By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
March 12, 2004
They’re not as famous as U2, the Corrs or Sinead O’Connor, but Ireland’s Saw Doctors had one of the biggest singles in their homeland with a little ditty called “I Useta Lover.” Refreshingly down to earth, the band is touring the United States to promote its latest CD/DVD, “The Saw Doctors Live in Galway” (Shamtown Records, in stores Tuesday).
Founding member Davy Carton called from Ireland to talk about hitting the top of the charts, having to choose between his family and his band, and why he may have to fight James Brown for the title of the hardest-working man in show business.
Here’s what Carton had to say:
Last good movie you saw: I thought “In America” was fantastic. I was crying at the movie. [Director] Jim Sheridan is a well-known character in Ireland. We were always rooting for him.
Hitting No. 1 and No. 2 in Ireland at the same time: “N17,” which is a road kind of equivalent to Route 66 in America, was our first single and nothing happened. Then we released “I Useta Lover” with no promotion and it became a sensation — the biggest-selling single in Ireland.
Talented or lucky: We readily admit that we had a charmed beginning. [Laughs] We wanted to sing in our local vernacular and not sound like George Michael. He’s a great singer, but you don’t really know where he’s from. There’s a line in one of our songs that says “everything’s local.” We’re not Bono shouting from the rooftops. We’re just Irish guys from Galway.
The Waterboys and you: The Waterboys were in Galway for a show and [frontman] Mike Scott walked into a bar we happened to be playing in. We were just starting out. He asked if we wanted to be his support act. During the tour, he said they were going to do six weeks of concerts in England and did we want to come with? It was amazing. Charmed.
Best advice you ever got: I was working [years ago] as a fitter in a factory and my wife was about to have our third child. I had been able to work the Irish tour with the Waterboys by using sick days. But it was going to be impossible to do that on a six-week tour of England. My boss wouldn’t let me get time off and I didn’t know what to do. But my wife said, “This is all you’ve ever wanted to do, so just go.”
How you spent your tour money: We made about $100 that had to be split between six of us. We took out a $3,000 bank loan to fund the tour. But the Waterboys let us eat food from their table, so we didn’t have to spend a lot of money for that, at least.
Why James Brown has nothing on you: In “N17,” we sang about how we’re the hardest-working band in show business and the [other guys] called me the hardest-working man in show business ’cause I was driving the van around to get us from place to place and then performing on stage right afterward. It was fun.
Why going broke was worth it: That tour took us from nowhere to playing in front of 3,000 people in London. If we hadn’t taken out a loan, we may never have made a name for ourselves outside of Ireland.
On hearing Americans do Irish accents: They don’t sound Irish enough, usually ’cause they’re too exaggerated with their accents.
What your kids are up to: My boys range from 15 to 20 and they play in a band called Gurt with two of their friends. They don’t sound anything like us. They would be more emo rock.
On your fans: We’ve been going to the States since 1991 and originally there were all Irish fans. Now a lot of the Irish have gone home and the majority of people who come to our shows are American.
Strongest U.S. market: Probably New York, because that’s where we first landed. They have a soft spot for us and we do for it, too.
