Sunday, 22 February 2009
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
New Sunday Times feature
Not besieged by the death of loved ones, The Script continues to write songs honestly from the heart. MAX KOH talks to the upcoming Irish band about the stories behind the songs
THE Script is Ireland latest music export after U2, The Corrs, Van Morrison, Sinead O Connor and The Cranberries. Mixing soul, pop, hip-hop and anthemic rock dynamics, the band seems to be poised for success with its lead single, We Cry, which is now on the airwaves around the world. At first glance, the trio — Danny O’Donaghue (lead singer, keyboards), Mark Sheenan (guitarist), Glen Power (drummer) — looks just like any other aspiring garage rock band. But a listen to We Cry will reveal a side to Irish music that one has not heard before.
O’Donaghue’s voice is soulful (not unlike neo-white soul boys James Morrison and Jamie Scott) when set against Sheenan’s smooth guitar chops and Power’s controlled funky beats. The song recalls the best of soul music rather than the usual generic rock served by the band’s Irish counterparts. At an interview in Genting Highland recently, O’Donaghue says: “Irish people have soul. It comes from generations of pain, and generations of understanding emotion to be able to physically get that in a solid sound.” We Cry is a special, soulful anthem depicting the every day struggles faced by everybody. It is bleak and assuring at the same time. “Life is not a bed of roses. We all have our own problems and the light at the end of the tunnel may very well be a train. However, we’ll be okay as long as we have each other and together we cry…” explains O’Donague. Its second single, The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, again showcases O’Donague’s soulful vocal inflections and an equally bleak subject. The song, which the band performed at the recent MTV Music Awards on the hill, is about a man who waits desperately for his lover. Despite the bleak nature of their songs, the band members are friendly and chatty. O’Donague was all smiles and very obliging during the photography session. “Did you get a good shot? Do you want to take another one,” he asks before posing again.
Both O’Donague and Power (Sheenan was not present) often peppered their answers with jokes. It felt like an informal chat with some Irish lads in a Dublin pub. They even offered me a sip of coffee. “Have some. It’s definitely one of the best coffees I’ve had,” Power says. “Don’t worry. We did not do anything to the drink.” O’Donague first met Sheenan in their early teens in Dublin. They shared their love for music and often wrote songs together. “I bought a music software called Cubase from Mark (Sheenan) when we struck up a friendship over that. We often wrote music together and thought of ourselves as producers until we realised that Ireland was a little too small for us. We felt we could not progress without moving out of the country,” says O’Donague who, by then, was making demos for other artistes, with Sheenan as a backroom team.
“So we moved to the US where we spent a little time in Orlando before setting up a small studio in Los Angeles near the beach. Sheenan knew Glen (Power) from back in Dublin and he told me that he was a talented musician,” says O’Donague. “So we got him to fly in from Dublin and we sort of jammed out together in the small studio. The first song we played was actually The End Where I Begin and it was then that we realised that we had something really special here.” Power was a prodigy of sorts on the Dublin scene, having played from the age of 15. He even built a home studio. But things changed when he met the guys. “It was like I found my home at last.” That was 2005. With all the pieces in the right places, they spent a couple of months searching for the right sound for the band. However, tragedies began to besiege the band. Sheenan’s mum became terminally ill and the band returned to Dublin so that he could spend time with her. Ten months later, she died. Not too long after that, O’Donague’s father died unexpectedly of a heart attack. “We came home so that Mark could spend some time with his mother. Little was I to know that I would spend quality time with my dad as well,” O’Donague recalls.
However, out of the tragedies, songs emerged. “Each song is like a self-contained story. The music is like the soundtrack to the words and a song is a like a mini film. That’s how the name of the band came about.” Power adds: “In Ireland, people commonly say ‘what’s the script today?’, you know, like ‘what’s going on today?’.” The band is inspired by things they see or do every day. “It may come from a line from a book or even in the middle of a fight with your girlfriend or something. “Imagine the girlfriend screaming ‘are you writing a song or something?’ in the middle of a fight and I’d say ‘no, I’m just writing a list of presents I’m going to get you’,” says Power.
Jokes aside, the band wants to write songs as honestly as possible. O’Donague says one of the most poignant songs on the album is The End Where I Begin, a direct result of all that’s going on in their lives. “Sheenan wrote that song out of a direct reflection of what he was going through with his mother. It was important for him to get it into the music. The deaths and all things that happened actually cut down all the fake things in your life and help you to see things as they are,” says O’Donague.
“The meaning behind that song is that you can see death as an end but it can also be a form of rebirth. And as we sing those words every day, we believe that this is what our parents wanted for us — a rebirth — the end where I begin.” The Script’s two singles, The Man Who Can’t Be Moved and We Cry — are receiving extensive airplay on the radio. The band’s self-titled debut album is in the stores.
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Irish examiner
With the exception of U2 and a clutch of vapid boy bands, it has been many a year since an Irish act has topped the UK album charts, but a relative unknown group not only managed the feat, but actually managed to hold onto the spot, beating off competition from such celebrated names as Abba, Coldplay and Welsh soul star, Duffy.
Almost as impressive has been their assault on the singles chart, with two of their tracks currently holding fast in the Top 40, and receiving heavy rotation on virtually every major radio station in Europe.
Dublin band, The Script, are currently riding a wave of publicity and popularity that genuinely has them in poll position to be the proverbial "next big thing", with one of the members of the band recently revealing that they currently sit third on Sony Record's priority list behind Leona Lewis and Rihanna.
So why are their achievements currently greeted with only tepid praise in their home country?
Is it a case of our noted sense of begrudgery or does it have something to do with the old adage, which states that if things seem to good to be true, it's usually because they are.
The seeds of the Scripts' beginnings were sown when teenager, Mark Sheehan met fellow Dubliner, Danny O'Donaghue, when the former advertised some studio equipment that he had for sale.
What began as a simple transaction turned into a blossoming friendship, when the two realized just how committed each was to a career in music.
Teaming up in the area around Guinness' famed, St. James' Gate brewery, the pair were looking to escape their inner city surrounds according to Sheehan, who once recalled: "I'm not trying to romanticize it, where we grew up was a s**t hole, it was stealing cars, all the usual b*****ks, but music gave me a sense that I could break away. I know it sounds like a cliché, but to me, as a kid, that was my way out."
Although such comments can hardly be construed as 'romanticizing' his hometown, they might explain why certain people in Dublin have a hard time supporting the act, and while music did see them achieve their desired escape, the manner by which they achieved it might also offer another clue as to why the musical fraternity of Ireland is a wee bit skeptical of their explosive success.
In 1996, both became part of the Louis Walsh-managed boy band, Mytown, and were quickly signed up by Universal Records, who were eager to cash in on the burgeoning public demand for acts more renowned for their looks than their talent.
Although the four-piece were undoubtedly guilty of crimes against music (even going so far as to cover Wham! track Everything She Wants), all the members could play their own instruments and choreographed all their own dance moves, which certainly puts them ahead of the likes of Westlife and Boyzone, if only just.
The euphoria only continued when the band was sent to the US to begin work on their debut album with acclaimed producer, Teddy Riley (Blackstreet), although the fickle nature of the world of pop soon became painfully apparent when label suits began to grumble that the album was too pop for the US and too R'n'B for European audiences.
Like it or not, this band is struggling to shake their 'manufactured' label and too many of their statements still sound contrived.
Ultimately, the decision was made to cut Mytown loose and the dream was over before it ever truly started.
The silver lining on this particular cloud was the fact that the band had made many contacts in the US and even used their advance money wisely, so O'Donaghue and Sheehan decided to remain on in the States in an effort to salvage something from their career.
Over the next several years, they would chart a meandering course as they gamely tried every which way they could to get back in the game, first settling in Orlando and then leasing an apartment on Venice Beach, where they built a tiny studio and began working with new bands, in addition to remixing tracks.
