A Strange Exchange With Bryan Adams

Recently I was granted the pleasure of interviewing Canadian musician Bryan Adams on the build up to his Irish headline performances.
I was told that it had to be email and Q and A format at the request of his management. The responses that followed some months later shed a light on the previously unknown part of Bryan Adam's 'unique' sense of humour. I wasn't ready for the word 'twerk'.

1.       You headlined the world famous Slane festival in Ireland a number of years ago. With that experience in mind, how do you find playing for an Irish Crowd?

BA: you turn left at Scotland

2.       There’s criticism that US and Canadian audiences don’t sing along at concerts? Have you noticed this difference when you are playing European dates? How do you get the crowds going?

BA: Yes it’s true, but it’s probably because they don’t allow alcohol at most shows in N. America.

3.       You have obviously had a long and successful career. Looking at how saturated the music market is now and how easy it has become to release music with social media etc., how well do you think you would do if you were just starting off now?

BA: Since I’m shite at twerking, I’d probably be forgotten at the bottom of the dustbin of time

4.       How does it feel to still play songs like summer of 69, cloud number 9, I do it for you? Can you enjoy them as much as you did back when they were first released, or is it a case of just doing it for the fans?

BA: I love those songs, are you kidding? Without them in the show, you might as well stay home

5.       What pre-show rituals do you have?

BA: We do a group tooth flossing, a series of star jumps, followed by a Madonna prayer ritual. If it’s a big show, we do all of them at the same time

6.       What music are you currently listening to?

BA: My new album called “Tracks Of My Years” which comes out in September. 

7.       Are you a fan of, or are you familiar with any other of the bands on the lineup? 

BA: Kool & the Gang, David Gray? Of course, how could you not love them? I just asked my 3 year old daughter what she thought of them and when she didn’t respond I asked if she thought they were cuddly, and she said Yes. So there you have it.

The Head Villager

A look back at a classic interview from 2008 with Conor J O'Brien conducted months before he embarked on a successful solo career

“I wrote my first song when I was twelve and it was called ‘Psychic’ and it had the line; ‘when I’m walking down these streets I feel like a monkey in the arctic’. I could play six chords back then.” Says Conor proudly. You can tell straight away that Conor O’Brien is a person who was set on his rightful path from the start. Now 13 years after his school boy music days he is a professional musician at every sense of the word. Around the comfortable living room a Vintage made acoustic guitar stands up straight, ever ready in case inspiration hits. “This is what I always wanted to do”, Conor continues, “My parents weren’t musical at all but they let me play music very loud from a young age. I think because I was the youngest of three in our house in Dun Laoighre that I got away with it At one stage I had a full blown band with drums and all in our bungalow, I shudder to think what the neighbours thought.”

After receiving a coveted nomination for the Choice Music Award with his band ‘The Immediate’ in 2006, Conor has now found himself responsible for another nomination this year as lead guitarist and joint song writer with the successful Irish artist Cathy Davey. Conor had been writing the album ‘Tales of Silversleeve’ with Cathy while he was still touring with The Immediate. At the time he managed to help write a top selling album with Cathy, and still drive his own band ever forward towards success. The band split in early 2007 due to musical differences. “Back then I didn’t think the band was going to end at all”, explains Conor, “I reckoned we (The Immediate) would go back touring and she’d (Cathy) be doing her own thing”. He sits relaxed and casual when answering questions of ‘what could have been’ if the band had stayed together. He has no bitter feelings and assures me that there are no personal problems among the band members as a result of the split. 

The current tour with Cathy Davey is going well, with tour dates sold out across the country in Cypress Avenue in Cork and Whelan’s in Dublin. Although he’s not the front man in this band his song writing and guitar playing skills are currently being displayed on a national level as he performs with the lovely Cathy Davey. 

