For so many bands, touring is a drag: months on the road away from home; living in the back of a van or a bus; surviving on large amounts of fast food and alcohol. Andy, lead singer with Therapy? enjoys it a hell of a lot and gives his advice to young bands going on the road.
After two years of constant touring, Welsh songstress Jem is fed up with hotels and soundchecks and can’t wait to get back to writing new songs. Now wonder she’s in little humour for small talk.
Taking the DIY ethic a step further than many, Alan Roe, aka Roesy, devised a rather creatively impressive way to raise money to record his album Only Love Is Real.
Colm O'Hare talks to boy-girl sensation The Kills about their adoration of the US underground, touring with Franz Ferdinand and Primal Scream, and why those White Stripes comparisons are totally wide of the mark.
Not content to let other country stars record her songs and keep her in massive cheques for the rest of her life, gretchen peters has decided to do a little performing and touring of her own. Interview: colm o'hare.
Having successfully avoided submersion into Tim DeLaughter’s Polyphonic Spree, New York-based psych-rockers Secret Machines are now touring with The Chemical Brothers and being widely cited as one of the hottest bands on the US underground.
In between starting a family and touring the globe with Bell X1, David Geraghty has managed to find the time to squeeze out a second solo record, The Victory Dance. He talks about dealing with bat infestations, bestriding U2’s ‘Claw’ stage and tackling the fraught subject of 9/11 in song.
Currently touring their fifth record Saturday Nights And Sunday Mornings, COUNTING CROWS singer Adam Duritz speaks to Edwin McFee about Teenage Kicks, porno flicks and his love for Ireland.
Four years on from Inflammable Material and even Jake Burns is beginning to wonder if Stiff Little Fingers are losing their bearings. Here he reveals some of his misgivings to Bill Graham
Fresh from a starring role in the Readers Poll, Josh Ritter has even more reasons to be cheerful – like touring with Joan Baez and getting to know Damien Rice.
Glaswegian indie outfit Sons And Daughters are set to make a big impact with their most pop-influenced album to date. They talk about surviving Bernard Butler bootcamp, touring with Morrissey and, er, covering Adamski.
Danielle Brigham catches up with new Britrock darlings The Futureheads to discuss their recent gigs in, respectively, a ski resort and the biggest shopping mall in the world, touring with Franz Ferdinand, appearing on The OC soundtrack and their collaboration with Bloc Party.
The Walls are about to embark on their most extensive Irish tour yet, including their biggest Dublin gig to date at the ambassador and may be about to finally break the bank
When not touring with Republic Of Loose, Mick pyro is free to kick back in his basement pad in a 1960s Swedish-style Terenure house, where he indulges his love of CDs, books and movies – and ponders the aesthetic similarities between Shakespeare and hip hop.
It’s all about broken down tour buses, Alan Partridge, high speed collisions, Moby, broken ribs, Mina Suvari, MTV stars and David Bowie as Ash launch a sonic assault on America. So riddle me this: can Ireland’s hardest-working rock’n’roll outfit crack the big one?
The boys are back in town for Galway s Big Beat and SHAUN RYDER is back in the saddle. I m actually now becoming some sort of poet-film-directing-intelligent-motherfucking-artist-luvvy-darling sort of guy and it s wonderful, he tells PETER MURPHY. Pics: Michael Quinn
From small-time ramshackle punk'n'Irish troubadours to 'international touring act' in the space of six incident-packed years, The Pogues have not only produced music to consistently surprise and delight - they've put it in the charts too! With the help of band members Phil Chevron and Jem Finer, Bill Graham examines The Pogues' enigma in advance of the outfit's impending Christmas single 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah' (phew!) and their seasonal show at The Point Depot in Dublin.
As Duke Special set off for a jaunt around Europe with the Divine Comedy, our correspondent hitched a ride on the tour bus. In between the sound-checks and the motor-way pitstops, he received a unique insight into the life of the touring musician.
Sex & Death & Rock 'n' Roll
With The Divine Comedy's new album Casanova, the dreamily romantic Neil Hannon has come over all carnal. "I felt I had to get an awful lot of real shit out of my system", he tells Niall Crumlish. "Sometimes you've got to get a bit scummy".
Well, okay, it's SOMETHING HAPPENS, so that's overstating it a bit. Still, having taken a fair few industry beatings over the years, the band are no longer inclined to simply turn the other cheek. At the end of a year in which they toured the States with Warren Zevon, released a "Best Of ..." and are bringing it all back home for Christmas, Olaf Tyaransen finds the band can snarl as well as smile.
Niall Stokes: As the drummer in a band, you re occupying a seat that s normally occupied by men.
Caroline Corr: It s a natural thing for boys to go for instead of girls. But I think there should be a lot more females playing. I don t know why they don t.
The release of Born may confirm that Hothouse Flowers are back to their blooming best, but as John Walsh discovers, Liam, Peter and Fiachna have a few vinyl skeletons in the closet. Readers of a nervous disposition are advised to proceed with care.
As one half of D’unbelievables, Jon Kenny became one of Ireland’s most famous and successful entertainers. but the hard touring took its toll and, he believes, may even have contributed to the cancer which threatened not only his career but his life. now fully recovered, Kenny is back as a solo artist but one still hugely inspired by small-town Ireland and its rich crop of characters. Photo Cathal Dawson
For the person in the eye of the storm, massive success can involve a titanic struggle. Especially when, as you’re trying to keep your bearings, ordinary life jumps up to punch you in the teeth. Now, after death, birth, fatigue, grief, joy and the "mindfuck" that is "the tidal wave of success," it is time, says David Gray, to get back to the music. and – whisper it – maybe even have a little holiday.
Having already achieved a degree of acclaim with her soundtracks for The Frog Prince and The Celts -- with the release of her first fully-fledged solo album, Watermark , Enya seems set for the type of accolades reserved for major-league artists. Niall Stokes unveils the creative trinity behind the finished meisterwerk, talks to Enya and her collaborators Roma and Nicky Ryan, and ponders the question:what will commerce do to this thing of beauty?
As famous for being mates with Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher as for being pop stars in their own right, ocean colour scene take time out from a hectic touring and recording schedule to explain to john walshe just how popular they are. Pix: mick quinn.
It's been two years since the Devlins last released an album (the gold-selling Consent) but don't think the band has escaped the public's radar. Between contributing to high-profile movie and television soundtracks and touring internationally, The Devlin's brand of swirling, emotion-driven rock is now being taken in by more ears than ever. Thankfully, though, a new album has finally arrived, and there's no word more suited to it than 'mesmerising'. Hauntingly gorgeous and stunningly understated, Waves proves that the best things in life are worth waiting for.
The time Matt Chicione spent touring with Carl Craig’s Innerzone Orchestra has obviously had an effect, as this album is a lot more ‘live’ than 2002’s (excellent) Cardiology.
It's been two years since the Devlins last released an album (the gold-selling Consent) but don't think the band has escaped the public's radar. Between contributing to high-profile movie and television soundtracks and touring internationally, The Devlin's brand of swirling, emotion-driven rock is now being taken in by more ears than ever. Thankfully, though, a new album has finally arrived, and there's no word more suited to it than 'mesmerising'. Hauntingly gorgeous and stunningly understated, Waves proves that the best things in life are worth waiting for.
SOLD OUT
Touring mates and neighbours of The Go! Team, the Pipettes had been flitting from one small indie label to another, before finding a home with the Team at Memphis. It also marks their move away from the slight air of novelty to proper pop band, much in the manner of The Chalets’s recent transformation. Indeed the two bands share something of a musical template, especially in the classic girl-group vocals. ‘Dirty Mind’ is good yet b-side ‘Because It’s Not Love’ is better and wouldn’t sound out of place on the Grease soundtrack. Yes, that is a complement.
Touring mates and neighbours of The Go! Team, the Pipettes had been flitting from one small indie label to another, before finding a home with the Team at Memphis. It also marks their move away from the slight air of novelty to proper pop band, much in the manner of The Chalets’s recent transformation. Indeed the two bands share something of a musical template, especially in the classic girl-group vocals. ‘Dirty Mind’ is good yet b-side ‘Because It’s Not Love’ is better and wouldn’t sound out of place on the Grease soundtrack. Yes, that is a complement.
It only took Jay Haze and Samim, aka Fuckpony, a few months to write and record 'Children', but its underlying themes are the result of two lives spent on the edge. Haze and Samim's troubled experiences - including stints living homeless in San Francisco and selling LSD while touring with the Grateful Dead - are not obvious from the predominant musical soundtrack, an unusual mixture of deep old school house and wiry minimalism. However, scratch beneath the surface and cautionary tales like 'Cell Phone Hit' and 'Make Money Hoe' reveal the darker side of life. Their story probably warrants a good book or film, but until Sodebergh comes calling, we'll make do with 'Children'.
