SCRATCHING THE ITCH

Scottish singer/songwriter Katie Malco on how her passion for performing drives her to tour the world. Every show played, whether it's to five people or 5,000, teaches her something about her artistry, while touring life off-stage keeps things interesting...

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Look, can I start this by saying I feel very lucky to go to different countries and play my whingy fucking songs whinging about my stupid, pointless little life.

Before that, I spent 15 years of my life touring and playing in bands as a drummer for punk and psych outfits in Dublin and North America before eventually realising I was in the wrong game.

But as time marches on at a speed I never fathomed it would, so does the way in which artists perform their music, and so does the way in which fans choose to receive said performance. And whilst playing to your phone in the comfort of your room seems like a surefire way to receive gratification in the form of a tiny thumbs-up or a heart from people that were not born and raised in the same postcode as you, it never quite scratches that unbearable, never-ending burden that every artist knows... and that is THE ITCH.

God, I fucking hate the itch. The itch makes me carry multiple heavy bags/instruments on my person across a foreign country for weeks on end via foot, trains, planes and automobiles. The itch makes me sleep on somebody's cold wooden floor with no pillow.

The itch means I have to understand what tax withholding is. The itch means I have to be a one-man merch shop after playing a set full of songs about all my problems. The itch means I have to have hundreds of conversations with different people at every juncture of every day for weeks on end. The itch has caused me to contract multiple illnesses and bites from various creatures. The itch skews my sense of self and my grip on reality. The itch has lost me friends.