Leo Moran

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Leo Moran is best known as lead guitarist and sometimes vocalist in the Irish folk rock band The Saw Doctors.

Born in Tuam in Co. Galway, Moran formed the Saw Doctors with Davy Carton of Blaze X after playing in a local reggae band Too Much For The White Man. Morans guitar style is simplistic but highly melodic with a skill for composing neat and catchy riffs, and fitting them around Davy Cartons 4 chord progressions.

Birthday: 6 November 1964

Height: 5 foot something

Eyes: brown

Favourite pastime: fishing, drinking, talking rubbish

Favourite food: most anything

Favourite SawDoc song: different every day

Favourite musician: too many to mention

Favourite author: Patrick McCabe

Best experience: the buzz of creating something great

After his youth in Tuam, where he was famous for hanging round the Square, Leo went to study at Galway University. There he got a degree in French and Sociology, and trained as a secondary teacher. He never worked as one though.

Leo didn't socialise much at UCG, preferring to go home to Tuam where he played with a band known as Too much for the White Man. But he did go to college concerts, and he did hang around the UCG Entertainment's Office, which in those days was headed by Padraig Boran, an important man in Galway's music scene.

Another significant person in Galway's arts scene was Ollie Jennings, and through Padraig Boran, Leo met Ollie. This was to become an important meeting as Ollie later became the Saw Doctors manager. But that comes later. Back to Leo's life now.

Back in 1986 Leo was playing guitar along with singer Mary O'Connor, a neighbour of Davy Carton's. Their repertoire included some of Davy's songs from his days with Tuam's Punk band, Blaze X.

Davy joined Leo and Mary and the band gradually grew from there.

Meantime when Leo finished college, Padraig Boran asked him if he was looking for a job which would involve a bit of football. It sounded good, and Leo thus joined Galway Community Theatre Group, Macnas on an employment scheme.

His first gig with Macnas was a simulation of the Connacht Football final in Castlebar which remains one of his favourite gigs to this day. "Macnas is just across the river from the University, but a world away really. There is much imagination and expertise in the group. The Saw Doctors learned a lot from Macnas, especially the idea that you can celebrate normal West of Ireland life."

Leo worked with Macnas for several years "on different employment schemes," while continuing to gig. Along the way the line up of the band changed a bit and then in Spring 1988 Macnas Manager Paraic Breathnach, another figure to be reckoned with in Galway, organised a series of gigs for them in Galway's famous Quays Pub. People in Galway began to notice. So too did the Waterboys, who were recording their Fisherman's Blues album in Spiddal. They all became friends. A highlight for Leo was when the band played support to the Waterboys on their 1990 English tour. The Saw Doctors travelled England in a blue camper van, but because the van wasn't big enough to sleep them all they became resourceful about getting accommodation.

"We'd hang around after the gigs and get chatting to people until they'd ask where we were staying. Then we'd end up going to their house for a party. But because the band would be tired, we'd all go to sleep instantly, while other people partied. We met loads of people, more than we get to meet now, because things are so organised."

Another highlight was the first Féile music festival in July 1990 in Thurles. The Saw Doctors played the first gig on the Sunday morning, the day when I Useta Lover entered the charts. Leo has other memories. "As well as playing I was working at Féile that weekend with Pearse. But I got sacked for messing. Around the same time I learned I was going to become a father. So much happened, its difficult to remember it all."

And it didn't stop there. The N17 and I Useta Lover were numbers two and three at Christmas so the band were doing gigs everywhere and collecting honours and awards. In February '91 Leo's mother died. "That time was just pure chaos," he says.

Leo's son Jimmy is 16 in March 2007 and has always known his father as somebody who plays music and goes off touring. "He's gas. I could be going to Australia and he'd just wave goodbye, and another day I could be going down to the shop and he wouldn't let me out of his sight." He currently is in a band called The Cubist's and has opened for The Saw Doctors for the new years celebration gig in 2006.

Among the many great memories Leo has is the West's Awake concert in Tuam, organised by the Docs in Autumn '91. "We didn't play very well, but there was a great line up, and there were thousands of people in Tuam who wouldn't have been there otherwise."

Leo loves Tuam and returns there as much as possible.

"I love the West of Ireland, and the way people speak. It's a kind of Irish English, which is being lost by our generation because we were brought up on telly, and everything is the same. But in parts of Ireland people still have it, and their kids have it."

Coming up with ideas for songs is a continual challenge for Leo. "We enjoy coming up with ideas which we get a buzz off, and you need a lot of time for that. Before the band was busy we had that. Now we have to set aside time for being idle, and living a normal life, so we can come up with ideas."

Moran can be seen playing a range of guitars from a Fender Telecaster for his driven Bruce Springsteen style riffs on songs such as "Exhilerating Sadness" to a Fender Strat for his reggae style pieces on "I'll Be On My Way". He also uses Gibsons, sometimes a white Les Paul custom with 3 humbuckers for some soloing or a Black Gibson ES-355 and a gretsch white falcon for strumming on songs such as "Galway and Mayo" where he takes lead vocal. He is noted for his combining of various musical genres into Saw Doctors music taking inspiration from anything from Reggae, Punk, US Soft Rock and Irish Folk and Trad Music.

Morans Guitar playing is most obvious on the Villains? album, where the band dropped the Irish sound somewhat foresaking instruments such as accordion and adopted a heavier sound based around Guitars, Synth and a splash of Brass and Woodwind. A fine example of Morans soloing can be found on the break in Bound to the Peace and his use of power chords on This is Me gives the song a sharp driving edge not common in a Saw Doctors track. Moran is noted for his happy stage manner and interaction with the audience.