Widely regarded as one of the best steel guitarists in Ireland, Drogheda-based Richard Nelson has been a much in demand session musician, playing and touring with the likes of Daniel O’Donnell and Mary Duff over the years. But don’t hold that against him! In his debut album Moment’s Notice, Nelson has teamed up with the cream of the Irish jazz crop -Dave Redmond on bass, Hugh Buckley on guitar, Phil Ware on piano and Kevin Brady on drums – to produce a collection of jazz standards that sound anything but.
In view of his busy touring schedule with Riverdance, De Dannan and the London Philharmonic among others, it’s hard to imagine how accordionist Luke Daniels manages to find any time for recording – which might explain why his new CD features four lineups captured in four different locations.
Singer, guitarist and bouzouki player Cyril O’Donoghue has taken his time getting round to making his debut solo album, having been touring with one band or another since the late 1970s.
Given her association with The Strokes (Gordon Raphael sits at the production helm) and history of touring with bands like the Kings Of Leon, one might reasonably approach Regina Spektor’s major label debut with certain expectations – drums, guitars, that sort of thing for a start. Should we be surprised, then, to find that this is a largely solo piano-and-voice kind of record?
Having stopped touring with the band two years previously, head Boy Brian Wilson set about creating what could really be his solo masterpiece, provoked by The Beatles’ most recent works to go beyond the formulaic limitations of your average pop song.
Portumna, Co Galway-based four-piece rock band Big Generator have been touring extensively over the past few years, particularly around Europe. They've also been busy guesting with similarly inclined acts such as Whitesnake and Joe Satriani. Following the success of the singles 'Don't Walk Away' and 'Sometimes' which were minor radio hits in Ireland, the band have now released their debut album On The Line on a Dutch-based label.
Having spent much of last year touring the world, Ghosts paints pictures of scenic journeys, newly visited cities, and as such is gilded with a freshness and lust for life that can only be evoked by someone seeing much of the world for the first time.
The cartoon characters have been busy touring the globe (they're currently in North America) and so G Sides is not a brand new album, but rather a compilation of remixes, b-sides, unreleased tracks and rarities (as well as two of their groundbreaking videos) to keep their millions of fans sated until the next album proper arrives
When Sons and Daughters first came round our way last year via an Arts Council grant and an obscure US indie label, there was much scratching of heads as to where they fitted in. Then we discovered that they were touring with fellow Glaswegians Franz Ferdinand and, hey presto, there you go – part of at least two scenes, job done thank you very much. Except they weren’t, inhabiting instead their own little dark corner of a world that drew on influences way beyond those currently in vogue.
The comeback trail has, in its time, thrown up some far-fetched candidates. The highly inconvenient fact of John Lennon’s death didn’t prevent him appearing on a new Beatles single; Thin Lizzy’s busy touring schedule suggests they have long overcome the speed-bump of Phil Lynott’s passing.
Few rebirths, though, have been as unlikely as that of The La’s, a Liverpool band undone by the tortured brilliance of its leader, Lee Mavers.
According to my calculations, Paul Brady celebrates forty years as a professional musician this year. You certainly wouldn’t think so – looking at the fresh-faced (and decidedly blonder than usual) chap staring out from the cover of his first album since 2001’s Oh What A World. And if his gruelling touring schedule is anything to go by (he treks around the US in Feb followed by an Irish/UK tour) the man from Strabane shows little sign of slowing down.
Semi-officially, Modern Times is being touted as the third in a trilogy that began with 1997’s Time Out Of Mind and the follow up Love and Theft. Recorded with his current touring band and produced by Dylan himself, it treads very similar territory sonically with that raw, live feel and no-nonsense, almost 1950’s production that made his last two albums so compelling.
The received music industry wisdom that Dublin crowds are a soft touch for touring artists got another boost here tonight, as funk/R’n’B queen Kelis came rolling into town in support of her Tasty album
A life-long Dylan devotee, the Roxy Music frontman has wanted to make this album for 30 years and here he finally gives us 11 Dylan songs, recorded live in the studio in a week-long session with his touring band.
Staying true to their post OK Computer resolution to minimise touring to a bare but intimate handful, Oxford’s most revered sons have chosen to play one single English date in 2001...
You know you’ve been to a bloody good Bruce gig when he can omit ‘Born To Run’ or ‘Thunder Road’ and nobody notices. Most of these young whippersnapper acts regard touring as a PR chore. Bruce, on the other hand, treats his job like a vocation.
Apart from saving time, money and sanity when touring America, one o the best things you can do is try and get some American radio play. Here are some of the best online stations and guides to doing that.
Need help, advice or a second opinion? Put your music industry question to theoracle@hotpress.ie. Finan in Cork wonders if record companies are always entitled to deduct tour support from royalties.
From sharing cheeseburgers to sharing a bill with Korn and Puddle Of Mudd, it’s been a big year for Geffen signingsTrust Company, and they’re loving every minute of it
After an early string of synth-pop classics (‘Are Friends Electric’, ‘Cars’, ‘She’s Got Claws’) Gary Numan survived a two-decade slump and became a cult icon. Now he’s back in road-warrior mode.
In just two years the 2fm 2moro 2our has grown into a high-profile showcase for Ireland's best new talent. Ahead of the latest jaunt, the featured acts tell Colm Russell what it means to them.
Having done serious box-office damage in the States, Our Lady Peace are now looking to conquer Europe. Mainman Raine Maida tells Patrick Hedlund why failure is not an option
with a higher profile internationally than at home, and the support of heavyweight friends, The Devlins have recorded an impressive third album. COLM O'HARE reports
Patrick Freyne interviews Tegan from Tegan and Sara about their brilliant new album The Con, her twin sister and obsessively recording the minutiae of her life.
A screwball farce with a keenly observational core, Caught In The Net examines manners and mores in the 21st Century. The play’s author Ray Cooney talks about his journey from would-be matinee idol to subversive playwright.
18 months ago Travis weren’t sure if they wanted to be a band anymore. Then their drummer was told he’d never walk again and their whole outlook changed.
DUBLIN'S HARVEST Ministers release their debut LP Little Dark Mansion this week on Sarah Records, the UK independent label that released their first two highly successful singles on that side of the water.
Glaswegian quartet TRAVIS may have spent much of the last year playing
support to Manc legends Oasis, but deep down, all they want to do is rock. Interview: NICK KELLY
With the huge success of his sophomore album and a brand new masterwork in the offing, 2004 has been a capital year for US singer-songwriter and adopted son of Eire, Josh Ritter.
Patrick Freyne talks to Mikel Jollett of Airborne Toxic Event about posturing indie rockers, his abortive career as a novelist and the worst week of his life.
Tanya Sweeney talks to Hot Hot Heat frontman Steve Bays about guitarist Dante DeCaro’s departure from the band, the creation of their long-awaited new album Elevator, trading Nirvana’s producer for Marilyn Manson’s, and why Ireland remains a favourite destination on the group’s itinerary.
Druid Theatre founder Garry Hynes warns that unless the Arts Council rethink their recent funding cuts, Irish theatre – and Irish culture – could be damaged for good.
The Frames formed Plateau Records to release their For The Birds album which subsequently went platinum in Ireland. The band’s manager, Claire Ledbitter describes the adventure of going the indie route
Karen Ramirez may have hit the big time with her massive hit single ‘Looking For Love’, but, as she tells Barry Glendenning, her heart
currently lies not in the Top Of The Pops studio, but in sunny Naples.
They make dense, deep, Bible-referencing rock. But that doesn't mean The Gutter Twins are the sort to wear their hearts on their sleeves, especially when it comes to chinwagging with the press.
It's probably one of the more unlikely cross-cultural, rock ‘n’ roll match-ups. But the current Brotherly Love Tour in the US featuring kick-ass Southern rockers The Black Crowes and erstwhile Brit-poppers Oasis has been a surprising success.
Equipment, like fame, has it price. colm o hare goes bargain-hunting and discovers that spending your band s hard-earned loot on new musical instruments need not be a traumatic experience.
New York quartet Vampire Weekend are set to be one of the breakthrough bands of ‘08 thanks to their inspired brand of Afro-beat tinged rock. Just don’t mention Paul Simon.
Having established their cult credentials with Turn On The Bright Lights, Interpol are back with a new album that looks like earning them a place at rock’s top table. New York City fop Sam Fogarino tells Colm O’Hare how they’re sharp-dressed for success.
