Without a voice. Dublin band Steerage turn to the tunes.

Author: Andrew Lawless

 

Steerage's recently released e.p smash them all to bits has received critical acclaim from a number of quarters (Three Monkeys Online included). Fearing the worst, after all a band without a singer must surely have little to say for themselves, Andrew Lawless was pleasantly surprised when he caught up with the band for Three Monkeys Online.

First things first - how would you describe the music?

(Conor-bassist) Instrumental Rock basically, with an emphasis on melody and movement.

(Donnchadh-Guitarist) We also tend to include some heavier, stoner-rock influenced elements along with the lighter more melodic guitar lines. A review said we 'put the rock into post-rock' which is pretty accurate I think.

How do you go about writing the songs?

(Conor) Usually someone comes up with a guitar line or bass line and we write or jam around it.Only a couple of tunes have been born from jams in the practice room.
(Donnchadh) At the moment we’re playing as a 5 piece for the first time, so many of the songs are being updated with extra guitar lines – this is really interesting for me because the songs take on new personalities with extra melodies layered over them. The trick is to get it sounding cohesive and not cluttered, which is getting hard with 3 guitars and a bass, but so far it's sounding really good.

Why no singer? Is it a decision set in stone, or could it change?

(Donnchadh) My immediate response to that is 'why should we have a singer? This is music we're playing, is it really necessary to have words as well?' Initially we had vocals in the band, back in 2000, but it never really sat right with me. I've always loved how music, especially classical music, can emote without actually spelling it out for the listener. I wanted to explore that more in terms of guitar music, which a hell of a lot of bands have been doing for years anyway. It's certainly nothing new, bands like Tortoise, Explosions in the sky, Halifax pier, Pullman, Do make say think, have definitely influenced me and Conor, and that's only scratching the surface. There are just so many amazing bands out there who concentrate on music rather than music plus a lyrical message. The point is that all forms are as valid as each other, I just find instrumetal music to be more focused in bringing across the emotion of the tune.

(Conor) Personally I have a preference for instrumental and ambient music, this is what the output of sinkorswim records is based on. For me, the right combination of music and sounds really just speaks for itself and can convey emotion without having to force words on it. My own inability to write meaningful lyrics or even to sing very well influences my technical approach towards it, but in the future I could see us possibly employing ambient vocals as another layer to the music, but probably not wordy lyrics. Another influence on us as a group was that we initially had a vocalist but it didn't work out in that I think his approach was more song-based where mine was more music-based. For me alot of singers or lead-men or whatever you want to call them don't have a handle on the overall sound so much as considering it something that underpins their lyrics. Myself and Donnchadh have been writing together for 8 years now and we always have written the music first, then the vocals, finally after watching bands like Mogwai, Do Make Say Think, The Redneck Manifesto and Tarentel I said that I thought vocals weren't necessary for us and Donnchadh went along with this.

What relevance do the titles have, if you have no lyrics? Are they just tag on lines?

(Conor) In a lot of cases the origins of the titles are happenstance and come from conversations, tv shows, or books but a lot of them are meant to accompany the emotion of the tune. For example, 'Beggarmaster' is quite a dark and menacing tune and the Beggarmaster in the Rohinton Mistry book 'A Fine Balance' was someone that purposely mutilated his beggars so they would get more pity and earn more money. 'The Great Goat Muster' comes from a Crocodile Hunter episode where he was roaming around the Outback rounding up feral animals and I thought that it suited the tune because the tune has that sort of up-tempo movement to it. 'One Trip Around the Sun' had a slow movement to it (one trip around the sun being a year). But on the other side 'Cyrus Kleevar', 'Is This Thing On?' and 'No Two Strings Are The Same' were just names that we tagged on.

(Donnchadh) Yeah, sometimes they’re just words and phrases we either say or hear in day to day life - they stick in the head and become song titles.

(Dan) Some are just there because they sound good to be honest. Cyrus Kleevar was a persons name that I had stuck in my head for ages and I couldn’t figure out where I heard it. But I thought it sounded good. But 75 Kilos of Mistakes is a reference to my weight in stupidity.

Is there a scene in terms of instrumental music?