Conor has already had a busy new year representing the Irish music industry in Holland at Eurosonic, the European music exchange alongside Cathy Davey. The choice music award is not the only De-Ja-Vu for Conor this year. Once again he finds himself performing at the Meteor Awards show in Dublin. “Ireland seems to be a bank for some of the world’s biggest musicians” he shares “The Meteors has great marketing potential to release albums and acts”. As Conor answers my questions, a content and peaceful expression stays on his face. He isn’t afraid to admit he doesn’t know the answers to some questions, and offers as much of an explanation as possible to every open ended question I throw at him. He willingly talks about The Immediate, despite  his band  coming under spotlight again before Christmas when a former band mate wrote an article in The Irish Independent detailing his reasons why the band split.     

Even though The Immediate dissolved without any hate or bloodshed its hard not to imagine what level of success they would have now. The band were a long time in the making starting back when David Hedderman, Conor O'Brien, Peter Toomey, and Barra Heavey attended St Conleth’s College in Ballsbridge. While Conor and fellow Immediate front man Dave were at school, their knowledge and taste of music was influenced by their school care-taker who taught them about ‘The Kinks’, ‘The Velvet Underground” and ‘Pink Floyd’. “At lunch time me and two of the other guys would organise concerts and stuff in empty classes”, Conor reminisces. It’s clear that developing The Immediate was a full time job. The band thrived on the idea of ‘making it’ and attempted various methods including throwing their demo up onstage at a Manic Street Preachers gig, as well as dropping a copy into Folk rapping legend Beck Hanson’s shopping bag while he visited Dublin. The Immediate released their first single ‘Never Seen/Say This’ on Fierce Panda Records in 2005. The single was picked up by famous English rock stations BBC Radio One and XFM. Television spots on Channel 4’s show: “Road to V Festival” and a place on Hotpress’ ‘Murphy’s live tour CD’, showed progression in the right direction. The lads entered Jacobs Studios in Surrey to record their debut LP with US producer Chris Shaw a talented music guru who has worked with the likes of Wilco, Super Furry Animals, Public Enemy, and Bob Dylan. The first recordings from this session were released in April 2006 as the acclaimed ‘Make our Devils Flow’, which was a four track EP on CD and 7" double-pack. The album In ‘Towers & Clouds’, released in the same year, was nominated for the Choice Music Prize. The band famously swapped instruments during shows. Everyone did their part. “At the start we all wrote a bit. When the band progressed Dave and I wrote more and more, but we kept the template or formula of swapping instruments, just because we always did. For years we had to make up reasons why we did it in when asked in interviews.” reveals Conor.

 Conor bounced back well from the split of the band many DJ’s said to have ‘unlimited potential’. He is still touring and working closely with Cathy. Despite this new exciting partnership in music, he admits that some tedious aspects of being a professional musician never change. “The worst is after a sound-check in a random place and you have to fill blank hours before the gig.” Conor’s smile drifts for a millisecond as he no doubt remembers a time when he forgot to bring an I-pod or a book on tour. As we discuss directions of music and formats of song release, the impression that Conor is an old soul, wise beyond his years is ever present. “It seems that as the technology gets better with mp3 etc. the quality of the music compared to the old 12 inch records seems to go down.” He continues; “but at the same time we can listen to more music and transport even more music with us but that’s kind of bad too, ‘because you won’t be obsessed with one band like you used to be when you were a kid.”

      

  With Cathy’s album ‘Tales Of Silversleeve’ released this year, Conor spent his time between tour dates, home, and travelling to various media and press outings as well as  radio slots on Ray Darcy, Ryan Tubridy, and Rick O’Shea. 2007 was a busy year for albums and Conor admits that he was taken aback by an artist called ‘Grizzly Bear’. “I respect bands like this really making a specific sound purely ‘because they feel they need to make it, as opposed to chasing after album sales. I also love Cathy’s album, even if I didn’t help write it I’d still love it.” He jokes about cult bands sacrificing good song-writing when they make it onto mainstream labels, (namely Arcade Fire and Kings of Leon’s 2007 releases), but then admits that he may have prematurely judged both respectively because he; “recently heard some songs of the new albums that blew me away”.

    

     The topic of travel arises and Conor hopes that one day his music will take him to Africa and explains how a taxi driver recently set him up with a huge list of bands to check out for when he makes it that far. “I’d love to experience that complete opposite end of music”, despite his old soul these words hint that he has many years of travel and musical adventures ahead.