They even managed to spoof their way in to a studio run by Pharrell Williams and his Neptunes associates, after the Irish pair simply called to the studio door and asked if they could help on a voluntary basis.
Soon they were learning at the feet of a master and though they were living a "hand to mouth existence", their ascetic life was worth it, as they generated more contacts and absorbed all they could about cutting-edge production techniques.
Soon they were remixing tracks for names like Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, in addition to working on a retainer for Jive Records, where they assisted new acts in developing their sound.
It appeared that their career in the US was ready to take off once again but fate dealt the band another rough hand, when Sheehan's mother was diagnosed with cancer and the pair traveled to Ireland, in order for him to spend some time with her.
Upon returning to native sod, the duo continued to work with new Irish acts from a home-built studio, but they had also begun to entertain notions of performing again, inspired in many ways by Glen Power, a multi-instrumentalist who the two men met in Dublin.
Soon the band began writing at a furious pace and with the makings of an album put together, they began canvassing interested parties and one of their US contacts put them in touch with Sony/BMG print, Phonogenic, who signed the band earlier this year and advised them to move to the UK.
In contrast to their initial move all those years before, this excursion would have a much happier ending.
In April, the band released debut single, We Cry, which went top 15 in the UK charts, and followed it up with The Man Who Couldn't Be Moved, which secured the band their first top 10 hit.
Even more impressively, their eponymous debut album entered the charts at #1 upon its release two weeks ago, and it continues to sit there at the time of going to press.
So where are the love and glowing commendations?
Undoubtedly, the roots of the reluctance of some music fans to embrace this band must lie in its dubious pop past, and their propensity for referring to their music as "Irish Soul" sounds like something they have been told to say by a label.
Like it or not, this band is struggling to shake their 'manufactured' label and too many of their statements still sound contrived.
Consider O'Donaghue's recent declaration that: "These songs have lifted us through the clouds in life and relationships. It's a great feeling when fans say they can relate to them. I've had guys say they gave our song to their girlfriends as it helped them explain what they wanted to say."
Not any guys I know, but it is becoming patently obvious that the fairer sex do not have the same reticence about loving the Script.
One only has to look at the teeming mass of females at their gigs, hear their pensive lyrics or listen to their sound (which could concisely be described as Maroon 5 meets R'n'B with a dash of The Fray) to realize that The Script are not really out to catch the attention of those with two chromosomes and more power to them.
Make no mistake, some of the members of The Script may have failed the first time out but this time, they are going to be huge.
Almost as impressive has been their assault on the singles chart, with two of their tracks currently holding fast in the Top 40, and receiving heavy rotation on virtually every major radio station in Europe.
Dublin band, The Script, are currently riding a wave of publicity and popularity that genuinely has them in poll position to be the proverbial "next big thing", with one of the members of the band recently revealing that they currently sit third on Sony Record's priority list behind Leona Lewis and Rihanna.
So why are their achievements currently greeted with only tepid praise in their home country?
Is it a case of our noted sense of begrudgery or does it have something to do with the old adage, which states that if things seem to good to be true, it's usually because they are.
The seeds of the Scripts' beginnings were sown when teenager, Mark Sheehan met fellow Dubliner, Danny O'Donaghue, when the former advertised some studio equipment that he had for sale.
What began as a simple transaction turned into a blossoming friendship, when the two realized just how committed each was to a career in music.
Teaming up in the area around Guinness' famed, St. James' Gate brewery, the pair were looking to escape their inner city surrounds according to Sheehan, who once recalled: "I'm not trying to romanticize it, where we grew up was a s**t hole, it was stealing cars, all the usual b*****ks, but music gave me a sense that I could break away. I know it sounds like a cliché, but to me, as a kid, that was my way out."
Although such comments can hardly be construed as 'romanticizing' his hometown, they might explain why certain people in Dublin have a hard time supporting the act, and while music did see them achieve their desired escape, the manner by which they achieved it might also offer another clue as to why the musical fraternity of Ireland is a wee bit skeptical of their explosive success.
In 1996, both became part of the Louis Walsh-managed boy band, Mytown, and were quickly signed up by Universal Records, who were eager to cash in on the burgeoning public demand for acts more renowned for their looks than their talent.
Although the four-piece were undoubtedly guilty of crimes against music (even going so far as to cover Wham! track Everything She Wants), all the members could play their own instruments and choreographed all their own dance moves, which certainly puts them ahead of the likes of Westlife and Boyzone, if only just.
The euphoria only continued when the band was sent to the US to begin work on their debut album with acclaimed producer, Teddy Riley (Blackstreet), although the fickle nature of the world of pop soon became painfully apparent when label suits began to grumble that the album was too pop for the US and too R'n'B for European audiences.
Like it or not, this band is struggling to shake their 'manufactured' label and too many of their statements still sound contrived.
Ultimately, the decision was made to cut Mytown loose and the dream was over before it ever truly started.
The silver lining on this particular cloud was the fact that the band had made many contacts in the US and even used their advance money wisely, so O'Donaghue and Sheehan decided to remain on in the States in an effort to salvage something from their career.
Over the next several years, they would chart a meandering course as they gamely tried every which way they could to get back in the game, first settling in Orlando and then leasing an apartment on Venice Beach, where they built a tiny studio and began working with new bands, in addition to remixing tracks.
They even managed to spoof their way in to a studio run by Pharrell Williams and his Neptunes associates, after the Irish pair simply called to the studio door and asked if they could help on a voluntary basis.
Soon they were learning at the feet of a master and though they were living a "hand to mouth existence", their ascetic life was worth it, as they generated more contacts and absorbed all they could about cutting-edge production techniques.
Soon they were remixing tracks for names like Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, in addition to working on a retainer for Jive Records, where they assisted new acts in developing their sound.
It appeared that their career in the US was ready to take off once again but fate dealt the band another rough hand, when Sheehan's mother was diagnosed with cancer and the pair traveled to Ireland, in order for him to spend some time with her.
Upon returning to native sod, the duo continued to work with new Irish acts from a home-built studio, but they had also begun to entertain notions of performing again, inspired in many ways by Glen Power, a multi-instrumentalist who the two men met in Dublin.
Soon the band began writing at a furious pace and with the makings of an album put together, they began canvassing interested parties and one of their US contacts put them in touch with Sony/BMG print, Phonogenic, who signed the band earlier this year and advised them to move to the UK.
In contrast to their initial move all those years before, this excursion would have a much happier ending.
In April, the band released debut single, We Cry, which went top 15 in the UK charts, and followed it up with The Man Who Couldn't Be Moved, which secured the band their first top 10 hit.
Even more impressively, their eponymous debut album entered the charts at #1 upon its release two weeks ago, and it continues to sit there at the time of going to press.
So where are the love and glowing commendations?
Undoubtedly, the roots of the reluctance of some music fans to embrace this band must lie in its dubious pop past, and their propensity for referring to their music as "Irish Soul" sounds like something they have been told to say by a label.
Like it or not, this band is struggling to shake their 'manufactured' label and too many of their statements still sound contrived.
Consider O'Donaghue's recent declaration that: "These songs have lifted us through the clouds in life and relationships. It's a great feeling when fans say they can relate to them. I've had guys say they gave our song to their girlfriends as it helped them explain what they wanted to say."
Not any guys I know, but it is becoming patently obvious that the fairer sex do not have the same reticence about loving the Script.
One only has to look at the teeming mass of females at their gigs, hear their pensive lyrics or listen to their sound (which could concisely be described as Maroon 5 meets R'n'B with a dash of The Fray) to realize that The Script are not really out to catch the attention of those with two chromosomes and more power to them.
Make no mistake, some of the members of The Script may have failed the first time out but this time, they are going to be huge.
Soldier magazine
JUST as it seemed 2008 was to be the year of mediocre new bloke bands singing instantly forgettable songs, The Script rode into the top ten on a fresh lyrical sound wave.
