, it’s working. “There is a lot of material that doesn’t really suit the bigger gigs where people expect a more raucous sort of night, so I’m very much trying to get into the performance side of gigging. I spent so many years not enjoying being on stage and now I’m starting to enjoy it and see what it is to sing these songs and especially in the small venues," she said.
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