With the recent release of the Deluxe Edition of Kevin Nolan's stunning debut album "Fredrick & The Golden Dawn" I decided it was time to get to know the man better and find out what he has planned. How did you first get into music? I first got into music around the age of five. For some reason, I was obsessive with The Beatles. I knew all the lyrics of lots and lots of Beatles songs and the melodies, too. My mother was awestruck, she could hardly believe it. But it was more

Funzo releases his brand new album Beggars vs Choosers on December 2nd. I spoke to Liam McDermott about this amongst other things. This is your 4th album in 4 years, how do you stay so prolific? I'm quite obsessive as a person, so staying active in music makes sense to me. I get bored and frustrated if I'm not working at something! How long after you have finished an album does the focus turn to the next? I'll always have songs at my disposal that didn't fit on one album so I

How was Zaska formed? In 2010 I went to Electric Picnic for the first time, I sampled a mysterious potion and I had an epiphany to bring together the most bad ass musicians I knew to create a sound both complex but also extremely funky. I made some calls and within a few days I had a brand new band with the most original name of all time “Groove". There have been many members of Zaska over time, what is the current lineup for the album? Its ever changing! It's basically betwe

1. There was a 9 year gap between albums. Why was that? We spent a couple of years after releasing our first album touring it throughout Europe. After that we had a bit of a line-up change and I guess it took us time to find our feet again with a newer sound. We were getting into a lot more melodic sounds and harmonies and began to hone in on the smaller details of our sound. 2. How have the band progressed in that time? The first time around we were into a more simplistic a

Under The Street Light with Dave McMahon returns after a short break and this time I have Claudio and Darren from international, Dublin based blues band, Mongrel State. When did you first realise that you wanted to be a musician? Darren - I kinda did everything backwards – I started playing, then fell in love with music, and then discovered it. Originally I started to learn guitar as I thought it would be a good way to meet girls. So I guess the first time where I thought “Oh

This edition of Under The Street Light with Dave McMahon focuses on Kilkenny born singer-songwriter Gary O'Neill. Gary has recently released his second EP "Gracefully With Haste" and had a very successful launch night in the Unitarian Church, Dublin. When did you first realise that you wanted to be a musician? When I went to see Foy Vance back in 2013. I was just after dropping out of college, slightly confused and a wee bit lost. I genuinely came out of that gig knowing exa

In this edition of Under The Street Light with Dave McMahon, I spoke to Derek Clabby, frontman from The Bionic Rats, arguably, Ireland's best reggae/ska band. The band have just released their third album, Another Fine Mess. When did you first realise that you wanted to be a musician? I was into the idea from very early on, I loved making music & loved the fact you can never be bored when you can play an instrument. How did you get started? When I was around 17 we used to

After a short break, Under The Street Light returns with singer-songwriter, Ailbhe Reddy. Ailbhe was chosen to play on the bill for Whelan's Ones To Watch 2015 and we agree, so we decided to dig deeper and find out more about this talented lady. When did you first realise that you wanted to be a musician? I've wanted to be a musician since I was a little kid listening to Queen in the back of my mum's car. How did you get started? I was far too shy as a teenager to play any gi

Here we are once again with another edition of Under The Street Light with Dave McMahon. This time I talk to multi talented musician and all round nice guy, Liam McDermott, better known as Funzo. When did you first realise that you wanted to be a musician? I've always thought it was the coolest thing in the world but it became a more realistic ambition when I started writing, around the age of 15. How did you get started? When I was a teenager, I saved up and bought drums, ke

Welcome again to another edition of Under The Street Light with Dave McMahon. After the success of their debut album, I wanted to find out more about Galway based duo, Grounds For Invasion so I had a few questions for both Tracy Friel and Will O’Connor. Here is what they had to say. When did you first realise that you wanted to be a musician? Tracy - Probably since I was a very young teen but I don’t ever think I saw it as a reality. Will - In my mid-20's, when I was on the A