As he limbers up for yet another sell-out Irish tour, guitar-picking hearthrob Tom Baxter is keen to scotch rumours of impending nuptials and wax lyrical about his love affair with this country
Back on the road again with a famous band name and his classic Forever Changes songs, Arthur Lee of Love recalls the golden psychedelic era of Hendrix, Morrison and Young.
He's one of the most distinguised and individualistic figures on the folk scene, an artist who is not afraid to take risks or challenge convention. Now John Spillane has written a moving paean to Ireland - and to his mother.
John Walshe catches up with James McColl, singer with The Supernaturals, one of the most underrated bands in Britain, ahead of their forthcoming Irish gigs.
He used to be an actor but there's nothing showbizzy about Johnny Flynn's baroque folk-pop. He tells us what it's like to grow up in a thespian household and of his friendship with Kevin Spacey.
George are enjoying considerable success in their native Australia and are shortly to bring their angelic pop rock to Ireland. For co-vocalist/guitarist Tyrone Noonan however, it won’t be his first visit to the land of his ancestors
From self-contained sound system to collaborators of choice for everyone from Mutya Buena to Kylie, Groove Armada have perfected the art of beat science.
Cavernous arenas, capacity crowds, shrieking teenagers and a brisk trade in merchandising.
No, it s not a Take That reunion, it s eh, Dublin popsters picture house travelling the autobahns of Germany.
Our Eurosceptic in D|sseldorf: colm o hare
Manchester bands may be notoriously bad travellers, bur Nine Black Alps are planning to do what the likes of the Mondays, Roses and New Order failed to do before them and that’s conquer America.
After a storming appearance at the Eurosonic festival in Holland, Patrick Freyne talks to Cathy Davey about recording, redecoration and ill communication.
Derry four-piece, cuckoo, have caught the proverbial worm, landing a world-wide deal with Geffen, and are finally ready to set the world on fire. Birdwatcher: john walshe.
Pale frontman Matthew Devereux’s Kilmainham pad betrays an '80s fetish, but he once served an Irish stew to Johnny Cash in Bad Bob's, so we’ll forgive him.
Having crammed more into their first four years than some acts do in a decade, Gomez took a much-needed break. But now they’re back with a new album in our gun. "We just got pissed, played a few tunes and started recording," they tell John Walshe
Fresh from his Glasto appearance with Lily Allen, Terry Hall talks about his friendship with Damon Albarn and the enduring influence of his band, The Specials.
He's had his ups and downs over the course of a long and distinguished career. In a rare interview, Dwight Yoakam talks about sundered musical partnerships and explains how he's learned to love again.
The Queen of Zydeco, Boris Bob Dylan Grebenshikov and an erstwhile Rolling Stone were among the unlikely collaborators on ANTHONY THISTLETHWAITE S latest opus, Crawfish & Caviar. COLM O HARE hears more.
For a city so often celebrated in song, it was inevitable that the horrific events in new york would be felt as keenly in the music world as in any other section of society. STUART CLARK reports on the industry response and compiles a broad selection of individual reactions to the attack
Gideon Seifert of Joe Gideon and the Shark talks about touring with Nick Cave and Seasick Steve, and recalls his musical partner’s previous life as an Olympic athlete.
Who better to launch this year’s Music Show than Irish band of the moment The Script? In a taster of what to expect from October’s RDS weekender, Danny, Glen and Mark treated a roomful of fans, music students and industry professionals to their thoughts on illegal downloading, songwriting, the dreaded Auto-tune and touring with Macca and U2.
When we catch up with Bell X1 frontman Paul Noonan on a fine August afternoon, he’s bracing himself for a grueller of an autumn schedule that will begin with a handful of festival appearances – including an Electric Picnic set – and culminate in full-on month-long European and US tours. Reading dispatches from the band’s recent blogs, it’s apparent that the landscape of modern touring is far from Beat Generation romance and way closer to a Ballardian landscape of endless petrol stations, motorways and ferry docks.
Touring the States is hard enough when you’re a big-name band, but when you’re a fledgeling Irish act it can be hairy explains Dudley Colley of the Dudley Corporation and how to make it big while staying small with Rob Hope of Limerick popsters Seneca
24-year-old reggae star Natty takes time off from touring Dublin in a horse-drawn carriage to discuss Bob Marley's legacy, and the 'institutionalised racism' inherent in British society.
The Stables in Mullingar has become an essential stopover on the Irish rock touring circuit. Here, the venue's booking man, David McLynn tells Jackie Hayden about the current state of rock in the Midlands.
New York, London, Paris, Munich, everybody’s talking about Mylo’s music. The 25-year-old dancefloor maestro here sounds off to Steve Cummins about touring the globe, the challenges of following up his acclaimed debut album, and why maruading chavs won’t be enough to dissuade him from moving to Essex.
With a new album ready for release, Idlewild 's Irish bassist Gavin Fox talks about celebrity spotting in LA, touring with Pearl Jam and why Warnings/Promises is the best thing they've ever done. Interview by John Walshe
In a rare interview, US alt culture icon Tom Waits talks to Dave Fanning about touring with Zappa, getting the nod of approval from Dylan, his fastidious approach to songwriting and why Bill Hicks remains America’s foremost political commentator
Luke Unabomber explains how Manchester’s electric chair night has progressed from a “shitty little club” into one of the UK’s most successful dance events, with special guests, mix cd on release and worldwide touring dates. It’s about the music, apparently
Hotpress hitch a ride on the Wilt tour bus for the band’s whistle-stop tour of Europe. For tales of on-stage abandon, backstage debauchery and bizarre drumming accidents, read on. Plus Cormac Battle’s tour diary
LA, Joshua Tree, Alabama, New Orleans . . . Kristin Hersh verbally back-packs her way around the most significant places in her life and career thus far.
Interview: Nick Kelly.
Despite predictable criticism from certain quarters, Sarah McLachlan’s vision of “a celebration of women in music” has made the touring Lilith Fair one of the hottest tickets in rock in 1998. Tim Perry reports.
And that s just the band! Galway s finest, The Stunning, take time out from sticking pins in themselves as their debut album Paradise In The Picturehouse finds itself perched atop the Irish charts to explain the secret of their success to an attentive Michael O Hara, who undergoes a road to Damascus experience en route.
The “war on terrorism” and the death of Irish Happy Hour aside, 2003 has been a year of good times and great tunes. For me, it’s also been a year of daring debuts.
One of Ireland’s outstanding violin players, Steve Wickham is a long-time member of The Waterboys and respected composer in his own right. Born in Dublin, he’s a country boy at heart.
Jools, Letterman, platinum discs, fan hysteria – it’s all very nice and much appreciated, you understand, but for Damien Rice the bottom line remains the song – and doing things his way.
Even without a record deal, industrious Northern Irish reprobates watercress have a back catalogue to be proud of. jackie hayden meets band linchpin dan donnelly.
Even without a record deal, industrious Northern Irish reprobates watercress have a back catalogue to be proud of. jackie hayden meets band linchpin dan donnelly.
An Irish bouncer at closing time and a plague of frogs in America EAMON SWEENEY hears about the weird and wonderful inspiration for the new album from LOOPER
Yes, it’s the all-new, all-chuckling, all-giggling, all-grinning Dylan Moran. Well, not quite, but as Paul Nolan discovers, portraits of the stand-up as a difficult interviewee are rather wide of the mark
Three bands, 10 venues, 12 dates, four DJ comperes and two high-profile corporate sponsors, including the official national pop station. Jackie Hayden talks to the bands scheduled to play this year’s RTÉ 2fm 2moro 2our, coming to a town near you.
Folk legend and son of Woody, ARLO GUTHRIE is feeling a conspiracy of hope take shape as the inauguration approaches and he gears up for his Irish tour.
He loves Natasha Bedingfield and Charlotte Hatherley, but has no time for Franz Ferdinand, Donnie Darko and hammock-sized bras. Lisa Coen wakes Ian McCulloch from his slumbers and finds the Echo & The Bunnymen legend in wonderfully morose form.
A long way from there to here
With 35 years on the road behind them, THE DUBLINERS are the roots of Irish music. Interview: Colm
O'Hare. The Rolling Stones aren't the only ones celebrating 35 years on the road this year.
0ver the past twelve months, Daniel Kitson has risen to prominence following his Perrier award winning show at the Edinburgh fringe, and his celebrated appearance on Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights but all the bespectacled comic really wants is to be recognised as a stand-up guy.
Formed when they were fresh-faced school kids, border country gloomsters Sanzkrit are at long last set to unleash their debut album. You could say they’re looking forward to finally getting stuck in.
So what’s it really like to take your band from Dublin to New York in search of that elusive breakthrough? Little Ghetto Boys present their diary of a Paddy’s week mini-tour of the Big Apple with special guest appearances by La Rocca, Mark Geary and others...