The Dubliners’ innovative debut single, We Cry, which deftly smoothed U2 rock into Eminem rap, took radio stations by surprise. But the UK audience was more than ready for the more soulful The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, which sailed to the number three slot in the charts and then refused to budge.
The best was yet to come. The self-titled debut album from the three gifted – not to mention gorgeous – guys swept away the competition to chart at number one. Flowing over starved eardrums like warm honey, the diverse tones of their 11-track CD have rescued UK music from a desert of blandness.
But what set the talented trio in gold medal position is their intelligence, thoughtfulness and grace. It’s enough to make any red-blooded female swoon and the fact that they unknowingly ooze sexiness just adds to the appeal. The complete package with bucket loads of X-factor has finally arrived.
All three members hail from humble roots, which have kept them grounded in their new-found fame. Guitarist Mark Sheehan grew up in the rough end of the Irish capital and quickly realised music could lift him out of the poverty. He met fellow teenager and now lead vocalist Danny O’Donaghue in a run down area of Dublin.
Sharing a passion and talent for music, the pair struck up a song writing and production partnership. A chance invitation to go to the US led to the duo collaborating with RnB legends Teddy Riley and Rodney Jerkins. They found their musical rainbow’s end in American black music.
“Danny fell in love with the vocal acrobatics and conviction of the soul legends. I liked sample-based music and fell in love with Hip Hop and RnB,” Mark told Soldier, adding that a youth spent submerged in the likes of Busta Rhymes and Dallas Austin, who has worked with Aretha Franklin and Pink, is clearly reflected in their music.
“We always loved the classic delivery of Stevie Wonder and loved the idea of rugged drums and bass beneath it.”
Mark and Danny worked in Los Angeles producing demos for other artists until fellow Dubliner Glen Power joined them. Regarded as a prodigy on the Dublin music scene, drummer Glen clicked with the pair and the trio produced three songs in just one week.
“Danny and I had spent so many years working together that it was tough for Glen to slot in,” explained Mark, when asked if three was an unworkable number of members for a band.
“Creatively we stay honourable to what we feel is moving us musically. Usually, if one of us is not feeling a song, then we don’t do it. We tried loads of fourth members but no one clicked.
“We waited until we had a substantial amount of music before deciding on the band name. We noticed that there was a story theme throughout – a narrative perspective and different take on love songs and they felt like a little script. Plus, when greeting each other we usually say, ‘what’s the script?’ meaning what’s happening, so it just felt right.”
Listening to the album for the first time felt right and turfed all the usual boy band preconceptions out the window. The Script’s contrasting music styles deliver something new and exciting every four minutes and they are really bothered by what they sing about.
“Danny can’t sing anything meaningless. He really sounds bad if a lyric is not emotionally charged and my only justification for pain is art. Music was always a way for us to vent and you can only write from your experiences. I guess we’ve been through a lot and we draw from that,” said Mark, adding what his hopes are for their debut album.
“I believe we poured our hearts into this every step of the way. So I think there is music for the head, heart and feet on there and we take you on a real thought-provoking journey. I only hope people give us one listen – I think they will relate.”
The Dubliners’ innovative debut single, We Cry, which deftly smoothed U2 rock into Eminem rap, took radio stations by surprise. But the UK audience was more than ready for the more soulful The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, which sailed to the number three slot in the charts and then refused to budge.
The best was yet to come. The self-titled debut album from the three gifted – not to mention gorgeous – guys swept away the competition to chart at number one. Flowing over starved eardrums like warm honey, the diverse tones of their 11-track CD have rescued UK music from a desert of blandness.
But what set the talented trio in gold medal position is their intelligence, thoughtfulness and grace. It’s enough to make any red-blooded female swoon and the fact that they unknowingly ooze sexiness just adds to the appeal. The complete package with bucket loads of X-factor has finally arrived.
All three members hail from humble roots, which have kept them grounded in their new-found fame. Guitarist Mark Sheehan grew up in the rough end of the Irish capital and quickly realised music could lift him out of the poverty. He met fellow teenager and now lead vocalist Danny O’Donaghue in a run down area of Dublin.
Sharing a passion and talent for music, the pair struck up a song writing and production partnership. A chance invitation to go to the US led to the duo collaborating with RnB legends Teddy Riley and Rodney Jerkins. They found their musical rainbow’s end in American black music.
“Danny fell in love with the vocal acrobatics and conviction of the soul legends. I liked sample-based music and fell in love with Hip Hop and RnB,” Mark told Soldier, adding that a youth spent submerged in the likes of Busta Rhymes and Dallas Austin, who has worked with Aretha Franklin and Pink, is clearly reflected in their music.
“We always loved the classic delivery of Stevie Wonder and loved the idea of rugged drums and bass beneath it.”
Mark and Danny worked in Los Angeles producing demos for other artists until fellow Dubliner Glen Power joined them. Regarded as a prodigy on the Dublin music scene, drummer Glen clicked with the pair and the trio produced three songs in just one week.
“Danny and I had spent so many years working together that it was tough for Glen to slot in,” explained Mark, when asked if three was an unworkable number of members for a band.
“Creatively we stay honourable to what we feel is moving us musically. Usually, if one of us is not feeling a song, then we don’t do it. We tried loads of fourth members but no one clicked.
“We waited until we had a substantial amount of music before deciding on the band name. We noticed that there was a story theme throughout – a narrative perspective and different take on love songs and they felt like a little script. Plus, when greeting each other we usually say, ‘what’s the script?’ meaning what’s happening, so it just felt right.”
Listening to the album for the first time felt right and turfed all the usual boy band preconceptions out the window. The Script’s contrasting music styles deliver something new and exciting every four minutes and they are really bothered by what they sing about.
“Danny can’t sing anything meaningless. He really sounds bad if a lyric is not emotionally charged and my only justification for pain is art. Music was always a way for us to vent and you can only write from your experiences. I guess we’ve been through a lot and we draw from that,” said Mark, adding what his hopes are for their debut album.
“I believe we poured our hearts into this every step of the way. So I think there is music for the head, heart and feet on there and we take you on a real thought-provoking journey. I only hope people give us one listen – I think they will relate.”
Monday, 8 September 2008
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Mark interview - HT&E
Despite the name, The Script don't follow the usual stereotype when it comes to the story of a band.
Three Irish lads from the wrong side of the tracks reach fame and fortune with a number one debut album in the UK and Ireland. The writing team behind The Commitments movie would have thought the plot too outlandish.
Somehow the formula has worked this time with former producers Mark Sheehan and Danny O'Donoghue striking gold after teaming up with drummer Glen Power to create the surprise hit of the summer. The Script's eponymous debut album is a complicated mixture of styles that transcends genre and gives the music press a tough time pigeonholing their vibe. Hip-hop, rock and soul are all neatly wrapped in slick pop production with O'Donoghue's vocals a true asset to the band. We caught up with Mark Sheehan to talk about the album, influences and rock and roll moments...
HT&E: Your debut - do you see it as an album about hope or an album about loss?
MS: I think we have a lot of songs about loss but there's been alot of that in our lives, but there's always an undertone of hope in them. I'd rather people have that than just focusing on the loss, they should hear about the recovery too, or the coping skills. This is what our song The End Is Where I Begin is all about. Every end is also the beginning of something new.
HT&E: As producers originally does that make the writing process easier?
MS: No, production doesn't make the song. A crap song is still a crap song with production, but when the bare bones is a killer song and has that raw emotion then the production only enhances that. In my opinion the production should back the song up, if you're clever with it.
"To me a great song is when you don't notice the genre or production, just the song"
HT&E: Does it make you more of a perfectionist when it comes to playing on the other side of the desk?