Daithi moves to the beat of his own synths

On the release of his new album, music pioneer Daithí Ó Drónaí talks to Owen Sweeney about the expectations put on modern electronic musicians 

In the era of TV talent shows, there are few success stories worth noting once another rotation of the X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent comes to an end. The exception of this rule is electronic artist and graduate of The All Ireland Talent Show, Daithí Ó Drónaí. Although the short-lived formulaic reality series is now nothing more than an origin story for Daithi, it was the vessel that first delivered his hybrid performance of synthesised fiddle and electronic dance music to the Irish masses.

Equipped with loop pedals, his trusty fiddle and a strong heritage in traditional Irish music, Daithi soon found himself as a talent show contestant again on Sky’s music-centric offering  Must Be the Music. Despite the short turn around time between TV shows, the outcome from this opportunity would set Daithi on the path to success, one he would travel on his own terms.  

“It was going to be an absolute kick up Britain’s Got Talent’s arse and that’s how it was going to work. That’s how he sold it to me,” recalls Daithi. 

“I went down there and I saw that they had a really good way of doing the show. Once I started getting through the rounds, they were bringing me to studios in London and letting me record my own music. They would help you record the single that you would play on the show, and then it would be available on iTunes the night of the TV performance. They even gave all the proceeds of the song to me...that gave me the money I needed to build a studio which was used to record my first EP.”

Four years on and Daithi is signed to a major label and has cemented himself as an act synonymous with the Irish music scene, thanks in part to manager and mentor Eoghan ‘Gugai’ MacNamara and the rest of the Róisín Dubh family. 

“The Róisín is where I came from. Gugai is my full time manager and he has been for a long time. I think it’s really important to keep someone there who is looking out for you more than they are looking to make money or anything like that. That’s more important. He’s been great to me,” explains Daithi. “When we started having talks before we signed with a major label it was interesting because they had never signed up anyone before who knew the industry so well...We had a set idea of where we wanted to go with it and they seemed delighted that we were so much ‘in the know’ and very forward thinking.” 

For Daithi the accomplishment of signing with a major label is not an invitation to sit back and declare himself a star. Once signed, he explains, the label assists with financial assistance similar to a bank loan and the all-important radio airplay, while Daithi handles the majority of PR and promotion himself.  This month the electronic artist, who is now based in Galway, launches In Flight via Sony Music Ireland, a record that combines synthesised loops, an array of guest singers including: Elaine Mai, Senita and Jesse Boykins III and his indispensable fiddle.

Despite an abundance of undeniable talent there isn’t an ounce of music snobbery present in Daithi. Citing numerous inspirations, covering everyone from Final Fantasy (AKA Owen Pallett), Arcade Fire, John Hopkins to Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé, he happily admits that he loves making pop songs. The high quality production work audibly resonating from the already-released singles Have to go and Chameleon Life have the ability to change the music tastes of even the most cynical of music writers. Quite humbly, Daithi professes that the album might not be where it is today without the tutelage of Young Wonder’s Ian Ring who though him how to record and produce “properly”.           

For any music professional working in the electronic space, one obstacle that must be overcome is the migration of the studio magic to the live show format. In a time when some of the world’s greatest electronic acts face criticism for contributing little to their live shows other than pressing the play button, Daithi knows how important it is, for the audience and himself, to be constantly working and creating something on stage whether with live fiddle or synths to avoid what he jokingly calls, “feeling like such a cop out”. With the 2014 line-up even stronger than last year, there will be no shortage of hard working acts on the Róisín Dubh stage.  

“I think that the Róisín Dubh stage is perfectly set up to be the kind of the ‘off-kilter’ stage, slightly different from the general line-up at the Westport Festival and that’s what makes it very special,” says Daithi. 

He continues, “Those acts are part of a proper Irish music scene that people might not get to see a lot. It’s a family orientated crowd, but that’s a good thing because we don’t get to play to that kind of person a huge amount either. I think people get a good buzz out of that and if you can get a good crowd there then you are doing something right.” 

