a visit from Sharon Corr

First of all, let me warn you that this is a personal text.
And yes, it’ll be in English – so everyone can read.

And it’s about music. I’ve been listening to music probably since I was in my mom’s womb. My dad is a musicmaniac, my grandpa was a percussionist – so, yeah, I grew up in a house full of it every day, as loud as possible. Each and every kind – coming from MPB, pop-rock, classic rock, jazz, blues, soul, samba, bossa nova and so on.

I remember one of our first DVDs was Burt Bacharach and Friends. I was, maybe, 8 years old? Yeah, and already listening and loving Burt – kinda weird for a kid that age, right?! Consequently, Dionne Warwick, between others. I was lucky enough to have a really special aunt who gave me a ‘cavaquinho’ (typical Brazilian instrument – like a guitar, but smaller and with less strings, similar to ukelele) when I was very little. Not so lucky, because I never learned. After some time, I decided I wanted to study keyboards. And left my classes in about a month. And that’s the only real regret I have in my life.

When I was about 11, I chose what kind of music I really liked. It was 1999 and The Corrs MTV Unplugged was on the TV. Immediately I thought it was a beautiful scenario, gorgeous women and fantastic musicians. And from then on, it was my everyday soundtrack. The violin, the whistles, the percussion, piano… it was all so well put together, I couldn’t believe the beauty of it. And of course, I discovered Ireland and fell in love with the country immediately. Since then, it is my dream to meet every corner of this magic place with so many beautiful spots.

Anyway. I live in Brazil, and the Corrs never made it here. It was never a huge success, even with a fanbase, it wasn’t enough to bring the whole band to play here. I got over it and thought: ok, I’ll watch the DVD’s and that’s it.

Ok, this was only the introduction. Let’s talk about the real deal here: Sharon Helga Corr.

She was the violinist on the Corrs – the soul of the band, as I said not so long ago on her own official website. She recorded a first solo album in 2009 and we were all overwhelmed with the news. With the new social media contacts, it was pretty easy to reach her through the internet. Suddenly, she discovered Brazil and how much she – and her music – is loved here.

We have a very strong fanbase in the country – we meet twice a year to play Corrs’ and Irish traditional songs in a huge park in São Paulo – Ibirapuera. It’s always fun and energetic. For those who don’t know about Brazilians personality, we tend to be very passionate about everything. In this case, music, of course. And when she released her first solo record, we decided to make something special for her. And well, it worked! It took her four years, but she got here!

She gave us the honor to have in hands her second album before anywhere else in the world. She gave us the honor to open her tour in São Paulo – and not only this, but to record a live DVD in the city. And mostly: she gave us the absolut pleasure to meet this lovely, extremely humble and beautiful person face to face. Not to mention the incredible musician that she is.

Starting by this, we had our very first opportunity to see her playing live in a TV show. We couldn’t believe that was happening, it was beyond our most imaginative minds. We get old, pass through the teen years – but for me, when it comes to music, there’s no such thing as age limit. After watching her playing Dreams and her new song We Could be Lovers, we were able to have a quick chat with her. It was a blast. And then, the day after, we went to the 89FM radio station to watch her interview and listen a few acoustic songs. She was there, three steps away from us. Singing incredibly, I could never imagine in a million years that Sharon had that control and also emotion in her voice. I don’t know much about music technique, but what I do know is when you can match emotions with voice control, man, you got it. She was always on the side of the stage, being a rock star with her violin – but her voice, I don’t think any of us could ever imagine such thing. To me, it was perfect.

Anyway. We knew she was coming to town to the live gigs and it was a fuckin’ blast (sorry for my mouth, it can be very dirty sometimes). People from all over the country buying tickets to fly to São Paulo, tickets to the shows. Everyone is really excited and really looking forward for these two days.

Again, I lost my track here.

There was going to be a signing in a bookstore in Rio de Janeiro and some of my friends were going and I wasn’t sure. What the hell? I won’t be able to go in SP (where I live) and I have a chance to spend a beautiful day in Rio and after that talk to Sharon again. But I could never imagine what was coming next…

It was a gorgeous day, we were at the beach talking and having fun all afternoon. So, we went to the bookstore and they started the line to wait for Sharon. My friends - they all play violins, so they were carrying it for her to sign it. When someone had the idea they could play it and the store lady gave us the ok. We started some Irish tunes (recorded by Corrs and Sharon) and when she was coming… she gave us a beautiful smile and applauded.

