Interview/ Pelvis: A band going
to the top
Debbie Walker
The High School
Brewing below the surface of our society is a world of talented musicians,
playing the small time in pubs, such as Whelans and the Mean Fiddler.
They are highly appreciated by those who recognise intelligent tight music,
though, not widely known. From among these undiscovered artists emerged
Pelvis, one of 1998's greatest musical discoveries. According to
the Hot Press Readers Poll, last year Pelvis produced Ireland's Best Debut
Album -Who Are You Today?. It ranked 5th for Best Album in the
country (including U2's!). Their lead singer/bass guitar player, Johnny
Rowen, was voted the country's 8th Best Songwriter. These were incredible
achievements for the new Pelvis, or indeed for any band, and needless
to say, Pelvis were honoured.
The relatively small band consists of only 3 musicians - Ed Reynolds
(guitar), Mick Goss (drums) and Johnny. It began about 4 years
ago when Johnny and Ed, who had always had intentions of forming a band,
were asked to do a charity gig at their church. Hearing through the grapevine
that Mick was a good drummer, they asked him to play with them. Mick's
flat became their practice room and remained that for the next year and
a half. They got a manager and began playing at the Baggot Inn under the
name 'R'. After a couple gigs they were filling the place. Having to give
up a good, but unhealthy manager and being dumped by another, Johnny's
brother (one of his six!) took them on. In July 1997, receiving a good
offer after their win in the Heineken Green Energy Festival, they were
signed by an independent label, Setanta.
They gave up their jobs to practice ten to five, five or six days a week.
Being only three can sometimes be restrictive when playing live but so
far has served to challenge them to be better musicians. Presently they
are working on their second album which will hopefully be out by the end
of the year. Apparently they are "snowed under with ideas".
What kind of music do you say you play?
We hate that question. We can't really answer it. It can be anything from
hard rock to mellow stuff. We're more mellow though.
What do you have to offer people as a band?
Good, decent, honest music (Ed)
In a way we want to challenge people to an extent about what they think
of themselves in their heads. We throw out a question in a song and anyone
who is seriously into it will have to ask themselves that question at
some stage. (Johnny)
You spend a lot of time together: do you ever have problems?
[We're good friends] - that's the secret of our success. We've had bad
vibes but at the end of the day that's not important when it comes to
the music. It's almost like a marriage - if you're serious you'll find
a way through the disagreements. (Johnny)
We know when to give each other space. (Mick)
Did you ever consider quitting?
Sometimes things would be going bad; we'd be let down on the business
side of things. But we've never said "OK, let's stop writing songs".
We just say let's concentrate on what we should be doing. We've been through
so many business let-downs that we've really toughened up. (Johnny)
Did your parents ever tell you to get a real job?
My Dad's been a roady in a band for 30 years! (Johnny)
Occasionally they'd pull me aside and say "Is this really what you
want to do?" (Ed)
Do you have advice for young bands trying to make it?
You've got to be tough if you're gonna make it. If you can deal with being
broke for a couple years until things get up and running properly... (Johnny)
Be true to yourself - if you have a gift use it. Every stage gets bigger.
(Mick)
Certain people try to knock you down or put you down the whole time, and
sometimes you will be knocked down but you've just got to get back up
again. It's harder than an awful lot of jobs. (Johnny)
A lot of people don't believe it leads anywhere because there are a lot
of people doing it . They are really surprised if you have any success.
It's full of ups and downs. (Ed)
The best thing for us was getting to the point where we released our
debut album. It was such a dream for us to have our music on record because
we believed in it so much. And even the fact that a record company was
willing to take us on and actually put huge amounts of money into us as
a band and releasing the album - Things like that are huge achievements
regardless of whether or not other people cop on and do the marketing
that they should do. (Johnny)
Do you think you have lasting potential?
We know we have.
Profile: Johnny Rowen
Johnny, where did you grow up?
Cedarwood, Glasnevin. (He lived next door to Bono who is a good friend
of his brother Derek. His younger brother, Peter, is the kid on the cover
of the new U2 album).
How old are you?
26
Where did you go to school?
Mount Temple.
How many kids are there in your family?
Ten - three girls and seven boys. There are twenty one years between the
oldest and the youngest. I'm the eighth oldest.
Did you enjoy having a big family?
Brilliant. We're all very competitive.
What do you think of the Irish music scene at the moment?
There's some really good stuff out there. Everybody's been really surprised
by the amount of intelligent stuff that has come out this year.
What are your musical influences?
Radiohead and Mercury Red.
What do you think of Boybands?
No comment.
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