Entertainment
The Strypes – busy and buzzing as they prepare for Big Top
The Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie
Back in 1965, The Who declared that ‘the kids are alright’ and 58 years later, that’s still very much the case as The Strypes come to town for this year’s Galway Arts Festival. The Cavan quartet, whose are aged between 15 and 18, will be opening for Grizzly Bear at the Festival Big Top this Friday.
The Strypes are Ross Farrelly (lead vocals/harmonica), Josh McClorey (lead guitar/vocals), Pete O’Hanlon (bass guitar/harmonica) and Evan Walsh (drums). As this interview takes place, the band are in Sussex where they are recording their debut album with veteran producer Chris Thomas, who played on The Beatles’ White Album and produced the Sex Pistols’ iconic Never Mind The Bollocks. How did Thomas hear about The Strypes?
“We did a show in Brighton in a really tiny pub, and he came along to that,” says the affable Pete O’Hanlon. “I think Mercury [the Strypes’ record label] said ‘do you feel like producing this band?’ so he watched us and said ‘yeah, I’d love to work with you’.”
The Strypes have a deep love of the blues, citing artists like Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry and Slim Harpo as influences, as well as early Beatles’ and Rolling Stones’ material. This knowledge was acquired from music-loving parents and The Strypes’ manager, Niall.
“We got bitten by the blues bug and just completely fell in love with that kind of music; how versatile you can be in being simplistic, but being extremely profound and prolific,” Pete says. “It’s such a varied style of music; with blues, there’s such a landscape that you can fill.”
It’s been a hectic 12 months for The Strypes since they came roaring out of the traps last year. A few weeks ago, they made their first appearance at Glastonbury. How did that go?
“We played the John Peel Stage on Saturday, the day the Stones played,” says Pete. “We didn’t expect the crowd to be as receptive and as big as it was. We didn’t actually get to see the Stones; we had to do an acoustic song for BBC 2, which is a shame. We got to see a bit of it on telly but it’s not the same as being there.”
Though they ended up playing to a crowd of 6,000, Pete admits to some pre-Glasto jitters.
“On the bus journey up were all going ‘what’s it going to be like, is the weather good?’. There’s a lot of anticipation and expectation. I think it went well; a defining moment, a real highlight for us over the past few months.”
The Strypes announced their arrival with the song You Can’t Judge a book by the Cover, a re-working of a Bo Diddley song. Even though the Stones first few releases were covers, The Strypes have been criticised in some quarters for still having some in their set.
“A lot of bands that start when they’re 14 or 15, they start out playing covers and when they hit their early twenties, they start writing their own stuff,” Pete explains. “But we got picked up [by Mercury] earlier on, and we didn’t have that many originals going at the time we got picked up by the label.
“And we got a lot of stick over here in England, people saying ‘what are you at, playing covers, you’re supposed to be playing originals?. We didn’t think it was very fair; we’re still in the embryonic stage of our career. But the writing’s coming along; the set’s now comprised of mainly originals.”
What with playing legendary festivals, touring constantly and acquiring fans like Paul Weller, Dave Grohl and Elton John – it’s been a wild ride so far for The Strypes. So who’s working with this band to keep its members from succumbing to rock’s notorious pitfalls?
“Niall [our manager] is with us, he’s been with us from the start,” Pete says. “He’s the fifth member of the band – he’s the only one that could drive when we started! I think the age thing, in this context, is a fair question.”
Glastonbury is not the only English music institution that The Strypes have been invited to play at – they’ve also blazed a trail on The Jools Holland show. How was that experience?
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
CITY TRIBUNE
Folk duo launch What Will Be Will Be
Folk duo Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce are launching their new album What Will We Be, a blend of folk, Americana and acoustic music, this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in An Taibhdhearc.
The success of their well-received 2020 release Taobh le Taobh, as well as recent successes at the Pan Celtic and Oireachtas Song Contests, spurred the duo on to record this new album which represents many years of collaboration and musical development.
It features Niall and Pádraic on vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitars, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh on double bass and Neil Fitzgibbon on fiddle. The catchy title track, What Will We Be, features contributions from percussionist Jim Higgins (The Stunning, Christy Moore, Paul Brady) and haunting, driving melodies on vocals, guitar, and fiddle.
Themes of love and hope are woven through Come Away with Me which features interplay between piano and fiddle as well as rich vocal harmonies.
People, places, and broken dreams are celebrated and lamented on Martin and Tom, Guitar Gold, Memories of You and Achill Island. The influence of David Henry Thoreau’s novel Walden features on the tracks Simple and Wise and Walden, with the beauty of nature, escape and simple pleasures at their core.
The album moves from minimalistic folk ballads such as Galway Ghost to swirling, string-laden arrangements on the song Neptune, both of which are influenced by maritime tales from Galway. Much of the work on this album was supported by the Arts Council, including work with musical arranger Eoin Corcoran and the string ensemble Treo.
The album will be launched this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in an Taibhdhearc. Tickets €22, plus booking fee at Eventbrite.ie.
CITY TRIBUNE
All roads lead to Dunmore as town tunes up County Fleadh
Dunmore is the place to be this weekend for lovers of traditional music, as the Galway County Fleadh will take place there from this Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 23.
It is 10 years since Dunmore last hosted a fleadh and the local Comhaltas branch, which has re-formed since Covid, is looking forward to facilitating this gathering of music, song, dance and craic.
The official Opening Concert will take place in Dunmore Town Hall this Friday at 8pm with the acclaimed Mulcahy family from Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle are well known throughout the country, thanks to their live performances, television appearances and numerous CDs. They were the winners of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Grúpa Ceoil Award for 2023. Tickets for their concert can be purchased on the door and a great night of music is promised.
Two days of competitions will kick off this Saturday at the town’s Community School, with more than 1,500 competitors taking part. Participants will be hoping to qualify for the Connacht Fleadh 2023, which will be held in Ballina, County Mayo, from June 23 to July 2.
Competitions for those aged Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15 will be held in a large variety of instruments on Saturday, as well as in singing and Comhrá Gaeilge. Sunday’s competitions will be for the Under 18 and Over 18 ages groups, as well as in dancing.
On both days a large entry is expected for Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band competitions across all age groups.
Seventeen Comhaltas branches from across Galway will have participants in this weekend’s competitions, which will result in a large number of visitors to the Dunmore area.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the competitions, which offer a great opportunity to hear and see the talent on display. There will be sessions in local pubs over the weekend as well and everybody is welcome to attend these.
For more information on the County Fleadh, go to www.galwaycomhaltas.ie.
CITY TRIBUNE
Piano concert rescheduled for Tuesday
Music for Galway’s concert with renowned Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia which had been due to take place on April 27 but which had to be deferred, will now take place next Tuesday, May 23, at 8pm, in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall at the University of Galway.
This concert of German classics with Bach at its core, will brings the Bach element of Music for Galway’s 41st season to an end.
This world-class pianist who won the famous Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, has a repertoire that spans many eras from baroque to contemporary and he is widely known for his elaborate programmes. Cédric Pescia describes music as ‘language and movement at the same time’.
Audiences will have a chance to experience his soft, clear touch as he performs a programme for solo piano that will include classics such as Schumann’s popular Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), a suite of nine short pieces, and the penultimate of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, No. 31. These pieces will be interspersed with French Suites by Bach.
■ Ticket for Cédric Pescia’s concert are available at www.musicforgalway.ie, or by phone 091 705962 and on the door on the night. They cost €20/€18. The price for fulltime students of all ages is €6 while MfG Friends can avail of the friends’ rate of €16.