It’s not hard to see how some people would be interested in the music that Northern Ireland has to offer, but some are a tad fanatical about it. One such person is Ken. Ken lives in New York, but insists in writing and following Irish bands. We let him loose on General Fiasco. – Richard.
General Fiasco interview by Ken Grand-Pierre
After forming in early 2007, General Fiasco (Bass/Vocals: Owen Strathern, Guitars: Enda Strathern, and Drums: Stephen “Leaky” Leacock) have been taking over Northern Ireland by storm with their singles “Rebel Get By” and “We Are The Foolish”. Now the band prepare to take on the world with their debut album “Buildings” (out March 22nd) and to get more insight on the bands recording/song writing process we sat down with front-man Owen Strathern to get a better perspective on how this highly anticipated debut was crafted.
Panic Dots – Where did the name General Fiasco come from?
Owen Strathern – It was a fusion of two terrible names we had,The Morley Jedarjack Fiasco and General Music. My mum claims that she was the one to put the two together, no one can really remember so we are gonna have to give the credit to her.
Panic Dots – How did you guys get together?
Owen Strathern – Me and Enda (guitarist) are brothers and we met Stephen when we moved schools, we had all played in bands around the area but this was the first band where we all got together.
Panic Dots – The Northern Irish music scene is famous for being like no other, what do you feel has been a benefit for being apart of it?
Owen Strathern – It keeps you away from what’s cool I guess, there are so many bands in London who are clued in to the way music trends are moving and a lot of them follow that and try to fit the criteria, where as we were oblivious to this so just write the music we wanted which I think leads to more honest music.
Panic Dots – Can you describe to us the experiences you developed while recording your upcoming album?
Owen Strathern – We had been writing lots over the past year and a half, and recording as we went, in some cases the recordings we felt were good enough to use on our album so in the end about to record it. Spaced out obviously some of the material felt right and we didn’t want to mess with what we had. We got the album mixed by Barny, who mixed Arctic Monkeys first record, he also helped us with two tracks, changing arrangements and adding additional instrumentation, it was really good developing the songs with someone else.
By Ramsey Cardy
Panic Dots – How has the reception been for the new tracks you’ve guys have played live?
Owen Strathern – Great, its generally how we help choose singles, peoples initial perception of the songs live is a good guide to see if there are hooks and if they are gonna catch.
Panic Dots – Were there any major problems while recording this album and how did you sort them out?
Owen Strathern - The album felt very organic, I can’t think of any major problems, it was a smooth process, I never felt any pressure from it and we always were confident with what we delivered, I guess that comes with making music that you want to make.
Panic Dots – What inspired most of the song writing you undertook for this album?
Owen Strathern – Its all written about things that are close to me, family, friends, relationships etc. I think songs have to mean something for people to properly connect. Its mostly about the strains in everyday life, which can kinda be bleak for the most part.
Panic Dots – Why is the album titled Buildings?
Owen Strathern – Its Buildings because it feels like things have to build up and get so bad before anyone one does anything about it, people have a hard time confronting problems and seem content to sit with them until it gets to the stage where its so bad that they can’t anymore. If people were more honest with themselves I think they could be happier.
By Ciara McMullen
Panic Dots – If you had to pick one song off your album you’re dying to have people hear which would it be and why?
Owen Strathern – “Sinking Ships” probably, I feel its the best song lyrically, its a little different stylistically to the rest of the album. Its got an unusual vocal delivery in parts and I think there is lots of interesting instrumentation lying under it. It is also the most honest song I’ve written, it all came at once, chords, lyrics and everything.
Panic Dots – And lastly, what do you guys hope to achieve in 2010?
Owen Strathern – For our album to be well received, to play as many countries and festivals as we possible can. Just be a band really.
Don’t forget we did a special podcast with General Fiasco. Check it out here
Also other General Fiasco links
Myspace / Facebook / Website / iTunes
Here’s the video for General Fiasco’s amazing single, Ever So Shy.
