At The Mike Stand With... Patrick Geraghty

By Mike Fitzpatrick

So there we were, minding our own, and most other people's business (or is that businesses?), when who (or is that whom?) should we bump into, but singer/songwriter Patrick Geraghty. No really, we did, sure we'd hardly make stuff up now, would we? Not after the last time anyway, sure we've still got people calling us to see if Jimi Hendrix is really performing live next week in Sligo with Philomena Begley and Red Hurley on the trombone.

Anyway, young Dubliner Patrick arrived in New York for a soccer scholarship at Hofstra University way back in 1998, going on to star in the college's, and the New York Shamrocks, footballing fortunes in the years since.

Having displayed a talent for singing and playing guitar some years back, Mr. G (as perhaps nobody's ever referred to him), two years ago stepped it up a gear, and, as little more than a hobby at first, started recording his compositions.

His first song, 'This Town', was made available on iTunes on February 1st, and the follow-up, 'Aimless', was released on March 1st. The plan, he tells us, is to release a new song on the first of each month for the rest of 2011.

Despite the soccer, the singing, the writing and the recording, Patrick was good enough to sit down and answer some incredibly nosey questions for us 'At The Mike Stand'.

What would you like your own tribute act to be called?
The Patrick Geraghty Tribute Band.

When's the last time you laughed out loud?
Today.

What act would you like to have seen perform live?
Led Zeppelin.

What team(s) do you support?
Nottingham Forest.

What period in history would you most like to have visited?
The Second World War.

What song would you most like to have written?
'Sometime Around Midnight' by The Airborne Toxic Event.

Who or what, would make you leave a room?
Cigarette smoke.

What decade rules (and why)?
The 70s. Punk rock.

What cover version do you most enjoy performing?
Paul Simon's 'Me and Julio Down By The School Yard'.

What movie role would you like to have played?
Rocky.

Have you ever been told you looked like somebody?
Yes, Wayne Rooney.

What's the first album you remember buying?
My first single was 'Sit Down' by James. Not sure on album.

Who's your favorite Beatle?
George Harrison.

What's your favorite Christmas song?
'Fairytale of New York' by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl.

Who's the most rock and roll person who ever lived?
Iggy Pop - He survived it all!!!

What artist/song/genre do you secretly enjoy listening to?
Del Amitri

Who would you most like to meet/have met?
Bach.

What book can you read again and again?
'Ripped - How the wired generation revolutionized music'.

What's the greatest album ever recorded?
'Ten' by Pearl Jam.

What artists would you most like to have played with in the band of your dreams?
John Bonham on Drums, Jaco Pastorius on bass and Slash on Lead Guitar.

What do few people know about you?
Elvis Costello called the police on me when I was 12.

What sitcom character can you most identify with?
George Costanza from Seinfeld.

What movie can you watch over and over again?
'24 Hour Party People'.

Who's your favorite cartoon character?
Randy Marsh.

What's the greatest place you've visited?
The top of Three Rock Mountain.

What's mankind's most wonderful invention?
Electricity.

What's mankind's most irritating invention?
The cigarette.

Who's the funniest person who ever lived?
Billy Connolly.

Who's your favorite namesake (person who shares your first name)?
Saint Patrick.

Who's your favorite character from literature?
Hannibal Lechter.