A Snapshot of an amazing rise to fame

Ahead of release of Snapshot the Celt’s Damian McCarney and Seamus Enright asked Cavan’s favourite sons about their debut album, fame, life on the road, and their pride in their county.

Anglo-Celt: How does it feel to finally have your own album in your hands?
Pete: Amazing. Although the actual recording was really quick, the whole process is quite slow so it feels great to finally get it out there.

AC: What was the thinking behind Snapshot?
Ross: The idea was that it’s a Snapshot of where we are now in our career. Just like a photo album it’s full of little snaps, or in this case songs. We had lots of other titles but Snapshot was the only one we all agreed on!

AC: How would you describe the sound of your album?
Josh: We’re really pleased with how it sounds. It’s obviously rhythm & blues but with some garage and pub rock to it as well and we hope it sounds contemporary as well.

AC: Your original material sounds like you have moved away from your R&B roots, with more of an indie influence, would you agree?
Evan: I wouldn’t agree with that at all really. As Josh said we hope the record sounds contemporary but it’s still R&b influenced. A lot of the people we like such as The Who, The Jam or Nick Lowe are very influenced by R&B although people may not think it so we feel we’ve made a record in that vein.

AC: Are there any covers in there?
Evan: Yes there are four covers which we chose because they’re an integral part of the live set which fits in with the whole Snapshot idea.

AC: Who wrote each of the songs, and who took the lead on music side of things? What sort of process do the band take to writing their songs, and apart from Snapshot, are you already working on new material?
Josh: Normally the way it works at the moment is I bring the songs to the band on an acoustic guitar. It may be fully written or it may just be a sketch of an idea. We then all jam it in rehearsal or in the studio or whatever and then we all work on the arrangements. Whoever has the best idea that’s the one we use.
We have some. New material already demo’d which may be on the next album.

AC: ‘What a Shame’ lyrics sound like you had to deal with some obnoxious record company people along the line. What’s the worst thing they asked you to do?
Pete: Josh wrote the lyric but it’s a sentiment we all agree with. We had a lot of record companies try to sign us last year but a lot of them would say your band is amazing now how can we change it! That’s why it took us nine months to sign our deal. We held out until we found someone we felt wouldn’t do that, in this case Mercury (now Virgin EMI). We felt because of our age some labels wanted to exploit the teen pop sensation angle which we abhorred.

AC: What was it like having Chris Thomas produce Snapshot? And, does Chris Difford still play an important role in guiding the band, or what is Elton John’s management style like with the band?
Josh: Chris Thomas was fantastic. He’s obviously a legend but he never brought any ego to the table when we worked with him. He took everyone’s ideas on board and always gave us final say on how a song or an arrangement would go. He of course had some brilliant ideas and we really learned so much from him. Chris Difford is also a legend and part of our management team. He’s been there and done it all. He knows everyone in the business and is such a big influence over the decisions we make. Elton owns the management company we’re signed to but doesn’t actually play a day to day role. He does keep in touch and is really supportive of what we’re trying to achieve.

AC: Which song do you most love to play live?
Ross: We all have personal favourites. Mine are CC Rider and Oop Oop Pah Dooh!

AC: What did it mean to you to see the huge crowd at Blessfest?
Pete: That was the best fun ever. We were quite nervous that nobody would turn up because we couldn’t advertise. It was incredible to see all our old friends and family there.

AC: Apart from playing at home, what’s been the most important gig for you so far?
Evan: That’s really hard to say. People expect it to be a big festival like Glastonbury or whatever but some of the club gigs we do in the UK are amazing. They have a real gritty Rock’n’Roll vibe to them. It’s nice to play in iconic venues too, like The 100 club in London.

AC: You seem to have a good working relationship with Paul Weller, can we expect to hear anything from these collaborations in the future?
Ross: Not sure, it depends on our schedules. We’re both very busy. We have used his studio and he’s another person who’s been really supportive but we’ll have to see.

AC: Have you come to terms with being famous? Do people treat you differently?
Evan: We don’t feel famous. We’re so busy all the time we never think about fame. We just see ourselves as a working band on the first ring of the ladder.

AC: What’s the most luxurious items on your hospitality rider list?
Pete: Socks!

AC: Do you get a kick out of telling journalists that you’re all from Cavan, and do some still ask where that is?

Josh: Yes, we always make a point of saying it from stage too. It’s funny people’s perception of the place now and how they pronounce it too!

AC: We hear you have a cult following in Japan, what is the reception like when you are there?
Pete: The Japan thing has gone a bit crazy really. We went out there in April and were lucky enough to appear on the biggest TV programme out there called Music Station. As a result we’ve had to upsize the venues on our upcoming tour and we believe BCJ has been number 1 on the Japanese ITunes since our last visit.!

AC: Is having your own Anime cartoon characters the strangest thing that’s happened to you?
Ross: We like them. Some of them are really good. We’re flattered that anybody takes the time to do stuff like that.