A Lethal Black Ooze, whose members are from Waterford, Dublin and Belfast, have released their debut single, I Like to Feel Alright. We asked the band's drummer Iain Faulkner the BIG questions . . .
The sonic brainchild of Garage/Punk aficionado Andy McGurk (formerly of Spies), the trio is made up of a revolving door of his close friends.
Speaking about the song, Andy says, "During the pandemic, having nowhere to go, I got into the habit of writing lyrics on the foggy door while wasting time in the shower.
"This song sticks out particularly as the shower door had just enough space to write I Like to Feel Alright on it. At the time, between lockdowns, I was receiving vocal coaching from Dara Kiely of Gilla Band, so I spent a lot of time in my apartment just shouting the line over and over at the top of my lungs."
He adds, "Due to the idea being one line, I originally disregarded it until Jamie and Iain reacted positively when we were messing about with it in the rehearsal space. I was very insecure at the time about shouting but it's a lot of fun to play live to people that don’t know what to expect."
A Lethal Black Ooze played their debut show last October supporting Melts on the opening date of their Maelstrom Tour at Whelan’s of Dublin.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I think my musical career began at car boot sales when I was really young. I used to come home with a fresh set of speakers and hook them up in my room, think it peaked at five sets of speakers then my folks cut me off. I only own one t-shirt, can't handle how tight they are across my chest! Mainly work as a Sound engineer for bands, and studio work but performance as a musician is what keeps me sane.
How would you describe your music?
Oh, how does anyone answer this one? Andy's approach to the project was from a newfound love of delta blues, and a parallel love of garage/psyche. When he accepted my demands to be his drummer, I was in a Beatles relapse, so my approach was very less is more on the drums (hiding the fact that I'd never sat behind a kit before). When Jamie came along as the merchant of noise, the project found its sound as this sludgy psyche rock/noisy ooze of our collective taste.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Scott Walker is my morning, noon, and night. I already mentioned The Beatles. Portishead/Broadcast/Can/Radiohead/Thin Lizzy/Nick Drake and The Stones really shaped me at the beginning of my adult life. I will be forever inspired by Paddy Ormond of Postcard Versions, some of his songs eclipse everything else!
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Earliest in my memory would be Paul Simon at the Point!
What was the first record you ever bought?
The Monkees’ self-titled, I was obsessed with them!
What’s your favourite song right now?
"A Change is gonna come" by Sam Cooke.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"Everywhere there's lots of piggies, Living piggy lives, You can see them out for dinner, With their piggy wives, Clutching forks and knives to eat the bacon" - Piggies by The Beatles.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Dream Baby Dream - long version by Suicide.
Where can people find your music/more information?
All the good stuff can be found here.
