Bloody hell but the music sphere is fucking boring today. I’ve been looking for something to talk about all day and no go…but thankfully, Jim Carroll interviewed Hideaway House’s Dylan Haskins and the transcript is On The Record.

For those who aren’t sure, Dylan is the mind behind the DIY Counterculture documentary Roll Up Your Sleeves, exploring the role of youth culture in Irish society and how it compares to our European neighbours.

This is something we desperately need to address: what are young people doing for fun? What provisions are made to encourage and nurture burgeoning creativity? Beyond pubs and venues, where is music made accessible, taking away the financial aspect of profit, what remains?

I’m a bore on this subject, I know, I know…it does seem as though I expound the failures of our society to treat our musicians and artists with the respect they deserve, and deserve it they do. Considering how many gigs I attended last year (more than 100 but I ain’t arsed counting exactly), only ten were all-ages shows. I’d say 25% were signed bands, the remaining number of acts promoting, managing, releasing and supporting themselves financially. As far as public and media interest goes, the reaction to this hard work is ignored on a large scale but at least a number of people do attend shows, do buy records, do spread the word.
But what of those who aren’t making music? Who just love it? Record labels with barely any cash take chances on obscure bands with great sounds, risking something uncommercial in a grossly over-commercialised culture. I have some very good friends running gigs and have seen first-hand what a difficult job it is, how little thanks and recognition is involved, and yet the releases and gigs continue as expenses grow.
And what of those who love music but can’t make it, for lack of equipment, experience, space, confidence?
What of those who want to see bands but are too young, broke, demoralised? What about those who’ve never even experienced “the spit of the singer in your face kind of thing” because they don’t even know such a scene exists here, just like me, three years ago?

While bands are hard-pushed to support themselves as it is, labels have their hands full simply keeping their heads above water and promoters work for hardly anything other than the buzz of a great show, who’s left to propagate the seeds sown?

Us. It is up to decent, idealistic music lovers to take matters into our own hands now. We must reclaim this nation from the crap DJs, the useless media, our insipid programmers and mindless chartbusting cretins who continue to buy the latest imported dross. It’s time to take a hard look at what our country has become, its potential - music, art and space - and ask ourselves how we can change that. And Dylan has the answer:

“[DIY] can spring up in a little town in the middle of nowhere because somebody finds out about some band and realises the whole idea about DIY culture and spreads this to all their friends.

“We used any space we could get that wasn’t a pub. The old parochial hall in Greystones, Paddy’s Hall, had closed down to be turned into apartments but it was lying dormant for ages so we eventually got to use that space through the father of one of the girls who used to come to our gigs. We turned it into our own building for our collective, the Basta Youth Collective. We showed movies, put on loads of shows and built up a really good community of young people who were coming to the shows.

“One of the important things for me is that it is not always an audience that I know. I like to have a mix of new faces and old faces. It’s not a party or a club or an elite. I do want to encourage new people to come in. A house is always seens as something very private and closed off from the world but I want to get people thinking about how a space can be used in all these different types of ways. They don’t have to be this set definition as we understand them.”

I respect this guy Haskins so much, not because of his age (21), his inspiration (Kilcoole punks) or reputation (tipped by the Sunday Tribune as Hot to Watch in 2009) but rather, his recognition of Ireland as desperately lacking support it needs to further the creative potential growing amongst young Irish art and music lovers. While I’d love to do something to make a difference, I haven’t a clue where to start. I’m not a great writer, photographer or blogger but I feel inspired to be, if it results in more people supporting our culture. Dylan’s vision has already begun to make a difference here. People are waking up to the idea that you don’t need gold medallions or a mirrored ceiling to support bands, just an open mind, spare hours and a real desire for Change?.

Click to read JC’s Dylan Haskins interview in full.
www.changedublin.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/hideawayrecords

Happy days, sort of…desktop PCs have too many wires and old, old music on iTunes. But as I said to Cloud Castle Lake, equine orthodontics was never my forte.

So while I acclimatise to working in the home environment - percolating coffee, room to dance - let’s just chat…

How do you feel about Irish music? Has this been a strong year in terms of releases? A friend texted the other week to say a journalist reviewing Halfset on TodayFM said something like ‘thousands of Irish albums are released every year and only a handful are worth listening to’. Would you agree?

