Month: March 2010

Eve O'Kelly has announced her intention to resign as Director of the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland.

March 12th – Coffee & Sweet Jane
March 14th – Filthy New Tide – featuring Fearghal E. McKhee (Whipping Boy)
 
Tickets for March 14th are available now from Ticketmaster Outlets, Tickets.ie & WaV Box Office [lo-call 1890 200 078].
 
 
Bad Sneakers presents
POWER OF DREAMS
“Immigrants, Emigrants and Me” – 20th Anniversary Show
 
Friday 12th March, Doors 7:30pm – SOLD OUT
EXTRA DATE – Sunday 14th March, Doors 8pm
Whelan’s, 25 Wexford St, Dublin 2
Tickets €20 incl booking fee available from Ticketmaster Outlets, Tickets.ie & WaV Box Office [lo-call 1890 200 078]
 
20 years ago a brash young Dublin indie-rock band delivered one of the most exciting Irish debut albums of all-time. Whelan’s is proud to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of “Immigrants, Emigrants and Me”.
 
Power of Dreams were formed in Dublin in 1989 by songwriter Craig Walker. The band’s debut ep “A Little Piece of God” was voted Single of The Week in UK music weeklies Melody Maker and Sounds, which led to them signing to Polydor.
 
Their first album, “Immigrants, Emigrants and Me”, received glowing reviews worldwide with Craig Walker garnering praise for a lyrical maturity beyond his 18 years and the band’s spiky indie pop assault winning fans among press and public alike.
 
Power of Dreams embarked on a global tour, taking in more than 20 countries in the space of a year, including Japan and the US.  Live, the band were hailed for their blistering sonic attack and soaring melodies. 
 
Over the next four years, they released a further three albums and continued to play shows worldwide, including four return visits to Japan. However, commercial success never quite matched the level of critical acclaim achieved and so the four members went their separate ways in 1995.
 
2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the release of that landmark debut album “Immigrants, Emigrants and Me” and to mark the occasion, the band have been asked to reform for a series of live shows.
 
A 2CD limited edition of the album, containing all 14 original tracks plus the debut “A Little Piece of God” ep and various b-sides will be released on 1st March 2010.

Interview with Phil Udell of State.ie
Jade O’Callaghan
 
State.ie is Ireland’s premier online music magazine and is this year the online partner for the IMRO showcase tour. Kicking off at the end of March in Belfast and hosting events all around the country the whole thing wraps up a month later in Dublin’s Academy on Saturday 1st May with a ‘best of’ showcase tour gig. As one of the founders of State.ie Phil Udell has a lot to say about the Irish music industry.  
 
Why did you decide to set up a magazine? What was your primary motivation and mission?
There were four of us involved – publisher Roger Wolman, designer Simon Roche and myself and John Walshe as editors. I think we just all felt that there was a gap in the market in Ireland for a quality, monthly music magazine. Virtually every other major country has one, so why not here? We knew that we wanted to strike the right balance between international and Irish music, giving the latter a proper platform.
 
What was your previous publishing experience?
We'd all worked in magazines before, for example Hot Press, but had never been involved on the publishing side but that was a good thing – we weren't beholden to any of 'the rules' because we didn't know what they were.
 
Did you feel compromised when State became an online entity?
Well, the website was actually launched before the magazine so the two had always existed in tandem. When we decided to stop the print version we thought it absolutely vital to launch an upgraded website immediately to keep the continuity going.
 
Do you prefer the print or online edition of State?
We all miss the buzz of putting out a print magazine and we're hugely proud of what we achieved with State, I think it really did make a difference to the Irish music scene. Then again, there is a great immediacy to the web and that's something we try to make use of. Plus the sense of community is important too.
 
What do you think of the state of Irish music right now? Do you think there is an over-saturation in the mainstream media of identikit indie bands?
It's very strong. We put out a twenty track download compilation of new Irish bands earlier this year and it was ridiculously strong. Every year more and more bands are coming through. The best thing is there's no one dominating style or sound, especially not identikit indie. Also I don't think that the mainstream media here comes close to saturation point with new Irish music, far from it.
 
State.ie are IMRO’s online partner for the IMRO showcase this year, and in their search they are seeking bands from all genres, what genres do you think (if any) have great artists emerging and not receiving much coverage?
There's a lot of great electronica and really loud guitar music about at the moment, bands like Wounds and Jogging. It's across the board really, not just the kind of styles that people have come to associate with Irish acts. They key thing is that all these different bands are writing great songs and making great records. That's what needs celebrating.
 
What do you think of IMRO and the work they do?
It's essential to the Irish music industry, they keep us all on our toes and make sure that Irish musicians are properly represented. This tour is only a small part of it. I don't actually believe that a lot of bands and artists here realise what they do.
 
Where do you find such great contributors? 
They tend to find us. We always need more though so people should get in touch at info@nullstate.ie.
 

Danny Ellis played with Irish showbands The Airchords (1964), The Jim Farley Band (1965-66), The Nevada Showband (1969), Dickie Rock's Miami Showband (1969-1971), and Stage 2 (1972-73). Ellis signed to Guy Fletcher's publishing company Commercial Arts in 2008. 

 First hosted in 1992, Ireland’s most established new band showcase has provided a live platform for scores of up and coming Irish acts over the years. Recent acts to have featured include Fight Like Apes, Declan O’Rourke, Halves and Delorentos to name but a few.

