Galway Advertiser 2004/2004_08_12/GA_1208_E1_040.pdf 

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Galway Advertiser

August 12 2004

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SLAN HAVE been one of Ireland's most consistently brilliant live acts and they bring their live magic to Galway next week with a show at The Quays on Friday August 20. The band's guitarist Billy McGuinness spoke to KEVIN MCGUIRE this week about Aslan's new musical direction, their chequered history with Louis Walsh, and making it in Britain. Hailing from Dublin's working class areas of Finglas and Ballymun, Aslan became instant stars when they released their debut single `This Is' in the late 1980s. Their most recent single `Shine A Light' has continued the trend of their success in the charts and on radio. When I speak to Billy, Aslan

Guitarist McGuinness shines a light on Aslan's new direction A
are just back from a successful gigging stint in Britain and he's in upbeat form. "We're just back from Scotland," says McGuinness. "We were gigging in Glasgow and Edinburgh. It was a great few days and the gigs were fantastic. It's a good time because the single is out and it went in at number four in the Irish charts last week. It's kind of a change of direction for us. With `Shine A Light' people are saying it's a different Aslan. "Rather than fall into the Oasis trap of making every album sound the same we purposely set out to make this new album sound different. I think the people who have always supported us are taking to it very well. We're also picking up a few new fans who normally wouldn't be into the old Aslan sound." Aslan have been noted for in the last few years for collaborating with other artists and this single features notable contributions from Jerry Fish and Alabama 3. "We go back with Jerry a long time," says McGuinness, "even before the days when he was with An Emotional Fish. We did a run of five gigs in The Olympia a while back and we had Damien Rice, Jerry Fish, and Relish coming up and doing cover versions with the band. Jerry did `Rock and Roll Suicide', Damien did Prince's `Kiss' and Relish did `Easy'. We recorded the show at The Olympia and when it came to doing a B-side for `Shine A Light' we asked Jerry if we could use the recording of song he did.
Aslan play an unplugged gig at The Quays on Friday August 20.

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Tuam gears up for its own arts festival

"He had no problem with it and he just said `Yeah, work away'. The third track on the single features Alabama 3. We were gigging with them at the Trinity Ball last year and we kind of became pals with them. We asked the Rev D Wayne would he come over and do a bit of a rap on the remix. Fair play to him he came over and did a great piece of work. It's actually after working out really well for us now because we're after giving them the sample for `Crazy World' and they're going to use that on their new album, which is coming out next month. It's good to be working with these people cause you never know what might happen." Aslan's last album Waiting For This Madness To End featured Sinead O'Connor's considerable vocal talent on backing vocals. Since then Sinead has retired from the music industry and Billy feels it's a big loss to music. "We just got a call last week about Sinead. EMI are releasing an album of duets Sinead O'Connor did throughout her career and we're hoping they'll include one of the two tracks she sang on our album. She sang on the single `She's So Beautiful' and sang a duet with Christy called `Up In Arms'. Sinead retiring is a major loss because when she

came in to sing on our album the hairs were standing up on the back of our necks - her singing in that session was just so beautiful. Sinead is without doubt the best female singer Ireland has ever produced. Dolores O'Riordan or The Corrs or any of them are just pale imitations." Sinead has been well known over the years for putting paid to her demons in the public arena. Recently the release of the book This Is Christy Dignam saw the Aslan front man exorcising some of his demons which included the revelation that he was sexually abused as a child and the subsequent battle with heroin addiction that he went through. "It's very graphic and it's very real but that's Christy for you," states McGuinness. "We asked him why he was doing the book and he said it was to finally say goodbye to that part of his life. There's no bulls**t with Christy - he always tells it straight. That's true of the new single as well. He writes about people like Louis Walsh, Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman and those who take young people and if they're not successful they just discard them. It's something very close to Christy's heart because he doesn't like to see kids abused in any way."

In an ironic twist, however, Louis Walsh was once a booking agent for Aslan. "Louis used to book gigs for us years and years ago," admits McGuinness. "I remember he used to ring us up and he'd send us down the country for a gig in the middle of nowhere. Then we'd meet him on the Sunday and we'd have to give him his commission. Fair play to him though `cause he's done well with what he'd had. He's had a lot of luck, say especially when he launched Boyzone just as Take That was about to split up. What we don't agree with is you take a band like Six and because they were not immediately successful they were discarded. That's wrong because these are human beings with feelings that they're dealing with." Aslan have been successful in Ireland but have failed to transfer that success onto the British market. However they learned a valuable lesson last year. "We went over last September and re-recorded `Crazy World' with producer Mike Hedges," says McGuinness. "It was a very expensive exercise for us. Hedges did a really good job and we released the single in the UK last October. We went over then and did gigs in Manchester, Glasgow, and London. The gigs were fantastic but unfortunately the single didn't get played on radio and it was a bit disheartening. It gets harder all the time because we're not 17 any more. With the new album we'll probably send over stuff to radio in the UK and if it gets played we'll go over and tour on the back of that. We're learning all the time." Aslan's new album For Some Strange Reason is due for release later this year. Tickets are available for their show at The Quays at Zhivago and Redlight.

Living it up from left: Tommy Varden, Sarah Roharty, and Midey Corcoran at the recent launch of the Tuam Arts Festival.

BY KERNAN ANDREWS

T

he Tuam Arts Festival kicks off on Thursday August 19 and will run for 10 days, featuring a major concert from the Saw Doctors in Tuam Stadium on August 29 as well as shows with Tommy Tiernan and Maigh Seola. The festival's intention is to present Tuam as a vibrant centre of creative development, and will encompass music,

comedy, the visual arts, and sport. The programme includes The Saw Doctors, comedian Tommy Tiernan, Irish trad group Maigh Seola, folk singer Tony Small, singer-songwriter Padraic Stevens, actor Rod Goodall, performer Little John Nee, singer-songwriter Noellie McDonnell, Stone Lakes, workshops, exhibitions, and a homage to the great GAA sportsman Sean Purcell. The festival programme, the main sponsor of which is Tommy Varden, is designed

and implemented by Earwig Community Arts. Earwig's objective is to develop performance, craft, and design faculties among children and young adults within Tuam, through active participation in performance events. It feels a successful annual arts festival will provide a development structure within which such learning can occur. For more information and tickets contact the Tuam Tourist Office and Music City, Tuam.

Benefit night for Solas educational group tonight

S

OLAS IS a group of local artists who provide art and cultural workshops for schools and youth clubs as well as members of the Travelling and asylum seeking communities. In order to help continue their work, the group has organised a fund-raising night

which will be held tonight in the Victoria Hotel at 9pm. Over the past two years Solas have provided different groups in the community with free workshops in drama, music, dance, and art. The aim is to explore issues such as multiculturalism and facilitate a growing awareness of the

participants' own power to express their views and talents. At tonight's benefit show, there will be displays of African, modern, and belly dancing as well as music by a number of local bands. DJ Satta will play world music and reggae. Tickets are available at the door.

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Arts Editor Kernan Andrews Tel: 091 530913 E-mail:theweek@galwayadvertiser.ie All news items must be in by 11am on Tuesday.