Night of toe tapping blues with The Hot Sprockets

The Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell

The Hot Sprockets play a free show in Monroe’s Live, as part of the Hot Press Jagermeister Freezer Sessions. Also playing on the night are O Emperor, Raglans and Preachers Son.

The Hot Sprockets are a Dublin based five piece who play toe-tapping, swampy blues rock. Their latest single Comin’ On is accompanied by a very impressive video. It’s the latest eye-catching clip from the band, and their harmonica player and singer, Frankie, explains where they get their ideas from.

“Half of us do art; we sit around and think, and then go someone who want to work with us,” he says. “We all just sit down, have a chat, and brainstorm.”

Comin’ On is a one-shot video directed by Luke Sweetman which sees the band walking through a chaotic, carnival- esque world.

“Wayne, the singer, came up with the idea of doing the one shot take,” says Frankie. “We have friends who live in that big house where it was filmed, out in Celbridge. We just got about 60 of our friends, and all the props were done by Prop Mule; we have a friend who works with them and they helped us out big time.”

One camera moves along to follow the action, and it’s all very well put together. But it took a bit of graft to get it right.

“I’d say it was seven full takes,” says Frankie. “We did it all in one day, which was great. There was a lot of hard work. Luke came up a few weeks beforehand, doing run-throughs and stuff like that. So we were well prepared by the time we actually went to film it. It was a lot of hard work, but it was worth it in the end.”

Comin’ On is an advance single from The Hot Sprockets’ second album, which they plan to release in March. The album was produced by Gavin Glass and recorded in Orphan Studios, Grouse Lodge in Westmeath and Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. Windmill Lane is where U2 recorded The Joshua Tree – did Frankie enjoy working there?

“It’s good, it’s big,” he says. “That’s mainly why we went there to do the drums. You can do guitar and vocals in a smaller place. Windmill is one of the top studios in the country, as well as Grouse Lodge. We want to get the best quality we can.”

Gavin Glass is a talented solo artist and a member of Lisa Hannigan’s band, but he’s also quickly becoming an in-demand producer.

“He can play loads of stuff,” Frankie enthuses. “When he was recording and producing, he was able to come with some cool ideas for different guitar sounds.’’

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.