Grrr, poxy GMail ain’t letting anyone into their inboxes. I knew I shoulda set Mail up on my Mac but running a blog that gets 200+ spam hits a day means the 2990-new-messages inbox download action would make a wrestler quail. I hate when we lose technology for a few hours and feel bereaved as a result. And oh, it’s just back! *reattaches arm*
However this is the poignant poster for what should be a great gig this weekend: Hooray For Humans, Kidd Blunt, Ran and Wounds. The latter were something else at the Lower Deck on Saturday…the combined age of about 30, they’re very hard, raw and..bleak in a blackhearted new-music way. So…yeah…go!
Pinnacle of independent Irish music stores Road Records has announced plans to close in coming weeks. Dave explained the reasons behind the closure in a very touching post.
Its been an absolutely amazing eleven years for us and neither of us regret one single second of it, when we close I will not be looking back on wasted time in any way.
We have made some amazing friends through the shop and have had the pleasure of dealing with some truly fantastic bands [and their members].
Without blowing my own trumpet I do think Dublin will be a worse place without us as I think from day one we were always the most approachable store for Irish bands and their independent releases, it was one of the main reasons for setting up the store [some of you may remember the fact that I spent most of my youth plugging away in bands with nowhere to sell our music] and we have always tried to be as supportive to local music as possible, mainly because people in this country make music as good as if not better than anywhere else but have never had a proper outlet to sell it. We have always had a policy to make sure to play Irish music in the store so people in here can hear it and understand the quality and diversity of music being made in Ireland. If we heard something that excited us then we would always go out of our way to promote it as much as possible both in the store and on the site.
I don’t really need to spell it out, do I, what a landmark this store is, how much it’s done for musicians and customers alike, its working ethic of love and respect for quality music? I’m not gonna bore ya with recession waffle – the point is, Dave and Julie are the two soundest people you could meet in Dublin and the fact they run a record store, bending over backwards to source every whim and whisper is an added bonus.
Please, please, please, get down to Fade Street in the next few days and pick up some records, soak in the bare board floor, the sunny yellow sign and easy-browsing vibe of this flagship store…it will soon be no more. A tenner and your time. Pick up the records nominated for this year’s Choice Music Prize or those that didn’t make the grade. Educate your family. Be generous to your friends. Or buy something new – JulieDave have great taste and can recommend something awesome.
I’m not sure what will happen with the website, if they might keep the Road brand as an online store. It’s too late to save the shop – for several months now they’ve been struggling and ploughed every penny they have into keeping Road Records afloat. A final valiant effort from their supporters may go some way towards paying off horrendous debts incurred. It’s a small mark of appreciation to acknowlege everything they’ve done to support decent, hard-working bands and artists in this country. There’s talk of a benefit gig and I’ll keep you posted on any developments but the best thing you can do is drop in and let them know you’ll be sad to see them go.
I’m not alone in stating I’m going to miss them terribly.
*EDIT* 16/01/09 – Thanks to Liamo for the title. We both copped the same headline so he kindly shared his second choice. Which is even nicer, really, just like his tribute…*EDIT*
There probably are more musicians involved via the record labels but I don’t know who/what is still available. Please let me know if you hear of more and I’ll add the name.
This is absolutely sound of the bands involved and fair play to all. It’s great to see loyalty is appreciated and rewarded. Go Road Aid!
Love or hate ‘em, there’s no denying what a scream-out-loud, psychotic rock extravaganza this will be for the black-bedecked crowd in Iveagh Gardens tonight. I was there for The Fall on Tuesday night and it’s a really lovely location for this year’s fringe. Be sure to catch the Dagger Lees, my favourite of the three, before they hit HWCH this weekend….
…So much to do, so litle time! I’m just about finished batching all five gigabytes of photos from Electric Picnic, so the end is in sight! Can’t wait to get back into blogging proper, though there’s very little news on the ground as practically all the Irish bands were down in Stradbally and only resurfacing from recuperation now….look lively, fellas!
Full soundtrack details of Disney Interactive/Black Rock Studio‘s extreme sports game PURE have been announced, accompanied by a great surge of pride in Irish electrock here in the OHR camp at the inclusion of north Dublin outfit Noise Control. As reported last month, NC agreed to license two tracks Cities of Dreams and Mudbath from their as-yet-unreleased debut album…both of which can be streamed from MySpace.
The band first came to light in 2006 and quickly escalated into serious players on the live circuit, tucking IMRO, HWCH, Childline Rocks, Castle Palooza and Electric Picnic appearances under their belt along with massive support slots to Asian Dub Foundation, Basement Jaxx, Calvin Harris, Mylo, The Progidy and Underworld.
