Mark Connolly is the mild-mannered gentleman behind Galway-based band Publicity Machine. Laughing that he “threw the band together and forced them all to stick with me”, Mark lives and breathes music and has kept a keen ear to the ground of the Galway music scene. “I run a page called Musicians Under Galway, which has around 1,500 members and is a way for musicians in Galway to meet up.”

Mark has a lot of enthusiasm for the music coming out of his home city. “For original music, I think Galway is stronger than ever. More bands are appearing out the woodwork every day. They’re doing their own thing independently, even if the venues and labels aren’t accommodating them.”

Publicity Machine themselves seem to be the poster-children for doing things independently. “Myself and the bass player Brian are both sound engineers, so we’re well used to recording, mixing and mastering the songs all by ourselves. There’s no slowing down to book a studio or trying to find a producer. I don’t want the band to become stale or for people to lose interest.” The band’s generosity in their musical output has seen them release a track nearly every week leading up to the launch of their second EP in November, and Mark promises that a 15-track album is in the pipeline for next May.

Publicity Machine’s genre-bending sound (the band “hybridise” folk, rockabilly, reggae and blues) is a result of their writing process. “Most of the time I start writing a song, then if I ever get stuck I immediately jump into another genre,” says Mark. “For our live shows, people shouldn’t expect an hour long set of straight rock and roll. We throw a bit of everything in there.”

See: Publicity Machine launch their second EP in Roisin Dubh, Galway on November 2.

Hear: Their track ‘Crazy Lady’ on YouTube.