SUDDYN Death

Posted on 30th Jan 07 by Liam Tyrrell | 0

Artist: Murphys Live 2007 Quarter Final
Author: Liam Tyrrell

Murphy"s Live 2007 Quarter Final " The Chapters " Suddyn " Messiah J " The Expert " Thursday 25th January 2007.

It"s been a long cold January so far with little money and even less fun doing the rounds" so it was with great joy that I pottered along to Whelan"s for the Murphy"s Live 2007 quarter final on the 25th of the month. Invited I was" or I wouldn"t have gone: Suddyn" the half"American half"Irish quartet" were insistent that at least one member of the press witness their triumphant performance" and now that you mention it" it was free in for any punter who wanted to go so I didn"t feel as special as I normally do when I breeze by the ticket box. Two delightful young girls handed me vouchers for a free pint of the other black stuff as I squeezed through the door" a grand aul start indeed.

Suddyn are waiting for a photo shoot when I arrive to have a chat with them before their performance. Something to do with posing with pints of Murphy"s and looking pleased: all in a days work for the would"be superstar it seems. The boys are relaxed when I meet them" sitting in an abandoned living room above Whelan"s with a nice crate of Heineken beside them" chilling by virtue of the freezing weather and lack of central heating in the place.

A yankee"paddy hybrid band you say" Whatever could you mean" Just that my friends" just that indeed. Two parts of Suddyn" Jarrett Steil and Alan Steil" hail from Montauk" Long Island" New York. Montauk is a J1 magnet they explained" so over the past few years they came to have many an Irish friend" and when the time came to get serious about making a career out of their love of music they felt that a new home" with fewer distractions" would suit them better. When they arrived they hooked up with drummer Brendan Connolly" a man with a strange" unexplained love of butterflies" and after a swift change of bassist" Colm O"Dwyer filled out the quartet.

These boys have the same goal as everyone else that makes music they claim and they might not be wrong: to make a living off your songs is indeed the target of many troubadours. Have they a chance though" With one top 10 single to their name already" and another one for download only in the works" cutting costs nicely by the by" and a handy tip for those who feel that their single should come out on 7 inch vinyl from a Fair Trade source" they certainly have every right to be optimistic about the way things are going for them. They already have a large fanbase" and they cite MySpace as a great asset for them" and for any other band" as they have supporters in far"flung reaches of the world that they never would have without it. Across all age groups too" the band are particularly proud of a 65 year old fan that found them somehow" targeting the grey dollar I suggest" "targeting any dollar" retorts Linda from OpalStar Music Management" the company responsible for Suddyn"s recent publicity onslaught.

The band believes that their songs have the strength to carry them through regardless of genres or trends and they have some inspirational words to guide them" "If you don"t believe in your music" no one will." True enough" I would venture" and they insist that they are unwilling to compromise on their sound having rebuffed label advances already when asked to change and tweak the sound to fit a particular market. Brave boys with integrity" that"s what we like around here.

The talking done" it"s down to the stage to see Suddyn"s competitors for the evening" The Chapters. The Chapters have been around a while" they were hotly tipped in 2005 to break through and featured at Hard Working Class Heroes way back in 2003 "Christ" that makes me feel older than the jar of pickles in the back of my fridge". The band is reminiscent of Springsteen in places" with plenty of The Band and Neil Young thrown in for good measure" a lot of instrument swapping and handclapping in their set too. It"s always nice to see musicians with more than one trick to their pony. A stiff act for our hybrid heroes to follow then" but they"d plenty in the tank to take up the challenge.

Suddyn hit the stage and the sizeable crowd lets a roar" there are even banners supporting Brendan"s odd fascination with metamorphosed caterpillars. The sounds are piano driven" with some craftily worked guitars floating gently on top of the slow" steady pounding of the keys. These aren"t songs" they"re anthems. Feeling decidedly uplifting" and reminiscent of Journey"s smash Don"t Stop Believing in places "that"s a compliment by the by" The Journey are awesome"" the power streams out of their set while Alan Steil runs wild across the stage. They waste little time with anecdotes and concentrate on pouring themselves into the noise. The crowd is receptive to their efforts and cheers them wildly as each epic storms to a close. The verdict is still out on who will get the semi"final berth in this national competition" but Suddyn did all they could to make sure it was them.

Topping the evening"s entertainment off were Irish hip"hoppers Messiah J and the Expert" they bounced and trounced their way through a set that had numerous highlights. In places they were excellent" like a born again Jurassic 5" but they suffered from a reliance on contrived rhythms and homages to Gangsta Rap. More Sugarhill and less 50cent and these boys would be untouchable. As it stands" they made light work of whipping the crowd into full"on frenzy mode as the consumption of alcohol"libre took its full effect.

Drink responsibly now kids" that means" be careful not to spill any" there"s people dying of thirst in Africa.

Murphy"s Live 2007 " www.murphys.com
The Chapters " www.thechapters.com
SUDDYN " www.suddyn.com
Messiah J and the Expert " www.messiahjandtheexpert.com

Picture by Julianne Forde