Daithi performs on the Róisín Dubh stage Sunday 29 June, and by the sounds of things there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. Look out for the ’Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man’ that marks the entrance to the Róisín Dubh stage.

Home truths on show

Unraveling the expat audience

Owen Sweeney

National bias aside, it’s hard to deny that the Irish audience is king in the realm of live music. Whether its singing along to every word of every song or identifying what hit the band is going to play next in delight just by hearing the sound of a guitar being tuned across the PA system, there’s an undeniable passion in the hearts of Irish concert goers and a genuine respect for musicians. This truth is especially obvious to anyone who has seen a popular music act in both Ireland and a foreign venue, shocked by the silence during songs in the latter before polite, yet loud, applause erupts once a song ends.

If an Irish concert goer was to turn to a fellow punter at a UK club date for a successful Irish band  and explain that “You’d never get this close to the front at home” or “the place would usually go mental for this one”, there was a time when these comments might warrant a polite smile or a passive “oh yeah?”. Now, with a little help from emigration, audiences across the world have their own perceptions of how Irish act at a concert, especially for homegrown acts from Ireland.

Sadly these perceptions are not all positive. In 2007 I was fortunate enough to attend the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in California, the year Rage against the Machine reunited to perform as a headline act. Lower down on the bill were both Damien Rice (and then band) and the Frames. With a lineup clash sadly meaning I missed Damo, I went along to see Glen and Co. at about 3.30pm on the Saturday for the sake of seeing an old favourite. Although a great gig and a professional performance from all involved, Hansard’s frustration at the first two rows of the audience was hard to miss as he tried to ignore repetitive screams of “When are you playing Whelans again?” while green, white and gold paraphernalia  was hoisted in his eye-line.  This example deals with the Irish audience ‘on tour’ and only amounts to a bit of cringing for both the band and fellow Irish concert goers who wish to elect better ‘audience ambassadors’.  In a recent interview with Dave Geraghty from Bell X1 and Join Me in the Pines, however, I gained insight into how full-on expat audiences can have the power to ruin a gig.

Bell X1 have been independent for their last three studio albums and accompanying live outings, a fact that has never slowed the band down, but this means that Geraghty, Noonan and Philips are responsible for reinvesting profits into future promotion, studio time and tours. Understandably, bringing  the show on the road to the US can be a costly endeavour and a mission that needs to succeed in order to help expand the fan base into new territories. Geraghty encountered the hard way that in certain venues around the world bands can end up playing in front of an all-Irish crowd that is not bringing with them a fond familiarity of home.

“Yeah…It was actually the night of the infamous bus fire in Boston. We had done a gig…I think it was a career low point, for me anyway. We did this gig in TT Bears bar, I wouldn’t even go as far as calling it a dive bar, but it was full of drunken paddies,” recalls Geraghty. 

“We had to go through the crowd to get off the stage and there were some real moronic, drunken, people who didn’t know the band, yet were introducing people to people in the band, personally. It was that real drunken ‘hands all over you’, over-familiarised sort of thing and I was just going ‘we’ve come all this way, it’s cost us all this money and we’re playing to these people, who are just roaring and shouting over us’.”

It’s easy to understand Geraghty’s frustration, especially as travel costs for bands increase and the spreading of, what he jokingly refers to as, “the gospel of Bell X1” lands solely on the band’s shoulders. Luckily Geraghty and the band haven’t encountered such a concert in a while and can identify some lightness in this difficult past experience.

“There was this fad that we still laugh about, that’s just gone. I don’t know how, I’m just glad it has, were people just shout parts of Dublin or Ireland that they are from. It started off with cries of “CELLBRIDGE” “LEIXLIP” “LUCAN”. What are we doing lads just practicing our geography? What’s going on? There was that strange element that thankfully has stopped....So it hasn’t happened in a while thankfully but when it did happen it was pretty grim. We had gone all that way and spent all that money getting there and we end up playing like what feels like The Temple Bar in Temple Bar.”

