The Inside Track: Alive and kicking

The south-west has been a hive of activity of late. The wonderful Other Voices series, recorded in Dingle, continues to brighten up our Wednesday nights for a few more weeks.
Meanwhile, Limerick metal merchants Roper have just released their highly-anticiated debut album, Gallows Hill. The band formed in 2002 but the current line-up has been together for three years. In 2005 they won the Irish Miller Strat Band of the Year title and were finalists in Whelan’s Brave New Stage. Get your mits on a copy now at Empire Music and Roxy Records Limerick; Zhivago Galway; Sound Cellar, Tower Records and HMV Grafton Street in Dublin; HMV Cork; Lee Records Tralee; Music Express Killarney; Heartbeat City Kilkenny, Thurles and Mullingar.
In other Limerick news Giveamanakick are currently rehearsing material for their third record. In the meantime, they hit the road for a slew of national dates and head across to Germany for a few shows too. Check hotpress.com for details.
Joining them as labelmates on Out On A Limb are Cork’s Hooray For Humans. We at hotpress tipped the band as one to watch this year, make up your own mind by checking them out on their myspace but you won’t be disappointed. The band have loads of gigs coming up, and are currently writing material for their debut album, which will hopefully see the light of day in Autumn/Winter of this year.
Another myspace to check out is Star Belgrade who have just posted up a video for ‘White Light’. It was recorded live last summer and was edited by Dave Burrows. The band have just recorded their debut EP which is currently being mixed by Gizzy D.
In their post-Coldspoon Conspiracy existence Darren, Ronan and Peter have just recorded four rough instrumental demos and are now searching for a singer. If you think you have what it takes drop them a line at [email protected] or message them through myspace, just remember to include your email address. The guys will send you some demo mp3s to give you an example of the new sound. They are open to dedicated males and females, preferably 18-34ish, living in the Dublin area.
Linda Coogan has had a busy few weeks, besides making waves in London in December and jamming alongside Bono’s doppleganger and former hotpresser Neil McCormick she has just signed a publishing agreement with Movie Cues, in Nashville. Linda is featured on The Big Indie Comeback Vol 3 compilation album that is due out through Matchbox Recordings on February 26. March sees the songstress release her eagerly awaited debut album Holding Back. Catch her live at the Ruby Sessions on March 6 and the Emergenza semi-finals on March 29.
Finally Undertones fans can check out new demos on www.theundertones.com by clicking the Launch Undertones Jukebox link. The audio clips ‘She’s So Sweet’, ‘Precious Little Wonder’, ‘So Close’ and ‘Dig Yourself Deep’ are from the as yet untitled new album. The clips are not the actual album recordings but will give you a taster of what to expect!