Homework: 4 July 2002

New Dublin based three band The Tycho Brahe release their debut album This Is The Tycho Brahe this month. The band comprises of former members of The Plague Monkeys Donal O’Mahony and Carol Keogh alongside omniprensent multi-instrumentalist and Jimmy Cake and David Kitt band member Diarmuid MacDiarmada. The outfit used to go under the name Low Babies.

Another new band, The Denizens Of Ilk have just released their debut EP Follow the Red Light. Yet another three-piece, the Denizens are Conor Kelly, Daniel Eustace O’Brien and Gavin Lynch. Jape is the latest nom de plume for Redneck Manifesto bassist Richie Egan who contributes a track to the very fine Kicking Against… project. Since releasing their debut single, The Holy Ghost Fathers have been receiving radio session play on both the Dave Fanning and Jay Aherne shows on 2FM. The band recorded four tracks entitled ‘9V Battery’ ‘Thieves and Whores’ ‘Lay Down and Die’ and ‘Night of the Long Knives’. The HGF played alongside new Donegal band The Evangelists at a ‘Ballroom of Romance’ event in the Lower Deck recently. Japanese band The Ex-Girl will be supported by the Chalets, The Boxes and A Lazarus Soul later this month. Only six months old, The Chalets include members of The Warlords Of Pez plus former members of Palomine and Baba Snooks. The Coldspoon Conspiracy 7” ‘Hopelessly Naive’ will be available for a measley E2 if you head along to Whelan’s this Saturday (July 6) to see them play with The Chalets and Joan of Arse.

The online resource Things You’re Missing has lots of useful and entertaining advice and anecdotes regarding recording, designing sleeves, pressing vinyl and getting gigs and distribution. Large Mound, The Dudley Corporation and Joan Of Arse contribute excellent and informative recording diaries. The Dudleys or The Corpo or whoever are working on some US dates for later in the year as their The Lonely World Of The Dudley Corporation LP will receive a Stateside release on Chicago label Flameshovel Records. In the meantime, their busy release schedule includes a 7” on Greyslate Records, a split 7” with Christopher Leonard on Australian label Gifted Records, a split 7” with Querelle on Scientific Laboratories, a split 7” with the Connect 4 Orchestra on Jonathon Whiskey where the song has to be in the style of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, and finally a 7” as part of Sink and Stove singles club.