Album of the Week: Walking on Cars "Everything This Way"

Album of the Week: Walking on Cars "Everything This Way"

Anybody who knows me will be well aware of how fond I am of Walking On Cars' debut album "Everything This Way" so it's no surprise that I have chosen it as this week's Album of the Week. 

Walking on Cars are a five piece alternative rock band from County Kerry in Ireland and have well and truly set the music industry alight in recent months. 

Their first single from the album, "Speeding Cars" has been played on virtually every radio station in the country and the second single "Ship Goes Down" is quickly following suit!

The raw nature of Patrick Sheehy's voice, exquisite lyrics and flawless harmonies make this album a solid 8.5/10 in my opinion. 

The success has quickly spread overseas too and the guys have a number of gigs lined up, particularly in the UK! You can check their website www.walkingoncars.com for more details of those dates.

For Irish fans, well you certainly are in for a treat! The band will be playing alongside Kodaline and Jess Glynne in Marlay Park on July 8th, rocking out a couple of festivals over the Summer and then of course, on the 12th of November, their very own headline gig in the 13,000 capacity 3 Arena!

For anybody who may be new to Walking on Cars, you can have a listen to the aforementioned debut single "Speeding Cars" right here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5h4yJ-BpL4

Tweet me and let me know what you think! @Eoin_Beatty 

Music Premiere: Corrina Jaye "Could You Be Mine"

Music Premiere: Corrina Jaye "Could You Be Mine"

2013 proved to be a huge year for Corrina Jaye, releasing her debut EP and debut single which was met by critical acclaim. Now, almost three years on, the independent singer/songwriter from Ireland will be hoping to build on that success.

Her second studio EP is now available on iTunes and the music video for her single 'Could You Be Mine' has just been released and we are delighted to feature it here on View from the Stalls. 

Her music has drawn comparisons from Lana Del Rey to Florence and The Machine to Jessie Ware and her name has caused quite a stir in the media with Dwayne Woods from the Irish Daily Star claiming that she is "destined for the big time".

It certainly will be interesting to keep an eye on her progress and if 'Could You Be Mine' is anything to go by then we are in for a treat. 

Outstanding lyrics and a simple, yet effective music video ranks very highly in my books! Check it out for yourself at the link below! 

Corrina Jaye: Could You Be Mine? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf-u8su_nZE

Song of the Day - Craig Gallagher "Without You"

Song of the Day - Craig Gallagher "Without You

When I first seen Craig Gallagher up on stage a year or two ago, I knew that he had that something special. A superb voice, exceptional lyrics and an art for story-telling! 

Seeing him perform in The Joiners in Southampton with Gavin James a couple of nights ago actually felt like Deja Vu in many ways, except for the fact that I believe he has gotten so much better. 

I expect that we will be hearing a lot more of this guy in the not too distant future.

Without You is one of the songs off his EP, and from experience, is one of the favourites amongst crowds! Have a listen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9YDuAIX6_k

Recommened Gig - Picture This

I want you to cast your mind back a couple of months ago where we featured new up and coming band Picture This as 'One to Watch' here on View from the Stalls! Well let me tell you that these guys have certainly been watched!

Jimmy and Ryan and gearing up for what promises to be a busy but exciting 7 months or so, playing numerous gigs and festivals across the country!

However, just this morning, alarms were set for Picture This as tickets for their Irish Tour went on sale and I cannot recommend seeing these guys live enough!

Check out the tour dates below and if you haven't got your tickets yet, I would advise you to do so ASAP, because if the past is anything to go by, these guys are more than capable of selling venues out!

PICTURE THIS IRISH TOUR DATES 2016

Thurs 22 September - Spirit Store, Dundalk
Friday 23 September - Kavanagh's, Portlaoise
Saturday 24 September - The Loft, Galway
Sunday 25 September - INEC Acoustic Room, Killarney
Thurs 29 September - Shortt's, Waterford
Friday 30 September - Dolan's, Limerick
Saturday 1 October - St John's Priory, Kilkenny
Sunday 2 October - DeBarra's, Clonakilty

Interview with Billy McGuinness of Aslan

Interview with Billy McGuinness of Aslan

Just before I hung up the phone to Billy during the week, following our 45 minute chat, I described the interview as being an "absolute pleasure". It was, without a shadow of a doubt my favourite, most in depth and honest interview that I have featured here on View from the Stalls. 

