Music
Press
‘You might expect to encounter a freewheeling bluegrass ensemble such as the Blood Red
Mountain Band in the misty backwoods of Appalachia. But in rainy old Dublin in the depths of
winter? To their credit the all-Irish outfit side-step the dreary clichés that are too often prevalent
whenever a bunch of outsiders set out to investigate American roots music. Yes, their sound is a
yammering gumbo of fiddles, mouth organs, mandolins and accordions. Yet there's more to this
crew than dueling banjos and hillbilly yodels. In fact, the Blood Red Mountain Band nurse notably
experimental ambitions. Frontman Mark Flynn writes his own material and plays a mean blues
guitar; dreamy keyboardist Daniel Shanahan, meanwhile, would seem to harbor notions of one
day joining Sufjan Stevens's backing band. Holding the whole thing together is French-Irish fiddle
player Lucy Jackson, whose first experience of the group was as an audience member, when they
performed in a tiny Dublin club several years ago. Combine all these disparate elements and what
you get is an enticing home-brew of traditional music and left-field rock. Dismiss them as an Oh
Brother Where Art Thou? Tribute act at your peril.
- METRO
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
In an overcrowded market of uninspiring modern rock and disposable pop music, The Blood Red Mountain Band are a much yearned-for breath of fresh air. Never has old time musical sensibility sounded so appealing, nor appeared so exciting. This is music without the jarring self-consciousness; music with unashamed melodies, with guts and soul, seemingly conjured up in a time when life was simpler, and the
livin was easy.
Central to the driving force of the band are frontman Mark Flynn and bassist Joeby Browne. The pair, whove been friends since childhood, first performed together in teenage punk-outfit Negative Inverse, showing early promise by making it to the final stage of the IMRO Showcase. But there were growing
pains afoot young men became adults, punk songs grew into country songs, and distortion dissolved away to sweetness and melody. After a long search and countless would-be band members later, the pair were joined by an unlikely drummer in
the form of singer-songwriter Hugh Travers. It was love at first sight, as Travers modest approach meant he didnt mind holding back, giving the songs room to breath. At the same time, guitarist Ian Devlin returned home from South America just
in time to fill a vacancy in the band. Inspired on his travels he learned how to play the Bolivian charango, and added another sound to the expanding BRMB musical arsenal. The picture
was becoming clearer, and it didnt take long to recruit three more stalwart players; traditional Irish fiddle player Tracey OGrady, Ohio born Dan Shanahan (keys, banjo, guitar) and the
versatile Martina Leonard (glockenspiel, melodica, vocals, percussion). Finally it was there in black and white the songs were tighter, the message clearer. Their image came more sharply into focus, and behind the scenes plans were afoot...
A concerted effort on the gigging front has won The Blood Red Mountain Band a loyal following and interest from venue promoters, leading to appearances in higher profile venues such as Whelans (Wexford St, Dublin), Crawdaddy (Dublin), and Cleeres Theatre (Kilkenny), as well as selection for top festivals like The Festival of World Cultures (2006), and the Guinness Storehouse St.Patricks Fringe Festival (2007) and most notably, this years Electric Picnic now one of the top boutique music festivals in Europe.
The Blood Red Mountain Band havent gone unnoticed by the media either, securing both local and national coverage, including a primetime spot on Ray DArcys Today FM show (Aug 06), a live performance on Newstalk FMs TASTE show, and a Gig of the Week write-up in METRO Newspaper (Jan 07). The band are currently in the production phase of their forthcoming debut EP with producer Karl Odlum. Fresh from producing Fionn Regans Mercury Music Nominated album, Karl Odlum has also worked with top Irish acts such as Gemma Hayes, The Frames, and Kila.
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