Eugene's story.
Jen saw me play on my own at the Hope & Anchor and decided I obviously needed some help and so introduced herself saying, 'you really need a bass player. I play bass.' Full marks for chutzpah. Some ideas I had for songs were developed in her living room and she helped to bring them to life. After that we persuaded Andy McKenna to dust down his viola and Tim Foxley, a guitarist, to play drums. Both seemed remarkably agreeable to the idea, for which I am constantly amazed and grateful. Being a stranger to the basics of planning, communication and general sensibleness, it was left to Jen to be de facto organiser, and it is due to her that we played anywhere at all, and on a regular basis - dublin castle, bull & gate, hope & anchor, barfly, and the lovely 12bar. The single 'She's In Control' was played by John Peel - once! - and on a couple of other radio stations. It still passes muster, I think, and yes, we do have a 'few' copies left...
Of the two mp3s that Jen has put on this website: 'Twerlies' was a big favourite for everyone. It's a story of feeling lost and useless in the prime of one's life, and I was quite angry when I wrote it. You can never predict how songs will be listened to. What is good is what the band brought to what is a very basic structure and melody - the basslines, the harmonies, the urgency and suspense, and the harmonica at the end from Andy. Pleasing and surprising, never quite how you hear it in your head. We played the song in a venue near baker st once, and about six months later Jen was stopped in a bookshop by total strangers saying 'you're from that band with the song about the twerlies'. You can't really ask for anything better than that. Well, apart from critical acclaim, money, multi-album deal etc etc...
