Irish four piece the The Plea are our Band Of The Week. Their music is honest and real, just like the guys themselves, and we were lucky enough to grab them for a quick interview to find out a bit more about them and the story behind their music… Questions by Ellie Witt.
Can you describe your music to the uninitiated in 3 words? Minor to Major
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV92FfWvjz0[/youtube]
You seem to have been through a lot to get to where you are now – what made keep on playing music? I don’t see us as a band that’s been through a lot of hard times or anything like that but going through the ups ‘n’ downs is better than standing still for us. Everything has had a balance to it. We only got about three TV channels where we grew up and one of them broadcast in fluent Irish, so we played a lot of music.
Were there ever times when you were close to giving up? Just about the time that TV went digital in Ireland, we said “that’s it, let’s pawn these instruments!” It’s all about songs really, so if the songs don’t come to you then I suppose that’s when you might doubt it but the songs are still coming!
What is behind the name The Plea? We needed a band name for local gig’s in Donegal and ‘Jacob’s Plea’ was one we used. People turned up to see us and started to call us ‘The Plea’ so we just kept it. My brother might tell you something different but that’s how I remember it…at the moment!
Did you notice much of a difference between the music scene in the US and over here? It’s been a while since we’ve been in America but the mainstream over there is more or less the mainstream here. There is a great mix of music and you can hear a lot of different styles in one night if you are looking for it. The soul of music still matters there and America holds a certain magnetism for bands and musicians – it just conjures up more images for a musician, especially if your into guitar, than anywhere else on the planet.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1FK620bS7A[/youtube]
What were the main influences on the album? When we were writing the songs for our album ‘The Dreamers Stadium’, we listened to a lot of John Lennon’s solo stuff and also a lot of blues, ‘Howling Wolf’ especially. It depended on whose place you were in at the time. When we recorded the album in London, every night it was The Beatles, Dylan, Rolling Stones – Den had them on continuously – it was a lot of Beatles then. I don’t think the album sounds anything like the Beatles even though we had them on till dawn after recording all night in the studio…Helter Skelter on repeat…still can’t get tired of that song.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMfkVGCU_BA[/youtube]
If you were each to invite one guest to dinner, who would they be? To be honest this question has no chance of getting a response from everyone in this band so I’ll guess for them….Four Non Blondes.
If you were a desert island and you could only take three things, what would you take? The Supremes.
The Plea’s debut single ‘Oh Ah Yay’ is released next Monday (23rd April) on Planet Function. Visit their Facebook page to grab a FREE download of Staggers Anthem.
