Music and paddling

As a musician, do you ever write or think of songs while out on the water paddling?

I often get my best ideas for songs while out on still water. When the world is still, my mind is still and I reflect on some of my most personal thoughts.

What is your favourite song to listen to while out on the water, or that is about being out on the water?

I often prefer not to listen to music when I’m out on the water. I like to be present in nature when I have the chance to get away from the busyness of life. One of my favourite songs about water is ‘Swallowed in the Sea’ by Coldplay. That’s one of those songs that I listened to on repeat in high school!

What are some of your favourite lakes or places you have adventured and explored?

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, my family often vacationed near Lake Chatcolet and Lake Coeur D'alene in Idaho. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful places in the United States!

Do you prefer paddling in a canoe or kayak, and why?

As an adult I find that I enjoy kayaking more because of the independence of paddling my own boat as well the design that allows for quick maneuvering but as a child, I loved going out on the canoe with my parents and two older siblings. There was something so heartwarming about packing a family of five into a canoe and experiencing everything together… especially having to work together not to tip over!

Any fun or interesting paddling stories you can share? Any neat adventures you've been on?

As I mentioned before, one of my favourite memories is strapping the seventeen food canoe to our minivan and then taking it out on Lake Chatcolet. We would paddle to the swimming hole with the rope that swung us out over the lake, and find the best fishing spots to catch dinner!

Where is one place you want to still explore most?

I would love to explore the San Juan Islands more. Though I grew up in Washington state, I lived on the opposite side of the state so I wasn’t able to visit the coast as often as I would have liked. The small amount of time i have spent kayaking there, I found it to be absolutely gorgeous!

What new projects for the rest of 2020 and into 2021 are you working on professionally?

I just released my song ‘Home’ and plan on releasing a few more before my full EP comes out early next year. This also includes a song I wrote entitled ‘Holding Me’ with a line ‘I’m a little row boat in a hurricane.’ It’s an introspective song that reflects on how life can be like being out on the water. Sometimes it can be the most comforting place in the world and other times it can be the most terrifying!

Upper River NORE

BLUEWAY

(‘U R NB’)

Words: John Campion Photos: Robert Carroll Someone told me that stage 1 of Covid lockdown was making banana bread. Stage 2 was making sourdough apparently, but stage 3 was a dip in the sea or local river! The mental wellbeing that it brought was to work wonders! From growing up in Errill, Laois and swimming as a kid in local spots like Cullohill or Castletown, I remembered the sensation of the cold dip but now a bit older, with kids of my own, I was looking to get back there but maybe see what it like from a kayaking perspective.

My cousin, Padraig Bree from Abbeyleix, had always spoken about a beautiful stretch of the Nore from Castletown right down to the Dunmore Demesne outside Durrow. He had kayaked it himself many years previously and again in 2019, and while he stressed the river was now a bit choked up in places, it sounded like a magical experience.