Red Bull: Congratulations on getting through, what was your reaction when you got the news?
Stephen: Thanks a million. We’re delighted, we’re over the moon, we weren’t really expecting it. We only threw it up to get a bit of exposure and one of the girls was listening to iRadio and she heard we were in the top ten.

And you had no idea before?
We really weren’t expecting to do anything then in one day we jumped up three places I think and the next morning we were at number one, I was looking down the list going ‘ah shite we’re after dropping off it’ until I looked up and saw we were number one!

What made you enter the Bedroom Jam?
We had heard it on iRadio but a couple of people had said it to us to enter so we looked it up on the internet and it sounded cool, the fact that it was giving young bands a chance really to get to the next stage. To be given the opportunity to play festivals and whatnot isn’t something you get out there.

What do you think gave you the upper hand in the Buzz Chart last week?
We got loads of support from everyone in school, even some of the teachers. I’d say most people in the school had voted at that stage we put up posters on how to vote and the teachers put one up in the staff room even.

What are you hoping to get out of the next few weeks now that you’re through?
Just looking forward to the crack, getting a good bit of exposure and the chance to be able to get our music out there because we’re an original band. We’ve been gigging around for a long time, nearly a year now, so it’s good to be able to do something new and fresh and Bedroom Jam gives us that chance.

How did Bang Bang get started?
We’ve been playing with each other as friends as different bands since we were around 13 so we’ve been plugging away at it for years but really this band started last year. I don’t know how many times the band name changed but the three of us, myself, the singer and the drummer were in a band since second year and that changed its name, then we changed it again and I think we changed it two more times. Last year I was in transition year so I had the time to put that bit more effort into it.

So do you all have to get ready for exams in the summer?
Yeah but I’m the only one doing the leaving cert next year, the lads are all doing it this year. I’m kind of regretting it now seeing them all going off.

So were you preparing for a month of study?
The last couple of weeks had slowed up with gigs and stuff because we wouldn’t have time to put too much effort into it and we were just hoping to get some more gigs over the summer but then this came along and the hype of the competition has changed that.

That means you won’t all be in school together next year, what does that mean for the band?
It depends. One of the lads is doing a sound technician course but we’re all going our separate ways which could work to our advantage. It could go against us if one’s in Galway and one’s in Dublin but it could be that we can then get gigs in different places, that’s what we’re hoping anyway.

Does being underage make it difficult to get gigs?
Well I think two of the lads are nearly 18 but we’re all underage. We do get pubs gigs a lot but we just say nothing and get away with it. We look old enough anyway.

Laois is quite isolated from any music scenes so how do you find resources for rehearsing and everything else?
We practice in a caravan. One of the lads has a caravan outside his house and it’s nearly our trademark at this stage. It’s so narrow that the drums are down one end and the three of us are up the other end and we have amps, PAs, everything in there as well. It’s in a big galvanised shed thing and I don’t know where they got the van but it’s going to good use cause I don’t think it’s been used for years before.

And how are you going to fit the shoot in around school?
We’re going to take the day off sure, I think the teachers know but it’s not really a big deal hopefully so they should be all right with it.

The RBBJ team will be travelling to Laois this week to film the band’s live bedroom set, which you will be able to view next Monday, 20th May on www.redbullbedroomjam.ie.

Bang Bang are now out of the Buzz Chart and have moved into our Festival Chart, which will track the progress and buzz of the 6 Bedroom Bands before our festival Red Bull Bedroom Jam tour this summer.

Keep watching/sharing/tweeting/commenting and hyping YOUR favourite band, as there is still 1 more live show to record.

Keep your eyes peeled to Redbullbedroomjam.ie and our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates and photos, news and information as it happens.

Word: Aaron Rogan
Photo Credit: Bang Bang

The RBBJ team will be travelling to Laois this week to film the band’s live bedroom set, which you will be able to view next Monday, 20th May on www.redbullbedroomjam.ie.

Bang Bang are now out of the Buzz Chart and have moved into our Festival Chart, which will track the progress and buzz of the 6 Bedroom Bands before our festival Red Bull Bedroom Jam tour this summer.

Keep watching/sharing/tweeting/commenting and hyping YOUR favourite band, as there is still 1 more live show to record.

