DAVID HOPKINS press still rolling in....

The two performances by DAVID HOPKINS at CMJ and THE CRAICFEST were amazing for all those that could actually fight through that insane NYC traffic this weekend (United Nations, Fashion Week, & CMJ). Sunday night's Craic Fest show at Arlene's Grocery was especially sweet.


Here is the HERALD article just dropped....

CHILD OF LIR BECOMES MASTER OF HIS OWN DESTINY
by Eamon Carr

With one of the more impressive Irish albums of the year to his credit, you'd think David Hopkins would be happy. But back in Ireland from his home in the States, he has a problem. People see him as a solo artist and have even begun to suggest he'll give Damien Rice a run for his singer-songwriter melancholy. "I don't come from that background," he stresses. "I got a guitar because I didn't want to lug keyboards around anymore. When I write a song, I think of a whole band. I much prefer that sound. I'm into Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin."

Hopkins was a member of local outfit LIR, a brash combo wilfully out of step with their times. A good band who probably got the wrong breaks. They moved to America and that's where Hopkins' story took a new twist. "We got signed straight out of school," David recalls. "We were 17 when we got a deal. They put money into us. It was great. We thought we were going to make it. "At one gig in the States, we had 37 record companies come to see us," he says with a wry laugh. "The management strategy was, 'Let them wait'. But we waited. And waited. And nothing happened. We had a great time for a couple of years but after that it was a struggle." Hopkins quit the band. Then he quit music.

"I wasn't into it", he confesses. "I sold all my equipment. I went to college in New York for a few months but then I moved to San Francisco. I needed to earn a few bob." After a few years, he bought a guitarand began writing new songs, some of which are still performed by acts around ~San Francisco where he lived for seven years before moving back to New York. He'd worked as a session-player, toured with The Who for six months and was eventually spotted by the management company which handles The Killers. As his album, Amber & Green, receives a critical thumbs up, Hopkins is putting a band together in Dublin, a town he barely recognised on his return. "It had totally changed, he says. "People had money. The prices are unbelievable. It's worse here than in the States. But the music scene here is great. It's buzzing with all these young bands and singer songwriters."

Meanwhile, the songwriting continues: "I probably write about a hundred songs a year," he reveals. As the word of mouth buzz builds on Amber and Green, Hopkins is planning to tour with his band around the end of October. Expect the gigs to be a sell-out.

*Amber & Green is out on Reekus Records.