MS: Yes, its like a movie producer once said to me, "you never see the movie how everyone else does, you're constanly behind the camera so you have a different perspective" same with music, you dont hear it as a song after picking it apart, its never one unit. You break it up from bass to drums and vocals etc, but then years of production has you listening to FX like reverbs and EQs, that's all we hear sometimes. But you know what? To me a great song is when you don't notice the genre or production, just the song.
HT&E: There’s soul, Hip-hop, rock and more in your songs. How do you define your genre of music? Who are your influences?
MS: It's hard when you're in the band to define what your sound is, we just make music we love. I find it kinda' funny how every interview we do we get called, Timbaland meets U2, or The Police jamming with Kayne West etc. So many comparisons are coming at us but, you know, I think its because people can't put their finger on it - and why should anybody? Its just music. I think we are the Internet generation, like iTunes and iPods, nobody is loyal to a genre any more. In my head I see 50 Cent walking down a New York street with his big platinum chains, bullet proof vest on but on his iPod he's listening to The Sound of Music. Our influences are so vast, being producers it has to be, but we love Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Bob Marley and Kayne West. Anyone great from hip-hop to rock.
"I got a wee little excited recently and smashed the shit out of a guitar"
HT&E: You’re Irish, you’re within the music industry and you’re successful, what’s your most “rock and roll” story to date?
MS: Apart from the usual hotel parties and drinking sessions that seem to surround The Script... a lot, they are the normal rock 'n roll stereotypes. I got a wee little excited recently and smashed the shit out of a guitar and f**kin' loved it! Cut the shit out of my hand though and then had to go back on stage and play. Something I've always wanted to do but couldn't afford to do it, probably not so rock 'n roll but it was a great release. I may hate myself for it one day.
HT&E: Were you expecting this success from your debut album?
MS: No not at all, you can't predict these things. You hope and wish blindly but you can never know. We made this record in my old shed at the back of my family home in Dublin hoping to one day get played on local radio, and now look! We just cant believe it.
HT&E: What’s on your iPod at the moment?
MS: My most played is probably David Bowie, but I love my Bob Marley too. I've got so much music its sick! Foo Fighers get alot of spins, Jay Z and Nas would be faves of mine too. A bit all over the place really.
HT&E: As producers or as a band who have you most enjoyed working with thus far?
MS: We went through a stage in our lives where all we worked on was Jamaican Dance Hall artist, Beany Man and Mr Vagas etc, but amongst them we worked with a 3 piece girl group that played acoustic guitars and sang like angels, unreal. They where like the Jamaican Destiny's Child. Anyway, I loved it because we where from so different backgrounds yet music was the common ground and they where wicked. They say alot of things that we from Dublin say too. Me this, me that... and ting, tanks and tirty tree. Plus they're into Guinness too!
HT&E: You’re touring for a few months this year, what happens after that? Piss up or back to work (or both)?
MS: We've actually been touring for over a year now, constantly since V Festival 2007. It seems like there is no end to it either. When we finish our UK and Irish tour were back on the road again around the rest of the world. Live is who we are really, take that away from us and I'm afraid there is no band so we're just happy to be employed to be honest. We fit the piss ups in-between so no worries there.
HT&E: How much of your songs come from real life experiences? There’s a lot of heartbreak in there.
MS: All of them, I've learned that when you don't write from your experiences it just doesn't connect with other people. And if we don't believe it how will you. There is alot of heartbreak in there, yeah but that's life sometimes. Some people are dealt a bum hand sometimes. With me, Its never really "will I fall?", but "how will i get back up?".
HT&E: Thanks for talking to us.
MS: Thanks so much for chatting with me.
Three Irish lads from the wrong side of the tracks reach fame and fortune with a number one debut album in the UK and Ireland. The writing team behind The Commitments movie would have thought the plot too outlandish.
Somehow the formula has worked this time with former producers Mark Sheehan and Danny O'Donoghue striking gold after teaming up with drummer Glen Power to create the surprise hit of the summer. The Script's eponymous debut album is a complicated mixture of styles that transcends genre and gives the music press a tough time pigeonholing their vibe. Hip-hop, rock and soul are all neatly wrapped in slick pop production with O'Donoghue's vocals a true asset to the band. We caught up with Mark Sheehan to talk about the album, influences and rock and roll moments...
HT&E: Your debut - do you see it as an album about hope or an album about loss?
MS: I think we have a lot of songs about loss but there's been alot of that in our lives, but there's always an undertone of hope in them. I'd rather people have that than just focusing on the loss, they should hear about the recovery too, or the coping skills. This is what our song The End Is Where I Begin is all about. Every end is also the beginning of something new.
HT&E: As producers originally does that make the writing process easier?
MS: No, production doesn't make the song. A crap song is still a crap song with production, but when the bare bones is a killer song and has that raw emotion then the production only enhances that. In my opinion the production should back the song up, if you're clever with it.
"To me a great song is when you don't notice the genre or production, just the song"
HT&E: Does it make you more of a perfectionist when it comes to playing on the other side of the desk?
MS: Yes, its like a movie producer once said to me, "you never see the movie how everyone else does, you're constanly behind the camera so you have a different perspective" same with music, you dont hear it as a song after picking it apart, its never one unit. You break it up from bass to drums and vocals etc, but then years of production has you listening to FX like reverbs and EQs, that's all we hear sometimes. But you know what? To me a great song is when you don't notice the genre or production, just the song.
HT&E: There’s soul, Hip-hop, rock and more in your songs. How do you define your genre of music? Who are your influences?
MS: It's hard when you're in the band to define what your sound is, we just make music we love. I find it kinda' funny how every interview we do we get called, Timbaland meets U2, or The Police jamming with Kayne West etc. So many comparisons are coming at us but, you know, I think its because people can't put their finger on it - and why should anybody? Its just music. I think we are the Internet generation, like iTunes and iPods, nobody is loyal to a genre any more. In my head I see 50 Cent walking down a New York street with his big platinum chains, bullet proof vest on but on his iPod he's listening to The Sound of Music. Our influences are so vast, being producers it has to be, but we love Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Bob Marley and Kayne West. Anyone great from hip-hop to rock.
"I got a wee little excited recently and smashed the shit out of a guitar"
HT&E: You’re Irish, you’re within the music industry and you’re successful, what’s your most “rock and roll” story to date?
MS: Apart from the usual hotel parties and drinking sessions that seem to surround The Script... a lot, they are the normal rock 'n roll stereotypes. I got a wee little excited recently and smashed the shit out of a guitar and f**kin' loved it! Cut the shit out of my hand though and then had to go back on stage and play. Something I've always wanted to do but couldn't afford to do it, probably not so rock 'n roll but it was a great release. I may hate myself for it one day.
HT&E: Were you expecting this success from your debut album?
MS: No not at all, you can't predict these things. You hope and wish blindly but you can never know. We made this record in my old shed at the back of my family home in Dublin hoping to one day get played on local radio, and now look! We just cant believe it.
HT&E: What’s on your iPod at the moment?
MS: My most played is probably David Bowie, but I love my Bob Marley too. I've got so much music its sick! Foo Fighers get alot of spins, Jay Z and Nas would be faves of mine too. A bit all over the place really.
HT&E: As producers or as a band who have you most enjoyed working with thus far?
MS: We went through a stage in our lives where all we worked on was Jamaican Dance Hall artist, Beany Man and Mr Vagas etc, but amongst them we worked with a 3 piece girl group that played acoustic guitars and sang like angels, unreal. They where like the Jamaican Destiny's Child. Anyway, I loved it because we where from so different backgrounds yet music was the common ground and they where wicked. They say alot of things that we from Dublin say too. Me this, me that... and ting, tanks and tirty tree. Plus they're into Guinness too!
HT&E: You’re touring for a few months this year, what happens after that? Piss up or back to work (or both)?
