MacD on Music: Everyday I’m Shuffling

(To the tune of ‘Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm’) Once there was a band who, came to play the Guildhall for a gig on Halloween.

Halloween in Derry is among the best in the world. Every year we have events for the whole family to enjoy and we welcome tourists from all over the world to see the wonder that is us. Also, every year, we offer plenty for the music lovers among us (and, let’s face it, if you’re reading this page you’re probably one of them).

This year sees Three Mile Records and Bennigan’s hosting the third annual ‘Not Really’, when some of the best local bands play as their favourite bands. This year’s line-up features [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] playing as The Killers, Chappell Roan, Pixies, Nirvana, The Ramones and The Doors and, like every other year, sold out almost instantly.

Also, this year, Music Capital brings yet another legendary band to our fine town. Crash Test Dummies will be coming all the way from Canada to play the Guildhall on Halloween night as part of their tour to mark the 30th anniversary of their landmark album ‘God Shuffled His Feet’. I spoke to lead singer/guitarist Brad Roberts recently about the gig and the album.

“We’re very excited to be coming and playing in Ireland, and Derry is a place we’ve never played before. As a matter of fact, when we go to Ireland, we usually only play Dublin and Belfast, so I’ve never been to Derry and I’m very much looking forward to it. I think we all are.”

Next, we spoke about ‘God Shuffled His Feet’ and how it felt to be celebrating the album’s 30th anniversary: “It feels like I’m old [laughs]. I can’t believe it was thirty years ago, but there you go. It’s a fun premise to tour on because I really like that record. I think it stands the test of time and I enjoy playing it.”

I asked Brad if he had any idea the album would be as big as it was when it was first released: “I don’t think anyone has any kind of idea when something like that happens. It’s never safe to make assumptions that your song is going to do well so we were extremely fortunate. Sometimes it’s just luck, but in our case, it was the record selling once we got it on the radio, because that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes you get a song on the radio, but it doesn’t sell in the store. In 1993, when our record came out, we got sales from a very little bit of airplay. When the record company saw this, they jumped on the opportunity and they plugged us into the machine and we were never the same since.”

“It’s a funny story. It really didn’t do well in Canada. Our first record did very well there, but then our second did very poorly but did very well in America, so we were saved by the people south of our border. In Canada it’s kind of a syndrome. Canada likes to eat their own, as they say. You do well then suddenly you’re shot down.”

Next, we spoke about how the tour has been going so far: “It’s been going great. We’ve only been on the road for a few days [at the time of this interview] and we had our first show last night in the Hague and it was packed. There’s still a big audience, not as big as there was thirty years ago, but we’re playing some nice little rooms and we’re selling out. When I was at my peak, I was really overworked. They had me doing so much press that it was stunning. I never had a moment to myself, and I was constantly exhausted. I really prefer the way we tour now. I would much rather do it this way.”

Finally, I asked if there was anything else he still wanted to achieve: “We’ve been putting out new music. We have a new song out called ‘Sacred Alphabet’ and, oddly enough, it goes over really well. Most of the time people don’t want to hear songs they haven’t heard before and, for us, this song is going over like gang busters.”

And that’s it from Brad and Crash Test Dummies. They’ll be playing the Guildhall on Halloween night with support from Polar Bolero. Tickets are £30 (plus booking fee) and are available on Eventbrite.

Now, onto other business. This past Friday saw the release of a great new track from Louise DaCosta. The song, ‘Oblivion’, is a breakbeat, classical and electro influenced track and is available now on all good streaming platforms.

READ MORE: MacD on Music

Also, this Friday (25th October) sees one of the most anticipated releases of the year with TRAMP’s long-awaited EP ‘Bimbofication’. The EP will be available in Cool Discs, Bandcamp and on all good streaming services.

Finally, time for the socials. Louise DaCosta can be found on Instagram @thelouisedacosta, Crash Test Dummies @crashtestdummiesofficial and TRAMP are, of course, @thisistramp. For more information about upcoming gigs from Music Capital, visit musiccapital.org or find them on Facebook and Instagram @musiccapital.