Unfortunately we must announce that Barry has parted ways with the group. Myself, Nick and Ronan would like to thank him for all he's done for us over the years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

All is not lost though as we are soon to lock ourselves into the studio once more to record "the album". Don't want to give away too much at this point so stay tuned for further developments.


Paul

EH

Hello all,

A quick post to let you know that we completed a new video for "A Pickle Like You". Major thanks have to go to Andrés Cardona who envisaged, directed, shot and edited the video. Also, thanks so much to the Actors who turned up and did a fantastic job despite being roused at an un-godly early hour. Thanks also to the crew who did a fantastic job in keeping things running over the 2 days in the Central Hotel.






Evil Harrisons
"A Pickle Like You"
myspace.com/evilharrisons

Vocals: Rónán Murphy
Guitar: Barry Dwyer
Bass: Nicolás Puyané
Percussion: Paul Carolan

Directed by José Andrés Cardona

Restaurant Patrons:
(in order of appearance)
Yvonne Ussher
Raymond S. Kinsella
Carla McGlynn
Michael Berry
Celine Mullins
Paul Clancy
Cian Clancy
Audrey McCoy
Brian Robinson
Siobhan Hearty
Matthew Blayney
Claire Jenkins

Cicero Homogenea, the Chef: Gerry Wade
The Host/Waiter: Tony Pacino

The Crew:
Assistant Director: Tyler D. Savage
Gaffer: Michael Healey
Production Supervisor: Brian McAuley
Assistant Camera: David Sherman Broad
Sound: Andrea Demers
Dolly Grip: Alexander Hilhorst
Graphics: Sarith Demuni
Makeup: Alison Dinsmore, Laura Dinsmore

Special Thanks:
Evil Harrisons, Paul Fitzgerald, Susanne Bach, Aris Venetikidis, Hot Press Magazine, Isobel Boyle and the Central Hotel, Barbara Henkes and Kevin Cunnane at Filmbase, Jason Foran at Cine Electric, and the Cardona family

Filmed at the Central Hotel in Dublin, Ireland

New York University
Tisch School of the Arts

Hey,


Here are some links link an accoustic session we did for the fine BBC NI radio show Across The Line (ATL)

1. Some Grand Plan

2. Light In The Belfry

3. The Life I'm Dreaming Of

* Note you'll need Real Player to have a listen

Many thanks to Paul, Rigsy & Co. for having us up and helping us out on the day. Check out some their homepage above if you can there's plenty of other archived sessions and shows well worth getting your ears around...

Baz
EH

HWCH 2007: Ones To Watch part 1

The annual Hard Working Class Heroes festival kicks off in little over a week, and from now until then, we'll be featuring bands that come sealed with the esteemed entertainment.ie stamp of approval. First up: Evil Harrisons.

Who are they?
They're Evil Harrisons - Ronan Murphy (vocals), Barry Dwyer (guitars), Nicholas Puyané (bass) and Paul Carolan (drums).

Where are they from?
Dundalk - but don't let the Corrs/IRA connection put you off..

What do they sound like?
Pop-rock at its finest; Murphy has the lyrical turn of phrase and the vocal capabilities of a young Morrissey or Neil Hannon, while Dwyer's outstanding guitar work is comparable to Johnny Marr's or Bernard Butler's. Yes, they're that good - and getting better all the time.

Why shouldn't I miss them?
Because they're one of the best young bands in the country at the moment.

Where can I hear more?
Pick up their brilliant EP 'In If It Is', or check out their MySpace at www.myspace.com/evilharrisons

words Stephen McMullin
photo Laura Nolan

Common sense isn't common, and Evil Harrisons are not very evil. Not very evil people at least. Their tunes on the other hand could be interpreted as unpleasant by those who like to listen to shit music on a frequent basis. You don't? Well then, get yer winking gear around this smut:

Dundalk is famous for many things, IRA activities, Harp lager and, er… What was that band called? The one with the three birds and a turd? Ah, you know who I mean… It's against this kind of prejudice that the Evil Harrisons are forced to fight, day in, day out. It's not easy being from Louth.

This hasn't stopped them, however, as the four lads (Ronan – vocals; Nicolás – bass; Barry – guitar; and Paul – the absent drummer) have come blazing out of the Spirit Store with a collection of tunes that are remarkably different — from each other and everything else doing the rounds at the moment. It wasn't a surprise to learn that The Beatles are a major influence, particularly the White Album. It was a surprise to hear old school showtunes have more to do with the unique sound.

