We were lucky to catch up with Enda Scahill recently and have shared our conversation below.

Enda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Being Irish and a creative is an oddly double edged sword. Irish music is an incredibly well valued and deeply resourced niche abroad, but not so in Ireland. Being Irish brings great advantages when it comes to opening doors across the world, but it also carries the weight of expectation of the struggling artist, the impoverished soul. Ireland is jam packed with virtuoso level musicians, 99% of whom could never earn a full time living playing traditional Irish music. Perhaps that’s true of all musicians all over the world in every genre?

When I started We Banjo 3 at my kitchen table in 2009, it was purely a passion project. A very tentative exploration of the sounds we could make with 3 tenor banjos. And we immediately began to have enormous fun. Martin Howley, who was always brilliant at finding opportunities and pushing to expand to the next level, entered us in a national bursary competition. Which we subsequently won, as our music was so unique and so fresh. That was the beginning of a professional career which we had not even desired, let alone designed. We were surprised how many people loved the banjo, and the concept of a band based around the music and sounds of the instrument. And we sold out every venue we played in Ireland.

In 2012, and still a fledgling, part time passion project, we were invited to play Milwaukee Irish Festival in Wisconsin, the biggest Irish festival in the world. (The reason we were invited is a long story, but needless to say, it involved some very Irish cheekiness and wit on my part!) Looking back now, I think we entered the US/Irish market at a time when it had plateaued in some way, and despite our show and music being quite rough and ready, it was fresh enough and different enough that it grabbed everyone’s attention. That’s the opportunity that some artists get, the unexpected launch pad, that “one moment”. And seized it. We toured again in 2013 for 7 weeks, independently booked, crazy long drives, exhausting shows and travel, but now with a different outlook. We could see the road open in front of us, and we had a quick glimpse into how high the ceiling truly was for earning potential in the US.

From there, like all artists, we made some mistakes, but largely we made enough good decisions to outweigh them. And by 2019 rolling into 2020 we were among the highest grossing Irish bands in the world, playing live to over 500,000 people annually. Now we had booking agents, management, PR, and all the bells and whistles. In the intervening period we had learned to adapt, to curate our show for the audience, constantly changing, learning, ears open to advice from sage people in the industry. We became masters of merchandising, fan engagement and we created a show that no one ever wanted to follow!

You have to compromise. The idea that you can simply remain utterly true to your craft, disregarding everything from social media to PR to merchandising, and have a full time living from your career? Of course it’s possible, but it really is the exception. The trick is to compromise just enough that you still feel that the music you play is yours, is creative and satisfying, but that you always remember that you “get to” play for people, it is a privilege that has been gifted.

And there it was, gone. 14 years goes by in the blink of an eye. The band is off the road, different people pursuing different passions. I am now a “folk music YouTuber”, much to the chagrin of my 13 year old son whose main purpose in life, like every 13 year old in the world it seems, is to become a YouTuber!

I have (somewhat unwillingly!) up-skilled again, learning how to record audio, edit video and develop an on screen persona. Like everything I’ve ever touched in life, I have an internal drive to be the very best at it. So I’m constantly striving to make better content, learn new skills and spending vast amounts of time creating the most engaging and interesting content that I can. I have a profound respect for the most successful YouTubers and content creators out there in all fields, because until you’re in it yourself, you’ve no idea that it is a full time job, it takes dozens of hours to record and edit video every week and social media is an insatiable time hungry beast that will devour your time, and you if you’re not careful!

I use Patreon as a pay wall mechanism. Although they charge insanely high fees, and the whole online ecosystem ultimately devalues content, they are a highly recognisable brand. Now I have over 300 active Patrons, I earn a full time living once again, albeit a fraction of what the band was generating, but now I am truly my own boss, I set my own goals, manage my own time, and if something needs to be done, I’m the one who gets to do it!

I create graduated video lessons for Irish banjo and mandolin. Essentially I take an Irish tune, 2 or 3 times a month, and I break it down in to 10 video lessons, taking the student through the most basic melody, and gradually adding in rhythm, ornamentation, variations, chords and harmony, all the while demonstrating key techniques that student needs to work on, and ultimately challenging them to play faster and try out new and exciting ways to interpret tunes.

Enda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an Irish tenor banjo player. I began at age 8, growing up in rural Ireland. I started playing professionally at 11 years old, performing with a summer show in Galway City, playing music, Irish dance and song, for bus loads of tourists! I am a 4 times national champion on banjo and mandolin.

I have toured and recorded with various bands over the years in all corners of the globe, including The Chieftains, We Banjo 3, Ricky Skaggs, Frankie Gavin, Stockton’s Wing and lots more. We Banjo 3 have won multiple Album of the Year Awards and are the only Irish band to have a #1 album on the Billboard Bluegrass charts.

I have written the two best selling books on Irish Tenor Banjo technique.

I am the 2022 co-winner of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The best book I have ever read about being in a band is by Ryan Holiday and it’s called Ego Is The Enemy. The biggest take away from the book for me, was that I can slow down progress by thinking that I need to do everything. And that if someone is better at a certain job or aspect of the business, I should get the hell out of the way, as my ego is the only reason I’m still there!

I listen a lot to Gary Vaynerchuck. He has a very high energy, uncompromising approach to social media and branding, but he does it from a place of love, and it’s clear that he cares deeply about the people he’s helping.

The best book I’ve read about being a musician is Kenny Werner’s book Effortless Mastery. Again this book is about dissolving ego and letting music breathe. It’s an incredible read and has helped me become a much better teacher and musician.

The Big Leap is an essential read for all creatives. It explains why lottery winners so often end up broke and back in their dead-end jobs a few years after becoming millionaires. I had to learn how to become comfortable with new levels of success, and with awareness, fight against the feeling that I’d be happier and safer if I just stayed smaller at the level at which it felt familiar. This is a very subtle problem for folks in all walks of life and explains the concepts of self sabotage very well.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I left a well paid, permanent, gilt edged pensionable job in the Irish public service to pursue my goals with We Banjo 3. That was a huge leap for me, and thankfully my wife pushed me really hard to make the decision. Then it was sink or swim! And that mindset definitely helped drive me forward with determination.

In 2020 when the pandemic hit, I had to pivot massively to a sphere in which I was very uncomfortable – online streaming, video recording and editing, podcasting and being at home a lot! The first 6 months at home were very difficult. I was stressed about working online, and I hadn’t been at home for that length in almost two decades! That was a learning process!!!

And once again, in 2023 I’m pivoting. Now I am a full time content creator, educator, video editor, sound engineer, social media manager, web designer, marketer, brander, oh and a musician!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.irishbanjolessons.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/endascahill.banjo
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/endascahillmusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/EndaScahill
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/endascahill
• Other: www.patreon.com/endascahillbanjo

Image Credits
Tim Reilly Brooke Billick Sean McCormack