Ronan Yourell from Dublin band Delorentos said of the tour “It was an important step in the development of our band as we gained invaluable experience through the gigs and also met some really cool people!”

NYAH — County Cavan Traditional Festival, March 10th–28th

Calling all experimental musicians, musical neuroscientists, sound artists, cyborg performers, dance-floor divas and harmonic engineers…

Tune into RTÉ 2fm on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 March at 10pm as Jenny Huston broadcasts two special programmes live from the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas.
 
Now in its 24th year, the SXSW Music and Media Conference has grown into the must-attend networking event for the 21st century music industry. Showcasing approximately 1,800 musical acts from around the globe at over 80 stages in downtown Austin, SXSW attendees have a first look at tomorrow's stars. By day, managers, labels, promoters, press, internet media outlets, artists and other business professionals conduct business in the SXSW Trade Show and at night time Austin comes alive with burgeoning new talent.
 
With a record breaking 19 Irish bands invited to play this year, the likes of The Minutes, General Fiasco, Butterfly Explosion, Dark Room Notes and Villagers will showcase their talent in front of the music industries elite. It’s clear that RTÉ 2fm’s investment in up and coming Irish talent is paying off as The Coronas and And So I Watch You From Afar are due to appear after the station sent them to The Eurosonic Festival in Holland.
 
Speaking about broadcasting from the festival Jenny Huston said: 'I have wanted to go to SXSW for as long as I can remember. It's a working Eden for the music industry with 15,000 of us descending on Austin, Texas to see 1800 of the world’s most exciting bands strut their stuff. It feels particularly cool to be broadcasting on 2fm, live from SXSW, in a year that a record-breaking 19 Irish bands will be showcasing their talent. I can't wait!'
 
With interviews, sessions, live performances and buzz from one the coolest music festivals in the world you won’t want to miss Jenny Huston live from SXSW.
 
Tune into Jenny Huston live from SXSW at 10.00pm on Friday 19 and 20 March on RTÉ 2fm.
 
RTÉ 2fm’s SXSW coverage is produced by Grace O’Connor and is supported by Music From Ireland, who are also backing the Irish artists presence at the event.
 

‘Calling All Musicians & Music Lovers’

Northern Irelands fastest growing outdoor music festival, 'LARK IN THE PARK' are proud to announce details of its return in 2010 to Moria's Demesne Park on the weekend of April 30th & May 01st  2010, with two spectacular days of live music, entertainment and a fun day out for all the family.  April 30th, will see one of Irelands best, THE SAW DOCTORS headline the evening and May 01st is headlined by the unstoppable Northern Ireland supremos GENERAL FIASCO plus guests.
 
A funny thing happened to The Saw Doctors in October 2008.  After a gap of 17 years, the West of Ireland
rockers topped the Irish Music Singles Chart with their punked up version of the Sugababes song "About You Now", beating off international artists such as Pink and Kings of Leon. 
 
Back in the early ninties, The Saw Doctors were Number One in Ireland with Hay Wrap, N17 and I Useta Lover which still holds the record for the biggest selling Irish single.  The bands first album, If This Is Rock & Roll, I Want My Old Job Back" was Number One in Ireland for most of 1991.  
 
After posting a second Number One album (All The Way From Tuam), The Saw Doctors set about touring the UK and in February 1996, the band's third album “Same Oul' Town” went to Number Six in the UK Top Twenty,  yielding two Top Twenty UK singles, World of Good, and To Win Just Once.  The Saw Doctors appeared on BBC's Top of the Pops in January and July 1996 to promote the two singles.
 
Over the years, The Saw Doctors have built up a reputation as a great live band.  They have toured in Australia, Canada, USA, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Norway and the UK.  Paul Sexton of The Times in London observed that “if they could bottle the sort of bonhomie that can make an entire concert hall feel better, The Saw Doctors would have the medicine show to end them all”.
 
GENERAL FIASCO, The Northern Irish trio spent 2009 on the road playing both headline shows, support tours with the likes of The Enemy and The Answer, performing at the CMJ in New York, festivals such as Download and Glastonbury and generally anywhere with a stage they could plug into! They also signed to Infectious Music and released their first single ‘We Are The Foolish’ for them which was played on Radio 1, XFM, MTV 2 and NME TV. They played their biggest show at home in Ireland on Halloween when they headlined the 1300 capacity Ulster Hall in Belfast.  With the bands debut Album 'Buildings' due for release on March 22nd and the bands latest Single 'Ever So Shy'  on the Radio One Playlist, this year promises to be something special for the three piece.
 
 
THE LINE UP:
  
FRIDAY APRIL 30TH – 5PM to 10:30PM
 
THE SAW DOCTORS
FIDDLER ADAMS
 
plus guests……..
 
 SATURDAY MAY 01ST – 12(NOON) to 10:30PM
 
GENERAL FIASCO
RATTLE AND HUM
THE BEAT POETS
 
Other artists –
 
The Varonis
The Dead Presidents
Doghouse
Microlip
Raised on Rock
 
  
Tickets for Friday April 30th are priced at £20 and are available now at Ticketmaster –
 http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/1800444DAA5B11F7?artistid=989685&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1
 
*Under 14's free entry
 
Tickets for Saturday May 01st are priced at £20  at  Ticketmaster.