We sat down to have a chat with Jim Higson and Daniel McCarthy from Kawala before their sold out show in The Academy Dublin. We talked about how they craft their tunes, their glorious harmonies, how adding a band has changed their live shows and much more.
We sat down to have a chat with Donal Quinn in The Sound House Dublin to talk about his new single ‘Bubble’ and his career in music so far. He also performed a sweet acoustic version of ‘Do You Like Spicy Food’.
Watch the interview and Donal’s acoustic version of ‘Do You Like Spicy Food’ Below
We sat down to have a chat with Lauren Johnson, Taylor Johnson, Aaron Milligan, Logan Johnson and Luke Harris from Brand New Friend before their show in Whelan’s Dublin to talk about their new music and experiences while Wicklow band Felonies provided the shredding background music with their soundcheck.
We sat down to have a chat with Steven King from Fangclub to discuss what we can expect from the bands new album ‘Vulture Culture’ which was released today. We discussed the themes running through the album and the emotional and intricate aspects of ‘Vulture Culture’ as well as what it was like to support The Smashing Pumpkins and Metallica.
We sat down to have a chat with Luke Reilly and David Anthony from Otherkin before their show in Whelan’s Dublin about their new tracks and what they have planned for the rest of the year.
We sat down to have a chat with Michael Shuman and Tyler Parkford from Mini Mansions before their show in Whelan’s Dublin about their upcoming album ‘Guy Walks Into A Bar’ set for release July 26th 2019
We sat down to have a chat with Brendan Aherne, Sam Privett, Fabio Bocca and Kalyan Rogers from Alexis Kings before their Show in The Workman’s Club Dublin. We talked about how they create their delicious summer soaked tunes, their laid back persona’s and a bizarre incident that happened to them in China.
We had a chat with Oliver Dobrian drummer and backing vocalist for power trio Filmspeed to talk about their music, touring and how they form their tasty tunes.
Tell us about Filmspeed and how the band came about?
Nick and Craig have actually been playing music together for over a decade under various names and projects. Through the magic of the Internet, I joined the band about 2 and a half years ago and we haven’t looked back since! We are a rock n’ roll band based in Southern California, trying to keep the dying art alive.
Your tunes are so slick and very rock n’ roll with a nice dash of indie, pop-punk and hard rock thrown in. How do you keep coming up with these hook filled tunes?
Wow, that’s nice to hear, thanks! We are always
striving to write catchy earworms that get stuck in your head. I think it just
comes from our collective love of music and our various influences manifesting
in whatever we play. By listening to as much different stuff as possible, it
gives us a large pool to draw from when we’re making our own stuff.
You recently released ‘Bless My Soul’ and ‘Shakey Love’ two kick-ass swagger drenched catchy tracks. Tell us about the writing process for these tunes?
The two processes couldn’t be more different! For
“Bless My Soul,” we wrote the tune and showed the demo to Jason Hollis from
Punk Aristocrats, who gave us a few rounds of notes and we hammered it into
what you hear on the record. We recorded it with him up in LA. For “Shakey
Love,” we knew we needed a B-side for the single, but didn’t really have any
ideas, so the song more or less got written on the drive up to the studio! We
recorded it in Santa Monica at Manifest Music, and I believe the take we used
on the record is maybe the fourth or fifth time we had ever played the entire
song through, since it had been “finished” just minutes before.
Do you follow a certain format when writing your tracks or does it just flow organically?
We don’t technically follow a format, but it does
generally follow the trend of Craig bringing in a riff or an idea, and Nick and
me working around it from there. We’re all good enough friends to critique and
suggest ideas to each other without our egos getting in the way, so we just
strive to serve the song rather than ourselves, and make it as best as
possible.
There are many shredding, gritty riffs throughout your tracks tell us how you come up with these?
You’d have to ask Craig, haha! He’s just an endless
fountain of cool riffs and melodies. I think he just is constantly making memos
to himself and humming into his phone whenever he gets an idea. He’s got quite
the database by now.
Your songs are full of swagger and confidence does this reflect on your personality?
We like to think so, but probably not as much in
actuality as we give ourselves credit for. We try to stay humble and silly for
the most part.
