Minnesota band The Scarlet Goodbye (featuring former Soul Asylum guitarist Daniel Murphy) play a short Irish tour this month. We asked them the BIG questions . . .
The Scarlet Goodbye is a collaboration between Daniel Murphy (Soul Asylum, Golden Smog) and Jeff Arundel. Their new single She's a Fire is released on 6 March and is taken from the band’s forthcoming third album.
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With support from Glaswegian grunge rockers Overhaul, they play: The Black Box, Belfast - 18 March, Toales, Dundalk - 19 March, Fred Zeppelins, Cork - 20 March, Róisín Dubh, Galway - 22 March, Curveball, Dublin - 24 March.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
Daniel D. Murphy: My mother was one of 19 children. I Have a son named Kelly Patrick Murphy. I have made more than twenty records with Golden Smog, Soul Asylum and The Scarlet Goodbye. I feel like I am finally getting the recording process figured out.
How would you describe your music?
Jeff Arundel: We are a mash-up of Dan's indie rock heritage and my singer-songwriter heritage, and I love the way our songs find a way to introduce both rock power and wistful melancholy into the mix. Someone said "Rolling Stones meet Townes Van Zandt", I alwayz liked that . . .
Who are your musical inspirations?
Daniel: When I was young and starting out learning guitar, I was into Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones and Thin Lizzy. In 1978 when I was 16 I saw The Clash about the time of Give 'Em Enough Rope. David Johansen of The New York Dolls and opened the show, I was blown away and transformed. A couple of years later I went to Madison, Wisconsin my Freshman year of college and saw at a little bar there called Merlin’s acts like Iggy Pop, Johnny Thunders and The Stranglers. All of the bands and artists I have mentioned were influential to me. Also songwriters such as Tom Waits, Neil Young and Nick Drake.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Jeff: When I was 11, I was brought by a friend to see Joe Cocker at an intimate theatre. I couldn't exactly figure out what was happening on stage, but I was thrilled by the vibrations coming at me.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Daniel: Wish it was cooler but honestly it was the first record by The Partridge Family and it was called The Family Album. The artists’ records still sound pretty cool today. As they had the best studio musicians in the day and had wonderful if not somewhat sappy harmony vocal singing throughout. I was eight or nine at the time, Laurie Partridge was a for sure hottie and my eternal flame as a young lad...
What’s your favourite song right now?
Jeff: I love The Way Lovers Move by Ruth Moody. But then, it's the kind of thing I love. So Sad.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Daniel: Wichita Lineman by Jimmy Webb as recorded by Glen Campbell. "l am a lineman for the county, And I drive the main roads, Searchin' in the sun, For another overload, I hear you singin' in the wires, I can hear you through the whine, And the Wichita lineman, Is still on the line, I know I need a small vacation,, But it don't look like rain, If it snows that stretch down south, Will never stand the strain, And I need you more than want you, And I want you for all time, And the Wichita lineman, Is still on the line".
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Jeff: The End of the Innocence, written by Bruce Hornsby and Don Henley. They both have versions of it streaming, and Hornsby's piano is so evocative. In Henley's version, the soprano sax takes over, and when I heard that for the first time, I couldn't stop being blown away.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Our website, Instagram, Facebook.
Alan Corr