Keep your eyes peeled to Redbullbedroomjam.ie and our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates and photos, news and information as it happens.

See you next Monday.

Hologram – Fight or Flight
Fearghal: It’s great to have a band from Belfast belting out tunes like this, the epic chorus’ and softer verses are a part of the sound we strive for. Unbelievable piano, great guitar lines and vocals up there with the best! Can’t stop listening to this song since supporting the band in Omagh.

Twin Atlantic – Ghost of Eddie
Emmett: This is my driving/morning alarm song, everything about it just makes me want to jump around and have the crack. A great song, an amazing album and a really phenomenal band.

The Woodpile – Frightened Rabbit
Matty: This band are really one of our biggest influences. Their lyrics are always so truthful and personal that you can’t help but draw comparisons in your own life towards them. When we all sit down to write, the intensity and creativity of these lyrics are what we try to recreate. We’ve all been followers of this band since they started, and something tells me we will always will follow them and be interested in what they have to say through their music.

Radical Face – Ghost Towns
Anna: Being the piano player in the band, cool piano motifs are what I notice a lot in songs. The piano in this is really pretty and it was the first thing I noticed about this song but the moreI listen to it, the more I hear in it. Also, the singer has a very distinct voice, which itself is a very hard thing to come by in this day
and age so that’s another reason I like it. It’s a very clever song.

Gabriel Bruce – Cars Not Leaving
Jonny: I don’t even remember how I found this song exactly but I just remember listening to it and completely getting it immediately. I usually don’t like voices as low as Gabriel’s but everything about this reminds me of ‘80s music and specifically Bruce Springsteen in the ‘80s which I think is the best compliment I could really give any song. I feel like this guy’s going to be the next big thing and judging by his first few songs…he deserves to be. Watch out for that sax solo.

Don’t Shoot’s Bedroom Jam session will be streamed today Monday May 13th on redbullbedroomjam.ie

Words: Aaron Rogan
Photo Credit: David Sexton

Red Bull: What made you enter Red Bull Bedroom Jam?

Don’t Shoot: We wanted more fans, we just wanted to be seen by more people we never expected this buzz, this many people joining onto it. We literally put our name in and thought we might get seen by a few people who would think ‘that’s a cool band’ and get maybe another 100 fans, after that it was all a bonus.

How did you find out about the Bedroom Jam?

Part Time Pilots, who are still in the competition, their drummer is a good friend of ours and we were chatting and he said you might as well put your name into it.

What do you think gave you the edge over the other bands last week?

I feel out sound is very poppy in it’s catchiness, people have told me that and I’m always happy. I like to make catchy music but it’s rocky as well in a way that most people are into as well. But I have to say that the support from our fans beforehand was just crazy, I just have to put it down to them. A lot of people were going around asking people to back this band, and they did it. A lot of Omagh, the town we’re all from, got behind it and advertised it well. Our kind of buzz was just created in the last few days, until the last four days we didn’t really do much so ours was just kind of a proper boom. In a musical sense, I think maybe our catchiness meant people walked away singing the song.

What do you want to get out of it?

It’s given us a better of ideas of marketing and how much you have to do to get people on board and as I said we got more fans out of it, we got way more fans than we ever expected which is cool. The guitarist Fearghal learnt how dedicated his girlfriend is for him, at the end of the day she was the one getting us votes. He learned how much she loved him so it was a pretty good day for him.

Where to next for Don’t Shoot, what are your main ambitions?

We’d love to get a record deal, we’d love to have someone say ‘yeah, we believe in you’. That’s kind of the ultimate thing but as well we want to play bigger venues and have the people to be there because they want to see us. The extra thing to this was the festival, to us as a band festivals are the main thing. We’re not a band that dreams about stadiums or arenas, we just dream about playing good festivals because all of us have experienced that festival atmosphere and loved it. Just getting to play a few cool festivals is one of the things I want.

How did the band get together?

Fearghal the guitarist and Mattie the bassist were both in a covers band and I was in a band called NCP, which I don’t even what it stands for now, who were a cover band as well but did a few originals. Being in Omagh we’d always hang out with each other and I was at the The Gatsbys last gig, Fearghal came over to me and I thought he was taking the piss but asked ‘do you want to make a band?’ I said, I guess you know hmm but he said ‘the only reason he asked was because he thought I was a good writer and he just wanted to be an original band.

