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Records and Carver and his team of Alan Leonard a
nd cinematographer Fiona Graham, where some of Ireland’s most vital voices in Irish music are finally being heard. Reflecting on a project that he has worked on for close to a decade, Carver considered the weight and responsibility in making a documentary of this ilk, “It’s strange thinking about how long I’ve spent rummaging around this man’s life. It’s an odd thing, telling somebody’s life story.” The documentary features interviews with Christopher’s contemporaries, including the aforementioned Hansard, Colm Mac Con Ionmaire, Lisa Hannigan, Sharon Horgan, Rónán Ó’Snodaigh, and Josh Ritter along with his family sharing memories of the man who sang about making his Heyday last forever. What began as a radio documentary submitted as part of a thesis for his Communications Degree from Dublin City University, Carver was inspired to piece together the various strands of Christopher’s life because, as he recalled, here was “a really great story that nobody has ever told.” Having moved from Cork to Dublin over 20 years ago whilst dabbling in songwriting, Carver remembered his introduction to Mic Christopher’s music. “We had a number of mutual friends that I’d been playing music with. In December 2001, I was at a friend’s house, where a group of people prepared for an upcoming performance of HeyDay on The Late Late Show’s New Year’s Eve special. That was the first time I heard of Mic and his music. From that moment on, I became fascinated by his songs because it cut through everything else that was around at that time.” A year after Christopher’s death, in 2002, under the tutelage of Karl Odlum (a dear friend and former Mary Janes member) Skylarkin’ – Christopher’s only solo record – was released and took home the prize for Best Irish Album at the 2003 Meteor Awards. When you listen to the record today, there’s a timelessness in both the arrangements and lyrics. The songs remain fresh, exuding a comforting warmth anchored by his gravelly cadence which sometimes resembles Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. “Everytime I listen to the album, something new stands out to me,” smiled Carver. “You can go deep with the lyrics, almost thinking that his words foreshadowed something, even though that wasn’t his intention. On ‘Skylarking’ he sings, “Cos my songs don’t know that I exist / And though I give them life it is.” That verse ends with a beautiful line, “My songs are friends I’ll never know.” At the core of what Carver hopes will come from making this feature-length, which has been included in this year’s IFI Documentary Festival’s programme, is that Christopher’s music will be heard and appreciated, “You hope that the music will be enjoyed for a second time around and hopefully reach a new audience.” He continued, “I also thought it was important to document his legacy. I wanted to give him the chance to be discovered as an Irish Nick Drake for generations to come. That was the lofty aim, anyway, in making the documentary. Most people listening to the radio in Ireland will recognise HeyDay, but to a certain extent, the rest of his music has fallen through the cracks. For me, as a music fan, the idea of a kid discovering Mic Christopher, hearing his music because we made a film about him was always a huge inspiration and motivation. Who knows how people will be consuming culture in 20 or 30 years, but let’s presume it’s similar to today, you hope that there’ll be people, maybe even around the world, flicking through say Netflix and go, ‘Oh, let’s watch this,’ and for Mic Christopher to become a sort of Sugarman figure.” Certainly, as you watch people remember Christopher and detail his life, in which he did so much, you come away from the documentary feeling like you knew him, too. You feel how the loss of Mic Christopher is as palpable as it was 18 years ago when the news of his accident reached home. With HeyDay: The Mic Christopher Story now a completed chapter in Carver’s career, he’s forthcoming on the impact the project has had on him and his life. “Rónán Ó’Snodaigh said to me after the Vicar St show in 2016, ‘You’ve carried Mic’s soul with you for a long time.’ That floored me. I feel blessed to have had Mic be such an important part of my life from the making of the documentary. It’s very humbling to think it all just happened the way it did. At this stage, I think of Mic as a friend. I’ve talked to him a lot and had countless moments where I’ve asked him if we’re doing ok with the project. Towards the final stages, we almost had a four-hour long film. Alan and I had a huge challenge editing the film in terms of making sure it made sense filmically. We had a lot of back-and-forth with what worked and what we needed to have in there; whether it was including certain pieces of music or making certain points. During those stressful times, I used to ask Mic, ‘Are we doing alright?’ I’ve even consulted him about aspects of my personal life. I think of him as an avuncular presence, a sort of older dude who’s a part of my life now.” HeyDay: The Mic Christopher Story screens as part of the IFI Documentary festival on Saturday September 28 at 8.30pm and will be followed by a Q&A director Alan Leonard and producer Níall Carver. ifi.ie/docfest REFLECTIONS ON MIC “His lyrics weren’t straight-forward. They were unique.” - Paddy Casey, singer and musician. “He used to write his phone number in pen on the back of the CDs so anyone who went into Road Records to buy it had Mic’s phone number. People would text him, that he didn’t know, and say, ‘Hey Mic, I got your EP and I really liked it. Hope you’re well!’ And he would text back. It was brilliant.” - Donal Scannell, founder Born Optimistic “‘HeyDay’ is about just that. This is it, this is your Heyday and you’re not going to be afraid to shout. I think those are words to live by and he really ways the guy to say them.” - Josh Ritter, singer and musician 46