Already established as a major star in Ireland, and with a healthy and growing following internationally, it looks increasingly likely that we have a major world star on our hands.
Richard Jenkins has diligently plied his craft for Woody Allen, the Coen Brothers and in Six Feet Under, but he's now assuming his first leading role in Thomas McCarthy's The Visitor.
Donegal three-piece The Revs have in two short years become one of the country's most successful independent outfits, but, as Nadine O'Regan discovers, the majors are beckoning
Forget all the chatter about solo albums and injuries sustained on the road: Snow Patrol are revelling in the end of a triumphant year, one which saw Eyes Open become the biggest selling album in the UK in '06, as well as making serious inroads Stateside.
Exhausted following her prolonged spell on tour, Bic Runga is keen to make it back home to New Zealand for some well-earned r’n’r. but not before she discusses the vagaries of life, love and pop stardom.
Laughing in the face of a global music meltdown, Colin Devlin has temporarily exited The Devlins to release a solo album Democracy Of One and strike out on a world tour.
Horslips axeman Johnny Fean is honouring us with a masterclass at the upcoming Music Show in the RDS. Here, he talks about his formative influences and Horslips’ upcoming reunion
Anointed by the blogosphere, Tapes ‘N Tapes are just about the hottest thing in indie rock right now. Despite his rather fraught stage persona, frontman Josh Grier turns out to be a picture of charm. And no, he can’t explain the slightly silly name either.
Rolling Stone's most promising artist of the year and Dylan/Stones endorsed songstress Kathleen Edwards tells all about her acclaimed new record Back To Me, life on the road in the US and why she just might make the move to those shores in the not-too-distant future.
30 Seconds To Mars' Jared Leto talks about the challenges of juggling a music and Hollywood career and sheds light on his run-in with the authorities in China.
IARLA O LIONAIRD has a new star-studded solo album out but the Afro Celt Sound System continue to teach him that music can be enjoyable and not just sublime . Interview: Colm O'Hare
If the name TINDERSTICKS is synonymous with images of grim-faced men in suits, peddling unbearably lovelorn songs of emotional destitution and heartbreak, then the Nottingham sextet have only themselves to blame. But, as frontman STUART STAPLES tells NIALL CRUMLISH, their new offering Simple Pleasure swops despondency for optimism with brilliant results.
Having survived classical and punk obsessions, not to mention an Adam Ant gig when she was 14, Joan Wasser may have finally found her true self in the role of Joan As Policewoman.
30th Anniversary Retrospective: On the eve of the release of their fifth album, Ash talk longevity, writing songs in Bono’s summer house and why Twilight Of The Innocents is not a pipe-and-slippers album.
Grunge is back, apparently. And the hotbed for the revival is the English city of Leeds, where Dinosaur Pile-Up are among the newcomer acts leading the charge.
The Police's reformation is the reunion they said would never happen, and according to guitarist Andy Summers the band is still the same mix of egos and visionaries.
As well as enabling us to use a painful Usual Suspects pun, catching up with the Kaiser Chiefs at Oxegen meant we could quiz them about U2, Live 8 and becoming filthy rich rock stars
THE WAR between the sexes certainly seems to be dominating Dublin stages these days. In The Mai at the Peacock, the male character is slowly marginalised, and in Refugees at the Eblana, the man exists only as an object of mockery, whose prick has been removed by his wife’s knife.
THE WAR between the sexes certainly seems to be dominating Dublin stages these days. In The Mai at the Peacock, the male character is slowly marginalised, and in Refugees at the Eblana, the man exists only as an object of mockery, whose prick has been removed by his wife’s knife.
rob thomas is cautiously optimistic that his multi-million selling outfit, matchbox 20, will not succumb to the Hootie syndrome. Interview: colm o'hare.
They are chums with The Dandy Warhols and have been compared to Brian Jonestown Massacre. But Australia’s The Morning After Girls have patented a sound entirely their own.
His plaintive violin playing will be familiar to fans of The Frames and Swell Season. Now Colm Mac Con Iomaire has finally gotten around to recording a solo album.
Scandinavian alterna queen Stina Nordenstam is determined to keep the hype to a minimum and let her music do the talking – and so far the plan is paying off in spades.
The Bird And The Bee’s sweet retro-rock has proved a surprise underground sensation. And nobody is more taken aback than the California duo themselves.
He's the godfather of English whimsy, the spiritual successor to Syd Barrett. So why the hell is Robyn Hitchcock sharing a pokey tour bus with three fifths of REM?
The tragic death of Mic Christopher before Christmas came as a terrible blow to his many friends and fans (see letters page). Here our own Kim Porcelli recalls her memorable encounters with "an exceedingly generous soul".
Playwright Michael Harding explains why his newest play, Birdie Birdie, is about how “the only way to survive, as an individual or as a society, is to mind each other.”
Taking the best – or at least, the most over-the-top – pieces of KLF, Slayer and Radiohead, Enter Shakarai are the hottest thing on eight legs at the moment.
Perennial chart favourites of the early to mid ‘80s, Madness remain adored by their fans. Flying trumpeter Chas Smash explains why he wouldn’t change a thing.
Dublin favourites Turn recently took to the highway for an Irish tour. Tanya Sweeney joined them for a trip to Limerick and an insight into what makes Ollie Cole and company tick.
Citing “irresolvable conflict”, grunge legend Chris Cornell has packed in his day job with Audioslave to pursue a solo career. Here, he explains why he’s decided to go it alone.
As the masses prepare to descend on Punchestown, we dispatch Hannah Hamilton to assess the festival fitness of one of this year's Oxegen buzz bands, Franz Ferdinand.
When Rubyhorse quit their native Cork for the US in 1997, they had no game plan. Now they’re being hailed as one of the rock hopes for 2003, with appearances on Letterman and Conan O’Brian to their credit – as well as an extraordinary collaboration with the late George Harrison.
From his holiday hideaway in southern France, the hairier half of Mexican-Irish guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela talks about the rigours of life on the road, busking on the mean streets of Dublin and the duo's growing heavy-metal following.
BRENDAN O’CARROLL is bringing his latest opus
Good Mourning Mrs Brown to the Olympia theatre, Dublin, in January. But STEPHEN ROBINSON discovers that the author and comedian has quite a serious side
As they prepare to storm Dublin's Olympia for two reunion shows later this month, LIAM FAY talks unfinished business to KEITH DONALD and EOGHAN O'NEILL of MOVING HEARTS
They toured the world throughout the ‘70s, earning rave notices from Bono, The Edge and Melvin Bragg, upsetting the clergy, terrifying the American public in the company of Blue Oyster Cult and the J Geils Band and out-glamming even Bowie with their flamboyant sartorial taste. With a new DVD on the way and much speculation about a possible tour, legendary Celtic rockers Horslips here talk to Hot Press about a decade of adventure, decadence and great music.
From Donegal to London and beyond, altan s breathtaking music continues to win new converts. As the band showcase material from their latest album, Runaway Sunday, at the international headquarters of Virgin Records,
mairiad nm mhaonaigh tells sarah mcquaid:
It s all about letting it rip.
JOHN WALSHE catches up with K S CHOICE, the Belgian guitarslingers whose third album looks set to finally bring their perfectly crafted melodies to the world s attention.
Suzanne Vega talks to COLM O HARE about the
proliferation of serious female artists, the break-up of her marriage and incorporating spoken word into her performances
“We’re not Beethoven”, clarifies Young Heart Attack screamer Jennifer Stephens, who surprisingly is a bit more at home with Mötorhead, The Darkness and even The White Stripes.
Not content with being a key member of the Damien Rice band, Vyvienne Long has released an EP that finds her doing wondrous things to the Flaming Lips and Pharrell Williams.
She's the multi-platinum artist you won't read about in the tabloids. AMY MACDONALD explains how she managed to top the charts without becoming famous.
Purveyors of high-IQ indie rock, We Are Scientists have built a reputation as incendiary live performers. But they won’t be satisfied until their shows include performing tigers.
Music | Interview
36% | 27 Jul 2005
Colm O Hare
She’s been a rock icon, a tabloid sensation and a muse to Mick Jagger. But you won’t find Marianne Faithfull mooning over past glories.
You don’t associate Cavan with a cutting edge music scene – but Michael O'Brien aims to change that with his Origins club night. Who knows? One day Neil Young might even decide to pay a visit.
They’ve played with Bloc Party and Muse and shared a studio with Fionn Regan. Now, London garage rockers The Noisettes are set to make a splash of their own.
