Introducing Enniskillen based 4 piece death-rockers Tragedy Vampires....
Tragedy Vampires is a 4 piece band hailing from Enniskillen in Northern Ireland, MusicMuso had a listen to their debut CD 'Reasons To Be Tearful' and we thought we'd follow it up with an interview to see what made them tick, here's how we got on....
Please take a moment to describe us Tragedy Vampires and your music….
‘Tragedy Vampires’ are a deathrock band from Enniskillen in Northern Ireland. We play our own miserable blend of gothic punk, with just perhaps a little hint of a smile on our pale white faces. Perhaps this may sound like a ludicrous idea to some or maybe even a novel idea to others. One thing's for sure though, it all comes straight from our rather cold, dark, tragic, sombre hearts.
Who’s in the band and how did you form?
John Moffatt on lead vocals/drum programming, Darron McLaughlin on lead guitar, Bob Kerrigan on rhythm guitar and Paddy Mac on bass.
What’s the story behind your album?
Well it’s certainly not a concept album, so there’s no overall story and we’re not the sort of band that wants or feels the need to deliver any political messages. Although we do like to at least ‘try’ to be as pretentious as possible! It’s a collection of songs that possibly shouldn’t even really fit together as a body of work but, at least to us, it does! There may be some serious messages in there, then again, there may not. Let the listener decide we say…
You’re based in Enniskillen. What is the music scene like in your area/Northern Ireland at the moment?
To most people it may appear, at least on first glance, that country music is the only thing that goes on around Enniskillen. The fact is though that there is a very healthy, albeit somewhat underground rock music scene here at the moment. In fact for a small town, that to put it mildly is somewhat off the beaten track in Northern Ireland it has spawned some surprisingly eclectic and interesting bands.
Who are the band’s main influences and who has influenced you personally as a player?
The bands main influences would all mainly come from the goth/deathrock/punk scene of the 1980’s. Sisters of Mercy, 45 Grave, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Cramps and The Damned would all be huge influences on us musically alongside the likes of Adam & The Ants, TSOL and David Bowie.
Which band or artist made YOU want to start writing and performing music?
For me it would have to be watching Guns N’ Roses performance at the Ritz on TV sometime in 1988 that made me actually want to play in a band. AC/DC, Adam & the Ants, The Ramones, The Cramps and The Germs all played a huge part in me wanting to write and perform also.
How do the band approach songwriting?
It varies from song to song but I normally come up with the basic idea as a 4 track demo, and then take it to the others and we all contribute from there really.
Is Spotify THE FUTURE of music or will we carry on buying CD’s and vinyl records in the future?
Spotify probably is the future of music to a large extent but I think there will always be folk who would like to own ‘physical’ product. Perhaps it’s not ‘how’ we consume the music that’s important, it’s got to be the listening and enjoyment that it brings you as an individual surely?
Where do you play locally and do you have ambitions to come over to the mainland?
We’ll play anywhere that will have us, ha ha. We appeared at ‘Species 2015 Gothic Arts & Culture Gathering’ in Leitrim 1-3 May. Yeah we’d love the chance to come over to the mainland at some point, and hopefully we can make it happen!
What was the last gig you attended?
Well by the time this is published it will have been ‘Cadaver Club’ in Charlies bar Enniskillen, before that Sisters Of Mercy in Dublin last year.
What was the last CD/Record you bought?
Play Dead – From The Promised Land (Deluxe re-issue)
If you could setup your own ‘supergroup’ with only people named DAVE or DAVID, who’s going to be in the lineup?
David Bowie, Dave Vanian, David Sylvian, David Byrne, Dave Peacock (from Chas & Dave of course) Dave Moon (folk in Enniskillen will know who that is!) (Darron would also add David Gilmour to this list.)
Who, in your opinion has produced THE best album in the world ever?
‘Powerage’ by AC/DC is pretty damn perfect! (Paddy)
Rush, but I won’t say which of their albums is the best. (Darron)
What advice would you give to a young person who wanted some tips on getting up on stage and playing some songs to an audience?
Well in what was (I believe) the Sex Pistols first televised appearance, John Lydon uttered the immortal words “Get off your ass”. What could we say that could ever better that?
Being the death-rocker goth types that they are, we were going to let them off the quickfire round of questions, then we thought that wouldn't be fair, so we buckled up and hit the gas....
Bass or Drums
Bass
CD or Vinyl?
vinyl
Spring or Autumn?
Autumn
The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?
The Beatles
Snowboarding or Sunbathing?
Sitting in a darkened room being goth
Coke or Pepsi?
Coke
Comedy Club or Poetry Club?
Poetry whilst sitting in a darkened room being goth
Facebook or Twitter?
Whisky or Wine?
Tea preferably, but if I have to choose whisky then I’ll have an Irish coffee!
Hot Dogs or Burgers?
Both
Roller Blading or Skateboarding?
Sitting in a darkened room being goth
Cinema or Theatre?
Both
Live gigs as a paying customer, standing or seated?
Standing
God or Google?
C’mon surely google’s a religion in its own right by now?
We'd like to thank the guys for taking the time to chat to us and we wish them every success in the future, especially with their debut album 'Reasons to be Tearful' which is available to buy right now by clicking HERE
If, after purchasing that album, you have a few more minutes to spare, shy not check out their social media channels, they're all listed below for you, just point and click....
Social Media
Interview by Adrian Grainger