From being a Foo Fighters hopeful to a Ballyshannon art exhibitionist
The drummer’s holding an art exhibition of his paintings that was inspired by meditation
A man who was once scouted to drum for the internationally acclaimed Foo Fighters is to host an exhibition in Ballyshannon this week.
Micheál Quinn, originally from Dublin and now living in Bundoran, is showing his artwork that is inspired by a period of meditation he undertook after experiencing a difficult patch in his career, following his chance to become a drummer for the Foo Fighters.
The Foo Fighters are one of the most successful American rock bands of the last three decades, originally formed in Seattle in 1994 by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, who took over as lead vocals and rhythm guitarist of the Foo Fighters.
“I was in Malibu at the time, and I met the Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett, and we just became friends,” Micheál tells DonegalLive. “The Foo Fighters kicked off the last drummer (Josh Freese) last year, so I texted Chris to ask how I’d get a shot at being their drummer.
“It was a long shot … but Chris sent some videos of me into the band group chat, and everyone was pretty into it.
“It all got really hectic; it was a month waiting to see if it would actually happen, and then I got a call from their management, so I got to audition with the whole band to see how it all feels
“I went out to Los Angeles, and I played with them for a day and hung out with them; it was the most outrageous experience you can imagine.
“We did the audition, and I was pretty happy with how it all went, but ended up choosing someone else, but now there's an open communication with the guys, and they’re very generous with being in touch.”
Following his rejection from the band, Micheál stopped working as a drummer for Dermot Kennedy, the Irish singer-songwriter
“I went from the height of my drumming career to having no gigs and being jobless,” Micheál says. “I used the art as a way to process what had just gone on in my life … I had some pretty big stuff to work through.
“I had all this time on my hands, I was like, okay, I think it's time to paint, and so for the last year I've put together all the art
“It’s kind of like an invitation to people to show there's this thing called meditation, and it's pretty good for you, and I hope that people think the art looks cool, and that might encourage other people to give meditation a go.
“I have a sound piece that will be playing the whole time … the idea is like a walk around through the paintings to get an immersive experience of where I go to when I make the art.”
The art exhibition, titled ‘Avastha; Paintings exploring meditation, perception and the mind’, is being held on Thursday, July 30, from 6 pm to 10 pm, in the Old Barrack Studios, Ballyshannon. The event is free to attend, and the paintings throughout the exhibition will be available to purchase.