Which of your songs are you most proud of?
I try not to play favorites in order to give each song
its due when performing it. If I play a song, I love it! I think the same goes
for Nick and Craig too, we don’t tend to do anything we don’t like to do,
musically speaking.
You guys embarked on your first West Coast tour, kicking off in Los Angeles and made notable stops in Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco before wrapping up in Anaheim. How did the tour go?
It was amazing! We had such a great time, met such
great people, played some really fun shows. It was everything we hoped it would
be and more.
Do you have a favourite memory or pinnacle high moment from the tour?
It’s impossible to pick just one! From me getting sick
and my face swelling up at our last show, to Craig’s backpack getting stolen by
junkies in Vancouver, to the transmission leaking on our van. Oh wait, did you
say HIGH point? Just kidding, while all those things did indeed happen, we were
laughing the whole way through and had the time of our lives. We didn’t call it
the “Consistently Off” tour for no reason! We’re pretty good at taking
everything in stride and staying content in the moment. Honestly the high
points are always gonna be the shows. That’s the reason we even do the thing.
From listening to your tunes there is an energetic vibe and high intensity, I get a sense that these songs would be epic performed live, what is a live show with you guys like?
Thanks! We actually like to consider ourselves more of
a live band anyway. Our constant goal is to get people to support live music
and just get out of the house to come see a show. All three of us feel most at
home onstage when we’re sharing music with people. So if you come to a
Filmspeed show, you’ll see three guys leaving it all out on the stage and
having the time of our lives every time. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing to
1 person or 100,000, we aim to entertain.
What is your Favourite song to perform live and why?
Personally, I like to treat each time I play a song
like the first time I’m playing it. It helps me keep things fresh and allows me
to elaborate on songs I’ve played hundreds of times. I’m just so happy and
grateful to be onstage whenever I am, it doesn’t matter what I’m playing. So I
guess they’re all my favorite!
Will you guys ever venture over here to Ireland for a show?
Of course! When’s the show? We’re there! We’re aiming to conquer the world, and Ireland’s in the world, right?
We sat down to have a chat with Dylan Kearns, James O’ Connor, Eamon Ganley and Eric Walsh from Gorilla Troubadour after their ‘Tom Cruise Does All His Own Stunts’ single launch in Whelan’s Dublin. We talked about the new single, how they come up with their sound, college and what Gorilla Troubadour have planed next.
We had a chat with Broncho’s Ryan Lindsey to talk about their new album ‘Bad Behavior’. We got into some of the intricacy and juicy elements of this luscious album while also discussing a petition for an Irish show, what they learned from their touring with Queens of The Stone Age and brief mention of Hanes boxer briefs and high dollar tequila.
You have released your new album Bad Behavior tell us about the concept behind the album?
We did our usual plan of not making any plans except to show up without a plan until things make sense. It’s my favorite plan
There are so many sublime tracks on this album each one bringing its own infectious slinky charisma and flirtation to the table. Talk us through the music writing process for this album? Was it any different to Can’t Get Past the Lips, Just Enough Hip to Be Woman and Double Vanity?
Very similar to our previous records in certain ways. Each record has been a mix of writing styles. It’s really up to each individual song. Some songs had been cruising around our minds for a while and some we came up with while recording.
I love how delicious the melodies are in this album, you never disappoint when it comes to melodies but these 10 tracks are deliriously mouthwatering. How do you come up with these melodies?
Well, first of all, let me say, thank you very much! you’re making me blush. We always want things to taste good. I would hope that we are that healthy junk food, made with real sugar, to help you feel less guilty about the whole thing
It feels like, as a band, you guys are pretty tight – each instrument gels and weaves perfectly together. There are some slinky guitar moments with rich rhythms and groovy bass lines how do you guys combine your innovative elements together?
Touring tightens up the whole thing. And anything that don’t get tightened up on the road, gets tightened up in the editing bay. I like a healthy amount of loose, and a comfortable amount of tight. I guess we value comfort. And flexibility. And stability. Which is why I wear Hanes boxer briefs.
