Ardiff Studio Bound...

On a cold and wet weekend in November we, the Ardiff clan, hit for the recording studio to let our creative minds come together and produce some warming music for these cold days... the results were quite pleasing. Here's a little video i put together (quickly.)

Cymbals Eat Guitars

Wind Phoenix Live

Fresh from their Tripod gig last Saturday this is Cymbals Eat Guitars from Staten Island NYC playing Wind Phoenix live on Seattle Radio. Its taken from their album Why There Are Mountains EP.

New Blog

New Blog for Radio Show on RTE 2XM available here...
Keep up to date with show playlists and track info;
http://2xmsabotage.blogspot.com/

The Spikes

"Firstly Mark is such a gentleman. This is a man with no ego, is so humble and hears exactly what you want to hear. He has become a solid mate so that allows the sound to be created unconditionally and totally organically." Tom Dunne - The Spikes


Rock n'roll has always had a healthy output from this little island of ours. Throughout the decades we’ve been responsible for supplying some of the biggest movers and shakers on the scene from Lizzy to Gallagher, My Bloody Valentine to Therapy? We should be proud to say that we’ve harvested some fine crops and how the
y’ve grown. The Spikes are no exception to this bloodline and could be said to incorporate elements of each of the bands mentioned above… with a nice blend of The Stones, Stooges and Doors thrown in for good measure.


Front man Tom Dunne (besides sharing his name with one of this countries most celebrated broadcasters!) has the stage presence of a young Robert Plant and the vocal range spanning from the graveling lows of Nick Cave to the resonating highs of Axl Rose. After meeting guitarist Gareth Lewis in New Zealand and subsequently playing a few gigs together on the local pub and club scene, the lads returned to their respected homesteads – Lewis to Wales and Dunne back to the Emerald Isle. But obviously the story doesn’t end here, a couple of relationship break-ups later rock n'roll came a-calling and the two were joined by Pete Rocksteady on bass and Dave Lawless on drums. Newest member Paul Hogan joined on lead guitar earlier this year.

Since their inception in 2005, The Spikes have been touring the length and breadth of the country on the backs of their debut album 'Urges & Purges' and this summers 'We Are…' EP. Connected caught up with vocalist Tom Dunne as The Spikes take a break from recording to ready themselves for headlining the nationwide Dublin Rocks Winter Tour…

Things have been moving pretty fast for the Spikes over the last nine months, you’ve had two releases, a new member join, some memorable gigs under the proverbial belt… how have you guys been holding up?
It’s been such great craic we haven’t really thought about it. We are riding the wave now and as the swell keeps rising so do we.

After the summer success of the ‘We Are…’ EP and the publicity that came with it did you feel added pressure entering the studio this time around to record album number two?
There is always an underlying pressure recording any album, that’s human nature. But no we won’t feel added pressure because it’s the second album. We are much better as a band now and love this kind of challenge. Already we are getting exciting with the new songs!

You have chosen Mark Reddy to oversee proceedings once again, how has working with him enhanced your sound?
Firstly Mark is such a gentleman. This is a man with no ego, is so humble and hears exactly what you want to hear. He has become a solid mate so that allows the sound to be created unconditionally and totally organically.


Have you chosen a different approach to recording with Mark at the helm?

Absolutely. Way more time is spent in pre-production. Mark is a genius at discovering sounds and the abstract approach he utilizes can be quite bizarre. He gets 150% out of you without pissing you off. You have a series of headline Irish dates next month as part of the Dublin Rocks Winter Tour – looking forward to it?
Yeah, of course.

Should there be more tours like this organised?
This country has so much talent and any and every opportunity to showcase that should be welcomed. Gigging is essential for every band, even if it’s to 1,000 or 10 people. It’s the source of our addiction to The Spikes.

Do you lead the true rock n'roll lifestyle while on the road or are you more mellowed out?*
A bit of both. Everything in moderation for a lasting career!

Will you be treating fans to some new songs?
Yeah definitely. Two new songs, which we will be adding to the set list!

