Confusion reigns

The young Derryman is, of course, referring to his band’s slot at Oxegen this summer – a result of winning the recent 2fm School of Rock Battle of the Bands contest. As the name suggests, entrants were limited to current school-goers, and the Grand Final saw the alt-rock quartet triumph over a legion of rivals to nab the top prize – and a spot on the New Band Stage at Punchestown in July.
“It’s kind of crazy, yeah,” laughs Doherty. “You hear people talking about it, and they ask ‘Are you going to Oxegen this year?’ and you say ‘No, I’m playing!’”.
I ask him whether Organized Confusion were confident about securing victory in the competition.
“I dunno,” he muses diplomatically. “Even when we were at the regional final in Ballyshannon, there were bands who could have won it just as easily. It’s a great honour to win something like this. We’re definitely not taking it for granted.”
Another of the prizes was €5,000 worth of musical equipment, an endowment the quartet have already spent.
“With that kind of money we could have walked away with a small piano,” he laughs. “It’s good for the band that competitions like this give you money to spend on useful stuff, though. Usually the frontrunner for money is to get back to recording, but we did buy some new gear.”
It’s appropriate that Organized Confusion have had their profile elevated on the back of a Battle of the Bands competition – they originally formed five years ago to compete in a similar challenge locally.
“We didn’t really get serious ‘til a few years after that, when we started playing gigs around our local scene and recording music and stuff,” explains Doherty. “Actually, the local scene has definitely been a big influence. You see big bands, especially from America, doing the whole rock ‘n’ roll thing. But what made it more tangible for us is that there were bands from Ireland that you could see playing in places like the Nerve Centre in Derry. Seeing bands who aren’t that far removed from yourself is inspiring.”
The band cite the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro amongst their influences, although they’ll also acknowledge a penchant for their fellow citymen The Undertones.
“Definitely, The Undertones are great,” Doherty nods. “We’re all big fans of theirs, and we played with them in Brooke Park last summer, which was cool. Actually, Billy Doherty [Undertones drummer] got in touch with us recently to offer us a bit of a helping hand, and lend us gear and that. They’re definitely ones to look up to.”
With three of its four members in their final year of school, I ask Doherty what their post-summer plan is.
“Well one of our guys is still 17, so he’s gonna be at school for another year. We’re definitely gonna try to do more gigging, but there’s no plans in place at the minute. Basically we’ll try to get to more places and play, and finish the album.”
What do the quartet’s parents make of their recent success - do they worry that their wee boys will turn into rock stars and neglect their studies?
“Nah, everyone helps us keep our feet on the ground, they’re all pretty supportive,” he states. “The best piece of advice we’ve been given was from Andrew Ferris from Jetplane Landing – he said ‘Fuck everyone’s advice including mine.’”
And what about the hormonal teenage girls they share a classroom with, I wonder? Have they become irresistible to the opposite sex since their victory?
“Well, we did a ‘fanalysis’ on MySpace there, and apparently young girls age 16 to 18 are our demographic,” Doherty chuckles with the question-dodging expertise of a seasoned interviewee. “But what do I know?”