If you're in a band, forget about summer holidays. For two emerging Irish acts, summertime means festival dates, songwriting sessions and practising till they're perfect. Anna Carey meets The Blizzards and Fair Verona
Summer is a time for relaxation. A time to sit in the back garden with a cool drink and a good book. A time for lazy weekend barbecues. A time, if the weather lives up to the usual standards of an Irish summer, to get out of the country and go for a holiday somewhere that does summer properly.
Unless, that is, you're in a band. Then, summer is a time for hard work. A time for serious songwriting, festival playing and practising in dank rehearsal studios that never see natural light. Fair Verona and The Blizzards are two up-and-coming young Irish bands who both released their debut singles this year (You Don't Want to Know About It and First Girl to Leave Town, respectively), and whose summer holiday plans are centred around making music rather than basking in the sun. Here's how they're going to be spending summer 2005.
1. WRITING SONGS
The sun is shining. The sky is blue. But hard-working rock stars have songs to write. Aoife Cleary is Fair Verona's chief songwriter, and plans to devote this summer to coming up with new tunes. "We want to build up a new set this summer," says Cleary. "Hopefully we'll have an album's worth of material at the end of it." The Blizzards also have a central songwriter, frontman Niall Breslin. "I write the songs, but the rest of the band all contribute their own parts," says Breslin. "By the time we're finished, it could be a totally different song."
2. STICKING TOGETHER
The Blizzards got together as a band at Christmas 2003, but they five have been friends since primary school in Mullingar. "Suddenly we realised that we could all play instruments, so we decided to start a band," says Breslin. Fair Verona are also childhood chums, who grew up as neighbours in Carrick-on-Suir and started the band soon after leaving school three years ago. Having deferred their college places, the trio moved to Edinburgh for a while before returning to Ireland when bassist Karla Brazel decided to take a place at UCC. But after a year, Brazel abandoned academia for rock and roll. "We were really serious about the band, and Karla couldn't face seeing us going on with another bassist," says Cleary. The three girls now all share a Dublin flat, working day jobs and practising at night. "We do everything together," laughs drummer Lucy Coady.
3. GOING ON THE ROAD
The Blizzards have spent most of June taking part in the Faction tour, along with the Marshal Stars and Republic of Loose. Breslin likes life on the road. "I love touring," he says. "And it's really easy to tour in Ireland, because nowhere's too far away - especially where we're from." Fair Verona are also fans of touring. Although they've played some high-profile gigs in Dublin (including one with Kristin Hersh's 50 Foot Wave), they like roaming the country. "I love the road trip thing," says Cleary. "It's so much fun - you're working, but you're enjoying yourself too." Coady says that constant gigging keeps the band on their toes. "I think you really benefit from playing gigs one after the other," she says. "You get better and better every night."
4. STAYING HEALTHY
Niall Breslin is a rare thing - a rock front man who used to be a professional rugby player. Having played rugby for UCD, where he studied economics ("not very rock 'n' roll at all, I know"), Breslin went on to play full-time for Leinster. But he gave it up for music. "You get injured a lot in rugby, and you can't play [music] if you break a finger," he says. But he still stays fit. "We were on tour last year, and I was sitting in a bar, fluthered, at three in the afternoon, and I just thought: 'A year ago you were a professional rugby player - what am I doing to myself?'" So he's toned down the rock 'n' roll lifestyle - without difficulty, thanks to the rugby training.
5. PLAYING SOME FESTIVALS
While Fair Verona are hoping to play a few American showcases, The Blizzards will play their biggest gig to date when they take to the New Band stage at Oxegen tomorrow. "It's our first major festival," says Breslin. "But I'm not nervous at all. We've been touring so much that I have no nerves at all - it's pure excitement." Breslin's also aware of his illustrious predecessors who made their festival debuts on the New Band stage. "The Killers were playing that New Band stage last year," he marvels. "That's how fast it can happen."
6. MAKING PLANS FOR WINTER
Both bands plan to go into the recording studio later in the year - and both are looking away from home. "We've had some interest from American labels and producers, and we're very optimistic about that," says Coady. The Blizzards are likely to head to Scotland; Breslin's brother has a studio in Glasgow, where the band made their first recordings last year. "Our songs weren't fully developed then, but I think we're ready now." They also plan on releasing a second single - an early song which they plan to rerecord. They'll release it themselves - neither of these bands are waiting to be signed before they put out their music. "Plan A is to get signed, release a million-selling album and tour the world," says Breslin. "But plan B is just to release another single in Ireland."
The Blizzards play the New Band stage at Oxegen tomorrow. See www.oxegen.ie