Interview with Dark Tropics

I first became aware of Dark Tropics through Instagram(sign of the times), a few cryptic posts before any music had been released was enough to make me take notice. These were followed by lead single 'Badlands' and a show at Output this year. After traversing the city from one show to another I was lucky enough to make it in for the second half of what was their first ever show together. It was a packed room including some drunken dancers at the front. Their sound was huge, layered and evocative. Gerard and Rio took time to sit down and let us into the world of Dark Tropics.



Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar or start writing songs?

Gerard: I watched The Beatles Anthology documentaries a lot when I was growing up. The life of that band is still the most inspiring thing you can watch. They had everything; the wit, the look, the story and obviously the songs. It was those documentaries that made me want to learn the guitar and write songs.

Rio: I was in my grandparents kitchen singing Black Coffee about 2/3 years ago, when my grandfather walked out and asked who was singing. I responded I was he told me he thought I had a talent. Musically he’s been such a massive inspiration in my life that to see him so proud made me feel that this thing I had loved doing my entire life I could actually make something from

What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first record you ever bought and why?

Gerard: I had Radiohead and Dylan posters on my wall. OK Computer is my favourite album ever and with Dylan there’s just so much to keep you interested.

Rio: Mine were exclusively from the Kerrang! Magazines I used to collect, with one Motionless In White poster I got from my first concert. My first record however was The Velvet Underground.

You can check out their live Across The Line session here: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p087ryz2

I was at the show in Ulster Sports Club and Rio had said it was her first show ever. That’s a pretty incredible first show. I know you waited 18 months before releasing or playing shows. Can you talk about what you done during that time and why it was so important?

Gerard: We were writing and demoing. We’d meet up in the Oh Yeah Centre, write a song and demo it the next week. It was a really productive period and we very quickly had enough songs to think about recording our debut album.

Rio: That first show was well worth the wait, such an amazing rush! Making sure everything was tight and perfect takes time- from song names to mixes to notes that could be dodgy live. We took our time and I think it paid off.

‘Badlands’ came out on Valentines Day which was such a nice Valentines Day gift to get! Can you talk about making the record, the song writing process, lyrically what you cover in those songs and did it achieve what you set out to achieve?

Gerard: ‘Badlands’ started with a very rough country melody voice note. The words came out of that. After we had the first few lines we followed the song where it wanted to go. It ended up being a kind of American western story but in a 3 minute pop song.

Rio: Our writing process is very relaxed and very much “what works what doesn’t”. It’s surprisingly efficient and very therapeutic! While badlands started with the lyrics being shaped around the music, when the piano was added and the sound ultimately changed- the music followed the lyrics.




I listened to the ATL session and you mentioned the songs on that are a stripped back version of the tracks. Have you other material recorded, can you tell us about that, what direction they take and if there’s any over arching theme to the record?
Where did you record etc?

Gerard: We’re currently putting the finishing touches on our debut album. We recorded it in an amazing studio in the Donegal countryside with Orri McBrearty. It was a fantastic experience and all the musicians that played on the record were the absolute best of the best. The production on the other songs is a lot fuller than ‘Badlands’ with much more instrumentation. ‘Badlands’ was the song we wanted people to hear first and is a good introduction to the band.

Rio: We have some other stripped back songs too, we usually focus in on the sting of heartbreak and where it leaves you after; the anger and the hurt. But it’s not all sad, there’s some hope and some happy retribution in a few tracks too!


It’s been touched upon before how your music has a cinematic feel, it reminds me a lot of Lana Del Rey personally, which as Nic Cage says is high praise! Can you tell us what the song writing process is like, does that massive sound bring any challenges, do you both write together and bring it to the wider band or is it a wholly collaborative process?

Gerard: Our demos are very sparse so that when we go into the studio it’s easy to develop them but keep what’s good about the demo. Rio’s vocal is by far the most important thing in our songs so it’s important that there’s nothing getting in the way of it. Everything is mixed around the vocals. If something in the mix means the lead vocal is not the focus for even one second we mute it.

Rio: I’m going from writing poetry and prose to lyrics so Gerard has definitely been a massive help in me developing those, I try to write as much as I can and send him as much as I can. As Gerard said we keep our mixes very sparse in the beginning, but I love when we get the musicians in to work their magic- it all starts to feel real then.


You’ve certainly came out swinging can you tell us what your favourite moment of being in the band has been so far?