Within that time frame we chatted about a host of things ranging from how the band formed to their break up in the 80's to lead singer Christy Dignam's battle with cancer. As Billy put it himself, "when it comes to Aslan, we have no limits about what we talk about!"

"Aslan were a four piece when they formed in 1982 and I went to see them in the Revenue Commissioners Club in George's Street in Dublin and I was just blown away by their performance. I thought Christy was the most charismatic frontman that I had ever seen! So, I went up to the lads after the gig and I asked if there was any chance that I could join the band and they all just started laughing! You see, I was working as a baker at that time so I would finish at two o'clock and I would head around to where the band would be rehearsing and I'd arrive and I would always bring a couple of cakes with me from the bakery! One day, they did a demo for Dave Fanning in 2FM and whenever you did that a cheque would be sent out to you, so they got the cheque and we were all at the rehearsals, I had arrived at two o'clock with my cakes as per usual and the lads said "come on we'll go up to The Boot Inn for a pint!" so we went up there and we had a few drinks and of course, when the lads had a few drinks in them, their guard was down and I asked again if I could join the band and they said yes! So, the next day instead of arriving at rehearsals at two, I showed up at ten and they hadn't a clue what was going on but I told them that I packed in my job and was ready to join the band and the rest as they say, is history!"

The band then worked incredibly hard on their material and began to reap the rewards of that. They were selling out venues all around Dublin and they really were the talk of the town in the mid to late 80's with a lot of people within the industry really sitting up and taking notice of Aslan. You could say things were really taking off for them! But as Billy explains, just as things were coming together, it fell apart.

"Our song 'This Is' was starting to get played on radio and suddenly there was a bit of a buzz around Dublin about Aslan. People were starting to come to our gigs and we were moving to larger venues. 'This Is' actually went on to be the most played single of the year it was released and at one stage there were eighteen A&R men at our gig in the TV Club, they came over from England to see us play. We ended up signing to EMI in 1987 and we went into the studio to start recording, we got a superb producer in Mick Glossop and began to record our album 'Feel No Shame'. We came out half way through recording the album to support David Bowie in Slane, went back in and finished the album. The album came out and went straight in at number one in the Irish charts, which was just phenomenal! And that's when everything fell apart then! EMI had lined up for us to support Crowded House and we were going to release 'This Is' in America and do a back to back, coast to coast tour with Crowded House and then Christy got involved in drugs and the whole thing went down."

Lead singer Christy Dignam's involvement with drugs just as Aslan's career was about to take off threw a huge spanner in the works and led to the band splitting up but Billy maintains that he sees it as a positive experience rather than a time filled with regret and when the band did eventually get back together, they came back stronger than ever and a lot of people share that same view.

"To be honest, I think it was inevitable that it was going to happen because we just lost the run of ourselves and when Christy got really bad we decided that splitting up was the best option. It had to be done though because I think if we had carried on at that stage and done everything that EMI wanted us to do, I don't think we would be here now. Like when the band split up, it led to Christy getting his shit together and getting himself clean which was brilliant! I also think bands nowadays have learned from our mistakes back then and use us as an example to keep on the straight and narrow and that's great too!"

Aslan got back together around 5 years after the break up for what was meant to be a once off charity gig together to raise much needed funds for a particular charity but as we all know now, it wasn't a once off reunion!

"We had always been asked to do this particular gig and always turned it down but one year for some strange reason we said we would do it if everyone else was up to it and they were! We had two weeks to rehearse the set so we went into the rehearsal studio, went through what we would perform and we decided that we would just try and write a new song to perform at the gig, for the craic! And one of those songs we wrote was 'Crazy World', so we were up on stage and we performed 'Crazy World' and we didn't know that Freddie Middleton and Joe Stewart from Sony BMG were in the crowd! Of course, after the gig they came backstage and told us that our new song would be a smash hit and asked if we were interested in keeping the reunion going, and after having a meeting we decided we would and we signed to Sony BMG and away we went again but we were a lot wiser about what to do this time around!"