In terms of media coverage, is enough done for our own bands? Do they deserve more attention or healthy competition with popular international acts? Are journalists and presenters getting lazy? What role do outside influences like radio, TV, print and web have on your musical discoveries? Mostly everything I’ve listened to in recent months has been a stumble or friendly recommendation.
As a musician, what do you consider the most important method of promoting your music?
Small sites struggle to keep abreast of a rapidly sprawling array of new music and face burial in the face of sterile competition. Support these independents. Download the podcasts and mixtapes, link to them, tell your friends.
I think our radio is stilted and repressed. It’s too easy put a sponge on air by day and hide the oysters in graveyard shifts. MGMT at 10am is not adventurous. Are we stuck with this model of communication? Is there a point in petitioning broadcasters to expand their playlists or is it futile to expect a change from accessible trite?
Record labels do fuck all beyond setting up MySpace. Where are the daring signings, the knicker-wetting collaborations? I don’t mean to generalise, some brilliant work is being done by Richter, Out On A Limb, YesBoyIceCream and Skinny Wolves but it’s not enough. A movement is needed, spearheaded by the industry free radicals, to reclaim Irish music scene from indifferent masses. 
And yes, I know it’s time-consuming and expensive but that’s what makes it a vocation.

I haven’t finished yet, either. Why is there no solidarity? Bands are insular bastards, sticking to the same grotty garages and rehearsal rooms, listening to the same British Sea Power CD. You ain’t gonna get 700 at your remix launch album that way. Get some fresh air! Go to more gigs, parties, meetings, WTF-ever, just mingle. Explore. Develop. Be more than a handfull. Fill the void.

Normal service resumes tomorrow.

…will be intermittent over the next few days as I try and sort out connectivity issues.

Bear wiv me.

Forgive the lack of Friday posts - I know it’s your favourite OHR day! There simply weren’t enough hours to get as much out as I’d like so keep an eye out for a bonus post tomorrow morning.

I’ve been slogging and moaning through a very long week - toothache is no fun. Tomorrow it’s off to Castle Palooza though I’d love to check out Indie-Pendence, Le Cheile and Mantua…maybe next year. Where will you be? If you’re at Charleville, do come and say hello: I’ll be the snapper with the groggy smile. Seeya there!

A blithe take on Ham Sandwich’s Meteor Award win in the Guardian Unlimited music news.

Cheers Sean! You almost had me with the boy-band sentiment. What a travesty that eight years on, lonely spinsters haven’t let go of their plush teddies and fondness for premium-rate competitions and continue to vote for turgid shite as the nation’s favourite.
Yet, the horizon, a glimmer of hope! A motley bunch of hairy, glamorous jammers from a country town producing sounds fit for the Fillmore beat Sony’s golden boy to scoop a trophy recognising years of dedication and belief…the second trophy in their hands that day, may I add, as the release of their debut album Carry The Meek coincided with the Meteor Awards.
Ham Sandwich are not a boring band. I could write you a bio about their hard-won success, Podge’s karaoke lifestyle, their rambling school in Kells, effortless talent and showmanship washing them ashore from a sea of creativity surrounding Ireland’s music in 2008 but don’t need to: that reputation becomes clear to anyone who comes looking.
That Sean Michaels couldn’t be bothered to research the band is blatantly obvious but nonethless understandable. I don’t have time to follow every MySpace link passed my way. However in those cases I avoid unwarranted bitching and hedge my bets. What exactly was Mr Michaels’ point in dismissing this band in one fell swoop on the rather superficial basis of band name?
Considering the article’s initial despair at the outcome of the awards it would have been a wise move to at least give Ham Sandwich benefit of the doubt, if not a listen to discern whether the relevant cycle of manufactured pap was set to repeat.
I find it an absolute disgrace that a music journalist providing a rare window of UK coverage should so flippantly dismiss the efforts of a band and new breed of voting public for the sake of a weak joke. If the punchline was original it may have been forgivable but I’m afraid in this case we saw a chronic case of lazy journalism and to be honest, I expected better from the Guardian.

No blogging today.

The himalayas have relocated to the pile of ironing covering my drumkit. And I wanna practice, dammit. And I got NO sleep last night. And I’m working a nixer tonight. And I need to pluck my eyebrows and also, sort the crap on my iTunes. Someone keeps listening to Kaiser Chiefs and it’s showing up on my last.fm page, repeatedly. It wasn’t me!!

However I will leave you with this shmexy bitta schnizzle…Fight Like Apes, Do You Karate?

I haven’t got a fucking clue how the hell I’m gonna pull this off… Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight was one of those planned to a tee: new dress. Face pack. Naggon of vodka in the handbag in case of parties.
*sighs* Read the rest of this entry »

…bloody musicians take the biscuit sometimes. Read the rest of this entry »