Goldfinger might be the intelligent face of punk-pop with politics, animal rights and MTV baiting their subject matter. But bassist Kelly Lemieux insists that they remain balls out rock'n'rollers
Her beautiful lo-fi cover of a David Bowie song has made student Paula Flynn a sensation. Here she talks about her unlikely route to overnight stardom.
Australia s the churcH have survived nearly 20 years of changing fads and fashions by maintaining their commitment to pure pop. siobhan long takes a pew.
She’s been a regular festival goer since she first attended Féile at the age of 14. Gemma Hayes waxes lyrical on the joys of those sprawling, big days out
Muse's live sound engineer Marc Carolan on hair-raising experiences on the Russia-Ukraine border, Mexican earthquakes, Paris Hilton and playing Madison Square Garden and Wembley Stadium.
Her fans include David Bowie, Bono and The Cardigans’ Nina Persson – and now she’s released possibly her finest record yet. EMM GRYNER talks about raising her game and steering clear of the ‘indie-folk’ vogue.
Internationalist jet-setting dance-pop playboy Sam Sparro has been propelled to ubiquity by the single 'Black And Gold', but he's not above offering HP a bite of his cheese toastie. Ahem.
Limerick thrashmeisters Giveamanakick's third album Welcome To The Cusp is the product of ten days of cabin fever in Donegal. No wonder it sounds wet 'n' wild.
Nordic indie sensation LYKKE LI on charming Conan O'Brien, living it up Amy Winehouse-style (well, sort of) and why it's important to keep the odd thing secret from the media...
Cult actor Crispin Glover talks about his taboo-busting directorial debut What Is It?, playing George McFly in Back To The Future and meeting Andy Warhol at Madonna and Sean Penn’s wedding.
Having one’s bare arse dragged along sandpaper is one thing – but having said raw arse doused in salt and vinegar is something else again. Paul Nolan meets the team behind the UK’s answer to Jackass, Dirty Sanchez
GILLIAN WELCH s most recent album Hell Among The Yearlings has underlined her position as one of the most important of New Country artists. With an Irish visit pending she spoke to STEPHEN RAPID.
Gavin Friday’s been a Virgin Prune and a glam cabaret torch singer, he’s done Brecht and Weill, and most recently stole the show at Hal Willner’s Leonard Cohen tribute concert Came So Far For Beauty.
Pete Tong has long been one of the most influential figures in contemporary dance. His latest project sees him joining Heineken in their search for new djs, via the Heineken Thirst Extravaganza.
No longer content to be an indie under-achiever, Joe Chester has produced a solo album that owes as much to Fleetwood Mac as it does My Bloody Valentine. Interview by Maurice O'Brien.
Phil Udell switches into Marty Whelan mode as he joins The Chalets at a European rock festival with a difference - and lots and lots of lovely French wine!
2006 has been a busy year for Dublin-born Shaz Oye, capped by the release of her mostly self-penned and self-financed debut album Truth According To Shaz Oye. In conversation with Jackie Hayden she looks back on her story so far.
Cork singer-songwriter NICOLE MAGUIRE is rapidly making a name for herself with her full-on pop-rock songs, swoonful voice and dogged determination. On the release of her debut album Fight The Score she talks to Jackie Hayden.
Namechecked in Rolling Stone as one of Ryan Adams’ favourite songwriters,
Galway artists ADRIAN CROWLEY gets all pantheist on us for his fifth album Season Of The Sparks.
No, the term “sexy tech” doesn’t refer to the HP design department; it’s Philadelphia producer King Britt‘s mission to put the hip-shake back into techno under The Nova Dream Sequence banner.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from quirky popsters Alphastates but that’s not because they’ve had a massive falling out. Rather, their lead singer lost her voice and then they suffered a sudden lack of confidence. But now they’re back, with perhaps their finest record yet.
Despite parting ways with their long-serving guitarist Evil Harrisons are going from strength to strength. In fact, they're positively gagging to go back into the studio.
With the first in a series of Tortured mix CDs, Tortured Chambers, highlighting nu-skool European techno producers like Umek, Joel Mull and Adam Beyer, RICHARD BROPHY caught up with one of the hardest working, genuine nice guys in dance music, Billy Nasty
They were among the one of the first acts to pioneer the big beat sound, two Irish lads with a barrel full of funk and an ear for killer tunes. Now the Dirty Beatniks have returned, minus one of the founding members, older, wiser and with a raw new album, Feedback. Richard Brophy investigates
She was toiling in obscurity until she caught the ear of British TV host Jools Holland. Now Dublin rockabilly siren Imelda May is on the fast-track to the big time.
With The Commitments, Black Velvet Band, Hothouse Flowers and a range of acting credits already to her name, MARIA DOYLE KENNEDY is finally releasing her debut solo album.
PETER MURPHY is charmed
The hype parade doesn't interest Carlow's finest, 79 Cortinaz. Whether it's cold-calling record stores or hand delivering CDs, they'd rather take a grassroots journey to the top.
He's the David Beckham of world rugby – but what does All Black star Dan Carter think of Ireland's historic Grand Slam and Leinster's dramatic Heineken Cup victory?
Brian Wilson is among the most influential forces in modern music and created, in The Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds, what many music fans agree is the greatest record ever made. In February he takes his world tour to Dublin's Point Theatre and Stephen Robinson asks what's on the set-list
German dance music may be characterised by the likes of Paul Van Dyk, Sven Vath and Hardfloor, but the country has always boasted an underground
alternative. Richard Brophy talks to one of its main proponents, Pole.
Following in the footsteps of Green Day and Good Charlotte Blink 182 are the latest punk outfit to massively expand their remit and radically alter their direction on their eponymous new album.
He made his name with the excellent anti-establishment drama How To Cheat In The Leaving Cert. Now director Graham Jones is back with another challenging offering in Fudge 44
He's barely recovered from Velvet Revolver but Duff McKagan is back with his Loaded side-project. He talks about Scott Weiland's departure from VR and his plane ride with a doomed Kurt Cobain
the jon spencer blues explosion
are the hippest, baddest,
sleaziest, sweatiest, sexiest, sickest, noisiest,
in-your-face-est rock n roll
act to come out of America
for a loooooong time.
colm o hare joined them on the road to Manchester.
The debut solo album from Moloko singer Roisin Murphy embraces the avant-garde end of dance music. But it's still a great pop record. Interview by Peter Murphy.
You can tell how highly regarded she is by the number of top stars who want her to sing with them. But for Emmylou Harris such collaborations are a two-way street.
He may have a wicked sense of humour but, ultimately, it's the way he sings 'em that has seen Kieran Goss lay to rest his partnership with Frances Black and produce one of the finest albums of the year. Siobhan Long has her ears caressed and her funnybone tickled by the newest member of Ireland's songwriting elite.
Having drummed his way round the world with Therapy?, Graham Hopkins is now upfront singing with his own band Halite. But as Paul Nolan finds out, he’s no indie Phil Collins
Phil Udell talks to blink frontman Dermot Lambert about how he pulled through the dark times to re-establish his band as one of the leading lights of the Irish indie scene.
Having dispatched that difficult second album with admirable panache, Republic Of Loose are gearing up for the festival season, most notably a Saturday night headline slot at Castlepalooza. Mick Pyro talks us through his outdoor survival guide.
The Rolling Stones, The Who, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, Sinéad o' Connor... The Chieftains are on first-name terms with all of them and as they pocket another Grammy for Celtic Harp Paddy Moloney tells Siobhán Long how the band retain their freshness after over twenty years together.
melys are more than just the latest Gorky's soundalikes or Super Furry Animals copyists to emerge from the wilds of Wales, according to an enthusiastic nick kelly.
Defeat to New Zealand Maori has plunged the Lions into crisis. With the crunch first test against the All Blacks looming, can Brian O'Driscoll and his troops recover in time? Written by Niall Breslin from The Blizzards (and formerly a pro with Leinster).
After what was at times a stressful year, Damien Rice is on the verge of a major international breakthrough. Fiona Reid gets the inside story from the hungover but happy singer
White-boy soulsters daryl hall and john oates have returned to keep America safe for accomplished, slick R n B and they re still packing in the punters after all these years. Interview: colm o hare.
Liverpool's musical exports have included The Beatles, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Teardrop Explodes, Pete Burns, the KLF, the Lightning Seeds, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and many more. Mercury nominees The Coral are the latest scallywags to capture the attention of the music press who have picked up on their blend of classic rock influences and irreverent energy
Rik Mayall is back with a show that could be his rudest and most spectacular yet. Paul Nolan asks about the latest installment of bottom, and why he and Ade Eedmondson are the new Laurel & Hardy.
Rik Mayall is back with a show that could be his rudest and most spectacular yet. Paul Nolan asks about the latest installment of bottom, and why he and Ade Eedmondson are the new Laurel & Hardy.
