This is it. This is the interview I’ve been trying to get around to writing for almost six months. So, here goes.
Dry Roasted Peanuts, as I’m sure many of you are aware by now, are a band very close to my heart – not just because they’re my friends but because they're one of the best Irish bands producing music at the moment. Although the members hail from all parts of the country the band is based in Cork, home to one of the fastest growing music scenes in Ireland (if you ask me). The “indie rock” unit consists of vocalists/guitarists Marc Ó Cearnaigh and Robert McDonnell, bassist JJ Lee and drummer Christopher O’ Sullivan. This line- up came to fruition early last year, during the UCC Battle of the Bands, where Robert and Marc met Chris. JJ joined not long after and the band soon grew accustomed to each other’s “idiosyncratic features of playing.” It’s been over a year and according to Robert the band are “better now than [they’ve] ever been.” It was also around the time of the UCC Battle of the Bands that the band started going by the name Dry Roasted Peanuts – a very unique name to say the least. Choosing a name is possibly one of the hardest parts about being in a band so when it came to this decision Robert “wanted to avoid putting too much thought into something that [he didn’t] consider to be of a huge amount of importance.” The band had been discussing names but no verdict was reached so at the very last minute Robert decided to enter the band under the name Dry Roasted Peanuts – he promises he had reasons.
Like any other band, Dry Roasted Peanuts have their own influences and inspirations, although never a “conscious or discussed thing” they naturally leak into their sound. When the band started out, their primary influences were Joy Division and Pixies, now, two years later the lads hear a lot more of The Smiths in their music. A lot can change in the space of two years but according to drummer Chris, "you can never have enough influences." In the newer tracks, there is very much a dream-pop vibe, probably influenced by the group’s affinity for bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. Writing their songs is very much a collaborative process so when I asked Robert what his favourite song he has ever written is, there wasn’t really a straight answer: “Usually one of us has most of a song and the band fills in the blanks in practice but my favourite song that I’ve written totally by myself is Upstanding. Windowlicker is probably my favourite of all our songs, Marc wrote the majority of that.” One of my favourite things about Dry Roasted Peanuts' songs is their lyrics, which Marc writes the majority of, so I was interested to know if he has a personal favourite. His response was everything I expected: “And those who hear the call of the riverbed/ Have surely seen those alluring lights, on the water spread” (from their song At Both Ends). The story behind it? Even better than the lyrics themselves: “I wrote this song after taking too many up-johns and pissing myself while in a vegetative state on my friend Harry’s couch. The image of streetlights spilling out across the river Shannon at night evokes this sensation, among other things.”
One thing I’m always dying to know when I interview a band is how they got into music in the first place. For Robert, his music career began with a banjo and it wasn’t until his teen years that he picked up a guitar - “probably [because of] something very juvenile like School of Rock (a cinematic masterpiece).” Chris ventured into the land of a local Brass Band where he learned to play the tuba and read music, among other things. At the ripe old age of 12 he finally convinced his parents to let him learn the drums and hasn’t looked back since. JJ’s introduction to music came predominantly from his parents – “I was steadily drip-fed a diet of 80’s and 90’s classics throughout my childhood”, inevitably leading him to pick up guitar in primary school, “as I went into the teen years I began to explore by myself and it all picked up from there.” Marc’s induction into playing music was a little more unconventional – “[I] blew my nose too hard and the pressure changed in my head.”
If you ask me, this band has every reason to be very satisfied with their achievements so I asked bassist JJ what he is most proud of: “Personally speaking I’m very proud of some of the venues we’ve played over the past 8-9 months and the humbling size of the crowds...The fact that people are spending money and coming to see us is something that fills me with an immense amount of pride.” I’ve watched the crowds grow with my own two eyes – from Cyprus Avenue to the Róisín Dubh to The Academy to Whelan’s, Dry Roasted Peanuts are slowly but surely making their way through all the key venues in Ireland. Over the last two years the band have built up a beautiful chemistry and that really shows in their live performances. My personal favourite song to hear live is Honey & Lemons but bassist JJ prefers the “slightly heavier tracks” such as Tick and Like You Hate Me (which is yet to be released). Opening their set with Cherry, a track from their first EP Sometimes I’ll Stay In, Sometimes I’ll Go Out seems to have become somewhat of a tradition too. For drummer Chris, performing the classic (and now iconic) Waiting On a Bus is especially enjoyable because of how well it is received and reciprocated by the crowds.
Speaking of their first EP, I wanted to know how recording that was different to recording their sophomore EP Former Child Stars. I was a little shocked when Robert told me that the new EP had been recorded all in one day. They had a lot more time to record the first EP but Robert doesn’t necessarily see this as a good thing. Even though the second EP was recorded all in one day, the lads didn’t feel rushed. After playing the songs live together for so long it only took one or two takes to get them down – “we work best under pressure” says Robert. After weeks and months of mixing and mastering, their sophomore EP is finally ready to be released and I couldn’t be more excited – and that says a lot because I’ve heard these songs dozens of times. With the release date fast approaching, I asked JJ what he wants listeners to take away from the new EP: “Well ultimately I hope people will enjoy them, not in a faux hyperbolic way – but genuinely enjoy them”, “If they don’t, that’s perfectly alright too because in the end we’re going to keep playing and enjoying what we’re doing”, JJ humbly adds. Following on from the release of their two new singles the band hopes to build on their “burgeoning notoriety.” There’s hopes of recording more songs over the summer and the band has already been booked for some festivals. With regards to the question of the Bigger Picture, JJ says, “I fear I may sound somewhat cocky here but we’re doing well, it’s a matter of persisting and bigger things will happen.” Chris adds, “When I think of this question I’m reminded of a quote from none other than Marc himself from our interview with Motley a few months back which perfectly answers this question for me: “our aspirations are the ultimate aspirations.”
Sonically, Marc describes the band as a “wine-soaked Chupa-Chup”, visually, “four lads wearing clothes.” So, if that’s what you’re into you can catch the lads playing in Fred Zeppelins this Thursday, February 1st, ahead of their sophomore EP release on Friday. Dry Roasted Peanuts are one to watch, you heard it here first.
Twitter - https://twitter.com/DryPeanuts
(All photos in this post were taken by me)