What I learned from Dolores O’Riordan and The Cranberries

Dolores O’Riordan left this world a few weeks ago. It still breaks me down. I have listened to The Cranberries every day since she left.

  1. Linger – The Cranberries came to me at a time when I predominately listened to 90s R&B – En Vogue, Shai and Tevin Cambell and Babyface. By this point, the local R&B station, Power 102, started playing The Cure Just Like Heaven. The day I first heard Linger on MTV, I went to the mall and bought the cassette single. I distinctly remember sitting in a family friend’s car on the ride home and asked Mrs. Driggers if we could listen to the single. I asked her to continuously rewind the song and play it again.
  2. Dolores’ Signature Voice – 1994 I didn’t know how to sing. Let me rephrase. I could sing notes. But I so desperately wanted a voice with a wide vibrato like Dolores. It’s taken me a long time to become comfortable with my voice.
  3. Don’t Give Up On The Single – The Cranberries released Linger as a single in February 1993 and February 1994. It wasn’t until the second time that people took notice.
  4. Do What Is Right For The SongNoel Hogan played lead guitar for The Cranberries. And every time, I hear a Cranberries track all I can think about is how Noel lets the track breathe. His guitar playing remains concise. Each note poses gingerly – like a ballerina. Each note moves from one position to the next with ease. I need to think simply about playing my leads.
  5. Thank You – Dolores. Thank you for sharing your art. I wish I would have seen you play live before you left. If you, Pearl Jam and The Cure would not have shared your art, I may have never migrated to live instrumentation. The 1994 and 2018 version of Antonio thanks you.
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