Folk-rock at Monroe’s with Strings for Ammo

Folk-rock outfit Strings for Ammo play Monroe’s Live on Friday, August 22.  The band formed in Brisbane, Australia, when songwriter and guitarist Steve Fothergill met fiddle player Joe Murray.

“Joe was in an Irish band called Sásta,” Steve says. “He was playing in one of the local bars where I was playing, just doing covers. I heard him playing and thought, ‘he’s good, I wouldn’t mind doing a gig or two with him, see how it sounds’.

“I just asked him ‘what are you up to next week, do you want to get together and do a gig?’ It sounded really nice and we ended up becoming friends. We did some writing and it went from there.”

English-born Steve, a native of Durham, was delighted with the music he was making with Antrim man Joe, but they decided they wanted a bigger sound.

“When we first kicked it off in Oz, we were just playing as a duo,” he says. “I had all these songs written, and we took them into studio. We wanted to play as a full band; it was something I’d always done.

“We released an album while we were over there, and toured with a drummer, bassist and a lead guitarist. When we come over to Ireland, we’ll have a full band. I have a few musician friends in England who are learning all the songs at the moment.”

For an independent musical act, touring as a five-piece is a lot more financially challenging than going on the road as a duo, but Steve feels it’s worth the sacrifice.

“I just think it’s got more impact,” he says. “And, also, we have a full band on the album. If we play as a duo and then sell a few copies of the album, you get something completely different to what you see live.”