First We Take Manhattan

“IT’S A brilliant feeling being jet-lagged again,” gushes Billy McGuinness who despite having had only four hours sleep in the past two days is more animated than you or I are likely to be after a catering-pack of Pro-Plus.

“I know we keep on saying it,” continues the Aslan man, “but we never expected this to happen to us again. Going back to New York, playing to 400 people in Manhattan and having seven major record companies in the crowd was just brilliant.”

They may have been 3,000 miles away from Dublin but the Tramps gig had a real hometown feel to it.

“Sitting backstage in the dressing-room before going on and all we could hear was ‘Olé Olé Olé!’. You know, we were a bit nervous because of EMI, BMG, IRS, Silvertone and the others being there, but that fired us up and we played what was probably our best show since reforming.”

Somewhat bizarrely, it also provided Aslan’s American manager Bud Praeger with his first opportunity to see the band in the flesh.

“I think we blew him away,” laughs Billy, “because afterwards he was just standing there speechless and that’s not like Bud at all! The story is he caught Christy with Conor and loved ‘em, then Christy told him Aslan were getting back together and as soon as he heard the demos, he offered to take us on.

“It’s only when we walked into his New York office and saw the gold and platinum discs on the wall that we appreciated what a major player he is. Foreigner, Bad Company and Damn Yankees are some of the other bands on his books and if he rings up a record company, it’s the President rather than the office staff he gets through to.

“Actually, Bud’s coming over to see our next show at the Olympia, so if anyone’s going along, can they please make as much noise as possible!”

And how does the feedback from the States compare to the reaction they’re getting in Britain?

“Well,” Billy continues, “BMG in the UK are playing a wait-and-see game. They haven’t offered us a major deal but they’ve put us on a retainer to write more material and if something solid happens in the US, I think they’ll formalise the arrangement. We’d love a British deal but, to be honest, if it’s going to happen, it’ll come out of America. With The Cranberries in the top 10, there’s never been a better time to be Irish there and on the strength of the Tramps gig, we’ve been asked to go back and do another seven shows in May.”

And what does the immediate future hold?

“I don’t know ‘bout the others,” he deadpans, “but I’m spending the rest of the bleedin’ weekend in bed!”

NO STOPPING THEM NOW

Meanwhile, Helena Mulkerns, Chief of Staff in Street Noise's New York bureau, files this report:

Aslan hit Manhattan last week in search of a Stateside record deal, and besides their main showcase gig at Tramps, managed to take in a few other venues as well. The requisite Sin-é pitstop happened on Monday night, with a well-packed coffee-house warmly receiving an acoustic set. An impromptu appearance at The Red Lion on Bleeker Street ended up in the early hours.

But the piece de resistance was the Tramps gig, which was packed to the proverbial gills, to owner Terry Dunne's amazement, since there had been no extensive publicity for this mostly industry showcase performance. The crowd just kept piling in, and by the time the full rock force of the second set began blasting, there wasn't a space to be had on the floor.

Those unaquainted with the Aslan history were somewhat astonished at the roaring, swaying and cheering response the band prompted. "Who are these guys, the fucking Beatles?" said an American journalist beside me, who had never heard of the band before.

For 'Crazy World', practically the whole front section of the audience sang – word for word and full blast – through the entire song, again astonishing those who were not fully acquainted with the Aslan history and current boom.

The sound for this gig was excellent, and the band were flawless in their performance of a fair mix of new material and old favourites. While Tramps is by no means an arena gig, one felt that's where this band would feel most at home. "Listen," a lad from Finglas assured me, "watch out for these lads, 'cos I'm telling you, there's no stopping them now . . ."