Hungry like the wolf

There’s something in the water in Waterford. Don’t panic, residents of the crystal-crafting city - you needn’t start stockpiling bottles of Ballygowan in preparation of a catastrophe of Galwegian proportions. However, you might ask yourself what it is about your little corner of Ireland that has spawned so many battle-winning bands lately. Ilya K and Gorbachov have won the Murphy’s Live competition last year, Saviours Of Space romped to victory at last year’s National Student Music Awards, and now Floyd Soul and The Wolf have won the 2008 NSMA title.

When I speak to lead Wolf-man Luke Heffernan, he’s “quite proud” of the current crop of Waterford acts making waves, and buoyant about the future in general.
“There’s been a lot of bands coming through Waterford,” he verifies. “Some have more longevity than others – like us, Ilya K, Gorbachov and Deaf Animal Orchestra. We’re all good friends. We help each other out and we build on each other’s success. There’s definitely a sense of camaraderie between us all.”
Despite their tender years (the quartet range in age from 18 to 20), Floyd Soul and The Wolf can’t be accused of dodging their dues.
The band financed their debut ‘Give It A Chance’ single by taking to the streets and busking, and had enough in the kitty to enlist the production services of Nanci Griffith guitarist Thomm Jutz.
“He recorded an album for a friend of ours,” Heffernan explains, “and was coming over to play in February with Nanci at the Belfast Bluegrass Festival. We were in the studio in Dungarvan at the time, and basically just got in touch with some demos and said, ‘Look, we’re recording - if you like the stuff we’d love you to come down and work with us.’
Luckily, he did and the experience was a joy from start to finish. Because our music has more of an American sound than a European one, it made sense to get a producer in tune with that.”
Heavily influenced by Springsteen, Neil Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Stones, Floyd Soul and The Wolf are one of a new wave of Irish bands taking their cue from an array of ‘70s blues and classic-rock acts.
“Well, that’s just the sort of music we’re into,” rationalises Heffernan. “We’re a straight-ahead guitar band, y’know? I don’t like modern music, really. I prefer the old stuff, and it shows in our music. I don’t think the indie music of today has that kind of ‘natural’ feel to it. Maybe it’s the production, or the effects, but it doesn’t appeal to me personally. Even as showmen, old bands were better – look at Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison.”
That particular source of inspiration is blatantly obvious, as anyone present at the NSMA final in Dublin last month will testify - Heffernan, burly of body and voice, worked the stage like a pro.
“It’s important, isn’t it? To look a crowd in the eye and say ‘Hey, I’m here!’ You’re not just a musician playing your songs, you’re an entertainer as well, and you have to give a performance. We were fairly confident on the night, but it wouldn’t have surprised us if one of the other bands had won. But at the same time we did think we deserved the win.”
There were no week-long celebrations for these young cubs, though – Heffernan explains that victory parties were passed over, in favour of meetings to decide how to capitalise on their success. I ask him whether another band noted for their work ethic, Delorentos (themselves former NSMA winners), provide a template of-sorts for their own future plans?
“Yeah, definitely,“ he concurs. “We’d love to have their success in Ireland, but we don’t want to stop there – we’ll take America and England if we can, too. We’re using them as an example, in the sense that I know how hard they’ve worked to get where they are. They kept busy and got straight back to work after they won - just like we’re doing.”