YOUNG
CAVAN ROCKERS THE STRYPES TAKING THE MUSIC WORLD BY STORM
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| Eddie Rowley with The Strypes |
ELTON
JOHN is in awe of their music knowledge, Dave Grohl describes their
performances as "unbelievable," and Paul Weller admits they made him
"up my game."
This
would be high praise, indeed, for any seasoned band. But they're all referring
to a group of Irish rockers with an average age of 16.
The
Strypes, who we featured in Shuffle last year, are a Cavan four-piece showing
the potential to become Ireland's next U2. "They have a knowledge of
R&B at 16 years that I've only amassed in my 65 years," Elton John
says.
Now
signed to Elton's Rocket Management, Ross Farrelly (15), Josh McClorey (17),
Evan Walsh (16) and Pete O'Hanlon (16), are taking all the fuss in their
stride.
Although
it seems like they've been an overnight success, turning in jaw-dropping
performances on shows like’ Later With... Jools Holland’, the lads point out
that they've done a couple of hundred performances in the last 18 months.
Meeting
them in the flesh, The Strypes display a maturity beyond their tender years.
"We're not looking to be rich and famous, we just always thought it would
be great to be in a band playing music for a living," says red-hot
guitarist Josh.
"We'd
be level-headed enough not to get carried away with celebrity. You can be as
normal as you want." Their taste in music is old-school and they reference
the likes of Dr. Feelgood, early Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds and The Animals.
This was the music they grew up listening to in the home of Evan Walsh, whose
dad, Niall, was once in a band called The Fireflys.
"Hanging
out in Evan's house growing up, we would have all digested Niall's record
collection," Josh says. "Through that we went back to the 1950s'
rockers and got into Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and
all that sort of stuff. We'd have a comprehensive knowledge of rock'n’roll over
the last 50 years.'
They
were never dedicated followers of modern fashion - their 'look' has been influenced by The Jam and
the Stones - and nothing in the charts today excites them.
"We've
never paid attention to the charts" says Evan, who admits he doesn't even
possess a mobile phone or do social networking. "Main stream pop music
wasn't for us. That whole manufactured pop thing doesn't do it for us at
all," he adds.
When
they started the band there was no grand plan, according to Josh. "It was
just four mates playing around. You hope a decade down the line you get some
degree of success, but we never thought it would ever be like this."
In the
summer of 2011, The Strypes started playing local events around Cavan and
Monaghan. By the end of the year they were in the clubs of Dublin, all thanks
to word of mouth. "We put out a four-track EP, designed the cover
ourselves, wrote a press release and sent it to Irish radio stations" Pete
says. "That sparked record company interest."
The
Modfather, Paul Weller, became an instant fan after seeing them on YouTube. "Last
October we got contacted by Weller's management saying he liked us and he'd be
interested in us supporting him in Abbey Road for a Channel Four series"
Josh says.
Weller
and his guitarist, Steve Cradock, were inspired by their performance. "We were watching them play
from the side of the stage and were blown away" The Modfather says. "They've
got so much energy they made us up our game."
As for
hanging out with Elton John, The Strypes regarded him as one of the lads. "Because
people like that are so like-minded musically, you don't feel like you're
talking to Elton John" Evan points out.
"We
wouldn't have had a lot of knowledge of Elton's music, but we respected him. He's
very up to date on music. Anything new that's released is sent to him. He's
more finger-on-the pulse than we are."
And
Elton knows he's on to a winner with The Strypes.
THE
Strypes' new three-track EP, Blue Collar Jane, is out now.
EDDIE ROWLEY
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