How do you view the Irish music scene at the moment?
I think it’s strong and healthy, as it historically should be during a downturn. But there are too many usual suspects out there. As Ireland is a small country and it’s so hard to make it internationally, the lead-time between the changing of the guard can lag a bit.

Mid-90’s Irish rock (which produced some amazing bands) seemed to find itself in the cliche of ‘right music wrong time’. Is now the right time?
I think rock has been steadily getting more popular again. Jesus, there has been so much crap pushed down our throats in the last 15 years. People now choose for themselves again which serves to offer balance in the battle of popular music genres.

As we approach the 2010s, what is your hope for the new decade in terms of music?
I hope we continue to use technology to evolve music. I hope we don’t act all sheepish when the 'next best thing' comes along. There’s room for us all. I hope live music becomes the epicenter of the music world again.

The Spikes headline the Dublin Rocks Festival in Whelan's on the 13th of November

Words: Steve Battle
myspace./thespikesmusic

The Music Show - RDS Dublin 03/04

The Music Show
RDS Dublin
October 3/4

This is definitely how it feels to be one of those snot-nosed, bright-eyed, heart warming youngsters on The Late Late Toy Show. It couldn’t possibly be compared to anything else. Music heaven at the RDS.

After a quick look at the schedule I wondered how I would have enough time to cram in all the scheduled talks, workshops, master-classes and seminars on offer here today. If ever there was need for a Rocky IV montage to put a pep in my step, now was the time.

Upon entering the RDS main hall the first thing that hits you, apart from the ear-gnawing saw and buzz of hundreds of instruments playing in every key and off-time imaginable, is the scale of the set up here. It really has everything a musician could want and all for the price of 3 pints. About twenty young fellas are beating the heads of drum kits, kids are blue in the face from blowing on trumpets and saxophones, a group of aging avant-garde yuppies are pushing the boundaries of piano playing and I’m still sober. No one told me about the free Jameson…

Two stiff ones later and I’m loose enough to get down to brass tactics and try out some gear. After sampling the new range of Marshall amplifiers, most notably the impressively Bluesy Haze 40, it was off to sit on the throne of the new Pearl Export and Masters series drum kits. The amount of instruments at ones disposal here is pretty darn impressive. Musicians, I find, work on an intuitive ethos and without any eye contact or introductions I quickly find myself in the midst of a 5-way drum circle, which attracts a few revelers.

The Chewbacca congregation down at XMusic’s stand let their guitars do the talking in the “Shred-off” which demonstrates solo wankery in all its smelly greasy glory. Budding Kerry King’s and Kirk Hammett’s dual to the bitter end for a chance to win some very snazzy gear and leave with the Shred Master accolade!
The legend Larry Gogan is rocking out air guitar style behind his desk to the sound of Director’s live set from the RTÉ 2FM stand, while over at the live stage Imelda May readies herself before stepping out in front of a few hundred fans who are hungry for blood. Time to check out upstairs…

The Green Room is housing a Guitar Workshop by Tech Music School’s Les Davidson. Based in London, Tech offer courses from 3 months to 3 years in guitar, bass, vocals and drums. As a budding guitar extraordinaire I sat along for the hour of the talk, which was pretty beneficial to the layman musician. One thing that always seemed to have me by the short and curlys was getting my head around the theory side of music, reading. After being brought through jazz standards, blues improvisation, minor pentatonic scales and phrasing things did seem a bit more comprehensible. From expecting an hour of technical talk for the more advanced player, I left the talk inspired to push the boundaries of my playing and the importance of transferring emotion from instrument to audience. It is acceptable to enjoy everything from metal to jazz to electronica, in fact it’s beneficial. Happy days!

From here its time to drool over one of the most famous guitars of all time - Rory Gallagher’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster - which is on display along with 15 or more of his former ‘axes’. This is quickly followed by 30 minutes doodling through the new range of Boss, Fishman and MI pedals over at Pure Pedals.