Ryan you sing with a mischievous twinkle in your voice, peppering the verses with suggestive uh-ohs and ahhs and at times barely pushing out your words to the point of whispering. What sparks these cheeky vocal moments which have now become such important characteristics to the songs?
Sometimes it feels good to get soft. It also feels good to push. It all starts with the diaphragm. Vocal control comes from the diaphragm. But above all things it feels good to be cheeky. Being cheeky also starts with the diaphragm. It takes a lot of breath.
There are a lot of bands and artists talking about the world events through their music lately however you guys depict the Bad Behavior in the world through a non-biased danceable, fun, sometimes dark and sleazy medium. Was this your attempt to take this discussion and perhaps put another less doom and gloom spin on it?
We’re taking a non biased reporters stance on the current times. Just reporting on what we observe and adding “facts” to support “our” “theories”. Doom and gloom ain’t fun. Unless it is! Depends on what party you’re looking for. We are that party where you can relax, because we all know what’s going on and nobody needs to talk about it. Unless you do!
The album version of ‘Get In My Car’ sounds a little different to the single version released last year did you re record it for the album and what did you choose to do differently?
We added slap to the vocals and ran it through a different tape machine and maybe some other itsy bitsy changes. but you got a good ear because the changes were subtle.
You have seen your songs featured on influential TV and radio and have toured the U.S. and Europe, including arenas with the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, The Growlers, Portugal The Man, and Cage The Elephant – that must have felt amazing, is there anything in particular you took away or learned from those experiences?
There’s multiple ways to do this whole thing. Everyone you mentioned does there own thing and does it at an elite level. It’s all about doing what you do, and then doing it well. They all teach through example. The way they take care of their biz. None of those bands ever tried to tell us what to do, they just let us watch what they do, and that’s what I love and learned from all of them. That and also Josh Homme told me the easiest way to the other side is to go all the way through. And I love him for that and a lot of other things.
Did you get any advice or words of wisdom off any of those bands?
Queens introduced us to high dollar tequila
I saw you guys support Queens of The Stone Age in Dublin last year. Your performance was very suave and energetic evoking an effortless sense of awe in the audience. How have you worked on your live shows to make them so enjoyable?
That was easy because we were opening for Queens in Dublin! That show automatically gave us the motivation we needed. I also love doing what I do and that makes it easier to be enjoyable because I’m legitimately having fun. I also stretch from time to time, and occasionally work on my core
From watching that show and some youtube videos it appears like you have developed your own floppy signature dance, everytime I hear a Broncho track I can just see you bopping with your arm in the air can you remember when that dance began?
Sometimes you gotta move and there ain’t nothin you can do about it. Unless there is! But when there ain’t nothing you can do about it, you just gotta let that arm get up there, and let your leg get out there.
What’s the most bizarre thing to happen to you while you were on tour or onstage?
A gentleman in Tempe Arizona asked if he could sit in on didgeridoo and of course we obliged. And would love for it to happen again
You released a joint 12 minute video for Sandman/Boys Got To Go. Talk us through the concept for the video and who came up with it?
Pooneh Ghana came up with the whole idea. She had been in Tulsa with us and met our friend Mark. Over the next couple of years she started talking about wanting to do something with him. When we played Sandman for her she started writing out the whole thing. We just did some more filming with her on this tour and will have more things to come from her semi shortly.
Can we look forward to anymore videos from this album?
We have two more videos done and we got more to shoot. Lots of work left to be done!
Have you any plans to come to Ireland for a show?
Not currently, but I strongly suggest a petition to be made for us to return. That way all party’s involved will have a legal obligation to bring us back!
Do you have any advice for anyone starting a band ?
Work on your diaphragm
What’s next for Broncho?
We are finishing touring the eastern half of the U.S.. we tour the west coast in February and then play the UK end of February. And if the petition gets pushed through swiftly, we will be playing Ireland!
You can catch Broncho live at :
27 Feb – Glasgow, UK @ The Blue Arrow 28 Feb – Manchester, UK @ Yes 1 Mar – London, UK @ Moth Club 1 Mar – Brighton, UK @ Patterns
Watch the video for ‘Sandman’/’Boys Got To Go’ below
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.