TAKING to the red carpet in Leicester Square having contributed numerous compositions to an award-winning film is just one of the many unforgettable moments of Denver McCord’s career.
Over the years, the Cookstown musician, songwriter and sound engineer has written and released numerous EPs, singles and albums both with his band, ‘Novice’ and as a solo artist.
The 44-year-old is also currently in a cover band called, ‘Smokescreen’, and he further showcases one of the countries largest Rory Gallagher exhibitions, rubbing shoulders with many of the musicians he grew up idolising.
Recalling some of his earliest musical memories, Denver said, “I was only three-years-old when I bought my first record, which I still have until this day.
“It was ‘Goody Two Shoes’ by Adam Ant, I even had the t-shirt and all, although I can just about remember it, I was so young.”
Throughout his childhood, Denver recalls Michael Jackson releasing the album, ‘Bad’, which he still has on cassette and vinyl today. But it wasn’t until September 1991, when he was in secondary school, that things really changed for Denver, with the release of a certain album that would define a whole generation.
“When ‘Nevermind’ by Nirvana came out, everything changed for me,” he explained.
“The grunge era was a monumental moment and I was lucky to live through it.
“The whole Seattle music scene came along and with that, I got really into bands like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.
“Around that time, I also had an American friend who was a few years older than me.
“We would skate together as teenagers and he would make me mix tapes of underground stuff I had never heard of such as Minor Threat and The Descendents.”
Having taken guitar lessons throughout primary school, Denver purchased his first electric guitar following the release of ‘Nevermind’.
“I bought a cheap Encore guitar out of Raymond Crooks’ music shop in Cookstown,” he explained.
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
In 1996, he formed the band, Novice, who would go onto record numerous EPs in the late nineties and early 2000s.
“A big moment for Novice was when we won a battle of the bands competition in Belfast,” he said. “Following that, we got to record with Mudd Wallace at Homestead Studios in Randalstown.
“We had always been fans of Mudd’s production, most notably his work with Therapy, so it was a pleasure to work with him.”
Novice split up in the mid 2000s but briefly reuniting in 2009 for a few years before their drummer moved to America.
Following the band’s break up, Denver decided to record a solo album.
He explained, “After Novice broke up, I had a lot of material written so decided to record and release my debut album ‘Confessions, Questions and Tales’.
“The album was recorded at Einstein Studios in Antrim with Frankie McClay and released in September 2015.”
The album saw great success with four of its tracks featured on the soundtrack of the award winning film, ‘Lucas and Albert’.
CALL OF THE RED CARPET
In September 2019, Denver was invited to walk the red carpet at the film’s premiere in Leicester Square.
“It was absolutely mind blowing,” he explained. “The whole thing was surreal. I got to meet the crew after having only spoken with the director via email while the film was in production.
“To sit in the cinema and watch a film and hear my own music was amazing.
“Even though I had written the songs, hearing them in a film really seemed to give them a whole new meaning.”
In July 2021, ‘Lucas and Albert’ won ‘Best Feature Film’ at the National Film Awards in London.
In recent years, when he’s not writing and producing silver-screen worthy music, Denver has been showcasing one of the biggest Rory Gallagher exhibitions in the country.
Having worked for many years as a sound engineer in the Burnavon Theatre in Cookstown, Denver, explained how the exhibition came to be.
“It all started by accident really,” he explained.
“There was a blues weekend happening in the Burnavon, but there was nothing happening regarding any sort of exhibition.
“I had collected so much Rory Gallagher memorabilia over the years, so I set it up and from there it really took off.”
Denver’s Rory Gallagher Exhibition has since been showcased all across the North, having been exhibited in the likes of Cookstown, Dungannon, Armagh, Belfast, and Ards Guitar Festival.
“Through running the exhibition, I ended up befriending Rory’s brother Donal and his family,” explained Denver.
“My dad recently passed away on what would have been Rory’s birthday, and his nephew sent his condolences because, as he said himself, I have done so much for Rory’s memory over the years.”
MEETING THE ROCKSTARS
Over the years, the avid music fan from Cookstown has also had the opportunity to meet some of his favourite artists, including Ozzy Osbourne, KISS, and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Nirvana.
“Meeting Dave Grohl was just insane,” he said.
“It was a very quick meeting, but I did manage to get that copy of ‘Nevermind’ that I purchased as a teenager back in 1991 signed.”
Looking to the future, Denver has plans to start recording his second album this autumn, with special plans for the tenth anniversary of his debut album.
“I can’t get my head around the fact that my first album is almost ten years old, so I’m planning to do a limited run of vinyl to celebrate.”
Denver is also currently rehearsing with his new cover band, ‘Smokescreen’, so make sure to keep an eye out and catch them on the live stage soon.