If it’s the production side of the industry that tickles your fancy, fear not, you’ve not been forgotten. Ballyfermot, Dun Laoghaire and Kylemore Colleges are present offering some great courses in production and theory. The world-renowned Grouse Lodge Studios are offering some good deals on recording, as are Temple Lane Studios. M-Audio, Propeller and Ableton have all their latest software and hardware on display for those interested in creating their own beats, loops, synths and farm animal sounds.

Sunday consists of much of the same with some interesting talks from none other than Christy Moore himself on the changing face of music. Music Tech School delivers another impressive clinic, this time for drummers. Industry heads like Steve Iredale, Vince Power, Steve Strange, Dermot McEvoy, Andrew Ferris and RSAG give their 2 cents on the future of the industry itself, touring, recording and broadcasting. Mick Pyro struts around like he owns the place in a dodgy looking leather jacket, the Kitter is giving it socks on the live stage and to top off the day there’s a DJ workshop for all the forgotten techno lovers.

The general consensus amongst the mix here is positive. Maybe not as much on offer compared with previous years but in recessionary times what do you expect. Lisbon’s been passed, next year will be ten times bigger, we’ll all be loaded and the country will be on the way to becoming the worlds next super power.



Steven Battle

Pixies Live @ The Olympia 01/10/09 for Connected Magazine

www.connected.ie

When Pixies announced that they were to play 3 gigs at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Doolittle, it must be confessed, Connected joined in the country wide creaming parade. This album, this beast of an album that paved the way for 90’s rock as we know it, played in its entirety from start to finish… there’s no way we were missing this one.

Support tonight comes from Choice nominated Kilkenny multi instrumentalist RSAG whose debut album Organic Sampler is a whopper indeed, if you haven’t heard already you must have been on Mars for the past 3 years, in a cave with your eyes shut, and your fingers in your ears.

Songs like Talk Back Crawl Back and Bad Seed are delivered to a stonking response. Mr Hickey himself utters few words to the crowd but when he does his voice is calming and modest as a half full Olympia Theatre warm to his songs. Like Ian Curtis tripping balls while listening to Fugazi, Hickey blasts through Counting Down with impeccable accuracy, incorporating gas cylinders amongst other beatable devices into his one-man machine drummer set-up. Stick To Your Line gets the now almost full room moving on its feet. Certainly a few more fans picked up here…

After a twenty minute wait Pixies emerge from the smoke filled darkness with smiles and waves to warm the coldest of hearts. The audience response is deafening. Black Francis assures those that were present the night before that the black shirts that they have donned tonight are in fact fresh as a daisy. And thankfully so, as the man himself is still only three pies short of needing a forklift to aid his future stage arrivals.

“Bailey’s Walk” and “Manta Ray” are received well but it takes until the first chords of “Debaser” to send the crowd half daft. After a subtle mess up with the song ending Francis and Kim Deal exchange a few words about the next track. ‘I always enjoy playing this next one,’ he grins. ‘I find it very therapeutic.’
The beast opens up his vocals in angst-ridden fashion and “Tame” echoes through each nook and cranny of this old theatre.

The sound can’t be faulted tonight; it is shit loud and still quite clear. A focussed looking David Lovering gives the nod to Joey Santiago (who struggles to break a smile for the whole night) and “Wave of Mutilation” ensues. After a few mumbles from Kim Deal and an anxious look from Francis who has the ‘what the hell is she going to come out with’ look on his face, she begins to pluck out “I Bleed”. The vocals are impeccable.

After “Here Comes Your Man” we get the low down on how one listen to “Monkeys Gone to Heaven” at Deal’s apartment convinced her to join the band. Following “Mr. Grieves” we are brought back to the mixing stage of Doolittle with Francis recollecting a Thanksgiving turkey cooked by Gil Norton at a haunted studio in Connecticut.

“Crackity Jones”, “La La Love You” and “No. 13 Baby” keep the hits train rolling along and a powerful vocal delivery on “There Goes My Gun” staples down the fact that this group of 40-something year olds can still deliver the type of performance we can associate with a band still in their early days.

