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Without George: Part Two

Mayo band Without George interviewed by a SpunOutter!

Article by : SpunOut.ie

Read Part One of this interview here.

CL: I haven’t seen a review of the album yet in the press. Were you aware of the lack of publicity?

MS: No... Pearse is sorting out reviews and I dunno what’s going on with it. All we know is the album is done and we’re delighted with that.

SM: Even last night, here (in Monroe’s Tavern, Galway, where Without George regularly play) we sold a few CDs and that’s great, ‘cause it’s just an acoustic thing here.

JH: And we do a lot of covers.

CL: There’s a lot of laughing, and shouting on the record; it sounds like it was just good fun.

MS: We’re trying to get the feeling of a live gig into the album as well. It’s a strange process.

JH: Mark went kinda wild in the studio, so a lot of that shouting and ad-libbing is just having fun in the studio.

MS: ‘Cause I can’t sing, so I was just laughing and roaring!

CL: What do you hope or expect for the band? How far can you go?

MS: I think we’re good enough to go as far as any other band out there, at the moment.

CL: Would you say you wanna be the best band in the world? Can I get that quote off you??

JH: We wanna get another record done as soon as we can, before we start talking about that! Make the best record we can. We’ve got ten more songs.

SM: We try to vary things as much as we can, and not repeat ourselves too much.

CL: So you won’t limit yourselves to a certain style?

JH: Not at all. We do acoustic sets here, and they sound way different to the album. A very drum and electric guitar-heavy album. We take on any sound, we’ve got the saxophones, and trumpets. Whatever works best.

CL: Would you regard yourselves as the biggest band in Cong at the moment?

SM:(laughs heartily) Not yet! No, the west of Ireland is a good spot for music. It’s good craic.

MS: You don’t see a lot of original music going on at the moment in the West. You hear about Dublin and the North, but not the West. That’ll change, in time.

CL: How long could you see yourselves playing music in some shape or form?

SM: Til we die from it.

MS: This is all I’ve ever done. I was into carpentry, but work is drying up, and I gave that up.

CL: I knew you’d mention that. So, have you anything to say about the recession?

SM: It’s well due. People have gone mad, it’s all money. You’re happy with real things, not money.

MS: The CD is only €10! A bargain in these recession times!

CL: I’ve looked for the CD in a few local shops. Couldn’t find it...

MS: We sell them live, and Pearse was supposed to give them to Zhivagos, and a couple of shops in Castlebar.

JH: You can buy it online, you can buy it from us, at our gigs...

MS: Autographed and all!

CL: Is there a single coming up?

MS: There’s talk of a radio single, but it won’t be for sale. “On My Way” I think. Possibly a video coming up in the New Year, too.

And with that, I said goodbye to the band and wished them luck for the future.

Without George online:

Interview by Ciaran Leinster

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