New Irish trio Wise Up have released their new EP Soothe the Soul. We asked them the BIG questions . . .
House Cat is the lead single of the EP and is accompanied by a video shot when the band visited Belfast.
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
We chose the name Wise Up after binging a few too many episodes of Derry Girls, other name contenders were Spill The Tea and What's The Sauce. We are happy we went with Wise Up. Our first gig was at Courtney and Garry's wedding where they played a few songs while the wedding band was taking their break. Each member of the band comes from a different country and while we all live in Dublin/Wicklow none of us are from Dublin, Garry is from Cork, Courtney is from Canada and Juan is from Venezuela.
How would you describe your music?
Our music has a lot of different sounds and influences, we have a 90s grunge tone mixed with indie/pop melodies that are guitar and bass driven. We love to have fun creating the different parts for the instruments and play around with funky riffs, keys, and tempo changes. We like to write meaningful and creative lyrics that are drawn from our interests and hobbies. Some songs we have written and performed show our quirky personality as they are drawn from reading conspiracies, watching documentaries and true stories. While others talk about nature, journeys, feelings and of course cats!
Who are your musical inspirations?
Musical inspirations vary a lot and span a good few decades of music from rock to grunge to post-punk mixed with folk and indie. We all love the great bands of the 90s like Nirvana, Sloan, Smashing Pumpkins, Blink 182, and Pixies. Other influences included bands in the indie/grunge scene which include. Big Thief, Palehound, Chastity Belt, Parquet Courts, Men I Trust, and Alex G. We also love being a part of the Irish music scene and can often be seen at the different gigs and festivals around Dublin (and Cork) we are influenced by the amazing musicians around us such as Pillow Queens, Silverbacks, the Wah, Pretty Happy, The Love Buzz, Cherym and Nerves to name a few
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Garry's first gig was at an all-ages battle of the bands featuring a handful of local acts in Cork. His first big gig was to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Croke Park, Dublin. He remembers waking up in the early hours of the morning to try and get to the front of the queue outside the stadium, so as to secure a place at the front. The performance was inspiring, and the moshing was good. Courtney's first gig was going to a Dixie Chicks concert when she was three with her mom, can't say she remembers all of it but still loves the band. Juan : Motorhead, 2007.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Garry - Avril Lavine's - Let Go and Nirvana's Nevermind.
Courtney - I think it was either Spice Girls or Green Day or something along the lines of that. The first song I learned on guitar would have been off that Green Day album.
Juan - Blink 182 - Take off Your Pants and Jacket.
What's your favourite song right now?
Garry - Cujo Kiddies by Disq. This song is Class!! These guys are not afraid to go against the rules and write songs in a non-linear way. Lots of tempo changes and soundscapes motivate my song writing. The song's meaning is still unknown to me but the few phrases I can pick out of it are witty and make me laugh.
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Courtney - Molly by Palehound. If you haven't listened to it yet, you should! It's a catchy song with a great distorted guitar bit and just makes you wanna dance!
Juan - I’m in Your Mind by KGATLW.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Garry - Smashing Pumpkins’ Mayonnaise has a lyric in its bridge that always struck deep with me. The song is very sweet and tender but builds up in this powerful way, that only helps to echo the power of the words. I like anything that dwells on the unknown and has a sense of mystery to it.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Garry - Courtney and I both love Big Thief and are always blown away by the way that the singer Adrianne Lenker can express the feelings behind a story with such compelling words. For me Mythological beauty’ is a song I can listen to endlessly, as I always get pulled into the emotions of the music and the words. They write songs in a unique way and the Nature and imagery is deeply appreciated.
Where can people find your music/more information?
We upload our music to all of the main music streaming services, such as Spotify, YouTube music and Soundcloud. We also have an Instagram page for the band where you can get the latest and most up to date information about future gigs, releases or general news including details for our debut music video for House Cat, featuring our cat Lucy. We also have our material on the Irish music website Breaking Tunes.