Gerard: For me it was the day we demoed our first ever song together. I got home and listened back that night to what we’d recorded and realised that Rio’s voice was totally unique. Of all of the singing voices I’ve ever heard, hers is one of my favourites. Even after recording it loads of times and listening back to countless mixes I never tire of it. It’s wonderful.

Rio: Getting locked out of our BnB at 2am our first week of recording. We’d been working on mixes since 10am and were totally shattered when we realised that we were locked out! It’s just one of those moments that I look back on and have a good giggle, that or the sheep in the breakfast room...



The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?

Gerard: Yes there’s loads…. Joshua Burnside, Alice LA, Leo Miyagee, Ferals, Dena Anuk$a, Gemma Bradley.
Rio: I’d agree with those, I’ll just add Jordan Walker and Thomas Munro to that list!

And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.

Gerard: Today’s picks…
She’s Got You – Patsy Cline
Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
I Say a Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin
Tumbling Dice – The Rolling Stones
Time has told me – Nick Drake

Rio: My most frequently played of the last week are:
She’s A Rainbow- The Rolling Stones
10am Gare du Nord- Keaton Henson
Always Blue- Chet Baker
Femme Fatale- The Velvet Underground
Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi- Radiohead

Find and follow Dark Tropics:

https://www.facebook.com/DarkTropicsMusic/
https://www.instagram.com/DarkTropicsMusic

Interview with Fagash McCann

I remember the first time I saw Fagash McCann. I also play guitar and sing in THVS, we were playing a show with them. Id checked them out online before and thought it sounded pretty cool but live was were they really come to life. I hadn't seen a bad ass balls out through and through rock band in ages. Some crazy amp set up, a zillion pedals, bass player throwing himself round the stage with complete disregard for his own safety or ours and a behemoth of a drummer absolutely killing it in the back, already cracked cymbals flexing under the stress of being hammered to another breaking point. Then..they done a Kylie Minogue cover. That was the cherry on top of an already artisan cake. Kylie should be thanking them. I've put Fagash on a few times now and they never ever disappoint its safe to say that they're one of my favourite bands. So it only made sense to pry into their world and see what spills out of their cracked heads.

Enjoy!

 Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a
bass/drums and start writing songs?

CON: I remember for years I wanted to play music, and always thought it’d be cool to
be at the front. I tried guitar and sucked at it, I couldn’t really sing so I wasn’t sure
what to do next. A neighbour of mine had a drum set and I’d occasionally muck
around on it. Then I remember getting really heavily into Slipknot at about age 11 and
seeing Joey Jordison play drums on a huge spinning platform on a YouTube video.
Who wouldn’t want to try something like that? So my neighbour helped find a kit on
gumtree which I got for my birthday that year, and I mostly taught myself. From
there, I played in a few cover bands, but always wanted to try write some of my own
stuff. I eventually met Mark and the pieces fell into place.

MARK: I can remember having very little interest in it as a kid, it wasn't until I was
15 or 16 that a buddy of mine started turning me onto all these cool bands. Next thing
I'm finding all this awesome music by myself, next thing I'm picking up an
instrument, next thing I want to be in a band, next thing I'm trying to write my own
songs, few years go by and next thing I'm in a room with Conall. Though I will say
that AM by the Arctic Monkeys was hands down the album that got me into singing.


What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first
record you ever bought and why?

CON: I have a single “poster” of Pearl Jam’s Ten album (it’s literally the CD cover
folded out), and most recently got a Queens Of The Stone Age concert poster from
Finsbury Park in 2018 as a gift. It’s got Iggy Pop and The Hives and Brody Dalle and
some other awesome bands on it.

My first CD that I ever bought for myself was probably Wasting Light by Foo
Fighters. I bought it because I’d listened to some of their stuff and was starting to
refine my music tastes a little, but this album really got me into drumming. I used to
play it front to back, and would always have it on in the car and tap along. It’s
symbolic to me because of the variety in it and helping me find my way into some
other of my favourite bands and pushing my musical boundaries that little bit more.

MARK: My first proper cool poster was that iconic black and white photo of Kurt
Cobain with the acoustic guitar and a cigarette. I remember thinking that thing was
SO DAMN COOL, but my dad hated it! Over the years I've had plenty go up and
come down but I have two in particular that I've held onto; a photo of Lemmy leaning
up against a Marshall stack and a massive framed print of the artwork for Sleep's
Dopesmoker (they're gonna have to bury me with that).

