Niamh Madden posted on December 15, 2008 08:44
A quick Q&A session with Dublin band New Amusement
Who or what has been the biggest influence on New Amusement's sound?
Well when we started Brian and I were obsessed with At the Drive-in so there was a lot of shouting & noisy amelodic guitars but it was a bit ridiculous to be honest. I think that taught us not to let any one band have such a big influence on us & just let 'the sound' come naturally. Even though we still love those heavier bands (like ATDI, Les Savy Fav, Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi) we also love more melodic poppy stuff like The Killers, The Cardigans, and New Order - so it all comes together in a big messy melting pot I suppose.
What has been your favourite venue to play in?
The Spirit Store in Dundalk is a nice place - nice location, good atmosphere, a shack out the back to drink cans in. We played there with Fight Like Apes earlier in the year & when we arrived there was a cat sitting at the bar drinking a saucer of milk - what more can I say!
What kind of tracks did you play while guest-DJing at Nodisko in Academy 2?
We started with Patty Lee by Les Savy Fav but we were always conscious of not going too far up our own arse so we tried to fit in as many favourites as possible like The Rat by The Walkmen, Abel by The National, House of Jealous Lovers by The Rapture. We thought it would be hilarious to finish up with Formed a Band by Art Brut just cos the lyrics are so funny but I think we were the only ones singing along.
What was it like supporting British Sea Power at the Academy?
It was great, they're one of our favourite bands - we really wanted to support them in Whelan's in January but we didn't get that one so it was great to get the Academy gig.
We'd been recording all weekend & came straight to the gig from the studio. None of us had eaten a dinner in four days so energy levels were low but when we got to the venue we just got a few beers into us & plucked up the courage to go in & say hello & ask them to sign some albums for us - I felt incredibly geeky doing that but it had to be done. The show itself went really well for us & BSP were deadly of course!
The ideal gig would be...
Eh... a summer roof party - could be a bit dangerous actually…
Favourite Irish album of 2008?
Ham Sandwich 'Carry the Meek'
Interview by Niamh Madden
More ...
[Read More...]