Sarah McLachlan has been invited to the Vatican to perform in a huge Christmas gala. But His Holiness may get more than he bargained for. Patrick Brennan meets the Canadian songstress whose new album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, encompasses themes as diverse as a troubled mother-daughter relationship and eye-opening travels in Cambodia and Thailand. We recommend that the Pontiff pay careful attention to the final paragraphs.
You know her as the songstress from Stars and Broken Social Scene. Doing her own thing AMY MILLAN reveals herself to be, of all things, a country chanteuse, her heart heavy with woe.
Slash can go boil his silly hat, but Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones and Kraftwerk are welcome to come and stay in Fagersta any time they want. Howlin’ Pelle and the boys talk heroes and zeros with Stuart Clark
Thanks to their distinctively guitar-saturated sound, French outfit RINOCEROSE have carved out their own niche in the already crowded Gallic dance scene. Interview: RICHARD BROPHY.
John Walshe talks to Doves Andy Williams about their past life as Sub Sub, their debut album Lost Souls, and what it s like being heralded as the saviours of British rock music.
Their music may be dark but there’s nothing gloomy about Stuart Staples’ mood as he talks to Phil Udell about the new Tindersticks album, Waiting For The Moon, and how after 11 years they’re finally going home
Going on the road with Chris Rea was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Derry blues virtuoso Paul Casey. Here he opens his tour diary to Hot Press readers.
'Cellar veteran and all round nice guy Dermot Carmody returns to the fray with a brand new one-man show which he previews in Dublin, Galway and Cork before travelling to Edinburgh this Summer. Stephen Robinson reports
Bequiffed crooner Richard Hawley takes a break from animal husbandry to discuss life, love and the making of what he believes to be the defining album of his career
on the eve of the arrival of a brand new Smiths release hitting the record shops, Hot Press talks to the band's chief architect Johnny Marr about the music that inspired a generation.
tim rogers, frontman of Australian popsters you am i, talks to nick kelly about the primeval forces that made him want to get into the rock n roll business.
JONATHAN O’BRIEN (real name) meets
WREKKED TRAIN DAVE (not real name) of the
LO-FIDELITY ALLSTARS (real name) and finds out how CLAUDIO GENTILE (real name) fits into their chaotic scheme of things.
RTÉ is doing its bit for Irish music with the 2FM 2moro 2our. Patrick Freyne went along to the live launch to catch a glimpse of the hit bands of the future.
When the Dixie Chicks came out against the Iraq war, they were accused of being "un-American”. Colm O’Hare hears how the country rebels survived their own desert storm
Marriage and babies have given The Dandy Warhols a fresh perspective on life. But they aren't ready to turn their back on sleazed-up rock'n roll just yet
WHAT IS the connection between The X Files, massive drinking bouts, Man United fans and top ten hits? CATATONIA, that s what. The Welsh guitar popsters are currently nestling in the upper reaches of the charts with their hit Mulder And Scully , and JOHN WALSHE talks to vocalist CERYS MATTHEWS about their meteoric rise to the top.
Grappling with weighty political themes is grist to the mill for Colin Meloy of Oregon art-rockers The Decemberists. He’s even written a song about the Shankill Butchers.
Thanks to internet fueled word-of-mouth, Brooklyn’s Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are indie-rock’s latest sensation. But they’d much rather you compared them to Hall & Oates.
This Is My Father is a new Irish film which manages to be commercial but not patronisingly Irish. CRAIG FITZSIMONS spoke to one of the stars, PAT SHORTT.
Former Wonderstuff motormouth Miles Hunt is coming to a town near you, acoustic guitar in hand. But as John Walshe finds out, that s no reason to expect a folk extravaganza.
One of the leading figures in Belfast's electronic scene has just embraced an intriguing new identity. Step forward A.J. SUZUKI a.k.a beatmaster Jupiter Ace.
Michael Franti is mad and he wants you to know about it. To demonstrate the fraught condition of the world, he’s even gone to the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones to make a movie.
Having admitted that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Brendan Dempsey briefs Paul Nolan on the upcoming Montreal Comedy Festival. and other stuff
Hot Press crime correspondent STUART CLARK
preaches zero tolerance to MASSIVE ATTACK and in return gets the
lowdown on their new album, Bruce n Tarby-style hobnobbing with Radiohead, and why Bristol City piss all over Bristol Rovers
ANI DiFRANCO is one of contemporary music's most impressive originals. Without compromising her independence or political radicalism, she has scaled the heights of commercial and
critical success. In this, her only Irish interview, she speaks candidly to NIALL STANAGE about TAFKAP, her battles with the music industry, American 'gun culture' and the troubled family life which lies behind one of her most moving songs.
Disused Mexican banks, Little Britain, Pete Doherty and drunken Sky TV appearances are all on the agenda as Paul Nolan and his temperamental tape machine meet Carl and Didz from Dirty Pretty Things.
Bloom with a view after a four year sabbatical, Hothouse Flowers are back. John Walsh talks to arch-otanists Liam, Peter and Fiachna about just
what it was that kept them out of the limelight (or should that be sunlamp) for so long.
Now that he’s officially “too big for the perrier award”, Dara O’Briain is turning his attention to
conquering TV land. Here, he gives the lowdown on his new RTE series, The Panel, and attempts to rescue Angus Deayton from his titty bar hell.
After studiously walking the line between rock and pop, Corkonian Jennifer Clarke explains why she now regards herself as a country act, and tells Jackie Hayden about her interest in serial killers.
If I Should Fall From Grace is the most intimate portrait of SHANE MacGOWAN yet. CRAIG FITZSIMONS meets the director of the critically acclaimed biopic, SARAH SHARE.
After a four-year sabbatical, hothouse flowers are back. john walshe talks to arch-botanists Liam, Fiachna and Peter about just what it was that kept them out of the limelight (or should that be sunlamp) for so long.
Flute player conor byrne s lineage is a musically illustrious one his two uncles happen to be none other than Christy Moore and Luka Bloom. But, as he tells sarah Mcquaid, he s anxious that his music be judged on its own merits.
Mary Coughlan returns to Midnight At The Olympia on February 4th, but this time it's with an unreserved optimistic outlook, and the determination to put all her troubles behind her. Interview Lorraine Freeney
Being described as "the new Keane" might bother some people, but not Grant Nichols who's content in the knowledge that his band have made the first great rock'n'roll record of 2005.l
Vampire Weekend, the preppy Ivy Leaguers whose Afro-beat references indie pop, talk about instant fame, their fondness for nice trousers and class politics in America.
Sigur Rss are the latest highly-rated Icelandic export. They talk to PETER MURPHY about ambition, inventing their own language and the showband circuit
Prior to their recent Dublin gig, THE BLUETONES talked to NADINE O REGAN about the fickleness of fame, artistic integrity, America and the dangers of sausage sponsorship!
Don’t go, they said. but they didn’t follow their own advice. Now, after much professional and personal upheaval, the Hothouse Flowers are back, once more in love with the idea of “ringin’ the bell”.
Currently on sabbatical from The Cranberries, Noel Hogan has recently been spending time working on a new project, Mono Band , in his large period house in Limerick. Though not without keeping abreast of developments in The Sopranos and 24, of course. Photography Liam Burke
Stuart Clark joins Bon Jovi for one wild night in Mexico city and hears how the band survived drink, drugs, dodgy haircuts and, ah, parasitical infections to hobnob with a beatle and stake their claim as “one of the best rock ’n’ roll bands on the planet”
STEREOPHONICS are on the up-and-up, their popularity growing without the band making concessions to the London-based music media. GEORGE BYRNE met them to talk about drink, drugs, writer s block and their upcoming Slane support slot.
Mini Pics: MICK QUINN.
The criterati may not like them but Adrian Young doesn't care. and why should he when No Doubt have crafted a most excellent pop record, with dancehall rhythms, in rock steady
There is many a haven for shunners of the Christmas Cheer like myself. Lots of lovely bands, singers, comedians and even hynotherapists are at hand to entertain the life out of us, and distract Santa while we throttle him. Right up to the New Year there’s so much going on you needn’t come home till Easter.
Currently ensconced in a recording studio in the wilds of Magherafelt, Edwin McFee sits down with General Fiasco to talk about ambition, Snow Patrol and the fickle finger of fate.
Currently ensconced in a recording studio in the wilds of Magherafelt, Edwin McFee sits down with General Fiasco to talk about ambition, Snow Patrol and the fickle finger of fate.
He is widely regarded one of Ireland's finest singers. Now, by way of confirmation, Brian Kennedy has released a superb album, entitled Interpretations.
