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ALIAS-GLEE
Alias Glee are an original and progressive-alternative outfit. Their sound is a mesh of rock and electronica which has drawn comparisons to the likes of Massive Attack, Radiohead and Tool. Sweeping instrumentals and melodic, vocal-driven songs course through the veins of their intense live performances. They are also truly an Irish band, with members from Galway, Wexford, Kilkenny and Laois. The band consist of founding members Jack (guitar) and John (bass) both from Laois, Liam (vocals) from Galway, Brian (drums) from Wexford and Caff (lead guitar) from Kilkenny. John jokes that you know we are an all Irish band when we go up to the mic to say “Thank you very much” in our respective bogger accents.
You cannot help but be Gleeful when you launch your first video, which is what Alias Glee are gathered for. They are playing a small intimate gig in the Dame Lane venue where they will launch the video for their single “Overdrive” Jack explains that the video process was something that was in the pipes for a while, but once it was agreed on it happened pretty fast. “I knew Johnny through my masters in college and we had always talked about working together on a video project, and it just so happened I wanted to do one for my band, and when we saw Sin City that was it” So it was through the inspiration of Robert Rodriguez that it was agreed upon. Their video is a mix of both animation and live action. “We didn’t like the idea of it just being us in the video” But after many a sleepless night and even some on the night technical difficulties many weeks work came together as the video got its first screening.
The band was setup by Jack and John who where childhood friends and who went to school together. John explains how the band was setup. “When we went to college we put up posters looking for other guitarists and by chance we met Liam in a pub and he had our phone number, then we went through various other people until we are the way we are.” The current line-up of the band is only two years old, however the band has been going for the last eight years. “We like to date our beginning to two years ago, even though we’ve been on the go for much longer than that.”
The name means “otherwise known as happiness” but John states that this is the bullshit answer for the name question. The name actually came about when himself and John sat down and made a list each of words they liked, and both alias and glee where on their respective lists. “They are just 2 words we both liked, and that’s the true origin of the name.” John would like to be known as Max, if he ever had to pick an alias for himself. “I always toyed with Max, because its John McEvoy, I always used to carve it into my desk in school but it never took off.” However his band mate Jack is a bit more original. “Half Daft” is what he proposes as his alias, and he reflects it's kind of how he feels right now.
The one band the five can agree on that has influenced them is British band “Mansun” both Jack and John are quick to state that it isn’t in Manson, first name Marylin, which people normally think when they hear the name. Alias Lee supported “Future Kings Of Spain” on three of their Irish tour dates, the last being in Whelans. And both Jack and John agree that they where the best gigs they’ve ever played “We where just playing to this amazing audience and we really fed off it, and to play with the likes of FKOS is just an honour.”
There is a plan for an album in the works. It’s just really a matter of the band getting together to do it. “We usually record things in bits and bobs, and it doesn’t work for us. We are going to dedicate two weeks over the summer and go in and record all our material again, and give it to a proper producer” says Jack. Their two previous singles and demos were both produced by their vocalist Liam, although John says that it would be good to get a fresh ear to listen to their work and assess it that way.
P J Murray