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How
did you take your musical journey from Dublin to LA?
We spent some summers in San Diego and San Francisco and we discovered
a lot of records that we hadn't heard before. We’d been playing
together since we were at school, but for the couple of years since
we left school the band had fallen by the wayside, so it re-inspired
us.
But people always say to us we sound like the Beach Boys, but we
also love everything from Frank Sinatra and Velvet Underground,
to modern stuff like Daft Punk, Mercury Rev, Air, Beck and The Flaming
Lips. But people kind of box you in under one label, but that’s
inevitable I guess.
What was it about the lifestyle over there you enjoyed?
It was amazing, we don’t buy into some crazy American dream notion,
but we were 20 at the time and it seemed like there was opportunities
to travel, and lots to see - San Francisco, going down to Mexico,
Vegas or Yosemite.
We could afford to live near the beach - 10 of us in a little place,
but it caught our imaginations and when we got back, we were just
very positive about everything and started working hard and taking
it seriously. It did turn the band around.
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| Conor
on stage |
One
Horse Town did really well for you - what else have you got in store?
We’ve got a single, Big Sur out this week - the album’s out at the
end of June and maybe we'll re-release Santa Cruz, and then maybe
go to America and do some college shows - that’s always been one
of our big dreams.
Tell us about the video shoot on the beach for Big Sur
The problem with video shoots is when you’ve two days of opportunity,
you can't risk the weather in Dublin, so we shot it on a beach near
Mailbu. We did it with a director called Diane Martell - she had
lot lots of hip hop videos and did a really cool Snoop Dog video.
She wanted to work with a guitar band. We were big fans of The Virgin
Suicides and she picked up that we wanted to get that look. It was
great, apart from one idea when she wanted me lip synching on horseback
- that was one thing I wasn’t sure about.
You
got some advice from Bono recently?
We supported Morrissey in a show in Dublin not so long ago and there
was a party afterwards and he was just saying be careful, just be
afraid of LA - I kind of know what he was talking about. We had
good time, but you hear these casualty stories about bands just
blowing loads of money and just coming out with two or three songs.
We went out there and worked hard and made the most of it and we’re
really proud of the record now - it turned out the way we wanted
it so it all worked out ok.
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| The
Thrills live in Newport |
How
do you all get along when you are touring?
It's really important that all the band and crew get on as friends.
We’ve known each other for years, it's not just a musical friendship,
it's a friendship beyond that. We actually have such a laugh on
tour, we like going out and spend our time just winding each other
up.
We love travelling - that’s what the songs are about. We kind of
felt stuck in Dublin and we wanted to get out and see other things
so I’m not going to moan about it now - we love travelling and playing
our music.
Any odd experiences on this tour?
In Bournemouth last night - the gig went great but the club turned
into this nu-metal rock night so we weren’t really keen on hanging
around. We got asked back to a party. Some guy - his parents were
obviously away - had transformed this tiny garden with candles and
tents into a real hippy vibe - there was over 300 people in the
back of a tiny garden. But in the back he had a bar and was charging
for beers and shorts - I don't know if he made a killing or not,
but it was kind of fun.
What bands are you looking forward to seeing today?
The main ones are Iggy Pop - I’ve never seen him live, can’t wait
for that. And John Squire, even though I haven’t heard the solo
record, he plays some old Roses songs.
What does it mean to play at the Isle of Wight Festival?
I remember Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix played here, and then it had
to stop of course - it's great to play here now beacuse it has got
such a lot of history. Its like Glastonbury, it's great to play
these places where all the great bands have played before - it's
very exciting!
What did you think of the Isle of Wight Festival? - Who were
the turkeys and who really rocked? - Have your say on our IOW
Festival Message Board.
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