We had a different drummer for the first year who went off to college and we said, we like these songs, we don’t want to get rid of them so lets keep them and get in something that most other bands don’t have. We got in a synth player and a violin player, so we got Anna and Emmett out of it,.and to be honest we never knew how well it would gel. We started writing and we wrote three songs on the first day we played together, three pretty good songs actually and we still play some of them. When we got Emmett and Anna in and we

knew that’s the feeling you have to have when you’re in a band.

Don’t Shoot Bedroom Jam session will be streamed next Monday May 13th on redbullbedroomjam.ie

Keep watching/sharing/tweeting/commenting and hyping your favourite band to see if they will top the Buzz Chart this week and join last week’s winners Aces Wild and Red Elephant on the Festival Chart.

Keep your eyes peeled to Redbullbedroomjam.ie and our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates and photos, news and information as it happens.

The RBBJ team will be travelling to Tyrone this week to film the band’s live bedroom set, which you will be able to view next Monday, 13th May on www.redbullbedroomjam.ie.

Don’t Shoot! are now out of the Buzz Chart and have moved into our Festival Chart, which will track the progress and buzz of the 6 Bedroom Bands before our festival Red Bull Bedroom Jam tour this summer.

Keep watching/sharing/tweeting/commenting and hyping YOUR favourite band, as there are still 2 more live shows to record.

Keep your eyes peeled to Redbullbedroomjam.ie and our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates and photos, news and information as it happens.

See you next Monday.

Simon and Garfunkel – The Only Living Boy In New York
Karen: I look to them for ideas for harmonies mostly, and their lyrics are just inspired “Half of the time we’re gone but we don’t know where…” “Let your honesty shine, shine shine, like it shines on me”.The kind of music that just makes you feel good inside! I could have picked 20 of their songs, but that was the last thing I had on my iPod!

Roadkill Ghost Choir – Beggars Guild
Matthew: I’ve been addicted to this song for the past while now, it pushes all the right buttons and shows that for great songwriting simplicity is the key.

Wallis Bird – In Dictum
Michael D’Arcy: For me this song has a great balance of melody and instrumentation which sets the right environment for the lyrics to live in. Once again its a matter of simplicity. Great songs have a message that tell a story or shed light on particular emotions, this is what gives them universal appeal and longevity. This song has a number of great characteristics, above all honesty. Which as a songwriter I’ve learnt is the most important attribute of all. Also, Wallis is from Wexford.

Gretchen Parlato and Alan Hampton – Still
Leo: The song is just beautiful. The lyrical content is uplifting and the way it’s expressed by both Gretchen Parlato and Alan Hampton is really disarming, they seen really honest to me.

Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Michael Sutherland: Ever since being introduced to the Fleet Foxes I’ve found their songs have a great way of bringing a smile to your face during hard times, they certainly had that effect on me during the last year. Their harmonies are truly stunning and the arrangement of each song is to perfection.

Corner Boy’s Bedroom Jam session will be streamed today Tuesday May 7th on redbullbedroomjam.ie

Keep watching/sharing/tweeting/commenting and hyping your favourite band to see if they will top the Buzz Chart this week and join last week’s winners Aces Wild and Red Elephant and Corner Boy on the Festival Chart.

Keep your eyes peeled to Redbullbedroomjam.ie and our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates and photos, news and information as it happens.

Words: Aaron Rogan

How’s the shoot going?
Having fun so far, we were talking this morning and said lets just have the crack with it and it’s worked so far. We’re shooting in an old loft in what used to be a pig shed and milking parlour back in the 1800s so we’re a folk band playing in a barn…

A pig shed, really?
We actually just finished it, myself and my family and grandad, so we’re going to use it as a creative space where people can play or whatever. I am sleeping in the loft at the moment though so it’s still my bedroom!

What can people expect from the band in the barn so?
We’ve got a double bass, fiddle banjo, guitars and keyboards sometimes when we’re live so that injects a real energy into the music. We grew up playing trad so we like to incorporate that aspect of it into our music.

Other than showing off the barn, what caught your eye about Red Bull Bedroom Jam?
Not too many competitions have the complete package that can help in every aspect from recording to booking gigs to getting your name out online so we saw this as the way to go.

