Suave looking Wicklow-based band Big September released their début album a month ago, and have played to a packed out Academy twice in the last six months. The lads took a break from what is shaping up to be a busy summer of festivals to give us an insight into the mindset of the band.
‘Ballroom Addicts’ is the band’s first album and the guys describe it as “an upbeat and uplifting rock n’ roll album. We love a good singsong and that’s what we wanted our album to be. We have always thought that what is most important to a band is the songs. A band can have all the hype, look, equipment etc. in the world but without songs they’re nothing. We spend a lot of time on our songs and we’re really happy with the way they’ve turned out.”
It’s one thing to have top-notch tunes, but it amounts to nothing if it sounds like it was recorded in a windy field on a crackly speaker. Big September discuss their recording procedure: “It was recorded and produced in Transmission Rooms in Drumlish in County Longford. It’s a brilliant studio with lots of vintage equipment to mess around with.” This remote location was quite important for the band. “It has a really relaxing farmyard sort of feel which suited us perfectly. We tried recording before in studios in Dublin but the temptations of the city proved too much for us!! Maybe we were a bit immature but being locked away in the middle of nowhere was great for us. Although it was still a party atmosphere we still managed to work really hard.”
Listening to the band’s music quite a few influences seem to creep into their sound, and the band’s musical interests reflect that. “We love rock’n’roll so there were a lot of influences – I remember when we were recording Tear It All Up we paid homage to David Bowie in one of the verses. Everyone in the band likes different artists from The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, The Clash to the other end of the spectrum to artists such as Bon Iver and Ryan Adams.”
When it comes down to it though, the band write straight from the heart. “To be quite honest we just wrote what was inside of us at the time.” And what’s in the heart is whole load of boundless optimism: “Well as you know the country is fairly fucked so we wanted to cheer people up and write uplifting dancey songs. We want people to listen to our songs and escape the mounting debt and bills even if it’s just for three or four minutes. We’re very aware that musicians are peoples’ entertainment, some musicians get caught up in their own self-worth and their music suffers. All we want to do is entertain people and make them forget about the mess the country is in. You wont hear the word “recession” on our album, it’s an optimistic collection of rock’n’roll songs.”
Next we delve back into the history of Big September and learn a bit more about the band’s origins; “We all went to the same school so the foundations of the band started there. We all hung around as mates too so it was really natural. As soon as we picked up the guitars we started writing so it just kind of snowballed from there. It was weird we all just got really into music at exactly the same time and started playing and writing.”
Big September has not always been the band’s name…Peaking Trippers anyone? “We did a show in The Sugar Club one night for the IMTV awards with loads of other bands and our set went down really well. Afterwards we had some people coming up to us asking what our name was, when we told them, the reaction was a mixture of confusion and blank faces. It was a bit of a silly name really so we decided on something a lot simpler and meaningful for everyone in the band, Big September is what was decided on.” A wise decision perhaps.
Bray is proving to be a fine breeding ground for a whole generation of brilliant artists, with Hozier in particular being a highlight of the mass of talent emerging from Wicklow. The band shed some light on what goes down. “There is a connection actually, our guitarist’s sister is on tour with him at the moment, she plays piano and does backing vocals for him. I don’t think any of us have ever met him but we love his stuff, it’s hard not to. Wicklow is great place for music and it shows with the amount of talent that has come out of it in the last few years. Columbia Mills are the next in a long line of bands and artists to come from such a small area, for example Cujo Family, Empire Saints, Keith Margo. It’s a beautiful place to live, just the right distance from town and the countryside. Also there is great places to play like The Harbour Bar and the people there love seeing live original bands.”
Speaking of great places to play, the band recount the experience of playing at The Academy for the first time just before Christmas, a show that sold out. “It was a great experience, a proper full house in a big venue! We’re quite ambitious and don’t think anything is impossible so we decide to do something and go and do it. To play it on the back of a few singles was a dream come true. I’ve been to some great gigs there over the years and it’s a really special place. There was a great feeling in the room that night everyone was in great spirits.”
Having played in both sizeable venues and small pubs, we asked the guys if they preferred the homely intimacy of the bar, or the bigger stage. “I think we’ve caught the bug of big venues! There’s a lot to be said for having a big stage and great sound. Obviously we will still play smaller venues for as long as we have to but the ambition is definitely to progress. The Olympia is definitely on the hitlist so we’ll see if we can make it happen, but for now we’re delighted to be playing a venue as cool as The Academy.”
With the album released, we asked the guys if they felt that expanding their touring circuits to beyond Ireland is an option they would consider pursuing. “Definitely, why not? Obviously America is where the money is so we’ll try our best to get it out there and see what happens. Before we had an album we were relying on word of mouth to get bookings etc. so hopefully with this album we can expand a lot more and see the world.” As for the band’s short term touring plans… “We’re looking into Europe, Britain and America at the moment but for now we’re concentrating on the Festivals and playing our album to as many people as possible over here. After the summer we’ll have a chat about it.”
If you ever catch a glimpse of the Big September lads, it’s quite obvious that they are a well-dressed bunch. The band tell us just how important image is to their, and indeed any band. “It’s really important, you have to look the part. Nobody wants to see somebody on stage wearing a tracksuit! The clothes we wear are clothes we wear every day, we just like that style. When you look good you feel good and to play music feeling good is essential.”