We can't wait to play loads of gigs in the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival

TELL us about yourself;

My name is Darragh O’Connor, a lot of people know me as ‘Doc’. I’m the band leader of BoolaBoom, a new 20-piece brass and percussion band based in Cork. We play house music on acoustic instruments.

We are playing loads of gigs in the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival including the Opera House, on the outdoor stage at Emmet Place, and in Conway’s Yard.

I used to play keyboards in bands for years, then I learned to play drums and I started the Cork City Samba Band with the help of Steve Kelly from the Cork School of Music, and I ran that for 10 years. I wanted to change it up a bit after the pandemic, so we morphed into BoolaBoom by adding 11 horn players. It’s the best craic.

On Culture Night, we did a fundraising busk for Libya and a video of us playing to a huge crowd dancing outside the GPO went viral on Twitter.

My favourite thing about playing on the street is that anyone, young, old, rich or poor can stop and watch. 

You don’t really get that in pubs and venues. An elderly woman came up to me on Culture Night and said she had just come from visiting her brother in a nursing home and that we put a smile back on her face.

I love it when little kids come out dancing in front of us too, they’ve no inhibitions. We give them little egg shakers sometimes and their day is made. We can’t wait to do more of that during the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival and to see all the other brass bands too.

Where were you born?

I’m Cork born and bred. I lived in Ballyvolane until I was 11 and then moved to Passage West where my parents and lots of the O’Connor clan still live.

Where do you live?

The Lough.

Family?

I’m the eldest of three brothers and I’m married with two kids, Rory and Sally.

Best friend?

I’ve a big group of best friends from school and college. Even though we’re all parents, we still see each other a good bit. One of them moved back from Canada with his family during the pandemic and now lives right across the road from us. 

We are friends since we met in junior infants in St Joseph’s on the Mardyke and now our four kids are best friends which is brilliant.

Earliest childhood memory?

My Grandad Mullane laughing at me when I couldn’t understand why all the cattle on his farm, in Burnfort near Mallow, didn’t all have names.

Person you most admire?

Any community volunteer like lifeboat crews or those amazing teams who search the river when people go missing.

Person who most irritates you?

Wealthy landlords who sit on derelict houses and buildings in the middle of a housing crisis.

Where was your most memorable holiday?

We did a three month honeymoon in Bali and The Philippines. Looking back now as a parent and working full time, it was preposterous. 

Only for the photos I’d start doubting myself it ever happened.

Favourite TV programme?

Would I Lie To You?, especially when Bob Mortimer or Joe Wilkinson are guests.

Favourite radio show?

The FishGoDeep house music podcast with Shane Johnson and Greg Dowling.

Your signature dish if cooking?

Roasted tomatoes and courgette fusilli with chorizo, pesto and rocket. My kids call it ‘Dada Pasta’.

Favourite restaurant?

A tie between Goldie and Wabi Sabi.

Last book you read?

Attention All Shipping, by Charlie Connelly.

Best book you read?

This Is Your Brain On Music, by Daniel Levitin. Helped me understand why we react so emotionally to music and rhythm.

Last album/CD/download you bought?

Straight Foxin’ by Retromigration. A German-Nigerian producer based in Amsterdam mixing sublime jazz and EDM.

Favourite song?

The Ghetto (Live at the Troubador 1972, version) by Donny Hathaway. His Fender Rhodes solo gives me goosebumps every time I hear it and the percussion breakdown is fantastic.

Your proudest moment?

We busked outside the GPO on Paddy’s Day this year which was our very first performance and it was completely nuts. 

We had practiced in a cold warehouse all winter and I was really delighted for everyone in the band after the effort they put in.

Someone sent a video of us to Kerri Chandler playing his classic house track Atmosphere and he sent us a nice message on Instagram saying he wanted us to play together next time he’s in Cork.

Spendthrift or saver?

Pure saver.

Name one thing you would improve in your area in which you live?

I’d love if the city centre had a covered outdoor performance space for buskers, like the Apple Market in Waterford or the Milk Market in Limerick.

What makes you happy?

Swimming on a sunny day at Blind Strand in Courtmacsherry, then going for fish and chips in The Lifeboat Inn with family and friends.

How would you like to be remembered?

Ideally, a giant statue on Pana, a dedicated mausoleum and a bridge named after me.

What else are you up to at the moment?

I’m working on the first BoolaBoom EP that we’ll release before the end of the year, which will include a remix of our track Summer House by French house producer Art of Tones, aka Ludovic Llorca. I’ve been a big fan of his for years so I’m honoured he’s remixing us.

Don’t miss Boolaboom performing over the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival weekend:

• Friday, October 27, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Support - Cork Opera House - 7pm
• Saturday, October 28, Jazz on the Plaza - Outdoor free stage, Emmet Place, Cork - 3pm
• Sunday, October 29, Jazz on the Plaza: Street Performance - Outdoor free stage, Emmet Place, Cork - 3pm. + Conways Yard, Oliver Plunkett St., Cork - 4.30pm

See www.guinnesscorkjazz.com