Interview with Sean McGrath of 'In Focus'

Interview with Sean McGrath of 'In Focus'

Young Irish band 'In Focus' have certainly been grabbing people's attention in recent months. Whether it be busking in the streets or playing at organised gigs, these guys have been doing incredibly well for themselves, and have seen their hard work pay off by winning the 'Your Local Star Talent Competition' just under two weeks ago.

I caught up with lead singer Sean McGrath to get inside the mind of this incredible up and coming band and to talk about their outstanding recent success.

"The band originally started as a duo with myself and David (McCabe) getting together and seeing what we could do and then we got a gig through college with Adam (Tracey) and Jordan (Higgins) and as soon as we played with them we knew that we needed to become a band everything just fit. Then we just got Ian (Bailey) in because David knew him and he was a really solid drummer (and he can drive us all around!!)"

With five band members, one would be forgiven for thinking that it may be difficult for everyone to agree on a music style. But Sean insists that it all came together naturally for the guys.

"We do all have completely different tastes in music from swing to heavy metal but when writing we kind of just fell into our own style mainly Acoustic Rock style with our own twist, we added our own style of melodies and lead and bass lines to make ourselves stand out. So it kind of just fell into place rather than us having to force it." 

 "Promoting ourselves was and still is the most difficult thing to do as a band. We got an awful lot of our following from busking and then the more and more gigs we are getting gives us a good following also. We have put a lot of work and effort into getting our image right so that we catch peoples attention and stand out and so far it has been working for us."



There is no doubt that it has been working for the band, because as I mentioned, they were recently crowned the winners of the 'Your Local Talent Star Competition' held in the Riverside Hotel in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. As champions, the band's prizes included a €2000 cash prize, chance to record a single in one of Ireland's leading recording studios with 100 CDs, a brand new website and 5 paid gigs nationwide. So it's no surprise that it is the bands biggest achievement to date.

"It was really amazing we said we would try an original song "Lost" (Our Upcoming Single) and people really took to it as well because it is quite upbeat and catchy. People started clapping along and singing along to the chorus once they heard it and it really made us stand out which we think the judges appreciated and took into consideration when deciding.It's a great opportunity for us to make ourselves known and to make our mark and hopefully find our place in the industry.I think its something we have all dreamt of and now it has become a reality no one can tell how the single is going to go or if it will take off but its still a massive step in our career and we have got massive belief in ourselves and our music."

And on a lighter note.... What do the guys plan on doing with the money?!

"Ahhhh we can't be telling you that now haha! Ah no we had decided before the competition that if we won we wouldn't go mad and spend it stupidly we were going to invest it into getting our other original songs out and get our music out there." 

Wise decision! But the band know that the can't afford to sit back and relax, this really is only the beginning! So what are their future plans?

"We are going to keep plugging away, gigging and working hard, trying to get some notice, get some stuff out there and hopefully record an EP to send to some labels and yeah just see where we go from there. We would love to be playing festivals and bigger gigs but its not just going to be handed to us so the harder we work the better it will pay off for us hopefully."

For those of you interested in listening to the bands music or keeping up to date with all the behind the scenes stuff, Sean has all the details!

"We have our music on YouTube for now but if you like the Facebook page, we post things regularly and now with our single coming out we will be putting it on iTunes, Spotify, XBox music really anywhere we can put it."

In Focus Official - Facebook
@InFocus_Band - Twitter
@InFocus_Official - Instagram 
in_focusband - Snapchat

EOIN!

Interview with Ben Rogers

Interview with Ben Rogers

Between sharing a brand new video, releasing an album and announcing a Canadian and UK Tour, Vancouver based, outlaw country artist, Ben Rogers certainly is one busy man!

And when I caught up with him a couple of days ago, he understandably had lots to talk about!