First album was a Three Days Grace album, 'One-X&' I think. Again I was like 15 and
have an old friend to thank for that one! At the time it was the heaviest thing I'd ever
heard and teenage me, although I missed out on an emo phase, definitely resonated
with some of those angsty lyrics. I've gone back to those first four TDG albums a few
times since, and yeah they can be a bit cheesy, but they're still solid in my book.

Can you tell us a bit about how the band came together, was it always the plan to be
bass and drums and at the risk of giving everything away can you tell us where the
band name came from?

MARK: The bass and drums thing just sort of happened. I never gave a six string
guitar the time of day until very recently. But very early on after picking up the bass I
figured out that I am a major fan of distortion on bass. There's an old video of me
somewhere from like 2013/14 of me with my dad's bass and a Behringer Bass Drive
playing White Stripes riffs in my room, keeping time with a kick drum. I remember
thinking I wanted to be Reignwolf, but with bass.

I was still pretty oblivious to a lot of the big bass and drum bands out there, but over
the years I started coming across a lot of great bands that didn't have guitarists, while
simultaneously getting further down the rabbit hole of distortions and switchers and
octavers and fuzzes. I had this notion then to write my own songs and play them live
and eventually I realised, 'wait a second I could probably do that.' Fast forward a
year or two and I get introduced to Conall and it was love at first blast beat.
As far as the band name goes...

CON: Well Mark and I unofficially met years ago in a bar at a gig his old band were
playing. Our local “scene” in Newry was all interconnected so years later after
playing in a bunch of cover bands, Mark messaged me through a mutual friend of
ours, and we practiced. We were both working on building sites at the time so we
spent our weekends practicing with eachother and wrote a couple of songs in the first
few practices.

Pretty soon after that, we entered a battle of the bands thinking we’d try take it
seriously. We sat down trying to think of a name for the band and couldn’t think of a
good one. Next thing Mark blurted out “Fagash McCann” in a sentence, and we
figured we’d use it for a laugh and change it once we found something that sounds
better. We haven’t.



You released How to Dance last year which is such a great record. Can you talk about
making the record, the song writing process, lyrically what you cover in those songs
and did it achieve what you set out to achieve?

Thank you! “How to Dance” was a culmination of stuff we’d written in the year or
two prior, and we kinda focused on it as making our first “dent,” and having
something that we can point people to. We never had a plan of what themes and
things we were gonna work at, it just kinda became a collection of our favourite
sounds.

When it came to recording time, we went into the studio with them all well rehearsed,
and just took some live recordings between the two of us. There’s an energy in a live
take, and what we lack in the number of band members, we try to make up for in our
energy. We recorded 7 tracks total, but we picked the 4 that sounded best. Since then,
we’ve re-tweaked some tracks and wanted to re-record others, plus we’ve been
writing a good bit in the last while. We’re content with what we’ve started with, but
we’re chuffed for the future.


Being bass and drums how do you continue to push the sound and yourselves
creatively, do you ever find it’s a hinderance or does it give you more scope in that
there’s less to balance?

I think the minimalism in what we have to work with pushes us to experiment and
push the boat out. We always stick true to our roots of big fuzzy bass and obnoxiously
loud drums with a sort of dance-y vibe. With that said, we’ve touched on blues, alt-
rock, desert rock and even some Heavy Pop.


Mark, you’ve a wide array of pedals and a very specific amp set up. Are there any
pedals or combination of pedals that are the quintessential Fagash sound? How does
your setup influence the song writing process?

MARK: The bass rig started out pretty simple and then sort of spiralled out of control.
It's seen a lot of variations over the years and is still changing a lot today. I love fuzz
and distortion, and I'm constantly looking to try out different ways of distorting a
guitar signal. I've blown up a lot of amps and tried a million and two pedals, and even
some weirder ways of making fuzzy noises ( for example, the BT landline phone
distortion on the EP) but I think it's safe to say that the switchers, funny enough, are
the heart of that rig, followed closely by the octavers. I will say this though, the pedal
that has been on that board the longest is the DOD 250 Preamp. I also have a very
toxic love-hate, relationship with an OpAmp Big Muff Reissue, just when I think I've
moved on something goes wrong and I just keep on crawling back.

