House full

Dave Brown is attempting to land a military jet on an impossibly short runway. It’s a tricky manoeuvre, not made any easier when, thanks to the unpredictable surface of the N4, his laptop computer wobbles intermittently. In the end he fails miserably, and the aircraft slides off the runaway before breaking up into tiny pieces.

Such are the trivial diversions musicians get up to on the road these days. For the five members of Picturehouse – singer Dave Browne, keyboardist Geoff Woods, bass player Aonghus Ralston, guitarist Steve Farrell and drummer John Boyle – the road has become something of a second home for the best part of the last five years.

Few bands have gigged as widely and consistently as the Dublin quintet have done since the release of their Probably EP back in late ’95. A slew of instantly hummable hit singles followed including songs like ‘Heavenly Day’, ‘Somebody Somewhere’ and ‘Sunburst’, keeping radio programmers busy and live promoters constantly on the phone. Their debut album Shinebox and the follow-up Karmarama sold a highly impressive 50,000 and 120,000 units respectively, while a live album Bring The House Down recorded over three nights at Dublin’s HQ also shifted substantial units.

The intervening years have seen them perform throughout the UK and Europe guesting at enormodomes with the likes of Meatloaf, Texas and Bon Jovi. Late last year they toured Europe with Mel C. Last week it was two nights in Sheffield Arena with long-time stage-mates The Corrs, with whom they’ve built a strong live relationship.

In Ireland, Picturehouse have long been a big draw – easily filling the Olympia or multiple nights in HQ. Last August they drew 42,000 to Marley Park and they continue to be in demand for major festivals throughout the country.

“People think it’s easy breaking Ireland,” Dave Brown offers. “But it isn’t. It’s bloody hard work. I can think of quite a few big name bands who’d be happy to draw half the crowds we get.”

Right now, Picturehouse are on a roll. The new single ‘She’, taken from their soon-to-be completed third studio album Windows To The Soul, was mixed by the legendary studio ace Bob Clearmountain in LA. The decision to bring in a heavyweight like Clearmountain was a deliberate one, according to Browne.

“We’ve always felt that our music was much more American in approach, so it made absolute sense to work with someone like Bob,” he says. “He’d already heard Karmarama and liked it, so he didn’t hesitate when we asked him to work with us. Clearmountain is one of the most high profile mixers in the business and has worked with an A-list of rock stars including Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Tina Turner and Bryan Adams among dozens of others. According to Browne the band now plan to concentrate their efforts on America, which may mean the band moving to the US for the best part of a year.

“We’ve a lot of serious interest from America at the moment,” he reveals. “This is real interest too, not the kind of pipe-dream bollox that you hear from some bands. We’re expecting something big to happen very soon. We’ll keep you posted!”

But tonight it’s a short trip to Carrick-On-Shannon for a Saturday night gig in Rock Tower, a night-club/venue on the outskirts of the town.

“So – it’s the night-club set-list tonight lads?” asks bass player Aonghus Ralston. Which means the upbeat hits and a smattering of danceable cover versions, including the Monkees’ ‘Daydream Believer’ and Lynyrd Skynrd’s ‘Sweet Home Alabama’.

“It’s totally different in HQ or the Olympia where we have fans who’ve come out purely to see us, “ he explains. “We can do slower stuff or new songs and they’ll sing along and get into it no problem. In a night-club, some people are here to see the band, others are just out for a good time, which is fair enough.”

Improved creature comforts on the road are just some of the benefits of the success the band has enjoyed. Their recently acquired £40,000 touring bus comes complete with tinted windows, lined curtains, comfortable bucket seats, fold-down tables and of course, a state-of the art sound system and video.

“The tinted windows are great,” Brown enthuses. “We can see out but no-one can see in! From the outside they look like mirrors – we get girls coming up doing their make-up. We’re inside, staring straight at them, about an inch from their faces and they haven’t a clue. Sometimes we even...”

(In the interests of domestic harmony, given the fact that most of the band are “spoken for” we’ll leave the remaining part of that sentence to hang in the air).

Suffice to say, girls – you have been warned!

Before they hit the venue, a live appearance on Shannonside FM has been slotted in, and the bus pulls up outside the studios in Longford Town just in time for their scheduled appearance. Acoustic guitars are whipped out and drummer John grabs his percussion “eggs”. DJ Brendan Farrell, clearly a big fan of the band, loves the new single and wastes no time in letting them know. “It’s fabulous, he tells them. “We’ve had a great reaction to it. The live album was great too. I think you guys are better than U2, really I do.” Suitably humbled the lads run through a couple of songs, including an acoustic version of ‘She’, while a phone-in competition for signed copies of the new single is heavily subscribed. Then it’s back into the van to head for the soundcheck.

Rock Tower is impossible to describe. An enormous structure at the end of a long and winding driveway, it resembles a large factory or industrial unit. Inside it’s plush, with Disneyland-style castle towers, ornamental stairways, giant exotic plants dotted everywhere. Bars the length of football pitches line the side walls. Upstairs are more bars and a separate dance venue. The place is eerily deserted, the only sound being the “check, one, two” of the sound engineers over the PA.

“Wait ‘till you see this place in a few hours time,” Brown offers. “I think it holds three or four thousand people. You won’t believe it. They come from miles around – in cars, taxis, mini-buses, coaches – some people even come up the Shannon in boats!

Sound-check over, it’s straight to the hotel for a quick bite before returning to the venue.

The band aren’t due to go onstage ‘till 12.45am but they arrive a half an hour before that. Browne was right. The place is crammed but not uncomfortably so.

Crowds begin to gather around the floor in front of the stage as the band prepare to go on. Local girls Marie and her friend Ciara have come down from Dublin where they both work. “I’ve seen Picturehouse before at the Rose of Tralee festival,” Marie offers. “They’re brilliant, they should be huge.”

Christine and Aoife, both cousins from Longford Town, come to Rock Tower every Saturday night but prefer to dance to live music rather than a DJ. “I can’t remember the name of any of Picturhouse’s hits but I’ll know them as soon as I hear them,” Aoife proffers.

She’s right. The lights go down, the band hit the stage opening with ‘Heavenly Day’ and Aoife is singing every line, word for word! So will you, as soon as you hear them. That’s the magic that makes Picturehouse one of Ireland’s most popular rock acts.

Given the platform, they can get the whole world singing. Calling

America!