What do you think gave you the edge over the other bands on the Buzz Chart last week?
Actually, being from a rural area and unsigned, we’re isolated from the bigger music scenes like Cork, Dublin, Belfast and any place else in Ireland so we look for every opportunity we can. We thought that would work against us in the competition because there’s not much of a scene here but people have got behind us wholeheartedly, we’ve had half of Wexford supporting us.

What do you think the band can take away from the Bedroom Jam?
Exposure and experience. We’ve only really been together eight of nine months so we’ve been gigging the length and breadth of the country, all the way up to Derry but this is online and thats where you get to the masses, that’s the way the paradigm has shifted and how you get as known as possible.

What advice would you give to the bands looking to get through in the next few weeks?
It’s a question of really putting yourself out there, you can’t shy away in this competition. If you shy away at all you’re in trouble, you have to be in every corner of the internet. Just start slow and build up a base before really pushing it in the last few days on every platform you can, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or wherever. We hated doing it but for the last 48 hours you have to spam people to get support. Keep it simple and hope they’ll follow through because really it’s a game of luck.

What’s the history of Corner Boy?
When we were younger we were in bands playing rock, trad, jazz, indie and anything else but this is the one we all believe in and think we can kick on with. I’ve been gigging around the country since I was 15 then I moved to Canada last year and wrote these songs, when I got back I thought I’d get the best musicians in Wexford together to and luckily some of them happened to be friends.

What was Canada like?
It helped the creative process because the Montreal scene is fantastic, there’s a real love of jazz and folk and music in general. If you play a night there as a folk act it’s not like the ten people you’d get in Wexford, 100 will turn up. It’s really one of the strongest scenes in North America. I toured all over from the top of Quebec City down to an Irish pub called Hill 16 in Fort Lauderdale with different collectives and jazz ensembles or whatever and the folk community is so strong over there, there’s a real collaborative effort and that was where I really learned how to perform.

Are Corner Boy a ‘live band’ more than anything?
Exactly, we prefer playing live than being in the studio but we recorded the first EP in Canada, more than anything it’s a demo to show off our sound. We’ve seen the N11 more times in the last few months… but we love playing. We play a gig and if we see a pub on the way back to the van it’s ‘give us a few pints and we’ll play for half an hour’ but usually we end up playing all night. Now everyone wants us to play so we’ve been to so many weird places and cool gigs: sessions, house parties, whatever.

Other than a cool barn, what can people expect from the Corner Boy Bedroom Jam session?
We’re the only band so far not using amps, it’s just a double bass, fiddle, guitars and the rest to inject a bit of energy into the songs. It’s raw but we don’t have any fear and another bit of advice would be, if you don’t believe in your own ability how do you expect anyone else to?

Corner Boy’s Bedroom Jam session will air next Tuesday 7th May on www.redbullbedroomjam.ie

Keep watching/sharing/tweeting/commenting and hyping YOUR favourite band, as there are still 3 more live shows to record.

Keep your eyes peeled to Redbullbedroomjam.ie and our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates and photos, news and information as it happens.

Word: Aaron Rogan

Know who you’re approaching
Even if you’re sure it’s the best thing ever put on tape, there’s absolutely no point in sending your indie-folk EP to an electronic music label. You know this, but in much the same way there’s no point sending it to a blogger or podcast for inclusion unless they have form in promoting that type of music. That’s not a reflection on the quality of your work in anyway it’s just the reality of the media. So do your research, get familiar and even mention in the mail that they’ve covered a band in the past that you think gives reason for them to cover your band now. It’s also worth noting that if someone says they don’t take unsolicited approaches that they really won’t, respect that.

Don’t forget your manners
…and not just because your mother would be upset. A little bit of personalisation goes a long way, so say hello, make sure the person’s name is spelled correctly and let them know why you want them to listen to your music. On top of this, don’t spam or follow up before the person has had time to get back to you- remember you’re not the only great band to contact them that day.