Bell X1 will embark on a four date tour in Australia this July , stopping in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth; four cities that have no doubt been receiving care packages of Barry’s Tea and Tayto for some time. Here’s hoping that the band have a successful run far from the events of that fateful night in Boston

With Le Galaxie it's always 2am

David McGloughlin of Le Galaxie chats to Owen Sweeney ahead of the band’s upcoming Westport performance

Interview
Owen Sweeney

The Westport Festival of Music and Food won’t know what hit it when Ireland’s premier dance music act ride into town. David McGloughlin, Michael Pope, Anthony Hyland and Alistair Higgins, better known as Le Galaxie, will be bringing their unique style of crowd-pleasing dancy antics to the Róisín Dubh Stage. And there’s not long to to now – the band will perform on June 29, the two-day festival’s Saturday night.

Anyone fortunate enough to have come across the band’s well-received debut ‘LASERDISC NIGHTS II,’ will be surprised to see how much musicianship is involved in the band’s live set. In many cases, live performances in the dance-music scene are dominated by one-man shows centred on a single laptop. This is not the case for Le Galaxie. Guitars, percussion and live locals combine with samples and synthesisers to create something unique, and almost indescribable. 

The band’s much-spoken-about headline slot at Electric Picnic’s ‘Little Big Tent’ last year has become somewhat legendary after hundreds flocked to the 2am gig. Lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Michael Pope successfully rocked a fishnet tank top in the foreground of an impressive light show that was easily fit for The Who or Bon Jovi, while his energetic displays curated the gig to atmospheric ecstasy. Le Galaxie’s closing cover of N-Trance’s ‘Set You Free’ left many still singing all the way back to the campsite with a new appreciation for both the band and dance music, content in the knowledge that they had just witnessed a ‘we were there’ moment.

But can a band that is more suited to club nights and midnight shows pull it off in the grounds of Westport House at the ‘early’ time of 9.30pm? I asked David McGloughlin, who joins my reminiscence of the Electric Picnic gig.

“That’s great … you weren’t at our previous Electric Picnic show though. I think it was 1.30pm in the afternoon, but to be honest there was as much energy and enthusiasm as there was at the 2am gig. The thing is, you’ve got to create that and take people there and try and do what we are doing without any ‘half-assedness’ or excuses because of the time of the day … If you’re not going to go for it, people aren’t going to come.…We approach the show the same way we would approach a later nightclub gig we would have done, and I would like to think, certainly from the [crowd] reaction that we’ve pulled it off at that time of the day.” 

It’s fair to say that the current manifestation of Le Galaxie nearly didn’t happen. Born from the alternative-rock band 66E, the group drew early comparisons to Radiohead and Mogwai. While the former incarnation of the band performed a soft post rock, each member was also  interested in electronic dance music. The turning point came when the departure of the former frontman created an opportunity to further showcase the electronic aspects that were slowly creeping in. 
The band members themselves were surprised with the direction that things took, but embraced the evolution as a positive change. “Eventually I think what happened was we were booked for a late-night show in The Button Factory following a couple of DJs, so we picked the ‘dancier’ tunes that we had at the time. It was like ‘Hell yeah, this is where we want to go’,” says David. 

The band clearly has their audiences screaming out for more, but how goes the business end of things? Twenty years ago a band would go out, get signed, tour the world and make a shed load of cash. Today, however, bands have to work harder, and for a lot less financial return. 

With Le Galaxie, let’s just take the maxim ‘we’re not just in it for the money’ as a given. Still, its encouraging to hear they have the business side of things somewhat figured out. People might not be buying brand new cars or houses, but the enterprise side of the music, that lets them release material and tour internationally, has become self-sustainable. A symbiotic relationship with the Delphi label and a booker in the UK delivering new audiences to the band, are just some of the benefits that the hard-working band has recently reaped from the industry.    

“You kind of just have to rely on yourself and pull yourselves up by your own socks. You hear people talking negatively about the industry, but we have been lucky enough to be doing what we wanted to do in terms of getting the songs and the music right and working with the people that you feel good about,” explains David.

Le Galaxie are hard at work on new material, and are hoping to release a new record before the end of 2013. David has hinted that anyone coming to Westport on June 29 ‘might hear four or five new songs that haven’t been put on a record yet’.         