The song writing process isn't really set in stone for us, we have songs that have
started with a riff, some with a lyric and some by just jamming out together. Nervo for
example, came from a groove Conall started playing that I joined in on, next thing we
had some changing parts and lyrics to go over it. Maybe down the line we'll fall into a
more concrete process, but for now it's just the two of us trying to make something
that sounds good to both of us, my bass rig just happens to be the somewhat
complicated tool I have at my disposal.


What plans do you have for Fagash McCann next? Will there be an album, are there
any plans to expand the instrumentation?

So far we’ve been focused on playing gigs, but with recent events we’ve had to put
that on hold. We’ve been throwing around the idea of re-recording some of the tracks
we’re sitting on, and writing’s been going quite well. There’s every chance we could
be in the studio with a bunch of new material for putting out, and at a push you could
maybe see something new by the end of the year.

We’ve been doing some thinking about the instrumentation, and as much as we love
the sound we achieve as a duo, there might be room for something extra. We’ll have
to see. But guitars are a no no.


The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d
want to shout out to?

CON: We’ve had a bunch of awesome gigs with Paper Tigers who are putting some
killer songs out there and bringing a great sound to the scene.
A personal favourite of mine, THVS have their killer album Fevers our for a while,
and I’m a huge fan of their vibe.
Dean and Chapter have been wonderful to us, and they’ve some stellar music out too!
We’re loving Alpha Twin’s sound, we’ve had the joy of supporting them and they
kick ass.

MARK: I have to plug the hometown boys over at Cloakroom Q. We've known those
gents for years and I'm definitely excited for what they've got in the pipeline. We
recently played a great gig with a new band called Set Alight who are some top notch
fellas. And I know Conall agrees with me on this one, that Molarbear are excellent if
you're a fan of the big heavy chug-chug.


And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.

Queens of the Stone Age
Done.

Find and follow Fagash McCann at:
https://www.facebook.com/FagashMcCann
https://www.instagram.com/fagashmccann

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/bobloganmedia/

Interview with Slyrydes

While I've yet to have the pleasure of putting on Slyrydes, Paper Tigers did get to share a stage with them. In Dublins Academy 2 no less, supporting Life on their Irish tour. Not only are they a sonic tour de force they're also nice guys which always helps. I'm not sure how much of a profile Slyrydes have up north but this is band people should be paying attention to. A wonderful cacophony of controlled noise that led them to getting a spot at the Sunstroke Festival.

Rafto and Fuz sat down to let us inside Slyrydes world.

Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar and start writing songs?

Rafto – I personally grew up with it, my oul man was proper into his records when I was growing up. He loved Neil Young, but not the Harvest stuff, he was into records like Weld. The Crazy Horse stuff. I know Clarkey, our drummer, his old man was a professional musician, Myself and Clarkey actually grew up in the same estate, but we had both moved out before we were in our teens and into making music. My mam was proper into musical theatre too so I used to have to go to these dodgy ameateur productions of stuff like West Side Story. So I was just into music. The band thing sort of happened just knocking about with mates with similar interests in school

What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first record you ever bought and why?

First record I ever bought was actually a compilation of the songs they used to sing at the end of Bosco. That probably is not representative of where I am now though. I was sort of into the grunge/Seattle thing initially. But what really changed things for me personally were the early Britpop stuff. I was proper into that, Definitely Maybe, Blur, Supergrass etc. They dressed better than the American bands and had way better haircuts.

Can you tell us a bit about how the band came together. You play an angry, aggressive and noisy style of music what drives you to create this wonderful noise, what fuels that fire?

Myself and Marco worked for the same company of pubs and Fuz used to drink and DJ in them. We just used to talk about music a lot after hours over a few beers and the band is what emerged from that
As regard musical style, there is a lot to be pissed off about. We have been living through a mental health crisis that has been ignored now for the guts of twenty odd years. Housing crisis, whatever you are having yourself. We are the generation that did not benefit from a supposed economic boom but we have to pay it back. Sonically, the sound is what just came out when we started. There was never a conscious decision to sound like we do (well I think anyway). Also the Irish music championed by Irish broadcasters is so fucking mundane and nice. The Coronas ? Away to fuck, we had a Corona virus way before China.





You’ve had an amazing response to the singles you’ve released so far, which along the way has resulted in a slot at Sunstroke along side Faith No More and Deftones! What do you think attracts people to the band?

Well shout out to Paul McCloone for a lot of the initial momentum. He played us pretty much from the get go and that definitely made life easier as regard getting peoples attention. He is our John Peel type character.

