Bipolar Empire

BIPOLAR EMPIRE
FEEL THAT YOU OWN IT
[INDEPENDENT RELEASE]

To the initiated, the brilliantly named
Bipolar Empire are a hot young Tallaght
three-piece who've been quietly (actually,
maybe not so quietly) working on their
debut album in L.A. with REM and Madonna
producer Pat McCarthy in recent months.
The first cut certainly inspires confidence
that they might live up to industry
expectations. Sounding deceptively rough
and ready, 'Feel That You Own It' is a shrilly
sung rocker with a bubblegum chorus
that'll stick in your brain. Eventually you'll
feel that you have to own it.
- Hotpress

TRINITY BALL
MAY 8TH: TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN

A sold-out success as ever, the annual Trinity
Ball features a jam-packed line-up including The
Script, Calvin Harris, Ladyhawke, fight Like Apes
and more. And fans of home-grown indie should
be sure to catch rising dublin trio Bipolar Empire
(left), set to make their mark on the college
music fest this may.
Fresh from a stint at South By Southwest in#
Austin, Texas, the group honed their live skills
playing their local Captain America's, impressing
all the right people on the way. Before long they
found themselves jetted off to L.A. to record their
debut album with producer (and fellow irishman)
Pat McCarthy (R.E.M.) Not bad for three lads
from Tallaght!
Get a taster of the new album - expect solid
hook-driven indie rock with flashes of punk and
country - with new single 'Feel That You Own It',
out April 24.

- Hotpress

"A lot of people play music as a hobby, but we decided that we should go for it. There was just a belief there that we could be the exception, that we could make it"

CAPTAINS AMERICA Bipolar Empire (left to right) are Callum Mc Adam, Shane O'Reilly and Joe Leech
EOIN BUTLER

Up-and-coming Tallaght rock tro, Bipolar Empire, talk success and organic breakfast in LA


Tell us how Bipolar Emire got together. Callum (drums): We’re all from the same place in Tallaght. Shane was originally in a band called The Unknowns. Joe and I started out in a band called Newborn. When those bands split up, Shane and Joe started busking together. It was in the campsite at Oxegen in 2007 that I bumped into Joe again. We started practising together and things snowballed from there.

Go ahead and order, there Joe: Can I get an organic omega three berry boost oatmeal with organic soymilk in flaxseed oil?

What was busking like, did you enjoy it? Shane: It was brilliant. I’d been doing it for about five years, mainly on Grafton Street and in Temple Bar. We’d make €80 to €100 on a good day. It was all covers at first, but later I began writing my own songs. It’s brilliant for learning your trade. You’d play for four hours some days, no bother.

At what point did the band seriously begin to take off? Joe: Probably when Captain America’s opened a new outlet in Tallaght. We started playing there on Monday and Friday nights. That was when we started to built up a regular following. Shane: A lot of people play music as a hobby, but I suppose we decided that we should go for it full time. There was just a belief there that we could be the exception, that we could actually make it.

How did your friends react when you told them you were coming to Los Angeles to record with REM producer Pat McCarthy? Shane: They were shocked, I suppose. Just stunned. Joe: It was hard to tell them. We’d prefer to have kept it as low key as we could. They were like, “Wha’?”

Is it exciting being away from home at such a young age? Joe: Well, we all live with our parents. So this is my first time away on my own. Well, I was in Spain once, but this is the first proper amount of time I’ve spent away.

Have you been misbehaving at all? No television sets thrown out windows or anything like that? Joe: Ah no – me Ma will be reading this, sure! (laughs). Shane: We played the Whiskey a Go-Go. That was pretty good, although the American audiences are much more reserved than Irish ones.

What was the first thing you did when you got out here? Shane: We drove around Beverly Hills and Hollywood the first day. Joe: We went to a record store where Brian Wilson was playing. He’s very frail, but it was still an amazing experience. He’s one of my favourite singers ever. The first time we were on Venice Beach I remember we were singing California Girls! Shane: We also hired bikes. Motorcycles? No, they were more like pushbikes really. Why, have I just blown our cool or what?

You’ve been here several weeks. What do you miss about home? Joe: The rain, I suppose, and our families.


In that order? Joe: (laughs) That’s right, yeah! Shane: We can’t think about that stuff now though. Our focus has to be on getting the album done the best we can. We have to come up with something worthy of the work we’ve put in over the last year and a half.

You’re playing the South-by- Southwest Festival this month, then you’re heading back home. No more organic soymilk for breakfast then? Shane: (laughs) Probably not. But sure it’s good to broaden your horizons, isn’t it!

Hear Bipolar Empire at www.myspace.com/bipolarempire
- Irish Times

Bipolar Empire get ready for SXSW

05 Mar 2009
Hot young Tallaght outfit Bipolar Empire are gearing up for their US debut at SXSW, in Austin, Texas next week.
The band have three dates lined up for the influential industry bash, including a big Irish St. Patrick's Day early evening showcase with Dirty Epics, The Mighty Stef and Sickboy. The Bipolars are also doing two gigs on their own, at the Continental Club at midnight on St. Patrick's Day and again on March 20.

The band have been based in the US for more than a month now, recording their debut album with REM and Madonna producer Pat McCarthy at the helm. "We're into our seventh and final week in the studio," manager Paddy McKillen tells hotress.com. "The lads are getting on great with Pat and we have some very exciting stuff in the can."

Bipolar Empire return to Ireland at the end of March. A release date for their highly anticipated first single will be announced shortly.





- Hotpress