As the only Irish artists to feature on the game, Noise Control rub virtual shoulders with some of the biggest names in popular music. Black Rock’s game director Jason Argent said:
“Music plays an integral part in action sports games and we wanted to provide the right background to complement the nonstop spectacular tricks and massive jumps in the game. We feel that the songs we’ve included on the soundtrack are ideal to round out the adrenaline rush players will get while playing PURE.”
The full soundtrack line-up consists of :
The Answer – “Into the Gutter”
Fred Baker -”Genius Touch”
Jeff Beck -”Grease Monkey”
Calyx & Teebee -”Dual Processed” Featuring MC Verse
The Datsuns -” Maximum Heartbreak’ and ‘Sittin’ Pretty”
Diet Kong -”With Magic”
Adam Freeland -” Spin Machine”
The Futureheads -” Beginning of the Twist”
DJ Hyper -”We Control”
Midfield General -”On the Road”
The Music -”Strength in Numbers”
My Luminaries – “The Sound of Music”
Noise Control -”Cities of Dreams’ and ‘Mud Bath”
Pendulum -”Granite’ and ‘Showdown”
Pop Levi -”Wannamama”
Qemists -”Drop Audio’ and ‘Stomp Box”
The Radishes -”Good Machine”
Silvertone -”Try”
The Subways -”Rock and Roll Queen”
Tapeworm -”Getting Through”
The Whigs -”Need You Need You”
Zero DB -”Late in the Day’ and ‘Redline”
Wolfmother -” Woman”
We Are Scientists -”Inaction”
Blindside – “For the Nation”
Great stuff, eh? As an unsigned band amongst such huge names, here’s hoping this is the break to launch the band into the international electro arena…the world is waiting for you, guys
More shiny vinyl is on the way: BATS have been cloistered in Clondalkin recording for an upcoming split 7″ with US noisesomes Fist Fite. According to Rupert BATS, the record will come out on Richter Collective with an aim to launch on Halloween. Fancy dress, he says, “fancy as fuck”.
The bands met at Skinny Wolves‘ Boom Boom Room gig with Cap Pas Cap last December and having listened up on MySpace, Fist Fite’s Jonny loudly demanded they play Husband and Wife. Glad to know I’m not the only one roaring my head off at their gigs then!
Dead, buried, gone, cleared out, packed-up, a trail of dust on life’s lonely highway, Stagger Lee – aptly named after the murdered billyboy of New Orleans – are dead. But haud yer whist! Don’t cry just yet, leave your soggy hankies in your pocket for the fe/male four-piece are not quite finished. They erupt from the ghostly chysalis of that Staggering incarnation into a new world of light…as the Dagger Lees!
Remember this? I couldn’t tell you then but the band chose to abandon the old moniker waaay back and the call for artists was a search for new identity in the form of a logo, artwork and creative vision for the new handle.
Big plans are afoot in the Lee camp. This summer is spent writing and preparing new material, including a download-only single available from MySpace next month. Their song Scarlet Fever appears on a forthcoming American film release by punk rock film company Vivid Alt, while September sees the band make a return to the Spiegeltent celebrations.
However big daddy of all this news is the early 2009 trip to the US to record their debut album with the legendary Jim Diamond of White Stripes, Von Bondies and Electric Six fame. With so much activity and a strengthening reputation, it was time to dump the old skin of success and move into new threads. The Stagger Lee name is well-known in America – just try searching MySpace - continuance under the same name would have invited a helluva headache. So instead, Stagger Lee is dead…long live the Dagger Lees!
In a remarkably good-natured move, Waterford’s You’re Only Massive have announced they no longer plan a future for their group. Megan revealed the news a few hours ago through the trusty MySpace blog channels, promising to honour scheduled Irish dates before a final gig with Queen Kong at Trickster in Berlin on 26 July - which gives my heart a little wobble – genuine shock factor surrounds You’re Only Massive’s decision to call it a day as a new record with Queen Kong, Dot Dash, is due for release in less than a month. Interesting details here on the QK blog.
We are at a crossroads, just like the seminal Britney Spears movie Crossroads.
I am more interested in trying to develop my writing and dedicate a chunk of my life to that, while Maebh is eager as a beaver to develop musically. I will continue to contribute to Y.O.M., beginning with a Y.O.M. zine, which will be out around the time Dot-Dash comes out.
For once the OHR black lace mantilla will stay in its case. I’m not sad to say goodbye Maebh and Megan, they’re bright, creative and attuned, a simple hybrid of text/melody blossoming to maturity. You know it’s not the last we’ll hear of them…but wasn’t it nice to know this incarnation?
Am not sure but think they’re recording in Rocky Oppenheimer‘s Start Together Studio in the Oh Yeah! Centre in Belfast. Apparently BBC’s Stephen McCauley is making most of the noise! Wonder if they need someone to make tea….