As regard our appeal, I think we are pretty honest. I mean lots of people in Ireland like music that is tough or aggressive. I mean not everybody likes songs that fit the boy meets girl template beloved by day time radio. That is why there has been a resurgence in Irish underground-ish stuff.

Your new single ‘I Claim to be Intelligent’ just came out. Which is an excellent slab of noise dripping in a palpable tension, it feels like being locked up with someone. Can you talk about what themes and topics the band cover lyrically and talk about the recording process for the single?

Fuz: Its really cool to hear that you got that vibe from the song. As one of the songwriters we try to create a back drop for Raftos lyrics. Even if he hasnt written them yet. We all feel the same way about what we're trying to convey so for us we write music thats maybe tense or angry or claustrophobic. I dont think we actively set out to write that exact mood but that's how it comes out. Damon Albarn has an amazing lyric from End of a century "We wear the same clothes because we feel the same" that's a bit us. Whatever we come out with, whether it's a pounding drumbeat or a screeching guitar or an amazing melody or lyric we're on the same page. We are saying the same thing through different mediums. That's probably why it works.

The recording process is interesting. So when we have the song written, what we've done the last few times is myself and Paul (drums) will go to Darklands with the amazing Daniel Doherty and we'll track the bass and drums. We dont need guide tracks or anything. We know what we're playing.
Mark Comer and Rafto will come into the studio a few weeks later and colour it in.
That's usually Me, Dan, Mark and Rafto for a day or two. We just get into it.
We like to use a lot of feedback and noise tracks in the background. That probably adds to the tension. We have tracks entirely made of noises that careen along through the songs.
We keep it as live as possible but under Dan's guidance we usually come out with something much cooler than we went in with. It's a huge group effort of ideas and creativity.





Do you feel that living in Galway and the current state of Irish politics have a direct impact on your lyrical content and how does that environment feed into the music, if at all?

Oh absolutely. On paper we are a doomed generation. We dont have the opportunities our parents had when they were younger.
Buying a house and setting up a stable life was so attainable back then. We are a generation of people who can barely rent an apartment anymore. While Ireland is becoming quite progressive (and that's great) we are still practically ignoring huge issues that are staring us in the face. Our mental health system is an absolute joke. Not to mention the homeless crisis.
These are real life problems that definitely add to our shared anxiety and anger.
We write about this shit.
It's a huge theme for us because it's real and not only does it scare us, it pisses us off.

You’ve released 5 singles to date, are there plans for an EP or an album?

We are currently working on our debut album with Dan Doherty. We've been chipping away at it for a while now.
The plan is to have it out this year! We're doing this whole thing quite organically.
We have no real clue what way the songs are going to come out so it just keeps getting more interesting for us.
I imagine the album wont sound like people might expect it to sound like. We definitely dont want to write the same song 12 times.

The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?

We've done a few shows with Bullet Girl lately. Great band and great lads. Creative Crime is Dan Dohertys outfit. Dan and Teddy Darling. A sort of mixture of hiphop and dance music. We love it because it's also fucking REAL.
Melts are another band who are definitely smashing it at the moment. We have a few more shows with them this year.
There are loads of great bands out there man. Paper Tigers are great!! We got to play with you guys before Xmas. Really cool band.
It's an amazing time for irish music.
I'm honestly just glad to see the laptops fucking off for a bit and the guitars coming back.

And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.

Aaaaah!!!
That's a bastard. I, as a rule do not do favourites. As soon as I made that rule for myself I felt so free. You have 1000 different records for 1000 different moods but I'll pick 5 albums that had a profound effect in my life?

In absolutely no order, and this answer would probably be different every time but:
Nevermind - Nirvana
Blur - Parklife
Whipping boy- Heartworm
Radiohead- The Bends
Pulp- Different Class

Interview with ForeignWolf

Continuing in our Isolation Interview series ForeignWolf are a self styled post-grunge outfit based in Belfast. The whole band took time to sit down and answer our questions!

ForeignWolf are Old Crows Promotions illumni, playing their first ever supporting Paper Tigers at our single launch. The band showed no signs that it was their first show together that night. Now armed with a new drummer the band are set to go from strength to strength.

Enjoy!


Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a bass/drums and start writing songs?

Jay:
My dad and my granddad were both bass players so it's always been in my blood.
My mum is also big into music so we used to spend hours listening to old Duran Duran records and Tears for Fears. It really gave me a love for music

What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first record you ever bought and why?

