SINEAD AND SIN-E

When I first heard of Sinead O’Connor’s passing at the young age of 56, I pulled the car over and had to listen to her. It had been many years since I’d done so. I didn’t realize until that moment how much I had forgotten her and her music, and I was amazed at how I immediately remembered how much I had loved her music. It was as if something had been dug up or found after being lost.

Sinead was inspirational to me – a singer who was remarkably her own in voice and mind. No one sounded like her. No one looked like her. She was a brave musician and political activist. Ironically, many people are looking back at the SNL Sinead-Pope event in a new way, saying she was right about all that sexual abuse 10 years before anyone paid attention to the Catholic Church’s denials of such. Maybe it’s perceived as ill-planned, but I always thought it was a brave thing to do.

I was talking with bandmate Mikel Gehl about Sinead and how upset I was and he shared similar feelings, reminding me of a Bob Dylan Tribute Concert where Sinead was booed. Kris Kristofferson came out and put his arm around her. The band kept trying to start the song but she refused. Instead, she masterfully took control of the situation.

We also remembered our times in the 1990's performing at Cafe Sin-'e in New York. The cafe was run by Shane Doyle, a friend of Sinead and fellow Irish native. Sinead would appear there spontaneously as would many other artists ranging from Jeff Buckley to Allen Ginsburg. I remember secretly wondering and hoping Sinead would come by every time we played there.

While the artists were eclectic the vibe was consistent, Sin-e was a place where the attitude was positive, music was appreciated and friendships were made. Capacity was small, less than 50, but once the tables filled, people would gather on the sidewalk and listen while peering through the store front-style glass windows. The audience would pay close attention and always took time to ask about certain lyrics or share what the performance meant to them. We would always leave inspired with the determination to create music that would affect the world (or our small part of it) in a positive way. But I don’t think Love Riot was ever as brave as Sinead O’Connor.

RIP in peace, Sinead. Thank you being.