No secrets, only hard work

Kieran McGuinness of Delorentos on the band’s busy summer

Interview Owen Sweeney

At the end of the month, the gates of Westport House will once again open for the Westport Festival of Music and Food, allowing thousands of concert goers to soak up the sounds, and hopefully the sun, in the historic building’s beautiful grounds.

Topping the bill on Saturday is festival veteran Christy Moore and his long-time playing partner Declan Sinnott; Elvis Costello and the Imposters will close the show on Sunday. It may be cliché to say to that there is something for everyone at this year’s festival, but if the official website is anything to go by, the music, live cooking demonstrations and comedy on offer will be enough to satisfy the ears and paletes of even the most diversified crowd.
Possibly the most exciting aspect of this year’s festival is the introduction of the Róisín Dubh Stage. Curated by the men and women responsible for the successful Galway music venue of the same name, the eclectic stage will feature such heavyweights of the modern music scene as Le Galaxie (headlining the stage on the Saturday), The Funeral Suits, Daithí, Elaine Mai, Squarehead, Kid Karate, Spook of the Thirteenth Lock and Sleep Thieves.

Delorentos headline the Róisín Dubh stage on Sunday night. Since winning the 2012 Meteor Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year for ‘Little Sparks’, the alternative rock band from north Co Dublin has been busy playing international gigs, such as the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Texas, showcases in Russia and various other concerts around Europe. Westport will be one of the group’s few Irish stops this summer.

Michael Stipe of REM once said, “There was before Losing my Religion and after Losing my Religion” – referring to that moment of mainstream recognition that propelled the band to new heights. Has the Choice Music Prize acted as the same sort of catalyst for Delorentos? Guitarist and vocalist Kieran McGuinness (pictured on left), sees the band’s defining moment at a different point in the timeline.
“For us it’s actually simpler than that, there’s before we broke up and everything after we got back together. Everything before we broke up was great for us and worked out well, but we weren’t as focused, and I don’t think we worked as hard as we work now. So that was kind of how it was going in to the first album. I think we were looking for the wrong things and we were young and stupid as well. We’re still stupid according to Ro,” says Kieran.

Like Kieran, fellow band members Rónán Yourell (or Ro), Níal Conlan and Ross McCormick believe that if you can be good in Ireland, you can be good anywhere. Perhaps one of the hardest-working bands in the country, Delorentos control their own artwork, merchandise and business decisions – and that’s all before the band lock themselves away to create their carefully crafted songs. Everyone in the group is fully invested in the band and gives everything to sustain it, even if this means being ‘fairly bread-lined for a part of our lives while we are doing this’, says Keiran.

Summer 2013 was meant to be a quiet one for the band before they went into hibernation to work on their fourth album. However, their calendar has slowly filled one date at a time. Their summer schedule now includes festival headline slots, shows in Dublin’s famous Vicar Street and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to support The Boss, Bruce Springsteen.

“This is the summer of the Bruce Springsteen warm-up day. Isn’t that one of those things that’s just absolutely amazing? So looking forward to that. You can’t help but be a Bruce fan; he absolutely permeates everything. Ro is a huge fan. He used to wear sleeveless T-shirts for the ‘You Can Make Sound’ album, and he wore them for the whole of that album campaign, as a reference to Bruce,” says Kieran.

The lads come across as quite grounded individuals with a strong work ethic. So, do they indulge in any of the stereotypical rock-star behaviour, like asking for outrageous band riders – the backstage hospitality wish lists that can separate the megalomaniacs from those living in reality?

“Photographs of women from every continent and life-size statues of Elvis,” jokes Kieran. “It’s pretty straight forward to be honest: beer, crisps, sandwiches and water. We played with a band who at every gig wanted a shrine to David Hasselhoff and in some cases the venue had in fact made it for them. I feel bad about making someone do something like that.”
Delorentos’ energetic set will no doubt prove one the highlights of the festival at Westport House. No doubt the stately 18th-century venue will be happy to lay on the beer and crisps – and maybe even a sandwich or two.  

Under the ribs of a broken umbrella

A chat with Dave Geraghty from Bell X1

Interview
Owen Sweeney

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of experiencing a Bell X1 live show will understand how significant the band’s addition to this year’s Westport Festival of Music and Food really is.