(Conor) I can really only say from a Dublin point of view that I don't think there is an instrumental music scene. I'd see myself involved in an independent music scene.

(Donnchadh) There are quite a number of bands who have been making instrumental music for decades. But I wouldn't say there's a specific 'scene' which is exclusive to all else. By that I mean, there are a lot of guitar instrumental bands, electronic, traditional, ethnic etc etc. Then there are bands who cross over like the brilliant m83 who incorporate guitar and electronic sounds. I suppose the category which has been touted for years to describe guitar instrumental music is 'post-rock' but that was always so vague that I personally don't think it constitutes a scene in the sense that punk was a scene. It's hard to be specific because what might be classed as underground or experimental by some is the staple diet of others, so the term 'scene' would be inaccurate I think. But there's quite a lot of it around, and it's rather good.

What does the name "Steerage" signify for you? (Dan) If the ship sinks we’re screwed (laughs)

(Conor)The name is meant to imply a constant shift in direction, again you could apply this to the movement and changes in some of the songs. There's a Celtic Rock band in Canada called Steerage also and I think they're coming from the point of view of that sort of music being played in the steerage sections of the ocean liners.

What's the story with side projects?

(Dan) Sometimes you write things that you really want to play in a band, but they won’t fit in with what your playing in your current band, so that’s when you start a side project. They’re usually a little more experimental as well.

(Conor) 4 of the 5 current members of Steerage were in a side project called An Hermetic Collective at the end of 2002. At the time Steerage still had a vocalist and this was me and Donnchadh's way of writing some instrumental music. We only played one gig as Dan and Bref were going travelling but it was very well received and so we parted ways with the vocalist in Steerage and went instrumental initially as a 3-piece before coming full circle to the current line-up. We now play all of the AHC tunes in the Steerage set. Two of the tunes are on the e.p.

Is there a reaction against the dominance of singer/songwriter types?

(Conor) I've heard it from a lot of people - even Louis Walsh - that there is a dominance of singer/songwriters in terms of becoming moderately successful in Ireland. It's hard to say if there is an extreme reaction. Certainly not from my point of view - we've been in the backing band for Mumblin' Deaf Ro' in the past and will be playing with him on his new album. If you look at the cross-section of acts at our level, I'd say there's a fairly even spread of regular rock bands, punk, experimental, improv, electronic and singer/songwriters. Perhaps the singer/songwriters have more of a chance of commercial success if they have the talent.

(Donnchadh) I don't think there is a dominance, you'll find equal amounts of all genres if you know where to look. Maybe in the more popular corners of music you'll find an emphasis on singer/ songwriters. But I don’t think one form of music is ever simply a reaction to another.

Politics and Music - is it possible, or desirable?

(Conor) I admire bands that can pull it off successfully but for me our music is not political.

(Dan) It worked to great effect with Rage Against The Machine and Public Enemy, but sometimes it can be really naff.

(Donnchadh) We don't really have any specific political message to be found in the usual lyrical sense, however we run the band in a very DIY independant way. I think you'll find most independant bands, musicians etc. are political in that they feel very anti-corporate. That's as much a backlash to record company monopolies as it is to big business in general. That idea of independence goes beyond the usual 'indie' pigeon hole by the way, as with a lot of Dublin and Irish bands at the moment, the tendency for a lot of us is to totally shun large record labels, and the 'industry' in general. The idea is that we produce and promote ourselves, avoiding the so called sell out, where the label dictates music, sound, image, all that type of stuff. Some of the bands are more active politically than others but there is definitely a common ground there.

Who or what are your influences?

(Conor) Personally, as far as instrumental acts go, Tarentel, Do Make Say Think, Windy And Carl, Stars of the Lid, Mogwai and The Redneck Manifesto. Like a lot of guys my age, Nirvana really made me want to pick up a guitar and be in a band but this didn't happen until I met Donnchadh in 1994. Other musical influences would be Faith No More, AC Acoustics, Super Furry Animals, The Beta Band, Orbital, Yo La Tengo, ...Trail of Dead,. Aside from the instrumental acts I find it hard to say exactly what influences how I play or write so I'm just naming bands that have really meant something to me along the way.

