Connacht Tribune
Homecoming gig for Galway band riding the crest of a wave
Fittingly for a band called the Clockworks, it looks like it’s time to shine – and the Galway quartet are set to have plenty to celebrate by the time they play an eagerly awaited homecoming gig later in the year.
Friends since their schooldays, the Loughrea-based foursome are made up of London-born lead singer James McGregor, guitarist and backing vocalist Sean Connelly, drummer Damien Greaney, and bassist Tom Freeman.
BY DANIELLE HOLIAN
James and Sean originally played music together for fun, putting music to James’ lyrics in Sean’s shed. Damien joined as drummer and – have seen different bassists come and go – they met Tom in 2017 through the Galway music scene.
“Home for the band as a whole is Galway city, in the sense that it’s where we’ve always had our base, and where we met Tom,” say the lads.
James graduated from NUIG with a BA in English and Philosophy – a degree that has clear benefits for his songwriting.
“I think most people would say the best way to learn to write well is to read as much as possible, and to read diversely
“I think studying English showed me loads of writing that I love, and loads of writing that I really dislike, and so that definitely helps with knowing what and how I want to write myself,” he says.
That said, the writing process is different each time the quartet come together.
“James carries a little notebook with him and writes songs about situations and emotions that relate to him, our group and people we know.
“These words and ideas are brought to the rehearsal room where the four of us work on the song until we’re all happy with every second of it.
“In the rehearsal room, some songs have taken an hour and others have taken six months. There’s no telling.”
Damien took a trial and error approach to college.
“I went from doing a course that I hated, to working a job that I hated to playing music which I loved,” he explains.
“So, I definitely made the right decision. It’s not always easy and it’s not always fun but I’ve never once thought it was a mistake.”
Sean, on the other hand, had a tunnel vision as far back as he can remember; he always knew music was a passion and something he wanted to pursue.
“I always knew I wanted to play music as a career, right the through school. Well, that or be a professional footballer… but I just wasn’t good enough for that so I stuck with the guitar,” he jokes.
Tom, who is a recent graduate from NUIG, bumped into the band around the music scene in Galway. “We chatted a few times, and then Sean asked me to come for a jam. The rest is history.”
And because they all basically grew up in Galway, the west is a strong part of their influence – but not in terms of musical trends.
“Because the scene in Galway is relatively small, there are no trends in music here. There’s no expectation on bands to sound like the latest thing.
“This is great because every band is free to take influence from different places, and this actually makes Galway’s small scene really interesting.”
They’ve toured Ireland, England as well as heading over to Canada to represent Ireland at Indie Week in Toronto last year for the title of ‘Best of the Fest’.
They have been gigging with their music rather than flooding the internet with new releases that may be dismissed in an era that constantly needs to be seen and heard.
With their head-banging indie-rock tunes the quartet are creating a distinctive identity across the nation with their act, compared to doing all they can for short-term fortune and fame.
Their storytelling, tongue-in-cheek, cohesive unit that provokes danceability blending humour and talent with their sharp observations, blunt and gritty instrumental, and classical drumming beats, they showcase their need to stray away from standard music on the radio nowadays.
Combined with blissful angst, attitude and frustration that brings their opinions front and centre, rather than staying in a mainstream line with an instant sense of originality.
They have been travelling as a band with their original material gaining a larger audience across the globe at the moment.
“The reception since bringing out our single Rumours in the Stockroom has been amazing; it has over 30,000 streams on Spotify. Wherever we play there are people who know the song and sing it when we play, which is a great feeling.”
And they have gone from support slots to headliners – and now selling out shows.
They have played Electric Picnic, Dublin’s Workman’s Club, and Whelan’s, Galway’s The Loft, Roisin Dubh, An Pucan’s Fever Pitch Festival, The Black Gate Cultural Centre, as well as shows in London.
But the Clockworks’ ‘this is it’ moment was at a recent rehearsal where they worked four brand-new songs into their set.
“We really feel like we’ve found our sound, and can’t wait to play the new set at our headline gig in the Roisin Dubh on October 13.”
For the Roisin show, fans can expect a ‘brand-new set with some brand-new songs, and the same old Clockworks.’
Since their debut Girls Like You, lyrically their music has evolved in a sense that “the songs are still coming from a similar place: it’s always been vital for us as a band for the songs to be honest, and to focus on topics that matter.”
And fundamentally the band are clear about their mission.
“To write honest songs that you can dance and sing along to, but that ultimately have something real to say and a reason to be.
“If someone came up to us and said that they had been inspired to form a band based on listening to our music…that would be an amazing feeling.”
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Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