Music has gone through so many changes in the last 20 years and the way that these songs are received tonight is testament to the genius of Francis. Not only are the hardcore fans out in numbers tonight, but the pit at the front, in which 100 or so lucky souls bounce around in, is speckled with teens and younger fans of the band singing their hearts out. Crowd participation is taken to a new level when “Hey” is bellowed out from the stage in front of us.

After treating us lucky souls to the second ever live-version of “Silver”, (the first being the night before) Pixies lash out the final song of the beast, “Gouge Away”.
The encore consists of “Wave Of Mutilation” (U.K Surf Mix) and “Into the White” and that’s about it. They promised us Doolittle and that’s just what we got.

Despite all the shit music deals we are dealt on this small Island, Pixies kick starting this 15-date tour here really takes the joyful biscuit. After expecting a disjointed performance, perhaps some awkward exchanges, (there were one or two but playful ones at best) Connected squeezes out with a new sense of hope for bands of old.
Roll on the Pavement reunion!

Steven Battle

October gigs...

Dublin

RZA
Button Factory - Thursday 8

RZA, now there’s a man. Who can we liken him to? A modern day Sammy Davis Junior? You’re damn right we can. That boy got style. He can sing, he can dance and he can act. If anyone can tolerate a year or so of looking at Quentin Tarantino’s chiselled out bum chinned jaw spurting out hyper speed movie mumbo jumbo at 1000 miles per hour and still come out with great soundtracks to boot, RZA can. How’s this for a CV; producer, author, rapper, actor, director, screenwriter, de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan amongst many others. I suppose he could do with our support. €24.50

Felix Cartal (Dim Mak Records)
Button Factory – Wednesday 14

DimMak records visionary Steve Aoki is the man credited for bringing us acts such as Bloc Party, The Gossip, MSTRKRFT and the Bloody Beetroots. Vancouver’s Felix Cartal has been recently added to Aoki’s prestigious list, probably thanks to his remix of household parasite Ashlee Simpson’s top tune, L.O.V.E. An obvious choice. With influences spanning from NOFX to The Beatles this electro genius has a gem of a debut LP in Skeleton (which you should legally purchase right now!). 8 bucks.


Themselves
Whelan’s – Friday 16

After a six-year hiatus, the lads in Themselves are resurfacing from their slumber to slap their hip-hop endeavours around your head like a wet ragged cat. The result? A pleasant violation of the aural passages and a tuft of fur to the gob. Since the release of 2002’s left-field classic The No Music (Anticon) Messrs Drucker and Logan have been involved in numerous solo offerings, guest appearances and ceaseless touring with their ‘other’ band Subtle. Back now with theFREEhoudini, there’s no time like the present to catch them.

North

The Handsome Furs
Spring and Airbrake – Monday 26

Husband/wife duos, as a warm-blooded species we fuckin love ‘em. Whether it’s the binge fuelled train wreck of battery and abuse that was Ike and Tina, the tear jerking perfection of Johnny and June, or the complete genius of Win and Regine, we’ve had a serious soft spot for them throughout the years. Handsome Furs are no exception. The band is comprises of happily married couple Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) and Alexei Perry. Cue the collective “awwws” then shut up and listen. Once again Sub Pop has got the combination spot on, Handsome Furs incorporate the best elements of electro and alternative and you want to go see them. Now go and see them.

Cork

Nathan Fake, Kevin Blake, Toby Kaar
Electric Underground Liquid Lounge – Friday 9

Originally scheduled for last May, this gig has been a long time coming but it’s finally here. Dust down that old stained ticket you bought 6 months ago that now lies in tatters due to serious lack of roach material. Once heralded as techno’s poster boy, fresh-faced Nathan Fake has established himself as one of the most respected and popular artists in the UK’s electronic scene. 2006’s debut album, Drowning in a Sea of Love is a whopper of a debut and deservedly received serious critical attention. Hard Islands is no different, the love of shoe-gaze is still there and that does it for us.