That was the original headline, back in November 1985, when Tony O'Donoghue - now best known as a presenter on RTE radio - spoke to Joe O'Herlihy (sound engineer with U2, we called him) about the torturous life of the roadie for the following year's Hot Press Yearbook. This is what went down . . .
They’ve spent the past four years pottering around the garden. Now, electro kingpins Groove Armada are back with a new album that features cameos from ex-Sugababe Mutya Buena among others.
The Walls are about to embark on their most extensive Irish tour yet, including their biggest Dublin gig to date at the Ambassador and may be about to finally break the bank
the poet Allen Ginsberg died at his East Village home in New York on Saturday, 5th April, just two months short of his 71st birthday. After more than four decades of constant, and often controversial, conflict with such repressive figures as J. Edgar Hoover, Fidel Castro and Newt Gingrich, liver cancer finally succeeded where they had always failed in silencing the notoriously outspoken writer and self-confessed beat-hip-gnostic-imagist performance poet.
He’s just knocked Lady GaGa off the top of the UK charts with his banging new single ‘I’m Not Alone’. So why is CALVIN HARRIS so worried about sounding like an oldie chasing after his fading youth?
BBC 4 & 6, Gardener's Question Time, The Guardian crossword... comedian Colin Murphy's Belfast home is a veritable hub of bacchanalia. Photos by Amberlea Trainor.
Hannah Hamilton reports on the recent Nokia Totally Board event in Seville – a heavy three-day carnival of extreme sports and down’n’dirty hard rock action
The last 18 months have been a hell of a ride for The Thrills, catapulted from the relative obscurity of the south dublin suburbs to the top of the uk charts, rubbing shoulders with Van Dyke Parks and Peter Buck along the way. But are the band suffering from diver’s bends? is that laid-back california-in-my-mind facade starting to crumble? We put on our therapist’s hats and endeavour to find out, if something’s gotta give, what gives?
One of favourite alt.country bands, Richmond Fontaine, return from a long lay-off with perhaps their finest album yet. Plus, the original ‘Galway Girl’ (who is actually from Clare), has just released a fantastic new record.
Funny, frightening and just about believable, Dig! is the ultimate indie-pop rockumentary. But the movie, which chronicles a seven year rivalry between The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, only tells half the story says director Ondi Timoner. Interview by Tara Brady.
UK white hopes mansun have toned down their visual image but their music remains as defiantly maverick and angular as ever. Interview: deirdre cartmill.
In Meitheal, the duo of STEVE COONEY AND SEAMUS BEGLEY released one of the finest albums of the year. Here they talk about their spin on the tradition, the connection between Gaeltacht people and the Aborigines – oh and the logic of playing the accordion with a pen-knife. Interview: SIOBHÁN LONG
In Meitheal, the duo of STEVE COONEY AND SEAMUS BEGLEY released one of the finest albums of the year. Here they talk about their spin on the tradition, the connection between Gaeltacht people and the Aborigines – oh and the logic of playing the accordion with a pen-knife. Interview: SIOBHÁN LONG
RADIOHEAD are just about to release one of the most uncompromising and controversial records of the year in Kid A. As the band prepare for their upcoming Irish dates, mainman THOM YORKE talks about the genesis of a record that seems destined to divide rock fans for years. Not to mention Bono, Britney and Alicia Silverstone! Interview: DAVE FANNING
Having scored huge critical acclaim and won the Mercury Music Prize for his debut album Boy In Da Corner, Dizzee Rascal has pushed urban music another rung up the evolutionary ladder with his stunning new record, Showtime.
From obscure Australian character actor to fan-boy pin-up, it has been a long, strange trip for Hugo Weaving. His latest turn, as a masked anti-hero, could be his definitive role.
The making of Phantom Power, bringing it all back home to Wales and (sigh) why the Irish are great – the Super Furry Animals share a jar with Eamon Sweeney
With Hello Starling Josh Ritter has emerged as one of the finest songwriters who's operating today. John Walshe meets the reluctant hero who's storming the Irish charts.
On the eve of the release of the group’s new album Winning Days, The Vines’ bassist Patrick Mathews gives hannah Hamilton the inside story on the tensions that threatened to split the band, hanging with Steve-o and the Jackass crew, and the group’s heretofore undeclared love of the Clancy Brothers.
She’s one of the chief movers in the Cork music scene. But what does Cork Rocks’ founder Francesca Brown get up to when she’s back at base? Photos by David O'Mahony.
The Kooks' first album was a million-selling sensation. As they unleash the long-awaited sequel, frontman Luke Pritchard talks about the death of his father, his feud with television presenter Simon Amstell and much more...
With the release of his second solo album, Running Dog, Nick Kelly has cemented his reputation as one of the leading contemporary songwriters in Ireland. Here, the former Fat Lady Sings frontman talks to Jackie Hayden about the break-up of one of Dublin's most respected bands, financing his solo career through the largesse of his fanbase – and the ongoing joys of artistic independence.
If that figure easing down the road looks strangely familiar then that s because it s WILL OLDHAM under yet another nom de plume. EAMON SWEENEY reports
Matisyahu is a rapper with a difference. As a Hassidic Jew he lives a strictly orthodox lifestyle. Whatever you do, don’t describe his music as ‘heeb-hop’.
While one Irish Ronan is currently attempting to break the US market, another already has. COLM O'HARE meets RONAN HARDIMAN, the music composer behind Michael Flatley’s successes and discovers a considerable solo talent
Following in the footsteps of Joy Division, The Smiths and The Stone Roses, Mancunian rockers Doves have continued the tradition of musical excellence for which their hometown is internationally renowned. With their new opus Some Cities in the offing, vocalist Jimi Goodwin here discusses apocalyptic weather, urban decay and those abandoned recording sessions with Madonna’s producer.
Singer-songwriter Leslie Dowdall now lives in the picture postcard perfection of the Wicklow Mountains. But Jackie Hayden finds a hive of internal activity within the external tranquillity.
When indie godhead Frank Black hooked up with several veterans of the Nashville session scene the results were thrillingly different to his work with The Pixies
From First Cuts to Latest Cuts, from the First Lady Of Immediate , recording with Phil Spector, Jimi Hendrix and the Small Faces, to the First Lady of Techno, scoring Top Ten hits with Altern-8 and the Beatmasters, to today with Primal Scream and Ocean Colour Scene
P.P. ARNOLD has always been there, wherever the beat is hottest.
Interview: andy darlington.
American comic Rich Hall explains why he prefers the Irish to 'whiny' Brits and talks about working with Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David back in the day.
The most momentous journalistic event of the decade nay, the millennium has come to pass. They said it could never happen, but after months of careful pre-planning and tense negotiation, nick kelly has finally interviewed NICK KELLY. Here, the Stars Of Heaven fan remorselessly grills the former Fat Lady Sings mainman about his long sabbatical from the music industry, his perception of modern culture, and his cracking new album Between Trapezes. Pix, gimmicky t-shirts and
unfeasibly large trousers: mick RAGING PUFF QUInn.
In 1996, Liam Fay wrote the definitive a to z of weird sexual practices for Hotpress. We raid the archive to present a selection from that much larger work
Torquil Campbell, singer with Canadian indie achievers Stars, is a thoroughly nice guy – when he’s not plotting to put photographs of his naked, crucified, Spiddal-born wife on his album covers.
ALI HEWSON is the first time presenter of Black Wind White Land, a documentary on the devastation which has blighted Bylorus since the nuclear accident in Chernobyl. Interview: Joe Jackson.
Ahead of their return to Ireland, Muse reveal they’re about to go through their U2 phase, talk about magic mushrooms and explain why, when it comes to conspiracy, they’re on Jim Corr's side.
Rumours of Depeche Mode’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, as Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher explain on the eve of the release of their 11th studio album, Playing The Angel.
Jeff Martin rose to fame as singer and guitarist with Canadian rock band Tea Party. Now trading as a solo artist, he is currently holed up in a remote part of County Cork where Jackie Hayden tracked him down.
The famed KODO drummers from Japan offer one of the most remarkable musical
experiences on planet earth right now. ADRIENNE MURPHY caught them in action in Zürich.
Whether with THE SMITHS, ELECTRONIC, THE PRETENDERS or in brown trouser mode sharing a stage with PAUL McCARTNEY, GEORGE MICHAEL and NEIL FINN, he remains, by his own admission, the best JOHNNY MARR-style guitar player around. GEORGE BYRNE meets the cat others like to copy.
Gigs with Mick ’n’ Keef and Angus ’n’ Malcolm, and a potential ding-dong with The Strokes – it’s only rock’n’roll but Jet like it as does Stuart Clark.
Hoot Press talks to the perennially busy Ed Byrne about his hectic schedule, partying hard at comedy festivals, sexing up his audience and why he won’t be doing a McDonald’s voice-over any time soon.
