“Blondie Loved Us” - We Meet All Tvvins

We’ve barely wiped the tears following the departure of much-loved Wexford psych rockers Adebisi Shank. But it’s time to move on. It turns out, Lar Kaye already has.

“It wasn’t hard to leave,” says the former Shank guitarist. “If I didn’t have anything else, I definitely would have found it tough. I’ve got this band!”
‘This band’ is All Tvvins, which sees Lar teaming with Conor Adams of The Cast Of Cheers. They may have recently been forced to amend their moniker – apparently there are more bands out there called ‘Tvvins’ than you’d think. However, it's the only adjustment the pair have been forced to make. Their brand of ’80s influenced synth rock attests to two musicians marching to the same digitally-produced beat.
Says Connor: “We’ve got the same drive, where all we want is to keep creating music. It could have been one of those things where we jammed for a month and hit a brick wall – we’ve had that in other bands.”
In fact, it all comes pretty easily, Conor admits.
“There’s no effort really…" he says, before realising just how unbecoming that might sound. “No, hang on, that’s awful! ‘Oh, we don’t put any effort in…’ We do! It’s not contrived, though. We turn up every day and get excited.”
Their passion speaks volumes; the phrase ‘like a kid at Christmas’ is uttered more than once during our chat.
“We still get that rush,” Lar beams. “You know when you’re a teenager, and you get your first guitar? You plug it in, play with all these pedals and effects? Well, it’s still like that.”
The boys are putting in daily shifts, writing and playing in Storm Studios, Portobello, Dublin.
“Somewhere along the way, it became a job,” Conor reflects. “Back during The Cast Of Cheers, I was working in a hospital – it was about finding evenings when we could jam. Now, it’s what I do everyday. I have no complaints!”
Those who’ve managed to catch the pair live – they’re accompanied by Cork-born Lewis Hedigan behind the drumkit – haven’t had too many complaints. Their shows have earned rave reviews. At Indiependence and Electric Picnic, they found themselves with the daunting task of being the first band on the main stage.
“Normally, at festivals, you can rely on everyone being on a bit of a buzz," Conor laughs. "Those slots, though, no one is drunk – apart from one or two weirdos. It’s scarier. Still, you can look at it two ways; either ‘Damn, we’re first on the bill’, or ‘Hey, we’re opening the festival!’”
Treating it as an opportunity to showcase their sound turned plenty of heads... some more famous than others.
“After we were done, Blondie came up and said they loved the set. Debbie Harry was watching from the side. They were really cool, all having the craic.”

All Tvvins play Whelan's on November 13 as part of their Irish tour. Check hotpress.com for details.