Wired for sound

I met up with the band – frontman Cahir O’Doherty, drummer Craig McKean and bassist Jamie King – to find out what they were looking forward to in 2009.

Northern Ireland hasn’t produced many mainstream rock acts over recent years with the exception of Ash, why do you think this is?

It’s pretty difficult if you are in a band from Northern Ireland because you are set away from the mainland which makes it harder the tour and means you’re not around the main music cities, and there is an issue around acceptance between Northern and Southern Irish bands. It’s not like if you are a Northern Irish band you can’t play in the south, but if you do, you have to work a lot harder to get yourself known.

Because it’s pretty hard to get recognition, Northern Ireland has developed its own music world, with some really awesome people, and some amazing bands. There is a real sense or togetherness and everyone helps each other out. The label we are on, Smalltown America Records, just moved its headquarters back to Derry (Fighting With Wire’s home town), so things are healthy.

Fighting With Wire are a three-piece band, does it make it harder to generate the same stage presence without having a fourth or fifth member?

Cahir: Well, I’ve all been in a lot of bands before, so we’re all pretty used to being on stage. So we are all pretty comfortable up there, that gives us the chance to express ourselves and deliver a savage show.

I’ve always been in bands with more people in, like Jet Plane Landing, but I don’t think I have changed my style on stage, there is just more room to fly about.

You recently played with Biffy Clyro, what were those shows like?

They were really fun. We’ve known the Biffy boys for years and it’s really great to see things are going so well for them. The gigs were bigger than shows we normally play but they went really well and we got a great reaction from the crowds. All of their tour was sold out, so it gave us a chance to play to lots of people and it was great to catch up with the guys at the shows too.

You are well-known in the rock circle for being one of the hardest touring bands, what do you enjoy more about touring?

We just love getting out on the road. If we’re not touring we really miss it. There is nothing like loading up the van with all of our equipment, amps, guitars, pedals, clothes and stuff and setting off on tour. Things get pretty smelly and pretty cramped but we love it. We did a European tour last year and we were driving for like, 10 to 15 hours between gigs, it was mental.

We drove from Germany to Italy one day, but it’s all worth it.

We’ve made a lot of friends all over the place, and it’s always great to catch up with people as we go, and I hope we can catch everyone again this time round.

2008 was a huge year for you, what were the highlights?

Ahhh, yeah it was pretty crazy! The highlights... touring Europe was great, touring the UK and Ireland was fun too. Zane Lowe really liked our stuff when he got hold of it, so it was great hearing some of our songs on prime-time Radio 1. We got to play a load of festivals to, like Download, Leeds and Reading which was a great experience.

The whole year was amazing, but the best thing was getting a message saying we had to call our friends at ShadowGlobe because they had some exciting news. Out of absolutely nowhere, I ended up on the phone to Atlantic Records US, and before we knew it, we were in New York signing a deal with one of the worlds biggest labels.

What exactly happened when you went over to New York?

Well, we got there and we had a driver waiting for us, which was just unreal. We met a lot of people and by then the word had got out and there were a few labels after us. So, the head of Atlantic wanted us to sign before we went back to the UK. We had taken over a couple of friends with us, including sound man, and they basically asked us to play a showcase for all of the heads of the label. Because it was all pretty rushed, there wasn’t really anywhere to practice, so they stuck us in this small room and said they’d be back a few hours later to listen. We started trying to practice but everything was broken, literally about 20 minutes before everyone arrived, we managed to rewire the PA system, and get in about two songs worth of practice.

Then we heard the door go, and someone popped their head in and said that everyone had arrived. Because the head of the label had personally asked us to come over, and we were sort of his project, he had grabbed every head of a department, stopped them in the middle of whatever they were doing and told them to come down and listen to us. So, in the space of a couple of weeks we had gone from our homes in good old Derry to being in New York city, playing to some of the most influential people in music.

We played our set, and everyone clapped, then left pretty quickly. We had done all we could, we packed up, and then went for a beer. We got a message saying we were booked in for dinner at this restaurant, so we our driver took us there, we walked in, and got taken to this private area where about 30 important looking people were sat. As we walked in, they all stood up and started clapping us, and the rest just worked out after that. Mental stuff, but we’re really looking forward to a big 2009!

What are the main goals you want to reach in 2009?

Well, we’ve got the last UK tour for a while starting this week and the ‘Sugar’ single release at the beginning of March. After that it’s over to America to release out album ‘Man Vs Monster’ over there and tour like mad. There are loads of things that are coming up, but I don’t think I can say what they are just yet, because there are a few details that need to be sorted, but all I can say is it’s going to be a pretty exciting ride, with some massive opportunities coming up.

For people who haven’t heard any Fighting With Wire before, what can they expect?

We are grunge influenced, edgy rock. We like to make songs that have a real impact and punch, but that you can still sing along to. Actually, you can don’t have to listen to my crap description, if you go onto our US labels site, www.photofinishrecords.com and click on Fighting With Wire, or go onto www.myspace.com/PhotoFinishRecords you can get five free songs and a free video too. There are a limited number going so you’ll have to be quick.

* Fighting With Wire are touring the UK for the next two weeks. Their album, Man Vs Monster is out now, and they will be releasing their new single ‘Sugar’ on March 2.