The signing began and it was all fantastic. To be able to see the look on my friends’ faces was priceless. Most of them learned the violin because of her – so that was an unique moment for them and I’m so glad I was there to witness it. It was beautiful and genuine. I didn’t know whether I looked at Sharon or my friends. When it was my turn, I was shocked she remembered my name and so so happy about it. I asked her for an autograph for my sister’s CD and also gave her a Brazilian album that, in my opinion, is a masterpiece and everyone should listen to. By the way, everytime I hear Take a Minute I wonder if Sharon ever heard ‘bossa nova’. There are so many Brazilians touches in this song. Maybe I’ll ask someday, right?

After all the signing, the bookstore’s manager asked us to play a last song for Sharon. Are ya kidding me?! Playing for Sharon Corr? Seriously? Jaysus! I don’t know what got into us, but we did it. It was a very genuine moment and I can remember Sharon’s face to everybody. She looked right into our eyes and that’s a moment I’ll never forget. After the song finished (Erin Shore), she was sweet enough to give us a ‘group hug’ and take a picture together.

When I was ready to leave, my friend Dan started to play on the violin the intro of Haste to the Wedding and I started crying like a child. I don’t get nervous around her, I’m not a crying person in that aspect – but when it comes to music, I can’t handle it (the first time I saw her literally in my face playing the violin during "Dreams" I cried like a baby. hopefully she didn't see that! lol). I was listening to that beautiful song just after the violinist of my favorite band since I was a child called me by my name. Crying, crying, crying. And Dan pulled me and said: let’s go and give her our last hug. There was no way out and yep, she saw me crying. I don’t like to cry in these kinds of events, but it was stronger than me. She hugged me and I apologized for crying, explaining that this music was part of my childhood and I always get emotional. And that’s when she answered me: and also your adulthood, Julia!

That's when I realized it was ok to cry in front of her. Because that's what music does for me. It gives me chills, happiness, joy, love... even sadness, a good sadness. It's what makes life better, so much better. That was it for me. Amazing, speechless, I didn’t need anything else.

October 13^th, 2013. It was an honor, and we will never be thankful enough for all Sharon has done for us. Not only her, but her crew: Henry and Ania. Henry, always so nice and gracious, giving us all the support we could have. And Ania – so considerate even if by email, an ocean apart from us.  As I said, and I’ll do it again, we’ve been waiting for something like this to happen since we were children. But like THAT? We could never imagine, even in our wildest dreams.

I truly and genuine believe that the passion for music pushed us together – the fans’ and Sharon’s.

Sharon, I don’t know if you’ll ever read this, but if you do: thank you so much for keeping the music alive in you. We’ll never be able to thank you ALL enough for everything so far – and what’s yet to come!

We can see clearly in your eyes your love for what you do. And that love for music is what pushes us forward, and I believe is the same with you. I use to say that I don’t have faith in human beings, that they’re only hungry for profits and I can genuinely affirm that that’s not your case. I believe you can see our passion for music. And together with yours, that's the connection. We understand each other through music, through the passion and motivation we all have to keep going in this rough world we live in.

Another thing I always say (and I’ll never forget the moment I talked about this with Ana [Dundalk] during a Paul McCartney’s gig in a stadium) is if everyone gets together in peace like they do with music, the world would be a much better place. When we were there, I could feel heaven. Just like I do when I listen to any song.

Hopefully this is just the beginning of a lovely journey and it will continue to be, as long as we can keep our love for music alive. Which for us, personally, is very easy!

I don’t think I have any other words to say besides a huge thank you. For changing our lives through your music, for giving us the opportunity to meet amazing people, for making us believe that the impossible is only a matter of opinion.

Your love for music makes us love music even more.
And there’s no therapy or medicine better than that.

“Without music, life would be a mistake”, once Nietzche said.
And I couldn’t agree more.

 Sharon arriving at Livraria Travessa - RJ

 Video from our moment playing Erin Shore for Sharon