Make it easier than easy
Most people worth approaching will be inundated with requests from bands like yours so you have to give yourself every advantage possible. Don’t link to your Facebook page which had a post last week linking to your Bandcamp and say track three is the one worth listening to. Just post the most direct link possible by hosting it on a Bandcamp or Soundcloud account which you can make public or private. If you want the person to share the link, make sure it’s public and if you don’t let them know. Also make it available for later listening by sending a link to a way to download a direct copy of the music, that way they can share it whichever way they want.

Enough but not too much
At the very least you should include correct contact details, some brief background information on the band and a link to (not attachment of) a high resolution photo. This should all be laid out in an orderly fashion and if you have anything extra that’s particularly worthwhile, such as a video, include it after with a direct link. Keep it relevant and keep it brief.

Make sure you’re ready
Of course you’re ready, you were born ready. But what if it goes well and they ask if you have anything else they can hear, are you that ready? What if they want to come and see you live, do you have a gig lined up in the next few weeks? Make sure you’re so ready, you’re ready for a great response.

Keep watching/sharing/tweeting/commenting and hyping your favourite band to see if they will top the Buzz Chart this week and join last week’s winners Aces Wild, Red Elephant and Corner Boy on the Festival Chart.

Keep your eyes peeled to Redbullbedroomjam.ie and our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates and photos, news and information as it happens.

Words: Aaron Rogan
Photo Credit: Colleen AF Venable via Compfight cc

Also from the Jay-Z “curated” soundtrack is Lana Del Rey’s Young & Beautiful, which is nothing new but will please those who were missing Lana in their lives, she’ll at least be grateful someone else is taking the online flak for once.

You know “that feeling when a parasitic alien is in your head, controlling things”? Course you do, and according to Andrew Van Wyngarden that’s what MGMT’s new single Alien Days is about. The first track from their upcoming third album this is further proof, if it were needed, that the Connecticut duo have left their summery singalong days behind them. Alien Days is a jumbled, purposely off-kilter track that deserves a few listens.

We’re already well into post-dubstep when Wu Tang members jump on a track. James Blake and RZA teamed up on the London electronic-soul wunderkind’s recent album Overgrown and the Wu Tang man joined Blake on stage last week at Coachella.

Elsewhere in the East Coast hip-hop world, underground icon MF DOOM has been remixed despite his best efforts to prevent such works, he discourages labels from releasing his acapellas, but San Fran producer Grip Grand has got his hands on them and put together a seven track free download entitled But How? It’s a funky and melodic mix that works well with DOOM’s verses.

Janelle Monáe’s psychedelic funk/soul on her debut The ArchAndroid is one of the most satisfying sounds to emerge in recent years, here she turns in an even fuller version with none other than Erykah Badu making an appearance.

Kelis is also back with Dave Sitek fresh from working with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on production, it’s a bouncy-soulful number that gets better with each listen.

Iggy and The Stooges looked to have circled the drain with 2007’s lukewarm The Weirdness but with James Williamson replacing the recently deceased Ron Asheton the band have returned to their original full-fat template on new release Ready To Die. You can listen to the album via NPR, here.

Finally, Dublin by way of London group The Dying Seconds are back with their first release from the follow up to last year’s brilliant Glimmerers. 10/4 sees the band in a morose mood, and will be available as part of the Panacea EP scheduled for release next month.

Keep watching/sharing/tweeting/commenting and hyping your favourite band to see if they will top the Buzz Chart this week and join last week’s winners Aces Wild and Red Elephant and Corner Boy on the Festival Chart.

Keep your eyes peeled to Redbullbedroomjam.ie and our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates and photos, news and information as it happens.

Words: Aaron Rogan
Photo Credit: JD Hancock via Compfight cc

The RBBJ team will be travelling to Wexford this week to film the band’s live bedroom set, which you will be able to view next Tuesday, 7th May (we need our Bank Holiday break too!) on www.redbullbedroomjam.ie. The Buzz chart for next week will close on Tuesday 7th May at 12 noon.

Corner Boy are now out of the Buzz Chart and have moved into our Festival Chart, which will track the progress and buzz of the 6 Bedroom Bands before our festival Red Bull Bedroom Jam tour this summer.

Keep watching/sharing/tweeting/commenting and hyping YOUR favourite band, as there are still 3 more live shows to record.

Keep your eyes peeled to Redbullbedroomjam.ie and our Twitter and Facebook pages for updates and photos, news and information as it happens.

See you next Monday.