 "I first got into country music when I heard some old country records at my grandparents' house one day and I really liked the sound of it. But as a child, I didn't think that I could find it anywhere else, because my parents didn't have any country records. So I cherished my visits to my grandparents' place because it reminded me of a type of music that I thought only existed in one place. And then as I got older and moved into my teens, I picked up a guitar and started songwriting."

Ben explained how he believed country music only existed in his grandparents house as a child, suggesting that it wasn't particularly popular around that time, but now as an artist, looking from the inside out, does he believe the demand has gotten bigger? Around Vancouver, especially.

"I think there was a bit of a scene going for a number of years, I think that country music on a broader scale has perhaps lost a bit of the taboo that pop country has bestowed upon it and I think that people are more open to country music than perhaps a few years ago, certainly."

Ben is described as having a very unique and 'gritty' tone to his style of singing, something that he says he became aware of about six or seven years ago.

"I'm not sure what it was, the sound just came from a different place than it had previously and it just morphed into what it became."

And that tone most definitely hasn't done him any harm because as I mentioned, he is enjoying quite a lot of success at the moment and releasing his album 'The Bloodred Yonder' this coming Friday is a big step in his career, according to Ben himself.


"I'm really excited about this album, even though it did take quite a while, simply because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and also it took a long time for the band to come together. The material was there but I needed the right band and slowly that came together, with the most recent addition of Matt Kelly on pedal steel and that was the defining moment where I thought I was ready to make the record."

For anyone who has seen any of Ben's live performances or watched his videos on YouTube. it's clear that there are quite a number of people involved in the performance, something Ben was quick to point out.

"The band have been incredible to work with. I mean, they've been steadfast through the journey of the past couple of years. I feel Ben Rogers has become, not just a name, but it really defines the whole outfit. For example, on stage I will say "WE are Ben Rogers" because it has become a unit and a family. They are such talented musicians and I have nothing but the highest regard for every single one of them."

Ben's video for his song 'Panhandler' has also just been shared and it's a special one for him personally, stating that "It was the first video we made with the full band so I was really happy with it"

I also mentioned how Ben plans to go on tour around his home country of Canada and also across the water to the United Kingdom in the coming months. I will include a list of his tour dates at the bottom of this post, but Ben is understandably excited about getting back on stage.

"I can't wait, gigging in Canada is always fun and of course, I am really exciting about going back to the UK because they have some of the best crowds I have ever played to so I cannot wait to get back to that part of the world."

So both he and his band have a lot on their plate in the near future, but me being me, I like to ask the harder questions from time to time, what's his plans for 2016?

"Well I'd like to take this tour on the road for a while and really fine tune our live performance and bring the music to as many people as possible. Of course, Eoin, I would love to come to Ireland but unfortunately there are no dates on this tour!"

But as he says himself, one step at a time! I guess he's right too!

Check Ben out on Facebook - Ben Rogers Music
On his website - www.benrogersmusic.com

BEN ROGERS TOUR DATES
Aug 15 - Winlaw, BC – The Field
Sept 10 – Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern  with The Harpoonist And The Axe Murderer
Sept 11 -   Ottawa - The Rainbow Bistro  with The Harpoonist And The Axe Murderer
Sept 17- Victoria, BC - Rifflandia
Sept 18 - Vancouver, BC – The Wise Hall

Oct 10   Nottingham, UK - The Guitar Bar
Oct 11   Bath, UK - American Museum
Oct 11   Bristol, UK - the Canteen
Oct 13   London, UK - The Green Note
Oct 14   Pembrokeshire, UK - Haverfordwest
Oct 16   Scarborough, UK - Woodend Gallery
Oct 17   North Yorkshire, UK - Musicport Festival
Oct 18   Edinburgh, UK - Douglas Robertson's Gallery
Oct 20   Kilbarchan, UK - The Old Library
Oct 23   Aberdeen, UK - The Blue Lamp
Oct 24   Hawick, UK - The Border Club
Oct 25   Irvine, UK - Harbour Arts Centre

EOIN!