Inspired #0010 - Eoin Glackin
Dublin songwriter Eoin Glackin new album ‘Fires of Innocence’ is out this September, he took a moment to talk to us about Leonard Cohen, and why the Rocky films inspire him.
Who are you top three musical inspirations and why?
My holy trinity has always been Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen. I could go a long time these days without listening to them but it seems they will always be the ones I come back to eventually. I suppose we all tend to stay true to our early heroes. Dylan scratched that rebellious itch for me when I heard him as a teenager, it was one man and a guitar taking on the establishment, tearing down sacred cows and looking cool doing it. Cohen held me in his arms in some of the darkest moments I've had in life and nursed me out the other side.
Springsteen reaches me in just as deep a way as those guys but he can also work the stage like nobody before or since. From the bombast of Born to Run to the understated unrest of Devils and Dust, he has a unique way of making one story, all stories.
Is there a certain film that inspires you and why?
It's probably high on most peoples "inspiring movies" list but I have to say Rocky. Everything about it. His speech to Adrian about how all he wants to do is go the distance, how then he'll know for the first time he wasn't just another "bum from the neighbourhood", gets me right in the feels. I also love Stallone's personal story of what he was up against leading up to writing and making the movie that went on to win the Best Picture Oscar in 1977.
What city do you find the most inspiring and why?
It would be wrong of me to say anywhere other than Dublin and I would just be saying it to sound more interesting. Dublin is the centre of my universe. It’s an unsettling place for a musician or artist to try and make a life these days with the property market descending into madness again but it is also as vibrant and culturally rich a place as you'll find anywhere on earth. Long may it last.
Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?
There are of course so many but who pops into my head now, outside of music, is Bruce Lee. He was a warrior poet, an outsider and a visionary. Learning about his life, reading his books and watching his movies as a kid gave me a great sense of strength and continue to do so.
How would you like to inspire people?
Not sure what kind of inspirational example I am fit to leave anyone but if there's something in the songs that helps someone change their headspace or just get out of bed in the morning when they're struggling, I'd be very happy. Not that I'm against a good lie-in.
Fires Of Innocence will be available worldwide on September 28th 2018.