MS: We've actually been touring for over a year now, constantly since V Festival 2007. It seems like there is no end to it either. When we finish our UK and Irish tour were back on the road again around the rest of the world. Live is who we are really, take that away from us and I'm afraid there is no band so we're just happy to be employed to be honest. We fit the piss ups in-between so no worries there.
HT&E: How much of your songs come from real life experiences? There’s a lot of heartbreak in there.
MS: All of them, I've learned that when you don't write from your experiences it just doesn't connect with other people. And if we don't believe it how will you. There is alot of heartbreak in there, yeah but that's life sometimes. Some people are dealt a bum hand sometimes. With me, Its never really "will I fall?", but "how will i get back up?".
HT&E: Thanks for talking to us.
MS: Thanks so much for chatting with me.
Glenn interview - NZGirl
How would you describe your sound?
It’s music for the head, heart, hands and feet. It’s funk/rock/pop/hip hop.
Fav song on the album and why?
‘Breakeven’ – lyrically the song doesn’t get anymore concise and brilliant. When I was first played the song, Mark had already programmed the beat. I heard it and was like, ‘that’s not the way it should be’. The great thing about us is we always change the rules – we’re not afraid to
mix it up. Lyrically the song is fantastic – we’ve all been in a situation where our heart has been broken!
What’s your favourite song right now?
Coldplay’s ‘Lost’. It’s so fantastic and so lyrically brilliant. I play it all the time. It’s my prescription for a bit of soul searching!
Advice for aspiring musicians?
Always keep going, never say no for answer – because right around the corner could be the career break you’re going for. When I was 15 the guidance counsellor at school asked what I wanted to do when I left, and I said music, and she said, ‘What about a real job?’. She told me I couldn’t do music for a living and now look at what I’m doing. Just believe in yourself, there’s no such thing as no. All you’ve got to do is figure out what you need to do to get there!
It’s music for the head, heart, hands and feet. It’s funk/rock/pop/hip hop.
Fav song on the album and why?
‘Breakeven’ – lyrically the song doesn’t get anymore concise and brilliant. When I was first played the song, Mark had already programmed the beat. I heard it and was like, ‘that’s not the way it should be’. The great thing about us is we always change the rules – we’re not afraid to
mix it up. Lyrically the song is fantastic – we’ve all been in a situation where our heart has been broken!
What’s your favourite song right now?
Coldplay’s ‘Lost’. It’s so fantastic and so lyrically brilliant. I play it all the time. It’s my prescription for a bit of soul searching!
Advice for aspiring musicians?
Always keep going, never say no for answer – because right around the corner could be the career break you’re going for. When I was 15 the guidance counsellor at school asked what I wanted to do when I left, and I said music, and she said, ‘What about a real job?’. She told me I couldn’t do music for a living and now look at what I’m doing. Just believe in yourself, there’s no such thing as no. All you’ve got to do is figure out what you need to do to get there!
Breakeven video shoot - ShowBiz Ireland
The Script are probably the hottest band to come out of Dublin since U2 – and it looks like their star is in rapid ascendancy. We caught up with Danny, Mark and Glen on the set of the video for their next single 'Break Even' in Dublin yesterday...
Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power are three humble lads from Dublin. More importantly, they are The Script. Arguably the hottest young band on the planet at the moment - their last song 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' was a very much deserved global hit. Quality tune.
The trio invited a lucky group of fans along to the filming of their 'Break Even' video shoot yesterday at a secret Dublin city location. It turned out to be not so secret when we spotted them and their film crew at Whelan's bar... Sorry about that lads!
We're expecting great things from 'The Script' in the coming weeks, months and years. Let's hope they live up the hype and give the U2 boys a run for their money. Sure it's about time someone challenged U2's eternal global domination of the music industry and erm, Dublin hotels... Yeah Script, sell millions of albums and open a hotel. It's every Rock 'n' Roller's dream.
Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power are three humble lads from Dublin. More importantly, they are The Script. Arguably the hottest young band on the planet at the moment - their last song 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' was a very much deserved global hit. Quality tune.
The trio invited a lucky group of fans along to the filming of their 'Break Even' video shoot yesterday at a secret Dublin city location. It turned out to be not so secret when we spotted them and their film crew at Whelan's bar... Sorry about that lads!
We're expecting great things from 'The Script' in the coming weeks, months and years. Let's hope they live up the hype and give the U2 boys a run for their money. Sure it's about time someone challenged U2's eternal global domination of the music industry and erm, Dublin hotels... Yeah Script, sell millions of albums and open a hotel. It's every Rock 'n' Roller's dream.
Breakeven video shoot - Daily Star
SINGER Danny O’Donoghue’s ex-girlfriend was almost cast to play his love interest in the video for The Script’s next single Breakeven. The brunette featured in a selection of photos of Irish babes the director was sent by a casting agency.After filming in New York and LA for their first releases We Cry and current smash The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, Danny, 25, guitarist Mark Sheehan, 28, and drummer Glen Power, 29, were deter-mined to do something close to their roots.
Mark told me: “People keep asking if we were American so we realised we needed to do something about it.”
But frontman Danny was flabbergasted when his old flame was presented as an extra. He admitted: “It brought back a lot of feelings and emotions. “I said all week: ‘I hope it’s not someone from Dublin we know.’ I was watching some demo tapes of the girls who had auditioned and was like, ‘I know her, I know her sister.’”
But he added: “The lead girl, Irma Mali, is amazing and tall like me.”
Female attention is something these lads have to get used to after topping the charts. Their heart-felt songs are connecting with all who hear them. In between takes The Script joked with extras playing a crowd at a gig.
As a speeded-up version of Break Even is drummed out for the 10th time they mime brilliantly. We are in a pub called Whelans, where not so long ago The Script did a gig for real. “Do we sound better now, miming?” laughs Danny. You would never know the singer arrived on set at 4.30am to do cosy shots at the docks with his on-screen lady friend.
Still buzzing from their self-titled album going in at No 1 in the charts – and continuing to sell by the bucketload – the group are on a high. Mark shows me pictures of his new baby Avery, his second son. Clearly fatherhood and selling records are a perfect combination. “Everything is just brilliant,” he admits.
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Friday, 29 August 2008
RWD Magazine Feature
The Script: More Than Words…
They’ve written for Babyface and Teddy Riley, but now they’re stepping out from behind the boards. With their big pop hooks and Maroon-5 like melodies, we predict Irish trio The Script are about to be rather huge. Hattie Collins speaks to Mark to find out the craic!
Three-piece Irish band The Script are the latest buzz in the pop world. The Hoosiers asked them to support them on tour, Radio 1 playlisted them months in advance, while radio stations in their homeland even started a campaign to get the boys to No.1! “It’s funny,” says Mark, the group’s guitarist, who alongside drummer Glen and singer Danny is also producer and songwriter. “We’ve seen how it happened so fast with the Hoosiers and I’d be lying if I said we didn’t fancy a bit of that, but at the same we hope people get into the music with us first,” he says cautiously. “Then again, there’s nothing you can do about it I suppose, because the record label is really trying to make a load of money off you so... “
Indeed, they might not have too much choice in the matter. Especially when people get to see them live, where they really excel. Tracks like We Cry, for example become even more amazing when you hear Danny in the flesh and see how the band bring the music to life. It’s led to them being compared to everyone from U2 and the Police to Maroon 5 (but not fellow Irish-ers Westlife or Boyzone, thank God!) It’s also a sound a lot of hip hop and R&B heads will appreciate. “When I talk to anyone at the label they tell me not to mention hip hop and I know it’s a million miles from f*cking hip hop, however our roots and how we put stuff together is influenced by that,” Mark insists. “For example, we take a hip hop loop and then Glen will walk in and play over that. I grew up on Tribe Called Quest and then Common and Eminem and Kanye - all of us have always had a passion for the rhyme of hip hop, so we tend to use a melodic flow and a low bassline. Live, we push our kicks and snare and bass, rather than having loud, screeching guitars and banging drums.” It’s fair to say someone like Kanye might like the Script, right? “Well, yeah, hopefully,” nods Mark. “I think he’d be a great match for us. He went down the wrong road using Chris Martin,” he adds with a laugh. “He should have used us - he would have got a cooler song!
