Finding Their Religion

Posted on 29th Mar 07 by Contributor | 0

Artist: The Gift " Interview
Author: Mark McCarthy

Right now seems to be the time of year that bands get signed and with Ireland brimming with quality talent it is no surprise that a few bands have been snapped up double quick. Cork band Lotus Lullaby are one such band and have recently sign to Irish label Religion Music. To coincide with the deal the band changed their name to The Gift. Drop"D catches up with frontman Gavin Dunne to chat about name changes" politicians" America" groupies and bodyguards. How much of the aforementioned will come into play is unknown but are they destined for huge success"

How did you decide on The Gift as a name"

We asked Bertie Ahern for advice.

I didn't think Lotus Lullaby was such a bad name"

It was a great name" but unfortunately it was very long and difficult for
people to remember. It also didn't really express the style of music we
play" as our songs are not lullabies and we didn't want to confuse people
anymore. When we were playing metal there was a nice irony to it but with
the more pop driven stuff it just didn't seem to make sense.

How important was getting signed to you guys previous to this"

It was always my intention to sell out" Seriously though" we have always
aimed to break the mainstream with this band so getting signed to a good
label was very important to us. We need someone who has the finances"
contacts and experience to break us overseas.

How did it all come about for you" You've mentioned that the label hadn't
seen the band live and signed you on the strength of homemade recordings"
how did the label get a hold of these"

The label's A"R man had seen us live alright" but not the bosses. He passed
on the demo to them and voila" They recognised genius when they heard it"

As Lotus Lullaby you've gained considerable attention from people in the
industry and other labels. What were you looking for in a label and who
helped you in the decision making process"

Well I've been in this game a while now and have had good and bad
experiences" both of which you learn from. As I mentioned above" we were
looking for someone with the ability to bring us overseas and license us to
a major labels in the larger territories. We got the best legal advice out
there and also looking at Religion's track record" they haven't done too
badly with their other artists"

What can you tell us about Religion Music"

They are the only Irish label who specialize in breaking bands in the
USA and the UK in many different styles and genres. To date they have recently secured an American deal with another of their artists" rock chick Lesley Roy. She
has been taken up by Jive "home of Justin Timberlake" Bullet for my
Valentine" Bowling for Soup etc etc""" which is the first time in years that
an Irish artist has signed to a U.S. major. If I'm not mistaken The Corrs
were the last one" They also hooked up pop artist Shelly with the woman who
managed Madonna for 13 years" and their current project" singer songwriter
Michael Roche is gaining serious U.S. and UK major label interest and has
already made Record of the Day. Now they want to work with a rock band and
that's where we come in. They had big success in the 90s too with Agnelli
and Nelson and Fifth Avenue "number one in Sweden haha""

So how far into the future are you looking right now" Have you a
step"by"step plan"

Just to make the best album we can. The rest will follow.

What kind of an album are you making at the moment and when do you think it
will be ready" How many songs have you written"

It"s a hooky pop album with loud guitars I suppose" simple" The synths are
being taken back a bit. The albums we have in the studio as our referrals
are Guns n Roses" Appetite for Destruction" Jimmy Eat World " Bleed American"
Green Day" American Idiot" Muse" Black Holes And Revelations and Weezer's
Blue album. We are going to take as long as we need to get it right. It"s
an expensive and time consuming process for us and the label but it"s an
investment. We"ve already tried a few versions of the three songs on myspace
and those were the ones we felt worked best. It"ll take months to get the
album perfect"

Have you decided on a single release"

Nope" Maybe July" maybe January"

How important and effective have competitions like Murphy's Live and The
National Student Music Awards been for you"

They were great for getting our name out there and getting the attention of
the industry. It"s always exciting for the band to get national press
coverage. We got rave reviews in Hotpress and NME and OOR" the biggest music
magazine in Holland" but I still get excited when I see the band mentioned
in The Echo" The moment you stop appreciating all that stuff is the moment
you should pack it in. That said" we are always looking forward and making
moves to climb the next step of the ladder. That goes for getting signed
too" we are under no illusions that this means we have made it" we still
have a long way to go"

So now that you've been signed are we going to see much of you on these
shores"

No this is the last time I'll talk to you. I'm going to move to L.A. where I
will live in a mansion with 14 rottweilers and 23 cars. I will spend my
evening indulging in all kinds of hideously hedonistic debauchery and spend
my days perfecting my pimp limp and relaxing on one of my yachts with an
entourage of gaggling groupies" burly bodyguards and of course the boyz from
my 'hood.

www.myspace.com/giftband