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Tonight see’s local rock/fusion outfit South take to the stage upstairs in the Pumphouse.
Entry is free with a 10.30pm kickoff. Their CD ‘Insula’ will be available for anyone who wants it. There will also be free copies of The Lions Mane ‘Strands’ to grab for anyone interested.
Rumor has it that there will be a special treat for any Tool fans interested in venturing out.
The Lions Mane and South, two Kilkenny bands on the rise, join forces to play Whelan’s in Dublin tonight to mark the physical launches of Strands (The Lions Mane) and Insula (South). Both bands played a warm-up gig on home soil last weekend, filling the back room of Cleere’s with South distributing advance copies of Insula ahead of tonight’s official launch.
Strands, The Lions Mane’s debut album, had an online release almost two months ago but demand for the album has resulted in a limited edition physical release of the recording, produced by frontman Alan Dawson. Fans of the ‘Mane who cannot make the Dublin gig tonight but wish to get their hands on the CD should leave a comment here or get in touch with us and we’ll make sure one gets placed in your hands.
As mentioned, those who paid a visit to Cleere’s last weekend found they were able to get their hands on Insula, the debut offering from South. The album release comes off the back of South winning last year’s Battle Of The Bands where they put their recording package with The Mill Studios to good use resulting in the release of Insula, the making of which has been documented well by Ross Costigan.
Doors open tonight in Whelan’s at 8pm with Sticky Digit as guests on the bill. Admission is 8 euro. For more, check WhelansLive.com.
The Lions Mane and South join forces tonight in Cleere’s in advance of the official album launch for both bands’ debut offerings, taking place in Whelan’s in Dublin next Friday night. Joining them on the bill tonight are Tame, also getting set to release their debut album.
Formed in June 2008, grunge rockers South went on to win the Hype Entertainment Battle Of The Bands just three months later. The current line-up consists of Thomas Donoghue (vocals, guitar), Ken Farrell (bass) and Alan Dawson (drums). Using a diverse mixture of influences, the trio have combined the vocal elements of bands like the Stone Temple Pilots & Pearl Jam, with the modern alternative sounds of Incubus and the guitar styling of John Butler Trio.
In April 2009, the band recorded their debut album ‘Insula’ in the Mill Studios, Kilkenny. Due for release on July 31, the album is a polished blend of melodic and sincere vocals; mixing mellow acoustic and crunchy electric guitars with fluid bass-lines, reinforced by percussive grooves.
The Lion’s Mane began as an online experiment; releasing tracks anonymously through online social network MySpace.com. The demand for gigs led to several successful live performances in Kilkenny and Dublin in 2008 before the Lion’s Mane returned to the studio to record debut album Strands. Drawing influences from a wide range of genres stemming from the progressive sounds of 70s bands like Yes and King Crimson to the roots reggae style of Steel Pulse, whilst combining the raw grunge of 90’s Seattle bands, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden, with the modern day sounds of The Mars Volta and Tool.
The above video is the third installment of South’s ‘Making Of Insula’ series, cut together by Ross Costigan. You can check it out again here on YouTube or if you missed episode one and two, grab them here and here.
Fresh from their appearance at last night’s One Take Sessions, here’s the second installment from South looking their making of debut album Insula.
South & The Lions Mane play Cleere’s Theatre on Saturday July 25th before heading to Whelan’s in Dublin on Friday July 31st to mark launch of debut album Insula.
If you head over to pop culture collective Culch.ie, it looks like they’re giving away two copies of Strands by The Lions Mane. Well, it doesn’t just look like it, they are giving away two copies of the album in a competition running until June 24th.
