The Kybosh; Kennedys and Kilkenny

Posted on 21st Feb 06 by Liam Tyrrell | 0

Artist: The Kybosh
Author: Liam Tyrrell

That makes the KKK in my book anyway" unfortunately" Kennedys no longer serves the unfortunate red ale that still remains on sale in the more remote Irish taverns scattered along the face of the Earth "incidentally it is funny that the Earth retains the quality of facial endowment despite the somewhat overlooked prerequisite of a head"" and so it was with regret that I had a lager" and so did the lads.

The lads" You say" the lads indeed" three"quarters of the Southside quartet The Kybosh" Rob" Donal and Brian. I put them to the question and the question deliberated endlessly before announcing to the court that he was" as juries are renowned for being" hung" which was indeed an all the more peculiar announcement given that he made it from the less than comfortable aspect of the de"shaded ceiling light.
They informed me that there used only be three of them" which was strange" as there were still only three of them as far as I could see. They"d only gone and left the drummer at home" which was a shame as I"ve generally found that behind the kit usually dwells the mind of a band" it is generally so drunk though" that the rest of the band stumbles blindly around and looks for somewhere to curl up in vomit. Onwards though" they also used to be called Soma" this band sure did "used" to be a lot of things" that"s not so good at this stage of your career I would have thought but they persist at length about the origins of the old name and how it led to some legal wrangling from abroad. They"ve been around for a few years so in various guises but it was only at the start of the summer 2005 that they really began to make a name for themselves" a name they could stick with this time.

Despite their lengthy legacy the band has only played five or six gigs in their present line up with the current material" it remains to be seen how many more they will manage. They claim that their first gig" in Eamonn Doran"s was their best and their favourite one" this was because they had a huge following that night" one that they sadly have not been able to recreate" it seems the rest of their gigs have clashed with polo games or all night shop"a"thons in the new Dundrum shopping centre.
Although that might not be exactly fair" it is a lot easier to play to a crowd made up of friends" family and well wishers than pulling in a crowd of strangers by virtue of your musical virtuosity. Despite the dwindling attendances though they assure me that all is not lost" they"ve played some pretty big venues" Slattery"s "all done up now" God be the days when you could get sucked in to the hole in the couch and Smiley Bolger would try and charge you twice if you went downstairs for a pint"" The Vaults" The Sugar Club and they"ve gone through a couple of rounds of the UCD Battle of the Bands" not bad going indeed.

After endless discussions of the benefits of live versus recorded material" The Kybosh believe that the two should sound as close to each other as possible" they had not however decided if they should record all their material live and take the drop in sound quality or if instead they should go to a studio and then mime over the tracks at their live show" it"s a tough call" we moved on to the tricky yet topical subject of image.
The Kybosh have not got one yet they say" but they"re on the hunt" with photo shoots and dress fittings and the likes all coming up over the next while. They"re admirers of bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Killers who all wear the same shirt/tie combo and reckon they might end up doing something similar" but they maintain that they want to present the music rather than the people behind it. Funny I thought" given the fact that I"m interviewing the band and not their songs.

The crunch with any band is indeed their music though and these guys describe themselves as a rock band with jazz and funk influences. They handed over the obligatory complimentary compact disc" complete with handwritten cover" I love that old school style" and off I went to listen to it. Unfortunately the rock was more like a pebble" listless" limping sounds that sounded a pale impression of the band that had been talked up to me just hours before" the jazz and funk must have got cut out in the burning process as I sure couldn"t hear them. No stand out tracks" laboured vocals and an overall flatness that makes the Netherlands seem like the Himalayas.

The one stand out lyric from the ten or so tracks is a first line" "What will the critics say" Nothing original"" a thinly disguised jibe at those fine members of the press that these guys are desperate for coverage off.
Unfortunately it seems this was the one thing they got right" The Kybosh might have plenty of ambition" but unless they find some better material I"m afraid the heady heights of their first gig in Eamonn Doran"s may be beyond them for all time.

http://www.thekybosh.com/