(Donnchadh) I’d add to that Neil Young, Kyuss, Queens of the Stoneage, My Bloody Valentine, Pinback to name but a few more. It's hard to pinpoint exactly which of our favourite bands influence the music, but personally I'd say that I'm influenced by most melodic and/or heavy music. I’ve always loved metal as well, so that is probably what influences me to step on the distortion pedals so much.

For an instrumental band you're quite traditional, in terms of the instruments - is that deliberate?

(Conor) It's more of a case that we arrived at instrumental music coming from a very tradional 4-member alt-rock band setup. I think if I was to sit down and plan out an instrumental act I'd be more in the Do Make Say Think arena. Two percussionists, subtle horn section, some electronic bleeps, maybe throw in some strings too but at our level it's just not practical. I would love to have two drummers though...

(Donnchadh) I suppose it depends on what you consider usual for an instrumental band...? At the moment we're basically a rock band without a singer, therefore 'instrumental'. As for playing live, the more musicians on stage the harder it becomes to maintain a cohesive sound but who knows what may appear on the album…

More than one reviewer has suggested that you've great songs and hooks, that lack a singer - and that a singer will be the finishing touch - are you tempted?

(Conor) Again, maybe we could add ambient vocals here and there, but as far as someone singing lyrics over our tunes I'd have to say I'm not tempted. In our defence I think those reviews have come from the EP that was recorded as a three piece with 1 guitar and the current live setup with 3 guitars is much more engaging and hopefully adds whatever is lacking on the EP. It's funny that some people will happily listen to classical or electronic music with no vocals and not bat an eyelid but once they hear an intrumental guitar band they go 'where's the singer'.

(Donnchadh) It's definitely a common theme in answering questions about Steerage, the whole singer thing. I’d only ever be tempted to introduce vocals if they were of the My Bloody Valentine – ‘Loveless’ vein – where the vocals are more an instrument, they’re unobtrusive and complementary to the music itself. I’m interested in music for music’s sake, singing lyrics, in the usual front man way, on top of what we do, would take away from it in my opinion.

(Dan) When I hear that (the question) it makes me even more certain that Steerage doesn’t need a singer. Doing the obvious can be so boring. Music without words can be so much better because it allows your mind to wander and find your own meaning from the music rather than being given the meaning by a singer. The listener can make the song their own. Besides I’d like to hear someone try singing over a Steerage song….it’d sound pretty bizarre and more than likely wrong.

What plans have steerage for the future?

(Conor) Hopefully we're going to record and release an album before the end of the year. My own approach is going to be to make sure that it's not just a collection of songs, I really want to put together an album of music that fits together.

What do you make of MP3's - the future or killing music?

(Conor) I'd say MP3's are the present to a great extent and that the future is a better quality digital format. The single as we know it is dead. When mobile ring-tones outsell most records, you know things are changing. At the end of the day for me though, nothing beats physically owning an album that someone has worked on, MP3's for me work like videos 10 years ago, in that I use them to find out if I like the act or not. I don't usually listen to them recreationally, I prefer to buy the album.

(Donnchadh:) I think more room needs to be made for other formats of music and alternative ways to access it. For me, the MP3 phenomena highlights how bloated and self serving the record industry has become. The larger labels, the big 5, have been saying for ages that file sharing and MP3 downloading is killing their business, but I have a feeling the general economic downturn post Sept 11th has a lot to do with this also. I personally think that they're shitting themselves that the larger public are finally realising what a rip-off buying CDs has always been, when you consider the manufacturing price next to the retail price. I think the best incidence of this sort of hypocritical panic was probably Lars Ulrich of Metallica, threatening to sue Napster for file sharing Metallica tunes - this from a band who sell ludicrously expensive T-shirts at their concerts which pretty much disintegrate at the slightest hint of a mosh pit. And we're the ones ripping them off… In answer to your question I don't think mp3s will kill music - they might go towards the record industry having to rethink how it operates to stay alive, but I think that has been long overdue.

(Dan) It’s the future, because its killing record companies, but making music more accessible. In the whole mp3 / music debate, the word music could often be replaced with the word money. Some people don’t realise they are different things.