Music/News: 06 May 2005
Hannah Hamilton

The Future's So Bright They've Gotta Wear Shades

With Dublin scuzz-rockers Mainline gearing up for the Budfest, bassist Conor Paxton can barely contain himself.

"I can’t wait to get out on the road!” declared Mainline bassist Conor Paxton, when hotpress caught up with the Dublin gonna-be's in mid-rehearsal.

“We’ve got some of the best shows ever coming up," he continues. "We’re practising. but we’re taking it easy in the run up to the gigs. Getting clear heads. We’ve gotta make sure we’re tight as fuck. We’re so happy to be playing with the likes of The Las (who they’re supporting at The Ambassador) and The Chemical Brothers.”

The sextet are currently signed to Loog Records in the UK for a one single deal, but will be putting out a 12” on New York label Plant Records in late June featuring a remix by Who Made Who (who are signed to the DFA label) and another by a friend of the band, Leo, who produced their first demos.

“Everything’s moving at a really nice pace for us at the minute," Conor enthuses. "We’re on a roll. Things are looking up around every corner. It’s great, cos we’ve put the work in, and now it’s starting to pay off.” Indeed – the band are on track for a mammoth summer jaunt that takes in the likes of London’s Wireless festival with Kasabian, and T In The Park.

Conor seems sure as well that the success his band are reaping will also be enjoyed by some of their Dublin peers: “It’s great, because there are three or four bands of our friends who are coming up now," he points out.

"Humanzi are in the process of signing a deal at the moment. And The Things are doing really well. It’s brilliant – just what Dublin needed, and about time too.

“We really want to make it, and make Dublin a place to go to as well,” he continues. “Get it recognised. The music industry’s so small here that we need a few good bands. Not everyone from Ireland is U2 or Boyzone.

"Are we up to the challenge? Definitely! Of Course! If we weren’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I think we have what it takes to do what we want to do. There’s a lot of music to be made and I think there’s a big audience that we could get to. It should be a lot of fun over the next month or two.”