Mick:
I had mostly rappers or rap groups on my wall; Eminem, Wu Tang and The Roots (coincidentally, a hip hop band, live instruments and all etc) I was super into hip hop growing but got into heavier music about 15-16 so the inevitable Metallica “...And Justice For All” poster went up with some Nirvana and even a giant Distillers poster I stole from the Limelight one Halloween!

The first album I ever bought myself was Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory; What drew me to it was the song writing and style of production, I thought it was cool that a hard rock outfit embraced electronic styles of production, like rock meshed with hip hop style drums or atmospherics via sampling, they wrote great impactful songs that in a genre pretty cluttered with distortion and wailing to make up for whatever lack of talent or agenda they had, LP put the music first.

Can you tell us a bit about how the band came together, what made you decide to go this direction and what’s the story behind the name? 

Dave:
 The band came together very much like a Jigsaw. Individually we had all been working on our own thing, Gerard and Dave just coming of the back of Car Chase City, Jay with Crisis and Sean with Pandora Ills and the Mad Dalton. The very first iteration saw dave and gerard writing a few of the initial tracks with a variety of drummers. It wasn't until Jay and Gerard got together that the band started to properly form. Dave came along and the three started really focusing. Through one way or another we all knew Sean and that completed the setup.

The name ForeignWolf just explains us a band. Each member was a foreign Wolf. All from their own prospective bands coming together to make a new band, or too pardon the hangover pun a new wolf pack.

'Tempered Hearts’ came out last year which is a great EP. Can you talk about making the record, the song writing process, lyrically what you cover in those songs and did it achieve what you set out to achieve?

Gerard:
Tempered Hearts came about quite organically. We worked very well with each other as musicians and there was always creative input. 'Charity' was the first track we had put together in an early iteration of the band. It focuses on how we are constantly prodded to support charities and relief worldwide while the rich get richer causing war and suffering. We as a society are then guilt tripped into giving out more of our money in and endless cycle.

'Breathe' and 'Hard to Bear' focus a lot on mental health which is a common theme throughout most of our tracks. Northern Ireland has seen so much suffering due to mental health issues and we try to show that there's ways to open up, whether through music  or simply speaking with someone.

'These Tempered Hearts' was wrote in one session around a week before hitting the studio. It wasn't supposed to be recorded but we had the opportunity so we went ahead with it!
We recorded the ep with Josh at JSR Audio and it was a breeze. Josh is fantastic to work with and we bounced off each with ideas.

Photo Credit Bob Logan Media

What’s the plan for ForeignWolf in 2020, I notice you’ve just changed drummers. What led to the change and do you think that this change will influence future song writing?

Dave:
This year the band are focusing on writing as much as we can. We have a back log of music that we have been sitting on for over a year now. We will be getting back into the studio come this summer for our Follow up EP to Tempered Hearts. Along with one or two more music videos. We are currently in plans for a tour which should take place around October time with a few of our favourite local bands, as well as a few more local dates to be announced shortly.

Sean had to step down as our drummer due to work and time constrictions. We were sad to see him go but we only wanted what's best for him. He's a great guy and a fantastic drummer to work with.
We put up and advert for a new potential drummer and I have to say the response we got was very overwhelming. It was humbling to see just how many people actually dig our music and wanted to be a part of it.

Mick brought it all with his audition. Power, Style, Creativity and most importantly just a great guy who gets on well with us all. I am really excited to see the direction the band goes in now that we are once again a complete line up. And who knows what is next for us.

The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?

Jay:
I'd have to shout out Harley and the Wolf for them being great lads and Paper Tigers...for letting us steal their drummer!

Mick:
Witchkicker are a swell bunch! Worn Out, holding it down for Zool records in the South, hopefully get down to play with them soon! Sugarwolf have a special place in my heart, and Fagash McCann, because Conall Stott is the Conor Dennis to my Aaron Gillespie - Shout out my drum bros if you get that reference! Ha

And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.