Danny and Mark met 15 years ago, when Mark sold Danny ‘some gear.’ We clarify exactly what he means by that, but apparently it was actually Cubase-based, nothing dodgy. A few years ago, Glen came onboard and the boys started to think about turning themselves into a production outfit rather than a group. “We got major interest when we were younger in Ireland,” Mark remembers. “We had a friend who knew U2’s manager, Paul McGuiness who really liked what we were doing, but felt we were a bit young and we needed to experience more in the production world. So we went to LA to work.” They jetted off to Hollywoodland, where they ended up working with the likes of Babyface and Teddy Riley, who they met after flying down to Virginia and ‘Turning up at his door with our guitars on our backs. Literally.’ They wound up doing some writing and programming while Riley worked on the second Blackstreet album and then got more work with other beatmakers. Ultimately though, they felt unfulfilled working for other people. “We got sick of writing a really cool song to then have some sh*t singer come in and do a crap job,” admits Mark. So they stuck Danny out front and began crafting gorgeous compositions.
“I think we encapsulate everything that’s going on in modern music,” says Mark. “People might not want to admit it, but everyone’s tastes have gotten broader. We’ve found a way of encapsulating all the best of those styles into a sonic fingerprint in a new sort of way. I hope we deliver that quality in music.”
Earlier this year, Danny suffered a collapsed lung, while Glen smashed his head open on the floor of a pub toilet. Is Mark worried he might be next? “I wasn’t until everyone kept saying it to me,” he exclaims. “Hopefully I’ll go down in style though – I’ll get a massive electric shock on stage instead of something sissy,” he grins. “Maybe we could set up a mad person in the audience to pop me or something?” Sorry Mark, the only pop you’re going near is the top of the charts (groan).
Who would you like to read a bedtime story to?
I’d have to do it without my missus slitting my throat, but lets say, anything with a heartbeat! Nah, I suppose Kelly Brook is nice.
How’s the groupie love so far?
Well, we’re getting sent a lot of strange pictures. Actually, there was a young girl in the show last night. She was all flirty and then she lifted her top up and on her stomach there was an arrow pointing down and it said ‘Insert here.’ I was like ohhhh-kay!
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Hot Press magazine feature
They’ve been heralded as the biggest thing in Irish rock since U2- a prediction that proved prescient when THE SCRIPT romped to the top of the charts with their debut album. Here they talk about their boyband past and explain that their infectious soul-pop is tinged by personal tragedy- and is all the more heartfelt for it
The buzz started when their first single, “We Cry”, reached the Irish top ten in April. In July, the second single, “The Man Who Can’t be Moved” did even better and peaked at number three. By August all the escalating hype was reaching fever pitch- and sure enough, their debut album shot straight to the top spot in both Ireland and the UK in the first week of it’s release. Since then the noise surrounding the band had become an all out frenzy and The Script have gone viral – as in something thoroughly infectious!
Over the past few weeks they’ve been everywhere- radio, television, newspapers, magazines, message boards, you name it. The truth, however, is that The Script are an instant success story about 10 years in the making. It’s a new twist on an old rock ‘n’ roll fable. Vocalist Danny O’Donoghue and guitarist Mark Sheehan grew up together around the James Street area of Dublin. They formed MyTown, a boy band whose career was orchestrated under the Principle Management umbrella- who also, of course, handle U2.
After that unsuccessful stint attempting to outdo Westlife and the Backstreet Boys, the pair worked as a songwriting and production team, with considerable success, working with Teddy Riley and The Neptunes, among others. But when they met drummer, session musician and fellow Dub, Glen Power, the three clicked socially, personally and musically – and thus The Script was born.
If the media hype, a number one album, a show in Marley Park and an upcoming tour wasn’t enough to content with, the afternoon we chat, Mark is anxiously waiting for his wife to give birth “at any moment”. Ah Bless. Nobody told them there’d be days like these!
The Script are a little bit pop and a little bit R ‘n’ B. They are bright, polished and write songs that have a knack of insinuating themselves into people’s heads. They call it ‘Celtic Soul’. Yep, I’m not quite sure what that is either, but this much I can say: their music is hugely accessible and radio friendly, like an Irish OneRepublic. But that’s never stopped the local snipers from taking pot shots: if the success seemed quick, the attendant begrudgery has been even quicker.
We can’t ignore them, so let’s have a look at the criticisms that are being slung about like snuff at a wake.
Criticism number one: despite the Celtic Soul tag, The Script have been accused of not sounding Irish. Like The Thrills before them, they’ve been derided for sounding too American, specifically for being Maroon 5 the 2008 edition. It’s a familiar old refrain, alright….
“We may have an American, polished sound,” says Mark, “but we lived in America for ten years. That’s where I learned to produce records. What was I going to do? Take all that experience and then reverse it?”
In any event, he isn’t going to be boxed in by other people’s narrow horizons.
“What is Irish music anyway?” he asks. “I love Christy Moore. To me he’s a rapper - he’s one of the best rappers in the world. I love Aslan – they express themselves with great accuracy. I’m really into the Coronas and I think the Blizzards are really good as well. But in the middle of that you have the Republic of Loose – I love what they’re doing. Is that ‘Irish’? Mary Black hits me in the heart. I love that kind of stuff as well and I love the differences between all those artists.”
Mark sees what The Script are doing as very much a product of modern Ireland. His attitude on the subject is impressively bolshie.
“Everyone I know in Dublin listens to pop music. They love their Coldplay, their Kanye West, Justin Timberlake or their U2 –they love all that stuff. I think we’re absolutely a reflection of that new Ireland. We’ve been compared to all kinds of people – U2 meets Timbaland, Kanye West, Coldplay and yeah, Maroon 5, fair enough – but when people listen to the album they’ll change their minds. At least we’re not being compared to Val Doonican, or that kind of shite!”
Criticism number two is that Danny and Mark’s boyband past in My Town casts a long shadow. Mark is unapologetic. In fact he isn’t remotely concerned with how the MyTown afterburn might affect The Script’s credibility.
“People don’t take us seriously to begin with” he says. “We write pop songs. We write love songs. We write songs about breaking hearts and what we’ve experienced, and that’s it really.
But that past experience of the pop genre is fascinating nonetheless. Marketed as R ‘n’ B in the States and a pop boyband in the UK, My Town fell between two stools and failed to capture the public imagination. But here’s the rub: they may have been sucked into the belly of the beast – but they made it out the other side because they are musicians first and foremost.
“You get into the industry and you have an idea of what it’s going to be like and it’s nothing like you think. We thought that we were going to be able to express ourselves musically with My Town, but that didn’t happen. Of course there’s a formula and that’s fine, there’s a place for that, but when Danny and I saw what was happening we bailed.”
The lads don’t regret the experience. At the time, Mark says, they were desperate for success. Having grown up poor in working-class Dublin, all they wanted to do was get to America. With that out of their system, they are back fresher and stronger. If My Town were an R ‘n’ B boyband, Mark sees The Script not so much as a change in musical personas, but a progression – and in a sense The Script represents a serious step forward musically.
“I wouldn’t change anything. We learnt so much in those years. And so what? You know the Ting Tings were originally in girlbands and boybands. So was Duffy.”
Having said that Mark’s not keen on the music of manufactured acts created by shows such as The X-Factor.
“I don’t watch it, I don’t read about it. It’s not something I’m into. I’d prefer if it was more about songwriting, or real artists – but I suppose it can’t be. It’s about spring-boarding people to pop success and it has it’s place, just like Westlife and Shayne Ward have their place.”
