// Who now?
“Hey! We’re Stomptown Brass, a New Orleans-style brass band from Dublin! We have seven horn players and two drummers and we’ve been playing together for almost a year.”
// Listen how?
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud
// Brass music is currently making a comeback of sorts, both in a live sense and in chart music – do you think there is any particular reason for it?
“I think hearing a horn section in a band is the perfect example of the exhilarating experience of live music which cannot be replicated on a recording. Those kind of bands make you want to get up and go see them live. There’s something so raw and brash about the acoustic sound, it channels so much energy to a crowd. The revival of disco and funk in the last few years has probably made people more aware of this and you can see this in the diverse mix of people who stop and listen when we’re playing on the street.”
// Who are your favourite Irish artists at the moment?
“”O Emperor, Tandem Felix, DJ Kormac, Cloud Castle Lake, Interskalactic”
// You guys were out and about in Dublin City during St. Patricks Day, how long were you guys playing for and why did you want to do it?
“We started at 11am in Ranelagh and marched through town til 4pm, winding in and out of Grafton Street, South William Street and George’s Street, stopping at Suffolk St for a few, marched up to O’Connell St and then back around to finish with a bang again at Suffolk St. We knew town would be buzzing and we wanted to add to it. It was our first time playing while marching which we’ve been talking about wanting to do since we started. What better opportunity than for Paddy’s Day!”
// Do you guys have any plans to record original material? And if so, will there be temptation to go beyond the current set up and add more instruments/vocals?
“We have some recording coming up soon. Our focus has always been on original material written by our trombone player James O’Leary. We’ve got the band singing on quite a few tracks and we have a new song called ‘My Duchess Has A Heart of Gold’ in which our trumpet player Rob sings about a junky and his can of Dutch.”
// The last text message you sent is your next album title. What is it?
“How dare you speak to me like that!”
// Send us a photo and explain…
“Snapped up on Suffolk St, Paddy’s Day 2015 – our drummer Fiachra sharing his snare with this cool little dude”
// Hows the rest of the year looking for the band?
“Pretty good. After GoldenBeck’s birthday, we’ll be working on getting some our tunes ready to record in April. We’re targeting festivals this summer and finalising details for a few already. So far, you might be seeing us playing Bray Jazz festival, Indiependence and Canalaphonic.”
// You can only hear one song for the rest of your life – what is it?
“Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich”
// The one song that you always bust out at a house party?
“Hercules – Aaron Neville”