For almost 15 years, Bell X1 has been on an epic journey that has seen the release of six studio albums, as well as Choice Music Award nominations, appearances on US chat show The Late Show with David Letterman, a song being featured in the hit TV show The OC and an ever-growing fan-base that extends far beyond the Irish shores.

From the perspective of Irish fans, the band’s roadmap can be tracked from the release of the ‘Neither am I’ LP in 2000 and appearances at All Ages gigs in the Temple Bar Music Centre (now The Button Factory) to the much adored ‘Music in Mouth’ album three years later, which brought with it headline events in such venues as the Olympia Theatre as well as Late Late Show appearances.
Backed by Universal’s Island Records, the band re-emerged in 2005 with ‘Flock’ which hit number one in Ireland and elevated Bell X1 to such notoriety that they sold out a night at The Point theatre – a gig that later spawned 2007’s live album, ‘Tour de Flock’.

Now, free from a major label, the hardworking Irish trio of Paul Noonan (lead vocals, guitar, drums), Dave Geraghty (lead guitar, vocals) and Dominic Philips (bass, vocals) have had three studio albums independently released under their own Belly Up label – ‘Blue Lights on the Runway’, ‘Bloodless Coup’ and ‘Chop Chop’ – all of which have charted successfully in Ireland.
With Bell X1 achieving success well before the days of social media, Dave Geraghty is thankful that the band was established before listeners in Ireland and all over the world were exposed to an overwhelming number of acts via the internet.

“We feel very lucky that we have covered the ground that we have. We are lucky as well because when we released ‘Flock’… well ‘Music in Mouth’ was the first album that was getting radio play, certain stations really jumped on board, gave us a leg up and really supported us,” explains Dave.

“We were lucky that at the time we were signed to a major label that allowed us to reach a certain amount of fans, and thankfully those fans have stayed with us over the years. We do feel very lucky when we put a gig on sale or a tour, or announce a tour, and there are Belly fans out there that have stuck with us over the years. It’s a lot more accessible because of the internet, what’s left of the music industry, the way it is structured, but it’s also very daunting because everyone and their mother are in bands … it used to be more contained … but now it’s one big melting pot.”
In recent years, fans in Ireland, Europe and the US have encountered the band through a series of almost acoustic gigs in intimate venues. The stripped-down performances saw the trio performing without extended band members Marc Aubele and Rory Doyle in an art form dubbed by the band’s management as ‘Chubby acoustic’.
“It seemed to go down really well with the Bell X1 fans … It was largely what inspired the sparse nature of Chop Chop,” says Dave. Material from the long run of intimate shows later formed the popular almost unplugged, live album ‘Field Recordings’.

What to expect at Westport Fest 2014

Bolstered by a sizeable back catalogue of hits, Bell X1 will bring a six-piece show to the grounds of Westport House featuring Marc and Rory, and Bill Blackmore on brass.
Knowing what songs the audience wants to hear on the night and what songs the band wishes to feature are not two lines that always run parallel. The success of songs such as ‘Eve the Apple of My Eye’, almost give them mandatory listings on the set list, in order to keep the fans happy.
“‘Eve’ would definitely be one of those. It’s great to play the songs that people want to hear, and it’s great to have songs that people want to hear. But sometimes it can be a chore to play them, because everyone in the band has different ideas of who and what the band is now and what we should and shouldn’t be doing. Sometimes it’s the songs that got you to where you are that are the songs that are not representative of who you are now. It can feel like [being] a wolf in sheep’s clothing, when you are playing these songs.”
Regardless of song choice there’s no doubt that Bell X1 will fuel one of the biggest sing-alongs of the weekend, and going by what Dave says, there will be something in their show for everyone.
“It’s going to be a mixed bag of the albums,” he reveals. “It’s been a while since we have played with six of us. A night of dancing, singing and getting all nostalgic and happy and sad … that feeling of togetherness that hopefully a Bell X1 show conjures … that’s how we feel when we go on stage, and hopefully it will be another one of those.”