MacD on Music: Running Up That (Steepest) Hill

So, it’s been an eventful few weeks for everybody here at MacDonMusic (aka me). For the past two weeks, as you may have noticed, I’ve been in Finland.

Well, after an amazing two weeks, I’m back home in Derry (Gordon Lightfoot R.I.P.) and back doing what I do best, going to gigs and talking to some of the country’s (and the world’s) finest musical talent. In regards to the former, I was in Dublin this past Friday to see Bruce Springsteen (who I’ve yet to secure an interview with, but you never know what the future holds) and, for the latter, well, read on...

Two columns ago, as you may recall, I wrote about some of the brilliant gigs coming up in the near-to-slightly-less-near future! This week, I’m talking to a group that are playing in the more immediate future, The Minnows, who play Sandino’s this Saturday (13th May). Featuring support from Polar Bolero (recently seen supporting Ethan Hollan in his headlining debut in the Nerve Centre), this is sure to be a brilliant gig that’s not to be missed.

The Minnows have recently released their new single ‘The Steepest Hill’ and the upcoming Sandino’s gig will be their second live show after an 11-year live hiatus (the first was in Black Box, Belfast a few weeks ago). The song “is really an ode to the pressures of modern-day life but with a message to tell people they aren’t alone and to keep going, keep climbing and one day, you’ll get to where you want to be.”

Can you tell me a bit about how the band first came together?

The Minnows were school friends who got together when they went to University in Belfast. When they should have been at lectures, they were writing songs and rehearsing. The Lead Singer is Michael Rafferty, Paul Maynes is on Lead Guitar, Kevin Carson on Bass and Stevie O’Sullivan on drums.

Their guitar indie pop sound soon found an audience and the band started gaining a strong live reputation, featuring at big festivals in the UK and Ireland. One of their most successful recordings ’Time Flies’ was described by Hotpress as a “Teenage Kicks for the nineties” and the video for the single was filmed in Derry.

Who would you say have been your biggest musical influences?

There are a wide range of influences that the band can point to-Singer songwriters like Lloyd Cole, Marc Nolan and Bowie, Guitar bands like REM and the Smiths and more eclectic sounds like Pink Floyd and The War on Drugs.

Are you looking forward to playing Sandino's?

We are really looking forward to playing Sandino’s, a couple of us have been there for nights out and know what a great venue it is. It’s great to have a venue like that promoting original music in the city.

What do you think of Polar Bolero?

We are really pleased they are playing with us-we have heard some songs on social media and they have their own unique sound-so to be able to hear them play live will be great. We are telling everyone to get in early to make sure they hear Polar Bolero! Doors open at 7pm and they are on soon after that so hopefully people will arrive to catch their set.

Are there any other artists/bands you think we should be keeping an eye on?

We have a broad range of artists we listen to and we’re adding new ones all the time. Recently we loved The War on Drugs album, great to see strong guitar bands gaining popularity like Fontaines DC.

Have you got anything else coming up you'd like to mention?

As a band we have been concentrating on recording for a few years which has been fun and led to some exciting new recordings. We have lots of releases planned over the next couple of years!! We hadn’t planned to play live but we have had so many people asking us we decided to hit the road again and it has been great.

We just had a fantastic gig in Belfast at the Black Box, it was sold out and we could literally feel the positivity from the audience that we are playing live again. We can’t wait to play in Derry, we know from the last time we played that people in Derry are always interested in original music-particularly live!

The Minnows play Sandino’s this Saturday (Doors open at 7pm). They can be found on Facebook and Instagram @theminnowsband, or via minnowsband.com.

For those outside the city looking for something this weekend, Parker are playing Letterkenny this Saturday. For more information, find them on Instagram @bandcalledparker.