Ken McGuire might just be the busiest man in Kilkenny. Sure, there are bosses more than twice his age in big companies who work long hours, burning the candle at both ends but Ken burns it, remoulds it and then burns it again.
Ken started life a mere 24 years ago in the city and by the time he was 16, and had had a good look around, he decided to take to life’s stage.
Ken is one the people behind kilkennymusic.com and Devious Theatre and the recent podcast camps initiative. He plays the guitar, writes and performs music, acts, directs and has also just taken up kayaking.
He’s punctual too. He arrives bang on the appointed time and turns off his humming mobile ‘phone.
“In Transition Year in the CBS in James’s Street, I got to try out lots of different things,” says Ken. “We got to do drama and music as well as our usual subjects and, in fact, we were the first year to take Music for the Leaving Cert. Before that, you weren’t allowed to take Music for the Leaving because of the way the subject choices were organised but about eight of us decided we really wanted to do it so we pushed for it and we got it.”
A diploma in Multi-Media at Waterford Institute for Technology followed and what Ken describes as ‘the best years of my life’.
“Waterford is great,” he says. “I have loads of time for Waterford. I moved down there while I was at college and I worked at the Talbot Hotel and at AOL. I learned a lot while working at America Online and not just about technical support; I learned patience and tolerance too. I often had to calm the person on the other end of the ‘phone so now, I am patient if I have to ‘phone for technical support. I know the person in the call centre is trying to help and it just might take them a while to get me the help I’m looking for.”
While lending technical support to users of AOL, Ken learned many of the skills he still uses today in his work and when members of his family need him.
“Yeah, I’m the one they call on when there’s software to be installed,” he says laughing.
Ken’s parents instilled in Ken and his brother, Gary, a love of travel taking the family’s camper van across Europe during summer holidays and finding adventure along the way. After college, Ken came home and worked for his father’s company, EMG Control Systems, for six weeks; the premises which was to become home to Ken’s company.
“Aidan Coonan, my friend from college, and myself set up Event Ireland which supplies online communications solutions, web design, graphic design, logos and online advertising. We deliver training sessions and seminars also. Aidan handles the marketing side of the business and I do the web design and photography. That’s my 9-5 job and then from 5 onwards, I do the other stuff.”
The other stuff includes kilkennymusic.com which promotes local music and works with local and national bands.
“We offer advice, recording, photography, online advertising and gigs and we host the One-Take Sessions every third Thursday of the month in Cleere’s pub where local bands play and then we offer a selection of their gig on podcast on the website,” says Ken.
The mention of podcasts leads to talk of the Podcast Camp, a very successful venture which took place last September in the Ormonde Hotel.
“It’s an ‘unconference’,” says Ken. “Instead of people coming to hear appointed people speak, it is based on the people attending being allowed the freedom to participate and move around from lecture to lecture. If someone feels they want to give a talk on something, they can put their name down and go for it. All ages of people turned up for the Podcast Camp; from teens to people in their seventies. My granddad was there. We’re holding another one in March in the Parade Tower and that will be a Creative Camp which will fuse the best of business technology with the creative.”
The word around town after Devious Theatre brought John Morton’s, ‘Heart-Shaped Vinyl’ to the stage in Cleere’s was that if you hadn’t seen it, you were missing out on something special.
“We put it on again because so many people wanted to see it,” says Ken, “and since then, the rights have been bought twice by other theatre companies. We also brought ‘Cannibal! the Musical’ to the Watergate and I directed it.”
(‘South Park’ fans take note: Cannibal! The Musical was written by Trey Parker). Devious Theatre was set up in 2006 by Ken and his friends, John Morton, Kevin Mooney and Niamh Moroney.
“We wanted to do theatre which was relevant to people our age,” says Ken, “and provide an alternative to going to the pub on a Saturday night. We had been in Dreamstuff, the theatre wing of Young Irish Filmmakers where I had played Brian in The Life of Brian. I had played the lead in the musical, ‘Half a Sixpence’ when I was at school and making the transition from playing in a band to appearing on stage was grand because there was music involved. There are some differences between playing music on stage and acting though; with the music, you get to be yourself and you get lost in your music and delivering it the way it was intended to be delivered. With theatre, so much has to go right so it has an extra edge but I am comfortable on stage. With Devious, I am also involved in production, advertising and working backstage. No, I’m not a control freak,” he says laughing. “I’m very happy letting others do stuff.”
Ken admits to being an avid blogger and he can be found at kenmc.com. He also compiles playlistmix.com which features weekly podcasts from independent musicians from the UK, US and Canada.
“I love Canada,” says Ken. “I was there years ago and I want to go back again. I was supposed to be in Canada last week but I went up to my parents’ house in Sligo and took the kayak out onto Loch Talt. I bought a kayak at Christmas and spent every day out in it over the holidays. Kayaking is pure escapism; you switch off the mobile, switch off your head and just float around on the lake.”
The suggestion that he had instruction before taking to the water in a tiny vessel is greeted with bewilderment.
“No, you just sit in and off you go,” he says. “My brother Gary took to it before I did and it sounded like great fun. Myself and Gary are in a funky trad band in Sligo now called ‘The Boxty Band’ and we played over New Year’s. I’m in a trad band here too called The Cracked Bucket Band and we have played in Paris Texas pub.”
“I love doing what I’m doing,” says Ken, “and I want to keep on doing it. I want to meet more new people and do more new things.”