Jay:
Alexisonfire - Crisis
Sirintip - Tribus
Reign Of Kindo - happy however after
Royal blood - royal blood
Alexisonfire - self titled

Mick:
Converge - Jane Doe
Deftones - White Pony
Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
Nirvana - Nevermind

Gerard:
Green Day - American Idiot
Lower Than Atlantis - Changing Tune
Enter Shikari - Common Dreads
Twenty One Pilots - Blurryface
Alexisonfire - Old Crows/Young Cardinals

Dave:
The Frames - Setlist
Alter Bridge - Fortress
Dave Matthews Band - Live in Central Park
Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous
Steve Vai - Passion and Warfare


You can check out ForeignWolf here:
https://www.facebook.com/ForeignWolfMusic/
https://www.instagram.com/foreignwolf_music

Photo Credit:
https://www.facebook.com/bobloganmedia

Paper Tigers - Flames New Single

Full disclosure, I play guitar in Paper Tigers so this post is self serving. That said it doesn't take away from how excited and how proud I am to finally release this.  This is our second single from a recording session in September 2019. Given the current situation we're limited in what we can do promo wise so we'll be shouting about this from every corner of the internet!

Click the Spotify link below, follow us, stream it and if you can please share it!
We’re having a little trouble with our Spotify at the minute but you can still stream it below!



We appreciate all the support so far!

Paper Tigers have started 2020 by releasing sophomore single 'Flames', out March 27th showcasing another side of the bands song writing, an incendiary riff drives the song forward demanding attention before exploding into a stadium sized chorus. Melodies are backed by a snarling punk rock attitude, boundless energy while creating an urgent tension. The verses feel like a snarling tiger on a chain that finally breaks loose during the chorus, wild eyed and gnashed teeth. Already a live favourite 'Flames' showcases the band hitting their song writing stride. Lyrically the song deals with infatuation and lust, an introduction to an all consuming seduction. Like a flaming succubus Hayley's vocals lure you into the song and trap the melody inside your head.

Find us and follow us

Https://www.facebook.com/papertigersni
Twitter: @papertigersni
Instagram: @papertigersni
YouTube: https://youtu.be/EmvPsQO8_Mc

Interview with Ethan Hanna

Hey,

So here we are in the first of our Corona Isolation series of interviews. Belfast based Americana Folk hero Ethan Hanna sat down with us to answer the questions you've been dying to ask, and by sat down I mean virtually. Although I was sitting when I wrote the questions and I guess he was sitting when he answered them so its not a lie..

We played a show together at the Old Crows 'Party at the Port' in the Atlantic in Portrush, we had an absolute blast. That was the first time I had actually got to see Ethan live. I have to say live the songs take on a whole other life, so after you listen to the record and once this whole debacle blows over I urge everyone to go check him/them out.

Given we share some members in Paper Tigers with Ethan Hanna band it only made sense that Ethan was the first interview out of the gate!

Enjoy!


Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar and start writing songs?

I was always into music, from what I can remember. Just whatever Dad was playing in the car mostly, or when he was working out in the garage, he'd always have music blaring. I think all of the Zeppelin and Hendrix I heard then must have sparked an interest in guitar, and then I started listening to Gun n Roses and I think that must have been around the time I decided I wanted to play.

Actually writing songs and thinking about lyrics came a whole lot later. Leonard Cohen, The National, and Pink Floyd were some of the many acts that made me pay attention to the words, and all of a sudden that aspect of songwriting became really important. I knew how meaningful some of these people's words became to me, especially in harder, presumably sleepless, times, and I started writing my own with the hopeful thinking that maybe someday they'd comfort someone else in the same way.

What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first record you ever bought and why?

Ah, jeez. You're about to see two very different sides here. Feel free to judge! In no particular order, the ones that I remember are: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Paramore…

The first album I bought with my own money was American Idiot. I haven't listened to Green Day in forever, but I stand by it being a great record. Before that I was just listening to whatever classic rock was already in the house, and what I could get on Kerrang or Scuzz…

You released Welcome to the Batlands in 2018 which is such a great record, so many great songs. Can you talk about making the record, the song writing process, lyrically what you cover in those songs and did it achieve what you set out to achieve?

Thanks so much! WTTB was a really long project start to finish. There were 2 or 3 attempts to make it myself, before I finally enlisted the help of Michael Mormecha at Millbank Studios. I had had the songs written for such a long time, and a pretty solid idea of what I wanted everything to sound like, that by the time we got into the studio it turned itself into a really fun, relaxed process where we could share ideas and try out different things on the fly. In the end we wound up sort of Frankenstein-ing together the Dark Americana for Insomniacs that I had written, with some of the genius Mike brings to apparently any instrument. I think we made something special, even if it's just a modest album that gets a few thousand plays in its time.