Formed early in 2008 by Alan Dawson, resident engineer for local online music community KilkennyMusic.com, The Lions Mane began as an online experiment for the multi-instrumentalist; as he released tracks anonymously through online social network MySpace.com. “I wanted to release music without it being important who was making it, music for music’s sake†says Alan. “The internet is the perfect way to do that.â€
Drawing influences from a wide range of genres; stemming from the progressive sounds of 70’s bands like Yes and King Crimson to the roots reggae style of Steel Pulse, whilst combining the raw grunge of 90’s Seattle bands, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden, with the modern day sounds of The Mars Volta and Tool. The Lions Mane quickly garnered the respect of music fans in the online world, with it’s own style of melodic riffs interwoven with chunky guitars, layered vocals and strong rhythmic patterns.
The online demand for gigs led to several successful live performances in Kilkenny and Dublin in 2008, with Dawson on vocals and guitar, accompanied by various line-ups of musicians; each from other popular Kilkenny bands.
Following the gigs, Dawson went in to the studio once again, to record additional tracks for the album, this time accompanied by drummer James O’Brien. A permanent fixture for live performances, the young percussionist quickly became an integral part of The Lions Mane, reinforcing the experimental concept with an innovative style.
‘Strands’ was due for release late last year but did not come into fruition, due to close scrutiny in the mixing stages. “At the time it could have sounded a lot better,†says Alan, “I wanted it to sound like I had initially envisaged and there was no need to rush unnecessarily.â€
“Some of the old tracks were re-recorded from scratch, adding new elements, and during this process the material grew into the 12 tracks that are now on the album. I’m happy that the overall sound is consistent and I’m pleased that I took the time to do it properly.â€
After months of development; ‘Strands’ is finally available to buy online, exclusively through The Lions Mane’ official website www.iamthelionsmane.com.
With a running time just over 60 minutes; ‘Strands’ costs €10 to download and contains the four previously heard tracks from MySpace, along with seven new tracks: ‘Dead and Over’, ‘Kingdom’, ‘Smegma’ plus four new ‘DNA’ tracks, all of which can be previewed on the website. High-res artwork for the album is also included in the download.
The online release of ‘Strands’ will be followed later in the summer by national tour dates in association with MyMusicPR. For more information and to download a copy of ‘Strands’, go to http://www.iamthelionsmane.com.
You can also check out The Lions Mane on Last.fm, Facebook and Twitter.
Your Wednesday video comes courtesy of The Lions Mane‘s bass player, Evan.
You can submit your suggestions for video of the day here, running up to November 30th. There’s plenty of time to get your choices in and plenty of videos that have been suggested so far – keep em coming!
The Lions Mane return to the stage in Cleere’s Theatre this Friday 24th October, as they begin to reveal new tracks from their highly anticipated debut offering ‘Strands’.
The progressive grunge-rock experiment, was formed earlier this year by KKM Resident Engineer Alan Dawson. The band has continued to build a steady following of loyal fans in the online world with it’s own brand of melodic, riff-heavy songs filled with ambient guitars, layered vocals and highly percussive-independent rhythms. The growing fan response to the tracks on MySpace and Bebo, quickly led to a demand for live-shows.
Following two successful performances with KilkennyMusic.com in Cleere’s back in July, The Lions Mane returned to the studio to record the first CD ‘Strands’; which features previously released tracks ‘Leaf’, ‘Buddha’, ‘The Dragon’s Breath’ and ‘Pull it out’, as well as six previously unheard songs.
With the CD now in the final stages of production, the band have begun to announce several warm-up gigs around the country; as a chance for fans to hear some brand new tracks live before ‘Strands’ is launched this December.
In the run up to the launch of ‘Strands’, The Lions Mane will be playing various warm-up gigs around the country including The Boom Boom Room in Dublin on October 30th. They will also be launching their brand new website www.iamthelionsmane.com along with their first music video.
This Friday night’s gig in Cleere’s Theatre will be the first and only chance for Kilkenny fans to hear the new songs before ‘Strands’ is launched.
Doors open at 10pm, admission €6, support on the night comes from Ethanol Mines. For more information go to www.myspace.com/iamthelionsmane.