As far as Mark is concerned, The Script are a world away from the likes of Ireland’s two big boyband exports, Westlife and Boyzone.
“There’s a demographic for those bands. It’s not something I’d listen too or enjoy, but if my son grows up listening to say, Shayne Ward, I’d prefer that than him listening to Eminem talking about chopping his wife up, putting her in the boot of his car and driving her over the fucking bridge. It’s music for a demographic – it’s like when kids grow up they love Barney, or Bear in the Big Blue House. That music is for younger people, and I think there’s a place for it.”
Unfortunately for the MyTown graduates, their boyband history mean that they got lumped in with the likes of those manufactured pop acts. Despite the fact that they had some high-profile fans and collaborators, there was an assumption that they were a bunch of talentless robots, stuck on the road to nowhere. Wrong, it turns out, on all counts….
After MyTown, Danny and Mark stayed on in America writing songs and producing music. This was mostly a hand-to-mouth existence, as Mark describes it, but it allowed them to work with some pretty heavyweight names and the lads learnt their craft with the likes of Dallas Austin, The Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins and Teddy Riley.
“Meeting Teddy was amazing,” Mark grins. “From when I was a kid I wanted to meet him, just to say thank you for all the music. We went around and he was watching “The Sopranos” but he invited us in. We were chatting, then Danny and I were playing guitars. He gave us the confidence that maybe we could do something. I mean, who were we? Just a bunch of lads from Dublin, and having someone like that interested in us opened a lot of doors.”
The third criticism is predictable: that the songs are shiny, emotionless, middle–of–the–road numbers. While there’s no denying that on first sight The Script look like pop-by-numbers, the songs and music were written by the band as a response to what were difficult personal circumstances – money worried, unemployment and bereavement – and that they have something to say about those thornier than average themes in a pop context. Within the space of just over a year Mark lost his mother and Danny’s father died of a heart attack. That their songs are genuinely written from the heart is, according to Mark, what the fans like about them.
“I think the songs are really honest and that’s what people have picked up on. When we were writing them we were in a dark place and I think that comes across, that genuine emotion.”
For Mark, songwriting is all about accessing an emotional response.
“I always say that our formula is like no formula. Sometimes Glen will have an idea or Danny will. It’s kind of like divining – when I feel the hairs on the back of my neck then I know we’ve got something.”
Criticism number four is that The Script are a bunch of pretty boys, an accusation – or rather a compliment! – which Mark thinks is hilarious.
“I look in the mirror and think, look at the state of that!” he laughs. “I’m 28 years old and I’m losing my hair. We admire people like U2 and Coldplay – not as heartthrobs – but because of the way they carry themselves through the industry with great dignity and I guess we try to act like that.”
Err…I think it might be the fact that Danny – the photogenic dark haired singer- looks more like a young Fergal Sharkey beautifully re-imagined as a noughties teen idol.
“If girls want to like Danny, because he looks a certain way, they’re welcome, but I know what he’s really like. He’s a messy bollocks!”
And finally, criticism number five is that The Script got signed before paying their dues on the live circuit- success being unacceptable until you’ve hauled equipment in and out of venues such as Whealan’s or the Spirit Store the requisite number of times. But in the past few months, the lads have been touring with the likes of The Hoosiers and The Zutons, did the summer festival circuit including a headline spot on the iTunes festival and a well received at this year’s Oxygen.
“The Irish shows are always the most important to us,” Mark asserts. “Before we went on stage, there were maybe about 200 people in the tent at Oxygen, and I thought ‘Oh no, Ireland hates us’! But then about five minutes before we went on, the place filled up and they were turning people away.”
Next up is a tour around Ireland, the UK, Europe and Japan, with plans to conquer America slotted in for next year.
“We always say the only place success comes before touring is in the dictionary. You have to tour in order to get the music out. We’re getting released in America on Paddy’s Day. We’re doing gigs in New York and Boston on the same day, which will be a big launch for us. In the meantime, we’re promoting the album here and our tour kicks off, which is huge for us. We’ve been in the shadows of other bands in the past while – and now it’s time for us to step out.”
If their success in slamming straight in at number one in Ireland and the UK seems almost indecently easy, the band aren’t taking anything for granted. The industry, as Mark notes, is fickle and the pressure to deliver one commercially successful album after another can be overwhelming. But for the moment, he’s not worrying about that.
“I am really just happy about being employed, you know,” says Mark, in a way that is genuinely disarming. “That’s all I focus on. I could be digging holes, I could be out there working on building sites with my brothers, but I’m so lucky that I’m working in an area that I love and I’m able to be creative in.”
The Script write pop music. They don’t pretend it’s anything grander and nobody seems more surprised about their current popularity than the band themselves.
“We made this album in a shitty shed on James Street and the idea of it being played on the radio, and the music getting out there, and people coming to see us, we’re like – “Holy shit, this is great!”
And it is. The begrudgers may carp, the reviews may be ambivalent, but the public have spoken – and the public have anointed The Script as this year’s success story. Teenage girls may get their knickers in a twist over Danny and the videos may take advantage of that fact, but writing The Script off as a cynical A&R concoction designed for nothing more than to extract the maximum amount of disposable income from our wallets is unfair in the extreme. Their ballad-y sound may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but so what? They do what they do well – heartfelt tunes, lush singalong choruses and shiny American production values. Chillax man, don’t be a hater.
The buzz started when their first single, “We Cry”, reached the Irish top ten in April. In July, the second single, “The Man Who Can’t be Moved” did even better and peaked at number three. By August all the escalating hype was reaching fever pitch- and sure enough, their debut album shot straight to the top spot in both Ireland and the UK in the first week of it’s release. Since then the noise surrounding the band had become an all out frenzy and The Script have gone viral – as in something thoroughly infectious!
Over the past few weeks they’ve been everywhere- radio, television, newspapers, magazines, message boards, you name it. The truth, however, is that The Script are an instant success story about 10 years in the making. It’s a new twist on an old rock ‘n’ roll fable. Vocalist Danny O’Donoghue and guitarist Mark Sheehan grew up together around the James Street area of Dublin. They formed MyTown, a boy band whose career was orchestrated under the Principle Management umbrella- who also, of course, handle U2.
After that unsuccessful stint attempting to outdo Westlife and the Backstreet Boys, the pair worked as a songwriting and production team, with considerable success, working with Teddy Riley and The Neptunes, among others. But when they met drummer, session musician and fellow Dub, Glen Power, the three clicked socially, personally and musically – and thus The Script was born.
If the media hype, a number one album, a show in Marley Park and an upcoming tour wasn’t enough to content with, the afternoon we chat, Mark is anxiously waiting for his wife to give birth “at any moment”. Ah Bless. Nobody told them there’d be days like these!
The Script are a little bit pop and a little bit R ‘n’ B. They are bright, polished and write songs that have a knack of insinuating themselves into people’s heads. They call it ‘Celtic Soul’. Yep, I’m not quite sure what that is either, but this much I can say: their music is hugely accessible and radio friendly, like an Irish OneRepublic. But that’s never stopped the local snipers from taking pot shots: if the success seemed quick, the attendant begrudgery has been even quicker.
We can’t ignore them, so let’s have a look at the criticisms that are being slung about like snuff at a wake.
Criticism number one: despite the Celtic Soul tag, The Script have been accused of not sounding Irish. Like The Thrills before them, they’ve been derided for sounding too American, specifically for being Maroon 5 the 2008 edition. It’s a familiar old refrain, alright….
“We may have an American, polished sound,” says Mark, “but we lived in America for ten years. That’s where I learned to produce records. What was I going to do? Take all that experience and then reverse it?”
In any event, he isn’t going to be boxed in by other people’s narrow horizons.