Fast forward twenty odd years and the band are still selling out venues and getting airplay on countless radio stations! One such gig was on the 16th of March in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin which I was lucky enough to attend and Billy admits that the vibe he got that night was incredible - he even did his very first stage dive!

"Would you believe, in thirty four years I had never stage dived! But we were out in rehearsals a week before the gig in Blanchardstown and The Coronas happened to be there, so I explained to Danny O'Reilly that I was planning on doing a stage dive and asked him for any advice that he might have, and he told me two things. Number one: take out your earpiece and number two: cover your balls! And I did both! It was a superb night and the crowd were electric as always!"

Seeing Aslan perform live is always a great experience, their performances never fail to amaze me! But there was something about that gig that made it extra special. Perhaps it was seeing Christy Dignam up on stage once again, singing his heart out, following what has been a difficult couple of years for himself and the band and Billy maintains that his band mate and friend is a fighter!

"Christy will never be the same as he was before because he has an incurable disease. It's amyloidosis. It's cancer. But for him to get back on stage and for us to be contemplating recording again great! He was over at the amyloidosis clinic in London during the week and his levels were up slightly but the doctors were happy with the rest of his tests. We will never go back to the stage of gigging Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, but that won't take away from our performances!"

I cannot stress enough how much you should go see these guys live because as I said, it is always an amazing gig and as a famous Irish writer Roddy Doyle described it: "It's a religious experience"

Here are Aslan's upcoming gig dates:

13th May - Cork Opera House

9th June - The Leopardstown Races

2nd July - The Groove Festival, Kilruddery House, Wicklow

3rd July - The Daytripper Festival 

EOIN!

Interview with Georgi Kay

Interview with Georgi Kay

I have to say when I first came across Georgi Kay's music, I was thoroughly impressed and I knew that I just had to get her in for an interview on 'View from the Stalls' and thankfully she obliged. 

We chatted about her new EP 'Origins', her future plans and firstly, how she got involved in music and who her musical inspirations were growing up.

"I grew up listening to music ever since I can remember. Most family breakfasts involved my dad playing songs off his ipod from the likes of Nina Simone, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Killers, Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, and so on. I taught myself guitar by ear when I was around 12 years old. I took guitar lessons and joined a rock band during my high school years. I then started playing solo and began getting hype around my hometown of Perth, I was about 16 years old. Since then it’s been hard work, blood, sweat and tears – and many awards, nominations and collaborations – that have gotten me to where I am today."

Georgi began her musical career by playing lead guitar for a rock group called The Vains and within a year she took on the lead vocal duties. Her solo career then began to grow and grow and as she mentioned she won many awards and nominations, which were well deserved I might add!

"It’s a very exhilarating feeling winning an award for your own work. Being acknowledged, supported and respected by the outside world is a very surreal and strangely beautiful feeling."

As I'm sure you can appreciate, working on a record is tough going! And Georgi's dedication to her EP 'Origins' which was released last month, is no different! It has received and continues to receive great reviews from the critics and Kay admits that she is very excited and happy with the end product! 

"I'm very excited about the release of ORIGINS! It's been getting great reviews, both in the press and online - I'm over the moon about how it's been received by the public so far. I started working on the songs a couple of years ago. I took my time developing them with my producer and co-writer, Rob Conley. I had all the time in the world to find myself, and really understand myself - both as a human being and an artist - so that when the day of release finally came, I was ready for it. But most of all, that I was proud of it. It is after all, a piece of me. It's my soul in listenable form."

If you haven't already heard this EP, I would strongly advise you to purchase it or you can stream it on Spotify! For Georgi's existing fans, she believes that this release is the truest reflection of herself, personally.

