When/How did you first start playing music?
That particular story begins with me as a nerdy kid in my bedroom with my computer, making simple electronic music and slowly but surely getting fascinated with chords and harmony. The piano in my parents’ house became more and more alluring with time and I started to write on that as well. The two disciplines always remained fairly separate though; I'd write songs on piano and create tracks on the computer. A few years back my girlfriend bought me a guitar and that became my new love. I did the indie guitar band thing for a while, which I loved, but eventually felt a desire to create on my own again. This project is the first time I've married all of the various elements I've learned & loved learning so far: guitar, keys, recording, samples, songwriting and singing.
What's the best gig you ever played?
Since we've been around just over six months, we've been delighted at the attendance and reaction from gig one. The North American tour, which ended at SXSW in March, saw us meeting and playing with some of our favorite bands. We enjoyed all of the gigs on the tour but in Toronto we played this tiny little venue, like the size of someone's sitting room, with two of my favorite Canadian bands, Foxes In Fiction and Memoryhouse. Everyone was crammed in, the PA was awful and we all had slight difficulties playing but that was part of the experience. I have fond memories of that. Then in Austin the day of our official SXSW showcase I met George Lewis Junior (Twin Shadow), whose track 'Castles In The Snow' I did a version of for a compilation a couple months back. He told me he dug our version, which was cool and we played it later that night in Friends to a full venue. Both of those gigs come to mind as favorites so far.
You played at our SXSW party this past March. What was your SXSW experience like?
SXSW is hard to describe to anyone who hasn't been. The vibe is just amazing walking down 6th Street for the first time. Everyone is a musician, a hipster, music industry or a music fan. The sun is always shining, the beer is always flowing and every single building has at least one venue in it with a band playing, more than likely a band you have listened to or at least heard of and want to check out. Just being there is amazing. Getting to play it as well is way beyond that. You realize just how lucky you are to get picked to play this amazing festival. It also makes you realize the bigger bands are just guys and girls who love making music as well, so in a way it helps to give a little perspective on the whole scene. I'd recommend it to anyone who's into music at any level. Start saving now, book some sort of accommodation or just wing it but make sure you're in Austin for those 4 days next year.
How has social media effected the way you market/promote your music?
I think marketing and promotion are words and concepts that anyone who just loves making music would be uncomfortable with on some level. The great thing about the way Facebook and Twitter have changed the social landscape is that someone who discovers new music can instantly search for the band and start interacting with them, by liking a post or tweeting or commenting. As a music fan, that's amazing. As someone who creates music, that's amazing. Marketing and promotion don't really come into it. People will just find you if they like what you do. I think that's pretty amazing.
What's your prediction for the next big advancement in how we find/listen to/share music?
I think the lines are continually being blurred between social networking and listening to music online. Hype Machine, Spotify and others have managed to blur the lines between having music on a computer or hard drive and streaming online. I think all of these lines are going to disappear to a point where we just listen and interact in the cloud. Once mobile streaming is more realistic in terms of decent data access on your phone or in your car that's when the game is going to change completely. The internet has changed the way the majority of people listen to music at their computers. Once that bleeds into real life as well that's when we'll really understand how the cloud is going to affect our day-to-day listening. If you were growing up now you probably wouldn't equate music with anything physical. In a way that's sad, but it also opens up discovery to a whole new level.
What's your next big gig coming up? When/Where?
We're playing two fairly large Irish festivals in one weekend pretty soon: Indiependence and Castlepalooza. The former is in Cork, the latter is based in the grounds of a castle in Tullamore Co. Offaly. Both festivals have amazing vibes and we're looking forward to playing one then heading across the country to play the other. They're both at the end of July. There'll be plenty of gigs in between now and then but they're the ones we're looking forward to most, purely for that festival atmosphere back home.
Check out more on Sacred Animals here.
