Sun, sea and super Sprockets songs...
AFTER what seems like the longest winter known to humankind, the sun is finally making a few appearances. And that can only mean one thing — festival season is upon us once more.
These days every town has some kind of event to celebrate the summer. Whether you like to large it up at the Electric Picnic, bus it to The Beatyard or join The Sea Sessions down in the sand, there’s a lot of fun to be had.
The Sea Sessions is fast becoming a popular punt — one thing you are guaranteed not to feel is the squelch of mud underfoot. As it’s based by the beautiful beach of Bundoran in Co Donegal, there will be sand between the toes whether it rains or shines from June 22 to 24.
As well as music, the festival seeks out surfing talent and for the environmently-conscious, there’s even a clean-up to help restore the area to its natural beauty.
The thing I really like most about Sea Sessions is the fact that the holiday town has plenty of options for accommodation for those of us whose backs won’t withstand three nights on the hard ground under canvas.
One of the acts joining Rudimental and Dizzee Rascal at the festival really sum up the sound of summer with their new album.
THE Hot Sprockets have just released their third album Dream Mover, another triumph for one of Ireland’s hardest working bands.
‘We have been getting a great reception from critics and fans,’ Tim from the band tells me. ‘We have even had orders for it from places like Lichtenstein and other countries where we didn’t realise we had fans.’
It’s a testament to the group’s talent as this is the third record they have released on their own label. And yet, even without major industry backing, their music is spreading far and wide.
‘We do everything ourselves,’ Tim explains. ‘We are basically the label, we do all the videos, merchandise and tours with help along the way from booking agents. When you start out in a band you just want to play music but as things progress you realise you have to do the office stuff too.’
In fact, The Hot Sprockets are in big demand over in Spain where their music is going down a treat.
‘We have three festivals here and then some across Europe during the summer. Then we have an English tour and a Spanish tour coming up later in the year,’ Tim says. ‘In Spain we are very fortunate as we get a lot of national radio play over there. It can be difficult to get playlisted on radio stations here because we are independent but over in Spain maybe it’s because we are foreign to them but we get a lot of radio play and that helps get the music out there to fans who come and see our shows.’
Star Trek fans will get a kick out of the band’s new video for the track Imagine Us On The Sun, just released yesterday, featuring the band’s own tribute to their favourite sci-fi shows. And part of the reason they work so well together is their long-standing friendships.
‘We’ve been together 12 years now which is crazy.’ Tim says. ‘We were all friends and the guys brought me a guitar for my 20th birthday because we just wanted to be in a band together.
‘I couldn’t play before that but Wayne and Joey were already in a band with Wayne’s brothers. We used to go and see them play and me and Frankie got jealous as we wanted to be on stage rocking out with them. A year later we had our first gig and it spiralled from there. We got the love bug for music and playing live and things took off from there. It has taken us all over the world — America, Canada, all over Europe. When we started out that was our dream so it has been amazing.’
If you are brave enough to venture out to a festival, you will be lucky to catch the blistering live set from The Hot Sprockets. If not, then pick yourself up a copy of Dream Mover. Whether your cranking up the barbecue or just cranking at the kids, this will add a touch of much-needed sunshine to life, whatever the weather.