Lyrically it touches on a few things: There's a lot about Family and the question of how to honour your family and the people who shaped you while you become yourself, whenever you've grown up and moved out. There's a lot about Home, and I treated that slightly separate to family in this because I think that 'Home' is a certain feeling that we can attach to more than just a place or people. I think it's an amalgamation of many things, and it's not something that you just miss or return to. I think it's something you carry with you and tend to as you go. If I figure out a better way to explain that, I'll let you know. Hopefully the album does the talking on that one. Lastly there are the lyrics you'd expect from any Springsteen/Gaslight Anthem enthusiast; cars, girls, beer, and of course not being able to sleep.

It's hard to say if WTTB achieved what I set out to achieve, because I'm not overly sure what it was I was aiming for, but I think I'm going to say yes. I made an album I'm truly proud of, and I feel comfortable knowing that I made it as honest as I could. It's a great bonus to know that people liked it, and still continue to… which I suppose is what any musician is looking for. It blows me away to see that a (small) following of people all over the world still listen to it. I'm truly more thankful for that than I can express.

Are there any plans to record more material? How might that differ from the debut?

Indeed there are. More than people would expect at this stage I'd imagine, given my tendency to take my time. Without going into too much detail; all the songs are written, ready to be recorded, the name's ready, the artworks ready… So yeah, readers, please stand by and I will have some news soon.

This material will definitely be different from WTTB. More optimistic, more sure of itself… I can't wait to share it.

Given that you are in fact Ethan Hanna, it’s your name on the flag so to speak, do you feel any additional pressure than if it was presented under a band monicker? 

In a weird way I feel less pressure. Music creation has always been a really introverted thing for me. I can be shy around sharing ideas, and wary that I don't have what it takes skill-wise to be an equally involved part of a whole band. This way I know it's all on me, and having that knowledge makes sure that I'm certain of what I'm doing and saying in regard to any project I'm working on. Of course it means that progress can be slow, but I hope the end result outweighs that.

The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?

It's incredible, isn't it? I can't remember a time when the scenes seemed so active. We've played a few shows in the South, but sadly I haven't managed to get to know too many southern acts just yet. The scene in the North is really strong currently and there are some acts that deserve far more recognition.
I've been saying it for ages; John Andrews is one of the best singer/songwriters in the scene and his full band live shows are incredible. Paper Tigers are absolutely blazing onto the scene with just one single, Sonja Sleator has just shared a video to a great unreleased song, and the first single Dr. Zoot put out was unreal. Pascalwillnotsurvivethis, Lapse, Malojian, Aeons, and Don Maple, and Reevah are also some local favourites right now.

And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.

As a High Fidelity fan, I should be far more prepared for this question. This is off the top of my head.

Darkness On The Edge Of Town - Bruce Springsteen
Radio K.A.O.S - Roger Waters
Science Fiction OR The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me - Brand New (wouldn't be in the vein of Rob Gordon if I didn't have some sort of exception).
Elsie - The Horrible Crowes
I Forget Where We Were - Ben Howard



You can check Ethan Hanna out here:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ipEn1Gdanpvt649tfJyj5
https://www.facebook.com/EthanHannaOfficial/
Insta: @ethanhanna

Old Crows Promotions

Hey!

So first off thanks for paying a visit to the Old Crows Promotions blog! Its a little basic for now but as time goes on it'll hopefully get a little more professional, or maybe it won't. I'm an incredibly busy man with many fingers in many pies, so we'll see how it goes.

A little background before we get started. I started Old Crows Promotions because it allowed me to put on shows for my band, Paper Tigers, book some of my favourite bands and get to share a stage with them. I believe in local talent and try to provide a platform and resources for bands. Old Crows continues to grow bringing bands together from all over the country.

This latest venture hopes to provide insight into some of my favourite artists and is conducted solely from a fans point of view. If any bands would like a show or to be featured please get in touch.

We're in the midst of this awful epidemic and I know we've been affected by it, with a new single coming out we're now unable to do any real life promo, shows cancelled, interviews cancelled etc so I decided now would be the perfect time to launch a series of interviews with bands to allow them to keep their profile up and continuing promoting the great music and talent from all over our country.

Anyway enough of my ramblings, check back regularly for interviews and more, I've already a bunch lined up! Hit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/oldcrowspromotions and get in touch if you've a release coming up or maybe you've heard a cool band and want to help them get out there.
I'm here for it.

Hanx

Michael
OCP