“It’s the first time I’ve had a solo record released over here,” says David Hopkins. “I manage to come back three or four times a year anyway, so I’ve got to see the changes. It’s not a big culture shock. I have a better head on my shoulders than I did when I was here before. I know what to expect and what to avoid."
Another boy is back in town. Hopkins spent a good deal of his formative years as the keyboard player and main songwriter in Dublin band Lir, the prog rockers who were on their way to international success when David jumped ship at the end of a US tour, headed for San Francisco and never came back.
“I had to grow up,” he explains. “When I lived here before I was a little fucking idiot. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, I didn’t take matters into my own hands at all. I left it to other people, which is something I’d never do again”.
Was his leaving premeditated or a spur of the moment thing?
“It was coming. It had built up over a couple of years.”
Having lingered too long in Lir, Hopkins had fallen out of love with music.
“I wasn’t into the stuff we were playing anymore,” he confesses. “I didn’t feel it was going anywhere and I was beginning to hate music so I gave it up.”
As a result, he didn't play for several years.
“I got away from it completely for a while then I started doing sessions but I didn’t really like that either."
Someone pissed off with music returning to do session work? Not a great idea surely.
“It was a bad move”, he agrees. “I did it and wasn’t into it but I bought a guitar and started jamming and got back into it again. It made me realise that I didn’t want to play other people’s stuff because most of it was shite. I wanted to create something that I’d be into myself."
And so Hopkins has re-emerged in a solo singer-songwriter guise. Was this the kind of music he always intended to make?
“Yeah, I think it is. In Lir, we had about 400 bits in each song so I went the other way. I started off playing the guitar and went through a few different bands in San Francisco."
The band influence is noticeable on debut album Amber & Green, which comes across as a lot richer and more rounded record than many solo albums.
“A lot of people see you with a guitar and immediately think you’re Damien Rice or Paddy Casey,” he reflects. “While I respect them and think their music’s great, I'm not that. I do come more from a band background."
Launching his solo career here, he knew that he would have to fight people’s preconceptions.
“I was aware of it and tried to battle it for a while but now I think, 'Fuck it, let them call me what they want',” he concludes. “Once I get the band out on the road hopefully it’ll go away. A good song’s a good song no matter what it is. I don’t care what tag I get as long as people get to hear my music. They can think what they want."