 |
| Rezlow |
Rezlow members Terry, Brendan, Cillian, Conor & Barry talk with @IndieMusicBus
So you guys are all from Ireland, what is the music scene like in your current city?
Terry: As it always has been - jam-packed with really talented bands, singer-songwriters & duos of all styles and genres of music...pretty much every night of the week there are gigs or shows to go and see & something for everyone ...I think the fact that it’s always been a huge part of Irish culture has been a big reason for our real diverse and plentiful music scene here.
Barry: Every small town in the country has a great crop of musicians. It’s a really good place to learn your chops as the standard of musicianship is fantastic.
Brendan: It’s a great scene. It has grown to be so diverse and interesting. We have all styles merging together and the best part is everyone supports each other. It’s like a big family, no matter your musical background. It’s in the Irish blood and music is a huge part of us.
How did Rezlow get its name and current members?
Barry: The four of us have been friends since we were kids and then Bren met Terry who joined the group later on. The name Rezlow is a kind of mixing of words I believe.
Terry: I’ll leave this one to you Bren..
Cillian: The core of the band, Barry, Conor myself and Brendan have been together quite a while, since school days. Brendan met Terry in Dublin through mutual friends and after the first meeting they began exchanging demos almost immediately.
Brendan: well, the name Rezlow was a mix of two past band names Red Curtain Session and Lazlo. I wish it was a more interesting story, but that’s really it... just a simple name that we fell upon. We are glad it’s quite unique though as there’s no problem finding us in a Google search!
You are a five piece band; do you all contribute to the writing process, who does what?
Barry: Cillian and Bren come up with music... The rest of us just chime in with ideas to make it better :)... Or worse in some cases
Terry: Yes everyone does their bit with writing. We just throw as much together as we can and then work through it...and see what comes out...each of us have a job to do in the writing process and then we bring it all together. It’s a simple format...usually starting with one or two ideas from any one or all of us...
Cillian: It’s a collective process with everyone coming on board at some stage, be it with the original riff/hook to the final mix being prepared for mastering
Conor: Everyone plays their part for sure, and it’s great to see it come together in the end. We share a lot of the responsibilities, even when it comes to the tea making!
Brendan: We definitely all contribute but it’s never in the same way. Every song is unique and I am sure the next record will be different again. Some songs begin with a chord or riff; sometimes a drum pattern - like our tracks ‘Drive’ and ‘Run Riot’, the latter of which is more like the rhythm of a train, beating down the tracks. That rhythmic feel very much defined that particular song. So it was Barry who had the principle idea and we worked off of that, initially with a piano... then acoustic guitar and the vocal. Other songs came from Cillian’s writing sessions. Sometimes they came even while watching TV, strumming a chord progression and he quickly calling me and playing it over the phone so I could hear it and recreate it & record the idea onto tape! That demo would then be passed around amongst us and we would develop the initial idea. ‘7 Days’ began like that.‘Red Flag’ also. Other tracks on our album like ‘Sell Me’, ‘All I Could’ and ‘Where You Are’ came about in the more traditional setting of us jamming about loudly in a room! Terry is always writing lyrics and adds great musical ideas as we write and also likes take home a copy of the rough demos to work with.
Terry: The songs are about real life...fiction...history...journeys, but music to me is very personal. People like different things & tastes and different things move different people...so I’d like to say that the album is about whatever the listener wants it to be about...the songs belong to the listeners...you know what I mean? I wouldn’t want to explain each of them. What they mean to me, they will something else to someone else...so yeah as I said, the album is about whatever you want it to be about.
Brendan: Yeah those songs are on the album. Every song is different and comes from a different place. One feeling I always get from this album is one of change. Maybe that’s just me. As Terry says, it will mean something different for everyone. That’s the beauty of it I suppose. Though to me there seems to be definite movement in the sounds and the lyrics. The album is like a soundtrack with each song telling a part of personal story.
Barry: Yes the singles are from the album. The album is fairly diverse both musically and lyrically. I agree that each listener eventually decides on what each song is about no matter what the writer intends.
You are self producing the album, where is your recording being done?
Brendan: Yeah I am producing it but everyone’s a part of the process right up to mastering. I recorded mostly all of it in a house in Kerry, Ireland. A very basic portable studio set up in various rooms. Live acoustic piano room (large sitting-room) was used for the drums as well as the piano. I did a lot of acoustic guitars in the kitchen and most of vocals in a living room. Some vocals including ‘7 Days’ I recorded in Terry’s living room in Dublin! If you listen closely you might hear a train pulling into Heuston Station on that track! It was not the ideal way of doing things but we learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed it. Who knows where the next one will take place!
Conor: Terry touches on the songs and recording also in our blog at rezlow.com
List some interesting facts about each member of the band:
- Terry was born with his hat on
- Cillian sometimes thinks he’s so good at soccer that he likes to thinks he is a professional Italian footballer by the name of Cilliano. He was also once classed as a ‘musical genius’ in a local newspaper and keeps reminding us of that!
- Conor claims to be the best free-thrower and three point shooter in Ireland... since he was 16.
- Brendan’s got moves like jagger but that’s yet to be confirmed!
- On a night in the pub and after several pints of Guinness, Barry still looks and talks like he hasn't touched a drop while the rest of us are a little worse for wear...
What would you say has been your favorite venue to perform at and why?
Cillian: Stag’s Head Dublin, great acoustics, warm atmosphere
Brendan: Black Lion, always have great support there. Great atmosphere, always a party!
Conor: After our Summer tour in Northern Europe, I’ll have a new one I am sure, so ask me then!
Do you play cover songs at your gigs?
Cillian: Yes, depending on the venue, some audiences like a mixture of originals and covers.
Barry: We play some covers but mostly all our own stuff.
Brendan: Yes, we do a select bunch of covers we can but our own stamp on. They fit right in with our own stuff! We have a few new covers we will be adding to the Summer gigs we are currently planning.
Can you describe what a typical Rezlow show is like?
Barry: Awesome!!
Cillian: Live, energetic, intimate
Conor: Rockin’!
Brendan: organic... rock ‘n ‘roll!
What do you have to offer your fans, during your live shows, aside from the musical performance?
Barry: Good energy and zero disappointment with the show.... And a t-shirt to go home in... $5.95 tax not included!!
Brendan: A reason to believe in and support indie music! Oh and yeah, a t-shirt!
Cillian: An intimate musical journey through the lyrics and stories told.
Would you say your major fan base is local or online currently?
Cillian: Currently online, but we hope to balance up the numbers with a tour of European gigs this Summer.
Barry: We have both a good local fan base and online support. Good news for us is that it’s getting bigger by the day.
Brendan: Currently I’d have to say online but the local support is there always and will show once we start playing gigs to support this record. It’s incredibly exciting to know we will be showcasing these new songs to people from all over very soon. We are starting by organising a self funded tour beginning in August which will be taking in Ireland, England, The Netherlands, Germany and maybe more. A U.S trip is also something we really want to make happen in the near future. Thanks to the touring and online social networks we hope to really solidify our fan base and go from there. Right now it really is a word of mouth scenario for us to get the name and sound of Rezlow around. We really appreciate you at IndieMusicBus and the many others like you guys who pour all of your efforts into spreading the word of great Indie music.
LINKS:
http://rezlow.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/rezlow
https://www.facebook.com/Rezlow
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be so kind to leave a comment in support of this band or artist or article.