Ronan tells me, "I love those old 20s and 30s musicals, for the beautifully constructed songs — that sophistication and wit." He goes on to list Cole Porter, Rogers and Hart, Gershwin and a group of other Tin Pan Alley types who wouldn't turn up on the influences list of too many rock'n'rollers. But the most importat thing about them is their "Lovely, big, fat harmonies." Listening to the EP, In If It Is, these influences can be heard quite clearly in the, at times, almost melodramatic compositions (A Pickle Like You springs to mind).

These influences come together, but filtered through the Evil Harrisons Mojo Regenerator, in which genres, labels and styles are ignored equally. Barry tells me, "We're not deliberately trying to be really different, that's just how it comes out — we're just expressing ourselves. We try not to get too bogged down in labels and all that 'You've gotta sound like this and dress like this'. I mean, we're in a band, we're here to make fucking music, and if we can't express ourselves like that then we might as well be working in Bank of Ireland."

Passionate.

Nicolás adds, "I always try to look at it like, 'Would I be bored if I was listening to this myself?' You get the idea to try and pack as much stuff in as possible. We don't want to do the kind of verse, chorus, instrumental — now I'm gonna hear it again with some lyrics over the top. Why not just cut to the chase and move on with it? I think we can handle it."

Let's hope they can, and keep releasing that weirdy stuff of theirs.

Hey,

We made a video last week. Thanks to everyone who helped us out at such short notice, you know all who you are - we really appreciate it. Thanks also to Dave and Ambrose for pulling it all together. We'll post it up here as soon as we have the finished product.

Baz
EH

Photo Dan Dennison
Words Lauren Murphy


EVIL HARRISONS' very particular brand of quirky, accessible indie-pop revolves around the impressive song writing team of Ronan Murphy (vocals) and Barry Dwyer (guitar). Having recorded 2FM sessions and worked with producer Marc Carolan, latest EP In If It Is is their best material to date; an astonishingly rounded and lush collection of songs.

How did Evil Harrisons form, and how long have you been going?
We formed about four years ago, when Barry (whom I've known since first year) introduced me to Nick and Paul. They were a band in need of a singer and I was a word-slinger in need of a band. We hit it off straight away, and here we still are...

Why did you decide to release your own material, rather than try to push for a deal with even a small Irish or UK label, say like the likes of The Immediate on Fantastic Plastic?
We enjoy the freedom of it. When you release your own material you have carte-blanche on every aspect of production, both musical and visual. We decided that instead of being held ransom to somebody's decision in an A&R department - who had no interest in us - we would take control ourselves. Support from a label would have been great when we started out but we've learned about the industry since then and how to do it ourselves, and now being independent seems like the most natural thing in the world! Also with being an independent artist, there's no pressure on you to deliver sales. There's no "One Album Deal" - then your dropped. You can develop at your own pace. In hindsight, knowing what we know now about recording, songwriting and the industry - we weren't ready for a deal when we started out. We've come around to the opinion that it's better to be signed to no deal than a bad deal, and now we have a better idea of what a bad deal might be.


Your independent spirit is really admirable, especially considering how accomplished your music sounds. What are the ins-and-outs of releasing your material? How time-consuming/expensive is it?
Recording-wise it all depends on the material and how ambitious you want to be with it. Our first two EPs were recorded over a few days for next to nothing and we chose songs suited to that somewhat rough-around-the-edges production set-up. We knew, however, that "You're My Ears And My Big Toes" needed something a bit glossier, so we upped our game and spent a week in a real studio, and any band can tell you that ain't cheap. We used up all our gig money on the recording alone. Then comes the artwork. I'm not sure if there's a condition called "Photoshop Psychosis" but that pretty much describes how you feel after a week of six-hour-a-day staring-at-the-screen design sessions. And lastly there's the long, prosaic, wallet-raping process of getting the CD's printed up and into the shops. "Still you wouldn't change it for a crock of gold"? Perhaps, but I wouldn't trust myself to make that decision...

You worked with Marc Carolan on a couple of your EPs - how did that collaboration come about? Considering he's a bit of a major producer, it must have been quite a coup getting him on board to produce an unsigned band.
Marc is Paul's brother and naturally was curious about his younger brother's forray into the music industry. He heard our first EP (X as in Fox) and our second EP (Seafood and Crab), was impressed with the progression we had made in terms of sound and asked to work with us. It was hard correlating our spare time - he had to find a window in Muse's grueling tour schedule into which we could fit. Working with Marc's always a pleasure- he has an uncanny knack of teasing the best out of you.


