RIP OceanFall

Omagh band OceanFall have decided to call it quits. A statement on the bands Facebook states:

"OceanFall 2009 - 2011

It is with heavy hearts we announce that we have decided to break up. It hasn't been an easy decision for us but we have been talking about this for some time now, but we feel it's time for us to move on. There is no hard feelings and we're still best friends.

In the past 2 years we have been very lucky to have the opportunities we have had. We've supported some amazing bands, played to thousands of people, made great friends and played in some amazing venues!

We have been so lucky to have fans, friends and family who have supported us the entire way over the past two years. You've all made our time together so much fun and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We would like thank everyone who has ever supported us by coming to our shows, buying our merch and CDs, telling your friends about us, sang our songs or shouted at us in the street. Thank you to all the promoters who have booked us for shows and all we bands we have played with, some of which we are best friends with now.

We will be having one last gig in our hometown of Omagh which will be confirmed soon. We hope all of you can make it along before you head off to university or college.

We will be having a massive sale on all our merch before we close down our store for good, so if you'd like a t-shirt, CD, badges, stickers or mirrors then please pick something up here www.oceanfall.bigcartel.com

This will not be the last you'll see us, we will be playing in new bands in some shape or form so keep an eye out in the future and we hope you'll support us as well as you have done.

We will see you all again soon. Thank you all so much!

Love,

Gary, Micky and Stephen x"

You can still download their music here!

Taking Back Sunday instore and signing

As many of you will know, American outfit Taking Back Sunday did a special instore in an intimate setting - with only 50 tickets going on sale!- in Tower Records, Dublin, for their upcoming gig in The Academy.

The band arrived, and singer Adam Lazzara and guitarist John Nolan played 5 songs - Sad Saviour, Great Romances of the 20th Century, a Kanye West cover of Can't Tell Me Nothing, and their latest single Faith (When I Let You Down).
After that, they did a very special signing for fans, and I got to meet one of my favourite bands. Wow!

Renoir's Reflection review, interview

Renoirs Reflection are a 4 piece band from Waterford, Ireland. Having formed in November 2010 they are relatively new to the scene, but definitely an up and coming band to watch!
Right between indie and alternative rock, plenty of lead guitar, strong bass lines, hard drum beats and vocal harmonies, the band write all their own original songs, and we shall hopefully be hearing more of these guys soon.


On first listen they remind me of a cross between Kings of Leon and The Blizzards. Some of the songs they have are: 'I Don't Mind' with a catchy beat and memorable chorus with much strong bass lines, while 'Never See My Face' is a more meaningful approach, with acoustic beginning leading into a heavier chorus and a strong guitar presence. 'Tall Tales' is a faster song showing versatility in the vocals part.
These are just some of the songs, so to listen to these and more, get their music now!


I caught up with Jason to talk about the band…
Who‘s in the band?
Jason O' Hara- Lead Vocals/rhythm guitar
Gavin Carey- Lead Guitar/backup vocals
John Grace- Drums/backup vocals
Keith Grant- Bass
Sounds like?
We’ve been told were a concoction of Kings Of Leon, Two Door Cinema Club, Oasis, The Beatles and Thin Lizzy, with a strong presence of lead guitar and harmonies.
Biggest influences?
Between us we have many influences from all different genres, but collectively our biggest influences would be Kings Of Leon, Oasis, The Beatles and Thin Lizzy.
How, where, when did the band happen?
We were all interested in music from the age of 13 onwards and tried several bands, but none of them fit our styles. We started up a cover band and after 4 months of gigging realised we wanted to play our own songs, so we started writing together and it just seemed to fall into place. Then Renoir's Reflection was born!
How did you come up with the name?
Gavin and John always enjoyed art in school, and their favourite form of art was impressionism. Renoir was an artist that stuck with them long after they finished school. Reflection also comes from art, and the fact that Renoir as an impressionist revolutionised the art scene of the time - that’s what we aspire to do with our music!
Biggest achievement to date?
That would have to be getting signed to Rubymusic which has led to us to performing on the main stage at a myriad of festivals and having the opportunity to record our songs.


Check out their music on their myspace, and Facebook here!

Interview with StayOkay!

Finally, on the Summer Explosion Tour, were these guys, Dublin band StayOkay!
(Also their first interview, no big deal!)

Watch it and say you liked these lads before they become huge.

Interview with Boy Versus Romeo

During the Summer Explosion Tour, I met with Cork based band Boy Versus Romeo to chat about anything and everything!
PS. Enjoy my mad ramblings.

Interview with Struck

I met with Mayo band STRUCK during their Summer Explosion tour where we talked about... well, everything really!
Take a look and a listen for yourselves, you never know, they could be the next huge thing.

StayOkay! - Live video

While meeting with the lovely StayOkay! at the weekend, I realised there are very few live videos of them!

So as a treat for me, watch this brilliant video of the boys.

The Summer Explosion Tour

So I recently sat down with 3 bands on the Summer Explosion Tour - StayOkay!, Boy Versus Romeo and Struck - and this is what happened...