Ennis band to launch debut EP

IT’S only apt that Ennis band The Bad Pennies launch their debut EP in Brandon’s Bar.

The trio of Paul Quinn, Shane Dwane on guitar and drummer Anthony Hehir played their first gig together at the Ennis venue. Since then the band, who describe themselves as playing “acoustic, alternative rock” have steadily gone on to make their mark on the music scene. They won last year’s Clare’s Got Talent competition and are set to perform on TG4’s Ponc XL at the end of the month, to be broadcast in April.
It was their winnings from the countywide talent search that made the recording of the new EP, Mr Parking Meter, possible, with the launch taking place on March 18 in the popular Ennis spot. As well as being able to buy the CD, the recording is also available for free download.
So what do the band think of their growing success since that first gig in Brandon’s? “Well it must be growing a bit, we’ve moved from playing downstairs to upstairs,” laughs 23-year-old Shane.
Paul says, “We had our first gig together there and Declan Brandon has always been great. He gave us a good chance, which is why we’re having the launch there.”
While the band came together 18 months ago, both Anthony and Shane have known each other since childhood and Shane also went to primary school with Paul.
However, it wasn’t until they got involved with the Clare Youth Service bands project that they began performing together.
“Myself and Paul have been busking since we were around 14 or 15. We were both playing in different bands when we were really young, little things. I don’t know if it was for competitive reasons to see who was the best but we just started jamming together the whole time in the centre. To have a facility like that in the town is amazing. It’s brilliant that they gave us so many opportunities,” explains Shane.
Paul, also 23, recalls, “When we were younger the youth service was our second home. When we started going there it was Elmo’s attic and there was just a drum kit upstairs. Now there’s a full recording studio, it’s just brilliant.”
Anthony, the youngest of the group at 20, was also a regular at the CYS bands project. “About 18 months ago I was walking up O’Connell Street and happened to bump into Shane and we just went, we’re playing in Brandon’s on Saturday and we need a drummer. I said grand so, I’ll give it a go and we’ve been playing together ever since,” he remembers.
The introduction of Anthony to the band gave them the chance to explore three-part harmonies, something they are all very enthusiastic about.
“Both me and Paul did some inter-railing and busked around Europe. It was there that we started falling in love with harmonies. We met lots of different musicians on our travels and it was great to be able to jam with them in the hostels,” says Shane.
Paul adds, “It really showed us what really draws people’s attention and what kinds of styles fuse together and work. Sometimes we wouldn’t even have to pay for the hostels, we’d just have to play.”
Just six months after their first gig in Brandon’s, The Bad Pennies entered the Clare’s Got Talent competition, where they managed to beat stiff competition from all over the county to scoop the first prize of €5,000.
Paul says, “It was great to win. None of us expected it and it was a great stepping stone for us. We used the money to record this EP in Abhaile Studios in Ballinrobe and we now have a recording that we can send out to people, which is great.”
While the band may be well known for their inventive covers of other people’s songs, they used the opportunity of releasing an EP to record some original material. The EP features the title track Mr Parking Meter, along with other original songs written by the band, Take Me Down and To Be Afraid. The release, with artwork by Greg Ryan, also features a cover version of Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released.
According to Paul, the band found the process of writing their own material “really natural”.
“It’s actually easier than covering some songs. You’re more emotionally involved in your own songs, you wrote them and you know what they’re about and you understand the concept,” he explains.
Anthony elaborates, “When you’re covering a song, you could understand a completely different emotion to what was intended”.
Shane says the band’s fans have been very supportive of their new material. “Lately we’ve been throwing our originals into our set and we’ve been getting a great reception. People are coming up to us afterwards and asking us who is that by and when they find out it’s us they want to hear more, which is a good sign. Also, when we do cover songs, we bring our own style to them. Most of the songs we cover are completely different to the original, like the cover on the EP, it has no resemblance with the Bob Dylan original, other than the words.”
Paul adds, “When you’re playing in pubs, people enjoy a good sing-a-long but audiences in Ennis especially appreciate original music”.
According to the band, they now have enough new material to record an album. The new songs have also prompted Paul to return to playing the fiddle, which he stopped when he was 13.
“I haven’t played it for eight years, I just dropped it and taught myself guitar but I’m getting back into it now. I have some fiddle licks on the new songs and I think it goes really well. They’re probably my two favourite instruments. A few groups have already used the fiddle, like The Waterboys, The Frames and The Band so it really works. We’re really just trying to have something original going on and we’re always on the look-out for new ideas.”
The launch night in Brandon’s will not only feature a performance of the EP’s tracks but up to 20 musicians have also been invited to perform on the night.
“We have people coming from Galway, Donegal, Limerick, all over. It will be more of an open jam, a celebration,” explains Shane.
After the launch, what’s next for the band?
“Our next step is to get to play bigger venues, possibly festivals and support slots. Playing live is our bread and butter and we want to get more experience. We’re going to be sending the EP off everywhere so hopefully that will open some doors. As soon as somebody offers to record the album for us we’d love to get that out there but it all costs. We’ll have to enter a few more competitions for that,” Paul smiles.
The debut EP will be available to buy at the launch can be downloaded for free at http://thebadpennies.bandcamp.com/. For more information on the band, check their facebook page on http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=145128533394.