Prelude to Spin-Off Bands
Not one to succumb to any sense of anti-climax, I’d like to calmly state that the month of May is here and so far the sky hasn’t fallen off yet.
It’s been a heady couple of weeks in this blogosphere as all sorts of occasions have whipped past and today is the first day activity levels have levelled out. I’ve been writing and researching, photoshopping thousands of photographs and trying to still an all too regular fluttering of my heart as catastrophes peep over the horizon. I sincerely regret not learning to file. Also, I’ve become a bit spoilt by these unbridled unsigned gigs in the city this year. I’ve forgotten all about barriers and passes and three songs no flash and its quite a culture-shock to return to massive festival stages and polished stageshows from the proximity of the NSMA! Green Energy’s a far shout from where Floyd Soul and the Wolf stand, yet Nick Cave saw the interiors of enough dim-lit venues before breaking out to open-air extravaganzas!
That buzz of activity and never quite knowing who/what’s next coupled with the sunny weather outside has made a very pleasant start to the summer indeed 
The Irish music scene is very quiet today. I’m raring to go, to get on to something juicy and get some momentum flowing…but there’s nothing going on except Cathy Davey’s eating habits:
If you can figure out what she’s saying, she’ll award two free tix to any of her gigs…check the myspace!
You know what this means, don’t you? All the musicians have dumped their leather jackets, and headed to the little park behind Whelans with their Bucky? No, they’re all rehearsing (ASIWYFA are in studio…doesn’t that bode well for this Friday’s show?)!
So off I go to productively file my 2fm School of Rock pictures. However I’d like to throw a question: what’s the craic with spin-off Irish bands? Jape and Redneck Manifesto, FKOS and A Lazarus Soul, Wingdings and GiveAManAKick…How many do you know of? Which band is better? Do side-projects detract from the original? I’m curious….
May 13th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
i understand a band we had at AC30 is a ’spin off’. We had Sweet Jane who I believe share members with The Brothers Movement (Mainline). I personally prefer Sweet Jane. Cracking band.
How cute is Cathy!!!!!
May 13th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Here’s a vid of the now dorment insurmental band ‘Hats For My Hands’ who include Ham Sandwich lead gutairist ‘Darcy’ on drums.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBNrF3KElPs
May 13th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
I’m not a fan of Sweet Jane’s theatrics. I find their singer is so affected on-stage and hams up for the camera which is quite off putting when displayed to the extent that she’ll mangle a tambourine into nothingness. With Mainline/TBM you can at least listen without the risk of losing an eye…but I agree that musically, the SJ sound is better.
Cheers Aodh! As if there was any doubt in the matter, the camera zoomz in on Darcy’s face before any other…shame they’re defunct, sounds pretty good!
May 13th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
it’s the summer months - it’s quite everywhere
even when i was running the electric fix, i used to wrap up a lot of shows because gig numbers generally went down (due mainly to festivals, good weather, etc…)
as for side projects, i’ve had about five - i think it’s just about spreading your musical wings (as it were), but they tend to be an object of temporary experimentation rather than lasting interest
May 13th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
sometimes it’s hard to know which came first, band or spin-off, or if spin-off is the right term at all (is it a spin-off if both bands were around for more of less the same amount of time?!)…is it all just a few great musicians mixing and matching and getting to stretch all of their music muscles…?
examples of spin-off madness (not of these shores, but however…) Amusement Parks on Fire, whose current and ex-members also play with You Slut!, JC Decaux, Swimming, Pilgrim Fathers and Lights Over Phoenix (Irish) on occasion!
mmm…musical mix and match…
May 13th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Long may it last, Leigh, long may it last….
I just bandy the term ’spin-off’ to denote projects occuring alongside a more established line-up. For sure, loads of musicians jam together without making an actual band of it while you have the recognised off-shoots who are releasing and gigging as much as the original act.
Would you prefer APOF or the side-projects, Cauls?
May 13th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Need you ask Nay, need you ask!!
APOF all the way… although, You Slut! are quickly overtaking Adebisi Shank in the Cauls Headphone Airplay wars, and Swimming are constantly surprising me too, also completely different.
In fact…just to continue on my self indulgent fav bands rant(!)…all off-shots I mentioned are diverse and interesting digressions from what is going on parallel to it.
And all in all, that’s what makes it exciting. There. Variety is the spice of life!
May 14th, 2008 at 9:11 am
seeing as you mentioned the Tracer AMC gig…. lets not forget their spin offs. Or shall we say, other endeavours. Heliopause I believe.
Side projects I dont think are the same thing. You can have one reltively successful act and the side projects are just something to experiment with. I think the idea of having an established act have a ’sister’ act (pardon the Whoopi Goldberg reference) as successful as the original is whats interesting here.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:42 am
I needn’t Cauls, I needn’t but I shall!
…hang on. You’ve just reminded me of another spin-off: I think Adebisi Shank and Terrordactyl are related? Must go and check out…
And Tracer do indeed have spin-offs: Heliopause boasts one Tracer member but Julip has three, I think!
ASIWYFA’s guitarist Rory also plays with Team Fresh, while TF’s drummer Niall is the singer in Panama Kings! Pheeeeew!
I don’t agree that only one of the projects can be a main focus and the others are experimentation and not as succesful. Redneck Manifesto are supporting Battles (and billed higher than Chrome Hoof) on Friday and that’s damn succesful if ya ask me :p
May 14th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
“……hang on. You’ve just reminded me of another spin-off: I think Adebisi Shank and Terrordactyl are related? Must go and check out…”
yes and the vinny club too i believe
May 14th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Fight Like Apes are a spin off of Grand Pocket Orchestra? Or is it the other way around? What came first, the apes or the orchestra? The chicken or the egg?
May 14th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
“…Fight Like Apes are a spin off of Grand Pocket Orchestra? Or is it the other way around? What came first, the apes or the orchestra? The chicken or the egg?”
they were originally soft cuddly toys for about four years before four of the members split to be FLA.
GPO was a friends project that tom and mary played in occasionally before GPO finally became a “full” band
May 15th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Ah, I knew there was a connection between FLA and GPO but couldnt for the life of me figure out what! I thought they were just friends whogot into music at the same time. so we won’t see the Apes cancelling their shows to accomodate another gig by GPO anyway.
Funny you mentioned the Vinny Club Leigh, I was just reading up on his new album, which explains how he dropped right off the radar recently.