INTERVIEW
Monday has arrived, which means it's time once again for our space for interviews with the artists Sounds European! presents and also admires. This week, we meet the lead singer of one of our favorite Irish bands. These are our 10 questions for Danny O'Reilly and The Coronas:
Sounds European!: You guys are together for a long time. How did you meet? How is your relationship after so long together?
Danny O'Reilly (The Coronas): We've known each other all our lives. I first met Knoxy, our bass player, when I was two weeks old and he was a day old (our parents are best friends) and we met our drummer, Conor, in primary school, so we go back a long way! We're very lucky that we get on so well, we actually hang out with each other when we're not working. We're like brothers at this stage in that we can be really honest with each other, so it helps when it comes to writing together.
SE!: Individually, how did every one of you start having interest with music? What were your influences when growing up? Who were your role models when you were giving your first steps as musicians?
DOR: We have some common influences, such as Radiohead, The National, Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles, but we have individual influences that differ too. I love Jeff Buckley and some Irish bands such as The Frames and Bell X1. Dave (guitar) loves The Stone Roses, Knoxy likes Phoenix and Conor's a huge Led Zeppelin fan.
SE!: Few countries in Europe have such a developed rock 'n' roll scene as Ireland. What can you say about the Irish rock scene? And how would you describe the relationship between the Irish audience and rock music?
DOR: I think for us, we grew up seeing loads of Irish acts gaining worldwide success. We looked at U2, Snow Patrol, Van Morrison, Thin Lizzy and Damien Rice and felt a belief that it could be done. A lot of people in Ireland play music, so I think to succeed, the average band needs to be well above average in order to gain a following. And the audiences are used to a high standard, so their expectations are higher – and all this continues the circle of Ireland creating successful acts these days, such as Hozier, The Script, Kodaline, etc..
SE!: Still talking about rock and Ireland, let's focus the topic more on the band's origin, specifically. How was it for you to start a band in Ireland? Were there many places to make your first gigs? And how was the public's acceptance when you were beginning your career?
DOR: We initially started doing gigs in university in Dublin, and gained a following amongst students and it grew through word-of-mouth. There're lots of great venues in Ireland. Venues such as Whelan's (Dublin), Dolans (Limerick), and the Róisín Dubh (Galway) are steeped in history and amazing to play.
SE!: How about nowadays? How is your relationship with your fanbase? Are they very active? What kind of contact do you have with them? And how is the interaction, the vibe they give during your live shows?
DOR: We're very lucky that we have a very loyal fanbase in Ireland. They've followed us and grown as we have improved. We're playing the 3Arena in Dublin in February (capacity of 14,000). It will be our biggest headline show to date, and is almost sold out. In England, we're at a different level. We've just signed to Island Records and are building our fanbase, so we're playing smaller venues, but we have a headline tour there in April and are looking forward to the challenge of growing there too!
"A lot of people in Ireland play music, so I think to succeed, the average band needs to be well above average in order to gain a following" (Picture: official Facebook page)
SE!: You have released four albums up to date. How is the process of making an album for you? How do you compose and select songs for an album? What are the topics you guys write the most about, if there are such?
DOR: Every song is different, but for the most part they're written jointly between the four of us. We tend to record demos ourselves of the songs, and often try them out live before we record in studio. We write about everything that affects us – love, life, music, the band, friendships, whatever is going on in our lives.
SE!: For a rock band, few moments must be as exciting as going on tour. What does it mean to you? How was it to be the supporting act to Paul McCartney? What different countries have you had concerts, and how was your experience in them?
DOR: We love touring, we love seeing the world and getting to play live. To meet and play before Macca was amazing. He came down and said hello and it was an unreal experience. Luckily, we've toured all over the world: Europe, Australia, America, even Asia. We probably love Europe the most – so many beautiful and historic cities!
SE!: What can we expect from The Coronas on the future? What are your plans and expectations?
DOR: We want to continue to improve and play our music to as many people as possible. We love what we do and we feel like our best is yet to come. Fingers crossed 2015 will be our year!
SE!: If you could choose anyone, who would be some Irish and international artists you'd like to collaborate with?
SE!: We would like to post a song of yours to close this interview. What is your favorite song of yourselves, and why?
DOR: My current favourite is the title track of our new album "The long way", we're very proud of how it turned out.
