Sitting in the confines of the Button Factory bar, eagerly waiting to take the stage to support Damien Dempsey, it would be understandable to be a little nervous. But despite the pressure of trying to impress such a dedicated crowd, Morrissey and Marshall are calm and ready to go.
“The two of us played together in another band about six years ago, but we started as Morrissey and Marshall about three years ago when we moved to London,” explains Darren Morrissey. The pair first started playing within the talented Tallaght scene among big hitters such as Bipolar Empire, Leaders of Men and The Hot Sprockets. “There are some amazing bands from Tallaght out there at the moment,” says Greg Marshall of their admiration for their peers.
The duo credit every day experiences and observations as the inspiration for their songs. “I would kind of come up with the lyrics and the bones of it and then we built on it together,” says Morrissey. “Greg comes up with the guitar parts and harmony lines and that’s how we do it.”
The band are currently living in London and admit the music scene is very different across the water. “What happens in London is one folk band comes out and then there is a spawn of a hundred folk bands who try to mimic that sound,” says Morrissey.
“The London scene is great for the gigs that you get and the people that help you out but I think currently the Irish bands are a lot stronger.”
Morrissey and Marshall released their début album ‘And So It Began’ on 28 March. ”We just went in to the studio with John Reynolds, he’s an incredible man. Basically we just went into his studio and cracked the album within about four or five months, which is unheard of in modern day album making,” says Morrissey.
It is not often that a band as unique and fresh as Morrissey and Marshall come along, but they seem to be unaware of this quality ”Probably because we don’t think about it, we don’t really try and match what anyone else is doing. We look for inspiration from our heroes and our idols,” says Marshall.
”I think the honesty in the songs is what differentiates us from anyone else,” says Morrissey.
In August 2013, Morrissey and Marshall performed on ‘Saturday Night with Miriam O’Callaghan’ on RTE 1, a big opportunity for any young band. ”It was a bit nerve wrecking, well I was nervous… Greg was all right,” says Morrissey.
”Yeah, for some reason five minutes before hand I was just zen,” says Marshall .
”It was an amazing experience, we met some great people and contrary to popular belief RTE are amazing,” says Morrissey.
For the moment the duo are happy to ride the wave of success, and have yet to give serious thought to their next move. ”After we release the album, we actually have no plans! I think so much effort went it to making the album that we never really made plans for it, but no doubt that there will be some festivals and definitely a big album launch over here,” says Marshall.
It is easy to see who Morrissey and Marshall are influenced by, Simon and Garfunkle being a main credit, but if they could collaborate with anyone who would it be? ”Damien Marley. I think he’s just so far from what were doing, but has the same kind of idea and the same kind of positivity and it would be cool to do a nice reggae album ha ha!” says Morrissey.
With ‘And So It Began’ set for release at the end of March, Morrissey and Marshall are justifiably proud of their achievements to date. “We just hope that people enjoy it really and give it a chance,” says Marshall.
Morrissey and Marshall play Whelan’s on 15 May.