"My previous releases have covered various genres from indie pop to acoustic singer/songwriter, to EDM dance anthems, to dark, ominous cinematic soundscapes for TV and film. To me, Origins is my first true release. The purest form of Georgi Kay. It only goes up from here."

If her EP is anything to go by, Georgi Kay certainly has the ability to go from strength to strength and that appears to be her ambition!

"No rest for the wicked! I'm always working on new songs and collaborations with other artists and producers. I think it's important and healthy to get out of your own head every so often and work with other creative, like-minded people. Writing songs and creating music is very therapeutic for me. So it's important to keep that creativity flowing! Gigs and tours coming very soon!"

Keep up to date with everything in Georgi Kay Land in the following ways:

Twitter: @GeorgiKay

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/georgikaymusic

Website: www.georgikay.com

Also check out Georgi's latest collab with Faruk Sabanci on Beatport! And don't forget to check out her latest EP 'Origins'

EOIN!

Interview with The Academic

Interview with The Academic

The Academic are definitely up there with some of the most promising Irish acts of 2016 in my opinion. With an incredibly loyal fanbase, unique sound and great attitude, I would certainly consider myself a fan.

The lads are playing a headline gig in Vicar Street, Dublin this coming Friday night (March 11th), which I will be popping along to, so if you're around the area, this is one not to be missed!

I caught up with some of the guys during the week to talk about that gig, support from their hometown of Mullingar and, well, all things Academic-ish.

"We all met in school! Matthew and Stephen are brothers so they've always been playing music together. We were heavily influenced by guitar bands growing up. We loved The Strokes, U2 and The Killers. It's always tough starting a band. In our case, we just gigged around so much that eventually word started to spread. It all happened quite organically." 


I'm always interested when I interview acts who have worked tirelessly to reach their desired success as to what they recall as being the major turning point in their career. The guys however believe that their rise was a gradual one but getting airplay in Ireland and the UK was a huge plus.

"It’s hard to say if there was a specific turning point. What a lot of people don’t know is that we had been out on the road, playing a lot of shows and building up a fanbase around the country and crowds were getting bigger at very show. It definitely helped when radio here in Ireland and the UK started playing our debut single 'Different', there was definitely more awareness around the band."

And that awareness has undoubtedly grown and grown over the last 12 months in particular and the lads admit that the whole experience has been quite humbling.

"It's been an amazing year! We have been humbled by the amount of support we have got. When we started out in a shed when we were teenagers we always dreamed of having our music on the radio, playing to audiences that knew our songs, getting to meet some of our heroes along the way… Looking back over the last year we have achieved a little bit of that. The support from our fans has been incredible, old and new." 

The Academic have a strong connection with the town of Mullingar in County Westmeath, a town that has a reputation for producing musical talent with names such as Niall Horan, Bressie and Joe Dolan all hailing from the midlands and the band say that the support from there in particular, has been incredible!

"We're very grateful for all the support we get in Mullingar. It's where everything started for us, all our first gigs were pub gigs all over Mullingar. There is a real sense of community there, it’s a small town, tight knit and the people there have been brilliant. We are very proud of our Westmeath roots!"

 As I mentioned in my intro, the guys have a hugely anticipated gig coming up in the iconic Vicar Street venue in Dublin next Friday and it is one that they are understandably very excited for!

"We're so excited! It wasn’t long ago, maybe a year, that we opened for Delorentos in Vicar street. It was probably the biggest stage we had played on to that point and now to be headlining our own show there is so surreal. I’m sure on the night there will be a nervous energy before the show but once we get out there we will do what we always do…turn it up loud and play like we always do!"

Although the guys have had a notable amount of success recently, I firmly believe that this gig will propel them forward even more because they are an extremely talented bunch and they even feel themselves that they have so much more to give!

"We want to play to as many people as possible! We will be out across Ireland, the UK and Europe a lot this summer so we are really looking forward to that. I’m sure there will be some new music in the not too distant future!!!"

You can check out The Academic's debut single 'Different' right here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu8M3Cw6fuU 

EOIN!