Mullingar prepares for the buzz of The Acid Test
They`re only together over a year, but already The Acid Test has made quite a name for itself, gaining critical acclaim from many in Ireland`s music cirles.
It`s no wonder then that the band`s debut EP has been highly anticipated since the outset.
It`s actually come together quite quickly and from three months of hard work at weekends and every odd hour the Mullingar based band could give away from their day-jobs were put into creating `Martyr` - a four-track EP featuring all-new and all-original sounds and music by the five-piece.
The guys - Richie Kelly (lead vocals; guitar), Aidan O`Brien (synths), Daire McCoy (lead guitar), Molton Boron (theremin, backing vocals), and Nick Carswell (bass guitar) - are quite proud of the sound they`ve created, which was recorded at studios in Kerry on the May Bank Holiday weekend.
“We have put a lot of work into the music. We didn`t have an agenda about it. We played the songs and picked the four we liked. We all hold down our professional jobs and use our free time for our music,” explained Aidan.
He certainly means it. All the guys have demanding jobs - Richie is a Bank Reconciliations Expert, Aidan is a solicitor, Daire is an Actuarial Statistician, Molton is an IT manager, while Limerick native, Nick, is the only one who dedicates all his time to his music as a singer/songwriter.
Their musical influences are an eclectic mix from krautmusic, electronica, to things as random as “cheesy 80s music” as Molton says. “We won`t name bands, we`ll just name genres,” he laughed. “I like the music-hall stuff from the 1930s.. everything just gets thrown in.”
Having gained a great reaction to their music locally, The Acid Test is hoping to do a number of gigs around the country in the weeks following the EP launch. “We`ve got such good reaction here in Mullingar and we have got great support from Mocky, Andy and Tommy at The Stables. They have been very good to us and are so supportive,” Aidan commented.
“We have the EP launch in Mullingar and then we`re playing with a Kilkenny band, Jilted, in The Stables on Friday, June 20. Hopefully after that we will do a few gigs in Limerick, Cork, Navan, Kilkenny... we`re hoping to do something every second weekend,” he added. Of course, being a “part-time” band, the EP has been produced independently by the fivesome.
“We would not be able to do the music we do if we didn`t have full-time jobs. It focusses us though and we have to do the work when we get the time. We have timeframes that we have to work to. We`re not looking to take over the world; we`re just trying to make music that we like and that others might like too. We`re not trying to get No. 1 in forty different countries... we just want to make music that we can look back and say `we did that` and that we`re proud of,” relayed Aidan.
While choosing the four tracks for the album - `Go Kid`, `Mosaic`, `Martyr` and `Defunct` - came easy to the lads, choosing the artwork and packaging for the EP was a bit more difficult to agree on, the band admits.
In the end, they settled on a unique, iconic photograph taken in Mexico as the artwork for the front of the EP. “I really liked the ambience about it... I know there are skulls, but I don`t think it`s morbid. It`s like smiling faces...” explained Molton.
The CD is a full-colour glossy production; the band ensuring that no corners were cut or pennies saved on their debut production. “We literally finished recording it the weekend before last. We spent four days outside Ardfest in Kerry in really cool studios,” Aidan says.
That said, the recording nearly didn`t happen when Aidan and Daire navigated themselves into the back of beyond in the Kerry countryside, making a four-hour drive into an eight-hour sightseeing tour with a couple of wrong turns. “We got there in the end,” he laughs.
Looking forward to the big launch night in The Stables, the live show is still the highlight of their music for the band. They have had some unique, if not strange, notions for their live shows, they admit.
“We`ve tried so many different things... we had stupid UV paint once in one show! We want to entertain people; we want to give them a show.” “We have a good live set and we put a lot of work into that. Being on stage and seeing people enjoying our music is the best part of all this,” Aidan surmises.
The lads EP `Martyr` launches in The Stables, Mullingar, on Saturday, May 24 next. The Acid Test will be supported on the night by The Ghandi`s and also Nick Carswell and the Elective Orchestra. DOORS: 10pm ADM: €8 INCENTIVE: First 25 people at the door get a free EP. The album will be on sale on the night for €5. For more information check out www.myspace.com/theacidtestmusic
60 seconds investigating the workings of the mind of The Acid Test`s theremin player and Roscommon native, Molton Boron.
What makes you tick? Last book you read? Who would you like to go to dinner with? Do you think you`re funny? Ideal night out? Most embarrassing moment? Film you are looking forward to seeing? Most annoying habit? What`s your middle name? Biggest quirk about Mullingar? If you were a superhero, who would you be? Who would you like to ask on a date? Whose music are you really disliking? What`s your mantra? What`s the one piece of advice you would give to people? What`s your epitaph going to be?