Bands can represent county at Glasgowbury

Editorial Department • Published 28 Jan 2010 09:43 0 Comments

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Rory Friers of ASIWYFA.

Last summer saw musicians, music lovers, hippies, rockers and all sorts of strange and wonderful people converge on Eagle's Rock, half way up a mountain near Draperstown, for the Glasgowbury Festival.

The Festival began in 2000 when Paddy Glasgow organised a gathering of local bands and songwriters to perform a concert to raise awareness for the Ulster Cancer Foundation charity. Igniting a spark that has yet to be doused, Paddy quickly realised the potential such an event would have in Northern Ireland and persisted in his attempts to take Glasgowbury to the top. His endeavours helped grow the festival year after year and in 2009 Glasgowbury Group were the recipient of three individual awards and this success looks set to continue into 2010.

If you are in a band then why not fly the flag for Fermanagh because the submissions period for the Glasgowbury Music Festival 2010 is now officially open! The window of opportunity will remain open for a number of months to give everyone the chance to submit their act for consideration. To be considered for this year's festival, please send your band/act's most recent press pack including a biog along with an example of your work (cd/demo/album/EP) to: Glasgowbury Music Group, Unit B1, The Business Centre, Tobermore Road, Draperstown, County L'Derry, BT45 7AG.

Glasgowbury 2009 saw numerous stages being graced by the cream of local talent and the amps were certainly turned up to eleven. One of those bands were the headline act, And So I Watch You From Afar (ASIWYFA), an instrumental/alternative/punk band who are renowned for their explosive live performances.

Guitarist Rory Friers, speaking before they set off on their UK tour, explained their name. "Our name is inspired by the whole Orwellian big brother world of surveillance and CCTV. It was something we were really into when the band came about and the name suited the sound we were making at the time. Though its kind of evolved into something a little more sinister I guess as our sound has changed, may be its a bit more murderous these days, we have you eye on you so be careful. It's a mental name but it's a good conversation starter. It's funny all the different interpretations people come up with," said Rory.

ASIWYFA have always supported fellow NI bands - even one of their songs is titled 'A Little Solidarity Goes A Long Way'. I asked Rory if he thought the explosion of local talent and the improved coverage NI music has been getting in recent years is as a result of changing attitudes with bands more willing to help each other out.

"Yeah of course, everyone playing music is coming at it with an open mind and a collective spirit. The island mentality has lifted a bit. People aren't complaining about how rubbish things are here. People are just getting on and doing it. I can't abide complaining, it's my number one hate," said Rory.

Speaking about their Glasgowbury 2009 performance and how the festival compares to others they have played he continued, "It was incredible, I don't think there is a festival in the world comparable to Glasgowbury, it's just such a buzz every year. So to headline it was a real honour, we're so grateful to Paddy and the gang for that opportunity. All the other festivals we've been doing have been incredible, and we've been getting lots of people coming to see us and have had great responses, but there's something very special about being up that mountain and playing to the people from home that's amazing. Everyone just gets it at Glasgowbury because there's no pretention or bull - its music lovers and music."For bands and musicians that are starting out Rory advised, "Make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. Decide very early exactly what, where and how far you want to go with it and make sure every decision and move you make is done to get yourself to that point. Don't compromise ever. Treat people how you would like to be treated and make sure what you're playing is something your proud of. It takes a lot of time and effort but if it's what you want to do then you can't really call it work. It's a privilege to be able to commit all your time to something you give a s**t about."

What are ASIWYFA's plans for 2010? Perhaps a show in Fermanagh?

"Fermanagh for sure! We're going to be hitting as much of Ireland as possible this year, so watch this space. Other than that we pretty much finish recording album number two over the next two months then head on tour till December. We're really lucky to be getting the chance to play in some new places this year, New York, Toronto, Austin Texas (for the SXSW festival), Moscow and a lot more European shows. We're looking forward to playing some more festivals again and so excited about the album, it's pretty tense. Other than that I'm just trying to appreciate what's happening, writing as much music as I can and taking lots of photos so when I'm old and deaf I can have a look back. Write, Record, Tour repeat".

Also, for all you aspiring Mick Jaggers, please note that the Glasgowbury Group cannot accept submissions through Myspace, Facebook, etc so please use the method above. The submissions period will close at the end of March 2010 so get mailing asap to be a part of Northern Ireland's biggest independent music festival!

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 28 Jan 10

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