Having put a considerable amount of personal strife behind her, Dolores Keane is back in the public domain with a new album, Night Owl, and a new outlook. Interview: Colm O’Hare.
Two girls, two countries, two very different perspectives: put them together and they make Saucy Monky – originators of some of the sexiest and most addictive guitar driven pop music we’ve heard in years.
They’re the hottest thing in British rock, four working class kids done good from the wrong side of the Glasgow tracks. At the start of what is shaping up to be a whirlwind year GLASVEGAS talk fame, football and fisticuffs.
When My Little Funhouse signed on the dotted line with Geffen, they were precisely 12 gigs old and probably knew more about the inner workings of a thermo-nuclear reactor than they did a recording studio. Since then they’ve toured the world, taken on the same heavyweight management as Guns N’ Roses and moved to Los Angeles where Slash and Matt Sorum are among their best buddies. Brendan Morrissey tells Stuart Clark why the Kilkenny metallers will either end up filthy rich or six feet under.
They once blagged a soccer scholarship to America as a laugh. Now back in the UK with a number one album, The Hoosiers are at the forefront of their very own scene: “odd-pop”.
With her own debut album, ELEANOR McEVOY, one of the stars of 'A Woman's Heart', has come out of the folk closet and revealed herself to be a real rocker - feedback, distorted guitars and all. Interview: COLM O'HARE
Former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce talks about playing Dublin back in the day with Morrissey and co, his hugely impressive list of musical collaborations, and the joys of life behind the kit.
With her own debut album, Eleanor McEvoy, one of the stars of A Woman s Heart , has come out of the folk closet and revealed herself to be a real rocker feedback, distorted guitars and all. Interview: Colm O Hare.
THIS ISSUE'S missive reaches you from my fever-wracked sick bed. The doctor pleaded, the nurse begged, my lover entreated, but I refused to just lie there, terrible though my sufferings be, when there was a column to be written. There are some things intrinsically more important than mere physical well-being. Duty is one of them.
With a herd of their fellow Bostonians stampeding the charts and a fine new album Big Red Letter Day to their credit, BUFFALO TOM seem especially primed to cash in on the commercial success that has been dangled teasingly in front of their faces for years. But are they too normal to be
rock 'n' roll stars? LORRAINE FREENEY tracked the band in London with that very question in mind.
Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley impressed a lot of people here last year with the quirky guitar pop of her debut solo album Grey Will Fade. hotpress catches up with her as she wows the masses at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival.
It was inflight double entendres all round as Bell X1 donned cabin crew attire for a special Hot Press photoshoot. When not showing an unhealthy interest in women’s clothes and fancy Raybans, they talked about their chart-topping new album Blue Lights On The Runway, their imminent breakthrough in the US and freezing their arses off on The Late Show with Dave Letterman
Loved by the Kaiser Chiefs and bushy moustached Ukrainians alike, The Chalets have partied their way round most of the western world in recent months. Stuart Clark hears about backstage beerathons, ding dongs with Kele from Bloc Party and monkeys in track-suits.
Starting at Moray Firth Radio in Inverness and ending seven days later at BBC WM in Birmingham, ASTERIX are on a mission to conquer England s airwaves. Joining the tour in Nottingham,
SUSAN DARLINGTON witnesses three days of maps, mobiles and milkshakes.
This time last year, Mike Skinner of The Streets was a complete unknown. 12 months later, he reflects on being nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, shrugging off the attentions of Damon Albarn, turning down a stack of film roles and partying in Dublin. “There’s been a lot of mad moments,” he acknowledges
Rob B of the Stereo MC's is angry. At rock stars who take drugs and at governments who ban marijuana. At media people who support the status quo and at religious leaders who distort the message. His antidote? "You've got to feel the music," he says. "It's got to be an inspiration." Interview: Tara McCarthy.
By dragging leprechauns into the new millennium, Wexford author EOIN COLFER has enraptured children and adults alike and given Harry Potter a right run for his money. FIONA REID meets the brains behind Artemis Fowl
Jape and Lisa Hannigan may inhabit opposite ends of the musical spectrum but their careers have followed remarkably similar paths. On the road together in the UK, he talks about bagging the Choice Music Prize and she discusses her dramatic split from Damien Rice
Beloved of both nu ravers and Timbaland who neglected to ask permission before sampling one of their songs, Crystal Castles might just be the biggest band to come out of leftfield this year.
Compositional genius, musical visionary, tormented genius – Brian Wilson is many things, but a garrulous interviewee is not one of them. Peter Murphy undergoes strenuous discourse with one of the true icons of ‘60s culture.
Fresh from his recent success with the Xpress-2 collaboration 'Lazy', David Byrne reflects on a musical journey that began in 1977 with the legendary Talking Heads
Rregarded as the original, manufactured boy band, once upon a time The Monkees ruled the world. Now, half of television's fab four are back and, as you might expect, they have quite a tale to tell. Joe Jackson talks to Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz
If there s one cast-iron prediction
to be made for 1997, it s that
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH will carry on carrying on up the charts.
JOHN WALSHE meets
Dave Hemingway and Jacqui Abbot to learn
more about life inside the mega
band with the low profile.
We are going to spare you all the obvious puns about going back to basics, catching this particular fish in the raw or even the irrefutable truism that fins ain t what they used to be. But as you can see from the accompanying pictures, there is something particularly vulnerable about people when they re naked. Dropped by Atlantic Records, stripped of all the corporate support, funding, and of course bullshit this is how An Emotional Fish stand before the public, on the launch of their independently-produced Sloper album. Not that either the band or lead singer are without the support of people who matter. Ger is photographed with his wife Lorraine . . . Interview: Colm O Hare.
Grunge titans Alice in Chains are back after a 14 year hiatus. They talk about the tragic death of vocalist Layne Staley, working with Elton John and keeping the spirit of the early ‘90s alive.
In another case of “Bono made me do it”, former hotpress-er and U2 biographer Neil McCormick explains to Jackie Hayden how he ended up living near Bob The Builder and about the travails of interviewing all four U2 men on four different continents in the same evening. Photos by Mark Harrison.
Sean Hughes, stand-up comedian, television star, playwright and master of the 'startled bunny' impersonation, is now a published poet and author. SEAN'S BOOK is a wry and poignant collection of short stories, poetry, prose, journalism, travelogues and breakfast recipes... is there no stopping him? Sean's interviewer: LORRAINE FREENEY.
The college circuit is an important stepping stone in rock music around the world. While the potential remains unfulfilled in Ireland, there’s a new breed of Ents Officer who are aiming higher.
They’ve been heralded as the biggest thing in Irish rock since U2 – a prediction that proved prescient when The Script romped to the top of the charts with their debut album.
Indie pretty-boys The Coronas aspire to be taken seriously as artists. They chat about their plans for breaking big abroad and explain why they're not the Irish Busted.
Part two of our glance back over the year that was, complete with clickable quotes so you can read each and every article in full, if you like. And you know you like! So don't just sit there. Get reading...
Since swapping Dublin for Los Angeles, hotly-tipped indie rockers La Rocca have experienced all the ludicrous pleasures and extremes of the City of Angels. Here, they regale us with tales from their California exile.
California-born, Harvard-educated, Alison Brown is not your everyday bluegrass flagbearer. But her emotive playing – and the contribution of her Compass Records label – have made her a leading figure in the American roots scene.
Whether it's a four-minute love song about a caress that lasts ten seconds, a journey through the universe in a silver plane or a simple escape form war, Air promise that you'll never have a bad trip with their music. Danielle Brigham talks to Jean-Benoit Dunckel, one half of the enigmatic French duo.
One of the biggest teen rock sensations of the early noughties, Avril Lavigne continues to draw the black-clad adolescent hordes in record numbers. But can Canada’s most famous skater girl make the transition to adulthood without losing the affection of her notoriously capricious audience?
Actor, writer, musician, director, and husband of Angelina Jolie, BILLY BOB THORNTON is currently a very busy man, with one album on release and no less than three movies queueing up at the box-office. All this and he’s constantly on his guard against germs
We are going to spare you all the obvious puns about going back to basics, catching this particular fish in the raw or even the irrefutable truism that fins ain’t what they used to be. But as you can see from the accompanying pictures, there is something particularly vulnerable about people when they're naked. Dropped by Atlantic Records, stripped of all the corporate support, funding, and of course bullshit, – this is how An Emotional Fish stand before the public, on the launch of their independently-produced Sloper album. Not that either the band or lead singer are without the support of people who matter. Ger is photographed with his wife Lorraine . . . Interview: COLM O’HARE. Pix: MICK QUINN.