Will you put your (imminent) album out by yourself too and go the Delorentos route, or are you waiting for a deal? Could you afford to put it out?
Yes, we will most definitely be putting out the album by ourselves! I really think there's never been a better time to be independent. For example, we have a studio in Barry's flat. From there we did the vast majority of work for the "In If It Is" EP. From there we recorded the demos, designed all the artwork and recently just finished shooting and editing the video. We even organised uploading the EP to iTunes there also. With digital sales now counting towards the charts, you're no longer held to ransom by physical distributors. We've heard of unsigned bands having to pay thousands to distribution companies just to get their singles/albums into the major record stores in Ireland - and this doesn't even guarantee that it will sell! For less than the price of a pint you can have worldwide distribution of your music via iTunes or other on-line retailers now. If you decided to go exclusively digital, the money saved in duplication and distribution would be thousands of euros. You could use this extra money to spend longer in the studio and to hire somebody to promote your release - actually helping it to sell!


You MUST have had quite a bit of A&R interest by now - are you/ have you ever been close to thrashing out a deal with anyone?
No, we've honestly never had anybody approach us! We've done all the usual things bands do when starting out- trawled the Hotpress yearbook, Googled every label's A&R department, pinned all our hopes on various showcases - and waited in vain. It can be very tough when your sound doesn't fit comfortably into one of the major labels 18-25 niche markets! We got so fed up with waiting for any feedback from the industry that we decided to get stuck in ourselves.


Evil Harrisons are quite prolific, in terms of the consistently high-quality material you churn out. How easy is it to get your stuff played on radio without a press and promotions department pushing your EPs down people's throats? And how hard is it build a fan base, for the same reasons? Has MySpace helped, to that effect?
All we can do is send in our CDs and hope for the best. We've had to be our own press and promotions department - i.e. sending out promo CD's to everybody we could possibly think of and emailing out press releases. We did it with our earlier releases and got very little airplay - Mostly community radio stations. I imagine it's a much better feeling knowing that your song gets played because the DJ actually likes it, rather than because he's got a promotions dept breathing down his neck. Our song "Some Grand Plan", for example, had a spate of recent plays on Phantom...DJ's were playing it because they liked it. People were requesting it because they liked it. We can say that with absolute certainty precisely because we're unsigned. And it's a great feeling. Then they might check out our stuff and read a bit about us on Myspace, which creates a virtuous circle: people check your Myspace Page, like what they hear, and request the song...Myspace also makes you very aware of how professionally some bands take it! Before, to a certain extent, you just competed with other bands in your area. Now on Myspace, you are competing with bands from all over the the world for a mouse-click! It's amazing the level of togetherness you see in other unsigned bands in terms of songwriting, production and promotion.


Is there anyone on the Irish scene right now that you look at and think 'that's the position we want to be in in 6 months'? Anyone you admire, or aspire to?
Two: Delorentos and Republic of Loose. Both run their own labels and work extremely hard on the gig circuit. Republic of Loose are a particular inspiration for us in that have a sound distinctly out of step with current musical industry trends (as I feel we do too) and have had the confidence and self-belief to go it alone. It's also admirable that they've chosen to do so here in Ireland and taken the Irish public with them - they could so easily have decamped to the UK or USA where R&B and Hip-Hop are more acceptable influences in homegrown acts.

Are you guys still all based in Dundalk? I take it you all have day jobs? Any plans to relocate to Dublin and do this music thing full-time, or is that a bit of a pipe-dream at the moment?
I've never actually had a "proper" job. One of my favourite songs has always been "You've Got Everything Now" by the Smiths: "...No I've never had a job because I've never wanted one...". That pretty much sums up my situation work-wise. When people ask me what I do and I answer "I'm in a band" I'm usually met with an incredulous stare/laugh as if I'd actually said "I'm an unemployed bum". So I suppose in a way I'm already doing it full-time. It's the same with Barry, Paul and Nick: we all try and spend as little time in the realm of employment as possible; it just gets in the way of making music! Dundalk will keep it's HQ status for us for the forseeable future. It's crazy you probably think - seeing as the hub of the Irish Music Industry is Dublin. All of us in the band have lived in Dublin for periods before. We've decided against it simply in terms of the cost of living there. Besides with the internet, the M1 and a Renault Clio there's little that cant be achieved from Dundalk. It's only a matter of time before it catches on...

Howdy

Across the Line gave us a spin on Monday 7th, you can check out the show HERE. Tis indeed a good show... Thanks to Paul and the rest ATL crew for the spin.

Baz
EH

Photo Martin McElligott


Hello all,

Aoife from the Indie Hour on Anna Livia 103.2 was kind enough to invite us onto her weekly show. Here's some tunes and some chat from myself and Ronan:


Its on from 9-10pm every Thursday and is well worth checking out either on 103.2 on yo FM dial, thats only in Dublin now, y'hear. Or you can tune in afterwards for a listen to the show in its entirety at:the indie hour blog.

You can also subscribe to this blog, if you so wish, here: Subscribe