“What is Irish music anyway?” he asks. “I love Christy Moore. To me he’s a rapper - he’s one of the best rappers in the world. I love Aslan – they express themselves with great accuracy. I’m really into the Coronas and I think the Blizzards are really good as well. But in the middle of that you have the Republic of Loose – I love what they’re doing. Is that ‘Irish’? Mary Black hits me in the heart. I love that kind of stuff as well and I love the differences between all those artists.”
Mark sees what The Script are doing as very much a product of modern Ireland. His attitude on the subject is impressively bolshie.
“Everyone I know in Dublin listens to pop music. They love their Coldplay, their Kanye West, Justin Timberlake or their U2 –they love all that stuff. I think we’re absolutely a reflection of that new Ireland. We’ve been compared to all kinds of people – U2 meets Timbaland, Kanye West, Coldplay and yeah, Maroon 5, fair enough – but when people listen to the album they’ll change their minds. At least we’re not being compared to Val Doonican, or that kind of shite!”
Criticism number two is that Danny and Mark’s boyband past in My Town casts a long shadow. Mark is unapologetic. In fact he isn’t remotely concerned with how the MyTown afterburn might affect The Script’s credibility.
“People don’t take us seriously to begin with” he says. “We write pop songs. We write love songs. We write songs about breaking hearts and what we’ve experienced, and that’s it really.
But that past experience of the pop genre is fascinating nonetheless. Marketed as R ‘n’ B in the States and a pop boyband in the UK, My Town fell between two stools and failed to capture the public imagination. But here’s the rub: they may have been sucked into the belly of the beast – but they made it out the other side because they are musicians first and foremost.
“You get into the industry and you have an idea of what it’s going to be like and it’s nothing like you think. We thought that we were going to be able to express ourselves musically with My Town, but that didn’t happen. Of course there’s a formula and that’s fine, there’s a place for that, but when Danny and I saw what was happening we bailed.”
The lads don’t regret the experience. At the time, Mark says, they were desperate for success. Having grown up poor in working-class Dublin, all they wanted to do was get to America. With that out of their system, they are back fresher and stronger. If My Town were an R ‘n’ B boyband, Mark sees The Script not so much as a change in musical personas, but a progression – and in a sense The Script represents a serious step forward musically.
“I wouldn’t change anything. We learnt so much in those years. And so what? You know the Ting Tings were originally in girlbands and boybands. So was Duffy.”
Having said that Mark’s not keen on the music of manufactured acts created by shows such as The X-Factor.
“I don’t watch it, I don’t read about it. It’s not something I’m into. I’d prefer if it was more about songwriting, or real artists – but I suppose it can’t be. It’s about spring-boarding people to pop success and it has it’s place, just like Westlife and Shayne Ward have their place.”
As far as Mark is concerned, The Script are a world away from the likes of Ireland’s two big boyband exports, Westlife and Boyzone.
“There’s a demographic for those bands. It’s not something I’d listen too or enjoy, but if my son grows up listening to say, Shayne Ward, I’d prefer that than him listening to Eminem talking about chopping his wife up, putting her in the boot of his car and driving her over the fucking bridge. It’s music for a demographic – it’s like when kids grow up they love Barney, or Bear in the Big Blue House. That music is for younger people, and I think there’s a place for it.”
Unfortunately for the MyTown graduates, their boyband history mean that they got lumped in with the likes of those manufactured pop acts. Despite the fact that they had some high-profile fans and collaborators, there was an assumption that they were a bunch of talentless robots, stuck on the road to nowhere. Wrong, it turns out, on all counts….
After MyTown, Danny and Mark stayed on in America writing songs and producing music. This was mostly a hand-to-mouth existence, as Mark describes it, but it allowed them to work with some pretty heavyweight names and the lads learnt their craft with the likes of Dallas Austin, The Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins and Teddy Riley.
“Meeting Teddy was amazing,” Mark grins. “From when I was a kid I wanted to meet him, just to say thank you for all the music. We went around and he was watching “The Sopranos” but he invited us in. We were chatting, then Danny and I were playing guitars. He gave us the confidence that maybe we could do something. I mean, who were we? Just a bunch of lads from Dublin, and having someone like that interested in us opened a lot of doors.”
The third criticism is predictable: that the songs are shiny, emotionless, middle–of–the–road numbers. While there’s no denying that on first sight The Script look like pop-by-numbers, the songs and music were written by the band as a response to what were difficult personal circumstances – money worried, unemployment and bereavement – and that they have something to say about those thornier than average themes in a pop context. Within the space of just over a year Mark lost his mother and Danny’s father died of a heart attack. That their songs are genuinely written from the heart is, according to Mark, what the fans like about them.
“I think the songs are really honest and that’s what people have picked up on. When we were writing them we were in a dark place and I think that comes across, that genuine emotion.”
For Mark, songwriting is all about accessing an emotional response.
“I always say that our formula is like no formula. Sometimes Glen will have an idea or Danny will. It’s kind of like divining – when I feel the hairs on the back of my neck then I know we’ve got something.”
Criticism number four is that The Script are a bunch of pretty boys, an accusation – or rather a compliment! – which Mark thinks is hilarious.
“I look in the mirror and think, look at the state of that!” he laughs. “I’m 28 years old and I’m losing my hair. We admire people like U2 and Coldplay – not as heartthrobs – but because of the way they carry themselves through the industry with great dignity and I guess we try to act like that.”
Err…I think it might be the fact that Danny – the photogenic dark haired singer- looks more like a young Fergal Sharkey beautifully re-imagined as a noughties teen idol.
“If girls want to like Danny, because he looks a certain way, they’re welcome, but I know what he’s really like. He’s a messy bollocks!”
And finally, criticism number five is that The Script got signed before paying their dues on the live circuit- success being unacceptable until you’ve hauled equipment in and out of venues such as Whealan’s or the Spirit Store the requisite number of times. But in the past few months, the lads have been touring with the likes of The Hoosiers and The Zutons, did the summer festival circuit including a headline spot on the iTunes festival and a well received at this year’s Oxygen.
“The Irish shows are always the most important to us,” Mark asserts. “Before we went on stage, there were maybe about 200 people in the tent at Oxygen, and I thought ‘Oh no, Ireland hates us’! But then about five minutes before we went on, the place filled up and they were turning people away.”
Next up is a tour around Ireland, the UK, Europe and Japan, with plans to conquer America slotted in for next year.
“We always say the only place success comes before touring is in the dictionary. You have to tour in order to get the music out. We’re getting released in America on Paddy’s Day. We’re doing gigs in New York and Boston on the same day, which will be a big launch for us. In the meantime, we’re promoting the album here and our tour kicks off, which is huge for us. We’ve been in the shadows of other bands in the past while – and now it’s time for us to step out.”
If their success in slamming straight in at number one in Ireland and the UK seems almost indecently easy, the band aren’t taking anything for granted. The industry, as Mark notes, is fickle and the pressure to deliver one commercially successful album after another can be overwhelming. But for the moment, he’s not worrying about that.
“I am really just happy about being employed, you know,” says Mark, in a way that is genuinely disarming. “That’s all I focus on. I could be digging holes, I could be out there working on building sites with my brothers, but I’m so lucky that I’m working in an area that I love and I’m able to be creative in.”
The Script write pop music. They don’t pretend it’s anything grander and nobody seems more surprised about their current popularity than the band themselves.
“We made this album in a shitty shed on James Street and the idea of it being played on the radio, and the music getting out there, and people coming to see us, we’re like – “Holy shit, this is great!”
And it is. The begrudgers may carp, the reviews may be ambivalent, but the public have spoken – and the public have anointed The Script as this year’s success story. Teenage girls may get their knickers in a twist over Danny and the videos may take advantage of that fact, but writing The Script off as a cynical A&R concoction designed for nothing more than to extract the maximum amount of disposable income from our wallets is unfair in the extreme. Their ballad-y sound may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but so what? They do what they do well – heartfelt tunes, lush singalong choruses and shiny American production values. Chillax man, don’t be a hater.
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